Currently [5]

Linking up for "Currently" before I start spewing nostalgic posts about Elle turning 2 :) 

 Enjoying getting more sleep. I haven't been my usual crazy self trying to get 8,000 things done each day, but it has felt good to get more than 5 or 6 hours of sleep each night. My only complaint is that it hasn't been uninterrupted sleep - I keep waking up to go to the bathroom or feeling hungry or 15 minutes before the alarm when it feels like it's a waste to try to go back to sleep. But still. More sleep has been nice.


Learning about the importance of cuticle oil. I have ugly fingernails (becauseIhavebeenanailbitersinceagesix) but am trying to change that. Also, I've learned that Elle now likes chicken. Like, a lot. And sandwiches other than grilled cheese and PB&J. She's big in to ham and cheese lately, and I'm loving that her food options have seemed to expand so much in just the last few weeks.  


Inspired by the Olympics. I'm not blocking out chunks of my life around the Olympics schedule, but I do like watching the events, hearing tidbits about the athletes/countries/facilities and watching the local newspapers cover the Games. (That part makes me miss working at a newspaper, but I know I'd feel differently if I were there in the thick of it!) When I think about how hard the Olympians train to get to where they are and some of the obstacles they've overcome, it makes working out a few times a week and trying to eat well look like the least I can do.


Becoming a big ball of nerves. We've had a lot of things up in the air lately, and I don't handle that well. (This could also be related to my broken sleep.) I'm hoping the dust settles soon, because 'tis not a pleasant way to live.

Indulging in a new camera! We've been saving and researching for a while (and taking advantage of advice from blogger friend Genevieve because she is awesome), and I'm excited. Oh, and indulging in Nutella, yuuuummmmm (on sale + coupon = calories don't count, right?).

Be sure to check out the linkup this week and in the future!

Currently [4]

I've been quiet on the blogging front, but I wanted to get back in to the "Currently" link up again. Hopefully I'll have some more posts this week, but really, there hasn't been a lot going on, I've been getting solid sleep every night and I'm in denial that Elle is almost two. So we'll see what happens. 

Cooking with zucchini. And for the future. I spent several hours last week whipping up a few batches of zucchini bread and muffins, then made some zucchini enchiladas and tuna noodle casserole to freeze for lunches in the future. I'm a big fan of Skinny Taste. I've also been working on rebuilding my crock pot and dump recipe stockpiles after our great power outage. 

Making a return to Spin classes. I bought a voucher to a local cycle studio earlier this year from Living Social, and I have a month of unlimited Spinning to use up. I started about 10 days ago and have made it to four classes. It nearly killed me the first week, but it feels so good to be back in class! I had attended two or three Spin classes most weeks from 2006 until 2008. When we got married, I had to leave my beloved gym, and the YMCA we joined didn't have Spinning. The branch that I'd go to occasionally had a great instructor, but it was a 25-minute drive to get there, and I couldn't justify the time or gas money, and then we left the Y and joined a (much cheaper) very basic gym. So basically I hadn't gone Spinning since before I found out I was pregnant. It has been awesome to be back, and I'm hoping we can join another gym in the not-so-distant future that has Spin classes with awesome instructors. 

Working on some new projects. Cryptic, yes, but hopefully I'll be able to explain more soon.

Reading the newspaper more. And taking a break from books - I haven't been sucked in to any lately, but I'm sure it is just a matter of time before I get hooked on a few more. 

Listening to the latest Maroon 5 album, and the Train single "50 Ways to Say Goodbye." There was an Amazon deal on the Maroon 5 album, and the Train song has been in several of my Spin classes. I love Train, and their "My Private Nation" album was my anthem the summer after I graduated college - I played it on every road trip I took. The other album that stands out from that summer? Maroon 5's "Songs About Jane." It's nice to still be listening to bands that have been a part of some extremely formative periods in my life.

Currently [3]

Linking up for the third week of "Currently" :) Apparently in this edition I get emotional, bitter and sappy. Oopsie.

Working on myself. Getting back in the workout routine and making it a priority to do things I enjoy (cooking, baking, catching up with old friends, blogging, reading, designing). I've been getting more sleep and trying to take deep breaths.


Dreaming of Tim and I being on the same schedule. As Elle gets older and we've been doing this whole 'I work days, Tim works nights' thing longer, I hate it more. It's exhausting. It's not ideal. It stinks that Elle hardly ever gets to see us together. It makes me jealous of people with normal schedules. I long for days when we might get to spend every evening as a family and have more of a give-and-take with everyday tasks like giving Elle a bath or cleaning up after dinner. Tim takes care of a lot of stuff in the mornings while he's on single-parent duty, like taking Elle to swim lessons, packing her lunch, etc., and it just feels like we're constantly "on duty," whether it be at home or at work - there's no one to step in when one of us needs a break. Not to mention the fact that it's hard to socialize with friends when we hardly see each other at all or we'd always have to get a sitter, and our opportunities for date nights are severely limited. I know it could be worse - I do, really - but it's hard to not wish that things were different.


