Looks like fun, doesn't it?

We think so, which is why this weekend we're hoping to make it out to Assateague Island, just a short swim away from Chicoteague, as in Misty of. The ignorance of both book and island amongst the people here is amazing, given we are just three short hours away from it. When I mentioned it this morning as my class was talking about Labor Day plans, I think they probably thought it was a strip club. Anyway, it's supposed to be a beautiful wildlife refuge, you can camp for cheap on the beach, lots of places to hike, and hey--wild ponies, 'nuff said.

In more modest ambitions, either before or after our pilgrimmage to the coast, we're planning to make semifreddo, an Italian ice-cream concoction that for whatever reason eliminates the need to monkey around with rock salt and an ice cream machine but is supposed to turn out luscious and creamy nonetheless. We'll let you know how it goes, and of course, there will be pictures.

Otherwise, looking ahead to next weekend (if you can't tell, the novelty of having these things called "weekends" that we actually enjoy together still holds a strong sense of charm for us) we're hoping to combine the Farm Aid trip with the King Tut trip and camp in between in New Jersey. We may be the only two people in the world who would agree to such an itinerary, particularly one that combines the words "camp" and "New Jersey," but hey, that's why we married each other.

When it rains

We make out in it? NO...when it rains, it pours, of course. Literally (for us and especially for the Midwest) but figuratively as well, in that we go almost a week without posting and then, within the space of 24 hours, we have posted not one, not two, but three updates. Has our life changed substantially, or have there been any interesting developments?

Nope, not really. The simple fact is that we just have more time to post on the weekends.

I've now officially survived my first full week of law school and lived to tell about it. Things are still doing really well on that front; I feel like I'm learning a lot, the workload is intense but doable, and I'm getting more comfortable speaking up in classes. I still really enjoy my professors as well as a number of my classmates. However, by the end of the week, I was starting to feel a certain--not depression, really, but slightly disconcerting numbness that I think comes from existing in a very cerebral cycle of reading, listening, and writing, with very little meaningful human interaction woven into it. It's like when you spend an entire day alone and realized you can't remember when you last spoke. It's a very inward, kind of isolating feeling and in this case it's not my own actions and ideas I've been focusing on--it's a third-party kind of introspection that I think will naturally broaden over time as I become involved with activities and organizations beyond the dictated first-year classes. I'm looking forward to that, and it's also something that makes me glad I haven't up and quit my job yet; because, whatever else nursing has riding against it, I've always felt grateful that at least you don't have to fight to make it meaningful. You're tending to people at an intimate and vulnerable point in their lives and as long as you pay a reasonable degree of attention, it's hard to make it not meaningful. Although I'll admit I've seen people who have.

On that front, Friday and Saturday I worked at the hospital again. Chaos still abounded but I feel like I'm getting down a system that works for me. That probably includes leaving out a lot of the paperwork details that I should be doing, and it doesn't include talking to anyone or actually taking a meal or a bathroom break in order to get out on time; but at this point I feel like my practice is only as good as my training, and I'm doing the best I can. In terms of patient care and nursing knowledge, I feel like I've been trained pretty well; as far as the idiosyncracies of this particular hospital, two haphazard shifts were hardly enough. Anyway, suffice it to say that I actually really enjoyed the opportunity to be a nurse again, felt like I connected pretty well with my [10-12] patients, and am not dreading too terribly the requisite two shifts I need to work a month.

In smaller news, someone gave me The Ornamental Grass Kit awhile back and the day before yesterday I finally gotten around to planting it. I'm thrilled because where yesterday morning there was nothing, today I have four fresh shoots! (Matt saw them last night but wanted to let me discover them on my own. Awww). Here they are, in all their glory:
Yes, welcome to the city, where four shoots of grass feel like a modern-day miracle. They live on our kitchen windowsill, next to the basil plant which you can just see in the corner of this picture. The window is also where a multitude of ants seem to be finding their way into our kitchen. We heard that a natural way to repel ants is with clove oil, leading us to spend some entertaining moments corraling a few with Lincoln-log-esque enclosures made from whole cloves, but we ultimately concluded it was a little too labor-intensive a solution for a problem of the magnitude that is ours, and so have conceded to using ant traps. Yes, we are the people who objected so strenuously (to our own detriment, as you'll recall) to the idea of extermination, but this is on a much smaller scale.

Otherwise, our biggest triumph today was finding an Aldi's. We have been disappointed to find that our painstakingly created Iowa food budget wasn't exactly cutting the mustard in DC. We were shopping mainly at Safeway due to reasons of proximity, but this weekend were finally fed up with shelling out over $50 a week for a gallon of milk, a tub (well, maybe two tubs) of sour cream, and the few other things we aren't getting at the Eastern Market and so we plotted out the route to the closest Aldi's, about 5 miles (or around 15 minutes) away. We've realized that, in general, if you want to shop the yuppie/pricey stores, go to Virginia; for solid, working-class bargains for folks like ourselves, it's Destination Maryland.

