“L”ast day…

Tonight was my last day at Job#2.

I turned in my two weeks notice, well, two weeks ago, and tonight was my last shift. It seems pretty crazy that part of my life is over now.

It was fun at times, and crazy hectic at times, and awful at times. But I learned a lot about retail, and a lot about myself.

So now I’m down to Job#1 and Job#3.

And now I’m looking forward to what’s next.

Also, tomorrow is the half marathon. Hope it doesn’t storm!

Our weekend…a food photo story.

This weekend, was busy.

So, instead of giving you a play-by-play of everything we did, I figured I’d give you a little bit to drool over and tell our weekend story through photos of food. With some other awesome stuff mixed in as well.

And actually, I’m going to start our “weekend” food photos with something we made and ate on Tuesday. Tuna patties. And fried potatoes. It was perfect and light before our volleyball game, after which we went to Applebee’s for half-price apps with friends.

I've never made these before and didn't use a recipe. They aren't exactly what I would do again, flavorings -wize, but it was still yummy.

Then, on Friday night, our weekend officially started with this meal on our little patio deck.

Tuna with lemon sauce, vegetables with potatoes, and corn bread. Hubs made this whole meal himself as a surprise for me.

After that we hung around the apartment and put away laundry, watched some TV, and spent a little QT together. We’re wild ad crazy newlyweds, can you tell?

Oh, and I made this for dessert.

It's strawberry salsa with homemade cinnamon chips. I got the idea from Liz's mom, who made it for the bridal shower last weekend. Super yummy.

Want my “recipe”? Check it out here.

On Saturday morning, I had to go to work, but only for a few hours because then it was time for the soccer game! (Whoo hoo Sporting Kansas City!)

We were blessed with special seats to this home opener because Wyatt was given tickets to the executive suite from his job because of the work he did in New York. (Remember when he was gone for a week and I hated it? Well, I guess there was some unseen good that came of it later!)

The view from the sweet suite we got to watch the game from. (See what I did there? Aren't homophones fun?!)

We were excited to see the food offerings, especially since it was all-inclusive. Free food and drink!

Super delicious free food. Those potatoes were the bomb. And yes, those are cloth napkins and real silverware...at a soccer game. Fancy-smancy indeed!

And the drinks were great, too!

A frosty, glass(!) glass of boulevard wheat with lemon while enjoying a great game? Don't mind if I do!

I wish I’d taken a picture of the four chocolate chunk cookies I indulged in, but I was too busy shoving them into my mouth. Sorry.

Needless to say, on Sunday morning, after all the rambunctiousness of Saturday night, we slept in and got up to make brunch before I had to go to work at noon.

Wyatt made waffles, and I made more of the strawberry dip from Friday night to put on them. Super yummy.  It made me not-at-all-grumpy for work that day, which is not usually how I leave for job#1.

I would recommend this to anyone on the day after a night of eating, drinking, yelling, laughing, and celebrating a great win.

Too bad we couldn’t share with the boys we drove to and from the game. They probably could have used a good morning meal to help cure the ails of evidence of all the fun they had the entire day before. It was St. Patty’s Day, after all, and they celebrated it up right!

Then, on Sunday evening when I got home from work, only slightly grouchy, we went for a long drive to begin our house-hunting process. We explored potential neighborhoods and worked up an appetite.

We went out to dinner, as we sometimes do on Sunday nights, and I didn’t take a picture of our “just okay” meals from the restaurant.

But the good food continued to tonight, which I know isn’t really the weekend anymore, but is still worth mentioning I think.

Baked zucchini, garlic mashed potatoes, and cube steak. (My family knows what that is...do you? Or is that a code name we use for something everybody else calls by another name?)

All in all, a great weekend of outdoor time (it was so nice out!), good food, friends, and fun.

