New beginnings

It's been quite a long time since I last wrote. I started missing the old blog yesterday and so stayed up late last night modifying my layout. I decided to change the name of my blog (but not the url) because I feel like the last name didn't really reflect the whole me. It was just a silly name I decided on a couple years ago when I was just going to write about my knitting projects and share pictures. Since then, this blog has been a mishmash of everything in my life, hence the new name. I love it! I've decide to try to post more now that school is over. I feel like I've finally found my "golden thread" in life. Will post more later!

Selamat Hari Natal from Malaysia!

Just a quick post to wish all my blog friends a Merry Christmas! (Does anyone even check this thing anymore?)I'm lucky to be able to spend the holidays with my husband by my side and to have this opportunity to travel somewhere I've never been before. I'm truly grateful for this experience!

My inspiration for posting out-of-the-blue? Jon's sister-in-law (who is also visiting Malaysia) is documenting this trip on her brand new blog and I feel I have no excuse for neglecting my blog any longers since I'm on break from school for the moment!

Winding down

Wow, it's really been a while since I last even logged into my poor blog account. I've just been unmotivated to blog, but I've been trying to keep up with everyone else's blogs, hence the scattered comments. I've also been really busy.

I took the BSL for Health Care Providers class last week. It started bright and early at 8 am and we didn't get out until 1 pm....one hour late. It was a pretty full class and there was only one instructor, who happened to be a hot EMT :) So now I'm fully certified. Funny, I've never taken a CPR class in my life.

Last night I stayed up until almost 1 am making those wonderful color flow insignia patches I made for Jon's cake when he came home for R&R. Looking at that picture now I see how crappy those two are that I made last night. Whatever, I was waaay too tired to care. Do you know how your legs and feet hurt after standing in an all-tile kitchen for three and a half hours straight? (Don't ask me why it took that long). I must really love my husband to do this for him! These patches will go on the cake we are taking to his change of command ceremony. He asked me if I wanted to do the cake and I told him to just buy my "blank canvas." If I weren't working, I'd be more than willing to dedicate my time to making him a yummy, pretty cake. But for now we're settling on a Costco cake.

Speaking of work, I'm in my last week....yay! My last day is on Friday. I've taken special note of many "lasts" that I've had in the last two weeks. My last group lab meeting presentation, my last lab meeting, my last Western blot I did yesterday. I wipe my hands clean! I have to be honest, though. I did get a little sad when I didn't see my name in the new schedule of presenters for group lab meeting, and this is something everyone begrudgingly does to our PI's request. 

I'm not actually leaving for good. I've agreed to stay on part time as a "consultant" since we have no money to hire someone to pay me. Our grant didn't get funded the first time and my PI has to apply for bridge funding so I'm leaving at a good time! My poor PI has confessed to sleepless nights as a result of my resignation. I feel bad, but it's time for me to move forward and the lab will go on without me. I'll only be working 1-2 hours a week, and only agreed to this because I'll quite literally be right next door.

OK, I always end up writing more than I intended. I will be getting yellow roses for Jon's change of command. Guess who has to go buy them? :) Hope everyone has a good evening...I've missed being a part of the blogging community!

What I did on a Friday night

Thanks for the comments on the previous post girlies! DAR, I can't believe you didn't get numbed up first! Ouch! And yes, that's a huge needle! I couldn't help but wonder how big the needle would be for an epidural! You still amaze me with how much you run what with all the injuries you had to endure in the past! That's part of the reason I'm so stubborn with keeping up with running--you still manage to keep up with it even after the setbacks. Tough girl!

Well, I still haven't picked up those darn knitting needles. I was half watching 20/20 and was intrigued by anthropologist, Helen Fisher and her theory of why we pick the people we do for our life mates. She attributes it to certain "chemical factors" that are distinct among four different personality types: the Explorer, the Builder, the Negotiator, and the Director. Naturally, after the show, I immediately went this website to take her test. (Warning: it's a pretty long test, but hey, I had nothing better to do!) Here are my results.

