The Autumn

It has officially changed seasons since my last post. I saw my first tree with leaves changing color today. It was absolutely lovely. Have I ever mentioned my favorite season is Fall? Not to copycat Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail but it really does make me want to buy school supplies. Something about the cool crisp air, damp air, shorter days, blue jeans and lightweight jackets, homework... I always go back to elementary school days. Fall meant that school was starting back, meaning new schools supplies, new shoes, new clothes, new jackets. In my photographic brain, I see out of the back seat passenger window that we're driving down Convington back in BG, heading towards Small House Rd, with my little red bag of piano books, some homework, and usually a snack of goldfish or M&M's. The huge old trees lining the avenue are all shades of brilliant reds, yellow, and oranges with a dusting brown crunchy leaves over the front yards and sidewalks... Somehow I don't think England Fall will be able to compare to with the Kentucky Autumn I hold close to my heart.

Life updates: We placed third in the Crud tournament last week. It was still fun regardless of the end results. I'm still on the job hunt. I met a wonderful woman at the A&FRC today. She is helping me to revamp my resume and also helping scout out potential job opportunities. On that same note, I am meeting with one of my crud teammates/friends who has offered to share her work experiences since being in England with me and help me to find a job.

Life has been rather rough the last few weeks, to say the least. Hence, the blogging hiatus. Hopefully, things will continue to improve as the leaves progressively change into bolder and brighter colors.

Frustrations

Do you ever find yourself wanting something so bad it hurts? To the point where it is no longer a want, but a need? And you just don't know what to do because it completely out of our hands?

Why do I struggle so hard to trust and to let God take care of this one thing???

Job Interview

So I had a job interview with one of the banks on base today. Nothing too fancy- just a teller position. Could have gone better but definitely could have gone a lot worse.The two guys interviewing me were really nice, and the position doesn't seem like more than I could handle. HOWEVER: It requires going to Germany for two weeks for some sort of training- not happy about that. It's the only thing I have heard back anything on though. And I'm waiting for my transcript in the mail so I can apply for substitute teaching, which I would rather do. If for some reason, they offer me the job, I honestly don't know whether to take it or not. Part of me says don't be picky, just take the darn job. But the other part of me would rather hold out for substitute teaching which may give me a foot in door for other school positions. What do I do??

Nothing New

I have become horrible at posting. There honestly just hasn't been much for me to write.

Since I almost knocked my teeth out last Tuesday, I have played some more crud and have vastly improved. Even the women I play with are commenting that I am starting to hit some really good shots! Awesome! Oh, and since smashing my face into the table, the awkwardness has definitely started to subside. You know what I'm talking about- that weirdness that happens when you first start hanging out with someone and you don't necessarily have much to talk about or you just feel out of place- yeah, I can definitely join in conversations and do a little crud trash talk here and there. These women are so fun to hang around with that I am definitely going to be sad when Gerrit is no longer attached to the squadron that their husbands are in. Crud tournament is in, oh... 16 days, I believe. Should be interesting to say the least!

I also have been making up some new recipes and using Gerrit as a guinea pig. So far, so good! He is still alive and hasn't had a single bad thing to say about any of them.

On Monday, we went to Thorpe Park- an amusement park- with some friends. Rode some roller coasters, ate food that I definitely do not want to the know the caloric values for, rode some more roller coasters and spent almost 6 hours in the car. Made for a very long Monday but it was definitely fun!

Those are pretty much the high lights of the last week or so. Still frustrated with certain aspects of life but all I can do is wait for them to work themselves out.

Whoops

Wow. I really haven't posted anything in a like a week! Can you say slacker?

I haven't been particularly busy. Just hung out with the hubs all weekend. Grocery shopped yesterday since it was Monday. Today has been slightly more eventful.

Tuesday means Crud. I went to crud practice and tried to work on my crud ineptitude skills. There were only four of us today, rather than the usual 6 or 7. We were far outnumbered by screaming little kids- 6 under the age of, oh, 6. All running around, screaming, demanding snacks, biting and playing Kitty Rescue Center. They are a hoot! However, that was not the high point of the practice. Oh no, I was the high point of morning when I about BUSTED MY FACE OPEN on the side of the table (which is basically a big billiards table) ! Yes, folks, that's right. I, once more, ended up face down on the floor due to my own natural "grace". Here's what happened: I grabbed the white ball from side of the table and was trying to run to the end of the table. I attempted to run around my friend Jaime when I lost my footing. My chin/lowerjaw collided with the corner of wood right next to the corned pocket. I ended up crumpled up on the floor, face in my hands. My eyes watered by I actually didn't cry, big surprise there. There was a slight metallic taste in my mouth. I was about to freak out, not because I smashed my face into an oversized pool table, but because I thought I had knocked my bottom loose if not a few completely out of place! If you didn't know, I have nightmare about my teeth falling out. Thankfully, my teeth are still completely in place and completely stuck in my jaw. We actually played another game after. I even went to lunch with with them afterward and made friends with a few of the little boys. They are so cute!

