It's incredibly past my bedtime.

And yet, here I am.

I planted what has the potential to be a wonderful little garden.... yay! I already had a tomato and jalapeno and cilantro plant, but with all of this amazing rain we've been having, the tomato is growing like a weed! Thus, I was forced to remove my pepper and cilantro, and transplant them in my little garden patch. To this I added mint, basil, dill, and lavender, as well as a watermelon and eggplant. Hooray! I seeded some collard greens, and as soon as those reach a decent size I'll add them. I'm not going to plant anything else until after July, mainly because it's just too darn hot. Well, maybe some more herbs... but no more veggies. I only picked full sun plants, but we all know that here in FL, full sun vs all day FL sun are 2 entirely different creatures. Luckily I have a fairly shaded yard, so while the garden gets plenty of sun, it's not ALL day. I also got some flowers off of the 'distressed' cart, meaning they were unsightly and dehydrated and half off, but a little TLC and they should shape up to be wonderful. We went to IKEA last weekend or so and I got a spiffy little houseplant, but within a day or so it had shrunk to half its size- and my cats were responsible! I put that little guy outside, too. I love living in Florida... I can grow stuff all year long if I want to. It's pretty sweet.

I got a new tattoo! It's an owl on the inside of my right arm. Yikes, that was not fun. BUT it's worth it- it is so beautiful! I got it for my grandma... she used to collect owls.

I have a fake crush on my Organic lab teacher. I think it's hilarious. It's because he has an accent. Stupid, stupid accents! Yeah, so not really. But still.

Okay, I really should be getting to bed- I have an exam in the am. Aah!

<3

Life is good...

Really good.

We moved into the house! Yay us! Everything is finished and new and beautiful- it looks like a completely different house inside. After we get through summer, we'll tackle painting the outside, but for now it'll do. 

I have plants! A tomato, a pepper, cilantro, and catnip. I also have a Florida native flower and a houseplant, but I wouldn't recommend eating either of those (although my cats have managed to take a few inches off of the house plant- grr!). My grams sent me a gift card for Lowe's, so this weekend I'm going to be making us a little garden. I'm also going to build some sort of structure for my compost, because right now it's just a pile. 

I am also able to recycle! It's just amazing owning a house... I actually mowed our lawn yesterday. Pretty sweet, considering I hadn't used a lawnmower in 6 or so years. 

Either way, things are just all around fantastic. :)

First day...

Rainy day.

I'm sleepy, I have the sniffles, and my summer semester starts in a little over an hour.

:(

I am terrible at keeping up with this thing.

I can't even remember the last time I updated here. It's not really important, because nobody reads it anyways. But still..... on the off chance that someone out there does, I shall update now!

I bought a house. Well, me and the hubs did. We got our butts kicked into motion when we got a letter on April 6th that our apartment building was being foreclosed on. Awesome. We found out that our landlord had been telling the owners, who live in Vegas, that all but 3 apartments were vacant and pocketing the rest of the money. Classy. So nobody in our complex paid rent this month... he threatened to shut off our water, but that's against the law, so.... yeah. We're using our security deposit, which we wouldn't get back anyways, to cover this month. We're moving out this weekend, anyway, so no biggie. The landlord is actually in the process of moving out himself.... I guess because he has no income now, he can't really afford to stay here? I don't know.

Back to the house thing, yeah, we finally, FINALLY bought one. We've only been married, what, 5 years or something? Haha. It's cute... nice sized back yard, so I can have a garden and a compost pile and recycling, and a grill! Garage, shed, Florida room (which needs refinished, and a floor put in, but still), 2 bedrooms, nice kitchen (which I will also eventually be refinishing), bathroom (that needs a floor). Comes with a washer and dryer, wood floors, which Steve is refinishing... and I'm working on painting. It is liveable now, but aesthetically it needs some work. That being said, it is OURS. Ours, ours, ours.... no more landlords, no more paying rent to pay for someone else's mortgage, no more noisy neighbors. Just a house and a yard... I'm stoked. Plus, our mortgage payment is 1/3 of what we're paying for rent. How crazy is that? Pretty crazy. I just can't wait to get out of here and over there and just be done with it all.

