Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Amstel Light
It's my drink of choice to get through today. Not that it has been stressful or anything, but the level of appreciation for what I do around here is way too low. (Keep in mind that I do roughly 4 loads of laundry per day, cook dinner, and clean the house. but today, add in that today I paid the overdue ammount of the cable bill, took care of all of the recylclables, and took care of the cat pans.) So in order to thank me, His aunt decided that offering up my dinner to a complete stranger who walked in the door and grabbed wine out of the fridge, was a great idea.
I just don't know what to do, so I grab a beer, refuse to eat dinner in order to ensure that my fiance gets food, and sit an blog. I haven't blogged in a while because of the work I have to do around here in order to feel like I am helping out. Now I just feel like a piece of meat, bred solely for the purpose of being a meal ticket for someone else.
Now, I get a chance to go to NY though. This weekend I plan on seeing my family and spending a lot of needed R&R time with them. My dad's birthday passed by this week and I completely forgot about it. I feel bad, but I think that forgetting all about your past is what moving out of state does to you. I don't want to forget anything though. I love my family and friends that I had in NY and I am hoping that this weekend will salvage what little friendships I had in NY.
So how do you do it? How do you do what you do? How do you keep all of your friends and family happy by being miles and miles from 'home'. It's true I am making a home here, but some of the people I would like to forget at times, are the people I have to live with in the meantime. I also need a hobby, I was thinking of taking up knitting. But I would not know where to start. I guess knitting needles are a good start, and yarn for that matter, but how does one go about buying things like that? Any ideas? Tips? Advice? I could use some!
I just don't know what to do, so I grab a beer, refuse to eat dinner in order to ensure that my fiance gets food, and sit an blog. I haven't blogged in a while because of the work I have to do around here in order to feel like I am helping out. Now I just feel like a piece of meat, bred solely for the purpose of being a meal ticket for someone else.
Now, I get a chance to go to NY though. This weekend I plan on seeing my family and spending a lot of needed R&R time with them. My dad's birthday passed by this week and I completely forgot about it. I feel bad, but I think that forgetting all about your past is what moving out of state does to you. I don't want to forget anything though. I love my family and friends that I had in NY and I am hoping that this weekend will salvage what little friendships I had in NY.
So how do you do it? How do you do what you do? How do you keep all of your friends and family happy by being miles and miles from 'home'. It's true I am making a home here, but some of the people I would like to forget at times, are the people I have to live with in the meantime. I also need a hobby, I was thinking of taking up knitting. But I would not know where to start. I guess knitting needles are a good start, and yarn for that matter, but how does one go about buying things like that? Any ideas? Tips? Advice? I could use some!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Getting on the Tracks
I have always loved the phrase "back on track" and I always thought that once I "get off track" I could say that I was getting back on. However, I don't think I ever picked a track! Till today. I have whole-heartedly decided that I have a track and I am on it.
My goals have been few and grandeous:
Graduate college
Get a good job that I like outside of CNY
Snag an amazing guy to marry
Plan the perfect wedding and do so without being stressed
Get an amazing home that I don't have to work too hard to maintain
Adopt a dog from a kill-shelter
Raise kids if such a mistake occurs
Retire and move to Australia with my hubby
Now I realize that setting goals means that I have a track, but I in no way shape or form plan on doing all of those things in that order obviously. I am 100% dreamer and I think it gets ahead of me and keeps me "off track." So my track is basically tourrettic and I think that's the only way that I feel it can be.
So here is my tourrettic track:
~I received my degree in Psych.
~I met the most amazing guy ever, and am planning the perfect wedding.
~We set a date for the wedding after a month of questioning and plotting (Here's a clue International Panic Day 2011)
~Nick has graciously made a list of homes for us to look at and every once in a while when we have a free weekend we go "brochure hunting" and find which places are completely out of our budget.
~I decided I want to work in an Elementary/Pre-K school, but will settle for a flower shop. (For real! I want to work in customer service, but the good kind, not walmart.)