Rest of Tuesday? Cleaned the entire bathroom including scrubbing the litter box- big fun! Now, I'm working on laundry, listening to Michael Buble- lovin' it! Making Spicy Mango Chicken and roasted veggies for dinner. And you can bet when he gets home, Gerrit will be kissin' my boo boo to make it all better!   : )

One of *Those* Days

I'm having one of those days where I just feel altogether discouraged.

If there is something I want to happened or have been working to achieve, it just feels like its going in the complete opposite direction. You know what I mean? One example: finding employment. I just don't know what I am supposed to do. I have applied for jobs that I believe I am more than capable of doing and that I think I could stand for any period of time. I will not work at a job where I am going to hate every minute and not want to do the best I could possibly do. So far, the total number of jobs possibilities I have heard anything back from- ZERO. Well, that not including the confirmation I got from DODEA saying that they got my application. Doesn't anyone even finding me deserving of a stinkin' interview?!?!?

At this point, all I can do is pray about each of these situations in my life. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what God has planned for me here in England. I have never had a whole heap of patience but I am trying wholeheartedly to improve this. I'm trying to trust God with these situations and not question His plans and His time line for these things in my life. Sometimes, I wish He'd just be a little bit more direct- I don't do subtle very well but I don't thing He is very big into stating the obvious. If only there I can figure out a way to meet somewhere in the middle...

It's just been a rough morning...

Tuesday

Today, I played Crud* for the very first time at my very first crud practice. What is crud????  This is crud. There is a tournament coming up at the end of September and I decided to jump in on the fun. Evedentally, this is a big AF thing. Some people are easy going and some people... are hardcore... even at practice. Lots frantic scrabbling around a large billiards table. Hip checks. Flying elbows. Tons of laughter.

Usually not a mean spirited person, it took two hours before I braved hip checking anyone, not wanting to offend any of my new friends. Rather, they were encouraging the violence and told me I stop being so nice or I was to get pummeled at the tournament. On my second hip check, my opponent moved unexpectedly, graceful me toppled to the ground, trying to cling to the table and still make a shot before the ball was dead- sadly, I failed at the shot but succeeded in making everyone laugh and share more hip checking stories!

Next practice: Thursday morning. I must remember my game face and leave my nicer, friendlier self at home and bring uber-competitive, playground-bullies-couldn't-make-me-flinch Lindsay out of the closet.

The rest of Tuesday? 4 loads of laundry (how does my husband generate that much laundry in a single week?? There are only two of us!!!) including a load of blue, skyping, enjoying my Be Thankful candle from *Yankee Candle (ridiculously scrumptious smelling), and enjoying yet another great book.

Monday

It was a good weekend at the Steenbergens. Cambridge Saturday afternoon and two birthday shindigs that evening. Got my fill of sushi and walking that day! And Sunday, we relaxed around the house, went the gym, cleaned house and watched Monsters vs Aliens, which by the way, was HILARIOUS! Loved it!

Now it is Monday and it's back to skewed sleep schedules, running errands, cooking dinner, and cooler weather, once more. I am finding that I like cooler weather much more than warm when your house does not have AC. I think I might have actually cheered when I saw rainy 60s weather in the forecast for this week.

(As I type, I'm watching George try to shove himself through the mail slot...)

Today, I must squeeze in grocery shopping, working out, and showering around going to a doctors appointment, that hopefully, they didn't change without notifying me.They have Gerrit's number on record and called his phone on Thursday evening . It was an automated call with number prompts, and he didn't answer it before it went to voice mail. Hopefully, they were calling to confirm the appt and not to change or cancel it, considering I have been trying to make an appt for weeks!

However, I am ridiculously excited to be making a big ole pot of chili tonight! It's is wet and rainy and cold enough for Gerrit to wear a jacket so it is perfect first chili of the Fall weather  : )

Did you know that I....

