The Weekend Post

Are you getting used to these weekend only posts? ;) I definitely have lots to say but just not as much time to write about it all. Luckily I took Friday entirely off of work since I'd already worked over my hours for the week and it made for a great three day weekend, although there's been grading of exams and prepping for this next week still going on. Hub's been in our hometown attending our high school's football game and going hunting for deer with his best friend. Beyond grading/prepping, there's been lots of enjoyment going on between the critters and I though! One of my favorite gals came over Friday evening until late, the dogs and I finally ran twice last week, and all around we've been enjoying fall. Here are some more fabulous things from this special season:

Two of my favorite indulgences of fall: hard apple cider and pumpkin beer. I've also taken a hankering to red table wines--especially the one by Middle Sister which my mom (who ironically doesn't drink alcohol) turned me on to....although it's definitely a bit more north of my typical wine price range....

Major's been spending nights cuddling up between hub and I during the week. Usually we don't let the cats sleep with us, but he's been so still (and cold!) that we've let him just hang out curled up in bed while we sleep.

The leaves are changing colors everywhere and its completely gorgeous!

I spent an afternoon mowing the lawn, reseeding some grass, raking pine needles, and putting one of our raised beds "to bed," so the chickens had the opportunity to finally free range. The dogs love following them around the yard, but man were those ladies difficult to catch this go around ;) Took me 15 minutes of chasing them before I finally had both of them back in their home!

Hub and I headed downtown to one of our funky favorite breakfast diners on Friday. It was neat to enjoy some delish breakfast together and led to a conversation about how we both, at times, wish we lived closer in. Even though we live 8 miles from my work, it takes 30-45 minutes of driving in order for me to get there and it's an hour commute for hub to get to campus downtown using public transportation. We love our rental and usually don't mind the 'burbs, but if we end up staying longer than I'm envisioning in the Portland area (it's definitely where the jobs are and hub could potentially have a grad program to go to after his undergrad degree.....) then we will probably want to re-evaluate where we are living in relation to my job and to downtown.

When hub and I got married as quickly as we did, we didn't really have the finances nor time to really think about rings. At the time I bought a simple white gold band that I wore and then added another ring about a year ago that symbolized my family when I was gifted a family ring with a unique stone from Granny. In my mind I always assumed that someday I'd get a different ring and after watching Blood Diamond (& getting into sustainability/simplicity), I've been against the idea of buying a new ring/diamond for myself. Hub and I hit some rough spatches this summer and one thing that came out of it all was my realizing how much I want us to have at least a few of the more "traditional" things, ie rings, dishes, etc that we didn't really do due to our chosen marriage route. While hub doesn't want to wear a ring (don't ask....), I've had it in mind to find a more traditional ring for myself. Yesterday I took my baby cousin (who actually just got engaged to her high school boyfriend who is training for the Army) to one of my favorite areas downtown. After looking at a couple other cutesy stores, we went into Gilt, which is a vintage and estate jewelry store. There were two rings that I equally liked but the one I chose felt more like a lifetime ring and I have to say....I LOVE IT! I love that it already has history (it's from the 1950s) and I love the swirl. While I usually try not to be too attached to things..it seriously makes me happy every time I've looked at it in the last two days......

The bedroom still isn't done but I thought I'd finally at least post a picture, as I don't know that we'll decide what we want on the walls anytime soon. I love how cozy it is and that it's a mix of new, organic, and old. The paint is low-VOC and is sort of a taupe color. The bed itself is the Sumatra II from Pottery Barn and the low footboard is perfect so hub's long legs can hang over still, the new mattresses from BedCo continue to be amazing, and we purchased the bedside tables for $20 a piece from our local Bimart. The lamps are ones I've had for years now that I got for $6 at Goodwill. The four panels of curtains are some I got on clearance at the evil store (Wal-Mart) and they were in our living room in Louisiana. Hub doesn't like extra decorative pillows so we only have regular pillows and we almost always have two down comforters. The patterned duvet is organic cotton from West Elm. Since we haven't really turned the heat on yet, I've got one regular sheet and one flannel fitted sheet on the bed currently ;)

I hate to admit that I haven't really cooked or baked in.....months. Yesterday morning I made banana french toast, and then this morning I made baked oatmeal using a recipe sent out by Two Frog Home via her newsletter.

