5 Years!

Five years ago from, er, yesterday (can you believe I actually FORGOT until Matt reminded me?), I went on a really great blind date with a really great guy that ended up working out really well. We met through some mutual friends (Jenn and Ryan) who thought we could maybe be friends. Ryan sent us each other's contact information and, to be honest, I wasn't really interested in dating someone who played with EXPLOSIVES for a living. But then, this adorably awkward email arrived in my inbox and I was powerless to resist:

Shaina,

Ryan M gave me your email address so I thought I would see what you are up to. What sorts of things do you like around here? Do you like hiking or are you more of a city person? Ryan didn't tell me much about you but if you would like to grab lunch or dinner sometime that would be all right. Again, I don't really know what you like to eat but I am sure we could find something. I hope you have a good week. Matt

After a few more awkward emails traded back and forth and a phone call that made me wonder if I was detecting a southern accent (it turned out to be southern Indiana ... ha!), we met up for a sushi dinner that was MORE than superb - the food and the company. One thing quickly led to another and soon, we were pretty much inseparable. Two years from that first date, we got engaged and a few months after that, we got married. And here we are, five years later. We've made it through a cross-country move, unemployment, a deployment, and lots of other fun stuff. And I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else!

And for your viewing pleasure ... some photos of us from 2006.

One year ago today...

January 17th is just one of those days I can't get out of my head. It just sticks there, you know? This time last year, January 17th 2010, I took Matt to the airport and we said a very tearful goodbye. We didn't have any idea when we would see each other again, not really knowing when this deployment would come to an end. We didn't really know anything about, well, anything. It was the beginning of our very first - and hopefully very last - deployment.

Saying goodbye was so hard. I don't even know how to describe it. It was like ... not being able to breathe. I think that's the best way I CAN describe it. Like having something ripped away from my body. Like something very, very wrong.

And all the small talk and retail therapy with my MIL afterwards didn't even hit the surface. I went home, curled up on the couch, invited Oscar to curl up on the couch with me (it only took a couple of hours for me to break all of our house rules for the dog...), and cried. The beginning of a deployment is a terrible feeling - I know that a lot of you can relate. It just feels so ... so vast, so never-ending. So damn long. And I felt so damn empty.

But now, one year later, all of that seems like a distant memory. As I sit here, with my husband safe and sound beside me, I sometimes wonder if this year even happened. It didn't take long after his return for me to feel like he had never left my side. I know I didn't imagine it - I certainly have the muscle knots and frowny wrinkles to prove it. I still remember what it felt like to get in bed that night ... wondering how long it would take me to get used to an empty bed. Tonight, I will curl up a little closer, hug a little tighter, kiss a little longer. And I will be so thankful.

Snow day, handy husband, and Christmas decorations!

1. Snow Day - I have a snow day tomorrow! We are having all sorts of winter storm warnings, and they preemptively closed school for tomorrow. No complaints here! So now I'm staying up too late, having fun, and tomorrow I will sleep in, clean, do laundry, and pack for vacation. Woot!

2. Can I just say how awesome it is to have such a handy husband? Not only am I married to someone who can fix almost anything, but he can also build stuff! He has been hard at work the last few weeks, building this beautiful chest/coffee table. What do you think?

Isn't it amazing? I am so happy to have a nice, strong, solid piece of furniture that Matt built - it will literally last forever, and it's something that can stay in our family for, well, a long time!

3. Christmas decorations! Yes, I did decorate a bit for Christmas despite not getting a tree. And for those of you who are concerned we don't have a tree ... well, I'm pretty sad about it. But since we were just on vacation, and we leave again on Friday, there just wasn't a point. I did a few little things to make me feel more festive.

Like put these cute little dishes out ... for no reason, because we are not entertaining. It's strictly because I never use them and I think they are so cute.

This is actually a Christmas ornament of the place Matt and I had our wedding reception. It's massive, so I put it out on the counter instead of on our nonexistent tree.

I filled my fave kate spade rose bowl with a ton of glittery ornaments, and that vase o'glitter makes me very, very happy.

Oh, and we can't forget Oscar's stocking!

I tied this super cute mistletoe to ... the uber romantic ceiling fan that is on top of the dining room table, thus ensuring Matt and I will never, ever be directly under it. Seriously, where do people hang mistletoe? The only other viable option in our apartment was Matt's pull-up bar. Talk about romantic.

