Really Nothing Special

Updates

2009-04-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

I know its been a while - forgive me. I've been getting used to what being married is really like (seeing your husband every day? Who does that??), as well as planning our "celebration of marriage", not to mention raising a puppy and working. Its been very busy but at the same time fantastic and wonderful to be getting to the mundane things in life that we missed out on during the first 18 months of marriage. I thought you'd like to see how our family is growing - check out these "portraits" we had done with a local photographer (whose work I highly recommend if you are in the DC area!).

I'll try to be better about updating the blog, but for now know that life is wonderfully normal.

Is It Too Late to Amend My Christmas List?

2008-12-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the holidays, Chris Cooley (and brother Tanner) come through on their promise to have women's cut authentic Chris Cooley jersey's in his online store. He even went one better and is autographing them. Available in home white or away burgundy. I know. Awesomeness. While I do not read any other NFL player's blogs (and therefore have little to compare it to beside the NFL United Way commercials on every Sunday), I continue to be inspired and impressed by Chris Cooley's dedication to give back to the community. If you have the chance to look back over his blog from the past couple weeks, you'll see him talk about participating in the Redskins food drive for Thanksgiving (which the whole team helped at, I believe) as well as the day for breast cancer survivors he put together at Redskins Park. They are all cute blog posts. So even though the Skins season may not have turned out the way we had all hoped - I think Cooley's blog helps to remind us that there are (sometimes) more important things than winning football games.

Long Time No See

2008-12-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

I know its been over a month since I posted - we've been busy. After my last post, we had a housewarming party, I turned 29, we traveled to Berkeley to see old friends, we traveled to Manassas to eat lots of turkey, we watched the Redskins lose more games than anyone thought they could, we taught the dog to shake and roll over, well, the list goes on. We're getting ready to travel to CT for Christmas - with the puppy (who is five months old now!) and preparing for multiple Christmas events. I'm not complaining, it has been a crazy busy two months, but my husband is home and we are spending all our holidays together - a first! Also a first, he will spend a holiday with my family, which is a great thrill to the Doyle side. I am more than anything looking forward to starting the new year - a full year with my husband and puppy and kitty, a full year where we are not counting down to something or dreading a date arriving or fearing that a date will never arrive. We're just living our lives and having a fantastic time - even when the puppy wakes up at 4:30am.

Happy Veterans' Day!

2008-11-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

A few days late, but this slideshow is worth taking a look at - its a nice collage of who Veterans are, without being too overly cheesy.

Our Growing Family

2008-11-02T08:04:00.001-08:00

Here is the newest addition to our family - Calhoun Krzyzewski Exnicios. We call him Calhoun, or Cal. He is a sweet, sweet puppy who is about 4 months old. He is a Beagle, with what we think might be some Jack Russell, but we're not sure. He is from the Northern Virginian beagle rescue, BREW (Beagle Rescue, Education and Welfare). Big sister Bailey is still adjusting, but is being a good girl and we are all getting used to being one big(ger) family.

We hope you have the chance to meet Calhoun soon!

I would like to be excited about this

2008-10-31T19:58:00.001-07:00

But it just makes me think we have farther to fall this season. Stay tuned for more Calhoun related news in the next day or so . . .

This is What I Do At Work

2008-10-30T07:07:00.001-07:00

Ok, kinda. I am an ethics attorney and I do train a lot of people on ethics. When I showed this clip to my office, we discussed including more song and dance in our upcoming annual training, but I think we may just show this clip instead.

This is What My Friend Megan Does At Work

2008-10-30T07:05:00.001-07:00

No really. Not to reveal the man behind the curtain, but she's Blair and sometimes she's British. And she made really awesome Gossip Girl finger puppets. Check them out. You know you love them. . . . XOXO

More Homecoming Photos

2008-10-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

Here are two photos that April just sent me -- the left is us anxiously awaiting our husbands' arrival and the right is me with my husband, probably about 15 minutes after he got off the plane. Thanks for the photos April!

