Finally, we're not on pause!

So for just about four years, Dan and I have been in a long distance relationship.  Recently, he found out that he got a job in DC and will be moving back to Maryland very soon.

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO

I finally feel like my life is not on pause anymore, waiting for him to come back! Yessss!

So since the minute he found out (and to be honest before then because I'm a planner) we've been looking for places to live.  We started out looking everywhere and then narrowed it down to Laurel or Columbia, for the simple fact that they're both near major highways for commuting and they're both places that we're familiar with and know very well. 

We've mostly been looking in Columbia the past couple of days.  Yesterday I went to 3 house showings.  The first one was a no-go right off the bat, because it was set up like an apartment with people above which is what we really don't want.  The agent who showed it to me was my old boss from the gym when I worked there in highschool. RANDOM!

The second place looked good on the outside, but had dirty walls, really outdated carpet, and a not very impressive layout.  I was a bit grossed out by it, to be honest.

The third place I liked a lot.  With the exception of the pink carpet (whatup B and J! does that remind you of your place at all??) in the basement, it had what we were looking for: at least 1.5 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, a lot of space, an outdoor space for Codden, and it was within our budget.  I asked for an application and quickly sent all the pictures I had taken to Dan when I got home.  When I mentioned the street name to my father, he said he had heard about a lot of crime there.  Well I was curious, and checked online. YUP!  There was a shooting there in April of this year, where someone got murdered!  HOLY crap.  Many reviews said that people in the neighborhood didn't feel safe and that there were robberies all the time.  There was a car stolen recently too! Um, NO THANKS! So needless to say, we gave up on that one.

Today, Dan emailed me a listing he had found on craigslist of a cute town house in Columbia.  I emailed the girl and booked a showing.  It was AWESOME!  Minus the lack of extra storage, it has multiple bathrooms, it's in a great and safe neighborhood, and dun dun dun....LOTS OF CLOSET SPACE! Yessssssssss.

I emailed that girl about the house, so we shall see what happens.  I really hope we get it.  It's a tad bit over what we originally wanted to pay, but I really think it's been the best one that we've seen/read about/looked at and it's in such a good spot. 

Either way, I'm just thrilled about the notion of living with Dan!  Although living with a boy is a bit daunting because I've never done it before, I'm excited to have boyfriend time every day instead of just a couple weekends a month!  I'm excited to have Codden all the time too! (Dan's dog)  So no matter what happens, I'm just happy that we're moving forward (and in!) with our lives and although the next month is going to be hectic and crazy with the moving and unpacking, I couldn't be more happier about it all!

Feeling cough-tastic

I have been coughing non-stop for the past couple days.  It started last week just here and there, and then over the weekend it got a lot worse.  I got really annoyed, because it's not the kind where you purposely cough to clear your throat, it's the kind that just kind-of pops up while you're talking in mid-sentence, almost like a choke kind of cough. 

So I went to the Minute clinic yesterday and thankfully it's not strep.  I do know that I got it from my kids (one perpetrator in particular has been coughing all over the place, and of course not covering his mouth at all -- thanks for that kid!).  So anyways, I'm taking ibuprofen to decrease the swelling of my tonsils (according to the Minute Clinic doc they're abnormally huge), and cough suppressant pills.  None of that is working all that well.  The only thing that I've had to use a couple times that worked, is my inhaler.  I had to leave my classroom twice today to take it because I had such awful coughing fits to the point where I couldn't breathe.  It was not fun! 

I went to the store today and loaded up on Halls lozenges and some vitamin C drops.  I've been drinking water like it's my job, and I took a long nap today.  I'm hoping that if I continue all this that this thing will be gone in a few days.  I can only hope!  I am supposed to be going to VA Beach on Monday for a week with Dan, but I don't want to go until I'm healthy.  Not only do I want to prevent from passing this cough-monster onto Dan, but I also don't really want to be in a car for 4.5 hours coughing up a storm.  So we shall see.  Wish me luck!  I only have 3 more days of summer school left, so maybe just leaving the germ-y area of school will help me out too.

