The Holiday Battle

When you decide to get married, there are a lot of things to think about. Your mind is consumed by wedding planning, financial planning, and the euphoria of being a newlywed.

Never when I dreamt of my married life did I think about how much havoc holidays would wreak on our relationship. I dread the time of year that we have to sit down and decide where we're going to be on which holidays. It's a nightmare.

Every couple has the holiday battle, but I think we have a couple of weird factors that make it more complicated than average. First, Mike is an only child, so if we aren't with his parents on a holiday, they're alone. Get that? Alone. On a holiday. So with the decision to spend any holiday with my parents comes the guilt of knowing that his parents are going to be on their own. His parents aren't shy about telling us how much they miss us, so it just makes it that much harder.

Second, I have three siblings, none of whom are married and have in-laws to worry about. You would think that would make things easier, but you'd be wrong. Our nuclear family holidays are still intact and, I have to say, a whole hell of a lot of fun. My immediate family is going to get together on the exact holiday whether Mike and I are there or not, simply because they don't have anywhere else to be. So it isn't like we can just schedule a family holiday whenever. That would just mean my mom would have to host two holidays -- one with us and one without us.

Lastly, our parents live within driving distance of each other. Again, you would think that this would make things easier. Again, you would be wrong. See, if your parents live on opposite side of the country, you can simply go to one and not the other and that's that. Not when you live close together. When your parents live within driving distance of each other, you have to find a way to see both within the span of just a few days. But it gets worse. Our parents are within driving distance, but it's a four-hour drive. With a dog. Ugh.

We've come up with a rough plan of attack for the 2010 holiday season, but we both feel like we're getting shortchanged with our families. Maybe that's the best sign that it's actually fair. If neither of us is happy, we must have a least somewhat of a balance. I'm sure we'll change our plans again before it's all said and done, but so be it.

And as we slug it out, there's one thing that keeps coming to mind: If it's this bad now, what's going to happen when we have kids?

Are you kidding me?

OK, this is a total side note, but I have to vent for a second.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I love reality TV. Mostly because I love feeling superior to the freaks and psychos that agree to let people follow them around with cameras.

But here's what really kills me: The lack of common sense these people display.

For example, I'm currently watching and episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians (please feel free to judge me) in which Kourtney doesn't want to go into the drug store to by KY because she doesn't want the paparazzi to see what she's buying.

Ummm, hello. You're concerned that the paparazzi are going to see you so you're talking about how you don't want to buy lube IN FRONT OF A BUNCH OF TV CAMERAS?!? I mean, seriously? Seriously?

What is the matter with these people? This also goes back to my issue of people who agree to let cameras follow them around and then get pissed when paparazzi (a.k.a., people with cameras) follow them around. You don't get to invite people into your life and then expect everyone to respect your privacy. Is it right? Maybe not. Is it reality? Absolutely.

Vent over.

How I Know I'm Not Motivated By Money

Tonight I saw a preview for a movie with a pretty standard storyline: guy is super successful, guy has millions of dollars, guy thinks he has everything, guy meets girl, guy loves girl but girl doesn't love guy, guy realizes he doesn't have everything.

And it got me thinking -- I am not motivated by money. And this is how I know:

1. Even though I get paid hourly (and at a really good rate), I really hate the fact that I was at work for an extra two and a half hours on two different nights this week.
2. When I say, "I wouldn't do that for a million bucks," I almost always mean it.
3. No matter how much money I have, my favorite bottle of wine will still only be $9.
4. When I see really enormous houses, I always think about how long it would take to clean them really well. (I also think about the complications of cleaning when looking at vaulted ceilings.)
5. I'm in graduate school to be a librarian.

How Do Coupon People Do It?

Ever since I started grad school, money has been a little tight around our house. I work part time, but I just cover the cost of my tuition so there's not a whole lot of extra money in our account these days. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad that I decided not to take out student loans and save myself all the debt. But I do miss being a DINK (dual income no kids) household and having all of that expendable income. In fact, I'm kicking myself now for spending so much of that expendable income.