He is Home!!

2008-10-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

I am not ready to put into words what this past weekend was like. Even just recalling the welcome home ceremony now brings tears to my eyes and chokes me up. It was definitely one of the most emotional days of my life and one that has been a long time coming. Hopefully, with some time, I can try to find words to even just write about the ceremony, let alone what my feelings were at that time. For now, here are some photos - early ones, from my iPhone. I hope to have some better ones from a real camera within the next few days. My husband is home and safe. He is still demobing in NC but hopefully will be in VA within a week or so. We certainly can't wait.

A big 451 family shout out to the McFarland family - April and Mr and Mrs. McFarland - Jeff's wife and parent s. We combined intel and made it through the weekend together - even if we were signless. Thanks for waiting with me and it was so great to finally meet April - our husband's have been together since June but this is the first time we met and it brought a nice symmetry to the experience. (If only she had brought Montgomery. . . )

Photo #1 - the crowd waiting for the 18th Airborne Corps unit that came back on my husband's plane. The 451 contingent hid in a corner - we were not as mighty and didn't have any signs. (We did have flags thanks to Mrs. McFarland.)

Photo #2 - They are in formation during the ceremony - here they are saluting the National Anthem. (Yes they come in, stand in formation and you have to stand and wait and you can't get to your husband.) I know the photo isn't the greatest, but my husband is the one without a beret one. He claims he forgot it, but I think its his last act of protest against IRR :)

Changes Around the Blog Page

2008-10-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

You may notice that the world clocks are gone from the bottom of the page. That's because my husband is not in Afghanistan anymore!! As of this morning he was in Kuwait - going through customs and getting ready to get on a plane that will eventually bring him back to US soil!!! No offense Afghanistan - I know everyone loves you after reading the Kite Runner and I know Obama is all about sending more people there - but I hope to not give you another passing thought.

Waiting, and not so patiently

2008-10-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

I am home today, resting and trying to relax before my husband comes home this weekend. The stress and anxiety of his homecoming has made me feel under the weather this week, so I decided to stay home and rest to ensure that I felt 100% when he returns. Staying home is also allowing some shuffling of things around the house - in a move that can best be described as nesting. I know it seems like there should be nothing but joy surrounding his homecoming and it is a very joyous event, but the getting ready and the waiting is really hard. I feel like there is an endless list of things that must get done before he gets home. I think B-cat is pretty excited to see me take off tomorrow to head to NC just so I stop driving her nutsy. I went through these same feelings when he came home on leave and was sick for the week before he came home - probably for the same reasons - and I know they will all disappear when I see him get off that plane. Unfortunately until then I will still be searching for the perfect place in the apartment for Bailey's squishy box.

Breaking Up, It Turns Out, Not Always That Hard to Do

2008-10-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

As the new tv season started this year, I was mindful that the Tivo was not going to be just mine. My husband will be home and we would have to agree on what to record when to assure that both people were satisfied. Mondays, are tough, but I have survived the new schedule, though I've missed a good amount of DWTS. When the season was about two weeks old, I realized there were some shows that were on my Tivo, but I just didn't seem to have the time or inclination to watch. And so I started the process of breaking up with some television shows. The first to go was Grey's Anatomy. I've talked alot about how the show really annoys me but I felt the need to watch it, forced by some pop culture peer pressure. The first week I hadn't watched the season premiere but saw a clip on The Soup - when Sandra Oh was stabbed by an icicle. And the lightblub went off and I realized I needed to erase the episode from my tivo, cancel the season pass and have a clean break. So I don't want to know how Gray's is doing - I'd like a clean break and let us both go on with our lives.

I've felt a loyalty to ER since I have watched almost every season since the beginning, and this is the last season. But in watching the first couple minutes of the season premiere and realizing they were killing off another character, I realized I didn't have it in me to watch this season I am sure I will tune in for the series finale to have some closure - but I think that's like going to an ex's wedding - no remaining feelings, just a good way to acknowledge that everyone is going their own ways and we are all ok with it.

