greenery & tea: the life of a sahw-wannabe

New site

2008-05-04T15:08:00Z

You can now veiw my blog at http://greeneryandtea.blogspot.com/.

Thanks for reading!

No Longer in the Shadows

2008-04-29T00:00:00Z

I had a minor meltdown on Saturday. My sister announced she was going to London for a semester to live and I immediately felt the beginnings of sister envy. This used to happen to me all the time when I was younger. My two half sisters lived with our dad full time (until he and their mother split up), while I only saw him every other weekend. I grew up always thinking my father loved them more and wasn’t as proud of me. I felt like I wasn’t as good as they were (and this has continued through my adult years). Their mother has always had money and they take yearly vacations to Rome and Paris. They both go to universities where one studies foreign languages and one studies journalism. (You can see why I--married with no degree--worry that I’m living in their shadows.) Even though I’ve always been very happy, I've still felt like I’m competing with them (and losing).

So Saturday I called my dad, in tears, and asked (very pitifully I might add), “Daddy, are you proud of me?” He couldn’t believe I was asking him that. I said that I was worried he wasn’t as proud of me as he was the younger two because I wasn’t going to school, I didn’t have a plan, and I didn’t have a “real” career. He said, “You picked up your entire life and moved across the country for your husband. You bought your first house at 22 years old and set it up all by yourself while your husband was away in a foreign country fighting a war. I’m not only proud of you I’m proud of him! He left his new wife and his life at home to fight for those of us here. And you know that in another year or two you’ll have to pick up and start all over again. I’m so proud of you! You’re my hero!” At this point I’m pretty much bawling like a little baby. I was so happy to hear him tell me that no matter what I did he’d always be proud of me. I think his exact words were, “It’s who you are that I’m proud of. You could be a high flying career woman, but if you were a raging ***, you’d be a terrible person.” When I finished with him I called my mother, who echoed his sentiments by saying, "I don't care if you're a lawyer, a teacher, or a stay-at-home-wife. As long as you're happy then I'm proud of you."

I finally came to terms with the fact that I hate the idea of school. I’ve always hated school, I still hate school, I never want to go back to school. At least not under pressure. I want to go back and take French 101 again. I want to take Pottery and Culinary Skills classes. I want to learn about Nutrition and about in depth Composition. I want to spend my days off taking Belly Dancing! Maybe one of these day I’ll have hundreds of credits racked up and I can finally say, “Hey, look at that, I have a degree.” But I’m no longer going to stress out about having to go back to school. I’m not going to worry about having to pay an arm and a leg for higher education. (And, here’s the irony, the Federal Aid foundation says Jason and I make too much money for any type of aid. Try telling an enlisted Marine he makes too much money.)

Does it mean I won’t always have to good jobs? Yes. Does it mean I’ll have to bounce around? Probably. But am I doing that anyways because of the military? Yes. I enjoy being Jane-of-all-trades. The truth is I have so many passions that I can’t narrow them down to one thing I want to do for the rest of my life. Right now I am loving finance. But I’m thinking maybe I’d like to try radio interning the next time around or maybe working with the EPA or volunteering for PETA. And who knows, if something comes along that I find fulfilling, then I’ll pursue it. But it will be on my own terms, not anyone else’s.

And certainly not because I’m trying to keep up with my sisters.

Feel the burn

2008-04-26T15:16:00Z

I don’t know what it is about California that suddenly puts me into exercise overdrive. I spend the year in North Carolina, not really loving my curves, but not hating them either. Then I schedule a trip to San Diego and I’m suddenly in gear. I exercise daily (but don’t overdo it), I start watching what I eat more closely, and I schedule whole days at the salon before I go. Shallow? Perhaps a bit, but this is my home and even though I’m now a citizen of the world (thanks to the Marine Corps), I still can’t let the California girl in me fade away.

And along the lines of hyper-panic, I decided I wanted to change my hair cut a bit. Nothing too dramatic as I still like it being long, but I thought I’d opt for something cuter and a bit trendier (left). So shoot me.

Today Jason I got up early (as we always do on the weekends—sleeping in for us is until 7!) and lay around reading. We got up and went for our 2-block-ish walk, me carrying my little 3 pound hand weights all the way (talk about a burn—3 pounds gets really heavy when you’re carrying them around for 45 minutes). I feel good because now I know if all I do is sit and Nest all day, I’ve had my exercise. And in the interest of being serious about being healthy, I'm going to start a little exercise/fitness diary/blog.

