So far, so good!

We like it here! I had my first day of work orientation at the hospital, and Matt made some contact with the DC Public Schools. Afterward we met up at the mall near where I work and got new cell phones--so far we are really impressed with T-Mobile. After that we wandered around looking for a grocery store (the promised Harris Teeter "just across the street" that was a major reason we chose our current apartment has actually yet to be built). After phoning directory assistance (also known as my brother, who works at a computer all day) we found the Safeway about 6 blocks from where we live. Prices are definitely higher here, but we made out OK and came home for grilled cheese, tomato, and pesto sandwiches--yum. And now for what is still the most challenging part of my day: falling asleep at a decent hour. I had a surprising amount of energy today, thanks to taking an Ambien around 9:45 last night so that I could be well-rested by 6, but one day I hope to be able to actually sleep during the nighttime unaided. We'll see how that goes. In the meantime, we're really happy here and feeling excited to continue our explorations!

The day's work

We also walked for half an hour trying to find a place to buy milk for breakfast, ate in for lunch, and for dinner, managed to get lost trying to pick up a pizza before realizing when we finally got there that we'd ordered it from a different Pizza Hut--one at the complete opposite side of town. So we did what any sensible person would--left the other guys hanging and ordered one from the Pizza Hut we ended up at, killing time while it was baking by furtively throwing our moving boxes in their dumpster. We are really on a roll. Tomorrow: I start work at an ungodly hour of the morning, and Matt ties up loose ends on starting his employment with the DC public schools.

Here at last!

This is going to be quick. I'm exhausted and have a major headache, possibly from trying to figure out how we're ever going to fit everything in our apartment! We headed out yesterday around 7:30am after getting to bed around 2 following our going-away party.

The cats did much better than we thought they would in the truck, although we were all a little antsy (OK, and some of us tearfully exhausted) by the time we spent 18 hours driving (mostly through torrential downpours; on a brighter note, we saw a double rainbow!) and finally arrived around 3:30am. Then we slept for a few hours, and got up and unpacked the truck. We dropped our moving truck off and then walked around the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which we're getting very excited to become a part of. We had dinner at the Banana Cafe [warning: loud salsa music on the homepage] which was very good and then we came home and took a nap, sleeping as soundly as I can remember doing for a long time.

So...we're making an appreciable dent in the boxes, Matt has gotten most of the furniture together, and our kitchen cabinets are already almost full...with several boxes left to unpack, as well as no real food in there yet to speak of. The apartment is even smaller than we remembered, but I think we'll learn valuable lessons about how much (in terms of both space and things) we really need. We've already come across so many things we're interested in doing and seeing, and I think it will be a really exciting chapter in our lives. I still get a little teary talking to my parents, or going through the wonderful cards and gifts from the co-workers who threw me such a superb going-away party on Thursday, but on the whole, we're feeling very optimistic.

Today was a busy, stressful day...we kicked it off with a visit to the vet's office to catch Patches and Scratches up on their vaccinations. This is something I'm not always right on top of since they're strictly indoor cats who only have contact with each other, and thus I feel like the chances of a vaccine reaction are probably statistically more likely (especially after having a full set of vaccinations when they were kittens, which some say is wholly sufficient) than the chance that they'll contract a major illness. However, I worried that our landlords or the city of Washington might be strict about such things, and so we relented and took them in. Scratches, our lovely, sensitive, 5-year-old gray cat, ended up having a vaccine reaction and had to stay at the vet's office on Benadryl and steroids all afternoon. We were heartbroken at the thought of losing him, but his full recovery has reminded us of all that we really do have to be thankful for in the midst of what seems like a stressful time.

In lighter news, my sister came over for dinner tonight. The Wedge was one of the last stops on our must-eat-before-leaving list (also including the amazing Thai Spice, India Cafe, the Atlas, and more), and then we topped it off with a little back-to-school shopping. I think a good time was had by all, and it helped ease my anxiety about the transition to a life in which my clothing is not mandated, provided and laundered for me by my employer; not all the same color and style; not fully reversible; and when it's not considered acceptable to wear the exact same thing every single day. It's going to be a real bummer...but life is full of compromises, I guess.