I've been really trying to be more money-conscious lately and find places where we can save more. The first obvious place I decided to start is with coupons and sales. I admit that I'm really bad about using coupons or shopping the sales. I just get what I need to get when I need to get it. Sure, I'll shop around a little, but fore the most part, convenience trumps savings for me. I know I know, it sounds stupid, but honestly, that's the truth. I've tried using coupons in the past, but mostly I'd clip a few weeks' worth, forget to take them to the store, and then quit the whole thing.

Honestly, I think it's kind of a pain in the ass. You always have to be thinking ahead and make sure you have your coupons with you. You have to have a constant mental inventory of anything you might be running out of so that you can stock up when it's on sale. And (because I love to shop), I'm never quite sure if I'm buying something because I need it or because it's a great deal. Plus, I love my brands. I'm a brand loyalist and I'm not ashamed of it. There are plenty of things that I buy generic, but other things are non-negotiable. That inflexibility makes sale shopping a little more difficult.

But today, I am re-committing myself to shopping the sales. We get the daily paper, so there really is no excuse for me to not cruise the sale ads and make good use of them. In fact, this week Kohls had an amazing sale and I saved $49 on a set of flannel sheets and dishcloths! These were purchases I was already planning to make, and had I not looked at the ad I probably would've just paid full price later on. So I guess I taught myself a lesson.

I'm just hoping I won't fall into my old habit of keeping it up for a week and then falling off the wagon again. (What can I say, I have trouble finishing what I start). I really want to make this a change that I keep up and will save us some money. I'm learning more and more that every penny counts. I'm trying not to think of all the money I haven't saved over the years by not using coupons. It's too painful.

So, who has some money-saving tips for me?

Hiking into Fall

My husband, Mike, and I took a trek north to Marshall, Indiana, this past weekend in honor of a new family tradition. This is the second year that we've met up with all of my siblings and their significant others to go hiking at Turkey Run State Park.

For me and my siblings, Turkey Run holds a lot of sentimental memories. My parents used to takes us there when we were kids and we just loved it. Looking back, I have no idea how they managed to take four small children there and bring them all out alive, but it made for some fond memories.

If you've never been to Turkey Run, you must go. I'm not a real outdoorsy girl, but even I love it. It's heavily wooded and you hike through creek beds and gorges, climb stairs (natural and manmade) and generally get lost in the middle of nowhere. It's especially wonderful in the fall -- it isn't too hot and the crunchy, colorful leaves make you feel like your hanging out on Walden Pond.

We hiked the hardest trails, worked up a sweat and then parked at a picnic table to enjoy some pumpkin bread (which turned out beautifully and is a total keeper) and apple cider. All around, it was a perfect fall day.

The only downside to the whole thing was that it made me realize how out of shape I've gotten. Granted, my triathlete brother was leading us all along at a pretty quick pace, but I was definitely having a harder time than everyone else. And two days later, I'm still sore.

So two good things came of hiking: I got a great day with my brothers and sister and it gave me incentive to get back in shape (starting next week -- I swear).

10 Reasons to Love Autumn

In no particular order...

• Pumpkins! (as discussed previously, I have an unnatural obsession)
• Mums -- they're gorgeous and colorful and all around smile-inducing
• Football games and tailgating and all that that entails
• Apples! (right up there with pumpkins in my book)
• Crunchy leaves -- I will never get tired of trudging through a big pile of fall leaves and stomping like a 5-year-old
• Sunsets that make the whole world look like it's glowing
• Crisp mornings that make dog-walking less of a chore
• Cozy rainy days -- you can't feel guilty about staying in and curling up with a book instead of being social
• Crafts -- OK, maybe it's just me, but fall makes me want to launch into hands-on projects (maybe its the residual effect of childhood handprint turkeys)
• Sweater season -- there's something about a chunky knit, a pair of jeans and some boots that's too American and autumnal for words

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Among the many reasons I love fall is the fact that it miraculously becomes socially acceptable to integrate pumpkin (or any squash, for that matter), into every meal and baking adventure. I LOVE pumpkin in a really unreasonable way, so the falling of the leaves signal at least a couple of months of squash-laden meals in my house.

