to work, or not to work.... that is the question.
So, half of me wants to work and half of me absolutely does not want to work because of the fabulous times I am able to have because of the fact that, right now, I don't work!
When I went to the Junior League event the other night, people kept asking me what I do for a living. I responded with a multitude of answers..
a. I'm not working right now since I just moved up here from Florida. Just haven't found anything yet. (not really true... there are a lot more jobs up here than in Pensacola, and good jobs at that... I just don't want any of them... at all.)
b. I'm actually not working right now... can't really figure out what I want to do. (truth)
c. I'm planning on going back to school.... (kind of true. Except for the fact that Christian won't let me go back until my undergrad loans are paid off.... ugh)
d. I just moved here and left a job with a national healthcare consulting firm... so I'm just looking for something similar (I'm boasting plus this is a TOTAL lie... I don't want anything like that, ever again.)
Essentially, I need to figure out what the hell I'm doing with myself and be comfortable with whatever I decide. I have just come to hate the question "So, what do you do?". Ironic, since that is one of the major questions I ask when I'm getting to know someone. It tells a lot about a person. Tells you if they're educated. Gives you a pretty good idea of what they're interested in (although this can be a total misrepresentation). So, when people ask me "What do you do?" I want to say "I work for a company called ME... and I create my own life, just the way I want it to be. I don't make much money (if any at all) but the benefits are amazing. I think everyone should work for this company at least one time in their life." ha, maybe I will say that from now on. That actually sounds pretty clever. :)
So, back to the original question: to work or not to work? Here's the thing- as weird as it may sound, I really don't have time for a full-time, 8-5, Monday-Friday job. Christian and I travel wayyy too much for any respectable organization to hire me and let me take vacation close to three months out of the year. Just doesn't make sense. So, there lies problema numero uno. Problema numero dos is just the fact that I have absolutely no freakin' clue what I want to do. Here are a few ideas though:
1. Go back to school to become a marriage counselor.
2. Be a writer... and make money doing it. Writing a book... for a magazine... for a well-known news outlet. (a dream... could it come true??)
3. Work in a shop/gallery full of beautiful things that bring me joy.
4. Own a shop/gallery full of beautiful things that bring me joy. (not a possibility right now since we will be moving for the next six years before Christian retires)
5. Be an artist. (again, not really a possibility.... I'm creative... just not artistic)
I will say that this question of whether I should work or not work wouldn't even be uttered from my lips if it weren't for my amazing husband (who calls me a gold-digger when we talk about the subject of me not working- haha) being supportive in my indecisiveness. He's great. He listens to my weird ideas about what I want to do and never shoots me down entirely... except for the artist thing. He's seen how inartistic, although creative, I really am.
This little argument going between the twins in my gemini head may be short-lived though. I know, that once we have children, I will have plenty to keep me occupied and I can say that I'm a "stay-at-home mom".... but see, that just makes me mad! Why should I wait until then to feel OK saying that I don't work. Ugh, this is so annoying.
I was reading my new book "Eat, Pray, Love" last night and she began talking about her travels in Italy. She compares the people in Italy to those in America... how hard Americans work... how hard Italians do not work.... how the advertising world in America tells you that you deserve a vacation or a candy bar or a fast food item or a beer.... in Italy, they know they deserve a break... that kind of advertising would be very unsuccessful in Italy. In Italy, they work just to live, they don't live to work. As I was reading in bed, I hopped up and ran into the office for a high-lighter. And I highlighted this:
Americans don't really know how to do nothing. This is the cause of that great sad American stereotype- the overstressed executive who goes on vacation, but who cannot relax. (this was me while I was working for Studer Group... however, I was not an executive)
I asked Luca Spaghetti if Italians on vacation have the same problem. He laughed so hard he almost drove his motorcycle through the fountain. "Oh no!" he said. "We are the masters of il bel far niente." This was a sweet expression. Il be far niente means "the beauty of doing nothing."
I love this. Was I supposed to live in Europe? Maybe so... Christians German family did tell me last year that I was much more european than I was american (this, I took as a huge compliment). For some reason, I've always been so fascinated by the European lifestyle. They're much more liberal (not in the political sense... but rather the lifestyle sense), they're honest, they're beautiful, they're carefree, they're healthier (even though they smoke a lot more than Americans).
So, maybe I just answered my question.... to work or not to work? Nay, I shall live as the Italians do.
Arrivederci. Ti amo!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
A little inspiration for you.... from me.
This great quote was on my college graduation invitations :)
This is so true for me right now. Being in the northeast, where people just don't smile, makes me realized that it is OK to smile, even at those people with stone faces. :) <---- had to throw in the smiley!
This is for Alison & Laura. They are what friendship is all about.. what it has always been about. They are my rocks.
