Highlights from the Week

It's been a really good week overall! 

--The hub got back on Sunday afternoon and then we both had regular work weeks.  He finally had a 3 day and was wonderful enough to do some housework on Friday while I was at work.  It's been fabulous to have two whole days to spend together, so we've been keeping it pretty low key---running errands, making dinner, enjoying the small moments with the dogs, etc. 

--Work continues well.  All of us new staff are now settled and I've taken on a regular load at this point.  I'm loving my office organization and decorating I did last weekend, as it makes for a comfortable work environment.  I had a high moment on Wednesday when a retiree came in and told me that the resume I'd helped him with landed him all three of the interviews that he'd wanted!!  Little things like that make me really appreciate the opportunity to work in a job that allows me to help people.

--I'm in the habit of running every day right after work and it's been great for processing the work day and relaxing.  I broke down lately and replaced some of my sports bras and socks (I've had the same ones for 10-12 years)....and let me tell you, definitely worthwhile investment! ;-)  I'm no longer fiddling with straps as I run.  Now I just need to create a new work-out playlist! 

--One of my old coworkers gifted us a lil' old TV before they left.  Hub set it up on Friday in the spare room and got a remote for it yesterday.  We priced new TVs and agreed on size and type for when the funding is available.  My coworkers  give me a hard time for not having a TV, but the two of us don't really watch much anyway.  Technically we can watch TV on our big projector screen but we just choose not to.  We do live stream movies and some sports on the computer and that's mainly what we choose to watch when we do watch anyway. 

--We're one small payment away from paying off the car and I've arranged my first student loan payment.  By end of summer we'll have the last of our outstanding bills paid off (well except for my student loan which will take years still and the new truck payment which should be mainly paid off next spring).  I'm really proud of our money budgeting & management these first 9 months together when I've been unemployed, and our ability to pay off the unexpected bills that we recently discovered.  I'm looking forward to putting extra money away for payments/savings because we want to rather than because we have to though!

--I spent yesterday afternoon researching new bed options.  We were going to purchase a new bed from West Elm as we love their style and prices; however they never resolved our previous shipping issue and I wasn't impressed with their customer service, so I'll no longer do business with them.  Additionally, we've started discussing quality rather than price lately.  The husband is a proponent of hardwood and I'm leaning toward an organic mattress option which equates to a lot more money.  (Health outcomes based on exposures to flame retardants (PBDEs) which are required by law for mattresses are dismaying.)  We're looking at having to double our budget for a new king size bed.....but since we spend 1/3 of our lives in our beds then it's definitely worthwhile. 

--Last night was Earth Hour from 8:30-9:30pm when people across the world turn out their lights in support of environmental awareness and commitment.  We ended up seeing a movie on post, so I'm not sure that counts as participating but the lights in our house were off and we weren't using lights in the movie.  I really like seeing movies on post because they're always shown between the new release time and rental period, so they're at a reduced cost.  And it was nice to spend an evening out together!

--Last weekend I'd purchased a few starts: tomato, basil, rosemary, and a jalapeno for the hub.  We had a cold spell so I kept them inside, well watered, and in the front window all week.  However I just planted them in our flower bed containers yesterday afternoon, so hopefully they'll produce something!  I also was surprised that the daffodils I'd planted about a month ago actually came up and now we have happy lil' flowers in the front bed!

--We've given up on the grass re-seeding in the back yard. The dogs have been doing pretty well outside during (still some holes but.....) and they actually enjoy being outside more than not now. They have a new  lil pup friend from next door who is in our yard more than in her yard. ;) Luckily, we've had no new blow-outs from the food as we've started transitioning them back to the old food choice. 

Then just the little things that bring us joy:

-Doggie smiles, green leaves on the trees, birdies in the morning chirping outside our bedroom windows, laughter together, our favorite local beer is back in season!, cooking together (hub just introduced me to breakfast burritos---AMAZING! and he makes great breakfast on the weekends), Netflix movies and interesting books, etc.