 

I had to take screen shots, hence the little print. I thought it was pretty interesting, and it did a fair job in describing me. Now if only I could get Jon to take the test!

Because it's Saturday....

I turned off my 8 a.m. alarm, skipped out on kickboxing and yoga, and slept in until 10:30.

I woke up with a headache, even in my eyes, so I immediately popped 3 Excedrin.

I'm watching Kenny Chesney on palladia.

I'm skipping breakfast since I gorged myself at Sweet Tomatoes last night.

I'm skipping out on the morning shower because I got up so late and it takes me so long to get ready. I hate blow drying my hair! What? My hair still smells clean!

I'm going out to get running shoes even though I've already spent a lot of my paycheck. I'm charging them so husband won't see! :P

I'm going to try running since I skipped out on my workout this morning. If I were to shower in the morning I wouldn't do it because worse than having to blow dry my hair is having to do it twice in one day!

Working hard or hardly working?

I am at work right now and am so, so bored. I've been working on one thing and need a break from it, but have no other responsiblities. Well, other than the one thing a co-worker and I need to finish (I can't do it by myself). I'm waiting for him to get back so we can get started.

For now, I see lots of lovely blogs on everyone's blogrolls. My question to you is how do you keep up? There are so many out there that I would love to read, but I'm already having a hard time reading all my frequent ones AND getting stuff done. How do you all do it?

Back in the desert

I made it home...finally...5 hours later than planned. Back from the snow, and cold, and wind. And the stupid airline lost my luggage. Figures. It's a long story better told later. For now I'm eating something small and going to bed. Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Back to "normal"

I had to use this post title after I woke up this morning thinking, Wow I'm almost back to normal. I couldn't believe those first thoughts after they registered. Living without my husband has become the norm for me. It just made me sad....and a little jealous of those married couples that don't have to go through this. To many others, all this is far from normal.

Things still aren't all the way back to "normal," but I'd say I'm about 60% there. It's hard for me to think that he was just here no more than 30 hours ago. I guess 18 days wasn't enough for me to turn survival mode off, thankfully. Yesterday wasn't nearly half as bad as what I went through the very first day of this deployment. The way I felt, coming down from those amazing 18 days, was similar to how I felt after a huge family get-together during the holidays when I was a child. 

We don't have family here in the States (they're all in Peru), but we had a lot of close friends that I consider family. I remember being so happy when everyone was over. All our celebrations included lots of good food, loud music, and when the adults got happy, dancing. Meanwhile I'd be downstairs with all my friends playing throughout the night. When the parents called downstairs for their kids to get ready to leave, we didn't pay any attention because not a minute later the music resumed and the overhead pounding continued. Once we heard quiet from upstairs, we knew our parents were serious. The day after our huge get-togethers I always felt down and missed everyone already.

So yesterday was a come down from the high produced from those feel-good hormones during Jon's visit. My heart was heavy and I felt down. I'm a nerd so I was thinking about those hormones and neurotransmitters affecting mood. I wonder if in my down moods those levels are abnormally low. Maybe back in my childhood they were because I seriously suffered the same lows that I suffer when my husband leaves me.

I was planning on running the Tucson Half Marathon this morning, to help myself recover after Jon's departure. That is one way I cope with sadness: running. It never fails to lighten my mood. In fact, that is exactly what I did last deployment when Jon had to leave after R&R. I was hopeless and in a pathetic state of mind so I forced myself to lace up those running shoes and go for a 4 mile run. It works wonders and I swear by it. This morning, however, I chose to forego the half marathon, especially because I aggravated my IT band after a measly 3 mile run with Jon last Wednesday. I don't think 13.2 miles would have been good, especially since it's been 2 years since I ran such a distance and I've been doing zero conditioning and training for the race. 

Sorry for the random post! The next ones will be better. But I need to get some motivation to upload my pictures from our trip to Vegas and organize them. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekends! Back to the daily grind tomorrow!

Almost complete again!