Don't conform... be your own person. You'll pay the price, believe me, but you'll be MUCH happier in the end.
Surround yourself with those who inspire you and make you a better person.
So amazingly true... and again, to Laura & Alison.
This is to my wonderful husband... with whom I have a "mature love".
When I start to feel myself backing out on plans to do something out of my comfort zone, I ask myself "Why not?". Why not break the monotony... this is your one chance at life!
Life is amazing. The things you hear when you just listen or the things you see when you get quite and look around.... the world can surprise you.
Here's hoping ;-)
This is a quote from an author I studied in college. I love this so much. It's so vivid.
Yesterday, I almost felt a little like Carrie Bradshaw (Sex & the City).... so needless to say, I had a great day!
I took the train into the city yesterday afternoon (figured it all out on my own) and got there around 3:00. I went to a couple of my favorite stores that we don't have up here- Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, etc. Then, I stepped into a three-story Barnes & Noble in Center City and waited out a torrential downpour! I looked like a hurricane came through! Three stories of books gave me plenty to look at! I read a "book" called Post Secret: The Secret Lives of Men and Women.... it's essentially a collection of post- cards with people's deepest, darkest secrets on them that they anonymously send into this guy and he compiles them into books. My brother had one a couple years ago and I was sooo intrigued by it. So, that helped me occupy the time while waiting for the monsoon to pass.
I then went to meet one of my new friends (Ashley) at a coffee shop in a district called Old City. It's SUCH a neat area. Lots of cute boutiques and artsy stuff on the east side of Philly. So, I was there about 30 minutes early so I just sat, had an iced coffee (since it was CRAZY hot yesterday) and read the remaining pages of "Lone Survivor". She showed up about 5:30 and then we went shopping at a couple of the aforementioned boutiques (where I got an AWESOME yellow sailor jacket on sale) and then finally went to a Junior League benefit at one of the boutiques. Basically, it was a charity thing where 20% of the profits that night went to Junior League but I couldn't bare to spend almost $200 on a pair of jeans. No way. So, Ashley and I just watched as some girls spent close to $400 on two pair of jeans.... some even bought jeans and shoes! NUTS! It was fun though! I met a lot of girls who are either already in Junior League or who are planning on joining this year with me. Most of them live in the city but I did meet one girl, Vicki, who lives close to me and she seems pretty cool, plus she golfs! So, now I have a female golf partner. It seems like Junior League will be so much fun. Ashley has been in it for 5 years now and she is the Provisional Chair... basically, she handles the recruiting of new members (who are called Provisionals). Also, the first project the provisionals work on when we kick off in September is the "Spring Project". So, Ashley let me in on the secret of what the Spring Project will be and it's going to be a "green" fashion show in Old City! We'll either have it inside a neat venue or we'll close down part of Market Street in order to host it there. All of the hair and make-up is being done by an organic salon up here and the clothes will be relatively earth-friendly as well. I can't wait! I get to pick which committee I want to be on so it will be super fun. This is right up my alley. So anyway, after the benefit, she and I had dinner at a place called Cosmopolitan (a Steven Starr restaurant) and about six other girls from the benefit ended up joining us. I had to cut the night a little short because I had to walk about 12 blocks (yes, it's a safe area, Mom & Dad- plus, Ashley walked with me) to get to the train station before 9:30 when the last train leaves that runs all the way up near our house. So, I got home close to 11.... long day!
This morning I was awaken at about 7:20 a.m. by someone knocking on my front door. Today is another painting day in our development and they are painting our garage door and front door. So, that startled me out of bed! Now, I have to wait for them to finished before I can actually get out of the house and do anything. I think I'm going to go up to the pool on base (just found out that they have one!) and get some sun.
As I mentioned earlier, I finished "Lone Survivor" last night and it was such an amazing story. I definitely would recommend that as a good read. At the beginning of the year, one of the items on my 2010 bucket list was to read 12 books this year. Well, we're six months into the year and I'm six books into my goal! Half way there! Now, I need to go to the bookstore and find another one. Not sure what I'm looking for. I might get the new book by Laura Bush... that should be interesting.
Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend! Stay cool and keep praying about the oil and our pitiful beaches.
Love you all!
xoxo-
Chrissi
I took the train into the city yesterday afternoon (figured it all out on my own) and got there around 3:00. I went to a couple of my favorite stores that we don't have up here- Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, etc. Then, I stepped into a three-story Barnes & Noble in Center City and waited out a torrential downpour! I looked like a hurricane came through! Three stories of books gave me plenty to look at! I read a "book" called Post Secret: The Secret Lives of Men and Women.... it's essentially a collection of post- cards with people's deepest, darkest secrets on them that they anonymously send into this guy and he compiles them into books. My brother had one a couple years ago and I was sooo intrigued by it. So, that helped me occupy the time while waiting for the monsoon to pass.