There are a couple of things irritating me right now.... The real estate place is dragging their feet over everything. We were supposed to have it signed over to us on the 1st of May, and here it is the 12th. I was supposed to go to the agency today and pick up a copy of what we'll be signing to drop off to a lawyer to look over, just to be sure there isn't anything funny in there for when we eventually sell the house, and they knew that I was supposed to be picking that up today, but it's not ready. WTF. We're supposed to be signing it on Friday AT THE LATEST. Irritating.

Okay, I'm done for the day. I don't feel good, and now I'm all pissed off again.

Huh...

I go from updating all the time to like, never. I'm a dork.

Not much has changed, really. Waiting on the semester to get over, turned 23. The apartment building we just moved into in January is being foreclosed on, so we have to move somewhere. I dunno where- we don't have the money for ANOTHER deposit, seeing as how we just paid one 3 months ago, plus the first months rent. This blows. We are most likely putting most of our shit (ie furniture) in storage and moving in with hubby's parents. It could be worse, I guess.... We'll beable to save up for a down payment on a house, though, which is super awesome, and totally worth the hassle. 

That's really about it, for now. Watching the Rays game, possibly gonna go hit up some poker. Ciao!

I hate my car.

And it hates me back. I think the fuel pump finally went on it. Which isn't too bad of a fix, just frustrating as hell. But it did get me home today, somehow. I have no idea. It died on my street. Wow. 

So I guess I'll be taking the bus or riding my bike from here on out, which isn't so bad- I kinda prefer those anyways.

I've come to the realization...

...that I've really missed going to shows. Went to the Bouncing Souls tonight because one of my friends was opening. Had a blast. I was in the pit the whole time with all the sweaty testosterone-y people getting pushed down and ran into. And I didn't want to be anywhere else. I guess I'm not as old as I keep telling myself I am...

I did marry my punk rock boyfriend, after all. :)

Sad face...

My spring break is over. Boo. I really didn't do anything, which is incredibly disappointing. I never cracked a book, didn't start/finish any projects, and didn't ride my bike nearly as much as I wanted to. I guess it's okay, but I would've liked to have achieved more in my free time. I didn't play Wii all week, actually not really at all, though, so that's good. We went to a Zydeco festival and hubby and I cut a rug. Well, not really, but we danced anyways. We got some mango pepper jelly which is really yummy on PB&J sammiches. Spicy!

I did, however, have a fairly full day. I returned my video game to Blockbuster on time. I guess there's a first time for everything! I went out to lunch, which was GROSS. We went  and played a round of golf- first time in literally years, which is sad because I played all 4 years in high school. Oh well, it was fun and I didn't do nearly as poorly as I expected. We went out to the beach to watch the sunset, and much to our surprise the rocket launch! Gorgeous! Then we went to the gym and it kicked major butt. I'm gonna feel THAT tomorrow! Yay! Seriously, Yay!

I got some different bread today. I've wanted to try it for a while and never did... it's s sprouted grain bread (Ezekiel?) and is quite good. And healthy! Part of my attempt to avoid refined carbohydrates. 

Aaaaand that's it. Back to school in the AM- whoo!

<3

Well I would've gone to Whole Foods...

But my battery is dead.

Yuck.

The newest task at hand

Okay, to follow up from yesterday, dinner was anything but a disaster. The quinoa was awesome- I got a box that had seasonings and such to try it, but now I feel confident trying my hand at just plain and spicing it up myself. The lentils turned out delish. I sauteed up a scallion, some carrots, and some garlic with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, added some thyme, marjoram, and tarragon, the rest of the veg broth I had in the fridge, and half a bag of lentils. Quick and yummy. 

Now that that's over with, it's time to start planning food for these trips I have coming up. I'm gonna take a trip to Whole Foods here in a sec and see what I can muster up. More later.

Bike rides...

Are amazing. I went on a nice one today. Rode to the gym and back. It was such a beautiful day, I just couldn't see getting in the car. And I'm glad I didn't! Then I went to the grocery store... I'm going to try my hand at cooking quinoa. So for dinner tonight, we are having that and broccoli and I think tofu... ooh or maybe lentils! I love love LOVE lentils, and they are SO good for you!

