Day 57-59: Catching up on some reading...

Day 57:

I find cookbooks and cooking magazines to be incredibly relaxing. I enjoy flipping through the pages, thinking "wow, I bet I could make that" or "that looks totally disgusting..." I like thinking about all the new and exciting things I could make if I had the time and resources. Sometimes, I do get a chance to make new things. I'm always up for trying something new! I've crashed and burned far too many times to be dissuaded from being adventurous. This has proven to be very fruitful, because I've made several new recipes that Tony and I both enjoy--but mixed in, there have been a few catastrophes. As is life.

Day 58:

The probability that I open my Bible with a purposeful heart directly correlates with how overwhelmed I am. I wish this wasn't the case. I wish I could tell you all that I open my Bible on a daily basis, hungry for God's word. Normally, I've fallen into a complacent "oh, I'll read a few verses," but I only take them for face value. When life gets tough--I start to really pay attention. 

Colossians 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Italics mine)

It is so easy to be ungrateful and complacent until you've hit the bottom. Whether "the bottom" manifests as anxiety, stress, depression, or other physical ailments, it is a undoubtedly a dark and frightening place. Once you're there, you feel gratitude like never before, because regardless of if you have been devoted in prayer, or even the slightest bit thankful, you're rescued, no questions asked.

Believe me when I say that I am thankful.

Day 59: 

Dad's book! Today in the mail Tony and I received a copy of my dad's new book, The Automobile and  American Life. I've only read the introduction so far, but even with the limited amount I've read, I'm really impressed! My dad's a full-fledged author, and I couldn't be more proud :).

Day 54-56

Unfortunately, I feel a bit drained today. It's midweek, I'm exhausted, and just a *little* down and out.

I have big decisions to make, but I have to wait until I'm all nice and pulled together to make them. No big decisions should ever be made while riding an emotional roller coaster without a dang harness. 

Geez, enough of this vagueness. Onward to the mediocre photos:

Day 54:

I came home with a 1.5 day migraine on Monday to find Tony dramatically smashing our keyboard. I'm still not a 100% sure what happened, but believe you me--that keyboard got whatever was coming to it and then some! There was a roar, a snap and a shower of keys by our apartment's dumpster. Awesome. I had to go to the Wals-Marts to buy us another one...

Day 55:

The empty ash tray. Yes, I know it looks disgusting, but I like keeping it around (um, outside). Every time I see it I'm reminded of how long Tony HASN'T smoked. As of today, Tony hasn't smoked a cigarette in 52 days. I'm so proud of him.

Day 56:

What can cure a breakdown? Shopping therapy, among other things. Tony and I went to Costco this afternoon after I left work about 2 hours early. The funny (actually, very sad) part is that I still put in a full 8 hour day. I bought a vat of laundry detergent and a rotisserie chicken for dinner :). See the ethereal blurriness around the detergent? That, my friends, is shoppin' therapy.

One more for good measure. I still love my ring. I will always love my ring. It is without a doubt my most precious and valuable personal possession (i.e. I would straight up die if anything happened to it). I even wear it under my lab gloves, even though it has a tendency to squish my hand a little bit. I feel a bit vulnerable without it. The ring has molded to me--it signifies my transition into the role of wife, and it represents a decision I will never question. 

Plus, it's shiny :). 

Day 50-53: I'm a messy nerd.

Day 50:

I cut coupons, and I like it. I think it's a little strange that people spend hours and hours of their time researching ads, comparing 19 different stores, and waiting for double coupon days. Times are seriously tough and scary right now, and I'm definitely not in a position to judge. I also am not in a position to use my sleeping hours to figure out sales and strategies like that. Thank goodness for the Commissary. This being said, I do read the Sunday paper and I do cut out coupons, and sometimes I'm lucky enough to receive the occasional batch from either my mom or Tony's mom.

Truthfully, using coupons has helped us a lot financially. When we were living in San Antonio and Tony's pay from the military was all we had, coupons allowed us to use our money for other things, like hanging out with friends or going out on dates.

Thursday nights I usually spend about 1 hour sifting through coupons and writing up a grocery list. Yes, this is my one hour of free time I have a night on weekdays, but if it saves us money, so be it. Our grocery bill averages $50 a week, and is very consistent, no matter what I buy. I don't really know how that compares to others (and I don't really care), but it works for us. It seems as though God has His hand in our finances even when I'm in a dark place.

