Cheez-its are delicious, but they aren't dinner. Even though I seem to think so. Neither is ice cream, half a chocolate Easter bunny (the head, natch) or trail mix. Snacks, Jocelyn, do not = dinner. Sure, my calories more or less equal out but it's obvs far better to have veggies and chicken over junk. (And no, for the record, I did not eat all of the above in one sitting - that I can at least be honest about haha.)
I must get over my anti-cooking attitude before it destroys me. As soon as this moving adventure is complete, I vow to make one new recipe a week and post about it in this blog.
Breakfast and lunch are easy. I love lunch, it's my best meal of the day and I plan it out so nicely. But dinner just doesn't happen unless Terrell is involved or I order out, which is bad for my wallet and my diet. Plarg.
When it comes to weather, Syracuse, NY is known for its massive yearly snow accumulation. Each year, we compete (and usually cream everyone else) for a Golden Snowball award trophy and news crews trot out a few times between the months of November/December through... well, May, some years to film pieces on our incredible, edible (jaykay--unless you want to grow a third arm from all the Onondaga Lake pollution) snow. This winter was no different, and in fact not only did we win this year's trophy by a landslide (179.0" to Rochester's 127.0") but 97 consecutive hours of snow back in December brought a staggering 44.3" of that total dropping down on us. It was a long, cold, snowy winter here in the 'Cuse -- and while I didn't outright hate it, I was SO beyond ready when spring weather came knocking.
Only so much of this a girl can take!
And it's here! Finally! Shining sun, warm breeze, the chance to wear cute sandals and sip iced coffee while reading outside on my lunch hour... I've salivated over such things since mid-February, and now the time has arrived only to bring with it massive amounts of rain. The saying goes that April showers bring May flowers, and I do hope so but it's going to be awfully difficult for those flowers to grow if the ground is too wet to plant them in the first place. This has been one of the rainiest Aprils that Syracuse has seen, and after today I can't imagine it's going to get any less wet.
The day began with a damp, foggy morning which blossomed into a muggy, sunshiny afternoon. As 3:00 neared, clouds began to roll in, dark and thick and the air felt heavy with the promise of a storm. Not going to lie, I was super excited! Thunderstorms were an integral part of the spring and summer months for me growing up in central Ohio, and I sometimes miss the spine-tingling beauty they bring. Syracuse gets thunderstorms, of course, but not nearly as many and, during my 5 years as a resident, not quite as intense. I don't miss daily tornado warnings, but I do love a good storm. Which is why I was like a kid the night before Christmas as the clouds came in and the sky grew darker. And man, oh man, we were in for something wild.
Scary.
The "view" out the window during the height of the storm.
Through the howling wind, driving rain and curious whirling of the clouds (my suspicions on funnel activity were confirmed by reports following the storm.. I moved here to get away from that stuff, damnit!) it was the hail that truly stole the show. I've seen hail before, but never like this:
Wild. Just wild. And thus begins spring in Syracuse... it's gonna be fun.
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I've come to realize over the past year that I am the kind of person who needs goals and deadlines. I did very well in school, but never as well as those projects and papers where I was up until the crack of dawn, eating coffee beans whole and working like a madwoman to finish in time. Even when I set aside time to work on assignments gradually so I wouldn't have to pull an insane all-nighter I would inevitably find myself staring at blank pages or rearranging my farm on Farmville rather than do the work. Somehow, I always managed to come up with something brilliant at the last minute. Those quiet, desperate hours produced some of the finest work I've ever done, though how is a complete mystery.
And this translates to everything else in my life as well. I am notorious for putting off simple, basic household chores until the dishes are piled to the ceiling or the cat has been lost under a turbulent sea of dirty and clean clothes tossed haphazardly together. Only when I know someone will be coming over and the risk of my mess becoming public knowledge is imminent do I spring into action and clean the shit out of every single room and surface. It usually lasts a week or so before the disaster area creeps back in. Under a deadline, with a goal in front of me I am golden. At work, I find myself scrambling to produce at least twice my projected daily and weekly goals. Which isn't a bad thing, of course, but it does amuse my less anal coworkers.
