Trip to Houston

The entire reason I flew to Houston was so that I could attend a conference.  The conference was the National Conference on LGBT (Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, and a Transgender) Equality and was called Creating Change.  The main reason I went was because I was presenting a workshop, but I found it to be an amazing conference for many reasons.

First, they had free, on site daycare from 8:30am-6:30pm.  Seriously!?  This was awesome.  I have never been to a conference or meeting where daycare was provided, especially free daycare.  I only needed it one day because my sister drove over to Houston to watch Evan the other days, but if they hadn't had it I wouldn't have been able to go to the daylong institute before she arrived.  I think all conferences should have that option!

Second, the conference was so inclusive of everyone.  Along with "scent-free" areas, the also had gender-neutral bathrooms.

If you zoom in, you can see why gender-neutral bathrooms are important.  I thought it was great and even better that we were at a the Hilton and they were willing to turn their bathrooms into gender-neutral ones.  And it didn't even feel different seeing guys in the same bathroom.  

At an awesome conference you are bound to see awesome people!  I ran into a good friend of mine and got to spend some quality time with her.  The last time I saw her was at the International AIDS Conference in July 2012, when I was 8 months pregnant.

This is definitely not a stellar photo of me, but at least we are wearing coordinating outfits....  I met her about four or five years ago when I trained her on an HIV intervention in Columbia, SC (not where either of us are from though).  She liked to run and we went on a few runs together, and you know how running really solidifies friendships. {And let's not talk about how I haven't run in two weeks and my half marathon is two short weeks away.}.  It was so fun hanging out with her and catching up!  And I have to mention that even people I didn't know we're super nice.  People came up to me and introduced themselves and were genuinely nice and warm.  It was such a positive environment.  I loved it!  And Laverne  Cox was there, from Orange is the New Black and she gave an amazing speech at the Opening Plenary.

The Plenary on Saturday was on HIV/AIDS and it was really good.  There was a guy illustrating the points being made through a drawing and it was the coolest thing ever.  He did two sheets and I only got a photo of one, but look at this amazingness!

I just couldn't believe he could capture what they were saying and simultaneously design and draw this cartoonish interpretation.  Skills people.

Evan had a great time too.  He got to hang out with my sister and go to the beach and  tour the USS Texas, a battleship that was in WWI and WWII.  Plus he hung around and was spoiled by his aunt, which is always nice.  When he is older I would love to take him to conference sessions, but not at 17 months.

So, that was my trip.  On Saturday afternoon we headed to Dallas to stay with my sister for two nights and that was a lot of fun.  On Sunday we even put a movie on and drank hot chocolate.  Fabulous.  I don't even remember the last time I did that.  Evan was napping in my arms, but it still felt good to not have anything pressing to do and to just be able to relax and veg on the couch.  That night we headed to my sister's friend's house to watch the Super Bowl.  I didn't get a lot of football watching in, but Evan did a lot of venison sausage eating.  It cracks me up what Evan likes and dislikes.  I'm not sure that I would have put venison on the "for sure" list if I hadn't witnessed his chowing down myself.

Upon my return my good mood was completely hampered by my old landlord and the fact that he shorted me some of my deposit money.  And you want to know what his reason was??  I didn't give him 30 days notice.  HELLO, he asked ME to move out and gave me six weeks to find a new place...and then he turns around and says I left without giving proper notice.  Haha.  It is so stupid it's funny.  But then it's not because it made me so mad.  I really hope karma nips him in the butt, and not even nips...bites really hard.  I am secretly thrilled knowing his electricity bill this month is probably close to $500.  I guess that's karma in a way...that he's stuck in the condo he didn't feel important enought to care about.

Ok, although this bus is frigid because it's about 20 degrees out and the heater seems broken, I am going to try to get to sleep.  Yet again I only clocked four hours and thirty-four minutes of sleep last night and I have a ton of work to do today.

School is over (and no pictures)

Chemistry? Done!!!  I'm not sure if it was done well, but thank goodness it's over.  Last week the final was cancelled due to snow and so we had to take the make-up last night, a full week after we should have finished the class.  It was not ideal because I spent all weekend moving and didn't even get to study at all.  It was not a good situation.  I felt like I had to guess on a lot of the questions but I am hopeful that it turned out ok in the end.  Or that I had a high enough grade going into the exam that the final won't be the end of the world.  We shall see how it turns out...I may or may not divulge depending on how embarrassing the grade turns out to be.

The apartment is starting to look livable.  Ivan stayed home from work yesterday and put the baby's room together.  I will probably need to redo it because furniture is in front of windows and the clothes were dumped into the drawers, but at least he tried.  I still need a cabinet to put my food in though...it's driving me bonkers having it all over the floor in bags.

And the biggest adjustment?  Leaving the house on time.  Now we live farther away from my sister's and the golf course but Ivan thinks we can still leave at the same time.  So instead we rush around like crazy people trying to make sure I don't miss the bus.  And then today I waited at my new bus stop only to forget my bag in the car when I left and then my husband had to meet me at the mall and give me the bag.  I guess we'll get it eventually...just have to smooth out some wrinkles.

Work is crazy these days...busy and different somehow.  I feel like I fit in there less and less.  It's an odd feeling but one that I hope passes.  I have been there so long but it feels like somehow I am getting pushed out.  It's mentally exhausting and on top of it I have a lot of work.  Not a good mix.