I don't think I'll ever get over God's faithfulness.

Day 51:

My life is messy, much like this couch. We've had to move everything off our coffee table to follow this exercise program, and instead of doing the logical thing (put the stuff away), I just moved it to the love seat. This is pretty much Exhibit A of why I can't ever be a housewife. I just don't give a hoot. Don't worry, my nappin' couch is free and clear.

Day 52:

I noticed that most of my pictures are of things inside our apartment (food, objects, etc.). This is because when all is said and done and I actually have time for a photo, it's dark outside. Ugh. Anyway, before church yesterday I ran out of the house, no shoes, hair soaking wet, Tony yellin' "Pook, we're gonna be late!" and defiantly took terrible photos of a tree. 

On a side note, I probably should have taken a photo of my pants and Tony's pants after we arrived at church. We bought coffee, and in the car I spilled his on my pants, and as he was getting out he spilled mine on his pants! We're quite a pair.

Day 53:

Dimensional analysis in order to make FDA approved vanilla extract. I also read an early 1900s paper from the Journal of Chemistry and Engineering Science about how vanillin (the nummy aldehyde) is made synthetically. Megadork.

Day 47-49: Semi-Failure

Day 47:

Ugh. I am so uncreative on Mondays. Here's a picture of Tony. He's my favorite thing around anyway, and I might as well take a few photos of him every once and a while...

Here's the standard "seriously stop taking pictures of me" look. I love that look. :)

Day 48: 

The second failure in under 3 days---what in the world is wrong with me!??!

Here's a picture of Tony eating a burrito I took on Saturday to distract you...

Day 49:

Ouchies. I hope I have back muscles like hers after 90 days. Unless she's a man...then I'd prefer "she" keep those to herself.

Day 46: Failure.

Sunday, I will admit, that I did not take a picture :(. Tony and I normally go to church on Saturday night, so we can have at least one day to sleep in (I generally work early Saturday morning also, woo hoo.) Since Saturday was Tony's birthday, however, we ended up attending the Sunday morning service our church, Canyon View Christian Fellowship, offers.

Needless to say, the house needed picking up when we got home, not to mention a veritable boat load of laundry needed to be washed. Thankfully, we had leftovers from Saturday to eat for both lunch and dinner, so I didn't wind up spending extra time in the kitchen.

By the time I knew it, it was already 9:30, and I was exhausted. And, gasp, I forgot to take a picture...

We did take a lot of pictures on Saturday during our trip out to Julian, so I figured that y'all would forgive me if I posted another one of those.

I promise, I'll take a picture tonight. Hopefully it will be better than that sorry excuse of a picture I took earlier last week of Crystal Light. I am so very sorry. :)

Day 45: Tony's Birthday!

Today we went out for a little drive in celebration of Tony's birthday! We went to one of our favorite spots around here, Julian, CA. I like the town because it's out away from the business/ridiculousness of San Diego, and to get there one goes through a lot of countryside.

Although I did have some photos that I liked of landscapes, the picture posted here is by far my favorite photo of the day. We are at Mom's Bakery at Julian, gloating in the fact that we got in line before about 45 other people decided they wanted pie too (the line was out the door!). Mom's is famous for their apple pie, and the last few times we came to Julian we were either 1) tricked by the po-dunk town of Santa Ysabel into thinking that they were Julian, and that they had the best pie or 2) visiting on Christmas eve when Mom's was closed.

Either way, we had a fun trip, and a really fantastic day!

Day 42-44: Eternal Catch Up.

Day 42.:

Exhaustion+Pink Drink= Happy.

Day 43:

The hubster. I like him.

Day 44:

Early Valentine's Day! Since Tony's birthday is on Valentine's Day, we decided to celebrate one day early. I took Tony out to his favorite Italian restaurant, and we had a great evening out! Tony bought me some jewelry (YAY!) for Valentine's day, even though I repeatedly asked him to not buy me anything. He gave me a sapphire and pear earring and necklace set---so lovely! Here's a picture of the earring before we went out to eat. Yes, my hair's still wet. No, I didn't take much time to style it :(. I'm pretty sure if I didn't have an unusual hair color people would be continuously saying "ugh...what is she doing with that mop on her head??"