At Aldi's, we were overjoyed to find that even after stocking up on eight (in our defense, they were only a quarter apiece!) bags of organic blue corn tortilla chips (after an impulse buy at the EM that included eight or nine different varieties of chili peppers for a mere $3, salsa is most definitely on the menu), a ton of dairy, a number of baking staples, two bottles of olive oil, some snacks, and some produce, our total was still only the $50 we would have spent at Safeway for far less. We also found a Target in the same neighborhood and were able to pick up a coffee grinder (necessitated by our desire to make pibil and the fact that what we were previously using for a spice mill crapped out...so we relegated our current coffee grinder to a spice grinder and upgraded to what we hope will be a sturdy investment for grinding coffee) as well as a shadowbox for our large, unconventionally-sized, giant-starfished-and-thus-quite-delicate wedding certificate so that we can finally finally take that out of storage and put it into decorative circulation--ALL made possible compliments of the generous Target giftcards we were fortunate enough to receive as wedding/going-away presents, largely from my very kindhearted former co-workers.

So anyway...I'm happy to report that even after working the rest of the weekend, our day today was a relaxing one of sleeping in, coffee drinking, paper reading, shopping, and, of course, COOKING--so I think we're both actually feeling pretty refreshed and ready for the week ahead.

Tell me--when, as a night nurse, did you ever hear me say that?

Mango-Habanero Salsa

This is an extra spicy salsa that goes well by itself on tortilla chips or is especially good on grilled fish. BEWARE-it is very spicy! Use gloves when chopping the habanero or you will regret it. My fingers are still burning!

1 Mango
1 Habanero Chili, seeded, deveined and chopped small
16 oz can of pineapple
1/2 large red tomato
1/2 yellow onion
1 small red pepper
1 small bunch of cilantro or mint, chopped
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/8 cup vinegar
1/8 cup lime juice

Cut the mango, pineapple, tomato, onion and red pepper into small cubes. Add chili, cilantro or mint, cumin, salt, vinegar and lime juice. Mix up well and let the mixture sit for an hour before you serve.

Wanna see something funny...

Me in a suit.


Wanna hear something even sillier. I wear these every day. It is very surprising to me that I dress like this every day. If you would have asked me even a month ago, what I would be doing in the future, I would have never told you this. The thing that is even more surprising-I like it quite a bit. I work with very smart, kind people and the work is important in the arts field. Why it is important would take more explaining than is necessary here but take my word for it. Anyway, my first week is done and it went very well. The job is starting slowly and I am being given ample time to read all of the publications that NASM has on their website (along with the art, dance and theater organizations as well.) It will be getting very busy at work here in a little bit as the preparations begin for the big meetings in the fall. On another note, I am going to be attending the NASM Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City this fall right before Thanksgiving. While I am looking forward to the meeting since it will be a good chance for me to meet administrators from around the country, I am not looking forward to being away from Katie. It will be the first time since the wedding that we will have not been together every day and I am sure it will be very hard for both of us but I am hoping all of you drop her phone calls and lines while I am away.

In general, things are going very well for both of us. Katie is really enjoying law school and we are both loving living in the city. Tomorrow we have plans to do some cooking so I am sure there will be pictures of food and recipes on the way. Until then, best wishes.

I realize the risk of making a statement like I am about to on what is only my first official day of law school, but those of you who know me are aware that I don’t shy away from things just because they’re risky, and so, at the risk of issuing a statement which I may later tearfully retract, I’m just going to go ahead and say it:

I’m

really

enjoying

law school.

First of all, GW has done a spectacular job of creating a place that is welcoming, non-intimidating, and in which every kind of assistance is accessible. I have laughed more during orientation and my preliminary classes than I ever thought I would, and today enjoyed a thorough explanation of contract law that used as its framework (with the appropriate supporting media) the bargain in which Ariel (the Little Mermaid) trades her voice to the Sea Witch for legs.

Second, my classmates are, for the most part, extremely friendly and refreshingly well-rounded. So far, I haven’t detected much in the way of competitiveness or one-upmanship, but instead a sense of actual camaraderie in the form of “Hey, I thought this was kind of hard…are you having trouble, too, and would you want to work on it together?” Even someone as admittedly reclusive and antisocial as I am has difficulty fending off these types of advances.