Did you know that I...

..meow? Seriously, I absentmindedly meow when I'm happy.

..absolutely loathe opossums? I saw a commercial with one in it the other day and I seriously winced and almost fell on the treadmill. Not joking one bit here.

.. hate the act of traveling because it causes my stress level to skyrocket, to the point of making me physically ill and sometimes have panic attacks? Don't get me wrong, I love to see other places and explore. It's the getting there that bothers me- like the airports, flying, driving around on unfamiliar roads. *Shudders thinking about it*

..love breakfast? Big breakfasts with toast, bacon, waffles, pancakes, sausage, hashbrowns, biscuits, cereal, oatmeal, fresh fruit, and eggs. LOVE IT ALL. I could possibly eat a HUGE breakfast every single morning and never get tired of it. I could probably eat it twice a day. I'm pretty sure I did that on Tuesday.  :D

..have never ever in my life moved until I moved from Kentucky to England? I moved across the hall, once, when I was 3 or 4, to a bigger bedroom... does that count??? I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

.. was born and raised in the state famous for horses and the Kentucky Derby but have NEVER ridden one? I've always wanted to. I always thought my parents would say know to horseback riding lessons.

..can only ever remember eating at Waffle House twice in my life? Both were in college, and both were with the hubs while we were dating.

..have OCD and have some sort of routine/ritual for everything I do? I have one for getting ready for the gym, leaving the house in general, showering/getting dressed, just to name a few. Each one involves to certain things in an exact- or almost exact- order every single time.

.. am afraid aforementioned OCD will take over my life in my later years?

..made myself cry the other night when I had the random thought that if any of my babies are allergic to cats, I will have to find a new home for George? Yep, definitely did. Gerrit was in bed, and I was on the couch reading a book when it hit me. AND I did it again last night telling Gerrit that I did it the night before.

Homesickness

So I've been really homesick the last two or three weeks- to the point of dreaming (multiple nights in a row) about being back in Kentucky at the my parent's house. I haven't talked to any of my friends in Ky in weeks. I think I've skyped with my mom shortly, maybe once or twice. It's just hard to be here without my support system. I never realized how wealthy I was- was in the sense of when I lived in Kentucky. Two wonderful parents who are not only that, but are also friends as well. Three of the bestest friends a girl possibly ask for- have I ever mentioned I met them in elementary school??? A whole gaggle of good friends from high school, church, college. On almost any given day of the week, I had some sort of date or event with one or more of the wonderful people. If I didn't, they were only a phone call away, sometimes even closer than that, if I needed anything. A hug, a listening ear, advice, a laugh, a little extra strength. Someone to go shopping or run errands with.. To go to lunch, dinner, or the movies with. To make peanut butter pie or puppy chow with. To play volleyball or walk around the park with. Here in England, I feel rather poor. I have no extremely good girl friends with whom I have bonded- just a bunch of acquaintances, people with whom I can go grab lunch and sit there talking, getting to know each other. No best friends who know me and love me exactly as I am, whom I could depend on to be there ASAP if I called and need them. Yes, I have my wonderful husband but who is also my best friend. But alas, he is only one man.

I am not only homesick for Kentucky- I am heartsick for those dear, wonderful people I had to leave behind.

Stream of Consciousness

I have lacked both motivation and topics to blog about since the last. I'm still struggling with sleepiness and being exhausted. Last time I had something like this happen was due to lack of iron because I wasn't eating meat at the time. But I don't think that is the issue this time. I eat meat on a regular basis- it's kind of hard not to when your husband won't live on chick food. Definition of chick food: fruit, yogurt, veggies, cereal, more veggies, salad, etc. It is definitely not a lack of exercise 'cause I get plenty of that. I should be overloaded with endorphins with as much time as I put in at the gym. I sleep pretty much through the night with the exception of when Gerrit's alarm goes off. But I almost never have a hard time getting back to sleep. There is still plenty of sunshine most days so I don't think its lack of Vit D.... It's rather frustrating.... Rather like the job situation. It drives me crazy that employers give the excuse that you do not have enough experience. Well how the heck am I supposed to get hired if no one will give me experience? Does my college degree and background not at least give you some idea of my work ethic, motivation, and IQ- that I just may be able to excel in a job for which I have no experience? That I am smart enough and determined enough to learn the job and do it to the best of my ability? Would it not motivate me to work harder to show that I am capable of doing said job equally as well as anyone who has experience just to prove that experience isn't always a necessary requirement for some jobs? Everyone has to start somewhere. If employers won't give me the chance to start, how am I supposed to find a job??

