A Helping Hand

Winter vacation has begun - and thankfully is not even halfway through. Paul and I have been in Newcastle for 5 days now. I will write more fully about our time here on our way out, but I wanted to share a little peek into our quiet lives. Like most working couples, Paul and I don't get a great deal of alone time, just together, relaxing and enjoying life. One of us is always working on something, and we have two flatmates, so even when we are done working we are not alone. This little week long trip to Newcastle reminds me a bit of our honeymoon. Although we are not in a tree house in Jamaica, hot and sweaty and batting at mosquitos, we are back alone in our own tiny little world. We get to enjoy extended conversations that do not revolve around what is for dinner, what happened at work, and what time we need to get up in the morning. I realize we are way to early in our relationship to fall into bad habits. 


Sometimes it is hard to remember that every day is a day in my life. My life doesn't start when I finish my grad program, or when I finally have just one job, or when winter vacation starts. My life is every single day, and every day builds up to a year. And every year builds up to a life. I have gone for so long changing locations, jobs, friends each year that it is strange that I might stay in one place for an extended amount of time. Minutes turn to hours that turn to days that turn to years. So quickly I can't hold any of it. But I just have to take it one moment at a time. I have to be careful not to let our normal standard of living just get stuck on survive until our next vacation. The lyrics from this Jewel sometimes come into my mind when life get's crazy. 

And you wake up to realize
Your standard of living somehow got stuck on survive
When you're standing in deep water
And you're bailing yourself out with a straw
And when you're drowning in deep water
And you wake up making love to a wall
Well it's these little times that help to remind
It's nothing without love

And now I come to the real point of my post - which, if you have been reading my posts, normally take quite a long time to get to. It has been amazing and refreshing to take a little break with Paul, the man I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with. Just the other day we were laying in bed reading (both of our Kindles occasionally clicking as we turned the pages) and I got an absolute terrible itch. I tried to scratch it, but I just couldn't reach it. After a few seconds of struggling and realizing there was no way I could get at it, I asked my favorite guy to give me a hand. Almost immediately he scratched that bit just on my shoulder blade that was driving me crazy. This reminded me that even in the crazy days of work and school and LIFE, in the end it is most important that I've got that person who will scratch my back when I can't reach, and I will do the same for him. Because in the end, it's good to remember that it's nothing without love <3

The Joy of Cooking

It's 19:11 on a Sunday evening. A new week is about to begin, and what am I doing? I'm standing in the kitchen making up a delicious meal of sauteed lamb, steamed green beans, pasta and garlic cream sauce (from scratch!). In the past 1.5 years of being a wife (actually today is my 1.5 year anniversary!) I have become a little cooking/baking fiend. How did this happen?


My mom is not what you would call the most enthusiastic cook. She made some delicious meals when I was growing up (tasty meat buns, countless casseroles, chili and cornbread, the list goes on and on), but dinner time was not the time she looked forward to most during the day. I think she is incredibly thankful that the time in her life when she has to make other people meals is over. She still cooks sometimes when I visit home, but her and dad eat salads and easy to make foods. 


I seem to be completely the opposite. I love to feed people. I love trying new recipes. I LOVE cooking. I get to be in the kitchen, alone, listening to bad music, singing, and making something delicious. And I get to share this deliciousness! I couldn't think of anything better. I find recipes all the time, save them, and look forward to the free hour when I get to try them out. It's like art, but much more useful. I am working on making healthy meals, but there are also so many delicious baked goods out there, that they balance each other out. 


I have tried several times to blog about the food I make. Last weekend I made egg drop cups - basically little omelettes in baking cups. I also made chocolate chip cookies - yum! The problem is, I always end up enjoying the food and then getting busy with something else and forgetting to write. 


Later this week I will be making chocolate peanut butter brownies. Will I find the time to write about it, or will I be too involved in my eating? Only time will tell :)