Third, while they keep making an effort to warn us that study of the law raises Questions Which Have No Answers, I find that law school provides a good deal more distance from—and luxury of time to debate the answers to—these Questions than I found as a nurse, when I would encounter Questions like “This patient needs something I don’t know how to find,” or “We don’t have enough nurses to safely provide care for these patients,” or “I think the doctor is wrong and that could turn out to be pretty serious” or “Both of these women’s babies are tanking and the operating rooms are full.” Questions from which you can’t just close the book, leave the desk, and walk away, but in which you are actually confronted with no viable path of action. I went into law specifically because of these questions, not because I have answers to them but because I hope to find ways in which we can reduce the instances in which people are forced to confront them. Based on that motivation, and that experience, merely grappling with the questions—rather than attempting to solve them unqualified—seems like maybe a pretty reasonable task for now.

Fourth, the QUIET. Holy crap. I spend my entire day (except for classes, of course) in an environment that rivals a library or a church sanctuary. How can something so peaceful ever get stressful??

And really, I think the biggest part of my newfound contentment both in DC and in law school has to do with the fact that I’m finally going with the flow. I’m not swimming upstream to try to sleep during the day, I’m not fighting my body to regularly stay awake for more than 36 hours at a time, I’m not having to constantly deny the urge to not just sleep in the same bed as my husband, but to do so at the same time. Matt and I are ecstatic to have our schedules finally align well enough that we can start and end every day together. My worries about whether I would ever be free from the sleep problems that have long plagued me proved to be unfounded; for once, I am the member of our household who is most likely to be sleepy at bedtime, and most reliably up when the alarm clock goes off. It’s unbelievable. And I love it.

To be fair, though, I will lodge the complaint that my backpack, on a typical day, weighs over 30 pounds.

I’m hoping to be legally well-versed enough by the end of this semester to be able to recover damages for whatever injuries I happen to incur in the process.

PS: And in relevant legal issues: for those who are concerned, our landlords seem to have (hopefully!) concluded that pushing the cat issue with us would be a losing battle and is not worth their effort. For now, anyway.

Odds & Ends

Not much is going on with us this weekend--I'm working on readings for my first "real" day of law school, and Matt is getting ready for work tomorrow--so we thought we'd share a couple of videos. The first is of the Arlington County Pig Races, courtesy of the Arlington County Fair, which we briefly attended this morning.

The second features not only Will Ferrell but also his daughter, Pearl. Most people are familiar with their first joint project, The Landlord, by now, but we think the second one might be even funnier.

No pics or recipes this time

Hi All,

So many twists and turns in the last year of our lives. As Katie is off at law school today, I am sitting here getting ready for my new job. When Katie and I first got together, one of the first things that we talked about was the fact that we were not going to be in Iowa forever. We both talked about moving somewhere, possibly the Eastern US but also maybe further. As time wore on Katie's choice of going to law school became more fixed and the options somewhat narrowed on where to go, most places being out east. Oddly enough, as I made my way through grad school, I knew I had to do something different. School was no longer making me happy. I decided to try to utilize my undergrad education degree and I applied for many teaching jobs in the Washington DC area, eventually having some offered to me. That brings me to about three weeks ago. I was informed by an instructor at the University of Iowa about a position open at NASM, or the National Association of Schools of Music in Reston, Virginia, just a short drive outside DC. I thought, well, one last try at something different. After a week of very thorough interviews, I was offered a job as the assistant to the executive director. The decision to take this job was not an easy one for us because this offered very different perks and limitations than public school teaching did. After a weekend of hard thought, we decided to take it.

While I am very excited to be doing something so different than I have previously done, I am still nervous and surprised that this is what I will be doing. I will be wearing a suit every day, going to an office and doing various things such as handling business, writing, working with publications, policy and other matters associated with NASM as well as other organizations that work with art, dance and theater schools. I am sure with this job, as with all jobs, there will be things I do not like doing. That is what one gets paid for-to do the shit work that no one likes to do. Alternatively, with this job I get to work with people from all across the country, be involved in materials that shape collegiate arts education, and to learn about administration, writing, policy and many other things that I do not even know about yet.

I am very optimistic that this job will add to the already wonderful life that Katie and I have together. I feel that it is with renewed vigor that we meet the world-ready to make change in places that it is needed while enjoying our lives together. I am personally enjoying not having a TV. We have been reading, talking, playing music together, cooking and seeing the city. While we go through hard times from time to time, our life is always interesting. So that is what's up with us today.

(Law) School Girl

Today was my first day of law school orientation. Like a proud parent, Matt accompanied me all the way there, walked me in, and then kissed me goodbye. I was pleasantly surprised by how painless the entire experience was. I walked in preparing to be intimidated and anxious, but was met instead by a large number of friendly, interesting, seemingly like-minded other individuals-- the most striking aspect about whom was, to me, the fact that everybody I met (like me) freely admits that they couldn't find their way out of a paper bag with a map. Now, my poor sense of direction and navigation is a tender point for me because it contrasts so sharply with Matt's finely honed ability, old Boy Scout that he is, to quickly and accurately determine not just where we are but where we want to go at any given time or location, with a very, very, I might even say uncannily low margin of error. There are times it has made me wonder if I'm not a little, shall we say, on the slow side. However, here is an entire body of arguably intelligent future attorneys who all seem to have the exact same deficit. Any time a panel or group would let out, there would be a gaggle of people standing lost or wandering off in the wrong direction. It was really comforting. I was also fascinated by the number of people who have served in the Peace Corps, or Teach for America, or spent time abroad; it really seems to be a very civic-minded group, which I had worried I might be giving up by going to a larger school. The administration seems incredibly welcoming and well-organized, and determined to ease us into law school as gently as possibly. I know that there are inevitably huge challenges to be faced in the years ahead, but overall I'm feeling very encouraged.