Sleep? Yes Please

Seriously- what has happened to my energy?

Most mornings I am fighting to get myself out of bed.
When I run, I'm struggling more than I had been just to make my mile and a half let alone any further than that.
Lifting weights, I find myself either dizzy or lightheaded or yawning and leaning against the machine with my eyes closed for a mini nap.
Once home from the gym, I've next to no energy to shower and really just feel like curling up with a big blanket and going to sleep on the couch.
After dinner, I pretty much die on the couch again, no energy left whatsoever until its an appropriate time to crawl in bed.

Why am I so sleepy and exhausted ALL THE TIME???

One Year Anniversary!

So I didn't actually post on Saturday because it was chock full o' wonderfulness with my dear husband because it was our One Year Anniversary! Surprise to all you who thought our we didn't get married until December!

A year ago, I flew down to Texas to marry the love of my life. Part of the reason for the rush was getting the proper paperwork processed so I would make it on his orders to England. And then of course there is the whole I was just plain darn ready for him to be mine-all-mine and for me to be his-all-his. I still got to wear a white dress- this cute little white sundress I just happened to buy at the beginning of the summer. He got out of class early, and we went down to the courthouse in San Angelo and tied the knot! And Lucky Gerrit, he got to marry me twice so he's lucky enough to get to remember two anniversaries!

The silly guy couldn't wait until Saturday to give me my gifts which include XXX amount of money I'm allowed to use towards spa girlie indulgences AND a huge bouquet of white lilies and some callas. However, when he saw they didn't quite fill up my pretty crystal vase. he decided he just had to buy more and did so the next day! Now my whole downstairs smells like lilies :)

On Saturday, we enjoyed breakfast and watched Freedom Writers. We showered and had lunch at Emily's Tea Room. Across the little street was a flower shop which is where he bought 4 more stems of day lilies that were loaded with flowers waiting to open. We dropped off movies that were due and picked up two more. I introduced Gerrit to the movie Singin' In The Rain and he loved it! For dinner, Gerrit took me to this little Italian place a town away called Jean Paul's- 'twas absolutely scrumptious! And to finish the evening, we watched the video of our wedding in December that my big sister made for us. Of course I got  teary eyed and enjoyed every minute of it!

We demolished the tirmisu roulade and the chocolate lime torte before I remember to take a picture....

And what a wonderful anniversary it was!

Friday Funk

Today is just turning into a weirdo day.

I woke up to George (?) playing with the metal mail flap only to find him no where in the house. After a bit of frantic searching inside and outside the house, one email and many unanswered phone calls to Gerrit, George came charging across our neighbor's yard straight to me. Gerrit claims George was in the house when he left this morning...

So after my freaking out, I've just slowly slid into a very weird funk. I didn't have to take Gerrit to work (finally!) today since he now has a car of his own again. I slept almost 11 hours last night so that may be attributing to the funk. I, however, just could not get into my work out today. Someone snatched the longer jump rope so I kept tripping over the short one which just frustrated and pissed me off to no end. I had all this angry energy and just couldn't find the right way to get it out. I ended up cutting it short and taking an extra run to the post office and back to try and make it go away.

All day I have had this weird urge to just sit and cry. I actually did cry a little when I got worried over George. Today would NOT have been a good day for Gerrit to have lost the cat -not that any day is a good day to lose George but today in particular... more details about that tomorrow. And then at the gym, lifting weights, I was overwhelmed with the urge to just curl into a little ball and cry again. The feeling hasn't really gone away so I guess I will just have to wait this funk out.

Long days and Sleep Deprivation

I haven't posted at all since Monday night.

Why???

Because I a a very sweet and loving wife and couldn't bear to tell my husband he had to jog 3-4 miles to work every morning with a big pack of stuff on his back.

Why would he have to run???

He sold his car money with a complete profit seeing as we got that car for free.... and has been waiting for the car we are buying to be ready, which should hopefully be today.

Why the posting hiatus though???