Alright, I better get some shut-eye.  Twice now I've been up until after midnight...which means a short measly 4.5 hours of sleep.  Maybe I can get a bit more here on the bus.  Minus the fact that the guy next to me has the light on...

Happy Tuesday!!

The Big Move

Before we get into my weekend, I just have to mention that a lady sitting two rows in front of me has on a fur coat.  I am hoping it's fake fur (do they make real fur anymore??), but it still seems weird.  Who wears fur coats anymore, fake or real??  And to work??

So, we moved.  We are officially in our new apartment.  And it was definitely painful getting here!  I took Friday off to pack and get ready but I had Evan with me and he made it quite difficult.  Then he had a doctor's appointment at 1pm and we didn't get out of there until 3pm and then it was 3:30pm before we got home and half the afternoon was lost.  Luckily my friend Karin came over for a couple hours in the evening (before heading to a Christmas party!) to help pack up more of the kitchen and then she came over at 8am on moving day with her daughter to help pack up the pantry food.  

Moving day was the opposite of fun.  We have so much stuff!!  But in reality we don't...we only have enough stuff for a two bedroom apartment.  How can it seem like a lot??  It's not like we have a house full of stuff...thank goodness.  For some reason moving day was slow and long and overwhelming.  Ivan had a friend from work come help him move the heavy items and then Karin helped and my friend Allyson bought us lunch and helped clean the old apartment in the evening.  At one point though, Ivan's friend had left and my two friends had left for afternoon engagements and it was just Ivan and me (luckily my sister had offered to watch Evan and Dolce) and it was 4:10pm and the truck had to be back by 5pm.  We were at the new place and had an entire truck-load of stuff that had to be unloaded in 40 minutes. With just us two (and I hardly count because I am a wimp).  We did it in about 45 minutes...in the snow that turned to rain.  It snowed for a while but nothing stuck to the roads (but it did stick to our stuff), so at least it wasn't miserable driving the truck around.  But all our stuff got wet and we were soaked and it was freezing.  Good thing Allyson is a smarty and had told us to buy plastic to put on the carpet so we didn't track mud and snow/rain into the new place.  Good plan!!!

After returning the truck we had to pick up the kid and the dog and borrow my sister's car to make a few more trips.  While Ivan was making trips I was cleaning.  Karin and Allyson joined me again and we got to work scrubbing bathrooms, washing walls, vacuuming, mopping floors, cleaning kitchens, emptying fridge food, etc.  It took a while but we finished around 11pm.  And we were so exhausted. And tired of cleaning.  But since I'm nervous about getting my deposit money back I wanted it to be as clean as possible.

That was the dining room...I was trying to keep Evan entertained with wooden spoons and bowls.  Dolce just hung out.

Here's the living room.  Evan is still having a ball running around the empty space making soup.

I think the apartment is way cleaner than it was when we moved in!  I even steam cleaned the carpets!

And now our new place.  It's nice but there are boxes everywhere and Dolce had a hard time trying to find a place to sleep.  He decided to sleep next to our bed.  We made some progress yesterday though.  I unpacked the kitchen (or what I could of it, it's so tiny I need to buy a cabinet to put my food in because there is no pantry.  This took practically all day but I eventually found the stove to make dinner (eggs with ham).  I then moved on to the bedroom and got my clothes in the drawers and closets and then organized my bathroom.

Then I made lunches, washed dishes, and went to bed...because I have to work today.  

Things are looking good in some places, like the living room.

And some places need a lot more work, like the other side of the living room!

I hope you don't have to move soon and when you do, you don't do it in the middle of winter and you maybe hire movers.  And if you are lucky, you hire packers and movers!

Prolonging the misery

As you may have noticed, I didn't blog on Tuesday like normal.  Why??  Well, it was a snow day so I didn't have to work!  Yay!  I actually did some work because if I don't get my annual report written by the time I leave for vacation then I have to write it in Vermont.  Not what I feel like doing in the least.  I also studied a bit for my Chem lecture exam (it's cumulative, how mean is that?), but then it was cancelled.  Although it gives me more time to study (maybe...I am moving this weekend), it also prolongs the misery.  I thought I would be all done at this point, but no, I am still thinking about chemistry.  Now I have to take it on Monday instead.

The snow was beautiful though!

That's the view off the balcony, for the next two days.  Then we will have a new view and our new view looks into a parking lot, so it won't be as pretty.

Here's the view from the front.

Pretty too!  We didn't get much more than three inches but it was enough to cover everything and make it peaceful.  I love snow!

Yesterday my friend came over to help pack while I worked and she packed up all our dishes!  I was trying to make dinner last night and I had to unpack my knives because I couldn't cut up the chicken!  And she only left us dessert plates so Ivan kept saying she was putting us on a diet by making us eat such small portions.  That didn't stop Ivan though...he just had five helpings.  

And Evan has turned into a tortilla theif!

Here he is in the bedroom.  He grabbed Ivan's tortilla off the sofa (yeah, maybe if Ivan ate at the table we wouldn't have this problem) and then made a mad dash for the bedroom squealing the entire time. It was hilarious.  And just as a note, the bed is completely unmade because we are lazy and it's on the floor because Ivan took it apart already for the move.  We kinda like it on the floor though.  Ivan doesn't want to put it back together!