I continue to try to weed out some of the deadweight of my tv schedule. I still tivo Private Practice but haven't watched it any episodes yet, I am sure that will be next to go. I cut out Ugly Betty - I enjoyed the first season but think that last season was just more of the same. I guess this is all part of a natural transition as my life is changing - no longer an Army wife at home waiting for a phone call, but now a wife with a husband and a kitty and soon to be a puppy - and I know I have a lot more things to fill my evenings and weekends than the latest shenanigans that Betty or Meredith gets herself into.

Adorableness in Puppy Form

2008-10-10T13:51:00.001-07:00

I can't promise B-cat will be this excited when my husband returns next week. But I think she'll be pretty close.

Things I Can't Wait to Do When My Husband Gets Home

2008-10-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

The list is really infinite. Everyday I see silly little things that go on in everyday regular life and think, wow, I can't wait until we can be that normal couple with normal worries and normal conversations and normal bedtimes and all those things that go to be normal. My Husband likes to say, well, what's normal. I'll give you a hint - being long distance for almost four years, having been married for almost 18 mos and never living together, never having spent more than fifteen days together - all those things are not normal. It is who we are and even better, who we have been, and I am really excited to move past it. To not feel that my relationship needs to be explained or have an asterisk after it. We'll just be another twenty-something couple living in Alexandria with a dog and a cat and two jobs we enjoy and we'll do all that silly stuff that couples who live in the greater DC metro region do on the weekends and it will be fabulous.

So all of this is to really say, everything is becoming too real to keep listing what I want to do. I'd say I'm like a kid on Christmas - but that kid on Christmas can't sleep the night before Christmas. I have been on the edge, just waiting for this to happen, for weeks now. I have one week left and it feels like I have miles of quick sand to walk through before I can reach the end. Listing all the awesome things I can't wait to do makes me more jittery, more anxious - so my lack of posts on the many things I can't wait for does not mean that I am not excited for my husband's return. Its just that I'm so excited, I can't even put fingers to keys to begin to express it.

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Comes Home #17

2008-10-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

#17 - Celebrate his birthday. October 7 (which it already is in Afghanistan) is my beautiful husband's birthday. I am so sad that he will not be home for it and that there is nothing I can do to make it a very happy birthday - especially since it is his last birthday in his twenties!! I have big plans for trying to make up for missing his birthday when he gets home THIS MONTH and I hope that lessens the blow of having to spend it in Afghanistan. I hope they have cake, baby and I can't wait to have that Bloomin' Onion you so love to celebrate. Happy birthday, we all miss you so much here and are thinking of you today!

(B the W, this is a picture of us celebrating A's birthday last year, at a Redskins' victory over Detroit. I think the Skins starting 4-1 is their present to him.)

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Gets Home #16

2008-10-03T09:15:00.001-07:00

16 - Get dressed. Yeah, it sounds funny but I spent about 5 minutes dancing around my bedroom this morning trying to button the top button my skirt. No, its not that it didn't fit - its that the button is in the back and I had to be a contortionist to get to it. I've run into this more and more the past few weeks, even returning a dress that I realized I could never wear without someone to zip me up. I look forward to having every button buttoned before I leave the house each morning once my husband is home to assist with such things.

Our Blissfully Short National Nightmare Is Over

2008-10-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Thankfully Kim was voted off DWTS. She stated she hoped she had made her father proud. I am sure if the sex tape and the Playboy spread hadn't made him proud, her second round exit on DWTS definitely did.

Things I can't wait to do when my husband gets home #14 & 15

2008-09-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

#14 - Commute - This one may be a pipe dream, but a good number of the jobs my husband is applying to are in the same area as my job. That means we could commute in together, never have to sit next to a stranger on the bus and have obnoxious whispered conversations, then giggle while looking at people on the bus. (That's right annoying couple in front of my Tuesday night. Not only did you make the bus late, but you were annoying on the bus.) I promise we won't be annoying.

