November 20, 2014

Currently...

Feeling... Overwhelmed. I don't even know what has been going on this week but I'm exhausted. I'm glad it's Thursday, but at the same time, I can't believe it isn't Friday yet.

Reading... The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I'm taking a break from the Philippa Gregory series mostly because I finished the last one on Sunday night and didn't have the next book in the series yet and needed something for my morning commute. The Secret History is interesting so far. I'm about 100 pages in.


Watching... Nothing. I haven't turned on my TV once this week. It's been that kind of week.

Anticipating... My mom coming to visit for Thanksgiving! I'm excited for a short work week and a nice, long relaxing weekend in DC.

Disappointed about... the fact that I haven't run all week. It's been, as I said, an overwhelming week.

Working on... cleaning/packing...I haven't really started packing, but I'm going through the 'purging' stage of moving.

Loving... The Kitchn. It's my  new favorite website. I'm hooked.


November 14, 2014

Currently...

Feeling... Ready for the weekend. Despite having a day off this week, I'm just worn out this week.

Reading... The Kingmakers' Daughter, the fourth book in Philippa Gregory's Cousins' War Series. It's so good and the characters are so diabolical. This is serious guilty pleasure reading...I find it hilarious when people try to break down the mechanics of the book on GoodReads....it's historical fiction, it isn't meant to be accurate, it's meant to be juicy.


Watching... A to Z and Master Chef Junior...my two new favorite finds. Master Chef Junior is adorable. I'm incredibly impressed with these 9- and 10- year olds who can make things like blood orange and passion fruit cream pies from scratch without a recipe.

Listening to... The Pop Fitness station on Pandora. It's perfect for the treadmill. I haven't downloaded music in almost two years (I know)...so instead of still listening to "Call Me Maybe," I'm actually listening to music that's current.

Anticipating... my kombucha! It's Day 7 of brewing, and it typically brews for anywhere from 10-21 days (though everyone I know does it for closer to 10) I'm excited to see how it comes out!

Dreading... the cold. It was 71 degrees on Tuesday. It was 39 this morning and is expected to drop into the 20s tonight. Can I have summer back please?

Working on... Running. It's going much better than it did last year. I'm actually wearing an older pair of shoes with insoles and running much slower than I would like to and it's definitely making a difference.

Loving... that we're moving to our new place in a month. I'm so sick of our current apartment. The building management is awful. I'm so ready for a new place.

That's all I've got!
Happy Weekend!


November 13, 2014

5 Years

Five years ago, after almost an entire of year of playing the "Should we" or "Shouldn't we" game, after college graduation, a trip to Africa and a move to Boston on my part; college graduation, a move to Atlanta, and then a move to New Jersey on his part, The Pilot...who wasn't quite a pilot just yet...asked me to be his girlfriend.

We took selfies before they were called selfies.
For the first year, we kept the Mega and Bolt buses in business through countless trips back and forth between New Jersey and Boston.

At the end of that first year, he moved to Florida, and as a penniless flight instructor and a penniless grad student, we saw each other all of four times that year.


At the end of that second year, he moved back to New Jersey and became a pilot. We saw each other much more frequently, but still not as much as we would have liked.

That year, I finished grad school and we took our first trip to Europe, visiting London and Paris.


Right after our 3rd anniversary, we moved to DC together and the long distance finally ended.

Seven months later, he asked me if I would marry him. I said, "Are you serious?"


Two months ago today, on the fifth year of us being us, we walked down the aisle and promised forever.


Since it isn't really our anniversary anymore, I'll just say, 'Happy 5 Years.' Here's to the next adventure!


November 10, 2014

If We Were Having Coffee...

I can't take credit for these posts but I got some great feedback from last week's, so I decided to give it another go.

If we were having coffee...I would tell you that this weekend was exhausting. Six hours of a major kitchen cleaning spree and overhaul plus pulling all of my summer clothes into storage/donation piles wiped me out. I'm so grateful that I have tomorrow off for Veteran's Day.


I would tell you that I had a major fail with meal planning for this week. I planned everything out and realized I didn't have the groceries for anything I had planned out! Last week was a major grocery shopping fail. Good thing I have some leftovers to get me through the week!