Fall took a long time to get to Indiana this year. Until just this week, we were still having days in the 90s, so it didn't feel very pumpkin-y outside. When the weather took a turn for the cool this week, I knew it would finally be time.

I decided to start the season with some pumpkin bread. I found a recipe online, and though I don't usually trust random recipes, this one had some signs that it would be worth a shot. First of all, it came from Epicurious and is out of an issue of Bon Appetite. That's some pretty good cred right there. But to top it off, the recipe was submitted by someone named Vern who lives in West Frankfort, Illinois. I mean, come on. How can you not trust Vern? Plus, it includes walnuts. Sold.

It came together really quickly and made the house smell like Thanksgiving. It has cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, so the spice smells heavenly.

We're heading to Turkey Run tomorrow with my siblings to do some hiking, and I'm going to pack the pumpkin bread and a gallon of apple cider to help us recover. It should be the perfect fall day. I'll let you know if the recipe ends up being a total failure, but if the bread tastes anything like it smells, it'll become a seasonal staple.

Welcome to Blogtober!

It's so depressing to log into my blog and see that my last post was August 19.

Pathetic.

I knew it had been a long time, but that's just sad. That's why I hereby deem this month to be known as Blogtober!

The goal? To blog every single day for the entire month.

I know that sounds crazy and even unreasonable, especially since I didn't post yesterday. But in my defense, I wrote a blog post (while I was drunk) and had the foresight not to actually hit "Post." After reading the post this morning, I realize what a good decision it was. So you can expect two posts today.

But back to my original point. Will it be a challenge? Absolutely. But as library school becomes increasingly demanding and I'm finding myself with every minute of my life scheduled, I realized I need to take more time just for me. This blog will be a way for me to take a moment, take a deep breath, and reflect on my life a little. I'm hoping it will force me to reflect a little more and make my life seem a lot less like Groundhog's Day.

So, with that in mind, I launch into a month of daily posts. I don't know what will come of it, but I hope you enjoy it.

A happy little gift

My husband never ceases to amaze me in his ability to pay attention to the little things. Case and point:

A few weeks before my birthday, we were watching "Giada at Home." I know some people hate her, but I credit that woman for teaching me how to cook for an Italian husband. She's a godsend for those of us from Middle America with no discernible cultural heritage.

Anyway, she had the most adorable little kitchen accessory: a porcelain egg crate that was too cute for words. I casually mentioned how adorable it was to Mike, not really thinking anything of it.

A few weeks later my dreaded 27th birthday rolled around. And what do you know? My husband had managed to track down that little egg crate from Anthropologie, which is even more impressive considering he didn't even know Anthropolgie existed.

Is that not the cutest? It comes in blue or white, but the blue looks great with white eggs (which is normally what we buy).

It such a simple thing, but it makes me smile so I wanted to share it with you.

22 hours in Madison

If you've never been to Madison, WI, put it on your "must visit" list. It's a great weekend trip and there's tons to do. Earlier this summer my husband and I drove up with some friends for a quick getaway. We were only there for 22 hours, but we managed to pack quite a bit in.

We drove into town Saturday morning and went straight to the Dane County Farmer's Market -- it's unbelievable. Take your mental image of a farmer's market. Now multiply that by 20. We're talking BIG. There are all kind of local growers and producers set up in booths surrounding the courthouse.

Oh, and that whole Wisconsin loves cheese thing -- totally NOT a cliche. Everywhere you go people are serving cheese curds -- cold, fried, tempura, you name it.

A few shots from the market:

At the farmer's market we picked up some bread, meat, fruit and cheese (of course). We had brought along a cooler so we could pack everything up for a picnic.

We headed out to Prairie du Sac to Wollersheim Winery. It's only about a 20 minute drive, but it's completely worth it. The wine is great, and the people who work there are incredible.

We took a tour of the winery, bought a couple of bottles of wine and had a simple lunch sitting out on the winery grounds. It was kind of yuppie, but really fun (and pretty cheap too). It was a great afternoon, and we were allowed to just sit and chat as long as we wanted.

After the winery, we went back to Madison and got cleaned up before heading out for the night.