I hope each of you has had a fulfilling week too!

Wish You Enough

So this is one of those forwards that I've received before....usually I don't read most forwarded stuff but I like the story with this one.  I don't know who to originally attribute it to, so hopefully no one gets upset about the posting.  Since it's relevant to what this blog is about, I wanted to share it here:

ENOUGH Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport.  They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged, and the mother said, 'I love you, and I wish you  enough.' The daughter replied, ' Mom, our life together has been more than enough.  Your love is all I ever needed.  I wish you enough, too, Mom.' They kissed, and the daughter left.  The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry.  I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?' Yes, I have,' I replied.  'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?' 'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead, and the reality is - her next  trip back will be for my funeral,' she said. 'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough. '  May I ask what that means?' She began to smile.  'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone .'  She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more.  'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.'   Then, turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory:    I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more. I  wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.. I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.  Then, she began to cry, and walked away. They say, it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them , a day to love them, but an entire lifetime to forget them.  TAKE TIME TO LIVE..... To all my friends and loved ones,

I WISH YOU  ENOUGH.......

Great News Headlines!

So I'm a Facebook user and one of the things that I like to do on Facebook is share neat news clips---whether they're about interesting stories, new environmental health studies, nutrition, etc.  This recently became an issue as I had a commenter send me a private message accussing me of spreading liberal propaganda.  The irony here is that this individual is someone I allowed to be on my contact list even though I didn't really want him there, but I was just trying to be nice.  (He is the younger brother of one of my closest high school friends.)  Needless to say he's no longer on my list and my page now carries the following disclaimer: "If you don't want to hear or read posts about environmental or public health, enjoying the simple things of life, or frugal & natural living....then you probably don't want to be my FB "friend.""  Clean, simple, and honest.  I try to keep my contact list small and more personal anyway as I like my list to contain people who are close family/friends or who are individuals who have had amazing significance to my life. (And I can't help also but to have some sort of paranoid conspiracy theory thoughts about Facebook...)

However I thought that today I would take the time to share some of the news articles, here on the blog, that have me tickled this morning:


8 Foods That Fight Stress :health.yahoo.com/featured/87/8-foods-that-fight-stress/
--I wonder if I made a bowl of oatmeal with lowfat milk and topped with blueberries, chopped walnuts, and dark chocolate shavings if I could 5x the stress reducing effects.....anyone want to give it a try and let me know how it works?! ;-)

101 Small Pleasures You Can Enjoy Every Day  :http://shine.yahoo.com/event/makeover/101-small-pleasures-you-can-enjoy-every-day-1125425/
--Its not always common to see simple pleasures posted to the news....

Exercise Can Help Prevent Weight Gain, But It Won't Be Easy :http://health.yahoo.com/featured/91/exercise-can-help-prevent-weight-gain-but-it-won-t-be-easy
--I just had this conversation with my husband last night so I was intrigued to find this article online this morning.  While the average age of the study participant was 54, I think this can apply at younger ages.  I've been watching what I eat for the most part for the last 3 months and have been running on a fairly regular basis-at least attempting to keep to my goal of 3-5 runs a week.  Yet even then I've been feeling myself just maintaining rather losing any extra weight.  I'm hopeful this is due to the extra hormones I have pumping through me this month, but regardless the hub and I are talking about buying the P90X work out program to do at home together in the evenings.

Fattest State's Lawmakers Shed Pounds, Fried Stuff :http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lawmakers_fitness_camp
--Politicians and even a lobbyist doing something fabulously right!  So great that these individuals are attempting to set an example for the state....now let's hope they can keep with it!

All of these are taken from Yahoo News by the way, so if any of you look at the news clips there then you've probably seen them.  When I log out of my yahoo account it takes me the their main news page, and they always have a hodge podge of different information.  Hope at least one strikes your interest!  Have a great day!  It's Wednesday :-)

Its the Weekend!