I found a webpage that kinda put my butt in gear here. And here. With me and the hubs working out and such, protein is an important part of out diet, and we simply weren't getting enough. So, after researching it, like I always do, that kinda opened my eyes. It's stuff that I knew, but refined carbs are just SO delicious, ya know? I am going to try cutting the nasty, funky stuff outta my diet for a week or two, and see how it goes.

That's about it for now. Gotta go cook some dinna! <3

Oh my...

We caved in and bought a Wii with our tax return. And have been sitting here all afternoon messing with it instead of doing anything we should be doing, like, say, housework. Or in hubby's case, homework. He's making a Mii instead (an avatar doohickey that looks like you that takes your place in games and such, for those of you unfamiliar with this Wii jargon). Oh well... it could be worse I suppose.

My lovely little bicycle is fixed! Hooray! It was not working right, I guess because the chains stretch after you first get it and I never took it in for its tune-up. But it's in awesome shape now. And rides great. I also got a rack thing for the back of it so I can strap my books or whatever to it... very necessary I found out the other day when I rode to school with my heavy backpack. Pretty stoked. 

So 2 weekends from now is the big backpacking trip! Hooray! We are actually going camping next weekend too, I guess, with some friends... don't know how I feel about it just because everyone there drinks, and I don't- might make for some awkwardness. Oh well. We're taking our own car just in case things turn funny, and then we can just go to Juniper or something. The cool thing about it is that we're going to be able to do a "shake-down," as Steve calls it. Since we'll have the car, we're going to pack as though we're going on the backpacking trip, just to determine what we need and don't, and play with our gear. That way we aren't stuck 30 miles away from the car without things we need, ya know? I'm excited... 2 weekends in a row outdoors with my love? Couldn't ask for much more. :)

And it is officially, FINALLY spring break! Steve made me promise that I'm not going to sit inside all week when he's not here and play Wii... I wasn't going to anyways. I already promised MYSELF that I'm doing fun stuff all week. Fun artsy stuff. That's not to say that there won't be any Wii playing in there at all, but it's going to be very limited. Plus, the weather is going to be amazing next week. Definitely some beach in there somewhere, and most definitely some bike rides. Lots of them. I'm going to ride out to Gulfport on the trail one of the days. Pretty excited. 

Well that's it for now. Going to a bowling/ karaoke birthday party at 8ish. Should be fun!

~Becky

It's March 4th...

And I have only 2 days left until Spring Break! After lab tomorrow night, I will be free free free until a week from Monday. Oh, I hope time goes by fast! It doesn't seem like it's going to, though. I guess I can only hope.

This spring break, after I tame my out-of-control apartment and get ahead on homework, I am going to do just fun stuff. Bike rides, picture-taking, yarn stuffs, and the like. Cooking is in there somewhere, as is a beach trip or two. After all, it's going to be in the 80's! Go figure, Florida- 50's this week, 80's the next. I'm also going to get down on some heavy duty reading. Then, after I go back on Monday, I only have til Wednesday and I get to go on my backpacking adventure! I have a lot to look forward to in the next few weeks... I just have to get through tomorrow.

It's only 32 hours.

It arrived!

My film. So excited! I stuck it in the camera as soon as I opened the box, and am super happy about the results. Kinda blurry, red and orangey undertones and nicely contrasty. I love old film. Steve just doesn't get it- I keep hearing "Why don't you just use your digital and make it look old in photoshop ? Why do you want the chemicals to determine what it looks like?" Duh. It's all about the surprise and unpredictability of film! You have no idea what it's gonna look like til it develops. One of my favorite things is waiting on a Polaroid to develop. Sigh. I think we've become too dependent on shoot and look and shoot again. Doesn't leave for those funny uh-oh pictures. I'm bad about taking a picture and immediately looking at the back of my camera- I even do it with my other film camera. It's just a conditioned response. A sad one at that.

Now I have a new favorite obsession that I'm going to get. SOON. A lomo camera. Check out here. I want one! He doesn't understand that, either, but it's okay and expected at this point.

And now pictures!

First picture with the film, but Steve wanted to try something and split the front from the back... This is the front.This is the back.

This is me. :)

This is us. Not Polaroid...

And this is the cutest cat in the world. But I may be partial...

The Great Outdoors

Today we were supposed to be leaving for a 24 mile backpacking trip, but due to unforeseen circumstances (aka Hubby forgot he has a huge paper due NEXT Friday), we are postponing it.

