New desk!

Remember when Jess tried to put furniture together because what if she wasn't married and didn't have Rob to do it for her?

Jess, I thought of you today, because I did something similar:)

I decided it was time to buy a desk a few days ago. I was stalking them online, but hadn't decided for sure yet, and then I was at Target earlier and I found a desk that I liked! And it was on sale! So I decided to get it. I debated for a few minutes going back with Chris, because he'd have an easier time getting it into the cart, from the cart into the car, into the apartment... but then I thought "Jane, that's ridiculous. You lived alone for a year and a half! And you and AJ are masters of putting together furniture, you put together all sorts of furniture at 14A, you can do it!" (side note --- yes, AJ, I linked to your blog that you last updated in October. It's cool, you have a baby.)

I got that desk (and a cute lampshade for my old lamp from college to put on top, and a yummy candle) into the cart with some assistance from a Target worker, but then got it into my trunk and into my house alone. I also built it, and now it's sitting in our dining room all cute with my new lamp and candle on it. I haven't put anything in it yet, but that's in case we need to move it around the apartment. 

but yes.. I have a new desk! and I built it all by myself!

Alright, that's enough procrastinating. I built a desk, I'm sitting here in running clothes so I can go to the gym for the first time in a week, and then I need to come back and get back to dissertation revisions. Again. 

At least I can sit at my cute new desk:)

pre-versary!

This'll be a quick one, but just wanted to share that........

OUR WEDDING IS EXACTLY ONE YEAR FROM TODAY.

At this time next year, we'll be married already, post-cocktail hour, and at the beginning of the reception.
Insane!!

That's all for now, since the weather is gorgeous and I'm going to head outside while I can.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!:)

brief updates

• I updated the Running tab at the top if you'd like to check it out:)
• I also updated my A-Z Reading Challenge list. I'm not quite where I should be to read 52 new books this year, but after March 21 I won't be writing my dissertation anymore, and that's gotta help with the amount of time available to read.

If you are reading this soon after posting, I am running a 5K right now!! 

Check back later to see how it went.

new blog to check out: The wonderful Am has a new gluten free Boston blog! Go see it!

fun fact of the day: I really, really HATE this part of Daylight Savings. I love that it's light out after I get home, so I can run outside, or Chris and I can go for walks, and it's just easier to do anything after a day out of the house. But I HATE jumping the clocks forward an hour. Blah.

hope you are all enjoying your Sunday morning/early afternoons!
fun fact #2: even though it's been years since I've had sorority meetings on Sundays, I still feel like free Sunday afternoons and evenings are a treat. Guess 3.5 years of weekly meetings stick with you.

.... but I'd trade a free Sunday for getting to see everyone! Good thing someone's wedding will be here soon.

things I've always wanted to do #2 - CSA

Ever since I figured out that I can't eat wheat without feeling horribly sick/exhausted/foggy/itchy/etc, I've been much more aware of what I am eating. I read labels. I cook a lot more of my own food. I can't eat gummy bears anymore. I don't eat fast food. I try to go to restaurants with local ingredients. And last summer, I became really interested in joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), where you pick up a box of produce at a farm near you every week for a set period of time. That way, you're supporting the farm, you are eating local, and you get to try crazy new vegetables!! (at least, I think you do).

This year, I took the plunge. Initially, I wasn't sure that Chris would go for it, but then I realized that I pay for our groceries and am in charge of that part of the expenses, so I didn't think he'd mind. I paid up front for a 20 week share at First Root Farm which is close by in Concord. I'm really excited!

It won't start until June, but at that point, be expecting lots of questions about "how am I supposed to use ALL OF THIS (insert random ingredient here)??" and other things like that.

Anyone else trying a CSA this year?

I'm such a cool kid.

Why am I so cool, do you ask?

Right now, I'm sitting up in my bed with my feet under the covers writing this blog post.

Say Yes to the Dress is on the TV. Third episode in a row. Do I already have a wedding dress? why yes, yes I do. Did I ever watch this show before I got a wedding dress? Yes, once. When Anna was visiting right after I got engaged. (Fun fact: that was also the night that a series of Say Yes to the Dress episodes was followed by a Lifetime movie about being left at the altar. We turned that shit off promptly.) Now, however, I watch Say Yes to the Dress all.the.freaking.time.

I don't even understand why - I think it's ridiculous! I don't even enjoy it in a "ooh, look at the pretty dress" way. Most of the dresses are very not my style, even if they're pretty, and to be honest the ones with the see-through portions sort of freak me out. The fact that even the "budget" brides on this show have a wedding dress budget that is three to five times my wedding dress budget also freaks me out. Honestly, I set my budget before we even set a wedding budget. I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much on a dress that I'm going to wear for a day (or maybe two, if we do a trash-the-dress-type shoot afterward, which we are seriously considering. Anyone done one of those before?) Some of these dresses cost over TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. And I just saw one that cost NINETEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. 

I'm not even sure where to go after that.

I hope that others are also having an enjoyable Friday night, though I totally understand if your Friday night includes things like going out in public rather than sitting in bed in your PJs watching TLC, drinking white wine, and eating some white chocolate chips from the freezer out of the bag.
**(In my defense, I could have gone out to meet Chris and his brother and Chris's online gaming friends after they were at PAXeast. Which is a gaming convention. ....not sure how I thought that would be considered cooler than what I'm doing now).

oops.

Wasn't I supposed to be updating this thing more? Oops. Hasn't been happening, clearly. I blame my schoolwork - though reading other people's blogs when I do have free time also does not update my blog.
I promise to do better! :)

Updates: February Goals recap -- OH WAIT, I didn't actually post any. I had them, mentally, though. They included keeping up with my New Year's Resolutions, having fun at Anna's Boston-based shower and bachelorette party (and getting to hang out with her for a weekend, double win), planning and attending my last GSA Ski Trip, oh and doing all of the statistics for my dissertation (that little thing). The party was fun, the ski trip was a blast, my stats got done after a TON of drama that I will not be sharing here (though I will share over email with interested parties. I'll try to write posts about the other stuff though.) I read a couple of books and am almost done with a couple more. I exercised some of the time, but not as much as I wanted. I didn't always remember to drink water, but when I did I noticed the difference. Sounds...about the same as January.

March Goals -- Keep up with the New Year's Resolutions, have fun running the Ras na Heireann 5K this weekend, and finish my dissertation. (!!!!!) I'm entering a 6 week crunch time of one of the busiest periods of time I've had in recent memory. Taking care of myself and my sanity is a priority. I've updated my CV and been applying to jobs (boo, federal government hiring freeze until October at least). Things are slowly moving along.

How are you all doing? I miss hearing from people!