We went to the Great Dane Pub, which brews it own beers. I'm not a big beer fan, but even I liked it. They have a pretty overwhelming menu, but the staff is more than happy to make recommendations. After that we headed to a great little bar called The Old Fashioned. I highly recommend the Jack Horner Martini -- delicious.

The next morning we took the advice of several people and hit up Marigold Kitchen for breakfast. And seriously, doesn't this make you hungry:

All in all, it was a great weekend. Madison is such a welcoming city and the vibe is just very laid back and relaxed. The whole city is very into local ingredients and locally owned shops and restaurants. It's a great escape for anyone.

My happy place

I know, I know. It's been a while since I posted. I've been really busy between school and work and have let a few thing slides. Don't worry. I've adequately punished myself. But this week, I'm going to catch up (and keep it up).

That's because this week I'm in my true happy place: Sanibel Island, Florida. My in-laws own and place down here and it's where we go to escape. If you aren't familiar with Sanibel, it's just off the coast of Fort Myers and is quite the oasis. If you're into going out to the bars and cruising the beaches, this is NOT the place for you. It's a slower pace of life here. There are not stoplights on the island, you can bike almost anywhere, and the only chain stores are Dairy Queen and a CVS. It's awesome.

It's even better because my husband and I are here by ourselves. Usually we have friends or family with us, but not this time! Don't get me wrong, I love our friends and family, but it's nice to be able to have time to just focus on each other. This is only our second vacation alone in all the years we've been together (the first being our honeymoon) and it's wonderful.

So anticipate seeing some posts this week about thing I did much earlier this summer, but I just want to share. In the meantime, I'll leave you with just a few photos from the island.

When we took off from Indianapolis, the weather was overcast and just plain gloomy. But when we broke through the clouds we were greeted with a beautiful morning sky. Just a little reminder to myself that it's always sunny on the other side of the clouds.

These adorable birds keep hanging out by the pond near our pool. Unfortunately it seems they are illiterate and unaware their lives are at risk. That's natural selection, I suppose.

Sanibel has some of the best shelling in the world (or so I'm told). And no matter how hard I try to resist the urge, I always end up picking up these tiny aquatic homes off the beach. This is just a small selection of what we found today. So cute!

Source: www.wildflordia.com

Something not so cute. These ugly things. Florida's lovely 4-inch grasshoppers are everywhere this time of year, and a particularly giant one landed on me today. Gross. I love Florida, but the bugs are almost too much to handle.

Why routine is important

I recently lost my keycard for work. I have absolutely no earthly idea where it is. My best guesses? Somewhere in the library or the city dump. Luckily, I can get a new one for $5 and no one really cares. But still, it's embarrassing.

Why did I lose my key? Because I didn't follow my routine. I didn't put it back in the exact same place that I always put it and now it's gone forever.

I've always had fairly strict routines in my life, doing certain things in a certain order and following a pattern. We all do it, but I think sometimes that I take it a little far. I can remember being 5 or 6 years old and having a routine that I set for myself for getting ready for bed. Even at work, I follow a very careful routine with each job I start. I always thought I was kind of weird, but now I realize that it's actually a fairly essential survival skill that I've developed.

The fact of the matter is that I'm an extremely disorganized person, no matter how much I'd like to pretend I'm not. So the only semblance of organization I can get into my life is a routine by which I can keep track of what I'm doing and where I'm putting things. Without that, all is lost. I find a remote control in the bathroom or the keys under the cat (both of which have actually happened).

And now that I'm killing myself in school, my routines are even more important. For example, earlier this summer when I was getting ready in the morning, something threw me off my routine and I got all discombobulated. By the time I got to school (for my 7-hour class), I realized I had forgotten to brush my teeth! Who does that? I mean, seriously, what grown, responsible adult forgets to brush their teeth.

Me, apparently.

So to keep from losing anything else or completely disregarding my personal hygiene, I'm embracing my love of routine. It's a crutch I can lean on.

The eternal hunt for motivation

I am afflicted with a horrible disease: laziness.

My body, when at rest, tends to stay at rest. Which is a huge problem. Exercise and physical activity aside, I just tend to not do things. This morning I wasted a good five hours of time that I could have spent being productive.