And one more random bit of info.  I was reading Caitlin's blog, Healthy Tipping Point, and she had a post about an amazing organization called Healing Horses.  It really sounded like such a wonderful place and maybe some of you were looking for an organization to donate to for Christmas or a new place to champion so I thought I'd share it.  The post that Caitlin wrote was beautiful, so I would highly recommend reading it.  If I had an extra $25 this month I would definitely donate!  But I don't.  I will next month though so I'd love to sponsor a horse.

Ok, that is all I have to report.  Most likely the next time you hear from me I will be in my new place!  I can't wait to get out of this dump.  Now that I've been forced to move, I realize just how horrible this place really is...and I am so thankful we are leaving.  And Whole Foods doesn't even open until the end of July so that's not even going to happen for a while.  Plus, Whole Foods is a money suck so it's probably better for me to be far away! And then I can continue supporting the local organic stores like David's and Roots instead.

Happy Thursday!!

Snow and ice

Wow, this weekend went super fast.  Maybe because I had a meeting all day on Friday instead of working from home.  And those three days of meetings really wore me out.  I wanted to sleep in on Saturday but Evan had other plans.  He was cutting a tooth and so pretty much was up all night.  I think he fell asleep at around 4am.  And then he was up at 7am.  Definitely not what I was hoping for after only getting a few hours of sleep all week.  He made up for it on Sunday though and we slept until 8am.

Sunday we got our first snow fall of the season!

It ended up being about two or three inches.  I was pretty excited.  Except that my friend Sarah was supposed to come and help me pack but we were too worried about the road conditions so she didn't come.  It was a good thing too because the roads were horrible.  However,  I was sad I didn't get to see her.  Hopefully she makes it on Saturday!

I put Evan in his new snowsuit (compliments of Mimi), and we took Dolce for a walk.

It was getting a little dark so it Is kind of hard to see Evan, but he was all bundled up in snow pants and a winter coat.  That little hat is a bit problematic because it likes to fall down and cover his entire face.  That made him a bit unhappy.  At one point I took him out and let him play in the snow, which he loved, but then getting him back into the stroller was a fight.  Dolce spent the entire time eating snow, which is so annoying because then he has to go out nineteen times in the next hour.  It's a struggle I tell you!

I did get some packing done, even without Sarah's motivation.  I also made English muffin bread, pumpkin soup, chicken soup, and chicken enchilada soup.  And Ivan nicely washed the dishes while. I gave Evan a bath.

This week is a bit stressful because I have my Chem lecture final tomorrow and then moving on Saturday...which means I have to be packed by Saturday too.  The other night while I was rocking Evan to sleep (I know, he's probably too old for this but I don't care), I heard rodents in the walls scurrying about.  I'm not sure if it was mice, rats, squirrels, or what - but it was disgusting and I was counting my blessings that we were moving to a better place (can it be worse???).  We just have to physically move to that other place and that is what stresses me out!

P.S. I found the BOB weather shield!!!!!  I had been looking for it for months and couldn't find it - and then I'm packing up the bedroom closet and found it in a bag.  I was SO HAPPY!!

Did it snow where you live this weekend?

Catch-up and Foodie Reveal Day

Yes, I am probably the only blogger who didn't post about Thanksgiving.  We had a good one, but I didn't take any pictures.  It was overshadowed by an email from my landlord that indicates he wants to keep my security deposit.  And pain in my shoulder, neck, back, and head from coughing for three weeks.  It's not to say that my turkey day wasn't special, it was.  It's just to say that I was emotionally exhausted and worn out from anger, coughing, and not sleeping well.  However, on turkey day we went to some golf friends' house and enjoyed an afternoon of yummy food and conversation.  The morning was relaxing as I cooked up some sides and watched the parade.  Good all around.

The rest of the weekend was a bit stressed money-wise as I worked out our budget for how we are going to get through the month with $2000 less and whether we can pay all our bills and still buy food and gas.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it works out, but it will be a less festive Christmas as we don't have extra money for decorations or a tree or even a wreath...let alone presents.  Luckily Evan is only 1 and doesn't understand presents.

Ivan and I did do our first date of Christmas though!  I had saved some money and we used it to go to the movies.  We went to an 11:05am movie so it was only $6.50 a ticket.  We went and saw Catching Fire and I LOVED it.  Ivan liked it too, because of all the fighting.  The only downside was that Ivan hadn't eaten lunch so he ordered chicken fingers and fries and the total was $18.95.  He thought the guy said $8.95 so we both almost cried when we realized how expensive that small amount of food was.  It was like highway robbery!

This past weekend was also November Foodie Reveal Day for the Foodie Pen Pal exchange I like to participate in.  In case you can't remember what it is, you get a pen pal and exchange a few emails to get to know them and then mail them a box of fun food items.  I've done it for a few months now and I love it.  I won't do it this month because of the money thing mentioned above, but I'll definitely resume when things settle down a bit more.

My partner this month was Alan.  We exchanged a lot of emails and he was a fabulous partner.  He mentioned that he loved spices so I was secretly hoping he'd send me a few in my box.  Well, he did not disappoint!  I got a lovely box from him filled with all kinds of goodies.

Look at all that fun stuff!  And it was nicely packaged in tissue paper and ribbons, to look even more fun.  Let's take a look at some of the fun stuff in there.