I just got a phone call from Jon! He could only talk for a short time because he has to catch the bus to the airport in Kuwait. We are hoping he can hop on a plane tonight (tomorrow morning our time). I don't know anything about the processing they have to go through to come home, but apparently it takes all day! I still have to make the banner, a "Welcome Home, Daddy" bandana for Sammy, and (gulp) the red velvet cake! Not to mention the trip to the commissary to get his favorite stuff, and finish cleaning the house. It still hasn't hit me yet that he's coming home!

One more thing, Casey at The Ever-Changing Life of A Military Wife is having a giveaway to celebrate her 100th post! She is giving away the cutest shopping bags! They would be a pretty accessory for those shopping trips to the commissary or Target, or wherever. I'm so sick of those green commissary bags! They're fugly, fold in on themselves when you don't want them to, and sometimes the handles rip off! Happy Friday everybody!

Two more days until Jon comes home!

Well, I think so anyways. He should be home either Sunday or Monday, but that depends on when he leaves Kuwait. I haven't heard from him in a while so I'm going crazy wondering when he's getting on that plane! The house is clean for the most part. I just need to vacuum, sweep, and mop and clean off the bar counter that likes to collect weeks of mail and random things that don't find their way back to their homes. I still need to bake his welcome home cake--I never got to do a test run in the yellow ribbon cake pan that I bought, so I'm a little nervous about how it will go. Keep your fingers crossed for me! 

I'm stressing out about work, though. As things usually go, I have a lot of stuff to do before I take this time off. I have one day left and I'm off for 2-3 weeks! My boss is relying on me to take care of some stuff, as our grant is up for renewal and we need more data for the proposal. It really isn't my fault that it isn't done by now. There are several things we had to wait for and we basically have to just let nature run its course first. I really feel bad leaving things unfinished for others to pick up and take care of while I'm gone. But I really don't want to worry about all this anymore. Vacation mode on!

I plan to do a lot of baking while Jon is home. I want to spoil him, and just show him that his wife really is good in the kitchen! I didn't spend that much time cooking or baking while he was home because my daily commute was 75 miles one way....so I didn't get home until about 7 every night. On nights I chose to work out, it was later. The last thing I wanted to do when I got home after a 1.5 hour drive was cook! So when he left I was determined to become a better wife, cleaning more often and spending more time in the kitchen, and what do you know...I actually enjoy it!

For dinner tonight, I made something quick. I haven't cooked since Sunday, so I really wanted to. I didn't get to the commissary this week so I had to make do with what I had on hand (boo...no potatoes). I happened to have some spaghetti squash sitting around so I chopped that baby in half lengthwise and roasted it in the 375F oven for 40 minutes (30 would have been good enough, but I got distracted). When it comes out, let it cool, remove the seeds and junk in the middle and take a fork to the flesh. It's like magic, all the spaghetti-like pieces of squash you collect in your bowl! Just add a little butter and salt--yum! If you haven't tried this type of squash, I definitely recommend it! It's super easy and can be a substitute for rice, potatoes, or pasta. 

Anyways, for the chicken I just heated a little butter and oil in a pan and fried up some shallots, onions, and garlic. I added some chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper, and some baby carrots. The magic ingredient: white wine. I swear by this! White wine is definitely my favorite ingredient to add to any random dish! Some chicken stock also went into this and was allowed to cook until the chicken was done. Well, I actually forgot about this too, as I was scooping out my squash and attempting to caramelize sugar in the oven for my creme brulee I made last night (no picture, sorry!). As a result, the liquid boiled off too much and my onions carmelized, but it didn't taste bad!

Well, it's off to bed. I have a presentation tomorrow and have to get up early to get food for people. I baked dark chocolate madeleines but I should get something healthier as well. Can't wait for this to be over!