Gerrit has had to be at work at 515am, 500am, and 530am this week. This means he gets up at 4am and so do I  : ( And unfortunately, I'm the kind of person who doesn't go back to sleep if I get up that early and get out of bed, let alone drive across base and back. The first night I had about 5 hours of sleep- my usual is probably around 8 or 9 hours. Tuesday night, though, I had somewhere between 3 and 4 hours. I was so out of it yesterday. I drank so much coffee it gave me a huge headache, and I mutinied  against doing any sort of work. Translation: I said I wasn't cooking so we went and got Indian food.

Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I just don't function on small amounts of sleep, let alone before the sun is actually up. Today should be the last day I have to be up before the sun and leave my snuggly warm bed like I had to this morning after sleeping a full 6 hours, which felt much more like 10   : )  And did I mentioned, its been about 50 degrees every morning?

You know I love my husband when I go without sleep, get up before the sun, AND go outside where it is cold.

Some days...

Some days I could really use something stronger than my little ole glass of wine....

I heard back from the HR people who hire for DODEA. Evidentally, they have no openings and haven't be informed of any opening that might be coming available at the beginning of the school year this fall. I had been informed that there should be two openings but it seems people have not felt obligated to tell HR that they will either A) not be returning or B) leaving after giving birth in October (school starts in September...).

Also, I just read the attached report and discovered that I barely even made the cut. Out of 100, I scored a 70 meaning that I'm "Qualified." Not even close to the next level which was an 85 and no where close to the Highly Qualified... They, of course, asked if there were other places I wanted to work or other positions that I would be interested it.  I don't really want to be a bus driver and I don't want to be a secretary. I could substitute teach but I'm probably only "Qualified" for that too. Is "Qualified" code for "Just barely made the cut because you have some sort of education and had at least one job for more than a few weeks" ???? Of course there are the two other schools on base- Elementary and Middle. Not really feeling the opening of ketchup packets or being a kindergarten aid at the E. School. And if you can remember back to YOUR middle school years, I'm pretty sure you understand why I don't exactly feel compelled to work at the middle school....

On top of that, why do people keep doing certain things even when you ask them not to? And when you ask them not to do something else, for a very specific reason, they completely disregard you and do whatever the hell they feel like anyhow???

Seriously, I need something stronger than my half a glass of wine, or at least a full glass... but noooo, that was all that was left in the bottle....

Almost 100%

I'm almost back to 100%.

I resolved to work out today since I hadn't done so since last Thursday.

I ran my mile and a half, which is a little less than where I was at pre-flu, but that's okay with me for the first day back. Did my free weights, yoga ball exercises, and box steps. Did my mile backwards on the elliptical, and did my weight machines. I didn't push myself quite as hard today. A few of the ab exercises brought back some flu-ee discomfort so I had to work around that. I didn't really feel like projectile vomiting all over the HAWC. But, I made it through 2 hours and feel pretty good other than being tired.

Here shortly, after I finish my detox juice from the HAWC cafe (it's green and it's scrumptious!), I shall take a rather drizzly shower, skype with two of my wonderful Kentucky Gals, maybe unload the dishwasher and finish folding yesterdays laundry- hey, at least its clean. After that, I will sink into my comfy couch and read my book until the hubs gets off work and then its Thai food time! I figure its time to test my stomach out a little more with not so bland food. I'm excited! Love me some Thai food  : )

Also, debuting in this photo is my new toaster!   - "My name is Lindsay, and I have a problem. I have an addiction to toast. I was clean for 4 months, and then fell off the wagon when I went back to the states. I have been sober, again, since the beginning of June when I returned to England. But my mother is my enabler, and I have fallen hard this week." - Thanks, Momma, for the new toaster!

Tomorrow, I believe, we are adventuring the the Bury St Edmond's market day just to explore and maybe pick up some odds and ends. Oh how I love spending the day, strolling the little streets, hand in hand with my hunky husband <3

Hurry Up and Wait Some More....

Today, I turned in all three of my job applications. Yes, I know three sounds rather measly. But in my defense, jobs around base aren't super abundant, and there are only about 4 jobs around base that I can really see myself being content doing. Just call me Picky Pete and I shall just say I'm selective.  I am not going to go spend all day at a job I absolutely hate because 1) I am going to hate it- duh,  2) I'm going to complain and do the job poorly because I don't enjoy it,  3) Complain to much to Gerrit how much I hate my job. Yes, unfortunately I am a complainer but do I get points for admitting it??? I still have to get all my stuff together for job application number four which I am pretty sure includes an official transcript... that's not going to be too fun trying to do transatlanticly... yes, I know I made that word up. At the moment, though, I am content with throwing those three applications out into the void and waiting it out.