Here are the spices.  The Vietnamese cinnamon is amazing.  I use it every day in my coffee and oatmeal and I used it in my pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  It's got a stronger flavor that regular cinnamon, but that makes it even better.  The other spice is Sumac Berries.  I think that will taste great on a chicken dish, but I haven't tried it yet.  It smells amazing though.

Then there was this chocolate bar.  You can never go wrong with chocolate.  I was a bit hesitant about crystallized ginger in chocolate because I don't like ginger (except in Asian dishes), but it was fantastic.  The crystallized ginger mixed really well with the dark chocolate and this bar was devoured in no time at all.  

And lastly, these Lara bars.  I love Lara bars and I had never tried these kinds before.  They were tasty though!  I brought them to class to help curb my hunger and I really liked them.  The pecan flavor was my favorite, but they both had a fun and festive fall flavor.  The box also had a delicious chili mix and lots and lots of milk duds.  Yum!  I haven't made the chili yet but it sounded fantastic, and it even suggests putting it on top of spaghetti.  I'm not sure if I'll do that or not, but I can't wait to try the mix.

So that was my box!  It was so great and I really had fun this month putting Alan's box together and then getting his in the mail.  It was a bright spot in a stressful month!

Hope your December is off to a great start!!

Those feelings

The good news is we are about to sign a lease on a new place.  I am very thankful that we found a place to live that wasn't too expensive and that allowed dogs.  It's a bit nerve-wracking renting from someone I don't know and the lease always seems so complicated and binding.  And we somehow have to come up with $2000 for the security deposit, which normally wouldn't be the end of the world because we could save for a few months...but on top of the holidays and extra expenses like $300 electricity bills and $200 payments for my Chemistry class, extra money is few and far between.  It's gonna be a really sparse holiday season.  And a really un-festive one too.  Who wants to decorate when we are going to move and who wants to decorate after we move when the new place looks like a disaster?  And we'll probably not do our 12 Dates of Christmas because we won't have any extra money or time, since we'll be either packing or unpacking.  Usually I am overly excited about the holiday but this year I just can't wait for it to be January.

And on top of that, I have one of those feelings.  You know that pit in your stomach that tells you something bad is going to happen or that you are making a very bad decision? Have you ever had that feeling?  The problem is I don't know what's going to happen or what decision is a bad one.  Is it the apartment?  School? Nursing applications? Work? Evan/Ivan/family? Running?  I have no inclination as to what it might be but I am walking around with a whole in my stomach and I don't really want to be around when thr truth comes to light.  Of course I will be because it's my life, but you know what I mean.

Ok, enough feeling sorry for myself.  

We are supposed to get a ton of snow these next couple of days.  I'm not sure it's actually gonna happen but maybe it will.  If it does I hope I'm at home and not stuck in DC.  A snowy Thanksgiving sounds nice as long as I can pick my turkey up from the farm.  Did I mention I ordered my turkey from a farm?  Yup.  It'll be fresh and organic and free range and all that.  I hope it also tastes good!  

And I did not get a run in yesterday and I won't get one in today either.  I just have too much stuff to get done before the four day weekend that I can't find the time.  Yesterday I didn't even eat lunch until 2pm and then when I looked up again it was 4:30 and I had to run out the door to catch the bus.  It's nice when work flies by but it also usually means that it's been a crazy, exhausting day.  And it was!

I don't really have anything else to say and I don't have any pictures to share with you except that my friend found this fruit and gave it me to.  It's a zapote, a fruit that was common in Honduras.  I've never found it in the US so hubs and I were excited to eat it.  I did look up the nutritional value and found it is about 300 calories!  Yikes, no wonder it is so creamy and delicious!

Hope you are having a great week so far!

A failed run and a busy weekend

As I told my husband this morning, it's Monday again.  How does that happen so quickly?  This weekend was a blur, I can barely fathom that it came and went already.  I started Saturday off with a walk around the lake.  We haven't done an early morning lake walk in a while, not since I started running.  I had missed them so it was fun to head out early and get a walk in.

Evan was excited to see all the trees.  The entire walk he pointed out every tree and airplane...take a look at that picture again.  There are a lot of trees.

Saturday afternoon we headed into Baltimore to see my brother's in-law football team play Baltimore City College.  Luckily it was a fairly mild day so we didn't freeze too much.  Just a little.  We won, which was exciting!  Then we go to the bathrooms before heading home and Ivan runs into someone he knows.  A guy from the golf course.  How funny is that?  We are in the middle of the city and Ivan finds someone he knows.  Crazy.

That evening we had my niece's birthday party and I also had a First Tee movie night event.  I could only stay at the party for a little while and then I headed to the golf course to watch Dispicable Me with a bunch of little golf girls.  It was cute watching them.  That night, after the movie, it was more of this:

Chemistry - what would I do without you?  I have a test on Tuesday.  Boo.

On Sunday we headed out to see some apartments.  What had been four was reduced to two.  Not much choice.  So we looked at them both and then had to make some decisions.  One was in good condition and we met the landlord and she seemed nice and easy to work with.  However, the condo was a little on the small side...875 sq ft for at two bedroom (our current place is 1100 sq ft).  The other was bigger...1200s sq ft...but wasn't in great condition.  The carpet had holes in it, the walls were in dire need of a painting and had millions of nails in them, the bathrooms were gross, some of the window sills had water damage, and the hallway smelled like cigarette smoke (it was a controlled access-type building).  So, obviously the guy doesn't really care about the place much.  We decided to put our application in with the smaller place with the nice landlord.  Hopefully we can find enough space for our stuff.  And that the owner is ok with our dog.  Still keeping our fingers crossed.