I then went to meet one of my new friends (Ashley) at a coffee shop in a district called Old City. It's SUCH a neat area. Lots of cute boutiques and artsy stuff on the east side of Philly. So, I was there about 30 minutes early so I just sat, had an iced coffee (since it was CRAZY hot yesterday) and read the remaining pages of "Lone Survivor". She showed up about 5:30 and then we went shopping at a couple of the aforementioned boutiques (where I got an AWESOME yellow sailor jacket on sale) and then finally went to a Junior League benefit at one of the boutiques. Basically, it was a charity thing where 20% of the profits that night went to Junior League but I couldn't bare to spend almost $200 on a pair of jeans. No way. So, Ashley and I just watched as some girls spent close to $400 on two pair of jeans.... some even bought jeans and shoes! NUTS! It was fun though! I met a lot of girls who are either already in Junior League or who are planning on joining this year with me. Most of them live in the city but I did meet one girl, Vicki, who lives close to me and she seems pretty cool, plus she golfs! So, now I have a female golf partner. It seems like Junior League will be so much fun. Ashley has been in it for 5 years now and she is the Provisional Chair... basically, she handles the recruiting of new members (who are called Provisionals). Also, the first project the provisionals work on when we kick off in September is the "Spring Project". So, Ashley let me in on the secret of what the Spring Project will be and it's going to be a "green" fashion show in Old City! We'll either have it inside a neat venue or we'll close down part of Market Street in order to host it there. All of the hair and make-up is being done by an organic salon up here and the clothes will be relatively earth-friendly as well. I can't wait! I get to pick which committee I want to be on so it will be super fun. This is right up my alley. So anyway, after the benefit, she and I had dinner at a place called Cosmopolitan (a Steven Starr restaurant) and about six other girls from the benefit ended up joining us. I had to cut the night a little short because I had to walk about 12 blocks (yes, it's a safe area, Mom & Dad- plus, Ashley walked with me) to get to the train station before 9:30 when the last train leaves that runs all the way up near our house. So, I got home close to 11.... long day!
This morning I was awaken at about 7:20 a.m. by someone knocking on my front door. Today is another painting day in our development and they are painting our garage door and front door. So, that startled me out of bed! Now, I have to wait for them to finished before I can actually get out of the house and do anything. I think I'm going to go up to the pool on base (just found out that they have one!) and get some sun.
As I mentioned earlier, I finished "Lone Survivor" last night and it was such an amazing story. I definitely would recommend that as a good read. At the beginning of the year, one of the items on my 2010 bucket list was to read 12 books this year. Well, we're six months into the year and I'm six books into my goal! Half way there! Now, I need to go to the bookstore and find another one. Not sure what I'm looking for. I might get the new book by Laura Bush... that should be interesting.
Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend! Stay cool and keep praying about the oil and our pitiful beaches.
Love you all!
xoxo-
Chrissi
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
hmm... for some reason, this thing isn't showing me where I can title this post. Man, I always try for the clever titles and now it won't even give me the opportunity to rack my brain for something cute. Oh well.
First thing's first; it was brought to my attention yesterday that my blog might not be emailing all of you automatically when I have a new post. I set it up to do this but I know at least one of you isn't receiving them. So, I'll work on that.
We got back yesterday from yet another weekend in Western Maryland to visit Christian's family. We seem to be going about every two or three weeks now. And, we're going again for the fourth of July. Christian just keeps telling me that if we lived close enough for me to go home every two or three weeks then I probably would too.... I'm not so sure about that one. Who knows. But the time up there always gives me a chance to read a lot. I'm about 3/4 through "Lone Survivor". It's an absolutely amazing book. It's written by Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL, who was stationed in Afghanistan and was a member of a crew that went on a mission that ended up being the most deadly SEAL mission. It walks you through his training to become a SEAL and now I'm right in the middle of the battle that killed so many amazing men. My brother's ex-girlfriend, Rosie, is friends with Marcus and his brother Morgan (also a SEAL) and recommended this book to me. Marcus is going to be speaking at a Glenn Beck rally in DC in August so I'm hoping I'm able to go to it! He's so inspiring and it's a miracle that he's alive.
Anywho... Christian leaves this Thursday for seven days in Bahrain. Not sure what I'll be doing to occupy the lonely nights though. Thursday night I have a Junior League benefit to go to down in Philly. Christina and her husband will be in DC this weekend so I may go down and see them and then nothing else is really planned.