Otherwise, we spent a lot of time packing and consolidating boxes so that my mom and brother can come help us load our truck tomorrow before the Katie Party, which I'm doing my best not to accept as the last time I see my co-workers but which may, in fact, be the last time (for awhile, at least) that I will see the artists formerly known as my co-workers.

Lady of the Night...No More

I'm writing this in the early hours of the morning after my last night at work. It's incredibly hard for me to imagine that after
spending 40-60 hours a week here for the past year and a half, I'll walk out the door this morning and just not come back. Yesterday morning when I got after work, I was struck with such an agonizing sadness about it--about leaving the wonderful people I've made friends with, and also leaving the role that, in spite of myself, I've grown comfortable with. I told Matt yesterday that I applied to law school back when things were unfamiliar, stressful, and difficult--and that somewhere in between applying to school and actually leaving, I somehow got comfortable here. I never saw it coming. Older nurses would tell me that the first year would be hell, but then it would get better. I couldn't believe them; I was convinced that I was in entirely the wrong profession, that I would never develop the physical skills or the intellectual capacities that the job demanded. I'm still a novice by all means, but I think I can say that I was wrong. I can't say exactly when it happened--when I stopped tasting panic when I was assigned a labor patient, or when my mind first did something besides simply go blank when an emergency arose--but perhaps because the idea that this career wasn't forever took the pressure off, I found my stride. And loved it. And looking back, I'm glad I applied to law school and decided to go when I did--because if I'd felt then about nursing the way I do now, I'm not sure I could have done it.

From this experience, I've learned I've learned so much that I hope will smooth the transition back to square one--starting over, and in a profession I have even less initiation to than I did into nursing. I've learned that I was never hopeless, only inexperienced; I've learned to listen to the voices of experience when they tell me that ease comes with time. I've learned how to both trust myself and rely on others in an emergency. I've learned that I can both think on my feet and admit when I'm wrong.

I'm also comforted by the memory of how brokenhearted I was to leave geriatric nursing--but that I've never regretted it. I remember people I trusted telling me, "We're sorry to see you go, but this has to be the next step for you. You'll be glad you did." Those people were right, and I hear them saying the same things again. I'm so excited for this next adventure, but being glad to go doesn't dampen my sorrow at leaving. It also doesn't completely offset the loss I feel at giving up what has been such a huge part of my identity--my place in the night nurse culture. I feel like in a way, I don't know who I am if I actually sleep during the day. And maybe I don't. And I'm realizing that that's OK.

Monday Cooking Fest.

Well, yesterday ended up being a busier day than we had envisioned. Katie got up in the afternoon (I let her sleep in as long as possible since she worked last night) and then we went right out and got a few ingredients. I saw that bulk basil was on sale at the Coop so we went there and got just over half a pound. With this we made one of our favorite recipes: PESTO! Here is our pesto recipe below that is a combination of many different pesto recipes combined:




1/2 LB fresh Basil with big stems removed.
1/2 Cup Walnuts
1/2 Cup Pinenuts
1 3/4 Cups Romano Cheese
1 3/4 Cups Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 Cups Olive Oil
14 Cloves Garlic
14 Cranks Black Pepper
Salt to taste

You need to split the thing between two Cuisiants or blenders
1. Add oil, garlic and nuts and chop a little
2. Add basil and cheese and blend until desired texture
3. Eat some to see about the salt and pepper. Add some and eat some more.
4. Do a dance and make some pasta damnit!

I also mentioned to Katie that I wanted to surprise her with bringing in a carrot cake for her last days of work but since we live together a baking surprise would have proven too difficult to come up with. Thus, I told her and we eventually decided together that a spice cake with cream cheese frosting. The frosting was sort of runny in the end because it had honey in it so it was more of a glaze type thing. It tasted awesome though. One probably could have put the frosting on a horse apple and eaten it. I brought it into her work and it went over well. Next we wanted to try some different bulk flour with our normal bread recipe. This loaf ended up looking and feeling like a horse apple so I do not think that we will use the flour again. The next two recipes were for the purposes of using up the famed "flour of death." Back when I worked at the Coop in Stevens Point, I decided to learn how to bake. Many years later, I still had a big bucket with a version of flour in it that I am pretty sure is the entire wheat grass all ground up. It has its own odor that permeates everything you make with it. Thus, to use up the last 8 cups of it we made cinnamon squares and cookies. Finally, the crap is gone.