The rest of the afternoon was supposed to be filled with studying and cooking, but it didn't turn out that way.  Evan was tired but burst into tears every time I put him in the crib.  So he ended up napping in my arms and I watched the latest NCIS and Parenthood.  Then we went to the grocery store and spent all our money.  I didn't get to start cooking until 5pm, but I whipped out chili, cornbread, and pumpkin soup while doing three loads of laundry.  Not too shabby.

The only thing I didn't have time for was my run.  I headed out with Evan in the early morning and we got half a mile and he started crying.  I went a bit further and then realized that it wasn't worth it.  So I took him out of the stroller and we walked home.  I am hoping to maybe do a long run today instead.  We'll see.

Everyone is sick, apartment update, and apples

This must be the start of the winter sickness season because everyone I know is sick.  I was trying my best to hold out but now I have a bit of a sore throat.  I am hoping it's just from the dry air though, and not from an actual virus.

We finally got an appointment with a real estate agent about a new rental.  Geez, it was like we were asking for a million dollars or something, no one would contact us at all.  I had called two real estate places  and both had taken my name and said they would have a rental specialist call me back.  Nothing.  I had answered an ad on Craigslist and the guy said we could look at it last Monday but then he never got back to us with the time and we haven't heard from him since.  And I responded to a few different places on Zillow and no one has contacted me back.  We were getting a little desperate.  So finally we just decided to go to an agency and take our luck that someone was there to help us.  We made sure we looked as professional as possible and headed to Re/Max.  I chose them because I had already called Long and Foster and they hadn't returned my calls, but I hadn't called Re/Max yet.  It wasn't that easy because we got there and waited for a while and no one was around that could help us.  The receptionist took our name and tried to contact a few different agents but no one was in the office at that moment.  Finally,a nice guy came out and said he'd help is.  I have a feeling he wasn't planning on working that day because he was in jeans and kept apologizing about his attire, but we were thankful to have someone to help us.  He was super nice and didn't act like we were wasting his time because we were just renting.  So, we narrowed it down to four places that were in our price range and said case-by-case basis for dogs.  We are hopefully going on Sunday to look at a few of those locations and then maybe our options will look a little brighter.  That is if he calls us back with a definite time for Sunday....

Every night it's a toss up if Evan wants to eat or not.  Sometimes he gobbles food down like no tomorrow and other nights he eats two bites and then wants out of his chair.  I know that 15 minutes is about all a kid his age can sit still for, but sometimes it's like ten seconds.  However, he is really into apples these days so that keeps him occupied for a long time.  He loves to roll the apple around on his tray and get it into the hole where his cup goes (future golfer???).

Then he'll pick it up and take a few nibbles off of it.  But he doesn't like the skin so then he spits the skin out.

It's funny to watch.  Last nights menu was Israeli couscous with spinach - which is usually one of his favorite meals - but he just wasn't interested.  I had made him a banana and blueberry smoothie with almond butter for a snack so he had eaten a lot of that instead.  I guess he filled up on it.  Or he was bored being in his high chair.  I'm sure one day he'll be eating me out of house and home, but for now I am always excited when he eats a little something!

I skipped by run on Tuesday because I got stuck in a very long meeting.  I brought my stuff today but I have a meeting in the morning and another one in the afternoon so it makes it a bit hard to squeeze in a run.  We'll see what happens. 

Wow is it cold, mixed with a lot of stress

It sure is blustery outside this morning! It's getting a bit cold to have my hair wet while waiting for the bus, but until I get it cut it's pointless to blow dry it because it looks hideous.  My ears hurt from the wind, which is never fun.  And I'm exhausted because Evan's had a cough for the past few days and it makes for fitful nights of sleep...for both of us.

So this weekend had lots of good aspects.  Hubs joined Evan and me on two of our walks with the dog.  This is always a highlight because normally we split the dog walking duties-he goes in the morning and I go at night.  But the last two nights we went together and Evan got to go in the backpack one night (his favorite thing in the world) and in his truck the second night (his second favorite thing in the world).  

And both nights he got to go on the swings, which he's obsessed with.  We pass a playground with swings on our walk, and he points and exclaims in extreme excitement and then cries if we pass it without stopping.  Even if it's cold and so dark your can't even see the swings.  But he got to go these two times.  I even dressed him up in an old sweater jacket of mine that my parents bought when we lived in Greece and I wore when I was 2 or something.  He looked adorable.

Instagram: mapleandmud

I also did a ton of cooking, since it was a three day holiday.  I made minestrone soup, which is one of my favorite recipes.  It's filled with tons of veggies but somehow the flavors blend well and it's fantastic (I only say that because I am not a huge veggie fan - especially when it comes to two onions, two zucchinis, and a bunch of green beans - if you like veggies then you may not care that the flavors blend together, you would be happy if the soup tasted like veggies).  Great for these chilly days we are having.  I also made more spinach and quinoa patties for Evan.  These are tasty too but I try not to eat too many of them because I like to freeze them for Evan when I can't think of what to make him.  And for Ivan I made shrimp-stuffed shells.  He says he hates lasagna and this is similar to lasagna, but for some reason he loves it.   So it was definitely a weekend filled with cooking and washing dishes.