So ready for fall

Mother Nature has been teasing me lately. First it cools to the lower to mid 90s, then it's back up just shy of the triple digits. Now it's cooling off again, and the latter of last week was almost perfect in the upper 80s. When I let the dog out last night before going to bed, I was surprised to feel the cool crisp air of the fall evening. It has been anything but cool and crisp at night here, so I was really delighted when I felt the much longed for change. So I rushed over to check the temperature and it was 63 degrees! The low for last night was 56 and I was ecstatic. It hasn't been that cool since May! I had to clean the filter on the AC anyways so I turned it off and slept with the bedroom window open. I'm so ready for fall.

Unfortunately, temps will be rising again to the mid 90s later this week (I really hope the weather woman is wrong!) I mean, to me, October is a month of changing leaves, dew covered grass in the mornings, foggy evenings with clouds hiding the moon, thin sweaters and boots....you know, typical fall weather. But here fall lasts a few weeks at most and heads straight to winter. There are no maples or oaks that display their fall colors, very little grass, and almost nonexistent moisture in the air that is required for dew and fog! So my expectations of corn mazes and pumpkin patches here will not be met. So disappointing. I'm so sick of the heat. I want to be able to run comfortably again. Granted, 90 degrees is much more tolerable than 100, but I did my best running back in Seattle in the fall, where the high temps hovered between 50 and 60 degrees. And honestly, a knitter must make friends with cotton yarn to survive the falls here wearing their handmade goods. I miss my wool sweaters!

Forgot to add my "non-fall" inspired decorating activities. I stayed up until 3 am on Saturday making these. Well, the majority were made during the day and I took a big long break at night.

What's purple and blue and brown all over?

Me! I bruise so easily and I hate it. It doesn't help that I'm such a klutz. I'm constantly running into things. As a result, my legs and hips always have those telltale blue splotches somewhere or other. I swear if people didn't know any better they'd think my husband was beating me (kind of hard from over 7000 miles away)! Well, Sammy helped me out in that department last weekend. I signed us up for some behavior classes. You see, Sammy is very intimidated by everyone except for Jon and I. This dog goes through life thinking everyone is out to get him. He acts very aggressively towards all strangers, barking nonstop complete with standing hair and even activated anal gland (yuck!). The result is a lonely me, wishing I could have people over for dinner or drinks or whatever. I'm a recluse because of this dog.

Well I say, "No more!" and hopefully Sammy gets better, but if he keeps up the way he's going now, I'm going to have permanent bruising all over my legs. When the trainer is working with him, he is wearing a cage muzzle, made out of plastic. When I'm walking him with this thing on, Sammy likes to rub his snout against my left leg to try to get the damned thing off, resulting in black and blue legs for Tania. See the following picture below

And that's just a couple of bruises. The others were too green to show up on camera. But seriously, my lower left leg was a canvas of Sammy's abuse. I was pissed, considering I had a wedding to attend the next day. Now I was limited to a long dress to cover all his work!  I have to admit, I unknowingly added a lot more purple and blue myself. When I got home from the wedding I gasped as I took my shoes off. On my left foot right at the knuckle of my big toe was a big splotch of purple that didn't belong, accented by a black horizontal line. I thought that black line was dirt at first and I tried rubbing it clean in vain. When I felt a dull pain in that spot, I realized it was another bruise! The camera wouldn't capture this, but it is ugly! The shoes I wore aren't painful unless I stand in them too long, but that pain is targeted at my arches and back, never so visible like now!

They're a little outdated, but I still love wedges! Oh well, I'm not giving them up, bruises or not!

An atypical opinion from a former Seattleite

I love the rain. I don't know how and it doesn't make sense, but there's no denying it. I lived in Seattle for 7 years and those never-ending, gray, wet winters were just too much for me. I've only been living in Arizona for about 2 years now and I have to say I miss the rain sometimes. I get so excited when it rains here, maybe because I know it will be short-lived. It's not like in the Emerald City where it's just raining everywhere west of the Cascades. Here in Tucson, it will be raining buckets and hailing on the east side when here by the airport where I live, we get nothing. They keep record at the airport too, so it's not a fair representation of the precipitation Tucson gets. 