I think that it is starting to get to us a little that we are leaving. As it hits us that we are seeing our families for one of the last times for a while, a bit of melancholy starts to surround us. It is a good feeling to know we are a great team and can rely on each other. This is what will help us to get through this.

One last note. It looks like I am going to be teaching elementary band and music for two of Washington DC's elementary schools. I am so excited for this. I am still in the preliminary stages of the hiring process and things move very slowly out there. One of the schools is primarily Hispanic while the other is almost completely African American. More on this all to come but at least I have some steady form of employment in store.

A few of our favorite things

I spent the afternoon in the throes of what I believe to have been my first official migraine, and thus my posting ambitions are a little low right now. So I'll start with what comes easily: talking about food. The picture to the right is of Matt and a dish of puerco pibil, also known as conchinita pibil, the one and only meat dish we ever cook and the reason Matt claims he couldn't ever be fully vegetarian again. We first discovered it as a bonus feature on the DVD "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," after which we painstakingly recreated and loved it, and were thrilled to find it was an option for our rehearsal dinner (in Mexico). We were even more delighted to discover that our homemade version was surprisingly authentic in comparison. It's a little labor-intensive but well worth the effort; to find and grind the individual spices, to blend the marinade, to slow-cook for four hours, to scrub the remnants off the bottom of your oven if you forgot to put down a drip pan. It's shown here with a side of fried plaintains and homemade corn tortillas.

Something else we tried recently that was a singular success was cold-brewing coffee. We already use a French press for making hot coffee (because we love the flavor, the speed, and the savings of not having to buy coffee filters), and this was even easier: we just ground the beans, dumped them in with some cold water, let them sit overnight, and pressed them down in the morning. The ultimate make-ahead, instant (after 8-12 hours, anyway) coffee beverage! Coffee is supposedly much lower in acid and higher in caffeine when prepared this way (tailor-made for night nurses with ulcers!), and we found that it had a much smoother, almost chocolatey-sweet taste when combined with a generous amount of milk.

Another of our household adventures which actually has very little to do with food relates to a recent shift in how we think about cleaning supplies. I think the combination of getting a little older (and thus thinking about the kind of impact we'd like to ultimately have on our bodies and the planet) and each of us marrying somebody whose hippie idealism serves as a catalyst to our own has nudged us both into making a series of small but sustainable changes in the way we live our daily lives. Matt has switched almost exclusively to biking where he needs to go; I've been experimenting with eradicating unnecessary chemicals from our household. It's amazing how much you really don't need substances like bleach in the kitchen when you a) rarely cook meat; b) clean up messes as soon as they happen; c) use plenty of hot water; and d) where that fails, employ a generous amount of baking soda and a rag. We've really cut down on the amount of money we used to spend on kitchen and bathroom cleansers, paper towels, and other cleaning supplies when we switched to simpler ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, and rags we made ourselves (anything from boxer shorts to t-shirts works, although we seem to like old thermal shirts the best). It's empowering to find ways to save money that are also beneficial to us and the environment; it's gratifying to live with someone who responds enthusiastically even to your more outside-the-box suggestions. Are tampons and toilet paper the next industrialized products to go the way of the dinosaur? Only time will tell.

Back in town...But not for long

So Matt and I are back in town, after a weekend of camping (nice, but HOT), seeing old friends (lovely), and spending time with his family (wonderful). We fell into bed about 11 o'clock last night, exhausted. Today we finished up the last round of thank-you notes to the kind people who generously bought us wedding gifts (mostly kitchen toys, which we couldn't have been happier about). In the midst of that, of course, we made food--Matt experimented with a salad of potatoes, cucumbers, and radishes, which was quite good; and I made a whopping batch of zucchini bread, actually split between two loaves of bread and a dozen muffins. The zucchini was donated by friends we visited on the way back from Madison, some of which (the zucchini, not the friends) we breaded and fried last night and ate with brown rice, carrots, and mushrooms. Between the breading/frying and all the fiber contained otherwise, that all has to balance out to be somewhat healthy, right?

