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Home > Archive: November, 2018

Archive for November, 2018

Checking In

November 27th, 2018 at 02:08 pm

I had to go back and look at my last few posts to see what I had and hadn't shared. Things have been a flurry of activity over here. While we are still waiting on official orders, it looks like DH will be deploying for a year. While it's unfortunate timing and our first long-term separation, I'm at peace with it after some adjusting. I have a really good support system in place here with my family and DH's as well as a few close friends, so I think it will be manageable. This puts all of our financial plans sort of up in the air until we figure out what is happening. He was slated to leave early December, but hasn't actually gotten orders. He has been officially transferred to the unit though.

I had drafted a list of things to get done before he goes, but we're waiting on official word to kick those off. I guess we should probably start since it's not looking like he'll get the 3 week notice he was hoping for. It also puts him in limbo at his regular job as he'd like to take these last few weeks off to get everything in order, but doesn't want to schedule his 'last' day until we have official word. I'm hoping they come in this week.

Using up food

November 6th, 2018 at 12:27 pm

I've been feeling much better these past few weeks. While I still don't have abundant amounts of energy, I do have enough to work out a bit most days. I still feel meh towards food and don't like cooking, but I've been forcing myself to focus on using up the stuff in our freezer. Yesterday, I had DH make the last of the frozen potstickers and about half of the remaining bag of spinach/mozzarella ravioli. I brought a bit of the ravioli with me for lunch today. Our fridge is mostly empty and we're running low on lunch snacks, so I'll likely have to make a Costco trip soon, but we're using things up for dinner.

I know I have the following in the freezer - 8 pk. tilapia fillets (x2), 1 pk. mild sausage, 4 frozen chicken breasts, 4 frozen pizzas, 1 pk. frozen shrimp, and a handful of Hot Pockets, Bagel Bites, and Pizza Rolls (left over from survival mode). We also have several packs of frozen veggies, 2 containers of stuffed bell pepper soup, and a questionable turkey from sales last year.

In the pantry, we have tons of pasta, mac and cheese, rice, and chili staples.

For upcoming meals, I've planned things such as shredded bbq chicken (both sandwiches and tacos), mac and cheese and sausage with veggies, rice with fish and spinach, and shrimp fried rice. My goal is to empty our freezer over the next few weeks, so I can make a winter batch of once-a-month-meals. I suspect that I won't want to cook much in the next few months, so I'd like to make a month or so's worth of meals in the next couple of months. And then 1 or 2 more batch cooking sessions towards the end with my mom/husband's help. This should help us get through without spending too much on eating out. The issue is that I simply don't feel like cooking and DH has no idea what to cook without direction (which I also don't feel like giving). The last few times that I've done the batch cooking worked out well because I wrote the cookbook page number on the frozen meal, so he just referenced that. Since they were mostly prepared and required little effort other than baking or reheating, he was a lot more comfortable taking the lead.

One of those weeks

November 2nd, 2018 at 11:58 am

It's been one of those weeks that feels like it'll never end. Wednesday felt like Friday since it was Halloween. Then, Thursday felt like Friday since it seemed like it had been forever this week. And now today finally is Friday.

This month is DH's 3 paycheck month. While I'm hoping to make some progress on our goals, I'm also hoping to be able to put some more aside for shopping. I know it's silly to suddenly cram every house project ever in to the few months remaining until my (hopeful) due date, but that's what we're trying to do. This month is getting the fireplace working. For some reason, I'm obsessed with the idea of wasting my winter nights away reading in front of the fireplace.

The next few months will be a flurry of organizing, decluttering, and fixing up the nursery. We have almost all of the big things, but I want to redo that room a bit. We've picked out paint colors and wall decor (we're framing puzzles and my mom is drawing some original artwork). Since DH's dad is a contractor and so excited, we're hoping he'll be willing to get his hands dirty and help. We'd like to switch the carpet to laminate that looks like hardwood, add a ceiling fan and overhead lighting, and (probably) add crown moulding. We also want to insulate more between the garage and bedroom since the two rooms over the garage are horrible with temperature.

My two wish list items for Black Friday include family tablets (would like 3, but may just go with 2 since I probably won't use it nearly as much as I'm thinking: one each for DH and I, and one that will stay with the recliner in the nursery) and a Nest thermostat with sensor. I'd like to put the sensor in the nursery, so we'll be able to handle temperature in there a bit better.

I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend and really hoping the projects and holidays will make the next few months go by quickly.