This week was incredibly productive.  Somehow I ran every evening after work and on Wednesday I had an extra burst of evening energy.  Thus on Wednesday, I got 4 loads of laundry done--including changing out the winter bedding for more spring time blankets, the dogs got caught up on all their health needs, the bathroom & kitchen got cleaned, and the house got vacuumed.  Yesterday I got all the dusting at home done, finally made some of the donations to charity I'd been hoping to do, and then was able to go down to the office to rearrange & "decorate" it now that it's officially mine to move into (Gonna miss the coworker though!!).

Today I just feel like my brain has been in a fog though.  We switched the dogs food last weekend and both girls have had a LOT of stomach issues--which means that I haven't slept as well cause I'm anxious & tired of getting up in the morning and having to hose out Roxi's kennel and her off.  Lady (the little black cat) disappeared almost all week and then showed up two days ago for food.  This morning when I was up to check on the dogs at 3am, I heard her crying outside so I let her in.  Usually Ms Lady settles right down, but this morning she wanted love and attention.  When I finally gave in and got up at 6:45am, all 4 of the creatures were right on my heels ready for the day.  Gotta love the pets sometimes :)

However my brain fog has nothing on the zombie state I expect the hub to be in--Hopefully he gets home today.  Poor guy has been working for 3 weeks straight--2 weeks of 12 hour nights in the field and then this last week being in the field non-stop with limited food & sleep.  If he is home tonight, then we might, just might be able to sleep in the same bed for the 2nd full night in 3 weeks. :)  I had hoped he'd be home at a decent time to get a full day of sleep in, but it doesn't appear that will happen.  If the pattern follows the same norm, then he'll be back at work early tomorrow morning.  Here's hoping for his sake he truly does get next weekend off.

Right now I've got one dog in, one dog out, one cat snoozing behind the futon, and one napping on top of the kitchen cupboards.  I have the weirdest loaf of bread currently going in the breadmaker.  I couldn't quite remember if I'd put enough flour in--apparently not.  Yet even after adding an additional cup of flour, its still a bit more sticky than it probably should be.  After an almost full week of beautiful 70 degree sunny days, I've got the heat on and the wind is creating the effect of snow as the beautiful blossoms drift down from the spring trees.  I've got some errands that I could get done, but today might just be a day for hibernating and relaxing at home.

Here are some of the wonderful things from this week however:
--Wednesday's productivity
--Tuesay night call w/ my old bud from home who I hadn't talked w/ for over a year
--Netflix movies: The Princess & the Frog was adorable (but maybe not for kids)
--Managed to do 4 briefings at work & help a variety of soldiers w/ resumes
--Simple solo suppers
--Beautiful weather for evening runs
--Monday's phone catch up with Granny
--Interesting eco innovations and news
--Laughing at the little things
--The dogs only dug three holes out of five 10 hour days outside!!
--Support & encouragement from family & friends

I hope that everyone who reads this is having a wonderful Sunday wherever you are located!  Enjoy!

Recent Conversations

So even though this blog is my attempt at being authentic, there are still times in my personal or professional life where I may not share 100% of my personal beliefs with those that I interact with frequently.  This is due to my being afraid of offending others, being concerned about freaking them out too much, or some fear about their reaction toward me.  However in the last week I've had a couple of different conversations in which I've felt comfortable sharing much more about my own knowledge or lifestyle choices.

Last Friday evening I spent a bit of time chatting online with a friend of mine from my public health program.  We don't talk overly frequently but she is someone that I've always enjoyed.  Fundamentally I would say that in many ways we view the world the same, however it wasn't until last weekend that I shared anything with her about my belief in voluntary simplicity.  The conversation came up due to our discussion of Moore's (absolutely wonderful!!) documentary Capitalism, and I shared that one of my favorite parts of the film was Moore's point that capitalism and Christianity do not go together.  It was at that point that I shared about voluntary simplicity and how it is much more in line with Christianity.  She had never heard of voluntary simplicity and so I directed her to The Simple Living Network, specifically to the description offered by Elgin & Mitchell entitled Voluntary Simplicity-Part 1, section II.  In that description Elgin & Mitchell offer a discussion on five of the values of simple living: material simplicity, human scale, self-determination, ecological awareness, and personal growth.  And in a weird sort of way, directing her to that resource and sharing my belief in that philosophy left me feeling much more free....