These are just a small sampling of the veggies that went into the minestrone soup - so much chopping!

The most exciting thing I did was go for a run on Saturday morning with a running friend from Team In Training.  I was going to bring Evan but then Ivan came home from work early so I got to go sans baby jogger.  It was the perfect running morning and we did six miles and I didn't even notice it.  It was great having company because I haven't been able to go with my sister for a while and usually I am paranoid about Evan pitching a fit three miles into a run that I don't enjoy it as much.  We also ran into my best running partner from TNT whom I did all my training runs with...which was random but fun.  This was a great week for running - I did ALL my training runs.

And now for the horrible news.  Remember all that misery we were dealing with at our condo?? Nothing getting fixed, $300 electricity bills, etc.?  Well, now we have to move out.  The owner is getting kicked out of his house so he will either move back in to the condo or he will try and sell the place, because he can't afford to fix it.  There is a small, small chance we could stay but I'm not taking the risk.  But this means we have to find a new place and specifically a new place we can afford and that takes large dogs. I am super stressed and annoyed that we have to use our savings to move rather than for Christmas.  Before I was trying to see if we could afford to buy a Christmas tree this year and now I am wondering if we can afford to buy anything.  And who wants to move in the middle of the winter?  We will either be moving Thanksgiving weekend or Christmas, just what we wanted.  We have to be out by 1 Jan., so not a ton of time.  Moving + winter + toddler + no money + dog + finals for chemistry + nursing school apps = boo x 10.

Tell me some good news in your life so I can stop focusing on the stresses in mine!!

Anniversaries and Stress

I really thought that after we turned in our grant that my stress level would go down.  Nope.  That would be too easy.  I've become so stressed that I started clenching my jaw, something I've never done before in my life.  If I'm not stressed about work, what am I stressed about?  Umm, my living situation.

We live in a dump.  We moved here last year because we wanted a two bedroom with the baby and the place is owned by my sister's in laws, so I thought it would be safer knowing the people we were renting from.  WRONG.  I didn't know how run down the place was until we moved in and it's been an entire year and hardly anything has been fixed and many things have broken.  The location is awesome - close to where I pick up the bus, close to my sister's place where we drop Evan off, and close to Ivan's job.  Plus, close to many biking and hiking paths.  However, the windows are crap and either don't open or don't stay open, there are broken closets, the bath tub has a bunch of cracks in it, the back porch door is taped to keep bugs and drafts from coming in, etc.  Recently, the dryer broke and the air conditioner broke.  And the main problem?  In June our electricity bill jumped from $189 to $310.  We are on the budget plan so they average the bills out so we pay the same each month based on the energy used the prior months.  So, while we were paying $189 a month we were actually using a lot more.  Looking back at how much energy we used...in Dec, Jan, and Feb our bill was close to $400 - so that means this year we have to pay a lot more on the budget plan.  It is impossible to use $400 worth of energy in an 1100sq ft. condo unless something is broken.  So, I emailed the owner and said I wanted to pay less rent because the condo was in bad shape and our electricity was too high (and the bill wasn't going to go down unless something was fixed).  That was a week ago. And I still haven't heard back...except my sister said that they got the email...meaning the were pissed and told her husband.  So now I am just confused as to what to do...continue to push for lower rent and piss him and the rest of my sister's in laws off (and probably never have a single thing fixed again) or find a new place.  If we stay and pay lower rent, I'm sure nothing will ever be fixed in the condo again.  If we move, we have to find a place that takes dogs and it will probably cost more money (although with a cheaper electricity bill we may not realize it) and it is expensive to move.  What would you do???  Please tell me what do to!!!!

Ok, it feels a little better getting that off my chest.  But I'm still mega stressed.  And I'm finding it hard to think rationally about it and make a clear decision.

How about we take a break and look at Evan sitting in a box.

That cheers me up.  We were reading the Tickle Monster Laughter Kit and he insisted on sitting in the box.

We also celebrated his one year baptism anniversary.  It wasn't a huge party or anything, but we tried to do something.  We lit his baptism candle, read this passage from the Bible:

Then we said a short prayer, did the sign of the cross with water, and ate some cookies.

Then we took a mini photo with Evan and his candle.

(I'm not sure why my arms look so skinny in that photo - they aren't that bony, trust me.)

It was nice and I really wanted to remember his baptism.  Next year I'll try and be more on top of things and buy him a little baptism present or something.

Then the rest of the night was studying for my Chem exam tonight and trying to catch up on sleep. Which I'd like to do more of right now.

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What is stressing you out these days?

How often do you move?

Do you celebrate baptism or christening anniversaries?

Wanting what you don't have

I don't usually want too many things that I can't afford.  Of course there are times when I wish I could travel more or buy new clothes or things of that nature, but those are just fleeting thoughts, nothing that I ponder too much.  Hubs and I don't have a ton of money, but we have enough to make us happy and enough to feed, house, and cloth our family.  However, with the beautiful August weather we are having and the feel of fall in the air, it always makes me pine for a house.  Not an apartment, not a rental, but our own little house.

I don't usually mind our apartment.  It's the perfect size for us and I've never wanted to own a huge living space unless I had a huge family.  Plus, it's in a great neighborhood and is located close to where I catch the bus and where my hubs works and within walking distance to my sister's.  All great qualities that, most of the time, overshadow the fact that it's falling apart and is on the verge of becoming a trash dump (a dump for which I pay practically a quarter of my yearly income).

