Finally!

Y'all, we are FINALLY out of that motel and into our new place.  To tell you a secret, we took this place sight-unseen.  We'd toured the apartment community and viewed a different floorplan, but when the time came to put our names on the dotted line, they no longer had our desired floorplan available!  After a few panicked phone calls, Sean & I decided to take a different floorplan, one that was actually LARGER than what we originally wanted.  So while we studied the layout in photos, we had no idea how the space would actually look.  And let me tell you, it was a very pleasant surprise!

I made a little video before the movers came with all our furniture and boxes, so the place looks a little empty, but it gives you an idea of the layout.  It's about five minutes long and I make a brief appearance with no make-up and my hair up in a messy bun.  The Mister makes an appearance too!



The movers came with everything yesterday and today we set to work unpacking boxes.  I am hyper vigilant about unpacking when moving into a new place.  I can't stand to have boxes lying around.  The kitchen is entirely unpacked & everything is put away, but a lot of the rest is still pretty disorganized.  But the good news is, all the packing paper has been recycled and all the boxes have been broken down!  The rest is just small stuff.

What's Going on Around Here?

So I mentioned in my last post that the Mister & I are camped out in a hotel for two weeks.  I spend a lot of time in hotels, so I thought this sounded okay.  Except that it is a lot less like Eloise than one might imagine.  The Mister chose this particular hotel because the rooms are more like little apartments than like hotel rooms and there are little kitchenettes.  Having the kitchenette is nice because we've been cooking rather than eating out, which saves a bit of money, but the kitchen isn't exactly well-equipped.  For example, there are about five lids in the cupboard with all the pots and pans.  However, not one of these lids fits any of the pots & pans.  Also, there is zero counter space.  There is a stove, the sink and one counter that is occupied with a toasted, coffee maker & microwave.

But I actually didn't come here to complain about the kitchen.  I came to talk about working out.  Because y'all?  I got real lazy over the last two weeks.  In the lead-up to the move, I went for a few runs and did my push-ups (more on that later), but since we moved, I hadn't done ANYTHING.  If this hotel were in a more neighborhood-y area, I might have been able to go for a run, but it's sort of in the middle of nowhere (which is because the Mister's base is in the middle of nowhere).  We've been talking about joining the Y once we are settled, and contemplated joining now because there is a branch about 15 minutes from the hotel, but we want to see how the Mister's schedule works out to see if we should get a family membership or if I should get a single membership.  Those are all of my excuses.  Do you like them?

Finally on Monday, I decided it was time to stop being lazy.  I have all kinds of workouts pinned to my Pinterest board.  My only limitations are that I have zero equipment.  Not even a yoga mat because we didn't think to keep any of those out.  Also, I'm trying to stop being so lazy, but I thought it would be better to start out slow, so I'm doing 10 minutes a day.  And I thought I might link you to some of my fave videos I've done this week.



This one is great because it moves pretty fast, but it gets intense at the end.  I work up a bit of a sweat and I'll tell you, my butt & quads were sore the next day.  I did this one on Monday & then again today.



I liked this one because it targeted my abs, but I didn't have to lie down on the carpet without a mat.  I'm not saying the floor isn't clean, I'm saying carpet is gross and I don't understand why anyone would want it in their home (Hardwood Forever!).  Also, my obliques were pleasantly sore the next day!



This is another one for the butt.  As y'all have seen previously, I have zero butt, so I need all the help I can get.  This workout was full of great moves for my butt.  Plus, the celebrity trainer has pandas on her sneakers!

So those are the videos I've been doing!  As for the push-ups, I finished my six week program of the 100 Push-Ups Challenge, but I can't do 100 consecutive pushups, so that is kind of a bummer.  The app suggested that I re-take my initial test and start the program again at a higher level.  And I will likely do that.  But I wanted to take some time off from feeling sore ALL THE TIME.  Except then I started these videos and I'm back to feeling sore all the time, except in my butt not my shoulders.  It's a rough life, y'all.

Ay Yi Yi

Goodness.  It's been a while since I updated, unless you count my wee post about the pop music mashup, which I do not.  So what's been going on?

