The Smell of the Seasons
There is a certain something that goes with the burning hazelnut candle on my coffee table, cuddling in a warm blanket and watching a dark movie like Interview with a Vampire with the lights down and the feeling of fall all around. I have a peace that I have not felt in a long time, hubby is at work and I can’t wait for him to get home and join me in this wonderful mood.
It is that amazing time of year where the feeling of everything starts to change, the trees take on the colors of fire and their leaves fall like snow, the smell in the air is one of spices and autumn and the holidays are coming around. We will have Halloween coming very soon with all of the childish fun and excitement it brings, kids dressed in cute little outfits, tons of candy, fun decorations and scary entertainment. I have movies picked out on netflix set for a movie marathon should that be the choice for Halloween night or I may go to a party or out with friends, there are so many options. Then there will be Thanksgiving, the first Thanksgiving with my husband in Washington as well as the first I can do anything. Last year I had my wisdom teeth pulled the day before but this year our shop is thinking of getting together and having a shop Thanksgiving meal for those of us not going home. A fun group gathering for our odd little family. Then the smooth transition into the winter holidays, the subtle change of scents from cozy heavy smells you want to wrap yourself in and make you hungry to the wintery fresh scents that make you feel like you are walking through a pine forest or unwrap presents under the Christmas tree. Christmas will be a wonderful experience I hope. This will be one away from my family with just hubby and I creating our own traditions. we can decorate our own tree and unwrap presents with just us on Christmas morning. Family is always nice to have around but there is something to be said about a nice Christmas with just the hubby and I. Can we all tell that I am excited for this time of year? Summer used to be my favorite season but I think I have grown into a lover of fall and winter, I think I am equally in love with each.
I have been doing laundry on and off through out the day and cleaned up a bit here and there. The house still looks cluttered and a bit messy and we still have boxes all around and have way too much stuff but we are finally making it a home. It is really the little things that make somewhere a home, just small things probably different to each person that makes a place feel comfy and lived in. Hopefully over the next bit of time we can sort the boxes, donate a bunch of stuff and really get everything settled. We are so close and that just adds to the awesome feeling.
We also had a minor epiphany not long ago. It is something that we had vaguely realized before but it really hit home recently. I was in Hawaii for just over a week and while I was there had no real reason to spend any money. When I got home I realized just how much was left in my bank account and how much we screw around and waste money. I got back and we could actually do things and have fun! We went out yesterday to see Jo Koy perform because I found out the day of that he was in the area and actually had money for tickets. We had the money to buy lights and a coffee table to help with our home, we could actually do what we wanted without being afraid that we couldn’t pay bills! It is a great feeling and hopefully one that can keep up. When we discovered how much extra there was we did the calculations and saw how much we could have, not enough to be rich by any means but enough for us young adults to live a life and enjoy it. Now I am planning to settle in tonight and budget and hopefully get a lot of our old debts paid faster and get rid of them and still balance everything and have fun, that is the goal at least. I think I will also start cooking a bit more at home, or maybe strike a deal with my husband, he cooks the 2 days he has off, I cook the 2 I have off and we can eat cheap food or leftovers the other three days. With us living so close to work we are already saving a ton on gas, especially since he works really close to me so we have managed to cut down a decent amount of spending so far. The whole idea of getting things paid off and potentially having money really makes me happy and excited and that excitement seemed to have finally hit my dear hubby.
Easter Egg Bust
Blarg! I am broke again…eventually this will stop happening. I think we have our system worked out, we just have to clear up the mess from the end of last month and hopefully it makes everything smoothed out and good. I also probably could have not bought the stuff for hubby’s Easter basket but I didn’t do anything for Valentine’s Day because I was so broke and it bothered me, I like having the traditions and always being able to give something for the holidays so I wanted to make sure to do something and not miss a something special again…even if it is not a lot of money put into it and a little skimpier than usual, it is still at least something.