Well, I was stranded inside the Target tonight. I got off work late and had to buy some cake mix. I couldn't find the damn stuff so was in there a lot longer than I planned on being. I was remembering the ominous black clouds coming in from the east as I scoured the food aisles for what I was looking for. Before I found the stuff the store was all of a sudden inundated with the loud pounding of rain. If I didn't know better I would have thought the ventilation system was going berserk--it sounded like air was just blasting throughout the store. Good thing I was wearing my tennis shoes today! When the torrential downpour let up a little I booked it across the parking lot to my car cursing at myself for parking so far away, splashing in the puddles that filled up impossibly fast. The particular Target I was at is located right across the street from Reid Park where I used to do my runs. It was full of walkers and runners who were taking advantage of the cooler weather when the got caught in that downpour. I saw people soaked to the bone, others had taken their shirts off they were so wet, and I was jealous of them! I was so mad that I left my running clothes at work! For some reason, rain gets me itching for a run. I even considered going out for a quick jog when I got home. That is, until I saw all the lightning that was headed towards my neighborhood. That idea died pretty quick.

For now, I just want to curl up all cozy in my house with some soup or hot chocolate and listen to the rain tap on the windows. Time to put the lounging clothes on--my workout can wait until tomorrow.

Camera happy

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. The majority of my blog-reading takes place at work when things are slow. For now, my crafty side is taking over and my time is consumed by endless knitting, baking, and now reading. So for now, I'm just going to post pictures....of my non-exciting life!

Some pictures of the summer monsoon and how hot it can get here in Tucson. We were relieved from those extreme high temperatures when the rain came! Also, the biggest beetle I've ever seen! My mom and I kicked him aside so we wouldn't run over him with the car, but when my parents picked my brother up at the airport later that night, the beetle was still in the same spot and they ran him over with the other car! I was sad. Also, from early summer, Texas Blue Something-or-Other flowers....they smell amazing!

Next up is my baking collage. The first pictures are of my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies, recipe made available by Smitten Kitchen. They are by far my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...so soft! Next up is the picture of my very first cake, which also happens to be my birthday cake! Recipe by Ina Garten. The coffee chocolate combination is soooo satisfying (accompanied by vanilla ice cream of course!) Lastly, are my blueberry pancakes, again, recipe borrowed from Smitten Kitchen (if you haven't visited her blog yet, you must!)

And here is a quick knitting project I decided to do last minute. This little Harry Bear was made for one of my co-worker's sons who turned one, coincidentally, on my birthday! I hope he loved it! If he didn't I know somebody who would (reference last picture in collage)!

So there you have it. I promise I'll write more when the urge strikes me. But I have a huuuuge queue of knitting projects and an incessant need to bake so I'm not promising anything!

It's almost over

Just a quick post as I take a break from studying. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but for the past month I've been taking a remedial chemistry class at the UA (thanks to my employee discount, they pay for 90% tuition!). We covered a lot of material in the span of a month with a test every Friday. Had this been my first time taking the class, I'm afraid I would have failed, since I didn't do so hot taking an equivalent class at Seattle U over the course of a whole quarter. A few years later, along with a lot more maturity and knowledge on the subject, I'm doing really well. I have my classmates to thank for this also, as the class is graded on a curve and class test averages were around 50% (I've turned into one of the people I hated that threw off the curve)! That easily puts me at an A. Yet, I continue to study. I'm so sick of chemistry now: I studied the whole long weekend for a test on Monday and now for my final tomorrow. No matter what I do, I try to do my best. This is resulting in a headache!

Well, that is the reason for the scarcity of posting on my part. I will be free tomorrow, but I haven't even felt like writing lately anyways. I'm in another emotional dip here and want to spare readers another melancholy post. All I know is that I'm baking tomorrow in my first free evening! 

Weak in the knees

I sooooo want these shoes! *Drool* They're $110 at Nordstrom's and I will get them eventually. They're not practical and a lot more than I usually pay for shoes, but a girl's gotta buy crazy shoes every once in a while, if just because she wants them! Plus, they would be awesome for our trip to Vegas when Jon comes home for R&R in November. Aren't they awesome?

