Wordless Wednesday: He Shared

...but he has also been making me smoothies and homemade chicken noodle soup.

(This is my first time participating in Wordless Wednesday.)

Insomnia Sucks

...but otherwise it's been a wonderful few days.

On Thursday, Chuk did notice and appreciate all the hard work I did deep cleaning. We also booked a cruise to Alaska for May. I can't even describe how excited I am. It's a dream come true.

On Friday, we took advantage of Restaurant Week Alexandria and went out to dinner. Three courses for two for only $35! The food was delicious and the company was even better. ;-) Friday is our regular date night, but we made it extra special because we were celebrating Chuk submitting his application to grad school. I am so proud of him.

On Saturday, Chuk made me breakfast, I had one of the most amazing naps of my life, and then we went to see the movie True Grit. We had planned to go to the movie on Friday, but I was too tired after dinner. Plan B was better anyway because we got to stretch date "night" to two nights. Anyway, True Grit was quite good, and that's coming from someone who doesn't like Westerns or Cohen brothers movies. The story was interesting and had a feminist plot I wasn't expecting.

On Sunday, we spent a lot of time lazing about. I cut Chuk's hair, then we went to my favorite store, Costco, and the organic food market.

Last night I couldn't sleep a wink. (See title of this post.) None of my usual sleep remedies worked, but I've realized what my problem was. I had a diet coke yesterday afternoon. That's all it takes for me folks, one diet coke and I'm up all night. Sometimes I'm glad I'm sensitive to caffeine (because it works well when I need it to) but right now, I'm not very happy about it.

I'll just keep thinking about Alaska and get back to my happy place. Glaciers and whales and fjords, oh my!

Big Clean

Do you ever look around your home and realize, Man, this place is a mess? It kind of sneaks up on you, gradually getting messier and messier until you realize drastic measures need to be taken.

Chuk was sick last week; I've been fatigued lately (I think my body is trying to avoid his cold); we've been undertaking a lot of cooking experiments; I'm in the middle of a big home project; our power has been flickering, etc. It adds up and then suddenly you can't keep pace with the dishes and the folding and vacuuming haven't been done for longer than you'd care to admit.

Today it ends. I got up early, turned up the music, and I'm getting to work. This place is going to be spic and span by the time Chuk gets home. Won't he be surprised?

Date Night

*

Simple date night of French pastries (chocolate mousse for me and pistachio for Chuk) and Belgian hot chocolate served in cafe au lait bowls followed by Wii bowling at home. Just what the doctor ordered after a week of sickness and a flat tire. TGIF.

*Camera phone photos.

More Shelves

When we moved into our current apartment, I thought we'd only be here for a year. Next month it will be three years since we moved in and we have no plans of moving for at least the next year or two.

There was a lot I was willing to put up with in this apartment because it was just supposed to be temporary. Now that I'm finally acknowledging this is it indefinitely, I'm making some changes to make it more livable for me. I added shelves and changed up the look of my ceiling fan, but what got on my nerves the most was my thermostat and front door buzzer.

The issue was resolved by installing two narrow shelves and using pictures to conceal the eyesores. (I took this picture during the holidays and I'm too lazy to take another one, so that's why there's a tree statuette and a bell on the shelves. They're not still there.)

I'm not crazy about all the pictures we currently have displayed, but I was using what we already had framed around the apartment. Eventually, I'd like all the pictures to be original art of places we've been, but we'll have to do some more traveling to make that happen. In the meantime, this is so much better than it was, so I'm not complaining.

How to Clean a Dishwasher

I noticed my dishwasher wasn't doing a very good job getting my dishes clean anymore. When I'd empty it, there'd still be particles of food on the plates and flatware. It was starting to get scary because I have never lived without a dishwasher. Fortunately, getting it back in tip top shape was very easy.

When the dishwasher was empty, I simply poured one cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the machine and loaded a measuring cup with another cup of white vinegar in the top rack. (It's hard to see in the picture, but basically just fill a cup with vinegar and put it in the dishwasher right side up.) I ran the dishwasher like this and now my dishes are coming out all sparkly again.

Then and Now

This week three years ago, I was a single girl traveling alone through the Moroccan desert.

And today I was in Shenandoah National Park with my husband looking at the snow melt.

Life changes pretty quickly.