But on these nice days, I would love a deck with a fenced in yard for Evan and the dog. 

Source = google images

 How nice would it be to sit on that deck and enjoy the end of summer days???

When it's nice out, I make sure to pop Evan in the stroller and take Dolce on a nice, long walk.
 
We live in a beautiful neighborhood with bike paths through the woods and two lakes close by that you can walk around.  The neighborhoods are pretty to walk through and there are always runners and bikers and walkers out enjoying the weather.  However, for some reason, no matter how many walks I take, I still can't get enough fresh air.  I get back to my apartment and still want to be outside. We have a small balcony off our living room but it's not really conducive to sitting.  The mosquitoes are horrible because the trees are so close (practically on top of the balcony) and Evan can't really crawl around and play out there.  It's not as fun as BBQing on a deck and spending all day outside in the yard.

Source = google images

I mean, if I had an outdoor space like this one, I'd spend all summer out there!  So nice and relaxing and Evan and Dolce could play in the grass and have a grand ol' time. 

I'm assuming one day we'll be able to afford a nice, little house.  I'm not interested in a big house, just something small like this.  I love the bungalow-style house!

Source = google images

Maybe when we move out of this ridiculously expensive location know as the DC Metro area.  My good friend lives in Omaha and was selling her house for $64,000.  Umm, you can't even buy a parking spot for that much in the DC area, let alone a living space.  And she had an adorable little house, not a cardboard box.  I don't need a big house, just a small three bedroom, two bath with a yard.  In a family-friendly neighborhood.  I like the house below, but the fact that all the houses have bars on the windows in that picture make me think it's not so family-friendly.

Source = google images

I've been hesitant to buy something here because I've always felt like I didn't want to settle here (and because we can't afford anything).  But maybe after nursing school we'll move somewhere we'll want to stay and I'll make enough money to get a loan on a house (and the houses will be cheaper).  Not sure how that will work if I'm taking out more loan money for nursing school, but one can dream, right?

Obviously you shouldn't covet what you don't have, but it would be nice to own a house one day.  And then we could fix it up the way we wanted and wouldn't always have the cheapest fixtures (which is what people do when you rent - they put the absolute cheapest stuff in the house because they don't want to waste money on a rental).

Until then, I'll be glad that at least we have a great neighborhood and places to get outside (as many people don't even have that).  And we'll just spend afternoons at the park.

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What is your dream house?

What is something that you dream about buying one day?

New Year, New You

Or new me actually.  Ok, so not a completely new me since I am pretty happy with the old me.  I admit, it would be nice to fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes one day, but what can I say.  I haven’t really been running much these days and I haven’t found the motivation to do the strength training I had been working on – and I ate about 3000 cookies while in Vermont.  Once I head back to work I think I will get back on track. 

But, back to New Year resolutions.  Or commitments, as Meghan calls them.  I kind of rather like the term commitments, since there is no pass/fail.  And I’d like these changes to stick.   I don’t really have too many changes I want to make, but I’ll review a few of them below.


Commitment 1

Be more organized.  This is pretty much the main commitment I’d like to make.  I used to be completely organized all the time.  At one time I was very Type A.  Then I went to Honduras, learned to relax, and can’t go back.  I don’t actually want to go completely back, because it’s so much better being a Type A-.  However, my life could use an organization make-over.  Mainly because I am SOOOO busy and there really is barely enough time to get things done.  Here are things I plan on organizing:

     a) My Apartment: Yes, things are still in boxes and bags and hidden in closets.  I just never got unpacked all the way because I had to go to Vegas for a week right after moving and then was too pregnant-tired, and then the baby came, etc.  Yeah, so many excuses.  However, I am done.  Things have to find a home in this apartment and that’s the end of the story.  How am I going to do this?  I have this plan of assigning weekends to rooms.  For example, this weekend coming up will be the dining room.  There is one big box left in the dining room and I’d like to unpack it.  The following weekend I will do the kitchen, etc.  When I’ve finished each room, then each weekend I will clean/straighten each room.

     b) My Time: I waste a ton of time just thinking about things and not actually doing them.  And let’s face it, I don’t have much time.  When I work, I get home at 6:30pm, the baby gets a bath at 7pm, and goes to bed by 8pm.  And somewhere in there I have to cook dinner, prepare lunch for the next day, wash diapers, stuff diapers, fold clothes, do laundry, wash/disinfect pump parts, etc.  Thankfully I can work from home two days so on those days I finish at 4pm – but somehow I always find it to be 6pm and I haven’t done anything.  Plus, the end of this month I am starting classes again so I’ll have class on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Even less time!  So, I really need to organize my meals far in advance – and prepare as much as I can on the weekends (cook chicken, cut veggies, etc.).  And I need a system so each day I’m doing something but not everything – Mondays fold laundry, Tuesdays wash diapers, etc.

    c) Money: This is a big one.  It is hard to organize something you don’t have.  Or don’t have enough of – we are super short on money these days and it’s about time I organized a budget.  Now that we have to pay for daycare, any extra money we had is gone, gone, gone.  If we want to still buy gifts for people, get the dog groomed, etc. we’ll have to put money away each paycheck.  I am determined to get our finances in order and not spend above our means.  I knew having a baby was going to be hard financially but the cuts we’ll have to make are totally worth it.  At least our car already broke and cost us a fortune!  One less thing to worry about!  Plus, golf starts up the end of April so I can build our small savings account back up to where it was…before maternity leave, the car, and Christmas depleted it!