So, I think I told you all that Christian finally got qualified and did his first flight in the C130 last week. He really enjoyed it and got all kinds of kuddos from the crew on his landing abilities! They kept saying it was so smooth that they didn't even feel it. So, that's good! He seems to be doing pretty well in this squadron. Which, unfortunately for me, means he'll be gone quite a bit. For instance, he leaves this Thursday and is gone until July 1st.... leaves again July 6th for three days.... leaves again July 11 for four days.... then the next trip that is scheduled isn't until August (but just because something isn't scheduled definitely doesn't mean he won't be leaving!). Oh well, I'm strong and I can handle it. So many other people in this world do. Luckily, I also have a husband who isn't on the front lines in Afghanistan having to fight the evil Taliban. He's high up in the sky and relatively safe from the terrorist (knock on wood). I have a friend I used to work with who's husband had been deployed for about six months now in Afghanistan. During that time, she gave birth to their first baby. She is so strong. She only gets to talk to her husband via email. Only seven more weeks until he's home though... she told me that this morning when I talked to her.
Nothing else major is going on. The weather has been really nice up here. It's just warm enough and not humid so it's nice! I definitely don't miss the Florida summer humidity... but I definitely do miss Florida! The summers just aren't the same up here. I miss the beach and going swimming and all the normal stuff you do during the summer. Last time I got in any kind of water you can swim in is when I was home in May. So, can you believe I'm already ready for Fall?
I have a few travels coming my way... I'm going down to Virginia Beach the second week in July to visit people, Christian and I are going to a friend's place in New Hampshire July 16th for a party before he's deployed to Africa (the same place we go every October). My friend, Christina, and I are going to New Orleans August 13-15 for a girls trip which I'm super excited about (yes, yes, I know, it will be wicked hot but oh well). I might come home at the end of August. Then, at the beginning of September, I'm going to fly to Italy to meet Christian in Sicily (where he'll be for work for a month) for about two weeks and then we'll fly to Austria to see his grandparents for about a week and then drive to Germany to see the rest of his family for another week. I'll basically be in Europe for about a month. I'm soooo excited about that and can't WAIT to see Italy and Sicily! Plus, I have to get a little bit of knowledge about Italy because Christian is sending me and my mom over there for mom's 55th b-day! Less than five years mom!!!! Someone better agree to babysit any kids we have by that time! haha
OK, well, I've wasted enough time online today so I better go get busy around the house! I love you guys!
xoxo-
Chrissi
First thing's first; it was brought to my attention yesterday that my blog might not be emailing all of you automatically when I have a new post. I set it up to do this but I know at least one of you isn't receiving them. So, I'll work on that.
We got back yesterday from yet another weekend in Western Maryland to visit Christian's family. We seem to be going about every two or three weeks now. And, we're going again for the fourth of July. Christian just keeps telling me that if we lived close enough for me to go home every two or three weeks then I probably would too.... I'm not so sure about that one. Who knows. But the time up there always gives me a chance to read a lot. I'm about 3/4 through "Lone Survivor". It's an absolutely amazing book. It's written by Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL, who was stationed in Afghanistan and was a member of a crew that went on a mission that ended up being the most deadly SEAL mission. It walks you through his training to become a SEAL and now I'm right in the middle of the battle that killed so many amazing men. My brother's ex-girlfriend, Rosie, is friends with Marcus and his brother Morgan (also a SEAL) and recommended this book to me. Marcus is going to be speaking at a Glenn Beck rally in DC in August so I'm hoping I'm able to go to it! He's so inspiring and it's a miracle that he's alive.
Anywho... Christian leaves this Thursday for seven days in Bahrain. Not sure what I'll be doing to occupy the lonely nights though. Thursday night I have a Junior League benefit to go to down in Philly. Christina and her husband will be in DC this weekend so I may go down and see them and then nothing else is really planned.
So, I think I told you all that Christian finally got qualified and did his first flight in the C130 last week. He really enjoyed it and got all kinds of kuddos from the crew on his landing abilities! They kept saying it was so smooth that they didn't even feel it. So, that's good! He seems to be doing pretty well in this squadron. Which, unfortunately for me, means he'll be gone quite a bit. For instance, he leaves this Thursday and is gone until July 1st.... leaves again July 6th for three days.... leaves again July 11 for four days.... then the next trip that is scheduled isn't until August (but just because something isn't scheduled definitely doesn't mean he won't be leaving!). Oh well, I'm strong and I can handle it. So many other people in this world do. Luckily, I also have a husband who isn't on the front lines in Afghanistan having to fight the evil Taliban. He's high up in the sky and relatively safe from the terrorist (knock on wood). I have a friend I used to work with who's husband had been deployed for about six months now in Afghanistan. During that time, she gave birth to their first baby. She is so strong. She only gets to talk to her husband via email. Only seven more weeks until he's home though... she told me that this morning when I talked to her.
