On Siblings

I so love my brother. He'll be home on break from the glories of college in New Zealand a couple weeks from now, which I can only assume means he's going through finals, etc. at the moment. And clearly studying hard. I'm so proud. :)

On Wifely Practicality

Whew! In case you were wondering, it's still hot. Yep. Quite. About ten paces outside the door I instantly lose all incentive to do anything. Seriously. It's an effort merely to get my measly chore list complete every day. :\

You see, in a very little while I'm going to be crazy busy filling out name-change forms, social security documents, military spouse paperwork, school paperwork, financial aid changes, etc. We'll be setting up a joint bank account, planning our budget together, moving into the new apartment, and decorating merrily. However. None of the above can actually happen until

(a) the new apartment is ready, and/or

(b) the already-requested certified copies of our marriage license arrive.

I need proof that I really and truly AM legally married to Ansil before I can do practically anything. So here I sit, twiddling my thumbs, complaining of the heat, and earnestly willing the postman to pedal his little truck from Virginia to here faster. It's been a week today since I sent off for those forms... but who's counting? ;)

So. Meanwhile, I attend to my wifely duties. Shall I share with you? :)

I continue to write thank you notes whenever I have a spare moment. They're coming along nicely, but I'm determined to keep each one personal and beautifully written so the whole process is more than a little time consuming. I think I'm about halfway now.

What else?

Laundry! As much as I adore the fact that I am free of the 'joys' of dry cleaning on a daily basis (Go Army), I really must point out something that had not previously occurred to me. Sure, the Army simplifies Ansil's wardrobe. In theory, he uses less closet space and never has to worry whether his outfit is properly color coordinated. (Camo on camo? That's a win!) In reality the man literally goes through 3 sets of clothes a day. Trust me, you've never seen so much laundry in your life!

He has one set for PT (which come home after 2 hours utterly soaked and tremendously odorous), one set of undergarments for ACUs (and even though a set of ACUs can generally last multiple days, the undershirt, etc. canNOT - have I mentioned how hot Oklahoma gets?), and then whatever ordinary clothes he changes into once he gets home (which once again thanks to the joys of this climate are in earnest need of a washing even after just a few hours).

Now I realize the previous method for dealing with this overabundance of laundry (according to my very dear Ansil himself) was actually, I kid you not, to wash exactly one set of socks and then maybe a couple of each outfit every weekend and just reuse a ton. That is so incredibly gross I cannot even begin to describe... Eeeeeeew. Yucky sweaty nasty absolutely not hug-worthy. And gee whiz I'd really enjoy being able to hug my brand new husband once in a while!

So I present to you my system: Absolutely no laundry on weekends (I demand my days of rest) and then one or two loads multiple times during the week. That way nothing gets too overwhelming and I have something to keep track of during the day (it gets seriously boring and lonely on my own).

...And just the fact that I care to write that much about laundry goes to show how desperately in need of a life I really am. Come on, Mr. Postman!!!

Ahem. Shall I show you today's project?

You guessed it - more laundry! :) The blanket on our bed is one of those lovely Korean mink blankets, but it has clearly been much used and as a result stank to high heaven. Yuck! So I called both mothers for guidance and was advised alternately to dry clean it or to track down an industrial sized washing machine. Well, the first option is really pricey and the second kinda unfeasible in this sad town, so I struck a compromise. I'm hand washing the thing.

It kinda looks like a large wet dog in the photo, but I promise you it came out very nicely. Almost very nearly dry right now and it smells delightful. :)

Oh my. My life is thrilling, no?

On Joyous Wedded Weekends

Holy goodness gracious it's HOT! Okay, so maybe not so much by local standards (it's only about 99 degrees after all), but for a poor young thing like me who just spent the past 9 months in Montana, Land of Exquisite Coldness... Yes, I'm quite roasted.

And, just for the record, being freezing cold is less than awesome and all, but at least if you manage to avoid frostbite you're pretty much good. Thing is, I'm a redhead (read: freakishly pale). I literally managed to acquire a sunburn simply walking out to check the mail yesterday. True story. Do I have photographic evidence? Not so much (I found the camera, but my patience for the thing is limited). Still, believe me, it hurtses. :(

Ahem. Enough of the Joys of Oklahoma.

So Friday evening I started out to attempt the aforementioned Most Delicious Banana Bread Ever since these lovely beauties have been hanging out on the countertop about 3 days too many.

Oh yes. Check that out. Epic photography skills. And by "epic" I mean... Yeah, I'm gonna blame it on the camera. :P

So I was just getting all set up.

(Yes, that is the extent of our counter space here. *tear*)

Ansil wandered in, so I asked if he wanted to help make dinner...

Silly darling of a man said yes...

...and got sweetly adorned for his troubles. (I thought he looked delightfully Greek. :)

He stirred things...

and tasted things...

and a brilliant dinner was born.

(I sorta slacked off on the photo-taking, but Ansil made the banana bread all by himself and I whipped up a very creative chicken pasta dish complete with Guilty Kitchen's incredible Avocado and Cilantro Dressing, recommended by my dear new sister-in-law Hannah.)

In other news, I've been keeping busy. Did seven loads of laundry (yes, seven), spent two full days cleaning Ansil's room (that was... an experience), thoroughly bleached the bathroom, and surreptitiously tossed a dozen pairs of holey socks.

(Mmm that was a very satisfying moment - and for the record I did replace them.)

Truly, though, I am in absolute heaven here. I've decided that marriage suits me. And Ansil... definitely the very best husband a girl could ask for. Wow. What a dear, sweet man. :)

I love you, sweetheart. Good luck studying!

On Welcoming and Newness and Happy Suchlike

Hi there and welcome. Come on in, set yourself down, put up your feet, and rest awhile as I figure things out here in the land of blogging...

• Step one: Set up blog --- check!

• Step two: Acquire an Interesting Life --- Well, it's a bit of a stretch, but I'm gonna say check. As of tomorrow I shall have been married exactly a week. I'm a student/librarian/math major/craft enthusiast/neat freak/Army wife who just relocated to a strange town in the absolute middle of nowhere. If sheer insanity qualifies as Interesting, I think I just might fit the bill. ;)

• Step three: Acquire photographs of said Interesting Life in an effort to minimize actual writing requirements --- uh... Hang on a tic. I'm not even sure where my camera is right now. I'll get back to you on that one.

• Step four: Blog about said Interesting Life on a lovely consistent basis --- Yeah, um, math major? Ahem. I shall try. We'll see. :)

And now... I return to reality and the glorious wedded bliss that is rediscovering the floor of my husband's closet. A little laundry, a little grocery shopping, and perhaps turning those yucky brown bananas into the heaven that is Southern Living's Cream Cheese Banana Bread? Why yes, I do believe that sounds like a plan! :)