Her Recipe is this:

Baked Apple Oatmeal

• 2 Cups Oatmeal
• 1 Cup Peeled, Cored, and Chopped Apples
• 1/3 Cup Chopped Nuts
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 3/4 Cup Milk or Milk Alternative
• 1/3 Cup Sesame Seeds
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar

--Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" Pie Plate
--Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mixing until thoroughly combined and well moistened.
--Pour and spread into prepared pie plate. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, the oatmeal will have puffed and be browned on the edge.
--Serve with extra milk/milk

I substituted dried cranberries and dried cherries for the apples, flaxseed for the sesame seeds, and I used shelled sunflower seeds for the nuts. It was a bit drier than other varieties I've tried but I liked that this version doesn't use eggs, and I ate it with organic vanilla yogurt so it was great!

 

The dogs have been pretty cooped up in the house and yard the last few weeks since we've been so busy so this weekend not only did I make sure to run them, but they got to go on several car rides. We drove the back farm roads looking for farms that would have decorative gourds this afternoon and then made a couple other errands the last two days. They always LOVE IT!

And I'm stoked because today I got to indulge in one of my favorite fall looks. :) Ballet slippers, beat up old jeans, tank, hoodie, and my poofy down vest.

LOVING FALL and hoping you are too!

Fall Favorites

If you're on my facebook list, then you've seen most of this photos but these are just a few of my favorite simple fall moments thus far. Driving through the leafy streets with hub today, I realized that I'd forgotten just how much I absolutely love fall!

We're trying to make it as long as possible without turning on the heat in the house. The first goal was October 15th and we've made it that far. We'll see if we can make it to November 1st, especially since I'm hosting book club here on the 27th and I always hate making guests suffer. ;)

The last few weeks have remained crazy busy with days starting with checking my email before getting out of bed and ending with responding to work emails anytime between 10pm and 12:30am. I'm teaching night classes on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings until 9pm so on those days I get home about 10pm, and overall I've been putting in between 50-60 hours each week between the two jobs. I knew the first three weeks would require extra time and I'd been handling my stress well, but a negative comment from another employee pushed me to a bit of a breaking point on Tuesday and left me in a bit of a funk until Wednesday night. The irony is that I finally went for a legit 3.5 mile run on Monday evening and I'm also wondering if the sudden change in my lazy pattern didn't spike more of a physical stress response than normal. Although I've been doing a pretty poor job of taking care of myself and practicing what I preach as a health instructor.....so I must get back to the routine for all around benefits.

I put in 10 hours of grading and exam prepping yesterday and was able to create my first "non-work" day today for the first time since mid-August. It felt amazing and I almost didn't know what to do with myself. I ended up just doing the regular weekend things as most of the fun things I wanted to do weren't on hub's list of ideas for the weekend. However it felt amazing not to feel as if I had one hundred items hanging over my head--not that there aren't one hundred things still to be working on but at least I don't feel that any of those items are need-to-get-done-today items.

I'm hoping that I should be able to pull a more regular schedule for the next few weeks and luckily it's exam week which makes for an easier week as an instructor. In the midst of the craziness there have been some great little moments that have made the last few weeks enjoyable:

---Hub made his second batch of salsa
---We harvested our pumpkins and visited the local farmer's market
---Today the ottoman hub's been wanting was on sale so we brought it home
---It's cider and pumpkin beer season!
---Positive feedback from workers and students
---Excited greetings and cuddles from our furry creatures
---Nabbed a quick hair/bang trim from a favorite stylist at my walk-in place today
---Pay days
---Fireplace heat
---Comfy sleeps in the new bed
---Pumpkin pie, apples, soups, and delish strudel muffins
---Turning and falling leaves, spider webs, and chilly days
---A phone call from my brother visiting Peru needing translation help
---An evening spent with my baby cousin advising her on her upcoming transition into Army spouse
---Catching up on episodes of "Dear Genevieve" on HGTV
---Donations via checks, bags to Goodwill, & books for deployment boxes
---Espresso at home and coffee re-fills at the office
---Cat naps on quick breaks home before teaching
---Organic yogurt and canned peaches for breakfast
---Sundays of take-out pizza
---Scrubbed clean of grime tubs & shiny faucets
---Beautiful brides & left over flowers

Hope each of you has been well and embracing the changing of seasons in your own neck of the woods--best to each of you!

Foggy Fall Falls Fast

It's fall! Being that it's Oregon we've had quite a few days of showers already and quite a few days starting at 50 degrees with 80s reached by afternoon. The type of weather that makes dressing in layers necessary, evening fires desired, and cuddly down comforters on beds a must have.