Granted, I wasn't sitting around watching TV; I was sitting around reading. (However, due the the questionable intellectual value of the book--though funny--it doesn't actually qualify as time well spent.) But I should have been dusting or vacuuming or washing dishes or anything other than what I was doing.

And it seems like the less I have to do, the less I want to do. Back when I was struggling to get everything done for class and work and take care of my husband, I had all sorts of things I wanted to do and spent every minute of my day trying to fit in my to-do list. Now that I have some extra time on my hands, I have no drive. My laziness overtakes my soul.

Unfortunately, one of the symptoms of laziness is procrastination. So while there are at least 100 things I know I should do, I don't do them. For example, last week I was all proud of myself for closing my personal bank account. Yeah, be real proud there, lazy ass, because it only took you TWO YEARS.

After I wasted my morning, I thought, "How am I ever going to be able to have kids? I can't even get my act together when it's just the two of us." I made myself feel better by telling myself that I'm just banking my lazy hours now so that when I can't be lazy years from now, I'll feel better about it. (Hey, don't judge, it made me feel better, even if it is completely crazy.)

So for now, I'm going to try to find the cure for laziness: motivation. I'm sure it's in my house somewhere. Maybe if I clean up a little I'll find it.

Or I could finish my book...

Things that make me question your sanity

Sometimes the amount of idiocy in this town is overwhelming. Today it came to a head.

WARNING: Extreming venting follows.

Here is a brief list of behaviors that make me question your sanity. I have witnessed all in the last week. Please stop.

• Walking barefoot in downtown Bloomington in the middle of the day while carrying a pair of shoes.
• Making a left turn while your right turn signal is still blinking.
• Standing on a street corner letting your dog bark at/lunge at passers-by.
• Taking the screen off of your sliding back door and propping it up in your front door.
• Trying to return an opened tube of toothpaste to Target.
• Wearing a "romper" that you bought in the junior's department to work at the age of 28.
• Pulling up to a drive-up window, putting your car in park, getting out of the car and walking up to the window (seriously?).
•  Putting real flowers in that stupid vase in your VW Bug (maybe not insanity, but definitely poor taste).
• Trying to put the bumper of your car (which fell off after an accident) in your trunk. Hint: THE BUMPER IS BIGGER THAN YOUR TRUNK!

That's just a snippet, but it feels good to get that off my chest.

Summer has arrived

I don't know why, but it seems like every year we go straight from winter to summer with no decent spring. Either that or I just don't like spring and refuse to admit its presence (which actually seems more likely).

This weekend it became pretty apparent that summer is here, complete with plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures. On Friday I had(?) to stop at Oliver Winery and had to suppress some serious envy over their gardens. I've always had a black thumb, so seeing flowers in bloom makes me thoroughly appreciative that there are people in the world who are good at it.

I was even finally forced to pull some shorts out of my drawer this morning so we could take Penny Lane to the park. It was then that I realize how alarmingly pale I am. We're talking one shade above transparent over here. But I'm hoping a combination of some sun time and some self tanner will help rectify the situation. Plus, given how much Penny enjoyed the sun, it looks like the shorts are out to stay.

While we were at Bryan Park, we came across a mulberry tree near the tennis courts. The fruit is beginning to ripen and fall, staining the path a deep purple. Again, summer has arrived...

New recipes

I tried out a couple of new recipes tonight, and they were both delicious. So I thought I'd share.

First up, for dinner: Tilapia and Quinoa with Cucumbers and Feta from Everyday Food.

It was absolutely delicious. I haven't been a big fan of quinoa so far (I've tried a few recipes that all ended up mushy), but this definitely changed my mind. It was the perfect summer meal. Light and healthy.

Then I made Fast Raspberry Scones to take to my class tomorrow morning.

Who doesn't love the taste of a fresh raspberry? It's one of those summer flavors that I love to miss. There's something about that sweet-tart flavor and the crunch of the tiny seeds that screams sunshine, something that can only be enjoyed during the hot, humid days of Indiana's summer.

Here's a start

I've started this blog as a way to remind myself about the simple joys in life. Expect to hear about my adventures in cooking, (failed) attempts at crafting, my nerdy love of books and whatever else brings me a little joy.