I wish I could figure out a way to harness that manic productivity I am imbued with during special occasions and use it in small doses every day. I'm trying -- I've consistently done one load of dishes every day since Saturday, and the pileup has shrunk significantly. Must convince my Zumba'd-out self to tackle a load tonight, though, or I'll be back where I started by tomorrow. I'm also trying to think of ways to minimize the number of dishes (and clothes and things) we have, period, so there isn't as much room for the disaster to manifest. Moving will help, but I'm struggling with that as well because the deadline is technically May 31st... a LONG time away from now, and I can't get myself motivated to work on something that I've got more than a month to complete.
But we got boxes from Liquor City over the weekend, and I am determined to move at least some clothes and dishes to the new apartment by this weekend. If the weather can make up its mind whether it wants to be cold or finally warm up, that is...
My relationship is anything but traditional. We're generally laid back and just don't do the whole romance thing very well. Don't get me wrong - Terrell and I have our sweet moments, but they're usually within the context of our weirdness (hence the existence of sickening pet names for one another which I will not be repeating on the Internet). So, I suppose it makes perfect sense that we would approach marriage from a totally nontraditional standpoint.
Four weeks ago, my mom and brothers came for a visit. Time with my family is always chaotic, but having Terrell around helped calm the waters for all of us. Halfway into the evening, as Terrell was making dinner in the kitchen and I looked at him and just knew. When we were alone in the back of the apartment, I asked him if he'd marry me and he said yes. Because I had been just a smidge on the tipsy side from too much red wine the night before, I double-checked his answer in the morning and it was still the same. And that's about it.
Of course having a more "romantic" story to tell might be nice, but I like the simplicity of two people realizing that they want to build a life together and committing to it together without needing to make some symbolic gesture. I never wanted a surprise proposal, and we've been talking marriage and getting engaged since July, so why not go for it myself? Waiting around for him to make up his mind and tell me seems silly. If we're both ready, then we're ready and it shouldn't matter who pops the question. Plus, it took the pressure off of him to try and figure out what kind of ring I'd like and plan something that I would have inevitably ruined on accident (because I'm really, really good at that!). A number of websites have informed me that I have totally emasculated him, crushed his manhood, and even insinuated that now he is "65% man while I am 110% desperate and needy"... but I think--no, I know--that's bullshit.
So now I am engaged. Which still feels rather weird. We didn't tell anyone for a week, then told our moms. Mine was ecstatic, of course, but his needed some time to get used to the idea which makes sense when you factor in that I am the eldest of my family where he is the baby. My family is happy to be marrying me off because mine will be the first, but I think Terrell's family still sees him as a child much of the time (and he sort of is :D). Another week went by and we finally told the rest of our families and made it "Facebook official" (dear god, this is the way our society works now, isn't it?) which was kind of weird for me but the reactions were pleasant and enthusiastic.
I suppose it feels weird mostly because I never saw myself getting married until my thirties, if ever at all. Also, I don't have a ring. People keep asking to see the ring when they find out, and all I can do is shrug. It's not that there won't be a ring - we've picked one out and plan on getting it once we can reasonably afford the expense. Truth be told, just like I'm not one for big, showy gestures, I'm not big on the idea of a ring. I detest diamonds and everything they stand for - plus, I find most engagement rings to be hideous and/or boring. Rows upon rows of diamond rings just look so sad and lookalike. It's just not my thing. The ring I've chosen features a pearl as the center stone with two small lab-created white sapphires, and it's absolutely perfect. Inexpensive, beautiful and something I will enjoy wearing for the next two-three years. And isn't that what it's all about?