Now, for a relaxing afternoon of washing up laundry and enjoying a good Nora Roberts book... sighs contentedly...

Small Steps

I am very slowly recovering from this horrible virus. And when I say slowly, I mean slowly.


I slept most of Sunday away, either in the bed, on the couch or on the living room floor when the couch got too warm. Gerrit was wonderful and frozen wet paper towels for me to wipe my face with when I couldn't cool down. He went out and bought me diet 7Up and a single can of Sprite Zero because they were out of 12 packs of cans. He helped me up and down the stairs and up off the floor. He even picked stuff off the floor for me because bending over made my head hurt. He even made one last trip down stairs AFTER he was in bed to start the dishwasher and grab my prescriptions just because I asked him to. Absolutely love my sweet, sweet guy.

Yesterday was better. I slept less and my stomach finally decided to stop rebelling. I actually got 2 loads of laundry done, some extra dishes washed by hand, wiped down the kitchen with Clorox wipes, and I cleaned the bathroom- my attempts at removing all traces of Saturday and Sunday. I even managed to keep down some saltines yesterday afternoon and I ate THREE pieces of toast last night. By that point, I was already starting to act like my bossy sweet self and was glaring at my husbands and telling asking Gerrit nicely to clean up some of his messes when he remarked, "You sure are feeling better today...."

This morning I was determined to get out of the house so I decided I would do some grocery shopping and also take Gerrit lunch since, at least half of the time, the boy never eats anything because he's "just too busy to get anything." I figured if I brought lunch to him, he had no excuse to go lunch-less. I happily picked him up a little personal pizza and garlic bread from the Gourmet Italia place and dropped it off and was still feeling fine when I walked in the commissary to start my grocery shopping. Unfortunately, about half way through my shopping, I felt like someone hit me with a sack of oranges and about collapse in the middle of the soup aisle. I managed to finished shopping and slowly drive home. I had planned to go back to library and work on job applications today but I'm just exhausted and may have overdone it walking around so much this morning.

I am definitely getting better slowly but no where close to 100%.

Short Post

I have the British stomach flu from Hell... no joke.

I felt horrible all yesterday and then during mine and Gerrit's attempt to hit golf balls at the driving range, I demanded that we needed to go home.

7 hours and one long ER visit later, I curled up on the couch to sip on some water and watch some tv-dvds with the hubs only to fall asleep halfway through the episode.

Today, the flu-ee-ness has subsided some and I've spent most of the day napping or just curled in a little ball thanks to my two prescriptions. I've kept down some water but don't dare to eat anything else.

I have the best husband in the world- I'm looking a hot mess with blood vessels burst all around my eyes due to the intense projectile vomiting and he still thinks I'm cute :) Oh, and he is awesome just for taking care of me, too.

Nap time again.

Feeling Stressed and A Little Hopeless

At the moment, I'm feeling rather stressed and a little hopeless about finding a job.

I'm pretty much going crazy around my house. I am NOT cut out to be a stay at home wife- maybe a part time stay at home mom but that's a completely different blog post.

On Monday, I attended a Job Connections class that basically outlined all your job options on or around base. It was rather overwhelming to see how few jobs there were and realize how many other spouses and family members are competing for them.  Not to mention the fact that nowhere is my biology degree actually applicable except for substitute teaching and even those subbing jobs are given to certified teachers before anyone else. Yes, I completely agree with that but does that make me feel all warm and fuzzy about ever even getting a chance to sub???

And then there is that lovely piece of paper called a resume. Why did they not teach us how to do this in high school or college? I'm sure they did if you majored in business or took a business writing class but HELLO- everyone is going to need a resume at some point. Why not teach everyone??? I'm rather angry that I am a 22 year old college graduate with a degree but without the knowledge of how to write my own resume.

So I have officially begun a few applications to two of the local banks but have yet to begin the resume. I find it extremely overwhelming, and it kind of makes me nauseous to think about starting it. I'm sure within the next few days I will get the wild hair to get to work on it and just crank the sucker out but right now, it just ain't happening. And a huge THANK YOU!!!  to all of my friends who have been giving me resume advice and offering to let me look at their own resumes so that I have something to go off.

It's so .... fun to be a big person.

Stream of Consciousness

I've been feeling pretty random today and came up with this:

What would it be like to be George???