#15 - Have lunch. This goes along with the above one, if his job is in the same vicinity as mine we can meet for lunch or go for walks or just have a reason to escape the office for a little bit. I also think I will try to make my husband come into the District for lunch while he is on leave. No reason he can't meet me for a sandwich across the street. I worry left to his own devices my husband would develop a rather wide no pants radius, a la How I Met Your Mother.

Li-i-i-ve

2008-09-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

This post is only a week late, but since their were three episodes last week, it seems a lot later. I’ll be honest, there are a lot of contestants this time around, though two have already been eliminated. I think they should do more of a front push then once they get the dead weight gone, they can maybe have once every other week eliminations with the good stars. That’s just my thought.
Another side note, Monday is a tivo traffic jam. I actually have to watch DWTS in between MNF. It’s a toss up, though I don’t think I care much about this week’s MNF game and so I think I can give my full attention to DWTS. Once my husband is home though, I think the words "Don’t. . . care much about this week’s MNF game" will probably disappear from my vocabulary.
Here’s my quick run down of the cast - its quick not just because there are so many but because they all are really like F List stars. I am not even sure D list is the right term for them. Except for you Lance. You’re pretty A list.

Cody Linley - apparently he’s on Hannah Montana. I’m unamused. I am sure he will stick around much longer than I care for because of the teeny bopper vote. (How old do I sound?) I like Julianne so at least its not super annoying. Maybe Miley Cyrus will come on and sing that song. You know the one.

Rocco DiSpirito - I feel kinda bad for him because he’s sunk to this level. Some may say he sunk to that level during the second season of The Restaurant. Or when he starting hawking Bertolli frozen pasta meals on Top Chef. I’m just saying you don’t even see Rachael Ray doing this stuff, let alone Eric Ripert or some other real chef.

Toni Braxton - I really don’t have much to say. She dances well, seems nice, is the requisite handicapped individual for the season (heart condition). I don’t think she’ll have the fan base to go too far, despite being pretty good.

Maurice Green - too many athletes this season. I like Cheryl so I won’t mind this pair, but its just hard for me to get excited about someone who is in a little watched sport. And apparently paid a Mexican discus thrower $10000 for something sketchy. Hmmm.

Brooke Burke - again not really famous for anything exciting. Has a lot of kids. By a lot of husbands. Or one husband and then other men. I haven’t actually seen her dance yet, but I hear she is very good. Still, I’m bored.

Ted McGinley - sorry Ted, you’ve already been eliminated. He was ok. One of those guys who you have to IMDB to figure out where you know him from. Did appear as part of the Sorkin mafia on both SportsNite (Gordon) and West Wing (the tv talk show host, Mark). He was also the captain of the water polo team at Newport Harbor High School. Yeah, you can’t make that up.

Lance Bass - really, this is the best you could do DWTS? (no offense Lance) I love N’Sync, but still, it’s a little sad they couldn’t even pull in another 90210 star. I know Tori Spelling isn’t doing anything right now. Out of sheer lack of interest in the others, I will be cheering for Lance. That and I always admire the courage of someone like him to be honest about their lifestyle when they know it will just make things more difficult in their career. (Or maybe its easier when you are in a boy band.)

Cloris Leachman - she’s pretty nutsy. But she keeps it interesting, so that’s something. I will be interested to see how long the keep her around. I do think Corky is a pretty awesome partner for her, he seems like he can handle her nutsiness.

Jeffrey Ross - also already eliminated. Which honestly he had to see coming. Its been the role of all of these comedians to get eliminated pretty early - though I guess Corolla and Penn Gillette made it a little further than the first week.

Kim Kardashian - This is the only time I acknowledge her presence. She is 1) not a star, 2) not pretty, 3) not good at dancing and 4) really really really dumb. She was discussing back stage at one point that she is really shy and this was difficult for her. I would have guessed that, what with the reality show and sex tape. Maybe she should dance naked and it would help loosen her up a bit. I am also happy she is paired with Mark who I also can’t stand. An early exit will make me very happy. Ok, we never mention this pair again.

