Chores Chores Chores

I went into our honeymoon assuming I would post a picture a day of our travels. I still plan on doing just that, but I had no intention of preposting (well except the wedding details post that goes up Monday). Then I was skimming through my reader and saw this great post on Chores and Marriage from A Practical Wedding.

Since Chores have been a discussion lately in our household, I thought I would post my two cents.

When Jay and I first moved to DC we lived with two college friends (also a couple). We assumed everything would go flawlessly, that we would automatically live very well together. As a result, we talked about NOTHING when it came our overall expectations or apartment upkeep. As you can imagine, things didn't go so well. We all got frustrated by the level of cleanliness, comments and the amount/frequency of social time. As a result we all simply grew apart.

This experience was very eye opening. I considered this couple to be our really good friends and was shocked how quickly a friendship ended over lack of communication. When we moved in with our roommate Mary, Jay and I decided we were going to prevent this problem right from the start. Mary had a similar roommate situation previously and was 100 percent on board. As a result our weekly chore chart was born. This chart was nothing crazy, just the simple knowledge that every week we each had one chore to complete in the living area (dust, swiffer the kitchen floor or vacuum). With our little chart, we never had a problem.

Flash forward almost 2 years later. We lived very happily with Mary for 17 months (we are staying with her right now in California), Jay spent 3 months in NYC and Baltimore (living with my parents), and Jay and I are for the first time living on our own together. I wanted to use the two weeks he was home before our honeymoon to see if we needed the structure of a chore chart or if we could make it without. After one week, we both realized a chore chart was the only way to go.

Here is the reality when you live with another person, regardless of their relationship to you, THEY CAN NOT READ YOUR MIND. Jay and I have VERY different definitions of clean. I think the kitchen counters need to be wiped down daily, he doesn't even notice the crumbs and drops of coffee.

We sat down and talked about our expectations for chores and our lifestyles. Jay knows I am easily overstimulated after work. While he is studying for his boards and we live in a studio, video games can be played as loud and often as he like during the day, but at night he plays them on mute. Believe it or not, this works really well for us as I usually blog for about an hour where he plays his video game. It's a win-win.

As for our chores, we sat down and made a list of things either of us think need to happen daily and weekly. Then we divided the tasks and I made us charts and lists so that we both know what we are responsible for.

Now, not all tasks made our list. There are some chores like emptying the dishwasher and making dinner that neither of us mind doing were left off. Then there are chores like making the bed. Since our apartment is tiny and open, I like the bed made. Jay gets up last. Jay now has an easy daily chore.

Likewise, Jay hates clearing the drying rack and will pile it so high that things fall off and break (i.e. our coffee pot that we got for our wedding which we had to replace this week). Now every morning as I make my oatmeal in the microwave, I spend that 1 minute and 45 seconds clearing the drying rack. And guess what, it rarely takes me longer than that.

Last week I may have been overwhelmed in the evening by loud noises and a dirty apartment, this week I have been happy. And, I know Jay is happier too as I am nagging him less. :)

Chore charts and written lists work for US. I know they don't work for everyone, but talking does.

How do you divide the chores in your household?

My Busy Baltimore Weekend

I can’t believe how busy I have been lately!! Tonight just seem to fly by even though I spent the evening at home!! Must be all those weekends away and entertaining guests ;)

Let’s rewind to last Thursday for a semi quick life update. For some reason I got really into hair braiding. Below are my two latest hairstyles.

The one of the right I found on Mary’s Pinterest. I think my hair is either too thick or not long enough :( I still liked the hairstyle though.

Thursday was an interesting day to say the least. I got an iPhone that took 24 hours to port, met my high school friend Melissa for Happy Hour and ran into one of my old residents on the metro. All great things, but all so surreal (minus seeing Melissa, which was awesome and should happen more often).

Friday, I slept in because it was my day off and went running. I thought I only added one mile to a regular route rounding out my scheduled 7 miles. Later I found out that I actually ran 8 miles. I am so glad the run felt great, but I guess adding extra mileage accidently always feels good. I just hope the rest of training goes as smoothly.