Crossing off some of my big to-dos

Remember this post from a while ago? Well, let's take a look and see what I've gotten done on that list since October of last year:

1. Buy myself an awesome diamond necklace.  Haven't done this yet, but I did buy a ring with diamond accents, so that's in the right direction of buying myself something pretty and sparkly!  :)



2. Take a dance class again. I have been looking at taking a jazz class at an actual dance studio (not just through parks and rec) in the fall.  I will keep you posted! I'm excited. :) I partially crossed off, since this is in the works!


3. Get a tattoo.  See picture below :)


I love hearts! <3

4. Learn how to play the acoustic guitar.  I think this is something Dan and I may do together in the future.  But it's not at the top of my priorities now, so I probably won't do this for a while.  But when I do, I will be very happy about it and I'll be sure to share my progress with that.

5. Learn how to do a back walk-over and/or back handspring. Nope, not yet.  Maybe when I live in a house with more space for me to fall over in :)


6. Learn how to line dance. I actually went line dancing last night!  I am still not that great at it, but I'm getting better!  My roommate and I are going to try and go more often!  So that's partially crossed off, since it's in the works!


7. Take a cruise! Did that!  See here and here!


8. Learn how to play the piano. I don't think this will happen until I get a piano and a house! Some day though!


9. Travel the world! Well I have a good start with having been to Bermuda in April.  I'm thinking the next "big" trip outside of the US will probably be another island of some kind or possible Europe!  :)

Ok, so I haven't done a LOT on my list, but I've definitely made a little bit of a dent!  I wasn't really expecting to do all of these things all at once anyways, they're more long-term goals :)

I'm thinking of creating a 27x27 list simliar to what Angie did here.  I like the idea of mixing some long-term but attainable in a year things with some short term goals.  Plus, I turn 26 in a few months (October) so I could start right then and have a year to accomplish those things.  Also, I'm a big fan of the number 7, so it's exciting that it's 27x27 and not just 26x26. :) I know, I'm a dork.

6 down, 15 more to go!

I lost another pound this week!  I'm consistently losing about 1-2 pounds a week with Weight Watchers alone, so I'm thinking if I step it up more with my workouts (which I already have this week) I'll get it going even a little faster. :) 

I'm so excited!

So far, I've lost a total of 6 pounds and 2 inches in 4 weeks!

New Bling!

I just bought this baby today at Amazon :)

I had a gift certificate from doing this online teaching survey, so when I found a very affordable, pretty amethyst/diamond accent square ring, I decided why not?!  This didn't cost very much at all, but I'm still considering it a nice piece of jewelry for myself!

Jen's Bachelorette Party

Jen's Bachelorette Party - Dewey Beach - July 9, 2011

Here are 2 of the posters that I made for one of the hotel rooms :)

Being Silly!

Ladies in Pink!

"Jen-pardy"

Team Minowitz

Team Va-geniuses

We love Jen!

A Whole Lotta Pink Going on that night!

So our next door hotel neighbor is the wife of a guy we went to high school.  Small world!!

 

 

So it was a really fun day!  We had some beach time during the afternoon before we got ready for the night.  We played "Jen-pardy" in our rooms for a while and pre-gamed and then went out to the Rusty Rudder for the night.  There was an awesome cover band called Kristen and the Noise and they were AWESOME!  It pretty much made our night.  They sang great songs that everyone could sing along to, including some Third Eyed Blind, Sublime, Bruno Mars, etc.  After the bar, we went to a place to eat because our Bride to Be insisted on getting some french fries, her go-to food while drinking (no wonder we've gotten along all these years!)