Ok......back to The Bachelorette now. She's going to Kirkland (Seattle area) to visit Jason's family! I'm really missing home right now.

Brrrr

It's times like these that I'm greatful for my decision to move to Arizona. Do I have to move back to WA so soon? I'm pushing Jon for a future recruiting position here!

All I can say is--WHAT?!

If you didn't notice, I have a live feed on the sidebar of my blog that shows where my readers are located. I just discovered that If I click on the link that brought them to my blog, I can see exactly how they got here. Some are from my myspace profile, some from ravelry, others are just directly, and then there are those that stumbled here after a search. I love that I can see what people are looking for when they visit my blog. But I had a really bizarre one a couple days ago that makes me laugh: "flickr lift up my skirt and spank me." NOWHERE in my blog is there anything even remotely related to what this person was looking for! I hope he/she (I have a feeling it was a he) eventually found what he/she wanted! ;)

Things about me

Ok, Miss Rae tagged me for a me-me so I just have to post something here. Actually, I was going to do something like this anyways, if I could just pull myself away from my knitting! (You were right Rae--I haven't so much as turned my computer on for a while!) I actually pulled this list from my myspace blog back in the day before this one. So here it is, updated life and all. Be prepared...it's a long very random list!

1. I am the oldest of four children (3 girls and 1 boy...poor brother!)
2. As a result, I had a lot of responsibility pushed on me growing up.
3. My psychology professor said that we eldest children always say that, but that we actually asked for those responsibilities to please the parents, turning bossy to declare dominance over the next younger sibling. I disagree.
4. One thing I really hate about being the oldest is that I had to fight for everything I wanted. The younger ones are just handed these privileges and don’t do half as many chores!
5. As a child, I've always had long hair down to my waist, at least.
6. This was not my choice as my dad didn’t let me cut my hair. I had my brother cut it for me several times.
7. I got my first real haircut in the tenth grade. I chopped it off shoulder-length.
8. My younger sisters got to cut their hair in the fifth grade. Of course they didn't have to fight for that!
9. As a child, I used to sneak reading by nightlight when I was supposed to be sleeping. If my mom caught me, she would spank me (yes, I was that big of a nerd...maybe still am)
10. I am a neat freak, yet hate to clean.
11. I am stubborn.
12. I am afraid of heights.
13. I can be a really aggressive driver.
14. Especially now that I moved to Arizona. I find myself flying down a street at 60 mph in a 45 zone (I’m just following traffic!)
15. I definitely don’t miss the constant Seattle winter rain...so cold and wet!
16. But I miss running in it. I love the way it sounds falling onto the leaves overhead and underneath me while I go on my trail runs.
17. . I have found the perfect climate for me. Being chronically cold (we’re talking blue fingernails here!) I have discovered that Arizona winters are awesome!
18. I don't tolerate close-minded people very well.
19. I love to work out. I finally got rid of the arm wave and my triceps are STRONG.
20. My alarm is set for 5:15 every Monday and Wednesday morning so I can lift weights before my 6:30 a.m. cardio kickboxing class.
21. I'm an extremely competitive person, although I don’t let this openly show.
22. I recently incorporated running back into my workout regimen after a two year hiatus.
23. It’s still hard for me to run for very long (6 miles max), but I just blame the elevation here.
24. I’m horrible at knowing when to stop when I injure myself and usually will run through the pain. I told you I’m stubborn!
25. Four years ago I strained a tendon while training for the Vancouver marathon. It happened during PT (ironic, I know) and I limped the entire day. I still planned on running 12 miles the next morning, but had to stop after only six because my ankle was so sore. Stubbornness prevails! (Or maybe it was stupidity that time...)
26. It took almost two years to completely recover from that injury.
27. Eventually, I want to own my very own single-person crew boat so I can escape to the water whenever I feel the need (this will be when I move back to the water).
28. This idea was inspired by my runs to Gasworks Park. I used to stretch by the water and watch the early morning rowers go by.
29. I also need a bike so I can go along the whole length of the Burke-Gilman trail because I don't have the endurance to run it.
30. I love snow...so bright and it muffles everything around you so there is almost complete silence.
31. I've been cross-country skiing once and I loved it. I need my own skis so I can go whenever I want.
32. I have a horrible singing voice.
33. But I like to pretend that I don't by singing along to really loud music when I'm by myself in the car.
34. The only drugs I've touched are alcohol and caffeine.
35. I love animals. According to Jon, I love anything that has fur. I would like to add that I ALSO love animals without fur.
36. I'm allergic to cats (but I still love them!)
37. After having my dog, Sammy, for almost two years, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not much of a dog person anymore. What a little pain in the ass!
38. I get embarrassed really easily.