After my run, I headed to Baltimore to catch up with a friend and hang out with the family. Now I may not prepare meat at home, but I don’t mind eating it when someone else prepares it for me. Friday my mom made us Venison Loin. It was delicious!! I ate way too much of it!!

Believe it or not, this was also my first meal ever in front of the TV at my parents house. It’s amazing how much parents change when they become empty nesters!!

Saturday was a BIG day. My mom and I met with a florist and then headed to Val’s bridal shower. Her shower was a lot of fun!! It was so funny to see all her gifts wrapped in Bed, Bath & Beyond paper aka her wedding colors. Crazy huh?!?!

Her shower was only my second shower EVER. I was a little worried as the maid of honor. Thankfully, her sister-in-law is an amazing crafter and shower thrower. I am so thankful she is on top of her game. Plus, she has a 3 month old baby, this woman is seriously super-woman. That evening, a few of the bridesmaids and I hung out. We had so much fun! It makes me miss Baltimore girls nights so much!

Sunday started out so bright but ended on a sour note. I started the day with another florist consultation with my mom. I promise I will give a run down of our meetings either this week or next. All of them seem great, but which one do we connect with… a little teaser for you ;)

After our consultation, I had the opportunity to catch up with my high school friend Tracey. We have gone years with only meeting up on Christmas Eve, so it was so nice to see her not on a holiday. Hopefully, we can start meeting up a little more frequently.

Then the day started going down hill. As y’all know the Ravens lost to the Pats. While it is devastating, it was nice to see a good and close game. While it’s sad, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the game with my dad, brother and his friends. There is always next year!

Ok, I think that brings us to TODAY!!! Yay!! Hopefully, I will be back tomorrow with something a little more substantial that has some take-away-points ;).

Time Flies

It is amazing how fast time flies when your having fun. I am completely engrossed in the Hunger Game series which has literally sucked up my days. I was in a waiting room on Tuesday and didn’t want it to be my turn because the book is soo good.

Besides being a major book worm, I have also managed to have a bit of fun.

Last night I went over my friend Courtney’s house for dinner and Country Dancing, Wii style. The meal was delicious!!! and I got to take home some leftovers.

I haven’t played with the Wii a lot, so I always forget how active the games are. Playing Country Dance was a lot of fun but also pretty funny. Line dancing is mostly all about feet movement so it was fun to see how the game incorporated your hands (which is where you hold the Wii remote and how you earn points, hence why they added hand movements). I think these images appropriately describe our ridiculousness.

Since I spent last night having fun, tonight I was all about cleaning. I started with the fish tank since Uno passed away. Jay and I think we accidently killed him by giving the fish a Goldfish weekend feeder instead of the normal weekend feeder we us. While it is sad to say good-bye, I felt good about cleaning the tank and giving our remaining fish, BS, a fresh start. And who knows, maybe BS will have a new sister this weekend.

After the tank was clean, I moved on to the entire apartment. The best thing about having a small living space is it takes no time to clean.

And before I knew it, it was time for dinner. Tonight I had some leftover mashed potatoes, baked parmesan tomatoes and black beans.

The baked parmesan tomatoes were a new recipe that Mary posted to our shared Pinterest board from when we lived together. Now that she is gone, I just steal all her recipe ideas ;) I am actually very excited to try one of the recipes she pinned on Friday.

Before I leave y’all, and because its Wednesday, I wanted to show you Val’s wedding invitation. You may remember talking about my invitations a few weeks ago. Val ordered hers and showed them to me which completely sold me on the company.

I can not believe how close her wedding is now! Invitations make it so real and make me realize how much wedding planning I have left. Eeks!

Welcome Home

Who is ready for a really really random post? But first, dinner.