It seems like we're both feeling a little (probably predictably) melancholy as our move closes in. It's wonderful to have seen a lot of old friends in the past few weeks, but it's bittersweet knowing it will certainly be the last time for awhile, and it's a potent reminder of the inescapable fact that one almost never knows when "the last time..." will be the last time. UPDATE: In between writing and publishing this, I found out one of the nurses who helped orient me to my current position has cancer that has metastasized to the bones, lungs, liver, and pretty much all the other places you really don't want cancer. She's no older than our parents, a lovely woman and a wonderful nurse who has been slowly cutting back her hours in anticipation of a lively retirement traveling to other countries with the husband she loves. You just never know.

I think these kinds of thoughts have put--not distance, but a certain amount quiet between us. We both seem to realize that even this, a trip we take together with the greatest amount of joy and solidarity, requires a certain traversing of one's own inner landscape that still must be done alone before it can be shared. That said, I know we're both embracing our commitment to be there for the other one, and to learn to turn to each other above everything else (which, happily, I think we already do well), as we approach the day when, for all practical daily purposes, we'll be all each other's got.

Just the beginning...

Well all, this is my second attempt at blogging. The first was for a class and I have to admit at first I did not enjoy the project and attempted to ignore it but I eventually had fun in the end and now am glad that I am ready and already know the program. Since my wonderful wife is going to law school and we are going to be living in the hot spot for politics in the U.S., it is going to be my goal to stay on top of current events from here on out, especially politics. Katie is already pretty on top of this by daily reading cnn.com. I am planning on following her good role model and am planning to read national news every single day. This is just one of the many goals I have for this new stage of my life-the stage where you have to have a job like normal people and not be a student! One of the first things that I did to get connected to politics, as previously mentioned by Katie, was to attend a rally held by Hillary and Bill Clinton, here in Iowa city. It was my first time at one of these events and I really wish Katie could have been there because I enjoyed it a lot. A little bit too much nonsensical cheering if you ask me but it can't be perfect. I was only about 15 feet from where the people spoke and stood about 5 feet from Bill for the duration of Hillary's speech!

One last political item. There is a speech on Barack Obama's website that I really hope people take the time to look at. It is about faith and politics and is about 40 minutes long but well worth it. Now, I know everyone may not agree with his political views, but please set those aside and approach it with an open mind. In my opinion, it is one of the most intelligent speeches that I have ever heard. What he is saying is truly non-partisan and loving and the message can hopefully be appreciated by most people interested in the essence of any religion.

One last item and this comes with a small amount of sadness on my part and probably some happiness on my sisters. I am selling my wagon, a 1995 Volvo 850 with a 5 cylinder turbo, called "the hearse" by my lovely sister Nicki. It is one of the most practical cars I have ever have but on the contrary, having this car or any car in Washington DC is not practical. So the car must go. If anyone is interested, or knows anyone who wants the greatest grocery getter in the world can check it out at autotrader.com and/or craigslist.com. Thanks for reading and hope to see y'all before we leave town.

What We Learned on our Honeymoon

The luxury of the first real free time we'd ever really known together meant that on our honeymoon, we learned a few things that we've tried to bring back home with us. (And you can stop with the mental pictures already.)

One was the rediscovery of how much we both love to read, along with uncovering the newfound pleasure of reading a book together. Our latest joint read is Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. We haven't gotten very far yet, but so far the writing is beautiful, and it's a story about sisters--a topic near and dear to both our hearts, especially since the book was given to us by Matt's sister Katie. (She also gave us a box of Tazo Passion Hibiscus Tea, which we love both hot and iced, some of us with more sugar in it than others.) We're taking a (last?) trip up to Wisconsin this weekend to visit family, do a little camping, and hit the farmer's market, so maybe in the midst of all that we'll find some time to dive a little further into the book.