Nothing else major is going on. The weather has been really nice up here. It's just warm enough and not humid so it's nice! I definitely don't miss the Florida summer humidity... but I definitely do miss Florida! The summers just aren't the same up here. I miss the beach and going swimming and all the normal stuff you do during the summer. Last time I got in any kind of water you can swim in is when I was home in May. So, can you believe I'm already ready for Fall?
I have a few travels coming my way... I'm going down to Virginia Beach the second week in July to visit people, Christian and I are going to a friend's place in New Hampshire July 16th for a party before he's deployed to Africa (the same place we go every October). My friend, Christina, and I are going to New Orleans August 13-15 for a girls trip which I'm super excited about (yes, yes, I know, it will be wicked hot but oh well). I might come home at the end of August. Then, at the beginning of September, I'm going to fly to Italy to meet Christian in Sicily (where he'll be for work for a month) for about two weeks and then we'll fly to Austria to see his grandparents for about a week and then drive to Germany to see the rest of his family for another week. I'll basically be in Europe for about a month. I'm soooo excited about that and can't WAIT to see Italy and Sicily! Plus, I have to get a little bit of knowledge about Italy because Christian is sending me and my mom over there for mom's 55th b-day! Less than five years mom!!!! Someone better agree to babysit any kids we have by that time! haha
OK, well, I've wasted enough time online today so I better go get busy around the house! I love you guys!
xoxo-
Chrissi
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Any advice to help me out of a crappy mood?? UGH I can't shake it and it's starting to annoy ME, plus my husband! To help myself out, I went to the mall... and got some new face cream (always makes me feel better), new candles and some perfume. Then, bought some new music off of iTunes (Christina Aguilera's new album is AMAZING--- like a new-age Madonna of sorts... pretty mature music). I don't think Christian will allow me to justify those purchases because of my bad mood but sometimes a girl just needs some retail therapy, right??
Well, I'm 25 now. Maybe that's why I'm in a bad mood.... hmmm. Let's hope not! This past weekend was pretty low-key as far as a birthday weekend goes. But, that's totally fine by me since we celebrated the weekend before with our trip to the Poconos. This weekend, we went to a cook-out Friday night with some people I've met up here (we also went to dinner with them Thursday night). Her name is Mandy and her boyfriend is Dan. They seem pretty cool and we've had fun hanging with them so far! I think I'm going to go to dinner with her and one of her friends tonight too. Saturday, we went to a going-away party for a guy in Christian's squadron so I got to meet a couple of those folks. I really liked one of the wives.... they just got married and they live down in the city. She's pretty interesting so we exchanged numbers and will meet up for lunch or something soon. Then Sunday, it was rainy but Christian and I drove up to New Hope and had lunch and walked around. We had the most AMAZING red velvet cake in the world at this place called Mother's. Christian "went to get a dessert menu" but actually sneakily told the waitress it was my birthday so she brought the cake with a candle. :) He's great.
Well, I'm 25 now. Maybe that's why I'm in a bad mood.... hmmm. Let's hope not! This past weekend was pretty low-key as far as a birthday weekend goes. But, that's totally fine by me since we celebrated the weekend before with our trip to the Poconos. This weekend, we went to a cook-out Friday night with some people I've met up here (we also went to dinner with them Thursday night). Her name is Mandy and her boyfriend is Dan. They seem pretty cool and we've had fun hanging with them so far! I think I'm going to go to dinner with her and one of her friends tonight too. Saturday, we went to a going-away party for a guy in Christian's squadron so I got to meet a couple of those folks. I really liked one of the wives.... they just got married and they live down in the city. She's pretty interesting so we exchanged numbers and will meet up for lunch or something soon. Then Sunday, it was rainy but Christian and I drove up to New Hope and had lunch and walked around. We had the most AMAZING red velvet cake in the world at this place called Mother's. Christian "went to get a dessert menu" but actually sneakily told the waitress it was my birthday so she brought the cake with a candle. :) He's great.
I have to tell you though, this whole meeting friends thing isn't as easy as I had anticipated. It's actually VERY tough! I REALLY want to make good friends! It's like being back in the dating world... so awkward. I think I might be a smidge too judgmental about this crap. Oh well, Mandy's great and another girl, Ashley, who I met from Junior League is pretty cool too. So, that's two potentials. I'm sure once JL kicks off at the end of Summer, I'll meet a lot of great girls.
I finished that book "The Happiness Project". It was so good! It really has the potential to be life-changing! Now, I'm on to my new book "Lone Survivor". But, before I just forget about the Happiness Project, I think I'm going to put some effort into some resolutions (much of what this book is about). Not sure what those resolutions are yet but I do know that I want to take some kind of class (art, german, etc).... and I want it to be in the city. So, first thing's first, I need to do some research.... I'll keep you posted on that.