Commitment 2

Be healthier.  I am a pretty healthy person, I admit.  I have a small sugar addiction, but so far a decent metabolism that allows me to eat lots and lots of candy without too many repercussions (although I’m getting old so that may change).  However, I am trying to make a few changes to improve my health.

     a) Eat a fruit or veggie with every meal.  This is hard because I pretty much hate vegetables.  I love fruit, but really need to work on the veggie side.  Yesterday night I had broccoli with dinner.  Yes, it is practically a miracle because I HATE broccoli, but I did it anyway.  Now I have a son and I need to be a good example to him – and eating vegetables is good for you.

     b) Have snacks on hand.  One of my main problems is being hungry all the time.  When I get home from work at 6:30pm, I shove a ton of food into my mouth because I’m so hungry.  I can’t wait to prepare dinner – I have to eat something right away.  This usually means a bunch of chips.  If I had something already prepared to munch on when I came home, maybe I could skip the five servings of tortilla chips.  Or maybe I will eat the prepared snack AND the chips.  It’s worth a try though.

     c) Floss my teeth.  More often.  No explanation needed.

I think those are pretty much it.  Nothing too crazy or ridiculous.  Nothing I can’t possibly achieve.  Just a few things that will make my life easier and happier and more relaxed.  Right?

What resolutions or commitments are you making for 2013?

A View of the Nursery

Baby's crib, with Welcome sign my mom made for the shower.

Yes, the title of that post implies that the nursery is done.  I guess it kind of is.  We still have stuff to move around and eventually we will move swings and bouncy chairs and stuff to the living room (sure not going to make the baby bounce in his chair in his room all alone), but for the most part it is pretty organized.

This organization is completely due to my over-the-top, amazing, wonderful friend Sarah.  Everyone needs a friend like her.  Yes, she is the same friend who helped me pack boxes, clean my apartment, move my stuff, etc.  It's crazy how many favors I owe her.  We try to repay her with lots of dinners and a few movies, but it's not really adequate payment for all the help she has given me.

So, after trying to get organized all by myself and failing, I called her to come over on Saturday and whip me into baby-ready shape.  And that she did.  Here is the "before' picture, just in case you forgot!

The "before" nursery

And of course, while we are trying to do this I get more visitors than I've ever had in my life and yest again was a bad worker.  My sister and her family come over to visit Dolce (so I hung out and chat with my sis and made sure the dog didn't eat the kiddos' new toys while Sarah tried to put a big, complicated swing together - with the help of my 3yr old niece), and then about an hour later our golf friends stopped by to pick up hubs for a favor (they needed some boxes moved) and we chatted with them for a while (while Sarah kept working hard). 

We had promised her Honduran enchiladas for dinner as repayment but didn't get them finished until 8:30pm.  I think Sarah had had about enough of us and was really itching to leave, but I forced her to stay for dinner.  That's what a great friend I am!

So, what did we do?  We washed up the last bit of clothes, washed the last bit of diapers, boiled the pre-fold cloth diapers, put the bouncy chair and swing together, organized and washed all the bottles and their accessories, organized baby stuff into categories of first aide, my stuff (like breast pads), toys, things that go in the changing table (swaddle blankets, diapers, cloth wipes, blankets, etc.), put up the co-sleeper, made the crib (i.e. put some sheets on it), etc.  Yup, it was a bit of work.  However, I am SO happy it is done.

Changing table with hanging blanket.

Then, last night hubs and I tried to finish the rest of the stuff - we put a lamp in the baby's room, I put on all the washed pieces (i.e. covers for the bouncy seat and swing and sheets on the co-sleeper, etc.), I put all the diapers and towels into the changing table, we moved the changing table to its permanent spot, hung up some decorations, put stuff away in the closet, arranged stuffed animals, displayed some books, cleared space in the kitchen cupboards and put the bottles away, and I think that's it. 

Baby's dresser and swing (and closet)

I know you are probably thinking that I am "nesting" but I don't think I am.  I sure didn't feel motivated to do any of this - hubs was in his "nesting" mood though and there is no stopping him.  So, unless I wanted stuff hung up crooked, and things put away in weird spots, I had to help out.  I am *hoping* that the "nesting" that comes with almost-about-to-give-birth is a bit more exciting and filled with motivation.  We'll see I guess!

I know most people on the blogosphere (and most people I know) get way into the nursery - they pick a theme, paint walls, buy a ton of things to put on the wall, hang up curtains, etc. - so our nursery probably looks pretty boring and plain to most.  My sister put up a wall mural and so many little decorations and her nursery was so adorable.  We didn't really have money to do this and although I was thinking of a cow/barn/farm theme for the nursery we didn't buy a ton of stuff to do that.  My mom made some things with that theme (the Welcome sign, the blanket hanging on the wall, the pillow in the crib, and some stuffed barn animals), but we didn't go all out.  We had/have so many things to buy that are necessities (diapers, wipes, baby/dog gates, etc.) that I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a nursery the baby would never remember.  So, pretty much our nursery is a mish-mash of things that people gave us. 

And to tell you the truth - that's pretty much what our life is like too! 

I hope you've enjoyed the tour anyway!!