Anybody who knows me very well knows that my number one anxiety trigger in life is having to dress myself, so I decided to try to change that up and use my attire to promote a positive mental state--so I wore what I wore to the "goodbye Matt & Katie" party in Iowa City (so what if my little sister picked it out for me?). Happy memories, and here (at long last) are the pictures from that occasion, as well as the goodbye breakfast.

Thanks so much, guys. I love and miss you all.

Welcome to Washington

This is a guy we've seen play at a few different subway stations now. I always get his insane beats stuck in my head and so really it comes as somewhat of a relief when I hear strains of his keyboard as I ride the escalator up to my destination. We thought you might enjoy this little taste of DC.

Lazy Sunday

Matt and I have been trying to take it easy this weekend to give ourselves the mental space we need to make our respective decisions. We've spent a lot of time just walking the neighborhoods, enjoying getting to know DC, as well as exploring whether or not it would be an option for us to move if this landlord situation dictates it. In what is perhaps a joint moment of temporary insanity, we've even considered whether we might at some point be in a position to buy a place here. We certainly aren't pulling any triggers yet, but it's something to think about.

Otherwise, predictably enough, we went to the farmer's market yesterday and have been more or less cooking ever since. I did a huge stack of baking--whole-wheat bread, zucchini bread and muffins, banana bread, a batch of waffles for freezing--and yesterday we made what I would modestly consider to be one of our best pizzas ever: our classic homemade tomato/homemade pesto mix for sauce, one of Matt's crusts, and spinach, tomatoes, and cheese. YUM.

Then tonight we tried a pair of recipes from The Mexican Cookbook (too bad Amazon doesn't have an image because it is AMAZING), which was a very thoughtful and appropriate wedding gift from the lovely Holly. Here they are, without further ado (but with my comments, additions, and deletions in parentheses):

Vegetable Tostadas
Ingredients:
4 soft corn tortillas
3-4 T virgin olive oil
2 potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded/diced
1 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3-4 ripe tomatoes diced (now, we found 1-1/2 to be almost too much, so you be the judge)
3 oz green beans, blanched and cut to bite size lengths (we actually substituted a cup of frozen corn)
2-1/3 cups black beans (we used 1 can)
8 oz feta cheese (we didn't have any so we used mozzarella)
3-4 romaine lettuce leaves
3-4 scallions, thinly sliced (we didn't have any of these either so just omitted them)

1. Pan-fry tortillas in a small amount of oil in a nonstick pan until crisp. Set aside.
2. Het remaining oil in the skillet. Add the potatoes and carrot and cook for 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic, bell pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cumin. Cook for 2-3 min or until bell peppers are soft.
3. Add tomatoes, green beans (or corn), and oregano. Cook for 8-10 min or until vegetables are tender. Add a little water if needed to keep it moist.
4. Warm black beans in a pan with a little water and reheat tostadas (if necessary) under the broiler.
5. Spread the beans
on the tostadas, then sprinkle with cheese and top with the vegetables. Sprinkle with lettuce and scallions and serve.

And we, of course, added sour cream as a garnish.

Part II was a recipe I think even a brother could love: Potatoes with Chipotle Cream, which is below:

2 lb 12 oz baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (we used red potatoes, skins on)
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock (I would recommend leaving this out)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Few shakes of bottled chipotle salsa (we used a chipotle paste that Matt makes which we happened to have on hand in the fridge)
8 oz goat cheese, sliced (we didn't have this, used mozzarella)
6 oz mozzarella or cheddar (we used cheddar and didn't measure it, just a handful)
1 3/4 oz Parmesan or Romano, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put potatoes in a pot with water, sugar, and salt; bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 min or until they are half-cooked.
2. Combine the sour cream with the stock garlic, and the chipotle salsa in a bowl.
3. Arrange half the potatoes in a casserole dish. Pour half the sour cream sauce over it and cover with the goat cheese (or whatever you're using). Top with remaining potatoes and sauce.
4. Sprinkle with grated mozzarella or cheddar, then with Parmesan.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and the cheese is golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

This was incredible and we would definitely make it again! The pairing was also something we were very happy with (something vegetable-based and kind of light in the first case, nicely balanced with cheesy creamy potatoes), and the ease and flexibility of the first dish have inspired us to want to try something similar with cooking simple batches of vegetables and spices with an Indian flavor, Chinese, Thai, etc... How exciting!