Christian and I are going to MD this weekend to see the family. Father's Day weekend and all that jazz. Then, he leaves for Bahrain next week for seven days. While he's gone, I think I'm going to go to D.C. for a day or two to hang out with some friends that will be in town (Christina and her husband are going to be there to celebrate his bday).
OK, I'm not very proud of this post... seems a little lack-luster to me but I'll blame it on the mood. ;-) Hope all of you are having a great week so far!
LOVE,
Chrissi
Thursday, June 10, 2010
I was listening to the Gayle King show on Oprah Radio yesterday and Elizabeth Gilbert was on talking about her book (and now movie starring Julia Roberts) "Eat, Pray, Love". You can listen to the interview here: http://chirb.it/96C0Nc
They discussed the book and movie and Gilbert's journey after her divorce, etc. Then, they talked about casting Julia Roberts to play her. Gayle and Gilbert raved about how down-to-earth Julia Roberts is in real life and then Gayle brought up this quote from Martha Beck (one of the contributing writers for O, the Oprah Magazine). I loved it so much.
"There are four types of women- women who choose career over family and are conflicted, women who choose family over career who are conflicted, women who choose both career and family who are conflicted and then there are the "mystics", a small sect from any of the few groups who have found their inner voices and they listen."
Wouldn't it be nice if we could all be mystics?
They discussed the book and movie and Gilbert's journey after her divorce, etc. Then, they talked about casting Julia Roberts to play her. Gayle and Gilbert raved about how down-to-earth Julia Roberts is in real life and then Gayle brought up this quote from Martha Beck (one of the contributing writers for O, the Oprah Magazine). I loved it so much.
"There are four types of women- women who choose career over family and are conflicted, women who choose family over career who are conflicted, women who choose both career and family who are conflicted and then there are the "mystics", a small sect from any of the few groups who have found their inner voices and they listen."
Wouldn't it be nice if we could all be mystics?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Christian and I watched the documentary Food, Inc last night and boy, oh boy was it eye-opening! I've been getting very interested in this whole "going organic" thing for a while but never really knew enough about "why" I should do it. Well, that documentary gives a lot of really great information about why organics are so much healthier for you and it tastes sooo good! So, Christian and I have decided to buck up and spend a few more each month to have healthier food. The documentary made a great analogy in regards to this movement; when you purchase a car, you don't go out and find the absolute cheapest model... you want some form of quality and something that will keep you safe (same goes for just about any other purchase) but yet when you are grocery shopping, we all try to find the cheapest option to make dinner for our families on the lowest budget. Something seems wrong with that. Something is also wrong with the fact that two hamburgers from McDonald's cost less than a head of broccoli. The food industry is sick these days. The food industry has made more changes in the last 50 years than in the last 10,000 years. Are these changes really all for the better? I think not.
Luckily, living near a large city, we have endless opportunities to make our lifestyle organic. Whole Foods is right down the road and there's also a Wegmans. If I haven't mentioned it before, Wegmans is the most amazing grocery store I've ever been in. I saw a YouTube video on another girl's blog yesterday of Alec Baldwin talking about trying to get his mother to move from upstate New York out to the west coast and she refuses to move because they don't have Wegmans on the west coast. hahaha
Luckily, living near a large city, we have endless opportunities to make our lifestyle organic. Whole Foods is right down the road and there's also a Wegmans. If I haven't mentioned it before, Wegmans is the most amazing grocery store I've ever been in. I saw a YouTube video on another girl's blog yesterday of Alec Baldwin talking about trying to get his mother to move from upstate New York out to the west coast and she refuses to move because they don't have Wegmans on the west coast. hahaha
Another thing we're considering is getting all of our meat from the farming community that Christian is from. His dad gets meat somewhere over there so we're going to check into it. If we can't do that or if it's just too much hassle, I guess we'll stick to buying grass-fed beef, organic chicken and organic pork from one of the stores around here. I urge all of you to watch this movie if you haven't already seen it! To learn more about this, go to www.takepart.com/foodinc.