The second conversation that I've had recently was with one of my coworkers about toxic health exposures via diet, industry's lack of regulation, etc.  She's new to a lot of information on these topics but is consistently asking me questions to increase her awareness.  Sometimes expanding one's view on these topics is a tough one for me however, cause at times it can become pretty depressing to learn just how much we are all impacted by toxic exposures without much of a choice.  She's hoping to get a Klean Kanteen.  We've had the whole microwaving in plastics discussion, and I've shared with her about BPA.  We talked about the increased rates of diabetes due to an overabundance of sugar in our diets (probably attributable to both the high rates of high fructose corn syrup in our products and the conversion of an overabundance of carbs breaking down into excess glucose). We'd previously touched on the personal care product industry and the lack of testing/reported findings of the majority of all chemicals on the market.  We've talked about chemicals in every day products.  And I've discussed with her the principles of bioaccumulation.  Myself and another coworker have shared movie titles and links with her.  We've encouraged her to watch Food Inc and King Corn.  I sent her links to EWG, CHEJ, and websites for Sara Snow, Michael Pollan, and Stacy Malkan. I also loaned her The Body Toxic and offered to loan her my favorite: Having Faith by Sandra Steingraber.  Sometimes it's amazing how much a conversation can lend.

It's in moments like these that I recognize how much information I have packed into my brain, and yet how much is still left to be discovered!  And while I really try not to push my beliefs onto other people, its exciting when people ask questions or want to be connected to resources.  I know that it seems almost impossible to change the entire big picture, but its nice to watch other people select a healthier alternative, especially when that one choice might decrease the total exposure amount faced by his or her child.  I know that our daily exposures are incredible, but I always feel that if we can reduce that exposure even by 1, 2, or 15 things---every little bit helps.  And if I can attempt to open another's eyes to the principles of voluntary simplicity, then all the better.

In another conversation with a different coworker today....I just might have a local, free range, organic egg resource---YES! ;-)  Maybe it's a good thing to keep talking...... :)

Quotes: Happiness

This afternoon I did a little google search for quotes on happiness.  This search was mainly due to wanting to find a quote about the inability for an individual to be happy if s/he is basing happiness on another person. This is something that I think is especially important in a functional marriage--that each partner within the couple needs to have internal contentment and not expect his or her happiness to be derived solely by the presence of the other.  I definitely believe that our partners influence our happiness, but it is our own individual perceptions and interpretations of life that allow us to be happy. While I didn't find the exact quote I was looking for, I found a lot of other quotes that I thought were wonderful and relevant to my reason for beginning the search.  So I thought that I would share some of them here.  Most of these were taken from: http://www.quotegarden.com/happiness.html

If you want to be happy, be. ~Leo Tolstoy

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. ~Frederick Keonig

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour. ~Author Unknown

Just as a cautious businessman avoids investing all his capital in one concern, so wisdom would probably admonish us also not to anticipate all our happiness from one quarter alone. ~Sigmund Freud

The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment. ~Doug Larson

Happiness is a matter of one's most ordinary and everyday mode of consciousness being busy and lively and unconcerned with self. ~Iris Murdoch

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. ~Joseph Addison

To be obliged to beg our daily happiness from others bespeaks a more lamentable poverty than that of him who begs his daily bread. ~Charles Caleb Colton

The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things. ~Epictetus

Some pursue happiness, others create it. ~Author Unknown

You need to learn to be happy by nature, because you'll seldom have the chance to be happy by circumstance. ~Lavetta Sue Wegman

Happiness & Gratitude

Just some of the things bringing me happiness & gratitude lately:

--9 full hours of sleep last night

--blossoming trees in the neighborhood

--kitties meowing; doggie happiness

--morning birds chirping; evening bugs buzzing

--arriving home from work yesterday to a clean house & prepared meal

--successful moves for two incredible ladies (one to Germany!!)

