Moving On

Today is the second anniversary of losing my beloved father. I haven't cried (yet) and seem to be thinking of the good things in life, instead. I have a photo of him that I look at fondly and am trying to imagine he would be proud of where I am in my life today. I know he supported me in following Speech Language Pathology and it gives me strength to work in a field that he believed I would do well in. I can still picture his face, with the crooked smile and nod he gave me when I asked, "Do you think I'd be a good speech pathologist?" (okay, I teared up writing that.) Not a day goes by when I don't wish it was just a long, bad dream and that I can call him and hear his voice again. But I stopped believing this was possible awhile ago. Grief is hard but at least I had someone so wonderful to raise me for the (albeit too brief) time that I did. I wouldn't trade that for anything, no matter how much it hurts.

In that spirit, I'm going to continue to try to improve things in our lives and remember the really good stuff. I will move forward because, well, that's really the only option.

As I will undoubtedly continue to mention, school is approaching quickly for the both of us. I can't believe it's August already! On Friday we got to see the family at the joyous occasion of our cousin's wedding. They looked so happy to finally be married and we're excited for our family to grow! Congrats M&M!

As the countdown to school begins (the 28th for me; 19th for him) I want to use my time wisely. Suddenly my days are going to begin early in the morning again and I do not want to be caught unawares! I am, in truth, excited to get back to an early morning routine. Maybe the almost ten years of working in a coffee shop have made me into a morning person. But, maybe a camping trip would help me get back to it (*nudges husband*)

So, in my overly nerdy way I've made a list of ways I want to change my routines for the healthier. New Year's resolutions are for the birds; Autumn resolutions are where it's at! A lot of these will help my Day Zero Project, too!

1. Start the Day Off Right

Begin every morning in the (newly organized) office reading the news in a quiet and relaxing way. I like to use FlipBoard as my news aggregate. Right now I read it on my phone but I'm giving great consideration to getting an iPad for school and that would work very well for news catchup as well. This also gives James a chance to have his morning routine downstairs — everybody needs personal time and first thing in the morning is a great slice. 

2. First Breakfast
Have a banana for breakfast (I'm never hungry first thing but the energy boost and nutritional value cannot be beat! I'd like to get James on this as well. Before my coffee I'd like to make sure I drink at least 12 ounces of water. My handy Nalgene bottle is great for that; I keep it bedside and can take a slog before even leaving the sheets. 

3. Planned Outfit 

I'm not really a clotheshorse. I wore boys clothes half the time as a kid (and an adult). I wear a regular combination of jeans and vneck tee shirt most days of the week. But running around to find said setup can still be annoying and needlessly stressful. I need to cull the herd of clothing I no longer wear and this will be all the easier. I'm not sure I need to have week's worth of clothes ready on say, Sunday, but the night before is something I can manage. 

4. Last Call
No alcohol after 10 pm. This isn't really going to be difficult for me anymore, a year ago sure, but these days I have a cider or two every few days and I'm beat by 8:30. Welcome to being old. Or not a heavy drinker (totally okay with me.)

5. Bedtime Routine

After 10pm it's nothing but water and a cup of herbal tea before bed. James has his own routine of "Goodnight Milk" (I know, adorbs.) I want to make sure my butt is in the bed by 11 at the latest. I'm also going to limit the reading I do in there. I can get taken away by the book and find myself wondering how 3am snuck up on me. Right now I am rereading The Lord of the Rings which has been wonderful. I also got a cheap copy of a Jane Austen omnibus to keep by the bedside. Familiar and cozy reading is just what I need.

Quiet day at work. Grocery list and meal planning, check. Time to read my book and sip out of my awesome Jane Austen mug that my husband gave me at Christmas!

Two Weeks In, Time To Get to Work

We’ve been married for two weeks today, wahoo! I guess it’s a little early to celebrate too hard since I’m not a Kardashian. Anyway, the weather is gorgeous today and I want to get my hands dirty in my back-yard. James and I built garden-boxes last year to grow herbs and a few vegetables. I did a whole bunch of research and decided raised-garden beds are right for us. Unfortunately this was around the same time that Dad got sick so I never got to use them. Chloe occasionally treats them like a doggie litterbox.

But this year things are different. Everything has changed for me, in good and bad ways I’m just rolling with the punches as best I can. iI can remember exactly what I did last year on St. Patrick’s Day: I worked in the garden and made a stew of stout and beef served with soda bread. Despite my saying everything has changed, I plan to do the exact same thing todaybecause it’s fun. I like the idea of “working my land” (or my tiny rented back yard) and making stew. Seems like an idealized day. I do not, however have a big cotton dress and apron, like an idealized woman living out on a farm. You know, like in that terrible movie about Dylan Thomas (I know Welsh, not Irish but that’s not the point) in which Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley wore sweaters and boots and looked gorgeous all of the time (when they weren’t glammed up and/or nude) .\

Anyway, I’m making this awesome beef stew I found on All Recipes last year. It was so good James begged me to make it again this year. So tonight’s menu will be:

• Beef And Irish Stout Stew


• Soda Bread


• Mashed potatoes (because I live on mashers)


• The rest of the pack of stout I didn’t use in cooking

We plan to stay in tonight, for amateur night. It was enough to see a drunk fellow plow into a parked car last year (when SPD was on a Thursday) but the combo of a Saturday and St. Patrick’s Day is going to be a disaster. I think board games and inside times — maybe we can watch the terrible movie about Dylan Thomas, haha. Or better yet, the awful flick about James Joyce.