It's a good thing we find that sort of thing exciting, because we've decided to kick off this year as the Year of No Television. We don't have room for our old one, fixed or not, and we just can't see dropping the money on a new one. When we think about ourselves and our priorities and goals, an expensive television just doesn't fit in there right now. We also think it will be a great impetus to get out and see and do all that there is in DC, instead of resorting to flopping down on the couch. If we really want to see a movie, we can always go see a movie, but otherwise there are so many places to go and things to do here--so many of them free, luckily!--and we've decided that for our first year, we want to soak up as many of those experiences as we can. This seems like a good nudge in the right direction.

As far as goals and priorities we do deem worth spending our money on, we're strongly considering attending the Farm Aid concert in New York on September 9th. We were originally thinking about catching the Counting Crows (with Live and Collective Soul!) in Baltimore in August, but were dismayed when ticket prices doubled before we could decide whether or not to go. The Farm Aid show, besides being cheaper while raising money for local farmers and doubling as a giant organic foodfest/excuse to go to New York City for a day, also includes John Mellencamp, the Allman Brothers, Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young, among others, and seems like it could be right up our alley. Now we'll just have to see if we can find a way to afford it.

To wrap it up, in a nod to the SNL-inspired title of this post, I thought I'd link you below to a video that Matt and I have been enjoying all day. It's resulted in frequent (and often irrelevant) outbursts of the phrase "NO! I will leave you IN!"

Frustration? Cure-SALSA!

Well yall, Katie and I are rolling with the punches associated with living in an area that is very different from living in the Midwest but we are dealing as well as we can. Most of the frustration is caused by stupid people-it just seems like the stupid people out here are more widespread and speak a different language of stupid than they do where we are from. But, that is what you get for striking out and doing something daring. Anyway, here is a salsa recipe that Katie and I enjoy. Now, if you want a good ole' mild, cooked salsa that is something like Pace makes-GO BUY PACE! This is much more traditional. You get a good, spicy flavor and can taste both the independent ingredients as well as the conglomerate. So here are the ingredients:

28 oz fresh tomatoes (or a can of tomatoes)
4 cloves garlic (usually like a little extra but Katie reminds me of balance)
2 jalapeño chilies (I will get to these in a bit)
1/2 a larger onion
1/2 a normal sized bunch of cilantro (be sure to wash it-this stuff can be sandy)
1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar (white also works)
1T lime juice
1t salt
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t ground cinnamon

So, all you do is put the stuff in a blender in this order:
garlic
chilies
onions-chop up small before putting in blender
spices
vinegar
lime juice
cilantro
tomatoes

Blend the stuff until it all spins for a few seconds, then let it sit. Make sure there are no chunks of stuff like cilantro, onions and garlic (those little bastards have a way of not blending). I have never tried a food processor but I would use it with caution because it may chop all the ingredients too small. Now, about the chilies. Sometimes you get jalapeños that are very spicy, and sometimes they are so weak that you can eat the salsa like gazpacho. So, be flexible about them. As a rule of thumb, remove the seeds and white veins from the center of one of them. That is if you cant take the heat. I prefer leaving all the seeds in and upping my heat tolerance but as many of you know, I am into self punishment. Also, if you have rubber gloves, wear them when you deal with the chilies. The spicy oil from them will remain on your hands for hours afterwards. If you don't wear gloves, you won't want to stick your fingers in your eyes or touch your junk (or anyone else's junk for that matter) for many hours after you handle the chilies. You or someone close to you will regret it!

Let me know what you think-leave comments please!

Here is a crappy picture of me without my apron on making the salsa:












One last thing-I caught the cats together in a special moment. Apparently Scratches tucked in Patches for a nap and gave her a kiss goodnight. One part of my rarely seen softer side is my newfound enjoyment of cat photography.









Thanks all for the time.

Two Roads Diverged...

As the weekend approaches, we find ourselves at series of forks in the road. The first comes, for me, in the form of whether to continue with my original plan to work hourly as a nurse while I'm in law school. This originally seemed like a great way to earn a decent supplement to Matt's income, while maintaining my connections with nursing and keeping up my license. However, as I have completed the second of three days of orientation on my new floor and found it to be nothing but pure, headache-inducing CHAOS, I'm second-guessing that decision and wondering whether it isn't undermining the entire reason we're out here if the stress and requirements of this job are going to detract from law school. I won't get into the specifics of the job except to say that by my second day there, I was already having to explain things to several agency nurses who hadn't even worked there as long as I had--some of whom hadn't ever done this type of nursing before. Talk about the blind leading the blind in a very scary way.