39. I don’t believe in love at first sight. Lust or like at first sight, yes.
40. Sometime in my life I plan to volunteer abroad in a third world Spanish-speaking country.
41. I WILL learn to speak Spanish fluently!
42. I also want to learn to speak Quechua, Portuguese, Italian, French...
43. I'm afraid of the dark. I do a good job of freaking myself out now that I live alone.
44. I love to knit. Sometimes I will start a project in the evening and stay up until 3 a.m. knitting. During these times I don't eat or drink water, so I end up a little dehydrated the next morning.
45. I love salsa dancing, but my husband has about as much rhythm as a one-year-old.
46. One of my goals in life is to be able to dance like a professional—they need to make a version of Dancing with the Stars for normal people like me!
47. My favorite T.V. show is Grey's Anatomy (damn writer’s strike kept me from my show!)
48. I actually was going towards medical school while in college, but now I figure all that hard work isn't worth it. There are so many people out there that are smarter than me and yet THEY don't even get in! The whole process is just too frustrating to me.
49. If I had gone to medical school, I would have wanted to be a surgeon of some sort.
50. I miss being in college: having your friends right next door or down the hall, late night talks with your roommate, numerous bus trips all over the place because we didn't have a car.
51. I played the flute in high school and in the SU orchestra. I want to learn how to play the viola and/or the cello.
52. I was baptized Catholic. My mom tells me that I should go to church to be closer to God. Why should I feel closer to Him in a manmade building? I feel closer to God when I am outside in nature. What better way to be close to God than enjoying and appreciating what He created?
53. Most of my morals, I feel, come from being raised Catholic. Respect for all life, feeling responsible to protect our environment, and being generous and compassionate are just some things I attribute to my faith.
54. Although I know that being raised Catholic is not the only way to have good morals.
55. I think it bugs my parents a little that Jon is Jewish. They don't say anything to me, but a little birdie told me.
56. I married Jon on May 5, 2007. I got a beautiful engagement ring, but never got a proposal!
57. We have been together for four years now, but after this tour we will have been apart more than we have been together.
58. I’m trying to be a better wife and have been training myself to do more baking and cleaning. I am obsessed with baking now! Too bad I can't say the same about cleaning!
59. Jon told me he wanted to raise the kids Jewish. I don't have a problem with that because it's not just his religion; it is part of his culture. I have a feeling my parents aren’t going to like that very much either.
60. I can’t wait to have babies! I bet you all didn’t know that I have all the names picked out already. Now about getting Jon to agree on them…..
61. My babies will hopefully have unique names. No vanill-y boring ones!
62. Favorite girl names: Aurelia, Catalina, Serena, Amelie (yes, I got this one from the movie!)--Serafina and Raina as middle names.
63. Favorite boy names: Samuel, Isaiah, Elijah (see the theme here?)
64. I was painfully shy as a kindergartner and I don’t remember ever talking.
65. I am an introverted person, but I feel like a loud extroverted person trapped in a restricting box. One of these days I'm going to break through!
66. Maybe I just need to get over my self-consciousness to achieve that. Any suggestions?
67. I ate guinea pig (cuy) while I was in Peru.
68. I am an honest person.
69. I'm a girly girl.
70. I hate drama. I thought I had escaped it when I got out of high school, but college had its share as well and now I realize that it will always be around.
71. I have good skin and don't really get pimples
72. As a result I don't wear much makeup...just eyeliner and mascara.
73. One of my pet peeves is stepping on wet carpet (or wet anything) with socks on...I hate wet socks!
74. I have a really sensitive nose and can pick up smells before others can. Unfortunately, these smells are most always bad ones. I can't stand bad smells!
75. I’m 5'4", but I wish I were taller...or at least a little narrower.
76. I used to obsess over pictures of thin models.
77. I gained 25 pounds my freshman year in college (thank you Ben & Jerry’s ice cream!) One day I just realized that my pants weren’t fitting anymore!
78. I lost a lot of that weight junior year running on the treadmill every morning before class.
79. I gained a lot of that weight back when I started dating Jon. Many meals out and sitting around with him were my demise.
80. Again, I've worked that weight off, and then some (but I'm still not back to my pre-college weight). I am determined to keep it off even when Jon comes back. Maybe I can rub off better eating and exercise habits on him
81. I hate when people blame their decisions/mistakes on being drunk.
82. I can be a very jealous person.
83. I have the habit of smelling books when I open them; I also like to smell freshly photocopied paper, newspapers, pamphlets, and, I’ve discovered, other lab chemicals not good for you ( I don’t sniff them, I just like the smell of them)…..
84. I also like to scratch the words on laser-printed/photocopied papers (the letters are raised!)
85. Believe it or not, I know a few other people who like to do 83 and 84 as well.
86. I've spent way too much time on this list.