Tonight I had a modified Chipotle Bowl. Modified simply because as I was making it, I realized I didn’t have half of the normal ingredients… oops! The one good thing about Chipotle Bowls is they can be as versatile as a traditional salad.

The chips are Trader Joe’s Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips, which are AMAZING. Seriously, do yourself a favor and go try them.

As promised, I also have a few apartment sneak peaks. Nothing big, just a shot of our TV stand from the couch and into the bed room from the couch (can you sense the laziness?).

So I guess this means Jay and I have our first home together. A comfy little studio apartment home. The main reason we choose this studio apartment was because it essentially has a bedroom. I don’t think they can call it a bedroom because of the french doors and the awkward 5 inch break between the ceiling and the wall.

Regardless, I love it and am so happy that it is 95% put together. I made some real progress tonight and was even able to do my post move-in vacuum.

While both Jay and I like our new apartment, we are sad that we had to say good-bye to our roommate Mary. Mary moved back to California for her final clinical internship. We had a lot of fun living with her for 15 months, learned a lot from her and will miss her daily. At least we know we get to see her this spring.

Charleston in Pictures

While we were down South for Thanksgiving we took Mary to downtown Charleston. We went on the basic walking tour of Charleston hitting all the major sites including the Battery, Rainbow Row, Broad Street, the Market and looked out at Fort Sumter. Of course, we ended the day with a beer and the Washers. Enjoy!

Be Thankful

When I asked Jay what I should be thankful for, he immediately said ME!

And yes sweetie, I am very thankful for you! Jay definitely brightens my day, he makes me laugh and makes me feel pretty. What more can a girl ask for?

Besides my love bug. I am also thankful for friends.

And family.

Plus what more can I ask for when I am healthy and accomplished so many goals this year?

ps: click on the pictures for a look back at some of my favorite posts this year!

Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?

Skinny Mac N Cheese and Photography

Tomorrow is my work’s annual Thanksgiving lunch. My work provides the Turkey and all my coworkers make the side dishes. It is truly a feast.

The first year I worked there, I made my Mom’s Sauerkraut and last year I made Roasted Root Veggies. This year I knew I needed to do something different. Since my work is sponsoring a weight watchers group, I decided to make Mary’s (or Cooking Light) Light Mac N Cheese.

Since Mac N Cheese is a dish Jay and his family traditionally have at Thanksgiving, I thought I would share some of my new family traditions with the group, only the lighter version ;)

I love about this dish, it makes enough for me to take to work and have for dinner. Plus it is super filling!! I am a Happy Chef tonight!

While dinner (and lunch) was in the oven, I played with my newish digital camera. I call it newish since I have had it for about 4 months but have never found the time to play with all the settings until tonight.

An subject was Crumble-Top Pumpkin Muffins. Since we are moving soon, I have made an extra effort to clean out the pantry. Sadly, I had a can of Libby’s Easy Pumpkin Pie mix that I bought last year and was about to expire (eek). Thankfully, the label provided me with a great easy recipe.

But enough about muffins! I finally played with all the settings and found the one that I liked the best for the muffin (above). I feel like I learned a lot in just 15 minutes. I am so glad I finally took the time to play around!

It is amazing how much all the settings look so different. Even though I feel more comfortable, I still feel like I have a lot to learn about my camera and a whole world to learn about digital photography.

(source)

Besides my time in the kitchen, I also wanted to take a minute to talk about last night’s Glee. I loved how Glee has gone back to its roots and has started incorporating more music into its episodes. This, in my opinion, is a big improvement from the beginning of the season.

Second, I am glad Glee has stayed with its anti-bullying attitude. I loved the dodge ball scene and how the writes flowed that into Kurt’s stance on anti-bullying.

Lastly, I am very very interested where the writers are taking the Santana storyline. I think its about to get a bit more interesting.

How did you feel about last night’s Glee?

 

How/Does your work celebrate Thanksgiving?