I would tell you that running has been pretty touch and go lately. I started base training for a spring marathon this week and two out of my four runs were cut short due to knee pain. My "long run" of 4 miles (hey, it's base training) started out just fine but I started having some knee pain with half a mile to go...this time around, it wasn't bad enough to make me have to stop, but it's still frustrating.


If we were having coffee...I would tell you that I'm starting to get a little excited for the holidays. Christmas doesn't seem to be in full force (which is shocking, given that it's two weeks past Halloween) and I like it. We'll probably be setting up our Christmas tree the weekend we move into our new apartment, but I'm ok with it.

I would tell you that I'm really upset over the voter turnout in Tuesday's midterm elections. Only 30% of the country turned out to vote...and only 13% of eligible youth voters. I've talked to some of my friends in other countries about it and they're shocked that Americans don't vote...especially since we (as a country) disapprove of our government so much.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I started my own batch of home-brewed kombucha this weekend. I can't wait to see how it turns out! I had never tried kombucha until I needed some as a starter for my homebrew, ($4 just to taste something that I've heard mixed reviews about is not my cup of tea) but I really like it!


I would tell you that I am getting great use of my slow cooker these days. Overnight steel cut oats and soups have been my absolute favorites, but I have a lot of fun slow cooker experiments that I'm excited to try in the next few weeks!

If we were having coffee...I would show you a picture of Peyton, because she's the best.


If we were having coffee, what would you tell me?

November 6, 2014

Currently...

Feeling... fall-inspired. I've eaten a lot of pumpkin yumminess this week and the leaves outside my window are turning yellow. I'm normally that person who hates the fall, but this time around, I'm warming up to it.

via

Reading... The Lady of the Rivers...same book from last week. Still just as good as it was last week.

Listening to... Norah Jones. I love her.

Working on... my November goals.  Running...hasn't been going well.

Eating... a blueberry granola bar snack thing. It's tasty...and I can pronounce all of the ingredients on the label!

Anticipating... a super productive weekend of cleaning, running (hopefully) and starting to pack.

Watching... Scandal. It's so good this season!! Anyone else watching?

Loving... that I'm finally feeling like myself again...after two rounds of being sick and just overall feeling meh.

What are you currently up to?

November 4, 2014

Election Day PSA

If you're one of the millions of Americans who are fed up with Congress, then you should be rushing to the polls today to cast your vote.


Voter turnout for the midterm elections is notoriously low, but these elections are just as important as the presidential elections.

A host of issues are being voted on today, namely immigration, foreign policy, climate change, healthcare, the economy and women's rights.

If you live in any of these states - Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Texas or Virginia - you're in a battleground, and your vote is extremely important.

I don't know anyone on either side of the aisle who isn't angry about the way our government has been functioning lately, so whether you'll be donning red or blue, make sure you get to the polls today.

Not sure where to vote? Google has made it really easy for you to find out your polling place, and what time the polls are open until.

Don't know your congressional district? Check out the House's website to find out. From there, you can google (Your State) + (Your District) + (Election) and the candidate's should come up. Read up on them...all of them...Independent, Libertarian, Republican, Democrat, everyone.

As for the Senate race...which is the most important of them all, you should know whose running based on those tremendously annoying commercials I'm sure you've been seeing. Google their names. If you really don't know. Do a quick search for (Your State) Senate race.

Then, sit back, have a glass or four of wine, and watch the votes come in. 

Happy Voting!

November 3, 2014

If We Were Having Coffee...

I've seen these posts floating around for awhile now and decided to have a go with one.

Right now, I'm drinking a warm cup of peppermint tea, feel free to grab your own cup of something warm and join me.

If we were having coffee...I'd tell you that I seriously regret my choice to not wear tights this morning. Winter hit this weekend and I'm so sad.

I'd tell you that I can count on two hands the number of times I watched our wedding video this weekend. We got it on Friday and I'm so in love with it. I initially chose not to get a wedding video and then started thinking I might regret it. I'm so happy we changed our minds. I didn't cry on our wedding day, but I sobbed through our wedding day the first time I watched it...and have since teared up every time.