As for the tags, I've got nothing! I don't read very many blogs and the ones I do have already been tagged! Sorry for breaking it here!

My so-called life

Forgive me, but I don't lead a very exciting life. Therefore, my blog posts may not be too interesting. This would explain the infrequent posts (although I've been doing pretty good lately). My life is a routine, and as much I normally despise routine, it is what is getting me through this deployment. It allows me to take things one day at a time. It would be much too overwhelming to take on the whole 15 months every day.

So I can count on waking up super early on Mondays and Wednesdays to go to my gym to lift weights and go to my cardio kickboxing class. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I go to Reid Park after work for a 3-6 mile run/jog. I get to work around 9 every day and leave around 5 every day. I try to give Sammy a walk every day, even after my nightly runs. That is, unless I have to go to the DM commissary or take care of another random errand. I somewhat dread the weekends, as I have to spend them alone, and don't really do much talking in those two days. My socializing time is during work, with my co-workers. And so goes my life--temporarily, thank god.

So I try to fill my days as best I can and focus on the good things in my life right now (kind of hard, considering it's not going how I want it to). I appreciate the simple pleasures in life, and the natural beauty of the desert is one of those things. Being able to go for a run in shorts and a tank top in the middle of February is something I appreciate. Eventhough it is only early March, spring is already in the air. The smell of sweet acacia is in the air, the wildflowers are blooming, and the ocotillo are shooting leaves. The sun rises earlier and sets later, and those desert sunrises and sunsets never fail to draw a gasp from me (they are very distracting when I'm driving to the gym/home from work). Every day I try to park alongside the Arizona Inn so that I can start my morning off with this vision.

They're just beautiful aren't they? They never fail to cheer me up. They just up and decided to bloom one day in February and have been very attention-grabbing since that day. I hope they survive this weird near-freezing night (why after a week of 80 degree weather? and I was going to wear a skirt tomorrow--even shaved my legs!)

Evenings you will find me on the couch in front of the TV, knitting needles clicking as I torture my poor hands whilst trying to finish a sweater before it really gets too hot to wear it. Here is my progress thus far, minus the sleeve I just finished tonight.

And also a little baking. These are the almond white chocolate chunk cookies I just baked last night. Delicious!

Things to look forward to this month: (1) getting drunk with friends after I get my nursing school rejection letter and another gets his rejection letter for his grant proposal and (2) my sisters' visit during their spring break. That is all for now