The Christmas who says Ni
Posted by Gypsy on Dec 28, 2009
Christmas tends to be the same thing for me every year: dealing with airport security, making sure my bags aren’t overweight, waiting out ridiculous delays, happy hellos and tearful goodbyes, and lots of alcohol to make me a little more relaxed for take off. Sure, there is time spent with family, too, but often that gets overwhelmed by the stress of holiday travel. So it was with that in mind that I decided this year I was having Christmas in my own home. If family wanted to spend it with us, they would have to do the traveling for once. And because they are so awesome, my family was up for the challenge.
To kick off the visit right, before my parents and sister arrived we picked up a tree so it would be ready for decorating on the first day. It was then we realized we were sadly lacking in an angel or star for the top of the tree. So we improvised and used something that was a little more our style: a Knight Who Says Ni.
Of course, to match his herring, we decorated the rest of the tree in blue and silver. This part was done once my family arrived and was conducting as usual: with everyone helping at first and by the end only my mom working on it. Personally, I love the look of a tree but hate the actually work of it. Someone needs to start a service that does all that for people who are lazy like me. Until then, I just need to keep my mom around for the holidays.
Most of the trip was spent doing what most people do around the holidays: eating and last-minute Christmas shopping. And really, why not? Everyone was on vacation and needed to relax. Since they were here for a full week, though, there were a few things we made sure we did. Most importantly was the required trip to In N Out. I would’ve taken photos to commemorate my parents first trip to the SoCal jewel, but honestly I was too busy digging into my own double double with just cheese and spread to pay attention to anyone else.
We also took a trip downtown to explore the USS Midway. The Midway is a decommissioned Navy aircraft carrier that has since been turned into a museum. As I had already visited the Midway once before, it wasn’t new for me, but I did get to see a few things I missed out on the first time around, including the ship’s brig and the bridge, where the navigator makes the decisions. I have to say the view from up there is positively amazing and it must be ridiculous impressive to sit up there when the ship is out to sea and all you can see for miles is ocean.
However, no trip to California in winter is complete without a visit to the beach. Since it’s December, it’s still a little too chilly for swimming, but it’s not too bad for a walk. The beach we ended up at was just south of Oceanside as we had gone up there to grab a bite at a Chinese place I love. Luckily for us, it was a perfectly sunny day, which kept it from feeling too chilly and offered some great photo opportunities.
However, the real fun was hosting my very first Christmas. I really dropped the ball on taking photos of this, but picture, if you will, a perfectly roasted tenderloin, creamy mashed potatoes and amazing buttermilk biscuits. Add in some gravy, veggies and apple pie and it was probably one of the best meals I’ve ever cooked. At least somewhere in the top 10.
Alas, all vacations must come to an end. The day after Christmas, after a week here, my parents and sister had to fly back to freezing cold New York. It was really awesome to have them come visit and I had a really great Christmas with them here.
Now it’s time for a nap. I’m still recovering from all that laziness.
Capricorn… and some housekeeping
Posted by Gypsy on Dec 15, 2009
As we are about to enter Capricorn, I figured now was a great time to post my progress on that particular cross stitch project. I’ve been working on it for about 6 weeks now, though I only have 4 weeks’ worth of photos at the moment. More will be coming soon as I attempt to completely organize my life in the 4 days between now and when my parents arrive for the holidays.
As you can see, she’s going to be beautiful when she’s finished. However, that will be a long time from now as this is where I’m at:
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In other news, I’m hard at work on some new blog stuff that will be starting shortly after the new year. I rarely make resolutions, but I do intend to actually start blogging more and not let school get in the way of that. I didn’t realize how much harder a graduate degree is (especially with online classes) but now that I’m a semester into it, I’m better prepared for the next one.
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On Black Friday I became the owner of a fancy new Nikon D3000. I haven’t uploaded a single thing from it, however I have taken a ton of photos. As has Andy. This means more Christina Cooks! posts will happen because I finally have a camera that takes great photos for it. I’ll be cooking tons over the holidays, so expect lots from there in the new year.