More pictures for today to come---we're celebrating by taking a mini-road trip, and then I'm making Tony's favorite dinner (eggplant parmesan and homemade strawberry shortcake).

Happy Valentine's Day!

Day 40 and 41: Our Everyday Life is Boring. Sorry.

Day 40:

I'm learning to take joy in the small things: a conversation with a friend, having a clean house (which, um, I definitely do not have currently), making dinner, and most importantly...

FREE FROZEN YOGURT! Woo hoo! There was a coupon in an ad for 2 free frozen yogurts from the Golden Spoon--no strings attached. Last night, we decided to heal after a brutal Monday of ridiculous spectroscopy tests and evil bosses by ingesting yummy goodness. Pictured here is my cake batter yogurt (om nom nom) with frozen berries. Tony got the same thing, except with brownie bits instead. Unfortunately, I spilled 1/3 of his brownie bits in the cup holder of his car. Heh. Oops.

Day 41:

"What's up, Tater-Cakes?" 

We had leftover mashed potatoes from the pot roast dinner I cooked on Sunday, so I decided to try out a new recipe that essentially made potato pancakes. They were delicious! I'll definitely use the recipe again, and share it with y'all. 

Day 38 and 39: Hurray for the Weekend!

Day 38:

Saturday consisted of me studying for 5 hours straight in the morning, running around doing errands in the afternoon, going to church in the evening and finally...relaxing.

This is my favorite "drink" drink, the White Russian. I'll post the recipe eventually, but for now, here's the photo. I don't enjoy drinking things that taste nasty (i.e. beer and red wine), but this after-dinner drink is definitely delicious. Thankfully the alcohol content isn't high enough to send me into an embarassing giggle fit, or worse, a drawling "he-haw" laugh. That story shall be reserved for a different time...

Day 39:

Hmm...probably should be studying more. Unfortunately, I'm just not that motivated to excel in classes anymore. I'm much more interested in delving deeper in my project, and doing other things I enjoy rather than studying. 

I made light wheat bread today--yummy! I'll probably post that recipe as well, since I think I'll be sticking to following it for a while. I also made pot roast in the crockpot--a definite first for my novice meat-cooking abilities. So much to cook, so little time.

Ok, ok. Off to study spectroscopy. Happy Sunday!

Day 37: The Hubcap

This is what I deal with on a daily basis.

He's pretty great :).

Days 33-36: Playing catch up, yet again...

Day 33:

Mooonnnddaaay. I had a migraine headache from Sunday afternoon until about Monday evening, which felt grand. Thank goodness for leftovers and not having to do much of anything. Tony was really wonderful, and cleaned up the whole kitchen for me. He's completely invaluable--I'm not sure what I'd do without him.

Day 34:

Group meeting. Ugh. At least it was a total love fest since two post-docs were presenting. Normally, things get a little stressful whenever a graduate student presents, though I'm not sure why. Kettle tea fixes a long, hard day.

Day 35:

Oops. I napped, and then the next day (today) I felt bad all day. That's what I get for being a lazy bum. But look how comfortable it looks....

Day 36: 

Naner bread! We had some bananas that were getting a little too ripe, so I decided to make a quick loaf of banana bread. This is my favorite spoon. Ever. I wish every wooden spoon was like this one. I would be lost without its magical baking powers.

Day 31 and 32

Oh great, this whole counting-to-365 thing is going to be a bit harder now that we're out of January. Don't worry, I have a bachelor's degree. I can do this.

Day 31: Last Day of January

Here I am, annoying Tony. This picture is actually beginning to capture real, live irritation. Cool.

P.s I know we're wearing matching shirts, the photo is a little blurry and my hair looks orange. Whatever.

Day 32: It's February!

Today also happens to be Sunday, which means I catch up on chores, and normally cook or bake something fun. Today I made some cookies for a friend, which will be posted eventually on the other blog.

One of the ingredients was tea from a tea bag (go figure). I wanted to make sure it was finely ground, so I used my mortar and pestle to pulverize the stuff. I'm not going to lie, it was fun. I'm always for lab techniques in the kitchen :)!