~I am not stressing about wedding plans, in fact I have let my bridesmaids pick their dress (we decided that they will wear a tea length dress with a sweetheart bust line, accented by pearls and severe ruching so they look glam but don't overpower me)
~I have picked out my kill-shelter and the type of dog (black labrador/beagle mix) that I will save. Also told myself that I will not get a dog until we pay a whole years mortgage and know we can afford it.
~Decided that I only want kids if Nick wants them. I am perfectly happy not having them. I really enjoy Nick and think they might take away from what they have, plus what is the rush when we have such awesome "neices and nephew?" (their his cousins, but they call me aunt jess)
I think at this point in my life I have realized that the only thing that matters is that I am happy, and that Nick is happy. I really don't care what happens as long as I am working somewhere I really want to work. I seriously think that I can do some good playing with pre-schoolers all day long. There are plenty around here too, so I am all set there. But I think I want to open a business at some point, maybe when I am old we will open our home and create a bed and breakfast. I can cook, and I can make beds... I think I am set!
Anyway, do/did you have any big dreams? Do you think mine are crazy? Think I am crazy? What do you think?
My goals have been few and grandeous:
Graduate college
Get a good job that I like outside of CNY
Snag an amazing guy to marry
Plan the perfect wedding and do so without being stressed
Get an amazing home that I don't have to work too hard to maintain
Adopt a dog from a kill-shelter
Raise kids if such a mistake occurs
Retire and move to Australia with my hubby
Now I realize that setting goals means that I have a track, but I in no way shape or form plan on doing all of those things in that order obviously. I am 100% dreamer and I think it gets ahead of me and keeps me "off track." So my track is basically tourrettic and I think that's the only way that I feel it can be.
So here is my tourrettic track:
~I received my degree in Psych.
~I met the most amazing guy ever, and am planning the perfect wedding.
~We set a date for the wedding after a month of questioning and plotting (Here's a clue International Panic Day 2011)
~Nick has graciously made a list of homes for us to look at and every once in a while when we have a free weekend we go "brochure hunting" and find which places are completely out of our budget.
~I decided I want to work in an Elementary/Pre-K school, but will settle for a flower shop. (For real! I want to work in customer service, but the good kind, not walmart.)
~I am not stressing about wedding plans, in fact I have let my bridesmaids pick their dress (we decided that they will wear a tea length dress with a sweetheart bust line, accented by pearls and severe ruching so they look glam but don't overpower me)
~I have picked out my kill-shelter and the type of dog (black labrador/beagle mix) that I will save. Also told myself that I will not get a dog until we pay a whole years mortgage and know we can afford it.
~Decided that I only want kids if Nick wants them. I am perfectly happy not having them. I really enjoy Nick and think they might take away from what they have, plus what is the rush when we have such awesome "neices and nephew?" (their his cousins, but they call me aunt jess)
I think at this point in my life I have realized that the only thing that matters is that I am happy, and that Nick is happy. I really don't care what happens as long as I am working somewhere I really want to work. I seriously think that I can do some good playing with pre-schoolers all day long. There are plenty around here too, so I am all set there. But I think I want to open a business at some point, maybe when I am old we will open our home and create a bed and breakfast. I can cook, and I can make beds... I think I am set!
Anyway, do/did you have any big dreams? Do you think mine are crazy? Think I am crazy? What do you think?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Why I Enjoy Nick's Cousins So Much
Now before I start, I must state the the cousins in which I will be speaking are Nick's youngest cousins, twins Kevin and Kristina. The most adorable 1 yr. old kids in the world who I have witnessed learn to crawl, learn to walk, start to talk, and scream their head off since a little after they were born in May 2007.
I think I will start with Kevin because when he was born he was my favorite:
~Kevin is a ladies' man. Since day one he has made eyes at the girls and gotten what he wants. I have faith one day he will get exactly what he wants out of life, simply by batting an eye.