The patient load is incredible, especially given new initiatives such as mandating that we sit down next to each patient's bed at least once per shift. How can I sit down 12 times in an 8-hour shift in which I don't even get to go to the bathroom or eat dinner? In addition, I didn't do a ton of research regarding their union status before I started because I wouldn't be eligible to join it anyway, but when I did, I discovered that their administration actually has a policy against unionization. So that air of helplessness and hopelessness I thought I sensed on the unit? Right on target.

There's a part of me that wants to hang on for two reasons: the first being financial, and the hope of incurring as little school debt as is humanly possible so that the next phase of our lives can be that much smoother than the last; and the second, the urge (weakened, but still alive) to dig in and make a difference in an organization where it seems like the patients are often left wanting. BUT, if I wanted to throw myself and my humanity wholeheartedly into nursing, I think we should have stayed in Iowa, where it would have pretty lucrative and probably actually feasible to do so. Instead, the decision was made that I could ultimately better impact people's lives as a lawyer, and so the other part of me feels like I would be pennywise and pound-foolish if I didn't enter law school with a total focus I've never actually been able to have before, split as I've been between a thousand different things at a time. I feel like I might be wasting something if I didn't go into it with the intention of seeking out and soaking up every last opportunity I can possibly find there, rather than trying to squeak out early or show up late or skip what I can, like I have in the past, just so that I can get to work.

Matt is at a somewhat similar impasse right now, as another professional opportunity has come to his attention and he's having to try to articulate exactly what it is he wants for himself and his career, almost before he starts. Not an easy thing. We did visit his elementary schools today and got to see his name up, in the front of the school, under "Music." Between the kids he might serve and the patients I'm running into, I think we're both seeing a side of this city--the side where there is so much NEED that you don't even know where to start--that has the potential to swallow us and our idealism whole. I get the feeling that whatever each of us decides to do, the fight against burnout will be our constant companion.

In even more frustrating news, we received a notice from our landlord today stating that the "routine, quarterly" extermination for roaches was to take place on Monday and we needed to remove everything from the kitchen and bathroom (including the cats) and put it all in the bedroom, leave for several hours, and then come back and wash and replace everything. Anybody who's ever been in this apartment (admittedly, they are few) recognizes the utter ludicrousness of this idea. When the bedroom is already packed from floor to 10-foot ceiling, you can't take what's packed into the kitchen (from floor to 10-foot ceiling) and miraculously make room for it in the bedroom. Additionally, as people who feel uncomfortable with the idea of certain vaccines and make our own rags out of old pieces of underwear, we feel really funny about the idea of coating our--and our cats'--living space with a layer of poison. Particularly when we've never so much as spotted a single bug. So we called the landlord (futilely, we assumed) and explained our concerns. Shockingly, we were given a reprieve for the spraying; but we barely had time to absorb this unexpected piece of luck when the blow was delivered that--Oh, you have cats? How many? Because they aren't allowed in that apartment.

Uh-huh.

Despite having asked multiple times on the phone and in person (due to bad experiences of this ilk having taken place before), and having an email stating "there would be no fee to have a cat" and the only provision in our lease stating that we cannot have a pet the landlord has not approved of--despite the fact that these are cats, who make no noise, who have no claws, and that there is no carpet here to raise a concern about dander or soil, so as my dad would say, "If it's not a problem, it's not a problem"(or at least it shouldn't be)--

despite all this, apparently, our apartment doesn't take cats.

So. They're supposed to get back to us on Monday to let us know, presumably, whether we'll need to take this show on the road.

And just to put the icing on the cake, Best Buy called and they "think" that they have fixed our TV. What a ringing statement of confidence that is, and what a comfort.

Hair she is

Well, the picture without messy hair never happened, so here's a sloppy one anyway. At least you get it about the length.

And here's a picture of something new we tried: Carrot-Pesto Bake. (Knowing us, we probably would have made it if it had been called Dog Turd-Pesto Bake.) We got it out of The Produce Bible, which we're generally enjoying. Overall, we would probably give it maybe a 3-1/2 out of 5. It's not one of the more wildly spiced dishes we eat, but I think with a little more pesto (it only calls for a measly TWO TABLESPOONS, whereas I think it could use more like an entire pesto layer) I would definitely make it again. It uses almost two pounds of carrots and also a fair amount of eggs and milk, which makes it a good option when we're needing to clean out the fridge before things expire.

News you can actually use...