I watch him do the funniest/randomest/craziest/cutest/weirdest/grossest things every day. These include, but are not limited to:

1. Eating bugs 

2. Chasing Strings

3. Staring at running water

4. Hiding under the dishwasher door

5. Using a litter box

6. Biting feet

7. Running furious laps around the house

8. Curling up on my lap every time I go to the bathroom

9. Rolling/Playing/ Sleeping in piles of dirty clothes

10. Dragging all his favorite toys out to the middle of the floor

11. Smacking at me through the shower curtain

12. Catnapping in strangely contorted positions

13. Knocking the keyboard out of mine or G's lap so that he can claim that spot

14. Making noises at birds, people, dogs, cats through the windows

15. Wrestling with the front door mat

16. Trying to open and then unlock the front and back doors

If I were George, would I really do some of those things? I'd like to think that if I were him, I would be above eating bugs or biting feet. I definitely don't see the attraction of a pile of dirty clothes versus a big comfy bed or couch. Though, I could definitely get used to all of the catnaps and getting lots of cuddles.

Surprise!

My poor husband has the worst schedule over the next few days. Tonight, he will have a "12" hr shift though he left an hour early and will get home more than an hour after his shift ends tomorrow morning.

I couldn't exactly send a home cooked meal with him so instead I sent him 3 dozen oatmeal cookies and 3 dozen oatmeal-choco chip cookies that I baked fresh this morning while he went and worked out.

As always, he asked if there was anything he could pick up on his way home from the gym. I made a mental joke to myself how some flowers might be nice but I didn't say a word out loud.I just kissed him and shooed him out of the kitchen.

About 2 and a half hours, 6 dozen cookies cooling, and half way through my shower later, I hear the front door open and Gerrit hollering at me. I ask if the house smells like cookies and he replied yeah but it probably won't smell like cookies for long. I peek around the shower curtain and....

SURPRISE!

My wonderful husband brought home my favorite flowers: lilies! Two big stems loaded with scrumptious smelling blossoms and more buds yet to open PLUS a few callas thrown in. And of course when I asked the occasion, he just said it was "'Cause your awesome and "cause I can" with a big sweet smile.

The Latest Antics of My Sweet Husband

I absolutely adore my wonderful Gerrit but sometimes I really wonder about the guy...

Within the last week, a pilot here at Lakenheath suddenly passed away. Gerrit's squadron was asked to provide refreshments for after the memorial service. Of course, I volunteered to help out. I decided what I was going to make, bought the ingredients, and about 2 hours later- VOILA! - a wonderfully scrumptious smelling derby pie is procured from my very own oven. My little house now smells like pie so when my dearest darling arrives home from a 12 hour work day, where does he beeline? The kitchen- the stove top- the pie. I turn around just in time to stop him from completely  digging in to the pie !!! I was completely shocked and managed to say his name before destroyed my beautiful pie. I asked him what he was doing, and the dude just looked at me with those big brown eyes. I informed him that this was NOT for us but for the memorial service which elicited a guilty look from guy who almost  got caught with his hand in the metaphorical cookie jar.

And then, this morning, at 6:15am, when I am completely dead to the world- and I mean dead, my phone begins ringing. Bare coherent, I look at the phone and register its my charming husband and hit the accept button, "Mmm..'lo," I believe, was my answer. - "Hey, babe. How are you?" - "Sleeping...unnngh." - "I locked myself out of my car. Do you have the spare key?" - "....No... it's not on my keys..." So half asleep, I stumbled around the house in search of the key to no avail, end up throwing on some random clothes and grabbing a wire coat hanger as I stumbled out the front door to go rescue my knight in shining armour armor. A few dumb questions from passing people, two unsuccessfully helpful friends, a total loss of body heat in the 55 degree morning air, and an hour later, Gerrit and I arrive at the Auto Hobby Center, ready to pay the $35 dollar fee for help only to find it doesn't open for another HOUR AND A HALF ! Back at the car, I realize his keys are actually within range of the coat hanger's reach, rather than trying to pull the handle to just unlock the door. And VOILA!  The key are in my hand without ever having to break a window!
 Thoroughly chilled and rather damp from the spritzing rain, I get in my car, at 7:51am to find my 7:50am alarm on my phone chiming to wake me up.... Sorry Mr Phone Alarm, Mr Locked My Keys In The Car beat you to it this fine cold, damp Tuesday morning.

So just for you,  derby pie mooching, waking me up too early and dragging me out in the cold rain  sweet, darling husband of mine, I baked a batch of deeeelish Scotch Short Bread cookies.

