new blog location

Please forgive me, but I have changed the blog name and location- please join me over at http://www.bloomwhereweareplanted.blogspot.com/ from now on!

Cheers!
Mary

Rainy Sunday notes

image found {here}

Although it has been raining for the past four days, I really had a wonderful weekend. Bryan has been busy finishing up his last couple of assignments and finals for his last two classes. The end is so close now!!

On Friday I took the train into NYC and after a little Moe's in Penn Station ("welcome to Moe's") Dana and I headed for the Bolt Bus to Boston! We met up with Meaghan and Courtney and some girls from NYC at Courtney's house and had a quiet night.

On Saturday we braved the rain and trekked up to Cambridge to have lunch at Border Cafe (one of the things from my to-do list). Both Dana and I had their taco salad... it is unbelievable. They have this amazing dill ranch dressing that is delish!

After lunch we all headed back to Courtney's and Aunt Monty came to pick me up so I could spend the night with her and Uncle Gene and Matthew. I got to have breakfast with them this morning and then came back to Boston and had brunch with the girls again before Dana and I got back on the Bolt Bus back to NYC.

Lots to do this week including a lot of cleaning and organizing preparing to move stuff down to our new apartment in DC!

The best part about this weekend is that it is the last weekend Bryan and I will have to spend apart... until I deploy that is. But for now, that gives us 12 wonderful weekends together!

Cheers!

Mary

Big news and 31 to-dos in 31 days Update

Ok, so here we are halfway through March. Let's see what I have accomplished. Most of my to-dos have actually come from the fact that I recently found out that I will be deploying to Baghdad in June for 6 months. Not exactly ideal in the first year of marriage, but we will be fine :)

We are busy getting Bryan ready to move and getting ready to move all of my stuff from my apartment to our new home in Silver Spring, Maryland... right outside of Washington DC!!

Things from the list that are done:

1. Collect all of my important paperwork and place in my fire-proof safe

2. Finish as much name-change paperwork as I can

10. Collect all of my tax documents and then file my taxes

20. Purchase my new outfit to celebrate my fave colors for this spring

31. Visit Border Cafe in Cambridge, Mass- where the combination of mexican food and country music is blissful

Things that I did that weren't on the list:

1. Finished and mailed wedding thank you notes

2. Made an appt for an MRI and to get another nerve block injection under my should blade in preparation for the deployment

3. Completed most of the computer based training I need to finish before my deployment

So, obviously I am slacking a little bit in the accomplish things department, but I am sure I will get it all done.

Cheers!

Mary

Sunday notes

First off, Bryan's thesis defense went well, as he says... so although that's a big relief he still has a ton of other schoolwork to do over the next couple of weeks. We very much look forward to the 25th of March and his graduation!

This past weekend was a whirlwind of fun. I drove down to DC and Bryan flew in from Dayton. Friday night we stayed in the guest suite in the apartment building we were thinking about living in when Bryan moves there next month. It is in Silver Spring, Maryland. On Saturday morning we looked at a couple of buildings in the area and then joined our dear friends Kristen, her boyfriend Chris, and Alex for brunch at a restaurant in Silver Spring called Eggspectation. After brunch we went back to the building we had stayed in and were able to look at one of their available units and I am happy to say that we put in our application and are anxiously awaiting word on getting our first home together!! Although, we still aren't sure when I will get to move there! Later on Saturday we drove to DC and checked in to the W hotel which just happens to be just a couple of blocks from the White House!

Kristen and Alex dressed up and joined us at one of my favorite restaurants in DC, La Tasca, for dinner. They have amazing tapas and white sangria that we have nicknamed "applesauce sangria" because... well... it tastes like applesauce. Anyway we are old folks now and everyone was home by 11.

Today we met up with the girls and Chris again for brunch (I hope you are sensing the pattern) at Clydes. After that we stopped in at Urban Outfitter's and bought Bryan some new clothes. :)

Such a lovely weekend!!