~Kevin is the first to do almost everything. He has ambition beyond any child I have ever seen. He was the first to crawl, and even the first to say his first word "juice" which now he uses so much I want to thrown bottles of juice everywhere. He is however willing to allow Kristina to try food first (think it is his attempt to make sure it is safe), and learn that when walking you have to have balance otherwise you will fall hard.
~Kevin has a pink crocheted blankie that he carries around with him, but that's ok because he has two sisters. He doesn't let pink stand in his way.
~Kevin loves the garbage. He even will throw out his own diaper. However this has gotten him into trouble at school (much amusement for me though) when he threw his sandals, as well as his sister's sandals into the preschool garbage.
~He likes to clean. We have these 'After Dinner Wipes' that we use with the kids because they have little product and cleans the kids up without being hard on their skin. He likes to take the wipes after wiping himself, clean his mouth by chewing them, and even clean the floor around his high-chair. He is such a helper.
~He knows things and is really smart. I don't think he fully understands his knowledge, but he really likes being praised for doing the right thing. We say no, and he stops everything he is doing, we say "give it to Kylie" and he gives whatever he has to his older sister, and we say come here and he runs in the other direction, laughing his butt off.
~He is a little comedian.
~His laughter lights up my day. He loves peek-a-boo and is entranced at the fact that we can disappear behind walls and he can't seem to find us. He finds us and he giggles as if we just did magic. It is so cute
So On to my now favorite Kristina:
~She is cuddly, almost clingy, but she likes to be held and it works for me, because I was the same way.
~She has wicked cute outfits, and I can buy her really cute outfits and not feel as if I am spoiling her even though it is my intention to do so.
~She is Nicky's goddaughter, and therefore through the transitive property, and the fact that her godmother never comes around, my goddaughter as well. So I love her more than anything and I know she loves me too.
~When given a chance to be held by either me, or anyone else in the family, she chooses me. I think it is because she is inherently smart, but really I think it is because she finds a lot of comfort in me and knows I am always there for her.
~She is crafty and sneaky. She now knows how to open one of the baby gates, and when she is feeling crafty, will go over to it with her brother and try busting out of the house.
~She is very independent when it comes to doing things on her own, and getting places. She was the first to really walk and found that walking gets her places faster than crawling. Now she runs everywhere laughing her butt off because she likes to go fast.
~She likes to eat off of my plate, and feed me off of her plate. Even after she is done with dinner, if I am eating anything, she wants it. I think this goes back to the safety thing.
~She is very comforting. When I am seriously in a bad mood she knows, and she knows just what I need to make me feel better. One of her charming smiles. I don't know how to explain it, other than if I have a little girl, I would want one just like her.
So now I am going to do something I learned sparks response.
Who do you love/like in your family or life and why?
It can be a pet, a family member, a friend, or even an enemy. It can be someone you made up in your head, or someone real, I just need the satisfaction of knowing someone is out there lol.
I think I will start with Kevin because when he was born he was my favorite:
~Kevin is a ladies' man. Since day one he has made eyes at the girls and gotten what he wants. I have faith one day he will get exactly what he wants out of life, simply by batting an eye.
~Kevin is the first to do almost everything. He has ambition beyond any child I have ever seen. He was the first to crawl, and even the first to say his first word "juice" which now he uses so much I want to thrown bottles of juice everywhere. He is however willing to allow Kristina to try food first (think it is his attempt to make sure it is safe), and learn that when walking you have to have balance otherwise you will fall hard.
~Kevin has a pink crocheted blankie that he carries around with him, but that's ok because he has two sisters. He doesn't let pink stand in his way.
~Kevin loves the garbage. He even will throw out his own diaper. However this has gotten him into trouble at school (much amusement for me though) when he threw his sandals, as well as his sister's sandals into the preschool garbage.
~He likes to clean. We have these 'After Dinner Wipes' that we use with the kids because they have little product and cleans the kids up without being hard on their skin. He likes to take the wipes after wiping himself, clean his mouth by chewing them, and even clean the floor around his high-chair. He is such a helper.