Planning ways to maximize our family time ( mostly Sundays) for the next few weeks. I'm thinking trips to the beach, more aquariums, children's museums, etc.


Thinking about the future. I'm full of ideas, dreams, goals, etc. - just waiting to see how things play out and trying to stay hopeful. I've also been extremely sentimental about Elle approaching the big 2 years. I'm sure there will be plenty of blog posts devoted to that in the coming weeks :)



Obsessed with Honey Nut Cheerios and "House." Weird, right? I haven't been hungry for breakfast the last few weeks, but all of a sudden over the last few days I've been obsessed with eating cereal - particularly, Honey Nut Cheerios. I had them for dinner last night, breakfast this morning and seriously considered having them for lunch again today. I'm caught up on all of the shows we DVR, so I've been turning to the CLOO network, watching a lot of "House," which I got hooked on while on maternity leave.

Currently [2]

A pause in catching up with the rambles to bring you the second week of linking up with ...

Reading. Lots! Among my rambling posts-to-finish include a post on how I get emotionally involved in my literature, but right now I'm reading "The Happiness Project" and "The Hunger Games." Tim and I saw "The Hunger Games" movie on a recent date night, so I'm not tearing through the book - I already know what happens. I have to be in the right (self-improving) mood to read "The Happiness Project," so it has been slightly slower going. I also just finished Kelle Hampton's "Bloom." I really liked it - I felt it was extremely well-edited and loved all of the photos and raw emotion in it.

Loving. My health. Elle and I have been sick this week, and on Wednesday I thought I was going to die. I actually ended up on the bathroom floor in the afternoon, first sweating, then shivering, and I didn't think I'd ever feel better again. She and I are both doing better, thankfully, but it was not a fun week.  

Eating. Yummy stuff! Wednesday's illness left me with no appetite, but I baked last weekend and this weekend, and I've been trying a few new recipes for dinner, too. The two biggest successes so far? Peanut butter chocolate bars and cake batter blondies. Mmmmm ...

Drinking. Wine. Chardonnay, to be exact. It was a rough afternoon/evening with the toddler, and I spent a lot of time on the computer working on some designs today, so I felt it would be a good beverage of choice. Other than that? The Death Illness left me with little interest in caffeinated beverages, which is good because I was kind of drinking too much before that. But I have been enjoying a cup of Butter Toffee or Wild Blueberry coffee each day. So. Good.

Looking forward to. A normal week. With Elle and I being sick last week, things were hectic. Missing a day of work left the rest of the week a little frantic there, too. I'm hoping for less stress, less sickness and lots of laughter and rest this week.

Currently

So much to blog about and so little time (and energy. And desire to sit in front of a computer screen after sitting in front of a computer screen for 8+ hours a day at work. But anyway ...)

I love this new linkup and look forward to getting a little blogging in, meeting some new folks and organizing my thoughts at least once a week :)

Without further ado, my debut in the debut of the "Currently" linkup, co-hosted by one of my favorite bloggers, Randalin (who is also the mother of an adorable, intelligent little boy), over at Harvesting Kale.

currently, I'm ...

cooking. Sausage and peppers, based on this recipe (we use turkey sausage, and Elle ate seconds and thirds of the sausage but has no interest in the peppers), and Golden Gate Lasagna. Since the lasagna leaves me with leftover ricotta, I decided to bake a little, too, making these cookies for the first time - they were a hit with my family and Tim's coworkers :) While we're on the topic of food ... I'm looking for some new recipes that are easy to make and will go over well with the littlest eater in the house. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

wearing. Tank tops, shorts and flip flops whenever I'm not at work. It's Florida, it's hot, the toddler doesn't care, so we're outside. My workplace is uber casual, too, but chilly, so I wear jeans, sneakers and a sweatshirt, fleece or sweater. Someday I'll dress fancy and cute. But not this week.

wanting. Hahahaha. Don't even know where to start on this one. I'll go with a few material biggies that don't have a lot of emotional baggage: A new camera and a new desktop computer. The camera is higher on the priority list and will likely be a reality sooner than later. Since my computer is still functional (thanks, computer!) I'll keep saving for that one. I'd also like a week off work to not do anything or go anywhere ... hey, maybe I could use my new camera that week, too!

listening to. Pop and alternative music. Before our trip to Ohio, Elle pretty much owned the car tunes when she was riding with me, and the two-disc "Toddler Tunes" songs are harmless but started to drive me a bit batty. Since we've been back, she's a little less insistent on having "MY SONGS!" which was a small but nice change of pace. We've also been on a few small road trips in the last week that allowed for some talk radio (Daddy wanted Elle to listen to baseball postgame broadcasts ...)

watching. DVR'd episodes of Desperate Housewives, Make It Or Break It and Scandal. I finally caught up last weekend while I did some work on the computer and cleaned. I cried during the DH finale. (Yes, I am lame and emotional.) And I am loving Scandal - any one else watch it?