It’s another weekend! I slept until noonish today…probably not the smartest thing but it was nice. I originally intended to get all of my cleaning done today so that tomorrow would be just relaxing with hubby since we both have the day off…I failed. I have cleaned some, dishes are done (mostly) and counters are scrubbed and I am in the process of washing the sheets and blankets. Luckily today I think I might actually remember to flip the mattress when hubby gets home, we keep meaning to do it but never manage to remember. And even though I really intended to do way more than that I got caught on Farmville in facebook and watching the mass amounts of episodes of NCIS I have recorded on the DVR, I am kind of pitiful but weekends are for relaxing.
Last night we got out a bit, they had an adult easter egg hunt at some new soccer fields down the street. It wasn’t so much of a hunt like we really thought it would be, it was pretty much a throw all of the eggs on the field and when they say go everyone runs to grab what they can. Honestly it was really disappointing, we were all crammed together but managed to be second row back, when we were released the first row pretty much grabbed everything. Hubby managed to snag one egg which had a couple of candies and a gift certificate to a place down the street for a month of some sort of martial art, I might go check it out soon and see if the certificate works for adults or just for kids. The hunt was a bummer but we ended up going to hang out with some of the friends we went with to the bar. We relaxed, hung out and played pool, it was a pretty nice night.
Happy almost Christmas Eve!
It’s almost Christmas Eve and therefor almost Christmas! I am excited though nervous, I have no idea how this whole cooking Christmas dinner is going to go, hopefully well. Tomorrow my mom is cooking tri tip and somethings for a good tasty family dinner. I am excited, I haven’t had tri tip in a while and it is one of my favorites. We went shopping today and bought all of our stuff for tomorrow’s dinner as well as Christmas dinner and I have to say it is a lot of food. The menu my mom set up for actual Christmas dinner doesn’t seem too hard, mashed potatoes, green been casserole, turkey, stuffing and cranberry stuff. Sounds tasty so hopefully it turns out just how it sounds.
Other than the Christmas stuff things are pretty good. Hung out all day with my mom which was actually pretty fun. Obviously we did the shopping but afterward we went to get our nails done and then hung out at the house and watched some TV. We didn’t fight or stress and it was nice and fun. Tomorrow I think we are hanging out again though I may have to switch that so I can go buy her some stocking stuffers. I have no idea what to get, I need cheap but still good and I just cannot think of anything. My sister has tomorrow off as well so maybe I can run off with her at some point and she can help me find stuff for both my mom and her husband. I also would love to get something for my husband but that won’t be happening. I am way too broke and technically I already got him something, I just gave it to him early. He can deal without a gift, he will probably appreciate it, he doesn’t really have money to get me anything either. Instead it will just be trying to get time together before I head up to Washington. He is staying here for another couple of weeks so he doesn’t leave people at work hanging during their vacations. After that he should be packing up and heading up to me. I am really excited, I can’t wait to get us out there and see what happens.
6 More Days!
Weekend, huzzah! I am teaching again on Sunday but that is just a couple of hours and then I will get a day off to make up for it. I figure that day off will be the day before I leave for Cali that way I can take care of last minute things and get ready to go. I am debating doing that or maybe taking off a PT day, though I do really need the PT since it has been a little while. Meh, I will figure it out later for now it is the weekend. Not only that but it is the last weekend before I go back and see my family! By this time next week I will be all set up in my hotel in Cali trying to figure out what to do next…and making sure to pre-order a lovely turkey for Christmas dinner.
Took the coworker to the airport this morning and it actually didn’t go too badly. I had to wait for him after I drove to pick him up because for some reason he hadn’t taken care of everything before he had to leave, I was frustrated and irritated at that but I dealt with it. Once he was finally ready to go it was a quick and easy drive and I got paid for it, gas money plus a little extra and I really need money so it’s all good.
Thanksgiving Will Happen!