I think the answer to that question is what's NOT been going on?  In the last two weeks, the Mister & I have moved out of our apartment in Norfolk, bought a BRAND NEW CAR, we've been camped out in a motel until we can move into our new apartment, the Mister started his new job and I just got back from a cookie-baking marathon with my mom & sister in Atlanta.  Whew.  It's a good thing I accidentally dropped all my trips but one in December or I'd be a pooped lady.

So first of all, my NEW CAR.  Guys, I am beyond thrilled.  I have never owned a new car before.  My first car was born 4 years before me, my second car was born 2 years before me and my youngest car was 11 years younger than me.  So to get to have a car that nobody else has ever driven?  It was so exciting.  And I am loving this bad boy.  Or girl.  I haven't quite figured out the gender of my car yet, so it is also as yet unnamed.

It's a 2012 Chevy Cruze and it drives like a dream.  I'm averaging 33 miles per gallon, which is phenomenal. The motel we are staying at is quite literally in the middle of nowhere, so I've been driving back & forth to Fredericksburg a lot just to have something to do.  I am loving the freedom this car represents to me.  I definitely enjoyed not having a car for the last five years.  Sure, there were times that I wished I had a car, but I loved not having a car payment or an insurance payment and I didn't have to buy gas or pay for repairs.   Not having a car was easy in Minneapolis.  Not so much in F-burg.  While the apartment we chose is very ideally located in Old Town with lots of shops & restaurants within walking distance, there isn't a grocery store near enough.  And since the Mister will be driving about 35 minutes to work every day, a second car became a necessity for us.  

And speaking of the Mister driving to work, he started his new job last week.  He's going to be an instructor and he's going to teach other people how to be awesome Fire Control Officers, just like he was on his last ship.  This definitely wasn't our first choice for location (I'd like to eventually get out of Virginia, at least for a little while!), the Mister is very much looking forward to teaching.  The thing I continually heard from people on his last ship was how much they learned from the Mister.  He is incredibly patient and he's good at explaining things in a way that just about anybody can understand. 

Here he is eating yogurt on his first day.  He wouldn't let me take a traditional "first day of school" type photo because "That's something a MOM does" so I was super sneaky and took this photo instead.  He's so handsome in his dress uniform.  I guess he always wears it when he shows up for a first day on a new job, but I'm excited because he said he'll also be wearing it the first Friday of every month.  The rest of the time he wears a khaki uniform and he looks good in that too, of course, but the dress uniform gets me every time.

As for the cookie baking marathon?  Sometimes my sister gets ambitious.  We baked 10 different types of cookies in about 10 hours.  We actually started the night before with a couple batches that needed to chill overnight and there were three additional recipes we didn't get to.  Momma & my step-dad's sister-in-law Jackie drove down from Tennessee to help out and my second cousins came over too.  We had a Christmas station on Pandora and had a pretty good time until about 10pm when I got a bit cookied out & cranky and my sister was literally walking circles in the kitchen,  But I tell you what, the cookies sure are delicious!

Momma & Steph mixing up a batch of something!

Stacie working on the sugar cookies.  That girl is so creative and has such patience.  After she left, Aunt Jackie & I took over decorating.

Those were my cookies.  I liked decorating the trees & the snowmen, but everything else sort of left me at a loss.  How do you decorate a sled?  I don't get that intricate with frosting!

Me & Aunt Jackie unwrapping and chopping Candy Cane Hershey Kisses.  I promise I wasn't pissed off at this point.  That's just my concentrating face!  I don't have any photos of my sister because even though I brought my camera, I totally forgot to pull it out!  Luckily Elise took those snaps on her phone, so I stole them and here they are!

The Mister & I have one more week here in the motel and then we can FINALLY move into our new place!  I am beyond excited!

I really can't help it.  I shamelessly, unabashedly LOVE mindless pop music.  Something with a catchy melody and a beat I can dance to?  I'm all up on that.  So this makes me super happy.



DJ Daniel Kim

Photo an Hour

So my friend April over at So Yeah...So sometimes does this thing where she takes a photo every hour.  And I'm probably a bit of a voyeur, so I like to see what people get up to in their everyday lives.  And because I've been trying to make a habit of using my camera more, I thought it would be a nice exercise for me.

So this is basically how I start every morning...the Mister's bathrobe, my computer & a cup of coffee.

The mister is transitioning off his ship at the end of the month, so he's been bringing everything home.  The other day, that meant a big sack of laundry.  I'm a little loosey-goosey with the sorting.

