The difference a year makes

I have not posted an update in almost a year, and that year has been quite tumultuous. So, very quick run down. I was pregnant and gave birth to my son this past spring. We moved from DC to State College, PA, sold our house, and I kept my full-time job, now working it remotely. We're currently in the process of buying a new home, and I can't wait for that to happen. It has been a period of unrest and change, and I am ready to settle back down again. I love our new area. I can pitch the hell out of State College as a Penn Stater. It is every alum's dream to come back and stay for good. I am living it. I get to do a job I love in a place I love with my even bigger family. I am ready to make this work.

So! If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have still been keeping busy with cooking and parenting. I am nearing the end of my maternity leave, hopefully around the same time we will be closing on our new home. Things will someday speed back up, but for right now, I am holding my son as he sleeps and considering how a year can change a person.

I am not sure what the direction of this blog will be now. It has always been about me and my ideas, so that will naturally stay the same - probably just less urban. State College is like a suburb with no city, unless you count the university. It really is more rural than anything, but it doesn't feel that way. There is a lack of rushing that is refreshing, especially as summer rolls along. The sky is blue and sunny today with a few clouds, it is warm without being oppressive yet, and I have the space to breathe. I battle internally with wanting to do more, but I am used to the feeling.

Some topics I may write about in future posts: tandem nursing and nursing aversion; my picky-eater Angel Pie, and the issues she's been having with her promotion to big sister; and how I took to the baby blues and changing hormones this time around. It will be helpful for me to hash these things out, and it may be helpful for you to read them. I am a different person lately, and who knows how much of that is due to lack of sleep. I want to live the best life I can, and writing may help me do that.

So for now, let's embrace summer and not try to rush it for cooler months, as I am wont to do. I want to live my life and enjoy my time, the right now time, and not keep looking for someday. What I am doing right now is not good enough - it is just plain good.

New Shoe Blues

     I made an error in judgment last Monday. I was on my way to work when I decided to get off of the train a stop early and pick up my watch band.

     My everyday Burberry watch's iconic plaid-leather band had been disintegrating, and after a few Google searches and phone calls, the solution was to visit my local Burberry store to see about obtaining a replacement. The store was a little out of my way, so it took me a while to find the time to be in the area and stop in. I am glad I finally did, though, because their customer service was excellent, they were able to obtain the band earlier than predicted, and they even tried to get it in before I left for my vacation. I ended up not being able to pick it up, unfortunately, because my Angel Pie became ill, and then we left for our trip, so I felt badly about not picking it up, so I tried to get it as soon as I got back into town.

     Back to yesterday. I was excitedly wearing a new pair of shoes,

and because they were flats and I thought ahead to put in heel liners, I didn't think twice about attempting the walk, even in the 90°+ heat. That was the wrong decision. Almost immediately, I developed blisters on both heels. Upon leaving Burberry, the blister on my left heel broke. I hobbled to the nearest CVS, going to the extreme of stomping down on the back of my does to stop the rubbing. At CVS, I grabbed lunch supplies and blister first aid--blister-specific bandages, knee-highs, footies, and Band-Aid Friction Block Stick. If only I would have thought to apply the last product in the first place, I wouldn't be in this situation. After my purchase, I hobbled to my office.

     The first set of blister bandages ended up being a bust when used with the footies. I think the footies would have been useful in the first place as well, but at this point, they just broke the seal of the bandage. The second set of bandages worked better because I left my shoes off for mostly the rest of the day, with the exceptions of restroom trips. I still had to make it home, though. I added the knee-highs and removed the heel guards, and hobbled to the train station. Thank goodness my walk is short.

     From my train stop, I had my husband bring my sandals. Big improvement in terms of pain. I was able to walk almost normally through a quick grocery store run. At home, though, the hem of my pants became an irritant, bumping the raw skin of my left heel pretty constantly. I thought I would fare best to leave the broken blister uncovered overnight. Huge mistake.

     I got about four and a half hours of sleep. There was no comfortable position for my heel. I couldn't get up much to find something to fix it because my Angel Pie nursed a lot. Add to my pain the fact that our poor elderly kitty caterwauled constantly all night. She's old and currently dealing with untreated anxiety issues, and since returning with us from our trip, she had been going nuts. We made a vet appointment for this weekend to address these issues, but until then, she's going to meow incessantly, which makes the quality of sleep terrible for everyone.

     For my work day today, I am faring pretty well with my sandals and my heel covered with antibiotic ointment, gauze, and a bandage. Our medical tape was not sticky at all. I may run to CVS again for more supplies, especially for overnight.

     What have I learned? Mostly, don't attempt a long walk in bare feet with new shoes. If I would have stuck to my normal routine, I probably would have been fine, even despite the heat. I seem to forget this and reteach myself this lesson about once a year. I hope this will be the last time!

Early Summer!

