updates

Just a few pertinent updates about my life and some questions about yours:

• Erin - how is the pregnancy going!?!  are you SURE you don't want to find out if it's a boy or a girl?  Any baby showers planned - i would love to help out even from a distance!!!
• Laura - how is caleb's health?  i saw on his twitter that he was going to the doctor.  just want an update.  and how is rhodesy doing?  any more talk of have another little one?  anything else really fun/interesting going on in your life - hope the garden is doing well!
• I started weight watchers and have already lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks!  I swear guys - i dont remember the last time i weighed as less as i do now - it was probably in college, but i dont remember it.  I couldnt believe it when i weighed in this morning.  im ECSTATIC and may actually finally meet my lifelong goal of feeling comfortable in a bikini by the time we have our beach trip in september!  that's my goal!!! 
• Chris's grandfather is not doing well - again.  Chris flew down to birmingham this morning - he is at UAB.  As you know, it's hard to tell how serious it is because of how dramatic everyone is in chris's family.  but prayers would be appreciated.
• Chris and I are seriously considering buying this condo.  It would work out to cheaper than what we are paying in rent and the view is incredible - top floor condo in the turet on the right side of the building, with a full view of the capitol dome from the windows. if you look at the first picture, it's the one right below the black steeple roof on the right.  it's a studio apt - meaning no bedroom.  NEVER thought i'd consider living in a studio but we're just never home!  we wouldnt even have a bed - we'd just get a super comfy memory foam mattress that would fold up in the sofa which has a queen bed in it.  in the picture with the washer/dryer (its a combo), we would build cabinets all around it and that would serve as chris's closet.  It's in such a great location and i love the kitchen and the view.  so yeah check it out and let me know thoughts!  we're in the pre-approval loan process now. 
  
  101 N Carolina Ave SE APT 408   Washington, DC 20003
  

We are looking for puppies!

We're going to visit this puppy on Wednesday...

http://m.petfinder.com/s/showPage.do?siteId=76333&pageId=7133399&formSubmit=true&animalReq=dog&locationReq=35212&breedReq=Bloodhound&ageReq=young&petSizeReq=L&petId=22749490&offsetString=0

So i didnt get the JHU job

Just got the phone call from the director of alumni relations.  She said they decided to go with an internal candidate, so if I was to lose out to someone, that's the way to go.  She was so complimentary though and said that everyone on the both the education and the central team was really impressed with me and how I carried myself. Central said that they were really interested in me and wanted to know if they could contact me as other positions come available, that they thought i'd be a great fit at JHU - wahoo! 

So a bit of a bummer but still good.  I have talked with Corley (current boss) and we have decided that as soon as we hire another person in the office, my responsibilities will shift from student/alumni relations to building regional clubs and class-related activities.  This will also give me a chance to branch into development, which will put me in a great place for director-level positions. 

thanks for your support throughout this roller coaster!

Elmo loves goldfish

Working on the house

It's been busy here at the Chancey's! Caleb was in town yesterday, and just left today for the week. Next week, though, he's taking Monday off and then we head to the beach with the Sizemores! Haven't quite figured out how I'll shop for a swimsuit with Rhodes?

Here are some things we did at the house yesterday...

The post I deleted..

The gist: I got a virus from my sister and kipper's been babysitting Rhodes

Squash soup

As you know, I didn't feel well last night- so we made soup. I thought I'd share the recipe (if I can remember what I did). Soups are so easy! Put a bunch of your favorite veggies in a pot of boiling water and/or broth and add spices.

I got two packages of cooked squash out of the freezer section of publix, thawed it in the microwave and it comes out as this squash purée. I just chopped half of an onion (I prefer an apple, but I didn't have one) and sautéed it with a bit of butter until it was soft. Added my squash, about two cups veggie broth, 1/8ish cup of cream (milk or 1/2&1/2 would work fine too), 3 tbsp honey, salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Let it cook for a bit and done!

If you feel like being really fancy, you can top it off with some "crème fraîche"- I just made it by mixing a bit of cream and Greek yogurt with a touch of lemon. I loved the lemon topping on it. It just brightened it up a bit. Caleb and I were feeling fancy last night. He's going to be gone until next Saturday (with the exception of a Sunday break), so it was sort of our date night. Although my nose was runny and my tummy was queasy, it was very nice!

Back to work

So we were in Baton Rouge from last Thursday to yesterday. It was wonderful. It's the first time I went to visit home and wasn't eager to get back. My family took care of Rhodes while I slept and drank and ate for free. It was awesome. With the exception of Caleb working all weekend, it was the perfect visit home!