Susan Lucci - I love Susan Lucci, but this just makes her look so old and frail. At least Cloris Leachman has a schtick and she makes it work for her. But Susan is so tiny, and meek. Channel Erica Cane. Be Erica Cane. And really, eat a sandwich.

Misty May-Treanor - I think I OD’d on her over the Olympics. The Olympics were on while I was moving and not working yet so I could watch daytime coverage, which was often beach volleyball and it seemed like unlike other sports that started and stopped throughout the 16 days, that this just kept going and going. And they would always talk about Misty and how she was going to play and when she was playing and how she won last year. I got it. She plays beach volleyball. Awesome. So sorry, I am Misty May-Treanor’ed out.

Warren Sapp - a pleasant surprise I think he is actually not a bad dancer. The word on the street - and by street I mean Chris Cooley’s blog - is that he is not very nice. Not nice to Kym, not nice to the stage crew, etc. I would hate to think that is true, because he just seems like such a cuddly teddy bear with his family in the audience, but really, Chris Cooley has absolutely no reason to lie to us.

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Comes Home #12 and 13

2008-09-27T05:52:00.000-07:00

#12 - Go for Walks. We live in this awesome area for walking. We are next door to the National Cemetery. We can walk to Whole Foods. We can walk to the waterfront, we can walk to a ton of great restaurants including two of my favorites - Farrah Olivia and Restaurant Eve. We can walk for coffee, we can walk for pizza, thai, yarn, Afghan rugs, bridal gowns, Trader Joe's wine, the list goes on. We can also walk to the George Washington trail which takes us all the way to Mount Vernon. I really do try to walk, on sunny weekends, go for a stroll, take advantage of my location and get some of that Vitamin D from the sun. But it often ends in me dejectedly sulking back home, annoyed at the number of couples out for a similar stroll, with dogs or babies or just happily holding hands thinking how the many many ways they can spend their Saturdays together. I usually start muttering under my breath about people avoiding their civic duty or enjoying the freedom my husband won for them or something like that. Its hard. Its hard to see everyone around you doing the small silly things that you want to do, but can't. Things that you have never been able to do because of fate's sense of humor. So I am really excited to start being one of those couples without a care in the world, trying to decide if they want coffee now or later or who is going to wait outside the antique store with the dog.

#13 - Go on a Culinary Tour of the Greater Washington Area. As mentioned above, we live so close to so many awesome restaurants and only a short metro ride away from hundreds more. With the DC area becoming quite the foodie haven, I can't wait to start exploring more with my husband. We can't highly recommend Restaurant Eve enough - where we celebrated our first anniversary (two months after the fact) and hope that everyone gets the opportunity to check out their tasting room at least once in their lives. I want to take my husband to Farrah Olivia, which is a stone's throw from our place and also fabulous. There are new restaurants going up in this area everyday, including a new cupcake place! Its all so very exciting to think of simply having a Friday dinner out with my husband in the very near future.

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Comes Home #10 & 11

2008-09-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

They seem to come in pairs.

#10 - Eat delicious and elegant chicken salad - because who can think of anything better? Who wouldn't like delicious and elegant chicken salad? Communists probably.

#11 - Get a puppy - no surprise. We are so close to puppy ownership; I've been looking for day care, located a free puppy crate, preparing to buy baby gates. Its all so close. I am especially looking forward to my husband's leave time when he gets home so he can walk the puppy down to the bus stop to meet me everyday. Little puppy all excited to see her mommy, jumping around, wanting to give puppy kisses. Awesomeness in puppy form.