A Hot but Wonderful Saturday

On Saturday, Gerrit and I drove to Ely- a city that used to be an uninhabitable island surrounded by water in East Anglia. I had already been once before with my friend Alison but I thought Gerrit would appreciate seeing the history and the architecture. Here is the post about my first visit to Ely. Unfortunately, the tower that I had gone on previously- The Octagon Tour- was completely filled by the time we showed up at noon-thirty. Instead, we went on the West Tower Tour which was equally awesome. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy:

 After our 2 hour tour plus some exploring the Cathedral on our own, we walked to the river and went to the Peacocks Tearoom. It was so warm we decided against the tea but voted for the Bailey's Iced Coffee and, of course, fruit scones with jam and clotted cream.! Here are a few pictures from the tea room:

And for dinner Saturday, after a wonderful trip, I made a new recipe which turned out utterly fantastic! One last picture of my scrumptious Lemon Basil Chicken'N'Roasted Veggie Pasta:

Back to Normal... almost

Things are almost back to normal, Thank the Lord!

It has been absolutely wonderful having Gerrit home. We have just been enjoying his time off work this week (He only had to go in today) working out and running, hanging out with friends, lovin' on Mr Georgie, cleaning the house and doing laundry. Time has absolutely flown by. I woke up this morning and realized I was in bed alone and, for a split second, panicked because I thought I dreamed Gerrit had come home. I had to look around the house just to check that all of his stuff really was there.

I went to the grocery after working out today and picked up stuff to make for dinner this weekend. Is it sad that I am excited to start cooking again??? I didn't pick up anything for dinner tonight so Gerrit and I may go out just grab something if we don't get a Pub Night summons. But I'm ridiculously stoked for tomorrow's dinner- my very own creation: Chicken'N'Roasted Veggie Pasta. Basically I'm roasting a bunch of veggies in the oven and baking a some chicken breasts, chopping it all up and throwing it in a pot with pasta, olive oil, fresh basil, salt'n'pepper, and lemon juice. It is going to be dominantly chicken and veggies with small amount of pasta so it should be pretty light and tasty! I may thrown in some other herbs, though, I haven't really decided. And then Sunday I'm relying on what my mama taught and making her ridiculously amazing Meat Loaf with roasted potatoes and sauteed green beans with toasted almonds. The Steenbergens will be eatin' pretty dang well this weekend!

Finally, He's Home!

I finally have my husband back! I wasn't altogether sure he was actually going to make it, though. He called and said he would be on the 4:40pm bus and to meet him then at the bus station. Well, I watched the bus arrive at 4:40pm and no Gerrit. I about had a panic attack. Why didn't I call him? you ask. Because his phone was dead and there was no way to get a hold of him. However, he did show up on the 5pm bus so all is well that ends well.

Since then, we have just been enjoying being together again. He was awesome enough to take off 3 of the 4 days of this week. Sunday, for the fourth, we went out of Feltwell where they had a huge carnival and celebration thing going on. Typical carnival rides and games and concessions. We ended up with one prize that George has now claimed- a small stuffed Siberian Husky that he likes to beat up on and carry around the house- its pretty darn cute. Afterward, we went to one of this co-worker's for a cook out where I showed off my new ability to talk to people I don't know! Gerrit was pretty impressed seeing as how he usually has to drag me around and coax me into talking to people. We didn't stay as long as everyone else because I got sunburned at the carnival and wasn't feel so well- I believe I had a touch of sun poisoning.

The rest of our free time has been spent either working out or watching The Big Bang Theory on dvd (courtesy of my mama!) to which my hubs is now addicted. I knew I married him for a reason... He is pretty excited about my running progress- yesterday morning and this morning, we ran just over a 1.5 miles together. And I love it!

Last night, we went to a pub in Cambridge with two friends to eat authentic Thai food. How do I know it's authentic? One of our friends who went is Thai and he verified it. And let me tell you, we will definitely be going back. It was absolutely wonderful food- great flavor but not heavy like chinese food and not so spicy as to burn all of your taste buds off.

We have no set plans for the rest of the week. We're just kind of winging it from day to day, doing whatever we feel like doing and just enjoying our time together. And, of course, Georgie is enjoying it too.

A Little Piece o' History

Here is the first picture of Gerrit and me that was ever taken. 

Date? September 19, 2008

Aren't we just so young and adorable?