I just threw out some more cute Christmas dishes on the table, along with my other fave kate spade vase with some sparkly Christmas tree-y branch dealies.

Aren't those cute?

Wellllllll that's it. Like I said, I didn't do much, but the tiny bit I DID do makes me feel warmer and fuzzy-er inside. That's all for tonight ... if you live somewhere in the midwest and you're also getting this snow storm, stay safe out there! xxoo

Deployment in Review: Month 9

Nine months down! THIRTY NINE WEEKS. That is a long time, y'all. A really, really long time. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have many of these monthly updates left! Then again, it's the Army, so who really knows for sure?

For some reason, it seems like the end of deployment is harder than anything else. I can't really describe it, I can't really explain it, but my Army wife friends agree with me that for some reason, it sucks extra. I have definitely been on an emotional roller coaster, and have been stuck in a funk for quite awhile. I am trying very, very hard to shake it and just be myself.

This month, I ...

-Enjoyed a fun day out in the country at my SIL's house! Oscar and I always have such a great time out there. It is dog heaven, so he loves it - and I love just relaxing and playing with the animals and hanging out with the fam.

-I started writing for Fantabulously Frugal!

-I got water stuck in my ear and had the worst day ever.

-I cut my thumb open and had to go to the ER to get it glued back together ... and then the garbage disposal broke and my sink backed up and it was a nightmare. Possibly tied for worst day ever?

-I went to the Covered Bridge Festival ... aka White Trash Fest

-I finally, finally CLEANED OUT THE CLOSET! And I found some crazy shit in there.

-I started trying to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project over at Fantabulously Frugal.

-I attended my friend Kyle's baby shower (yesterday).

-And today, I drove down to my SIL's to see puppies! Their dog, Macey, had 9 puppies yesterday and they are so adorable. I have some photos to post tomorrow, probably. She is a yellow lab and they bred her with a silver lab. The result? 4 chocolate pups, 3 yellow pups, and 2 dark yellow labs.

So, this month feels like it's been pretty busy. I have also started nesting ... that's the best way I can think of to describe it. Just trying to get the apartment ready for Matt to come home! I have lots of projects and am quickly going through my list. When I'm done, the apartment will be cleaned and organized to a T!

Christmas List

I have seen a lot of bloggers lately posting about what they want for Christmas, so I thought I'd do the same.

That is all.

Why men usually aren't social workers

I was having one of those days today - one of those days when I just felt really ineffective with my students. I mentioned to Matt on Google Chat that I was feeling really frustrated about some students who just can't seem to do anything, ever, no matter what. He offered his two cents to try and help.

Me: I am having one of those days where I feel like I don't know how to do my job. I have this group of kids and I am just out of ideas for them.

Matt: waterboarding

Me: hahaha. I love you.

Matt: It works.

Me: :) I feel like I could get fired for that.

Matt: Picket their houses and start blogs about them*

Me: HAHAHAHA definitely would get fired for that

Matt: you clearly don't appreciate my innovations to your field.

Me: I'm sorry. :( Thanks for the suggestions though.

And that, my friends, is why men usually aren't social workers. Gotta love it. Of course, me? Well, sometimes I feel like I would like to pull an Airplane on some of these kids!

*This is referring to the super awful Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell, who has launched what seems like a hate campaign against the openly gay student council president at the University of Michigan, Chris Armstrong. If you haven't heard about this story, you can read more here. It is a really weird story - Shirvell started a blog bashing this kid, calling for his resignation, and admitted to going to his house and protesting. Ridiculous. I seriously, seriously hate people sometimes.

A touch of the sads

I've been feeling a touch of the sads lately ... just ready for this deployment to be over. And in all fairness ... I have been ready for it to be over since before it began. But lately, I'm even MORE over it. If that's even possible! I sent Matt a mix CD last month and this song was on it ... and I think it's become a bit of a deployment anthem.

I'm tired of being in love and being all alone

When you're so far away from me

I'm tired of making out on the telephone

Cause you're so far away from me

Sigh. Such a good song. So seriously ... is it November/December/whenever-coming-home-time is yet?