Mary’s (err- Cooking Light’s) 20 Minute Soup

I am one more day closer to feeling more human. I am so glad this cold attacked me now instead of closer to the marathon. Not that feeling under the weather is ever good timing, but I have to say it picked a great week. I am also so glad we worked in some extra wiggle room into our schedule. I felt less guilty only accomplishing 10 miles this weekend.

Which brings me to another point. I no longer know how to categorize my runs. I am sure other long distance runners feel the same way. 10 miles is soo far, but right now with all our other runs it is just another run. Pathetic right?!?!?!

So with that I am starting a little blog challenge for all my lovely readers at home. I want you all to run a 5k with me on Thanksgiving in your neck of the woods. Not a runner? Well you have a little less than 9 weeks to train and I have the perfect program for you, the Couch to 5k. Good Luck!!!!

On to the delicious Spinach, Pasta, and Pea Soup Mary made us for dinner. This 20 minute soup from Cooking Light was delicious, I was shocked when she made it in the amount of time it took me to figure out rent and write the check. Pathetic on my end right?

To accompany our soup we had grilled cheeses. Nothing says it’s Fall like soup and grilled cheese. As much as I loved the summer months, I have missed warm soup!

But for serious, go check out the soup, then the Couch to 5k, then go visit our engagement pictures. In backwards order.

Where will you be running your Turkey Trot?

Five Meals for Friday

Since it’s practically Friday (aka Thursday evening), I thought I would sum up the week with my five favorite meat-less foods.

1. Pea Daddy’s Jambalaya from Mama Pea’s new cookbook.

2. Cow Girl Corn Bread (also from Mama Pea’s new book)

3. Tina’s Oatmeal Pancake

4. Light Mac N Cheese from Cooking Light

5. Vegetarian Lasagna

What was your favorite food this week?

Everything I Ate Today

Week after week I see so many blogger post everything they ate. I have never been very good about documenting exactly what I eat. Today, I finally did it. Well I almost did it. I accidently ate two things without photographing them, but I was able to snap a quick photo when I got home. Without further adieu, today I ate:

Breakfast: Tina’s Oatmeal Pancake (originally from Kath, who know?) with a cup of coffee

At work: I snack all day long about every 2 hours. Instead of categorizing my food as “lunch” or a “snack”, I give you all of the food I consumed at my desk.

Usually my morning cup of coffee is enough for the day. After my extra long weekend and with an overflowing e-mailbox, I could not resist a coffee invite from a friend.

After some quality work and a meeting, I finally had my first snack at 11:30 a.m. I was starving! (which probably explains why I forgot to photograph). I normally have my first snack around 10 a.m. It may have been the coffee or the work piled up on my desk, but I just wasn’t hungry at 10 a.m. So when I ate, I had some Stoneyfield Activia Yogurt (courtesy of a coupon from HLS) with about 1/4 cup of granola (I keep a box in my desk) and some of Mama Pea’s Cow Girl Cornbread (from her new book) with Honey on top.

Still not feeling like lunch, I snacked on grapes around 12:45 p.m.

And then some Adora Calcium Chocolate at 1:30 p.m. as motivation to put new subscribers in our database.

Finally at 2:30 p.m. I had what most people would consider to be a traditional lunch. A salad with Chipotle Ranch dressing and Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies. Like the granola I keep in my desk, I also keep dressing in the work fridge. This is so much easier than having to pack it daily. I love Whole Food’s Chipotle Ranch dressing. It is so spicy that I can only have a little but none of the dressing guilt!

Dinner: Mary made us Cooking Light’s Lighter Mac and Cheese and I accompanied it with a beer (and an additional helping). Yum!

Do you document your food daily?

I typically do not document my food. I eat about the same thing everyday with little variation here and there based on what is on sale at the store, leftovers from dinner and my mood. Since training for a marathon, I have noticed I can have an extra snack daily. Besides the extra 250 ish calories, I eat pretty much the same and have no need to count or track my food.

I do slip-up and splurge occasionally, but it’s ok. I think the occasional splurge is an equally important part of Healthy Living.