So today was unpacking/cleaning day and I'm exhausted. After 8 loads of laundry, scrubbing floors, walls, stovetop, and bath- the last thing I want to do is make dinner. But I have to. So I decided to share one of the easiest recipes I have stored up in my noggin.

Ravioli salad (from Super Natural Every Day cookbook)

Make a pesto:
Purée 1/3 c walnuts, 1 cup cilantro leaves, 1/3 c Parmesan, 3 cloves garlic, 2-3 tbsp lemon juice, 2/3 c evoo

Chop 1/2 c pitted olives

Cook 2 packages frozen ravioli according to package directions. (I like spinach & ricotta, mushroom medley, or squash)

Mix it all together, add some thyme and/or pine nuts if you'd like. Serve cool or warm.

I have some left over pesto in the fridge, so I'll spend 8 minutes cooking ravioli, 2 minutes making a salad and done-zo.

If you don't have it, I would seriously consider investing in this cookbook by Heidi Swanson. It sometimes has obscure ingredients, but I just substitute them with other things. I probably use it at least 2-3 times a week. I may share some more recipes this week?

Love you guys!

P.S. Lauren- couldn't be more jealous that you're in New York! Hope you're having fun!

P.P.S. Erin- really hope we can see each other this week!

questions and update

question - do you know how to make it so when you guys comment I get an email about it?

updates:
1.  i truly am obsessed with desperate housewives.  soooo good and so funny how they mirror real life.  im  definitely bree.  erin would be susan and laura (in a couple years) will be lynette.  

2.  no word from johns hopkins.  2nd interview went really well (though the lady showed up 25 min late).  they're actually being eerily quiet.
3.  staying on the housboat went actually really well.  i could do it - IF it was the right boat.  chris has his HUGE comprehensive exams this weekend and we will revisit the idea when he has those behind him.  PRAY FOR CHRIS THIS WEEKEND!
4.  DanceTrance DC starts tonight!  im so pumped/nervous!  I am leading the class this Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday by myself - nothing like jumping in head first.  PRAY FOR ME THIS WEEK!

5.  Memorial day weekend we're escaping to the mountains and staying in a precious cabin.  i can't wait to get away, lay out, and hike!  we are going to learn to play chess - thats a priority for the trip, and we are also going to go explore some caves which i couldnt be more excited about. why yes, that's a hot tub in the picture!

carole's reaction

unfortunately, i think the pitch of her scream at the end freaked my computer out and cut the video off.  oops.  anyway, she's pretty excited if you can't tell.  imagine that split second of a scream going on for, oh, about 8 min.

oh and if you can't tell, her present was a picture frame that said "i love grandma" with one of our sonograms in it.

Free is the best price.

So I found a free piano on Saturday across the street from Elaine's house. It's a beeeeeauuutiful piano. So I claimed it, we found movers, the movers failed us, we found other movers... But now it's here! And because the first movers were moronic, we got them to pay for moving all together! Ohhhhh free. A completely free piano. Joy is radiating out of our house!

It just occurred to me that we have to pay for tuning. Oh well, as of right now, it's free...

Just call me jack sparrow

so you both know how chris gets crazy ideas.  well he's come up with a HUMDINGER for now.  he wants us to buy a houseboat and LIVE ON IT.  FULLTIME. DOCKED IN THE DC HARBOR.


he admits that its crazy but he justifies it by saying that it will reduce our expenses by $1000 a month (which i dont fully believe because there has got to be alot of maintenance with living on a boat).  when you do the math it is actually cheaper overall - even with the storage unit we are going to have to rent to house all our furniture - but im still scared to death of the maintenance costs involved. 

so yeah - im struggling right now with shooting down his dreams and also recognizing that if we actually do this we'll have incredible stories to tell for the rest of our lives.  the whole point behind this dc move was that this is the time in our lives to do it - so as chris says - why dont we just live on a houseboat?!

next weekend we'll be testing it out for a weekend trip to Baltimore.  We are going to be staying on a houseboat and talking to all the marina people who live there about the pros and cons of housboat living or "liveaboard."    here's the link to the boat we'll be staying on.  http://www.sleepafloat.com/vacation-rental-home.asp?PageDataID=49219

i seriously didnt know what i was getting into when i married this guy.  part of me loves it and part of me just wants to be normal!

if we love it and it sounds like it's not too much work - who know.  we might be living like johnny and keira here in a couple of months.