On a different note, something funny happened today: I read the back of my toothpaste tube. We switched to natural toothpaste a while ago and have been using Tom’s of Maine (the mint, so refreshing). As I was reading I came across a line that said something like “without the sugars of regular toothpaste.” Confused, I rummaged around trying to find a small travel sized toothpaste we still had, and right on the back one of the ingredients was aspartame. Aspartame! Sugar! And one of the worst ones out there! In my toothpaste! What a scam—how is brushing your teeth with sugar going to keep them clean? I realize it may be a miniscule amount in there but still. You might as well be gargling with soda!

I’ll end with this: please read your labels, know what you’re putting into your body. ::stepping off my soapbox::

The geniuses at BB&B

2008-04-22T23:15:00Z

I woke up super excited today—on my lunch hour I was going to go check out the new Bed Bath & Beyond that had just opened. I wanted to flip through a copy of "Organic Housekeeping" to figure out if I wanted to buy it. I rushed over and went straight to the counter. The cashier directed to me to a small display near another register, covered in Rachel Ray cook books. I explained to her what the book was and she pawned me off on a manager saying, "Can you show her where the other cook books are?" "It's not a cook book," I told her. I tried explaining to him what I was looking for. He again directed me to the same display. "It's not a cook book." I was able to talk him into looking it up on his computer (because he was oh-so busy) and he types "organic magazine" in his search field. "Nothing's coming up." Duh, you reject. "It's called Organic Housekeeping." He types in "organic cooking." "We have several cook books--" "It's not a cook book!" (Oh.My.Gawd.) Finally, he types it in and it pops right up. But no one in the state carries it apparently. I turned down his "offer" to order it for me (it would have cost over $40 by the time all was said and done) and figured I'd just walk around. It took me less than three minutes to make it around the store, it was that small. I was so disappointed.

Luckily, Amazon carries it. And I'll be paying $18 for it, rather than BB&B's $30 price tag.

Tomorrow I'll be jumping into Wednesday's cleaning schedule, and hopefully cleaning out a good portion of our spare bedroom. We've made a list of all the things we want to donate to our local Goodwill and I'll be so happy to get rid of the clutter! I'm also planning a trip to Target to get some of Dr. Bronner's liquid soaps. The C&O Nesties rave about it and it's 100% vegetarian (score!). Plus, the label boasts it's an 18-in-1 soap, so hopefully that should save me the hassel of buying cleaners for anything else.

June Cleaver eat your heart out

2008-04-20T13:05:00Z

I'm becoming the quintessential housewife. Even if it kills me. Jason and I were so frustrated yesterday at how messy our house gets with just the two of us living here. It’s ridiculous. (I’ve always told him that if I was a stay-at-home-wife, then the house would always be clean since that would be my job. I’m waiting for the day when I can start my “dream” job, but I have a feeling the closest I will get is a three-days-a-week work schedule.) So anyways, looking for inspiration I hopped onto the Cleaning & Organizing board. I immediately immersed myself into the world of simple household cleaners. I was shocked to find everything I needed to clean my house was sitting in my pantry! Who knew vinegar and baking soda could do so much?! I actually tried a little variation for my flat range (which I can’t use the chemical cleaners on because it melts the heating circles). I took baking soda, Dawn, and water and made a paste. I dribbled it over the stove (which was messy from several explosions the night before) and rubbed it in with my Mr. Clean magic eraser (I’m starting to sound like a commercial). I let it sit for about 10 minutes, came back and wiped it perfectly clean. I couldn’t believe it. I actually dragged Jason into the kitchen to show him.

And appropriately enough, yesterday as we were arguing about the house we flipped our Irish proverbs desk calendar to the day’s date, and this quote stared back at us: “An old broom knows the dirty corners best.” Go figure.

So this morning, Jason and I are off to Wal-Mart to buy a few of those essential ingredients (all I have is Balsamic Vinegar, and somehow I don’t think that’s going to work the same). I also want to look at a good old fashion sponge mop and bucket. Swiffer may think they’re the best, but I always end up having to get down and scrub by hand on really tough stains. The sponge mop might not be any better, but I won’t know until I try. I also want to pick up some essential oils to make the house smell nice.

Two of my favorite sites from yesterday:

Clean & Green (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8088/clngrn.html)

The Hyper Homemaker (http://hyperhomemaker.blogspot.com/)

Another must-have for my "dream job." These aprons are made to look like the one worn by Mrs. Ricky Ricardo herself! Check out the matching dishwashing gloves to go with them! Who says you can't clean in style?! (Personally, I am digging the yellow something fierce!)