P.S. If you’ve seen ads at the bottom on this blog, please know that I didn’t put them there. I guess WordPress decided I have enough traffic they could make some money off of my blog. It only shows up on a few posts and for those without a WordPress account. Please know that I do not endorse anything that is put there, nor am I getting paid for it. I’m currently looking into a way to get this resolved (including buying my own domain–exciting times!) Thanks for understanding!

Trying to do it all…

I’m trying to do a lot of things.

1. Be a good wife. I get emotional and sometimes I cry or snap at Hubs. I get annoyed at the piles of laundry he hides on his side of the bed. I get tired of doing dishes. I get frustrated that we don’t have enough storage for all the stuff I want to put in our kitchen cabinets. I also leave my makeup and stuff on his side of the sink. All that is true.

But, it’s also true that I love Wyatt intensely, and I’m passionate and excited about our future together, despite the fact that I sometimes mess up. Ok, I mess up a lot.

2. I’m trying to have a career I love.

Yes, I’m working three jobs right now, and I like each one for different reasons. Yes, Job#1 means not all of my “time at home” is “free time.” That’s okay because it gives Hubs some “TV/Video game time” and I love the work and am learning a lot. Yes, Job#2 makes me want to scream sometimes because there’s an endless amount of people that walk through the door, and the phone NEVER STOPS RINGING, but I enjoy the people I work with and I’m learning to let go of the things I can’t change and disconnect from work when I go home, things I’ve never been very good at. And yes, Job#3 is a drive, and pays not so much, and is frustrating, but I’m confident it will help me get where I want to go someday down the road. I’m learning a lot, and getting more and more practice.

They all have pros and cons, but overall, I wish I didn’t get tired and frustrated as easily as I do because  I’m really very thankful for each of them for different reasons.

3. I’m trying to plan a bridal shower for my best friend. This is such a fun task, but it’s harder because I’m no longer living in the town with the people I’m trying to work with. Thank goodness for the internet.

4. I’m trying to keep our apartment clean. I dislike dusting, and out apartment’s vents must be full of years of dirt because there is a layer of dust on our furniture only minutes after I wipe them down. I also try to stay caught up with laundry and dishes and mail and grocery shopping and…

I know I can’t wait to have a house, but it’s crazy to think how a bigger house will tend to mean a bigger mess. Good thing Hubs is helping me out more and more.

5. I’m trying to get in shape to run a half marathon this Spring. Yikes. The cold and rain aren’t making this easy.

6. I’m trying to eat healthier. I know Hubs and I both can use more veggies in our daily meals. We can also use less excess sweets and salt. My how I love sweets and salt! (Not necessarily together, but together is also tasty!)

I know that eating salad at home would be a good way to do this. Sadly, I hate buying lettuce. The bagged lettuce is expensive, but the head lettuce wilts so quickly! I’m at a loss as to what to do. I wish there was a magic kitchen gadget that would make washing and storing lettuce easier.

7. I’m trying to adjust to life in the city, away from my family and friends. Don’t get me wrong. I love our little apartment. I like living in the city. It’s great that we have friends (and family) near us in the city. But there’s a lot of people that I find myself missing pretty often. I’ve lived in one place my whole life until now and it’s hard to adjust to not being around the same people and places.

8. I’m trying to save as much money as I/we can. I price match at Walmart. (Yes, I’m one of those but I do go as quickly as I can at the check out!) I also use coupons when possible. I look for deals and I don’t go in Hobby Lobby or Pier 1, ever. I also try to avoid shoe stores.

Hubs does a good job of this as well. He’s actually even thriftier than me.

With all this trying, it’s easy to see why I get discouraged when there’s so much “trying” and not as much “doing.” I wish things would move faster sometimes, but I don’t want to wish any time away from this first year.

This whole year of marriage has been a huge learning experience so far. And not because I’m learning to love Wyatt more or learning to live with him, thought that’s true, too. But I’m growing up a lot and learning a lot about what I want, what we want, what we need, and what our future will look like together.

But, I’ll keep trying. And right now I’m going to try to figure out a way I can take a nap, workout, shower, and get ready for work all in the next hour…

Wish me luck!