Work has been so busy since the kids came back to school ... I have seen my old kids, a bunch of new kids, sat in on a bunch of meetings, completed a bunch of home visits, done a ton of notes, and I've started my data spreadsheet. Whew. Over the summer, when I got to work I would frequently try to open my office door with my apartment key.

Today? I got home and tried to open my apartment with my office key. A coincidence? I think not. I'm ready for the weekend.

Deployment in Review: Month 7

I'm a few days late with this one ... but I guess you'll just have to deal with it. :)

July 17-August 16

Once again, it doesn't really seem like much happened over the past month, but looking back on it I guess I was kinda sorta busy. As cliche as it sounds ... things just aren't QUITE as fun as when Matt is around. Even though I do fun stuff with people I love, I still feel like time is just slogging by. Is slogging a word? Blogger didn't underline it, so I guess it is. It just seems right.

That being said ... I DID have fun this month.

-I went to Canada and hung out with two of my fave bloggy friends and yeah, we had kind of an amazing time!

-That same weekend, my friend Jenn had her beautiful baby girl, Cora Claire, accidentally at home.

-I kept running and kept preparing for my 1/2 marathon - now only 3 weeks away!

-I went on vacation to Northern Michigan with Oscar and my parents, and had an amazing time just relaxing and doing nothing.

-I completed my DSM-IV class ... and got a big fat A!

-I went back to work full-time! School started on Wednesday, and I'm back in the game. Wait - that doesn't count, Wednesday was the 18th. Ignore that. :)

Okay, so maybe I didn't do that much this past month. But I'm SO thrilled that school is back in session. Time always flies from now until Thanksgiving, and this year that's even more important because that's around the time Matt should be coming home! Excitement!

Deployment in Review: Month SIX.

I'm a few days late with this, but hopefully you don't mind. Cannot believe it's already been six months (and 26 weeks!) ... but also, I definitely can. At this point, it seems like Matt's been gone for forever. I don't like it! The good news? We should only have approximately four months to go. Thank goodness. I'm to the point where I think about him coming home nonstop ... which is probably not helping anything! On the one hand, it seems like four months is nothing and he should basically be home tomorrow. But on the other hand ... it's still four months. It's NOT tomorrow. Blah.

Not that much has happened this past month - since I'm on my summer schedule, things have been pretty relaxed. Work is pretty fun over the summer, but over the last couple of weeks, all I've done is make what is adding up to hundreds of phone calls to the parents of incoming freshman, trying to set up meetings over the summer. I have probably left about 60 some voicemails at this point. And guess how many people have called me back so far? ZERO. I am getting extremely frustrated ... but I guess people just don't want to think about school in the summer. Ugh!

Anyway. Over the past month, I have ...

-Spent the weekend at my parents' house and saw my Granddad and his lady friend Doris, who were in town for a visit. While at home, my mom helped me plant a pretty potted plant that is now on my patio. One month later ... it's still alive! Which is very impressive. I don't think I ever posted a photo of my pretty plant ... I'll do that soon.

-Saw my good friend Adrienne from grad school, who came into town with her mom to visit some of her cousins who live in Bloomington. It was great to see her and talk about the old times! Not only did we go to grad school together, but we also both moved to DC after school and worked together at the hospital. Lots of memories!

-Lisa came to visit! We had a great weekend of, well, watching a lot of Real Housewives (both the 3-part NY reunion and NJ!) and some bad movies and enjoying the Taste of Bloomington. Fun times were had by all!

-I discovered that I love eggplant ... and have made it about 800 times since that day. Seriously people - EGGPLANT IS DELICIOUS!!!

-I have NOT been good at posting my CSA share contents each week, but know that I am still getting amazing stuff and loving it! I will try to bring that back ... well, as soon as I can remember. This week, I received eggplant, zucchini (okay, enough with the zucchini already!), a cucumber, some tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes, and a jar of locally made pasta sauce. Delish!

-I also discovered that I LOVE BEETS! I have been getting them at the farmer's market and roasting them to throw in salads. Seriously delicious. I cannot believe I have always assumed they were icky!