You can find them in other shapes, styles, and gorgeous colors at Carolyn's Kitchen (http://www.carolynskitchenonline.com/index.html)

Big events

2008-04-16T12:56:00Z

Two very big things are happening in my life very soon. In June I’m going back to California for my father’s fiftieth birthday. I’m so excited and I cannot wait—of course it means getting my body back into “California” shape. I’m getting ready to go the gym right now and I’ve already picked out all my outfits. I’ve found that as the months go on I’m getting really homesick. I’ve so enjoyed our time in North Carolina and I’m so happy with the things I’ve gotten to see and do. But gawd I’m praying we get stationed in California the next time around. I miss my family, I miss holidays at five different houses, and I miss beach bars with my friends. Not that North Carolina is lacking some of those things but California is…well, it’s California.

But before any of that gets underway, one of the biggest events since my wedding is taking place: I’m undergoing surgery. I’ve decided that after nearly 8 years of researching, considering, and daydreaming, I’m going to have a breast augmentation. Judge if you will, but this is something I’ve been wanting since I realized I stopped developing at an A cup. I have a “half-an-hour-glass” body, as I like to call it. I have a small waist and a curvy set of hips and a round butt. I feel that I am very disproportionate when it comes to the way I’m sitting up top. I’m very lucky to have such a supportive husband who only wants me to be happy (but secretly I think he’s a tiny bit excited in a typical guy fashion). I’ve always believed him when he’s told me he loves me just the way I am, but this is for me.

I’m very anxious and truly, I cannot wait.

Buh-bye TV!

2008-04-12T11:26:00Z

After the wedding, Jason and I thought it was a good time to sign up for a television provider. We’d gotten a plasma screen as our wedding gift from one of my uncles and it seemed like a waste not to have some sort of cable. We chose Dish Network, signed up for their 18-month plan to waive the $50 installation fee, and have hated it from day one! I’ve since vowed that I’ll never agree to a long term contract just to waive a fee. We plan on cancelling this month (after Rock of Love 2 is over with), which means paying $150 cancellation fee—but we’re seriously that unhappy with the service. We were supposed to have signed up for a $35 plan, and yet somehow our bill fluctuates between $50 and $75 a month! Plus we’ve noticed they started taking away channels. On top of that, not only do the channels go out when it’s storming outside, but they go out for no reason at all when it’s perfectly clam outside. During the super bowl we ended up losing the picture during the last part of the game. We still had sound, but no picture.

We’re not planning on resigning with anyone, but that’s not a big deal; the first 2 years we were together, we never had cable of any sort. We’re not home enough to sit and watch it. And most of the time there’s nothing good on anyways. Plus during our TV-free years, we were much more motivated to read, do projects, or exercise. Now we come home, plop in front of the TV and watch reruns. We recently signed up for Netflix which means a whole host of new shows coming through our mailbox every week. And at $15 a month for unlimited movies who needs a shoddy-cable deal?

Reality check

2008-03-29T14:08:00Z

Jason and I were talking about the future and our next duty station. We’re due to PCS out of here early 2010. (2010 may seem like a long ways away, but when you’re in the military 2 and 3 years at a duty station pass in the blink of an eye!) When we were talking, Jason brought up an interesting point: if we want to move in March of 2010, we have to put our house on the market in June or July of 2009. That’s next summer!

Our little area is expecting a housing boom because they’re moving about 12,000 new troops to our base and hopefully we’ll be in the midst of that next year. The idea of having to put the house on the market in a little over a year really sobered me up! It made me look around and go, okay, how are we going to get this place ready? My first thought was to spruce up the kitchen. Every HGTV show says if you’re going to put any money into your house, let it be the kitchens and bathrooms because that’s where you see your best return.

We’re thinking about going with Silestone or Corian. I used Home Depot’s website to do a project estimator for the Silestone (where with my bad measuring skills and limited knowledge, I tried to overshoot a few of my measurements). They came back quoting me $1,539.94 for 22.52 square feet, professional measurements, removal of our old countertops, and installation. The girls on the D&R board have assured me this is a good estimate price. I’d still like to get one done for the Corian to compare.

(These were the two colors I was debating on for Silestone. I chose Coffee Brown because I thought it was warmer, plus it was cheaper than the Stellar Night.)

So while the counter tops aren’t the first things on our list, they are a major to-do. First things first: landscaping. I’m ashamed to say that with the way it looks right now, I don’t think I’d give the house a second glance! As soon as North Carolina’s frost season is over with, Jason and I will be out there with the dirt and the bugs!

We think the lone tree in our yard is dead (the former landscapers--not owners--did a bad job). We’d like to replace it with a native dogwood tree.

To fill in our flower beds with minimal work and upkeep (‘cause we have “brown” thumbs as opposed to green thumbs) we’re thinking of planting Mexican heather, which does well in the region and is a low growing shrub.