Cheers,

Mary

Sunday notes

I am currently watching the USA v Canada hockey game and these guys are crazy insane... it is so exciting to watch. Today for lunch I made this yummy sandwich I saw on realsimple.com. I made a couple of changes, like using a honey mustard vinaigrette on top...mmmmm. This weekend I have been catching up a lot, cleaning house and trying to get a little organized. I downloaded the new Corinne Bailey Rae album and was rockin' out to it while I was working around the house. I have also been working on finishing up our thank you notes. I. Am. Almost. Done. We had another snowstorm at the end of the week and it has been snowing on and off all weekend. I am so ready for spring. I'm off to have the last mint skinny cow ice cream sandwich left in the freezer.

Cheers,

Mary

31 to-dos in 31 days: the March challenge

In no particular order, following are the 31 things I need to accomplish over the next 31 days:

1. Collect all of my important paperwork and place in my fire-proof safe

2. Finish as much name-change paperwork as I can (still fighting with the Florida DMV about having to appear in person to change my name on my Driver’s License)

3. Go through the rest of my clothes and organize my donations

4. Put together my blog entry for my faves for spring

5. Finish and send out marriage announcement

6. Super-secret-spring project

7. Get my kitchenware in order

8. Make a list of new foods i’d like to try and then plan to try them

9. Make a list of parties i’d like to throw and then throw one by the end of spring

10. Collect all of my tax documents and then file my taxes

11. Check my fire extinguisher, smoke detectors, and change the light bulbs in my apartment (i’m currently running on just 1 of 5 light bulbs in my dining room light)

12. Buy, “Nesting, It’s Chick Thing” and enjoy

13. Update my security clearance paperwork

14. Have a bed day- I can work, read, eat, do whatever I want, but I will stay in bed all day

15. Plan with Bryan how we want to decorate our new home together

16. Try a new soup recipe

17. Tackle my linen closet

18. Tackle my storage room

19. Update my Christmas card scrapbook

20. Purchase my new outfit to celebrate my fave colors for this spring

21. Enjoy the release of the Twilight:New Moon dvd release!

22. Super-secret-housewarming-project

23. Visit Sweetiepie in NYC

24. Try to bake my own chocolate croissants

25. Spend and evening at a bookstore

26. Spend a quiet night at home with no tv

27. Continue work on my quilt of my sorority t-shirts

28. Tackle the corner of my bedroom where I throw stuff and my desk

29. Go to the The Pop Shop, the diner in New Jersey that features over 30 variations of grilled cheese.. yum!

30. Stock up on Fresh ink cards and update my Celebrations book and plan correspondence

31. Visit Border Cafe in Cambridge, Mass- where the combination of mexican food and country music is blissful

Cheers,

Mary

Strong to the finish

So February became sort of a sit around and enjoy month for me... it certainly hasn’t been so for Bryan who has been tirelessly working towards the finish of his Master’s program. Compared to all the other work he has to do, it seems like the thesis is just a small part of his last semester. He is working literally all day on projects, labs, and exams. It blows my mind how much work he has and how much of his life it consumes. We will both be grateful when he graduates on March 25th!

March is going to be very task-ful, but I kind of like it that way. I keep myself busy with enough stuff that I can be distracted from the fact that I miss Bryan more and more everyday... thank goodness this is almost over. First thing first- Bryan defends his thesis on Thursday. Then on Friday he flies into Baltimore and I pick him up on our way to DC. We will be staying in the guest suite of the building we are thinking of moving into in the metro DC area. To celebrate Bryan and his accomplishments (so proud!) we are going to be staying Saturday night at the W hotel in downtown Washington, enjoying some dinner and dancing with great friends.

The following weekend, i’ll head to Boston with some lovely ladies from NYC to spend some quality time with Courtney before she moves to Kentucky this summer after defending her dissertation in Clinical Psychology. The girls and I haven’t been to Boston together since 2007 so this is sure to be a trip to remember. We will also get to spend some time with the Stepura family as well!

March of course will come to close in dramatic fashion as I head to Dayton for Bryan’s graduation. We will get to spend some wonderful time with his parents and our Dayton family before everyone goes their separate ways the first week of April.

Cheers,

Mary