-I got out my bike after years of having it in storage, only to discover that biking is hard! But it gets easier every time. And I was happy to hear from so many of you who agree with me ... I thought I was alone! :)

-My half marathon training has gone up a notch, and I am running longer distances than I EVER have before. From here on out, I won't run less than 4 miles, I believe. Even though I rarely feel like an accomplished runner, and it always feels incredibly difficult to me ... I keep thinking back on 1-2 years ago, when I really couldn't run. At all. Now, knowing that I can run FIVE MILES - even if I struggle to do so - well, that's a huge accomplishment!

-My amazing husband gifted me with a Garmin 110 - which is now helping my training each and every day!

-My mom and my grandma came to visit last weekend, and we had a great time just relaxing.

-My class started, and it has taken over my life like crazy!!! I spent the majority of this entire weekend doing reading and assignments for school. This is a big class with a ton of material to fit into a 6 week summer session - whew!

Well, I guess that's it for the month - hey, it looks like I was pretty busy after all! I never really think so until I write it all down in a blog post. :)

Coming up in the next month:

-I'm headed to Canada this weekend to hang out with Lucy!!! I haven't been to Canada in a long time. L, I'll be sure to pack my winter parka and snow boots. I am bringing Oscar along to pull my sled. Hehe.

-I'm going to go to Holiday World with some of my SILs, nieces and nephews, which should be fun! I haven't been to any sort of amusement/water park in a million years. Can't wait!

-I also can't wait to head up to northern Michigan, where I am going to spend a week with my parents at a lake house they rented on Bear Lake. It is pet-friendly, so Oscar is coming with me to frolic in the water. I am really looking forward to the relaxation, and I can't wait to spent some time "up north." It's been awhile!

And then, before I know it - the school year will start back up again and I'll be busy seeing all of my kids. The relaxed summer schedule is great, but to be honest - I much prefer the school year. I love seeing my kids and doing my job, and it's really hard to check in with my kids over the summer.

Anyway! This ended up being a much longer post than I was intending. Are you bored yet? Are you even still reading? If not, I don't blame you. Happy Monday, everyone - time for a workout!

In praise of early mornings

I don't really consider myself a morning person, although many people (including my husband and Lisa, probably) would disagree with that statement. I'm probably more of a morning person than others, though - I often wake up early on my own. I just hate being woken up by an alarm! Without the alarm, I will likely wake up by myself at around 6:30 or 7 with the sun. However, now that I've been getting up early to run, 6:30 or 7 just doesn't cut it. It takes me a little while to wake up, stretch, splash water on my face, etc to get ready to run, and all of that usually takes me around 30 minutes. And then sometimes (like yesterday), I will walk outside for my run (after 7am) and realize that it's already too hot/humid/miserable. Annoying!

So like I blogged last night, I got in bed early (8pm!!) to read and turned off the light at 9:00. Was YOUR Saturday night that exciting?! Ha. I set the alarm for 5:45am. It was definitely hard to get up when the alarm went off, but I splashed my face with water (trust me: this is a definite MUST if you are waking up early for a workout!), checked the weather, got dressed, stretched, and was on my way.

On the agenda for today: 5 miles. I was a little nervous (okay, a lot nervous) because I ran 5 miles for the first time on Wednesday and it was SO SO hard. I had taken d.a.r.'s advice to split it up into two different runs. I ran about 2 miles, stopped to stretch and rest for awhile, then ran 3 more miles. This didn't work out as nicely as I was hoping, as it was incredibly hard for me to start back up again after the break. I ended up walking from around mile 3.5-4.5 and I just felt like I was dragging. In the end, I finished in 1:04:11, but I kinda felt like I cheated by walking so much. Of course, I didn't just walk that mile in the middle - I stopped to walk several other times.

Because my training schedule got so whack this week, I skipped my short runs (2 x 3.5) and then headed out this morning for another 5 mile run. In theory, this should have been a terrible run: I didn't drink enough water yesterday and spent half the day frolicking in the sun. However, today's run felt (almost) great! I took things slow (I always feel the need to say that ... even though you and I both know that I never take things "fast") and explored a new neighborhood.

OH WAIT. I haven't yet blogged about my new, amazing, incredible, superduperfantastic toy!

*image found here*

That's right, folks. I have been the proud owner of a Garmin Forerunner 110 for about a week now. My absolutely wonderful, loving, supportive husband surprised me with this to help with my 1/2 training. I love you, M!