BUT we are going on a bigger, much better one! It's a fair enough trade-off.

We are leaving Wednesday, March 18th to return on Sunday the 22nd. Which means Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun on the trail! Whoo! 50 miles of undeveloped goodness. I'm stoked. And this little speed bump gives me a couple more weeks to perfect my packing recipes, especially since we've added another 2 nights and days to the mix. Yeah, buddy- dehydrated goodness all the way.

I've never been on a real big backpacking trip before, which is why I'm so excited about going. Plus, the weather is gorgeous, and it's just nice to be outside. That, and we are kinda starting to begin training for the AT, which we plan on conquering after his Grad School and before I'm sucked into Med School. 

Life is grand.

This is Mr. Memnoch.

And this would be me trying to not clean my apartment.... Found out how to use the camera on Hubby's computer.

Yeah

You know those days that you just can't win? I'm there.

Edit:

My day just got a little better... No Doubt announced their tour dates, and are going to be IN TAMPA JUNE 2ND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAYAYAYAY!

Yay!

I've wanted a Polaroid camera for a while now, and I found one on Craig's List for cheaper than I could get shipped online, sooooo I bought it. And then I'm like "Crap! Film at CVS is WAAAY expensive!" So I went on eBay and found a great deal on it, but it's expired. The cool thing about it, though, is expired Polaroid film, provided it's not dried out, gives you unpredictable results and hues. Plus the seller had all positive ratings, and comments about the film, so I know it's not dried out. I'm so excited! I hope I get neat-o pictures with this. That would rock my socks off.

Speaking of socks, I started knitting a hat for a friend's birthday. It's not socks, but it's still neat. It's a really pretty neutral cotton yarn with little spots of pastel pinks and blues and purple on it. I love it. I may have to make myself something out of it, too. I also got my invite to Ravelry.com, and found a pattern for the most amazing bag, ever... so when I finally finish the 4 projects I have going (I have ADD) I can start on that. Good thing I have spring break coming up!

Giraffes and Picnics

Yay! I am going on a FABULOUS picnic tomorrow with a couple of my favorite people. And I get to try a *new* recipe! It's from Isa's Veganomicon, one of my favorite cookbooks, and even just book books. I'm making Chile and Cornmeal Crusted Tofu Po' Boys. With chipotle mayo and slaw and pickles and spicy brown mustard. And macaroni salad. I don't remember what it is officially called, but it has radishes and carrots and peas... oh my! And since I needed lemons anyways, fresh honey lemonade. Maybe with strawberries since I have some of those hanging around, too. Or blueberries... or why not both? I'm ridiculous.

And on a crafty note, I'm working on a scarf that is almost done. And a hat that is just freaking exhausting. And thanks to YouTube, I taught myself to crochet and am making a cute little Giraffe Amigurumi. I have the feeling it is just the start to a miniature crocheted cutesey army. We will have to see. 

That's all for now...

Exciting?

I don't really have much to say except I got an ice cream maker and can now make all sorts of delicious vegan treats.

That is all.

Other side note...

It has recently come to my attention that knitting vegans/ vegan knitters are more common than you'd think.

Dreaming sucks sometimes.

I've been having a terrible time sleeping lately, and I think it's because of my dreams. They exhaust me! I have been having these incredibly intricate, involved dreams, and when I wake up I'm more tired than I was before I went to sleep. I wake up periodically through the night, as well- usually as a result of these dreams, although sometimes because my cats use me as a springboard to look out the damn window. I don't know what to think about it. I mean, not too long ago I used to have no dreams at all, and then I thought I was lacking. When I started dreaming again, I felt better, but now they've gotten progressively more disturbing and draining. Maybe it says something about my emotional and/or mental and/or spiritual well-being. I dunno. When I wake up I can remember them if I try right then, but then they're gone by the time I actually get out of bed and just leave this lasting feeling of unease for the rest of the day. I'm going to look into it and see if I can do anything about it.

On a side note, my upstairs neighbors walk louder than anyone I've ever heard in my life. I finally saw what they look like a few minutes ago, and they're not even big people. They just walk really, really big. Weird.

Big steps...

I made a decision this week and went through with it today. I'm scared- terrified, even. But I think I'm strong enough and have enough support from my friends and family to stay okay.