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There was some big news I left out of the last update because we had to tell some people, but now that it’s out there I can share on here: Andy got order to Japan. Unfortunately, it’s a one-year unaccompanied tour, which means that I can’t come with. We tried to find a way to make it longer so I could join him, but it’s just not possible unfortunately. Last many of you had heard, he was going to become a recruiter, but that is now on hold. So he’ll be heading that way sometime in March.
I’m still unsure of my plans for that year. The USMC will move me almost anywhere I want to go (I say almost because they won’t move me to Japan). The big decider would be a job offer, but though I have applied at a few places I haven’t heard anything definite yet. So if you know of something in your area, let me know. I’m open to just about anything at this point. If I don’t find something, there is the likelihood that I’ll just stay here. I do know a few people (though not many), and I can still visit people from here. I just don’t really feel like ANOTHER move all the way across the country unless there is some sort of employment waiting for me.
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That’s really all I got. I’ll leave you with this wonderful photo I just found of Andrew from when he visited this summer:
And what’s new with you?
Posted by Gypsy on Nov 10, 2009
I realize I’ve been the worst blogger every lately. I’d say there is a reason for that, but the reality is I’m not doing very well with that whole time management thing and school is kicking my ass. I’m not fully immersed in my MBA program and have been doing everything I can to keep myself on track to graduate with at least a 3.5. I’m only a few classes in, but if I stay on this route I’ll actually end up with a 4.0. This is why school takes up all of my time.
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I’ve been working on a ton of new recipes for Christina Cooks! but unfortunately it’s going to be a little bit longer before I have new posts up. It’s not a matter of having the time to cook or write, it’s more an issue with the photos. As you might remember, both our nice cameras have died untimely deaths, mine from being dropped at Sea World and Andy’s from a sneaky storm in Charleston. The only camera we have left is just awful. On the plus side, this gives us a great excuse to move on to a new Nikon SLR. We are still deciding between the D3000 and the D5000, but whichever way we decide we are waiting for Black Friday sales adds so we can try and get a good deal. If I could win the lottery, it would be all about the D3, but at $5000 it’s a little out of our price range. It’s not possible for me to explain how excited I am to start using a real camera again. The hardest thing about leaving the Army was leaving my D2h.
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So as you might have guessed, I ended up not running the half marathon on August. Summer found me sleeping in a lot more than running. I have tons of excuses: I get more migraines in the summer, I went on vacation, I had people visiting, etc., but the reality is that I just got lazy. That has changed and now I’m back to logging at least 20 miles a week. I don’t have any plans for a race in the foreseeable future, but really at this point I’m just focusing on fitness. Apparently even though I eat relatively well I have high cholesterol. I don’t want to be on long-term maintenance meds at 27, so it’s past time to fix things early.
In that vein, I’ve also been nicotine-free since Labor Day. Giving up my Marlboro’s sucked at first, but at this point I rarely miss it. Don’t worry, I’m not going to become one of those annoying former smokers, because honestly I’d have kept smoking forever if I could. However, I do have to admit that it’s nice being able to breathe easier and I really feel the difference when I’m running in the mornings. I’ve already cut almost a minute off my average easy run pace and I’m constantly improving.
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I’m kicking around some ideas for a new blog series that I’ll likely start after the new year. I’d rather not get into any details as it’s still up in the air because I’m not sure if it’ll produce a lot of material. I’m mainly only saying something about it now to force me into doing it.
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I’d like to wish the United States Marine Corps a very happy 234th birthday. My gift to you is that I will be refraining from making fun of you for the whole day. To kick the day off right, I sent my favorite Marine to work today with five pans of homemade cinnamon rolls for the guys in his shop. I figure it probably took 15 minutes tops before they were all gone.
Sugar Magnolia finished!
Posted by Gypsy on Oct 19, 2009
I just finished Sugar Magnolia (PAB), my second cross stitch piece based off the artwork of Jasmine Becket-Griffith. The chart was purchased from Heaven and Earth Designs, though this chart was gifted to me. She only took me 15 weeks, which is a lot less time than my last piece took. I’m hoping to take her to the framers this weekend, though knowing me it won’t happen for at least a few more months. Here she is right after I took her off the frame.
My next project is another chart based off a JBG design called Capricorn. I’ve already started working on her, though the first few weekly updates will just be a sea of dark blue as I work on the sky. As usual, all photos will be available on my flickr site, in the cross-stitch collection.