--a fairly successful first solo "simple" briefing at work

--practicing that briefing on the hub the evening before ;-)

--viewing Michael Moore's Capitalism---FAB-U-LOUS (especially the reminder that capitalism and Christianity really do NOT go together)

--pay day: so close to paying off the car!

--text messages from friends here and far

--successful contraception & medical appointments

--SUNSHINE and night spring rains

--the healthy arrival of my young nephew's daughter (timing may not be ideal, but she arrived healthy!)

--wind chimes chiming
--fresh air blowing through the windows of home & the car
--catching up on fellow bloggers weekly posts
--homemade iced coffees
--using the Crock Pot to make delicious arroz con leche/rice pudding (one of my favorite desserts from Argentina!)
--thoughts of what to take to decorate the new office at work
--drenching with sweat in the moments when I do run
--smiles with coworkers

99 Things

Instructions: The post is a list of 99 things you could have done, and you are supposed to bold the ones that you yourself have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to DisneyWorld
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain 
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous 
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Hubby's Gifts

There are numerous things I appreciate about my husband.  He makes me laugh, he's willing to argue with me and helps me to shape my own arguments of why I believe the things that I do, he's an incredibly strong human being, he consistently desires to offer a hand to those he knows that are in need, he's a hard worker and rarely complains about the crazy schedule he has, he notices the little joys of life, he puts up with my craziness, he supports me, and I could go on....but I'll end with the fact that I've never met anyone (other than my father) who truly hates to see me upset and desires to make me happy.

Love and life is never without its thorns and like every relationship we definitely have our rough patches, but I can truly say that I married a man who matches the variety of interests that I hold.  While we don't always see things eye to eye, I've never met anyone who has such eccletic tendencies and this is something I cherish about him.   

And one of my favorite things about my hub is the way that he notices and responds to the little things.  One of his greatest gifts is his ability just to wrap his arms around me after a hard day, and I'm forever in awe of his ability to come through the front door every single day with a smile on his face to greet me.  I've mentioned before that neither he nor I are into flashy gifts at predetermined periods of time, but instead we try to find ways to surprise and provide for each other whether they're in big or small ways.  Here are some of the wonderful ways that my husband has provided for me--all of which I have so appreciated even if I didn't always do a good job of letting him know:

Our fabulous start of the worm bins!

Roxi learned to get into our old open trash can, so the hub picked up the stainless steel closed one after a day's work.

Stainless steel insulated water/coffee containers!

Rearranged and organized shelves.  (He reorganized the kitchen into zones that made more sense for how we live.) Labeled baking ingredients.

Sticky Buns and Delicious loafs of bread.

And there are numerous other ways.  His willingness to rub my shoulders or pop my back after a stressful day.  The gift of a kiss that I get every single morning when he first wakes up.  A text message to see how my day is going......

While I know that at times he probably feels taken for granted or that I'm the biggest pain in his butt, I so appreciate all the things that he does to provide for and demonstrate his care for me.  I truly feel like a fortunate woman.....

The Weekend in Photos

Playing catch up

Whoo--first week of March is already over.  Time flies when you're having fun....

Yesterday marked the first anniversary for the hub and I.  It's been an eventful year full of lots of transitions and getting to know each other better--but we both feel that we've come out stronger.  And now we're moving on to year two!  We usually don't exchange gifts for each other, but while hanging the laundry yesterday I discovered him out in the garage working on a worm bin for me!  You should have seen the happy dance I did in the kitchen!! ;-)  We still have a few details to work out and we need to order the worms, but I'm so glad that soon we'll have a place to put those kitchen scraps.....and hopefully I can bring home some of the shredder paper from work for our "brown" ingredients.