Oh, Valentine's Day...

So we went to the fair yesterday. That was pretty fun, actually. Saw the animals, saw a cow giving birth. Whoo hoo. Didn't stay super long because neither of us really care about the rides, so the only thing to do there is walk around and eat. Oh, and get harassed by the game peddler people. They're weird as all hell.

Today is V-day. Kinda uneventful. Drove around looking for a specific pair of sandals, but couldn't find them and now have to buy online. Blech. When we got home we went for a nice long walk.... walked from our apartment around by the water over at Northshore Park, and in a roundabout way ended up at Baywalk, and then the Globe. Walked home.

Now I'm formatting Steve's iPod and he is channel surfing. I talked to my Grandma, who has skin cancer, which I had been on her about last time I saw her. She had a spot on her nose that you could tell was not good. It was huge. So her solution was to put Listerine on it. She uses it as a damn cure-all. The spot "went away" aka the surface cells did, while the cancer continued to go deeper. So she had to have that taken off, and may have to have more after the tests come back.. Damnit Grams... she knows how aggressive melanoma can be. She talks about how she's getting so old, blah blah, but she's only 66- well, 67 in March. Seriously- Steve's grandmas are over 80, his mom is 56. They just take better care of themselves. Same with my mom. She is why I'm trying my damnedest to get healthy- I don't want my kids (when we have them) to have to worry as much as we worry about her. Heart problems at 41. C'mon, mom... she smokes at least a pack a day, doesn't really stick with any sort of health regimen. It worries me. Seriously. Plus, looking at what I'm genetically predisposed for, I'm scared shitless. Cancer, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure... sigh. I have a lot to look forward to if I don't get my buns in gear.

Speaking of which, I kicked major ass at the gym last night. Which is good because we had ice cream today as a Valentine's day/ hormone relief treat. I love Steve- he bribes me with sugar to get me to walk 4 miles lol. If that's what it takes....

That's about it for tonight. Night night, and Happy Valentine's Day! :)

Downtown...

His tractor is sexy...

Me and my cow look-alike.

Embarking on a long, strange journey

Hi world! Not that anyone actually reads this, but what ev. As of late, my life is completely beyond my wildest dreams. I'm in school, and excelling. I am in a healthy, loving relationship with THE most amazing man I've ever met. I live in a nice apartment that we can afford. I don't have debt collectors calling me daily. My bills are always paid on time. It's really pretty awesome.

I owe all of this to stopping drinking. I don't know if any of you are aware, but I had a serious problem with alcohol. It was pretty much ruining my life. I stood to lose everything, and decided to make a change. So I quit. Completely. It's been 74 days without a drink, and the obsession has completely vanished. When I first quit I had a really tough time. I lost "friends," which turned out to be just drinking buddies. It's hard when you realize you're alone. But I gained so much more- I have new friends, true friends who like me for who I am. I have a supportive family, who isn't ashamed of me and doesn't get drunken crazy phone calls from me or Steve anymore. I don't wake up in the morning not going how I got home, and wondering just how big of an ass I made of myself the night before (the fact that I made an ass of myself was pretty predictable, just to what caliber I didn't know). I quit smoking, except every once in awhile I have half of a cigarette, which I don't really count, and am working on quitting, too. It's crazy that eliminating one thing in my life has changed me so much. In addition to just the physical changes, I've noticed spiritual changes. I'm an all around better person. I don't lie or omit things anymore (which is just as bad as lying). I don't hold resentments- live and let live, dude. Seriously. I don't worry about what other people think of me, because that isn't what's important. I have a relationship with some sort of higher power- I'm not religious, mind you. That's just not me. But I've stopped denying what's inevitably out there, and it feels good to know that I'm NOT alone. I've stopped being selfish and have kinda discovered who I am, and why I'm here. It feels good to know that I'm not a bad person anymore. Amazing, actually- I just can't put into words the freedom I have now. 

That being said, it's time for me to get physically healthy. There's no reason not to. I already dedicate a portion of my day to school, and to staying clean, so what's another hour or so to better myself and my body? It's not that hard- I did it before, but went about it all wrong. I have to constantly remind myself that it's not a race. I have to take everything one day at a time, otherwise I will fail. Period. 

I'm proud of the person I've become, and know that I can do this, too.