     I don't have very much to say today, I don't think. I would just like to acknowledge that we've made it to June, and in my worldview, that makes it officially summer. The blog decor has been updated appropriately and in a timely manner. It's also officially strawberry season, although I have not made it to my favorite local farmer's market yet (Heyser Farms) to pick up some of the local produce. What is the best way to eat fresh strawberries? Raw, plucked one by one and popped into one's mouth? Maybe. I really hate sugaring fresh local strawberries for shortcake, because I feel like the strawberries should be allowed to stand on their own in their perfect prime. A few years ago, I dipped them in full-fats ricotta, which was decedent and wonderful, but largely defeated the purpose of such a nutrient-dense food. Just seconds ago, I ordered this:


I have been wanting one for possibly literal years, but they seemed too frivolous to actually pick up at my local Wegmans. Today, with the hopes of enjoying freshly-hulled strawberries, I am throwing away my worries of frivolity. I will grab bowls and hull strawberries in the living room with my Angel-Pie, and we will enjoy the early summer days.

     Please note that this post contains product links using Amazon Associates. Should enough people click the links and make purchases, I would get paid. Amazon Associates pays once your clicks equal $10; in my entire history with the program, I currently have about $3, so I have never been paid yet, lol. The biggest reason I use Amazon Associates is so that I don't have to use my own personal server space for image hosting when I refer to products, and to ensure proper and unbroken links for archiving purposes.

Wait a minute, it's still August, right?

     I think I've made it pretty clear that I love the fall holidays just as much as the next guy. Probably more than the next guy, even, but fall has a feeling that I mostly attribute to the cooler weather. My friends, the temperature in DC is still in the 90s, so it is driving some very conflicting emotions within me to walk into one of my favorite stores, World Market, and see this:



World Market's Fall Theme, "Harvest Market."

and this:


A display of fall-themed leaves and owls.

and this:


Fall wreathes and tins of various candy barks.

and especially this!:


Bags of already-roasted pumpkin seeds.
Why do you tease me so, stores? Do you think I want it to be summer still, hot and sticky? Do you think that I do not long to turn my oven back on, to start making soups and stews again, to start baking spicy things to warm my apartment? I can't even buy a pumpkin for making jack-o-lanturns yet, let alone roast the pumpkin's byproducts into tasty treats. Seriously, I still have a watermelon on my kitchen table at home.

     Yankee Candle and Bath and Body Works have also already begun to taunt me by releasing products aimed at the Halloween season. Yankee Candle has fully released the new pieces in their usual "Boney Bunch" collection. Although I'm not particular to those pieces, I do really like their "Haunted House" collection.


The "Yankee Manor" Haunted Mansion Multi Tea Light Holder and "Dreadful Drip" 12-inch Taper Candles
Although I don't own either of them, I really like both of these products. The "Dreadful Drip" 12-inch candles are a Yankee Candle classic. When you start to burn them, the wax below is red, and as the candle burns, the red wax drips, giving the candle a bleeding effect. It's really cool and kind of creepy. I like the Haunted Mansion tea light holder, because it looks like it could cast some really great shadows.

     Bath and Body Works's too-early contribution to the Halloween celebration is a little smaller.


A Halloween assortment of Pocketbac Deep Cleansing Hand Gels
Scents from left to right: Zombie Squad (White, Marshmallow); Bat Bite (Green, Green Apple);
Vampire Blood (Red, Plum); Spider's Web (Black, Licorice); and Candy Corn (Orange, Caramel)
I'm going to pick up one or more of these this weekend. Probably Candy Corn. BUT! I'm going to save it until at least mid-September, and probably longer. Autumn does not begin until September 23rd this year, and in DC, it is going to be warm up to and probably past that date. As much as I'd like to pull out my sweaters, I probably couldn't bear it. Until the weather cools, unfortunately, my excitement over autumn must cool as well.

Holiday Ro o o o o o o o o oad!

     I just got back from a really great family vacation in the Outer Banks, NC. I'd never been there before, but after a week there, I know I'd go back. It's more laid back than other beaches I've visited, but it's got some great little gems that are really worth the attention. It was a great week. Five straight days off of work, read a good book, got some sunburn, but at least my skin saw the sun! Working in an office leaves me paler than pale usually, so I'm really happy I got some color. I know about the health concerns, but like I said, I see sun so rarely, I think my skin will be able to repair the 51 other weeks out of the year that I hide indoors.



     My top five picks for fun at OBX:

1. Duck Donuts: If you haven't had these, I'd almost urge you to drop everything and drive to OBX for them. Best. donut. ever.
   
2. SunScents: My husband and I actually had the chance to talk to the owner of the store and creator of the candles. He was a great guy. He recommended Burt's Bees Carrot Body Lotion for my sunburn, and said that all of the locals prefer it to Burt's Bees After Sun lotion. Also, he said that he tries to make sure that the products in his store are made in the U. S., which my husband and I respect. The candles smelled really good, too. I got one for my mom--don't tell her!
   
3. ALL Beach shops in general. I love beach shops, ankle bracelets, and shell jewelry.
   
4. Billy's Seafood. This place is brilliant. You're at the beach all day and tired, you'd like to eat dinner at your beach house, but you don't feel like cooking. Anything. Take a trip to Billy's Seafood in Collington, order yourself some already-steamed crab legs for under $10 a pound, take it home and feast. If you like blue crabs, call a few days ahead. Their steamed shrimp was also excellent, and you can't beat their price or quality on steamed crab legs at any restaurant.
   
5. Scarborough Faire Shopping Village: I'm a window shopper, and this place was lovely. Off the roads, there's wooden walkways and a ton of shops.
   

     If you'd like to view a couple of pictures that I snapped, I placed an album here.