Speaking of farmer's markets, one of the next books I'd like to put on our list is Plenty. Subtitled "One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally," it seems like something that could be up our alley given our recent attempts to incorporate more whole and healthy foods into our diets. (And our propensity for eating raucously.) Health magazine informs me that there's a companion website. Pertinent to their suggestions, we've been thinking about trying community-supported agriculture, or CSA, in which we would pay a flat (and relatively low) fee for a box of produce from a local organic farm each week during the growing season (typically May through October). We're excited about the prospect of affordable, locally grown produce; we're a little apprehensive about the fact that you can't choose which produce you get, it's just what's available; but we're somewhat intrigued by the challenge of the latter, as well. Who wouldn't enjoy the opportunity to brag that you can not only cook turnips, but cook them well?

One of our other simple pleasures while in Mexico was taking a walk after meals. It was never especially long or energetic, but it was just enough activity to perk us up after a meal. We've tried to incorporate it as much as we can now that we're back home, and we're anticipating even more opportunity for walking when we move to DC. In the July heat, it seems a lot more sustainable than the quick-to-fade ambition of going for a run.

In Mexico, we also fell in love with the idea of a 2-hour siesta every afternoon...but that concept has proven to be a little less practical...

Nothing Much

Our current preoccupation is to strategize constantly about ways to move from our current spacious, 2-bedroom-and-a- living-room setup to a much-smaller 1-bedroom, while simultaneously incorporating a number of generous, mostly kitchen-related items that have yet to even grace the shelves of our current place. We figured it was easier to move most of them in their original boxes, as opposed to unpacking and then repacking them a month later; a theory that still holds, but it remains that this is stuff we haven't yet factored into a workable organization scheme. The closer the move gets, the smaller the new apartment seems! It's not something we're terribly worried about, but we would like for the move to go as smoothly as possible.

We've been dealing with these concerns in what has become typical Matt-and-Katie fashion: lots of talking, and then lots of cooking. In the past few days we've made bread, cookies, a huge batch of filling for spicy peanut wraps, eggless egg salad (a tofu-based recipe that we love), a batch of whole-wheat pizza crusts, tomato sauce, and homemade pizza. It works well for us because we really enjoy cooking together in our downtime, and then in weeks like this one--when Matt has an out-of-town gig tomorrow and teaches lessons, and I am working three 12-hour shifts in a row--we have an assortment of tasty leftovers!

Two of the goals that have emerged for us in the past year have been saving money and eating more healthfully. While we had both previously found these two things to be at odds with one another, we've found a number of ways to achieve both goals by incorporating a third: making as much as we can from scratch. Right now that obviously includes various breads and sauces, which we have done with various degrees of success but we're now getting to the point where we can achieve pretty predictable and satisfactory results. For example, we had all but given up on making edible, 100% whole-wheat bread from scratch until we found this recipe. The website it's on is an example of an ideology I obviously don't ascribe to but find strangely fascinating. Along with this site (which is where we found the superb whole-wheat oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe), it's a blog I have come to peruse somewhat obsessively for both their controversial viewpoints and their superior advice on topics that have recently become near and dear to my heart, such as coupon shopping and cooking from scratch. Who says feminist law students and radical Christian housewives can't find common ground?

In related news, Matt was able to attend the Clintons' speech in Iowa City today. I was sleeping off a night shift and so was unable to go, much to my bitter disappointment. However, I get the feeling that just maybe there will be other opportunities for political involvement at our next destination.

Happy 1-Month Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 1-month anniversary! It's hard to believe that just a month ago, we were getting married on the beach. It was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful honeymoon, but we were excited to get back home, see our cats, and start getting ready to take our show on the road. We move to DC in less than a month, which is also hard to believe. We've already begun packing our "non-essentials," hoping to save ourselves from a mad rush just before we move. Matt has taken on the bulk of this work as I work all night and am thus useless all day :)

It's just starting to hit me that we're really leaving Iowa, and the Midwest. I think we each have our moments of sadness about it, but for the most part we're really excited to be embarking on this new phase of our lives together. It will certainly be interesting to see how the next year unfolds, and we'll do our best to keep you posted!