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Gets Home #8 & #9

2008-09-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

#8 - Cook dinner. I enjoy cooking a great deal but I lack the motivation to cook much for myself. Its also difficult to cook for yourself, knowing whatever you are making you will have to eat for the next 7 days. (I know you can freeze it, but when I moved, I brought with me two frozen things of chicken cacciatore and one of taco soup. That stuff adds up in the freezer.) My dinners usually entail some sort of Morningstar Veggie product (such as a veggie burger, veggie buffalo wings or veggie rice cake.) and then some steamed veggies. Honestly, I try to think about what I've eaten for dinner over the last year and I have no idea. Soups. Cheese and crackers. Eggs. All very sad made for one quick meals. Oh, and a lot of take out sushi. I know that some of these meals will come back when my husband is home - we won't have time or inclination to cook every night, but even if its just on Sundays and sometimes Thursdays, I am really excited to dusting off my cookbooks and starting making real meals again.

#9 - Share chores. Yes, I know people who live on their own do their own chores all the time. I've lived by myself for 7 years now, I know that. But I've been married for over a year now. I did my husband's taxes. Hell, I redid his 2006 taxes even. Doesn't taking on that added responsibility of marriage mean that someone else can clean the cat's box once in a while? Or vacuum? I have to say, my husband is really good at chores. He cleans the cat's box much more often than I see necessary, he doesn't let dirty dishes mount up in the sink because he is too lazy to put away the clean ones in the dishwasher, he puts away clean laundry less than a week after doing it. These are the good influences I need in my life. I don't expect him to do all of them, but I hope his enthusiasm for this type of stuff and willingness to do - and not put it off for another day - will make it easier and more likely that I too will complete daily chores. (Unless I can convince B-cat that since she makes the mess, she really should clean the litter box herself.)

Let Bartlett Be Bartlett

2008-09-21T11:56:00.001-07:00

I am completely against the school of thought that attacks Sarah Palin for being "less than elite" - that is attending a state school, liking to hunt, going to Church. I mean, I may not have much in common with her or her beliefs, but I also don't think using those sort of things as a litmus test is, well, elitist. It kinda disgusts me.

All that said - Maureen Dowd's reference to Letting Bartlett Be Bartlett made me happy. That's all the Obama campaign needs. . . Toby. (And maybe Josh. I mean Josh got Jimmy Smits elected and that is really the same as getting Obama elected, isn't it?)

Things I Can't Wait To Do When My Husband Comes Home #3, 4, 5, 6, 7

2008-09-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

I've been away in sunny Orlando for an exciting Government Ethics conference so I will be catching up on all of the exciting things I can't wait to do when my husband comes home in this one post.

#3 - Hang Pictures - there are at least 7 boxes of pictures that need to be hung up in our new apartment but I have decided to "hide" them behind the couch until my husband comes home for a couple of reasons. One, he has a better eye than I do for these things. Two, he would redo it anyway when he gets home. I look forward to helping him do complex math equations to figure out where the Colorado wildflowers should go.

#4 - Sharing Kitty Cuddles - I love B-cat a lot. That said, I probably love her a little less at 6am when she decides that she must have breakfast right now. I look forward to sharing 6am kisses and snuggles, and maybe even convincing her that someone other than Mommy can give her breakfast.

#5 - Grocery Shopping - I enjoy grocery shopping, but its more fun with two people, especially because my husband's penchant for shopping like he's still in college - we end up with a lot of cereals that involve small multi colored marshmallows.

#6 - No Longer Answer Questions - I know people want to know when Andrew will be home and are concerned for both of us and excited that he will be home soon - but I probably answer the same questions about 3 times a day. Yes, my husband is coming home soon, yes, it is still on schedule, no I don't know the exact date, yes I do talk to him most days, yes I am incredibly lucky. (That's always my favorite, discussing how "lucky" we are.)

#7 - Talking About Things As I Think Of Them - We get to talk about once a day and then by email - but I have a tendency to think of things during the day and think to myself, hmm I should talk to Andrew about that. And then he calls around 10pm that night and all that remains is the thought that there was something that I meant to talk to him about, but no memory of what that is - and he inevitably gets distracted by whatever is on Dr. Phil that night.