Buy food from companies/farms who treat their livestock, employees and the environment with respect! Go to farmers markets, buy local (even WalMart has a locally grown section!) and buy what's in season (not the crazy scientific tomatoes that are ripened with some kind of chemical when they are grown out of season). The environment will thank you and your body will thank you! I know many of you are thinking "it's just so expensive". So, you want to talk return on investment?? Take an average, low-income family in America. They typically save money by buy cheap, easy, fast food. Yet, when they're in their 40s and 50s, they're bankrupt from medical bills due to high cholesterol or diabetes. That will make you think twice about buying two hamburgers rather than a head of broccoli. Take time to cook... really cook... learn how to make things that don't come from the freezer section (Williams Sonoma has GREAT cookbooks for quick, easy recipes that use fresh ingredients). Don't rush through life. Sit down and have a home cooked meal with your family. Cook with your kids! That will make some great memories. Stay on the perimeter of the grocery store and don't venture down too many of the aisles.... that's where all the science projects are!
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not"
-Dr. Seuss
Happy eating!
Chrissi
Chrissi
Monday, June 7, 2010
This past weekend, we celebrated my 25 birthday one week early. As I mentioned in a past post, Christian and I take trips instead of doing gift for special occasions. So, this weekend, we took a trip up to the Pocono Mountains in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We had a blast! Unfortunately, prior to us leaving Saturday morning, I took myself to the emergency room with a urinary tract infection. NOT FUN! Fortunately, though, it only took about an hour and then we were on our way! We made it up there around noon Saturday, had lunch and then drove into Narrowsburg, NY to rent kayaks and kayak down the Delaware River. So, Christian and I did the five mile trip in about 2 hours and had a really great time! The river was pretty calm and it was very low. I got stuck on top of rocks a couple times, which was a pain but otherwise, it was fun. It's was a beautiful day and the scenery couldn't have been much better!
Y'all need to let me know how everything is going down there with you! Has anyone been to the beach to see the oil? That just breaks my heart!
After we finished our river trip, we headed back into Hawley, PA where we stayed at a bed and breakfast. It was so nice! Cute, quaint, artsy place with amazing service and even better food! The restaurant that they have on the property was a farm to table restaurant which means everything is SUPER fresh... and boy, was it! Christian said he felt like he was eating a tree at one point. haha It was VERY good though. We ate outside on their terrace and watched a rain storm come in and we were so tired by the end of dinner that we just went back to our room and fell asleep watching Talladega Nights (perfect seg-way for the next day's adventure). Sunday morning we woke up and had a great breakfast and then headed down to the Pocono Raceway to see the Pocono 500.
Let me just tell you, NASCAR races have THE most interesting people as fans. I could sit there and people watch allllllll day long. There was one lady near us who just epitomized the NASCAR fan. She was hammered at about 11 a.m. and yelling and just being crazy. I have a picture of her on my facebook in the album "Northeast Adventures". You can't miss her. When they started announcing names of the drivers, she would take there names and turn it into something vulgar. For instance, if there was a driver named John Hardin, she would have said "John's got a hard on!". hahah I kid you not. It was hilarious. However, I will say, that was probably the last race I'll ever go to. Not really my cup of tea. I don't understand what it so interesting about watching 20-something cars go around a track for 500 miles. The only interesting things that happen are wrecks and then the last like two laps of the race.... and of course the fans. Other than that, you got me!
A couple guys from Christian's squadron were at the race next to us and they are really nice. One of them had his wife with him and she was pretty cool. But, they're moving at the end of this month so that's a bummer. They're having a party this coming weekend that we're going to go to so maybe we'll meet some other people from the squadron there. We went to dinner with them last night on the way home and had some good conversations and laughs. We finally got home at about 10:30 last night and went right to bed! It cooled off a LOT yesterday when the rain came through. We had four or five days of temps in the 90s and then it got down around 60 degrees last night and today it's absolutely gorgeous outside and about 70-75 degrees! Windows are open for sure! It's supposed to stay this way all week so right about now, I'm loving this weather compared to Florida's!
Y'all need to let me know how everything is going down there with you! Has anyone been to the beach to see the oil? That just breaks my heart!
Anyway, I'm off to get some things done around the house! Love you all!
Have a wonderful week!
Chrissi
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Hi everyone!I'm trying to understand this blogging thing a little more so I'm slowly making changes to my site. One that you'll notice is a new picture link on the top of the page that says "Start your happiness project now". This relates to the book that I was talking about in my last post! Click on this and browse around that site. It's so neat.
Another change is that you should now receive an email directly from my blog when I publish a new post, rather than receiving a separate email from me.
Hope everyone is having a great week and looking forward to a great weekend!!!
Another change is that you should now receive an email directly from my blog when I publish a new post, rather than receiving a separate email from me.
Hope everyone is having a great week and looking forward to a great weekend!!!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Well, I've spent about four hours of my day today trying to change the layout of my blog. Needless to say, I'm FRUSTRATED! For whatever reason, I can't seem to figure out how to download a new template. When I download something and try to open it so I can paste into my blog, it opens in some weird format and then it won't save. I found one template that I love but is it working??? NOPE!