...AKA what we had for dinner tonight. This is one of our favorites and an adaptation of a recipe we got from Gourmet magazine. We thought it was a little bland and so have revised it to the following--changing/adding spices as well as the coconut milk, and omitting some of the more confusing and (we have found) unnecessary steps:

Amended Curried Red-Lentil Stew with Vegetables
or we just call it "making Indian"

6 tablespoons vegetable oil (or just use a spray like Pam)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2+ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ginger paste (available in the Asian section of most grocery stores)
5 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped; or 2-1/2 tsp minced garlic
5 1/3 cups water
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala (an Indian spice blend; not necessary, but something we really like)
1 cup red lentils (available in bulk at a lot of grocery stores; otherwise, dried in bags)
3 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups chopped trimmed spinach leaves (3 ounces)--frozen does not work very well, FYI
1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2-1 cup coconut milk to taste (we use the whole can if we're using the light version, 1/2 a can if we go with the full-fat deal)

For rice:
2 cups basmati rice
1 tsp lime juice
Salt
1/2 tsp curry powder

Directions

Saute onion in oil until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Puree ginger, garlic, and 1/3 cup water in a blender. Add purée to golden onion and cook about 5 minutes. Add curry powder, turmeric, and cumin and cook over low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in lentils and remaining 5 cups water and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

[In a separate pot, combine basmati rice with 4 cups water. Add lime juice, a shake of salt, curry powder, and a splash of olive oil. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.]

Add carrots and remaining salt to spice/onion mixture and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until carrots are tender; 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in spinach and peas and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season stew with salt and pepper. Add coconut milk and stir until well mixed. Serve stew over rice.

YUM. Matt also makes whole-wheat flat bread to go along with it, which is excellent and is basically unleavened whole-wheat bread (a little like tortillas) with rosemary, garlic, and olive oil.

UPDATE: And I probably would be remiss if I didn't mentioned what we had last night: baked potato pizza, a most excellent use of the locally-grown potatoes we bought at the Eastern market, and absolutely superb on top of Matt's homemade sauce and whole-wheat crust, along with some chopped onions and topped with sour cream.

Below: when the going gets tough, the tough make bunches of cookies. (Thanks, Laura!) I was out of oatmeal this time and so I substituted an extra cup of whole-wheat flour. Matt says they turned out great :) Say whatever else you want about us, but we do know how to eat.

Happy 1-week anniversary to us!

As of yesterday, we celebrated the 1-week anniversary of our (okay, Matt's) hellish drive through the rain-soaked countryside of Iowa/ Illinois/ Indiana/ Ohio/ Pennsylvania/ Virginia/ Maryland to arrive here at 3:00 last Saturday morning. As with the tw0-month marker after our wedding, which came on Thursday, we can't believe it's only been that long. Maybe everybody ends up feeling that way, but for us, the net effect of leaving everything we knew and starting over completely fresh was that it somewhat reset our memories and sort of makes us feel like we've always been here. Matt has continued to make improvements to the apartment, the cats are settling in, and we're slowly learning our way around.

Our goal, for practical, financial, and environmental reasons, is to rely as much on public transit as possible. Our truest motivation comes in the form of the endless traffic jams and wrong turns we wind up in when we do step out in the Neon.

One of these was a trip to Best Buy on Friday to take our TV in for servicing. We just bought it last year, our very first purchase together after we realized that a) this was starting to really feel like a long-term thing; and b) neither one of us brought one with us to the relationship. We ended up going with a solid, mid-range Toshiba that, at 24", seemed plenty big to us. Well, fast-forward a year to the time when we realize that it is way too damn big for us. Prompted to look around due to a service issue we had in Iowa which left us without the TV for almost 3 weeks and which came back unfixed, as well as by the freedom we've felt the past two days by not having it on the kitchen table (truly the only place it will even sort of fit here) while it's in the shop, we've felt forced to reconsider our options. One option we've been exercising is to try to persuade Best Buy into circumnavigating their "no lemon policy" (in which a replacement is offered after the TV is serviced a total of FOUR TIMES) and instead accepting that a problem which was not diagnosed and fixed the first time is unlikely to be diagnosed and fixed the second (or third, or fourth) time, and thus it would really be a much wiser move for them to stop shipping and fixing this TV on their dime (thanks to the service plan) and instead "allow" us the favor of dropping some more money on the difference between this TV's current replacement value and a comparable (admittedly smaller, but that's the point) flat-panel model. This was rejected at the store and through customer service, but we currently have an "escalation" pleading underway with the corporate office and the representative there seems to feel like our chances are actually okay. Barring that, or if we were unable to get a flat-panel TV for a slim margin above what our old one will cash in for (although it looks like we can; the issue is just whether they'll trade in the old one), I think we've decided we'll probably just go without. It wouldn't really be that big a step since we've never had cable or even basic network service together; literally the only function our TV has ever provided is for watching movies. We feel pretty confident here that we could find other entertainment options that would fill the reasonably minimal place in our lives that this occupies, and in reality it would probably be good for us. Without it, we've already made it to places like the Eastern Market and to hear the US Army Band on the steps of the Capitol (see right). We go out for crepes (see above)! We probably would have made it to those places even if we did have a working TV, but this would really force us to be creative, and there's something in us that likes the sound of that. So we'll keep you posted.