~He knows things and is really smart. I don't think he fully understands his knowledge, but he really likes being praised for doing the right thing. We say no, and he stops everything he is doing, we say "give it to Kylie" and he gives whatever he has to his older sister, and we say come here and he runs in the other direction, laughing his butt off.
~He is a little comedian.
~His laughter lights up my day. He loves peek-a-boo and is entranced at the fact that we can disappear behind walls and he can't seem to find us. He finds us and he giggles as if we just did magic. It is so cute
So On to my now favorite Kristina:
~She is cuddly, almost clingy, but she likes to be held and it works for me, because I was the same way.
~She has wicked cute outfits, and I can buy her really cute outfits and not feel as if I am spoiling her even though it is my intention to do so.
~She is Nicky's goddaughter, and therefore through the transitive property, and the fact that her godmother never comes around, my goddaughter as well. So I love her more than anything and I know she loves me too.
~When given a chance to be held by either me, or anyone else in the family, she chooses me. I think it is because she is inherently smart, but really I think it is because she finds a lot of comfort in me and knows I am always there for her.
~She is crafty and sneaky. She now knows how to open one of the baby gates, and when she is feeling crafty, will go over to it with her brother and try busting out of the house.
~She is very independent when it comes to doing things on her own, and getting places. She was the first to really walk and found that walking gets her places faster than crawling. Now she runs everywhere laughing her butt off because she likes to go fast.
~She likes to eat off of my plate, and feed me off of her plate. Even after she is done with dinner, if I am eating anything, she wants it. I think this goes back to the safety thing.
~She is very comforting. When I am seriously in a bad mood she knows, and she knows just what I need to make me feel better. One of her charming smiles. I don't know how to explain it, other than if I have a little girl, I would want one just like her.
So now I am going to do something I learned sparks response.
Who do you love/like in your family or life and why?
It can be a pet, a family member, a friend, or even an enemy. It can be someone you made up in your head, or someone real, I just need the satisfaction of knowing someone is out there lol.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
It's What's For Dinner
I am struggling today to come up with something amazing for dinner. Yesterday, I really outdid myself, and sort of proved to myself that I actually know how to cook. Despite my feelings on how odd my skills are, I am amazed that I could come up with random dinner ideas that "just happen to work."
So last night's menu was as follows:
Stuffed Green Peppers (straight from the garden)
I boiled the peppers like you are supposed to with stuffed peppers in order to get them kind of soft. Then I pan fried the chicken in it's own juice, which was amazingly hard since I like to drain off the juice of my chicken before cooking, and didn't want to use any butter. After the chicken was finally done, I chopped it up into tiny little pieces, and threw it in a bowl. With that, I found some leftover chicken flavored rice from the night before, and threw it in because it looked like it would taste good. When I looked at the mix, it looked really sad, so I fluffed it up a bit with shredded zucchini straight from the garden. Here the mix sort of turned to mush, and I got frustrated because I didn't think the flavor of the meat would come through, so I did what I was told to do in this situation and "flavored" the mix with generic Adobo seasoning. After this the mix became dry and I became rather pissed off, but then I realized I had forgotten a crucial element of any stuffed pepper. Onion. I chopped it nice and finely, and threw it into the mix. At this point I was crying, and the mix looked perfect so I stuffed those peppers until they could be stuffed no more, and threw the extra stuffing around the base of the peppers to keep them standing in the dish. Baked everything for about a half hour, and voila! I had mad a masterpiece.
However, now that leaves me with something to prove for tonight's dish. I have zucchini straight from the garden, and plenty of meat at my disposal, but I simply have no drive to make a meal. Maybe tonight will be my fall-back option meal. Grilled burgers and hot dogs, with Grilled Zucchini... but then again, I did do that a couple weeks ago and it gets boring!
Any ideas?