Then it was back to the computer, but this time I was doing a bit of Christmas shopping.  On my personal Christmas list is a new wallet.  My old wallet is massive and the only things I really ever need on a regular basis are cash, my driver's license, my debit card and my Starbucks Gold card.  In the meantime, I've been using this little pouch I bought in Vegas.  Not ideal, but it makes me smile.

Then it was time for MORE coffee and a perusal of cookbooks to figure out what to make for dinner.  I've acquired three new cookbooks and I haven't done much with any of them.  I settled on the Balsamic and Beer-Braised Short Ribs from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook.

And then I had to fold the laundry.  Here's a funny thing.  I do not bother with folding my underwear.  It all just gets tossed in a drawer and it's not like I worry about it wrinkling.  But both my mother and the Mister will fold my underwear if they do my laundry.  I find that quite endearing.

And then I went for a run.  This is the USS Wisconsin, which is a battleship.  If you ask the Mister, he will tell you battleships are the coolest.  Unfortunately, they aren't really used in the modern Navy, so the Mister won't ever get the chance to serve on one.  But he seriously loves battleships.  At one point, we even tossed around the idea of getting married on one of the many decommissioned battleships that are attached to museums, like the Wisconsin.

And then I was finished with my run and it was time to stretch.  Stretching has become one of my favorite parts of running.

And then it was shower time and getting ready time.

And then I was ready!  I stole the Mister's fedora and I think I look just darling in it.  At some point last night, he sort of laughed to himself and when I asked what was so funny he said, "I was just thinking that if you keep wearing my bathrobe and my hat that someday when I want to wear them, our kids are going to be all 'Daddy, why are you wearing Momma's bathrobe?' or 'Daddy, why are you wearing Momma's hat?'"

At the grocery store!

Cooking dinner!  The recipe called for two beers in the pot, so I opened up a third beer for my hand.  That doesn't explain the bitchface, but that was more a product of trying to balance my camera on a vase, press the self-timer button and then get back over by the stove.

Hooray, the Mister is home!  I'm especially happy he is home this week because he was supposed to be out to sea, but then the underway was postponed due to weather.  And that is just fine by me.  I'll take any bonus time with the Mister any day!

Dinner is the oven, the Mister is joining me for a beer and Eddie Izzard is on the telly.  Not a bad way to pass an evening.

And dinner is on the table!  Let me tell you, those short ribs were phenomenal.  I know it sounds braggy to say that about my own cooking, but the meat was incredibly tender and the sauce was out of this world!  It was my first time making short ribs, but  I will definitely be making this again.

And that's the end of the photos.  After we ate, we cleaned up the kitchen and parked ourselves on the couch for more Netflix watching and then we went to bed.  We are a boring old couple and we are usually in bed by 10:30.  And that is A-OK by us.

Knit Happens

So, basically, all I ever want to do anymore is knit.  The other night I happily spent 5+ hours with my butt on the couch working on a baby sweater and watching episodes of Charmed (all 8 seasons are available to watch instantly!)

As for my novel?  What novel?  Like I said, I've basically been spending all my time knitting.  I was diligent on NaNoWriMo for the first four or five days and then I had a work trip and then I finally saw the Mister again and then we went to New Orleans and then I've been knitting.  Have I mentioned I've been doing a lot of knitting?  According to the handy stats chart on the website, at my current average words-per-day (399), I will finish my novel on March 5th.  Oops.  I'm not throwing in the towel just yet.  I could still get a fire going under my bum and do some serious writing.  That is if I ever actually work out a plot.  Perhaps going into this with zero pre-planning was not my best idea.  What's that adage?  Failing to plan is planning to fail?  Ah well.  My "write a novel" item on my 30-before-30 list did not actually specify completing a NaNoWriMo novel, so I still have 11 1/2 months to do this.

I was convinced this morning that it was Monday b/c the Mister had to go to the ship and I felt like I should do something productive.  But then I realized it is actually Sunday and it is perfectly acceptable on a Sunday to hang around in comfy pants & finish this baby sweater and also my other knitted Christmas items.  But first, it feels like a good day to go for a long run.

Smile!

If you have a spare 8 minutes, you should watch this video.  It made me smile.