I am completely and utterly obsessed with the Garmin. It does so many fun tricks. But perhaps the thing I love most is that I can just take off and run - I don't have to spend time planning out my routes ahead of time. Seriously, the Garmin is probably the most amazing training tool you could have - I am beyond thrilled to call this baby my own. :) I LOVE to upload my run info and analyze it online. I also wear it to walk and bike - I just love knowing how far I have gone, and how long it has taken me!

Soooooo anyway. I had a tentative route planned out in my head this morning, but at the spur of the moment went straight instead of turning and went a completely new way for awhile. It was great! I ran 2.5 miles before stopping for a quick walk break, then continued on for another mile, took a quick walk break, and then finished the 5 miles in 59:23 - about 5 minutes faster than the other day.

And the best news: my last mile was the fastest! Here is my info. Please don't laugh at how slow I am.

Mile 1: 11:54

Mile 2: 12:10

Mile 3: 12:05

Mile 4: 12:38

Mile 5: 10:34

Woot! I kinda kicked ass on that last mile, right? My goal is to be able to run every mile in around 10 minutes. I used to be able to do that on my shorter runs (you know, a few weeks ago) but for some reason 10 minute miles seem like I am reeeeeally pushing it these days. I guess that speed is something that comes with training.

For the Chicago 1/2, you have to maintain a 13 minute mile, or they send a little bus to come around and pick you up. So, my goal? RUN FASTER THAN A 13 MINUTE MILE. I refuse to be the person that they have to collect on the bus! :)

Overall, I'm very happy with today's run. It was also cloudy and overcast the entire time, which helped immensely. With a slight breeze, it was almost enjoyable out. Afterwards, I chatted a little with Matt on gchat, walked the dog, went to the pool to swim a little (read: float around) and read. When I got back home, it was only 10:15am. I can't lie ... setting the alarm for 5:45 any morning sucks - and it especially sucks on a day you don't have to get up early. But you know what? I feel great. It was totally worth it!

Deployment in Review: Month 5

I have been in what seems like an incredibly long blog funk. I'm sure I'll snap out of it ... eventually. I think. I hope. I just realized that this is only my 2nd blog post for June ... and it's already the 18th! Oh dear. I told Matt the other day that I didn't have anything to blog about ... his suggestion was to "make some shit up." I feel like that seems just as difficult as having real, actual blog fodder, so ... I promise everything I tell you is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Etc. :)

So without further ado ... can you believe Matt has been gone for five months? I can. It feels like the first few months flew by, but lately it's just been feeling slower and slower and slower. Maybe that's because nothing much has happened?

I have very little to report for Month 5.

-I went to Michigan for Memorial Day to celebrate my Mom's birthday

-I celebrated the last day of school and am currently enjoying my summer schedule (I only work 24 hours a week over the summer)

-I went to Michigan this past weekend to celebrate my Dad's birthday (late) and Father's Day (early) and to see my Granddad and his lady friend (they were in town visiting)

-Aaaaaand I guess that's it. Hmmm. Oh, also Matt moved to Baghdad a couple of weeks ago and is currently at the Embassy.

Clearly, it's been boring around here. Sorry!! So instead of talking about stuff I've done, let's talk about stuff I'm looking forward to:

-Lisa is coming to visit today! We have a fun weekend planned.

-It's almost July!!!! If things worked out as kind-of-planned, I could be seeing Matt in 5 months! Oh dear. That means we're only halfway. Okay. Stop thinking about that.

Hmmmm okay, that's all I can really think of. My official 1/2 marathon training starts on Monday - up to now, I've been working up a baseline through 5k training. I've really been enjoying it, although I basically took a week off from running this week. It's been so hot and humid - even at 6am! - that I just ... let myself have a some days off from running. I've been doing lots of walking to try to get used to the humidity (seriously. weather.com says we have 99% humidity right now! blech!!!) and then I'll get back to running on Monday. I am a little intimidated about next week's workout - just because it is a definite step up from what I've been doing. Here's the plan:

Monday: Stretch and strengthen (I'll do yoga and strength training)

Tuesday: 3m run

Wednesday: 2m run or cross (I think I will go for a bike ride)

Thursday: 3m run and strength

Friday: Rest (yay!)