So last night's menu was as follows:
Stuffed Green Peppers (straight from the garden)
I boiled the peppers like you are supposed to with stuffed peppers in order to get them kind of soft. Then I pan fried the chicken in it's own juice, which was amazingly hard since I like to drain off the juice of my chicken before cooking, and didn't want to use any butter. After the chicken was finally done, I chopped it up into tiny little pieces, and threw it in a bowl. With that, I found some leftover chicken flavored rice from the night before, and threw it in because it looked like it would taste good. When I looked at the mix, it looked really sad, so I fluffed it up a bit with shredded zucchini straight from the garden. Here the mix sort of turned to mush, and I got frustrated because I didn't think the flavor of the meat would come through, so I did what I was told to do in this situation and "flavored" the mix with generic Adobo seasoning. After this the mix became dry and I became rather pissed off, but then I realized I had forgotten a crucial element of any stuffed pepper. Onion. I chopped it nice and finely, and threw it into the mix. At this point I was crying, and the mix looked perfect so I stuffed those peppers until they could be stuffed no more, and threw the extra stuffing around the base of the peppers to keep them standing in the dish. Baked everything for about a half hour, and voila! I had mad a masterpiece.
However, now that leaves me with something to prove for tonight's dish. I have zucchini straight from the garden, and plenty of meat at my disposal, but I simply have no drive to make a meal. Maybe tonight will be my fall-back option meal. Grilled burgers and hot dogs, with Grilled Zucchini... but then again, I did do that a couple weeks ago and it gets boring!
Any ideas?
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
How Did I Get Here?
Not from here, so why would I want to be here?!? Because of my fiance. However, he was not my fiance to begin with. I first came to New Jersey last year about a week after I met him, and to be honest I did fall in love in, and with South New Jersey. From the Ocean City beach, to Tony Luke's in Philadelphia, PA; there was plenty brought to my plate that made me want to stay here.
Not saying that I don't miss my family, and don't want to be there constantly, however, it is time in my life to move out of my small town in CNY and start something of my own. So I graduated with a Psychology degree which I don't even want. (I finally received my diploma today after graduating in May) I want to be a math teacher, or a small town chef. My education has not helped me. Nick has a job though and it was easy to follow him and support him. We live with his aunt, after living at his mother's house for 6 months. I currently play house-keeper, nanny, and laundry-technician. Jobs I don't necessarily love, but can't hate because it keeps a roof over our heads.
We are house hunting, or rather he is house hunting, and I give input when I really hate it. I know he knows what I like, and will do what he has to in order to make a suitable life for us. I think that is really how I ended up here. I found a great guy, who knows me well, and knows that he wants to be with me forever. (Thanks to a small town college newspaper that I might never have joined if it weren't for a persistent English professor of mine) He proposed about two weeks ago, and I can't stop feeling like I am dreaming. My life is a dream come true, and a year ago I thought I would still be living in NY for the rest of my life!!
Not saying that I don't miss my family, and don't want to be there constantly, however, it is time in my life to move out of my small town in CNY and start something of my own. So I graduated with a Psychology degree which I don't even want. (I finally received my diploma today after graduating in May) I want to be a math teacher, or a small town chef. My education has not helped me. Nick has a job though and it was easy to follow him and support him. We live with his aunt, after living at his mother's house for 6 months. I currently play house-keeper, nanny, and laundry-technician. Jobs I don't necessarily love, but can't hate because it keeps a roof over our heads.
We are house hunting, or rather he is house hunting, and I give input when I really hate it. I know he knows what I like, and will do what he has to in order to make a suitable life for us. I think that is really how I ended up here. I found a great guy, who knows me well, and knows that he wants to be with me forever. (Thanks to a small town college newspaper that I might never have joined if it weren't for a persistent English professor of mine) He proposed about two weeks ago, and I can't stop feeling like I am dreaming. My life is a dream come true, and a year ago I thought I would still be living in NY for the rest of my life!!
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