Screen shot!
If we were having coffee...I'd tell you that I can't get enough of The Cousins' War series from Philippa Gregory. I'm reading Book 3 and I love this series so much.

I'd tell you that I tried kombucha for the first time yesterday and really liked it! I went to a yoga detox class and kombucha workshop and am going to try my hand making my own this week!

If we were having coffee...I'd tell you that married life is awesome. Yes, we lived together before we got married, but it still feels different. There's just something about waking up on Sunday morning together, watching the NYC Marathon in our PJs and just enjoying each other's company that is awesome.

I'd tell you that I'm really excited about our new apartment, and eager to get our lease signed and paperwork in order so that we can say it's official. 

I'd tell you that I've been putting off changing my name until after Election Day so that I don't run into any issues when I go to vote tomorrow, but that now that it's here, I still don't know exactly what I want to change my name to. I've only been trying to figure this out for a year and a half...

If we were having coffee...I'd tell you that despite the impending doom of winter, I'm feeling really optimistic about November...I'm not too sure why.

If we were having coffee, what would you tell me?

November 2, 2014

November Goals

Wow, October went by quickly. We came back from our honeymoon on September 27th and I started my new job just two days later. Between that, plus two rounds of being sick, the month of October just got ahead of me! So much for all of my glorious plans of going hiking and seeing pretty fall leaves, it's already freezing here in DC and I'm not happy about it.

I realize that I haven't written a goals post in months...quite possibly since the start of the year. While my 2014 goals are something that are a distant memory, there are still two months remaining in what has already been an incredible year and, I'm determined to make the most of it, starting this month,
  • Marathon Base Training - After PT, I got into a great running routine, but the wedding, honeymoon, and being sick for a lot of October pushed that to the wayside. I'm no longer aiming to run a 26.2 in December...or even a 13.1 for that matter, but I am gearing up, for a spring marathon, and that means building up a base and comfortably getting to 9 or 10 miles before starting my training. I'll be writing about my training here in th e hopes that you'll all help me stay accountable as I come back to my goal of running a sub-4 marathon. 2015 will be the year I do that.
  • Strength and Cross Training - I was great about this over the summer, but along with running, it's fallen to the wayside since the wedding. My goal this month is to do yoga at least twice per week and strength training after all of my shorter distance runs. 
  • Be half way packed for our move - We're moving to a new apartment in December and I am determined to enjoy holiday parties without being stressed about moving. Last week, I reorganized my dresser, pulling out my summer clothes and making a pile  of clothes to donate. This week, I'll tackle our closets and then move to the pantry. I think packing starts with decluttering, and that's a big priority for the next week, before I can start physically putting things in boxes!
  • Organize my magazine recipes - I have a box of about 30 magazines dating back to 2010 that I pull out every single week to weed through and create a meal plan for the week. Those magazines are olive oil and spice stained and it's time to sort through them, pull the recipes and organize them into a better system. Those magazines are definitely not coming to our new apartment.
  • Get our honeymoon photos printed - My sister bought me a Project Life scrapbook for Christmas last year and I still haven't done anything with it. I want to use it to compile all of our honeymoon photos and that starts with having them printed! I'm determined to actually make the scrapbook though. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you'll know that finishing my college scrapbook has been on my annual to-do list for four years now...oops. I don't want that to happen with our honeymoon pictures, and I'm hoping that putting that scrapbook together will give me the boost I need to finally finish my college scrapbook. 
  • Blog about meal planning and prep - I've fallen way off the wagon with meal planning and prep. This month, I've planned a lot of blog posts in advance...including posts about meal planning and prep. We all know it's cost-effective and makes your week easier, but I just need to get back into it. 
  • Tackle some of my 2014 goals...before the year ends!
It's going to be an exciting month! I'm so excited to get ready for our move! My mom's birthday is also this month and she's coming to see me for Thanksgiving! Base training for a marathon will definitely add some structure to my life that I've been craving since I dropped out of last year's Marine Corps Marathon

What are some of your goals for November? Do you base train for a race? What are some of your favorite ways to organize recipes?
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