Other than that, here's what $22 worth of produce looks like at the Eastern Market, which is up and running at its temporary location; something we're very happy about, though sad that the old, historic one burned shortly before we came to town. What it will look like in the coming weeks: pesto (!), tomato sauce, salsa, zucchini bread, salads, and lots more. We were in heaven. Also in the works this week are cookies, banana bread, and pizza (Matt has already made the crusts and sauce). Our freezer has looked a little sad and bare since we moved, and we're out to fix that.

Other than that, I continue to dash my way through a quick orientation at the hospital. I've told people it's like wandering through a completely foreign landscape, and then every so often you spot somebody you think you know. The occasional familiarity, in this case, comes from the actual nursing/medical part of the job: diagnoses, treatments, interventions. And, of course, patients, which are remarkably similar from place to place (although I will admit I've never had anybody's husband in Iowa tell me that my "accent" reminds them of the movie Fargo! On closer questioning, he did backpedal a little and say "Well, or maybe like my brother-in-law, who comes from Cedar Rapids." I didn't realize there is a Cedar Rapidian dialect that's recognizable coast-to-coast, but evidently there is, and evidently I've got it). The rest of the "landscape" is made up of unfamiliar people, practices, systems, abbreviations (as I found myself trapped in the nursery with 10 screaming babies who each had a paper towel in their crib marked "OD," I concluded that this couldn't possibly be some kind of baby rehab unit, and so I asked...it stands for "on demand," and meant we needed to shuttle them out for feedings as they woke up), etc. In order to survive, you have to prioritize (what do my patients really need? versus shutting down and panicking about the things you don't know) although various inspecting and accrediting bodies, with their insistence on one-size-fits-all solutions which have in fact led organizations toward creating their own increasingly unique and idiosyncratic loopholes and workarounds, place as high a priority on things like how, specifically, you document that you gave a Tyenol, as they do on the fact that 10 of your 12 patients are in pain. This makes things harder, I think.

Finally, next weekend we're hoping to get to Philadelphia (about two hours away) to see somebody I've been in love with for a long time. King Tut's mummy is on the last stop of its US tour and we would LOVE to get there to see him. We'll let you know how that goes!

Oh, and I cut (or rather had cut) about six inches off my hair...not the radical Michelle Williams-esque transformation I'm still contemplating, but a first step. When I haven't just woken up after having it twisted wet into a bun all evening, maybe I'll post a picture. I'm sure the results will be underwhelming to most, but it does feel like a big change to me.

The Party's Over?

Yesterday was the first day when I felt like my honeymoon with DC was starting to wear off (yes, I know it's only been four days!). Nothing was really wrong, but it was starting to grate on me how much extra effort everything takes when you're new. We went to fill a prescription at CVS, after waiting for two days to hear back from my doctor in Iowa City because I don't have one here yet and because my insurance coverage was set to expire at midnight on the 31st, and after they finally called it in at 9:30pm our time, we raced to CVS before it closed only to find out that we were at the wrong one. Luckily, the right one was only a few blocks away (as opposed to the Pizza Hut incident), but it was frustrating and a culmination of how we can't really go anywhere here yet without pretty much making an afternoon or an evening of it. There's no "quick trip" out for anything...just various urban safaris which only sometimes end up yielding what we need. We were in a very comfortable routine (or rut, whatever you'd like to call it) in Iowa City; bulk peanut butter at the Co-op (the equivalent of which we have been unable to find here yet), freshly ground whole-wheat flour from HyVee, and the ability to run an errand at the drop of a hat; it's shaking us out of our complacency to have to refigure everything from what we eat to where we get it. We don't view that as a bad thing, but on a day when you've had to get a tetanus shot, you've got a blister from finally wearing something besides nursing shoes, and, OK, you kind of miss your mom and family and helping deliver babies too--it sometimes all adds up to feel, at least temporarily, like a bigger deal than it really is.

Today, however, was better. Just when I was really feeling the squeeze of not getting off work until 4:30, getting home hour or more after that (after riding a bus and then a train that's not always air-conditioned) , and feeling like I just had time for us to cook and eat dinner before I should be getting ready for bed about 9:30, I ended up getting off at NOON today because the afternoon session was on benefits, something which as an hourly nurse I don't qualify for. I had considered, as my brother would put it, "pretending somebody was paying me X dollars an hour to listen to something that doesn't apply to me," but the idea of actual FREE TIME with Matt proved to be too tempting and so I came home. We spent the hours gained exploring the library, which is of course extensive. After that we came home and made tamales, one of our very favorites which always makes us feel a little like we're honeymooning again, and then spent some time hanging pictures and other little odds and ends. Then it's off to bed early, because as my dad likes to say "it all starts up all over again at 6am."
And, as you can see, at least the grass is very green here.