Beyond the worm bin, we met friends for dinner the night before and then we went out for Mexican last night.  Restaurants are hit or miss in this area, so we tried a different Mexican restaurant---really good for here but still not up to par with the authentic cuisine we're used to back home.  It was the hub's idea to get Mexican though as it's what we ate on our first date and then what we ate with some friends the evening we got hitched too.

The new job is going well!  Definitely helps that I'd already been trained somewhat, so in the next week I will start doing the briefings.  The husband is on a crazy schedule again for the next three weeks, so between my adapting to work and his busyness we're both two tired individuals!  However that busyness also lets us enjoy more the down time we do have and makes us appreciate the little things that make us smile---like the dogs and cats.  For now lil' black cat continues to be with us and we named her Lady.  She's still not a fan of our other animals and spends most her time hiding in our bedroom, but at least she's being fed and she appears to think of this as her home now.  (Yesterday afternoon Major and her were ready to come in and I saw Lady jumping up to get my attention through the front window!!)

Lots of transitions coming up in the next few months---mainly financially and socially.  With having the second paycheck we should be paying off a few things and getting a second vehicle.  We sat down the other night and calculated out about when that should happen.  Quite a few of the individuals who we have been hanging out with lately are moving out of here by mid summer, including our friends down the street.  That's the way it is with military life though----people are always coming and going.  We've talked about moving out of our military housing in June in order to try to find something "cheaper" and with more room for the animals.

Technically the military provides a flat amount for housing each month based on the soldier's rank.  If you live on post, the housing company acquisitions the entire amount regardless of how much the soldier is actually spending.  The nice piece of this is that you don't have to worry about paying housing bills--other than internet and anything extra.  The down side is that you never really understand how much you're using of resources and in some cases the housing company is making more than what it would cost to rent off post.  Its still up in the air as to what we'll do, but one of the couples moving out of here has a 2 bedroom house off post with a fenced backyard that allows animals.  The house isn't as nice as what we're currently living in.....but it might be worth it even to help us get in the habit of having to pay separate bills again.

Regardless we attempted yesterday to re-seed part of the backyard that is missing grass.  (The grass here becomes dormant and brown in winter, so now is the time to seed.)  The seeds I planted on the first go for our veggies didn't start, which didn't surprise me.  So we'll probably just buy some mini-plants in the next month---once we're for sure out of the cold mornings.  The lil strawberry is still going though so here's hoping!

I think its funny as the gals at work all think of me as the office hippy, but I've decided I might as well live up to that stereotype albeit in a professional manner.  I'm not embarrassed to wash out my lil sandwich baggies and bring my homemade soup in reused glass jars.  They've actually voiced a desire to try to do some sort of paper recycling---it doesn't happen on post but I could put out a bin and bring it home....  I'm also hoping to get our office kitchen a bit more up to par with more real silverware and dishes so that less paper products are used.  I already brought in our extra Brita filter pitcher so that I can have better tasting water (the water here tastes funky).  We'll see what happens, but if I can get a few small changes implemented by example....then all the better. :-)

And I've gabbed long enough!!  Hope everyone's had a good week!!

Thankfulness:

--having a job I enjoy
--real offices and not cubicles
--feeling like I'm really helping people at work
--stealing morning & evening snuggles from the dogs
--text messages from the hub
--attempting crock pot dishes
--the sunshine by afternoon; burning off the chill
--sharing the vehicle with the hubby
--weekend conversation with my parents
--laughing with friends across the distance


Nearing the end of the first official work week.  It's been nice that I'm already partly trained, so at this point I just need to get up to speed on how to give our presentations.  I'm sure there are still other little pieces I need to still learn too, but everything job starts out with a learning curve.

The Month Photo Project wrapped up on the 28th.  It was really fun to do and even the hubby was getting into it.  I heard from several family and a couple other bloggers that they really enjoyed it---so I'm glad!  I wasn't sure what everyone would think of it--especially since so many pet pictures ended up posted. ;-)  But the pets truly are some of our best entertainment.  I think anyone could just watch Roxi and Anna play and be entertained!

I hope everyone is having a good week!  Will attempt a better posting this weekend.