So now, I plan. Sort of. We're not getting married anytime soon because frankly neither of us has the money to do so and even if we did, too much is up in the air right now for that kind of event to occur. He's about to graduate from college next month and we honestly don't know what job(s) he may find around here, if any at all. It's going to be scary and unsettling for a while, but I know we can handle it. This blog is supposed to be about me, so wedding stuff is probably going to become a major focal point, so get used to it :)
So if you wanna be with me
With these things there's no telling
We'll just have to wait and see
But I'd rather be working for a paycheck
Than waiting to win the lottery
I'm flabbergasted... I mean, yeah, I figured maybe $30-40 was likely for a decent one. But $50-60+? You have got to be shitting me. Who the hell has $200 to plunk down for a piece of wood with little knobbies to hang coats on? And who the hell would actually be willing to admit they paid $200 for said glorified piece of wood? *boggle*
Anyway...
I've been rather absent, yes, but fear not: I haven't abandoned this blog or any of my goals. Still plugging away at that whole weight loss/exercise/healthy living thing, and doing pretty well. I had Death Flu™ for about a week and a half, which killed my eating/workout regemin, but helped me lose 7 lb. in 5 days hahaha. I gained a good portion back, but I am quite pleased to say that 285 is a number firmly in the past. I was 281 this week, so woot! My goal next week is to be 279 and say bye-bye to the 280's forever.
Besides Death Flu™, I've been spending my non-blogging time apartment hunting - with much success! Although I honestly do love where we've been for the past 3/4-year, I am kinda sick of living in run-down, older places. And I am *really* sick of living in apartment buildings, tbh. Despite that, I was looking predominantly at residential communities and complexes because I figured that was where I'd have the best luck finding something I could afford solo. Terrell has to finish up some credits after graduation, which leaves his job prospects rather vague and uncertain. Hard to apply for a job when you can't give a definite date of availability, or even narrow one down to within a couple of weeks. And so I've had to keep in mind what I can afford on my *ahem* less-than-stellar office minion salary.
So imagine my utter delight when I stumble upon a listing for a charming carriage house apartment and, upon contacting the proprietor, discover it is within my budget and located in one of the coolest neighborhoods of Syracuse. The apartment is the bottom of the carriage house behind an 1800's mansion that used to be home to the mayor of Syracuse ages and ages ago and has been restored beautifully and historically due to being registered as a historical building. The carriage house itself has been completely modernized inside to become a sweet little apartment with a galley kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom (which is located where the horse stall was years and years ago). Oh, my... it's gorgeous and pretty much exactly what I've always dreamed of. I love, love, love old homes and the neighborhood is full of painted lady Victorians and rambling mansions, not to mention a vegan bakery and cafe, a book shop, a tapas bar and a community garden that I will allegedly get a plot of to plant my own veggies and whatnot. One word: perfection. And after the landlady receives the signed lease and security deposit I mailed her on Monday, it's mine!
The lease for that place starts April 1, while my current apartment's lease doesn't end until May - fantastic, because the carriage house is a bit smaller than here, and I am at an awkward crossroads in my life where I have accumulated far more things than a person should need or want. I've been a cluttered, disorganized mess pretty much my entire life due to packrat tendencies and not growing up in an environment that emphasized order -- but no more. When I move, I will take only 25-50% of what I currently own, and nothing more. A friend passed on the helpful website http://unclutterer.com/, which I've already gotten a dozen ideas from and I'm going to try from now until the end of May to tackle one chunk of stuff each week until I've managed it all. Starting with papers this weekend (breakin' out the scanner, oh yeahhh) and moving on to the plethora of boxes we actually never unpacked (sad, I know).
This is already shaping up to be one of the most productive, self-improving years I've ever had and we're just a little over two months in -- I can't wait to see what else I can get done in the next ten months :)
This blog is about me - my musical discoveries, my efforts to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle, my wedding plans, my adventures and mishaps as I navigate the world. Sometimes it'll be boring, sometimes it'll be sad, sometimes I hope it'll be hilarious. Stick around for recipes, photographs, lists, musings, music and ramblings a-plenty.
This blog is about me - my musical discoveries, my efforts to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle, my wedding plans, my adventures and mishaps as I navigate the world. Sometimes it'll be boring, sometimes it'll be sad, sometimes I hope it'll be hilarious. Stick around for recipes, photographs, lists, musings, music and ramblings a-plenty.
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