Saturday: 30 min cross

Sunday: 4m run

Whoa - did you see that?! 4 mile run! I have never run more than 3 miles, so this will be a pretty big deal!!! I will try to keep you posted. And until then ... I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Today is a very special day!!! It's Matt's 28th birthday. Matt really isn't a birthday person, and yesterday when I said something about today being "the big day," he admitted that he forgot and didn't know what I was talking about. That being said ... I thought it would be fun for the blogland to wish Matt a happy birthday!!! I made this special birthday picture of him specifically for this special occasion.

He's wearing a birthday crown, in case you're wondering. Also, I would have had to pay money to get a birthday hat. The crown was free. Thanks, Picnik! :)

I sent Matt a Very Special Birthday Box (VSBB) earlier this week, and being the Worst Wife Ever (WWE?), I did not mail it in time to actually get there by today. Sadness. Hopefully, I will regain Best Wife Ever (BWE) status when the box arrives, though. We shall see! In the meantime ... happy birthday, babe! I hope you have a great one. We will do lots of celebrating when you get home!!!

CSA Week 3 ... and some other stuff

Happy Saturday night, friends! I hope y'all are out doing something fun. I, on the other hand, am sitting at home surrounded by copious amounts of laundry (both clean and dirty), and I just watched The Bourne Ultimatum on CBS. Now I'm trying my very hardest to stay awake until the season finale of SNL starts.

Yesterday, my friend Kyle and I walked to pick up this week's CSA share. Lots of fun stuff there - and some weird stuff too. I didn't take any photos because ... I didn't feel like it. So imagine beautiful, green photos of lettuce mix, spinach, this weird asian green called Yukina Savoy. Have you ever heard of it? I haven't. I also got a dried bean mix for soup and a dozen eggs. I think that the eggs might have been a mistake, but ... oh well! We pick up our shares in someone's backyard, so there was nobody I could really ask about the eggs. So I took them home. And now I will enjoy them!

I made a salad tonight for dinner using the lettuce mix. Also, I got a salad spinner today!!! And wow, what a difference it makes. I washed my lettuce, drained the water, and then spun it around about 800 times. And yay! Dry lettuce!

In other news ... I was able to Skype with Matt today for awhile which was fabulous. Have I mentioned that he reads the blog now? Everyone say hi! He didn't end up going to Qatar, so he's still hanging out in his pod in Kuwait. I have a lovely birthday present for him that I am sticking in the mail on Monday - can't tell you what it is because I don't want to ruin the surprise for him. But I am really excited about it, and I hope he will be, too!

Annnnyway. That's about all I've got right now ... boring stuff these days. I'll try to think of something more exciting for the next few days!

Quote of the Day

Background: earlier today, I was Skyping with Matt (yay!) and we were talking about how he's going to Qatar this week for a few weeks.

Me: "Will you have internet in Qatar?"

Matt: "Well, from what I've heard, there isn't any internet in the room, so I'll probably just have to go sit at Starbucks or Chili's to use wireless. War is hell."

Randoms

I've been meaning to blog all week, but ... for some reason it just hasn't happened! So, here is a bunch of random stuff that's been happening this week.

1. I'm way behind on my tv watching this week (too much walking and reading, bad Shaina! ha!), but can I just say how much I LOVE Parenthood? And Glee. And Modern Family. And Cougar Town. And Parks and Rec. These shows are all really really fantastic. Do you watch any of these? Which one is your favorite?

2. I guess it's been awhile since I've updated you about Matt, but he's currently in Kuwait and has been there for about a week now. We have been able to video Skype once and talk on google chat a few other times. It's a little crazy how far away he seems ... plus there's the whole 7 hour time difference. Communication is definitely a little challenging, but I think we'll be able to get used to it. There's still a possibility that he may be able to get R and R in August, but it's not for sure. Think some happy thoughts that I will be able to see my husband in another three months!!!

3. My 1/2 marathon training has officially begun, and I'm feeling great. I had a great run today and I'm really feeling confident that when September 12 comes, I'll be ready!