So, I think I have already gone over the whole I won’t be getting Thanksgiving because I will be recovering from wisdom teeth getting pulled, if I hadn’t that was the basic run down. Anyway, I have discovered that we are having a Thanksgiving thing for our squadron and it is before my teeth get pulled so I do in fact get a Thanksgiving, just not the Thanksgiving. I am happy about that, I can stuff myself stupid and then go get teeth pulled, at least I don’t completely miss out on the experience. On the note of holidays and not remembering what’s been mentioned, I am missing the squadron holiday party. I am kind of bummed about that because it is supposed to be a pretty big thing and it actually sounds pretty fun. I went to a booster club meeting about it and it just sounds so entertaining.
I cooked something yesterday. It was chicken and rice but it was like no chicken and rice I had ever had. I tried googling some good recipes but everything either said bake or add ingredients I didn’t have. I didn’t want to shop, I had already done my shopping for the week (totally thought chicken and rice was super basic and so didn’t google it earlier) and I didn’t want to bake because that would take too long. So, I ended up just throwing random stuff together and I must say I love how it turned out. Obviously little things to tweak here and there but for the first attempt it was so tasty! I am really glad that apparently somewhere I have some sort of cooking instinct, I have come a long way from the kitchen craziness that used to go on with my sister.
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness.
Life is so much easier when stuff is clean. I used to be pretty messy, I had a ton of stuff and not a lot of space to keep it and cleaning was always just such a pain. I have realized the problems I had, it wasn’t clean to start and there was too much junk. Once stuff is clean it is just a matter of maintenance which isn’t nearly so bad. My apartment is way cleaner than my bedroom ever used to be. I just did a quick run through today, took me maybe an hour at the most to clean everything (that of course doesn’t count laundry time because the washer and dryer takes its own time to run). I got my kitchen done, vacuumed, cleaned up the cat box, it was just easy. I must admit I have a lot less stuff than I used to, or at least a lot more space for it so it is all less cluttered and easier to get around so that can be a problem too. I am glad I have certain things back but some of it was just a waste of space and it is kind of nice to live lighter. I was a pack rat, still am I suppose but no where near as bad now that I have realized the beauty of clean.
I got to sleep in late yesterday, it was awesome. I woke up on and off but over all I made it to 1130, the cats were totally confused about why there wasn’t more food out by 0700. I woke up occasionally and there would be a cat scratching at my door or mewing and when I actually went out my door they were sitting there staring at me. It’s not like they didn’t have any food in their dishes, there was some but they didn’t like that it wasn’t filled up, fat fuzzballs. I didn’t get to sleep so late today but that’s ok, I guess I wasn’t up late enough. The night before I was DD and went to hang out with a group of friends at a pub place, it was kind of interesting, it cleared out surprisingly early considering it was Friday night.
I finally hopefully have things settled with the cats and their boarding. I need to get one of them his shots because they need proof and the other ones records should be faxed to me tomorrow along with proof for both of them being neutered (that’s more for my apartment managers). Wednesday is going to be a pain because I have to try to round up the cat and get him in his carrier, find the vet then bring him back and rush to get ready and go to work but it will be worth it (I hope) and he will have any shots he needs for the next time I have to board him. So, finally things will be taken care of for them and that will be one less thing to worry about and hassle with. I had an offer by someone to take care of them but honestly it just seems easier to board them, more expensive, but easier. that way I don’t have to worry about them escaping (I have very tricky little cats) and I will know for sure they won’t get forgotten or be alone or anything, not to mention I won’t be hassling anyone who doesn’t already get paid for it.
I am finally getting some plans together for the holidays and after, a lot of it depends on a bunch of things but they are at least starting to form and I have back ups. It will most likely be a very expensive season (flights, boarding the cats again for longer, gifts, etc) but I am really looking forward to it. I was thinking of shortening the trip and missing our families annual dinner but in the end I have decided that I really want to go and have been looking forward to it for a while. My mom says she will for sure be in town so it will be all of us together again, maybe for the last time for a while so I definitely want as much time as possible. Not to mention I have tons of stuff I want to do in California and I don’t want to just cram it all into a really short period, I always end up missing stuff that way. I am making my lists and making the plans and talking to my mom and getting super excited, December is going to be interesting but hopefully it will turn out awesome.