After working 60+ hours last week between covering gaps in staffing in the center, teaching my fall classes, and handling the admin, lesson prepping, and email responses that new jobs and terms requires, I am more than looking forward to two things. The first thing that I'm looking forward to is the end of week three of the term, which is when I'll have the center staffed by students, the term will have regulated, and Fall 2011 will be much more routine. The second thing I'm looking forward to is Christmas, when Fall 2011 will be completed and there will be a week or so of vacation hopefully, beyond the usual happy celebrations of course!

Lots of good things have been happening as of late:

The House:
A few weeks back I painted two rooms in the house. I'd intended to write a whole post on how awesome it was to add color and to cover up the horrible off ivory paint in some of our rooms, but obviously I ran out of time. I actually got a good deal on paint by using our Chinook Book coupon for low-VOC paint, and the upgrades they've made to the new low-VOC paint has paid off because I didn't have any real issues with coverage and the smell was very minimal. Hub and I made a great painting team. He taped which I hate, and then I painted the whole thing, which he hates doing. We both helped clean-up and we borrowed most the painting supplies from my aunt & uncle, so all we shelled out was for the paint and a drop cloth.

The finished dining area in green.

The other big news with the house is that we got our new bed & mattress. Ironically hub kept telling me that it didn't matter what our master looked like cause we just have our eyes closed while we're in there. Well, well, now that we've got new paint and a comfortable bed and mattress....guess who is starting to spend more time lounging in there? That's right folks! We still want to add some art work and when it's all said and done I'll post pictures. (Plus I've got two more rooms and the entry I'd like to tackle with fresh coats of paint too!)

The Chicks:
So far they're continuing to grow and thrive. Hub upgraded their perch a few inches, we've swapped the heat lamp for a regular bulb and lowered it back down, they demolished the first pear placed in their home last night, and their beautiful feathers are filling in. They've gotten to wear they want an adventure each day and they enjoy the moments we put them in the raised beds to root around. The other day hub called them from the sliding glass door and they amazingly came right in to him! I've had a few concerns about potential health issues, but so far they seem to keep making it alright. Not sure these pictures will do their feathers justice, but the one is starting to look just like the original picture I'd found on the internet:

And Weddings:
My gal's wedding was yesterday and while rained forced the wedding & reception to both be held indoors, it was a beautiful affair and the venue was perfect. Everything went off fairly well--no major fiascoes. The ceremony went smoothly, food was tasty, the wine was delicious, laughter and love flowed, mingling occurred, and now two of my favorites are off enjoying a week to relax and relish in their love! I have to give two thumbs up to my gal who not only looked beautiful but who kept it simple, relaxed the week before because it was all already organized, and who rolled with the punches the day of. A more beautiful and simply elegant bride one rarely gets the chance to enjoy these days!

And then this next weekend we'll hit up one more wedding and help one of my favorite MPH gals celebrate the official joining of her love to her man!

Other News:

Hub started his official entry back into college on Monday of this last week, which means it's busy, busy for both of us around here. He's taking a legit full load of classes and seems to be enjoying most of them after week one. (In fact, I'm slightly jealous---he's taking a sign language class!) Add onto his courses the regular volunteering he started this summer (he's part of a program that matches new veterans with older and/or disabled veterans who need transportation services across town to medical and shopping appointments, etc), and he's definitely got quite a bit on his plate.

Given that both our schedules are a bit crazy and we're dealing with transportation to get places etc, we headed to Costco this last week to try to stock up on food, including things that would be quick, simple, yet still fairly healthy to make in the evenings when we get home or when we're on the go.

I've got lots of great "plans" for the yard, and I'm hopeful we'll get the bigger items done in the next month. We have the Asian pear that we need to get planted still and a few other gardening plans to help prep for next summer. The most recent gardening section of the paper, helped me develop some additional items we need to accomplish (mulching, planting, etc), but with our current schedules and rain I feel just lucky when we even get an hour out in the yard. Today we were able to do some raking up of pine needles, hub cut down the rest of the old diseased apple, and we picked the pumpkins and cleared out more of the raised beds. We stacked the wood from the tree in the shed to cure for the next year, and hub chopped and brought in the rest of our old wood for fires this week. And we'll have to hope that the rest will get done as it can. ;)

Having distracted myself enough today, I'm off to eat some pizza and finally finish my planning for class tomorrow, and to light the living room's candles and stoke the fire. Hope you each are relishing your moments and enjoying the changing season into fall! Layer up, burrow down, but let your autumn heart swell and continue to give!