4. I went to a hippie babycatcher the other day (one might call her a midwife) because I have been looking for a new ob/gyn-type, one that I would feel comfortable with delivering my as-of-yet-unconceived baby. I have been really unhappy with the two ob/gyns I have seen since moving to Bloomington, so I thought I would go in a different direction. The doctors I have seen have been very negative about my endometriosis and my chances of getting pregnant. They have admonished me for not trying to get pregnant two years ago - when I was neither married nor ready to even think about babies. So anyway, a lot of people in Bloomington recommended this particular midwife (perhaps because everyone here is a hippie?) so I thought I'd give her a shot. Turns out, I love her and she is my new "doctor." She was very positive about me getting pregnant, and suggested a couple of dietary changes to help things along. First of all, she suggested cutting down on dairy - and making sure that whatever dairy I eat is organic. I love milk - and I refuse to cut down on that. So I'm currently drinking organic milk and trying to cut down on cheese and yogurt. She also recommended that I cut out all gluten/wheat/flour - and informed me that there is a strong connection with gluten allergies/sensitivities and endometriosis and infertility. I looked it up on the interwebz - it's supposedly the real deal. Now ... cutting out gluten seems extremely difficult to me, so I'm not going 100% gluten-free. But I am going to try and make a serious effort to avoid gluten when possible. We'll see how it goes!

5. Tomorrow is Friday, thank goodness, which means that it's time for CSA Box #2! I can't wait to see what we get. Although I'm pretty sure we'll get more salad stuff, since it's kind of like ... salad growing season. Or whatever. Either way, I'm excited for new fresh veggies!

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Florida!

Okay, so I didn't get around to blogging last night. Mostly because my friend Kyle and I went out for the most amazing dinner. And then I came home and just ... didn't feel like it. I have been a little down since I got home from seeing Matt - happy and down, all at the same time. Does that make sense?

SO. Florida!!! I didn't take many photos, so here's what I've got. We stayed in a hotel in Mississippi after I picked him up, and then Thursday morning we grabbed some breakfast and drove to Destin. It took about 3.5 hours - a really easy drive through some really crappy parts of Mississippi and Alabama. We grabbed lunch at a place on the beach, which was fantastic! Then for dinner, we went for amazing sushi at Osaka. We got the "Sushi Love Boat for 2" which was a lot of fun - we didn't have to order anything, the chefs just make what they want and throw it on a boat! Yummy! LOOK at all of that beautiful sushi:

Holy crap. It was absolutely amazing. The sushi was SO fresh and delicious - really, really incredible. And yeah. It didn't take us very long to finish it off. YUM.
On Friday, we went to the beach in the morning - it was SO beautiful. The water was just gorgeous and crystal clear. And I didn't bring my camera, so I have no photos of that perfect water. On Saturday, it was kinda stormy and the rest of the time, the water was really murky. Bummer! We decided to take a small 1/2-day trip to Seaside, Florida. Seaside is ... really really creepy. It's this little town someone created with a bunch of houses that basically look the same, clustered around this weird town square with little shops and restaurants. I wanted to check it out because it seemed cute, in theory ... but once we were there, it was a little weird. We had some great grilled shrimp burritos, grabbed coffee, and then went off the beaten path to wander around the "neighborhood." It was totally empty ... like, NO ONE was around. Just us. We started joking that it was a great backdrop for a horror movie. Last night, I was talking to my friend Catherine about it, and she told me that Seaside is where The Truman Show was filmed! which makes OH so much sense. Anyway, we checked out the beach on this very stormy, cloudy, windy day:

Matt was SO happy to get some good coffee after months of Army crap!
It was real, real windy. I like this photo but it really looks like I have a combover. Which is awkward.
On Sunday, it was nice and sunny and beautiful again - after brunch at Another Broken Egg Cafe (bananas foster french toast!), we headed back down to the beach.
Also another unfortunate windy photo of the two of us.
Sunday night: dinner at the Old Bay Steamer. MMMMMMMMM. We had a big platter with shrimp, crab legs, and lobster tails. OH MY GOSH IT WAS AMAZING!!! Seriously, the seafood down there was so incredible.
I caught this pretty funny photo of Matt - I had given up several crab legs ago, but he soldiered on and finished everything by himself!
Ew, this is so gross. It's our ... waste pail. EW.
On Monday, before saying goodbye to Destin and heading back to Mississippi, we went BACK to the beach. So beautiful - look at that white sand! I couldn't pull myself away.
So, we drove to a different part of the beach and I got some blood orange and lemon sorbet. Absolutely perfect and refreshing.
And, finally, saying goodbye to the beach. Sad face.
We drove back to Mississippi, went out to dinner, and hung out at the hotel until around 10:30pm, when we left and I drove him back to Shelby. Saying goodbye was tough - I definitely had a little breakdown. But it was a lot easier than saying goodbye the first time - especially knowing that we should be able to see each other in another 3-4 months when Matt (hopefully) gets R & R. We had to drive all around Shelby because they moved into a new building while Matt was on pass (of course), so we had to find the new building. And then move all of Matt's stuff from the old building to the new building. You know, classic Army. I got about 3.5 hours of sleep, woke up at 4am Tuesday to catch a flight out of one of the weirdest, smallest airport I have ever been to (that is going to be a separate blog post!) and eventually I made it back to Indianapolis. The Indianapolis airport is relatively new (I think it's only been open about a year?) and this was the first time I have flown out of it. I think it is the nicest airport I have ever been to! Plus, there was a Sephora vending machine!
Have y'all ever seen this anywhere else? This is the first time I have seen something this amazing. The airport also had a Vera Bradley store, and a bunch of other really neat stuff.

Anyway! So, that was my trip. It feels good to be home, but I'm back to sleepless nights. I got so used to falling asleep with Matt again, that I'm all thrown off. I haven't had a good night of sleep since Sunday ... and I'm really hoping that I'm back to normal by this weekend. I could really use it!

Home again

After a long day of no sleep, traveling and work, I'm finally home in my own bed. This weekend was amazing. Matt and I had the most incredible time, just ... being together. And eating amazing sushi and fresh seafood, and sitting out on the beach!

I am so exhausted tonight - I will write a full post with photos (but be prepared, I hardly took any) tomorrow. Complete with amusing travel stories about tiny airports, and how much I hate sitting in the middle seat of an airplane next to extremely overweight people.

And on that note ... I will leave you with a photo of my incredibly good-looking husband. He will probably kill me for posting this on here, because if there's anything he hates more than having his photo taken - it's wearing his uniform. But I snapped this one real quick right before we left to take him back to Shelby last night. I sure do love that smirk!

I get to see my husband today!!!!

Well, kind of. His pass starts at 12:01 am tonight, so technically, I won't see him until tomorrow. But since I'll be picking him up before I go to bed tonight, I still feel like it's today. Right?

To say that I'm excited would be a gross understatement. I am running on very little sleep - not because I got ready at the last minute (for once!!!!), but because I am just so wired! Stayed up far too late last night, and randomly woke up at 5am - a full hour before my alarm was set to go off. See what I mean? :)

I have quite the day ahead of me - heading to work in a bit, and then straight to the airport. I fly from Indianapolis to Atlanta (change planes), Atlanta to Memphis (change planes), Memphis to Hattiesburg, MS. Aaargh. It will take me about 7 hours to get there. I'm carrying on my luggage because, um, hello, did you just read my itinerary? Yeah, exactly. I am way too concerned that my luggage won't make it there if I check it, and that would just suck.

So! I will get there late tonight, and the rental car place is coming especially for me to give me a car. Why? Well, because the Hertz at the Hattiesburg airport is only open from 9am-5pm. I had to call the 1-800 number to make my reservation, seeing as how I will be both arriving and departing outside of their business hours. This airport is small. That's all I have to say!

I will have to find my way to and around Camp Shelby and somehow find Matt in there, somewhere. He gave me detailed directions last night, like ... turn right at the first stop sign! And then go past the museum with the tanks outside, and then go left, and then there will be a bunch of school buses and I'll be by those school buses. Whew. Wish me luck!

Tomorrow morning, we're driving to Destin and I am sooooo excited. OMG I said tomorrow! It is still a little surreal that I'm heading down to visit Matt at all ... I have been wired to think that we wouldn't see each other until August-ish. This is just really ... exciting!

Anyway, I'm not taking my computer, obviously. So - have a great week-ish, and I'll be back next Tuesday!

One week from today ...

I will be here ...

With him ...

And I'm guessing we'll be just about this happy!
Dontcha just love shameless opportunities to post gratuitous wedding photos? Yeah, me too. Heading to Destin in a week!

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!