What We've Been Up To

Has it really been over 3 weeks since my last post? So much for my goal of posting at least once a week, sorry! You might have been wondering what we've been up to since the first of May, and if not, well, I'm going to tell you anyway : )

• We finished up our spring semesters. Granted, I only took one class, and it was suuuuper easy, but still, class is class.

• My pleas to the Hand-Me-Down Dresser Gods were answered and I scored not only a really awesome dresser for our guest room, but I also scored an awesome, I mean AWESOME, old sewing cabinet for a sweet $30.

The cabinet will go perfectly with my brand-spanking new sewing machine, courtesy of Chris for my birthday.

• I finally wrapped up my beloved job (note the sarcasm) . . .

• . . . and then started training for my new one (that I mentioned way back when).

• We celebrated Chris' birthday - I made him a fancy black forest cake and "surprised" him with the KitchenAid Stand Mixer Pasta Maker attachment for his present. (Let's just say he was "surprised" a few days before his birthday when he saw the box sitting on our porch from our mailman when he got home from work before me!)

• We drove out to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware for a mini-vacation. (Remember when it ended up taking us 24 hours to drive back to Missouri for the holidays this past winter? Well, because of that detour, Chris owed me a trip for a few days!)

• We then celebrated my birthday (Chris is only 3 days older than me.) with a rainy day in Rehoboth, complete with a birthday mimosa at a sketchy diner, catching a showing of The Five-Year Engagement, and treating myself to a very fancy - at least by my terms - new wallet (thank you beach-outlet malls!).

• One of our friends, Katie, did a blog post about our Vertical Garden on her blog, Handy Housemom. You should definitely check out her blog, she posts a lot of fun projects and even great retail deals!

• Lastly, my parents came and visited last weekend for the first time since Thanksgiving 2010. Not only was it great to spend some time with them and soak up the ah-mazing sunshine, but we also visited some places that I've really wanted to see, like the huge National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center (the other Air and Space Museum, off the National Mall), the eerily beautiful Antietam National Battlefield, and the super quaint Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Below are some pictures from their visit, but I promise to write more thorough descriptions in some upcoming Tourist Tuesdays or Washington Wednesdays.

So, that's what we've been doing over the last 3 weeks.  It's amazing how much you can do in just a few short weeks, and it's amazing how refreshing a little beach trip and a family visit can be! Now that things have slowed down, it'll be back to my regularly-ish scheduled blogging. : )

Forgotten goal: Vacay!

In my first blog post I told you all of my resolutions goals for 2011. That is, all of them but 1: a vacation! I have no idea how I forgot that one considering that it seems to be all I think about these days (and considering I read and re-read and re-wrote that first blog post over and over out of nervousness and my perfective tendencies) . . .

Anywho . . . it is one of my ULTIMATE goals this year to go on a VACATION. And no offense to my family, but a vacation is not a weekend back to St. Louis, or Kansas City, or Tablerock Lake, as much fun as it is and even though I do miss you all!

Said future vacation will include:

1. Just Chris and I. We had a lovely honeymoon. In Hermann, MO. And before that, the last vacation we had that was just the two of us was almost 4 years ago when we went to Europe (and got engaged). That is too long of a wait for me.


2. Sunshine. Lots. of. sunshine. So that I can put on a bathing suit and get a tan. And, as my dad would say, "Get a little skin on that color."


3. Re.lax.ation. Pure, relaxation. I want to bring a suitcase full of books and games (we have a thing for Yahtzee, and Sorry!) and read/play them all. And, I want to fall asleep on a beach or by a pool after reading my books and playing my games.


4. Water, preferably a beach. I may not even get in the water (because I'm not a huge fan of salt water), but there MUST be water.  We did find an all-inclusive "adventure" resort in Mexico that wasn't on a beach, but had cabana rooms with private pools. Nice.


5. Speaking of all-inclusive, lots of food and drinks are necessary. I like food, Chris likes drinks. While an all-inclusive place isn't completely necessary, being surrounded by easy options adds to #3.


6. Culture/Adventure. While I say I want complete relaxation, I don't know if Chris and I can truly sit around for that long. So, we need a place that has some sort of culture and adventure that we can partake in when we get bored from relaxing - a historic site, zip-line, something.


7. Affordable. Let's not forget about the price. We did just buy a house this year and we both decided to go back to school, so something really affordable is essential for our tiny bank accounts. We're thinking that the Caribbean, Mexico, or Costa Rica are good options . . . but if you have ideas, please share!!

Now, you might be thinking that a vacation isn't really a goal as much as it is a wish. But, to us, it's a goal. The definition of a goal is: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed. Our efforts will be directed towards making our vacation dreams come true (aka, saving our pennies! . . . and getting in swim-suit-wearing shape.).

I can't believe I forgot to list it, but now it's out there. And MUST be achieved (or else I might go crazy)!