Playing Catch-up

Fact: I apparently suck at blogging as of late. Really, ever since Matt left, I haven't been good at blogging regularly - and it's really been bugging me. I think I'm ready to get back on the horse ... mostly because I miss it!

Where have I been the last few weeks? Busy. Busy with work, busy with visitors (my parents were here last weekend!), just ... plain ... busy. And busy can be kind of a bummer. This is my first weekend at home, without plans, in over a month. A MONTH. How crazy is that? I really enjoyed spending some time after work yesterday sitting on my patio, drinking wine, and then making cookies with a friend. We took a nice long walk with our dogs as the sun was setting, and the weather was just ... perfect. This morning, I slept in (slept in!!!) until 9 (9!!!!) and have been puttering around in the kitchen for most of the day. I've made homemade dog treats, roasted garlic hummus, and tzatziki sauce.

I really haven't done much cooking since Matt left, either - just grabbing random things out of the fridge to eat here and there. Sandwiches, veggies, cereal, whatever. But I've really been missing being in the kitchen. Perhaps it took three months to get my bearings as a pseudo-single gal?

As I mentioned above, my parents came to visit last weekend. It was a nice, relaxed few days of eating tasty food, drinking good wine, and playing cards. Even Oscar joined in the fun!

I took my parents to the last day of the Bloomington Winter Farmer's Market, and I bought a few gorgeous forsythia branches. They have been making me SO happy!

The weather has really been warm and beautiful here lately. It was around 80 degrees all week! Amazing. Flowers and trees are bloomington, and everything looks lovely. It really makes me realize how time is just flying. Matt will be home in no time!

Speaking of Matt ... here is the latest. On Tuesday, he moved from Redstone Arsenal in Alabama to Camp Shelby in Mississippi. The conditions there are not ideal ... and he was told that he'll have to be there for five weeks! Which, once again, makes no sense. I cannot believe that I haven't seen him in 11 weeks ... yet he remains in the States. Absurd! At this rate, he will not join up with his unit in Kuwait until May, several months after he was expecting to arrive.

But there's some good news sprinkled in here, too - Matt was informed that he will get a five day pass sometime in the next few weeks. !!!!!!! He absolutely does not want to stay there, soooo ... the tentative plan is for me to fly to Mississippi, meet him at the airport, rent a car and drive to Destin, Florida to spend a few blissful days. I am trying (very unsuccessfully) not to get too excited, but ... I think it goes without saying that I really really really want to see him. He should find out the exact dates of the pass two weeks ahead of time, at which point I'll be able to book flights/car/hotel. I'll keep you posted - I sure do hope this all works out!!

In the meantime, I will continue to spend my nights with the other man in my life, Oscar. I have been letting him sleep on the bed with me since Matt left (a big no-no!), and I have a blanket on top of the quilt for him to sleep on. I walked in the other night to find this:

Yes, he found the only sliver of quilt NOT covered by the blanket and curled up there. What can I do ... he's just so damn cute!

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. I will continue to enjoy this lovely, quiet weekend and I hope you do the same!