I had a blast!  Now I'm torn!  I love the easy-goingness and relaxation of Beth's bachelorette (staying in a cabin in an out of the way town, going shopping, eating lunch, going in the hottub, watching movies with good friends) and I also love the singing and dancing part of Jen's!  What the heck will I do whenever I get hitched?  I wonder how I could mix those...singing and dancing on the couch while watching a movie?? lol. 

I don't really like the idea behind a bachelorette party, meaning the whole idea of you have to live it up and go crazy because your singlehood is dying.  I also don't prefer the idea of darebooks or getting the bride-to-be to do stupid flirting with other men things either.  I do however, like the idea of just having a fun girls night out.  Although...I've always liked the idea of a joint bachelor/bachelorette party too.  The idea of marriage is togetherness...so why not be together while having fun?   Who knows! We shall see, I have a while to decide considering I'm not even engaged yet.

What do you think makes a great bachelorette party?

Simple Pleasures

The Little Things that I just LOVE love love:

• Flip flops in the summer...well actually in any season :)
• Milk and Cereal
• Colorful binderclips and other cute office supplies
• Make-up...all kinds!
• Brightly colored nail polish, insta-dry style.  Who has time to wait for polish to dry?
• A cold coca cola...oooohhh yeaaaah
• Anything polka dotted
• the color purple
• comfort food such as mac and cheese or chili
• hugs
• laughing so hard it hurts
• kisses on the forehead by boyfriend
• getting my hair shampooed at a salon by a shampoo girl with fake nails
• back scratching
• calendars
• walking
• the smell of suntan lotion
• a good book that you just can't put down
• big purses that can hold everything
• making my students laugh
• writing and receiving "snail" mail

Well I'm sure I could think of a lot more, but that's a good amount.  Not sure what got me thinking of these things...I'm just in a good mood and wanted to write a happy post, so there you go!

What are your simple pleasures that you just LOVE?

Chili Mac Recipe

My roommate and I made this tonight and it was deliciously awesome! We got it from Hungry Girl (filling recipes that are all under 300 calories).

Ingredients:
One 14.5-oz. can stewed tomatoes, roughly chopped, juice reserved
1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles (like the kind by Boca or Morningstar Farms)
1 onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup chopped portabella mushrooms
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tsp. chili powder, or more to taste
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/4 tsp. ground cumin, or more to taste
5 oz. (about 1 1/4 cups) uncooked elbow macaroni with at least 2g fiber per 2-oz. serving
1/4 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
Optional: cayenne pepper

Directions:
To make the chili, bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add all ingredients -- including the reserved tomato juice -- except macaroni and cheese. Stir thoroughly. Cover and cook until veggies are tender, about 15 minutes, occasionally removing the lid to stir.

Meanwhile, prepare macaroni according to package instructions, in boiling water for about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Once both are cooked, add drained pasta to the pot of chili. Mix thoroughly. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and additional spices, if you like. Evenly top each serving with cheese and enjoy!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 3/4 cups
Calories: 297
Fat: 2g
Sodium: 637mg
Carbs: 55.5g
Fiber: 9.75g
Sugars: 11.5g
Protein: 19g

WW PointsPlus value = 8

I have to be honest, I was a little worried about using "beef-style soy crumbles" but it was actually really good! I couldn't really tell the difference with all of the other flavors in it! And before this recipe, I didn't realize that there is fat-free cheddar cheese available at all! Score!

*Have you voted or commented on my new blog name yet? Please help! I need opinions and feedback!

Hmmm, is it time for a change? (again)

Still not happy with the blog's title.

It used to be "Writing is my best outlet" because it is...but then it sounded too cheezy for me.

Then it's Live Love Write...but I'm not in love.

I need some ideas!

I was thinking "Write On" would be kinda funny, but not sure. What do you think?

Maybe something with journal in it? Or teach? Or thoughts? voice of a teacher? It's not all about teaching though...so I'm just not sure! Curious ramblings of a twenty something year old? Random reflections of a self-confessed organization nerd?

Something with teaching or life in general in the title could work too...

It's so hard to choose a great blog title!