I'm working hard on my blog because I have high hopes. Those high hopes are that people whom I do not know will eventually make their way through the world wide web and over to my blog. I'm hoping to inspire, make people laugh, comfort and just be an escape for some people.... Just like other peoples' blogs have been for me. The blogging world is actually pretty amazing! I've found several military wives that blog and theirs are always interesting. You can see some of the blogs I'm following on my page.
I'm working hard on my blog because I have high hopes. Those high hopes are that people whom I do not know will eventually make their way through the world wide web and over to my blog. I'm hoping to inspire, make people laugh, comfort and just be an escape for some people.... Just like other peoples' blogs have been for me. The blogging world is actually pretty amazing! I've found several military wives that blog and theirs are always interesting. You can see some of the blogs I'm following on my page.
OK, enough about that and on to other things. Well, apparently, the geniuses at BP were wrong once again when NOAA announced today that there are, in fact, oil plumes below the surface in the Gulf. Last I heard, BP had made no statement to address the findings. Day 50 is today... I wonder how many more.
Can you believe it's already JUNE?!?
How fast is this year flying by? For me, it's speeding along rather quickly! I can't believe it's already almost half over!
We got back in town yesterday from a long weekend in the mountains of western Maryland. It was a nice trip to see Christian's family and relax! There's NOTHING to do up there so all you really can do it relax! So, I did. :) I finished one book and started another.
The book I finished is called "War". It's a great book written by Sebastian Junger. Junger is a journalist and also wrote the book "The Perfect Storm". "War" is his recollection of five trips he made to Afghanistan as an embedded journalist with one of the US Army's brigades. It was amazing. The group of troops he was with was stationed in the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan, the Korengal Valley. There are three main parts of the book; Fear, Killing, and Love. It's a great book. It's not political at all, which I really appreciated. And, it just makes you so much more aware of what these guys go through on their 12-16 month deployments and it makes me just want to sit down and talk to some of them and give them a big hug.
The book I started is called "The Happiness Project". I'm about a third of the way through that one and it's so great! It's basically one woman's aspiration to make her already happy life happier. She's young (in her 30s) and lives in NYC with her husband and two daughters. She was an attorney and worked with the Supreme Court Justices. But, that didn't fulfill her. So, she quit and started pursuing writing. She started pursuing writing as a career because that's what she did in her free time when she was a lawyer. She wasn't like her other legal colleagues who read law books and discussed historical trials while having a cocktail after work. She wasn't really all that interested in law.... it was just what she did. So, she split up her happiness project into 12 categories (one for each month of this year long project). Basically, she starts a year with 12 new years resolutions. Once she tackles the first month, she moves onto the next month but still keeping her first month's resolution in mind... and so on and so forth. It's very enlightening and hits home because I'm very happy but I know there are things that would make me happier. For instance, not putting off daunting tasks that really only take 5 minutes... or keeping in better touch with distant family... or not being worried what people think.... etc. So, I may just take this book (once I'm finished) and make my own little happiness project! I'll keep you all posted on that!
I've been reading in the news that the oil is getting closer and closer to Pensacola. So sad. It's amazing to me that something like this could happen in a world with so much technology and so much knowledge. We went to church the other day in Maryland and the preacher was talking about how man is never the first to come up with a new invention or a new idea... God has had these ideas forever... we just have to wait for man to figure it out with the material that God has given him. Man, oh, man do I wish man would hurry up and think through all of the tools that God provides and figure out how to fix this thing! I wonder how this will truly effect the beautiful Gulf Coast. As one of my Facebook friends (who lives in New Orleans now but is from P'cola) put it, "How did this come out of no where so that no one had any plan to stop it? What if they don't stop it until August? What if they never stop it? Will the Gulf be black? Will I never see the "Emerald Coast" again? If a hurricane comes, will St. Louis Cathedral be stained with oil? Will a hurricane carry the oil into Pensacola Bay? The Destin Pass? What if these dispersants make everything in the Gulf toxic." Great questions... yet, questions that no one can seem to answer.
Enough ranting about that though and on to other news.... I've finally found a group of doctors up here (women's group) and I have an appointment next week to see a Nurse Practitioner. I had a UTI all weekend and finally got antibiotics from my sister-in-law's mother who gets them frequently. So, I'm going to see if there is anything else I can be doing that I'm not already doing to prevent these things. However, I think I'm doing everything in the books! I also just want to make sure I'm as healthy as possible since a little baby Jenkins is next on our agenda of Life! haha Now, I just have to find a dentist... ugh.
Other than all of that, nothing much is new... just hanging around and running errands! I hope all of you are having a great week and I know those few teachers who are reading this are SUPER excited about this week being the last week!
I love all of you!!!
Chrissi
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