Cooking For One

My last post touched on the fact that Chris left for the oyster aquaculture program. What I haven't yet mentioned is just how hard it is for me to be away from him so much of the time. I assume most couples have this hard of a time when spending this much time apart. But, I guess I thought I'd be able to handle it better than I have. Of course I knew I'd miss Chris. But man, it's been so hard. Even before we lived together, we pretty much saw each other every single day.

And, well, he's just my best friend (and fiance... woot woot!), and I tell him everything. And it's hard to have mostly phone contact with the person you love to embrace on a daily basis. AND, I'm a crazy-emotional female who cries when she is feeling... well, pretty much anything. So, needless to say, I've been crying buckets these days.

But, Chris is enjoying the new job and doing well at it. He's got a river view from his abode, and his days seem to incorporate a split of manual labor and lab work. And I'm just proud. He's growing oysters, which are not only one of the best-tasting foods ever, but which also filter 20-30 gallons of water per day (EACH oyster does that!). He's helping to keep the Chesapeake Bay clean!

Anyways, now I'm going to switch gears from sappy to silly.

One of the things that's been hard to adjust to with Chris gone is cooking. That is, cooking for only one person. Part of the problem is that everything at the store seems packaged for a family of four. Even the produce is that way! If I want some avocado with dinner, I have to cut one open. I can't eat a whole one, but if I don't, the rest goes bad. If I buy the variety of veggies and fruits that I want to keep in the house, I either have to go to the grocery store every day and buy small amounts of things, or I have to buy them all at once and gorge myself ont them to keep them from going bad. A can of anything is too much for one. A box of anything is too much for one. Anyways, I have tupperwares FULL of food in the fridge right now!

Chris and I really enjoy making meals together, so when I'm cooking for myself, I'm always thinking of him.

So, I'll leave you with these lines from Joni Mithcell:

"And when he's gone, me and them lonesome blues collide

The bed's too big, the frying pan's too wide..."

Me Time

Whelp, I realize it's been awhile folks, and I'm sorry for that. It's been one of those weeks filled with extreme ups and extreme downs, and well, frankly, I'm exhausted.

Chris is out with the guys, so I have a rare moment to myself in the house.

You know what this calls for!

Girly Drink

Girly Movie

Girly Cookie(?)

OH YEAH BABY!

*Sigh (of relaxation)*.

And Coltrane's here too, helping clean up the clutter on the floor.

Ain't he cute?

I hope you all are having as relaxing an evening as I am!

Day 9 of Living Alone

Chris came back last night a little after midnight (he cut his vacation a little short because of Irene... he didn't want to be driving down 95 or out on Lon Gisland when she came through). So, yesterday was my last day alone! I went to work, had a good day there, then went to the grocery store to pick up some last minute hurricane supplies. People were going a bit nuts. I just got water, ice (in case the power goes out for more than a couple hours; we don't want to throw away any food), and batteries. Then, I got some Thai food, came home, ate dinner, chased the bunny around trying to get him to take his medicine (broke into a sweat doing that), watched Ally McBeal for a bit, then read my book for a while. I was very happy when Chris walked in the door.

It's certainly different living alone than having your roommate be gone for a while. When I lived in my own apartment, I still had Chris in and out on, well, most days. With him far away, it was just me in this big (well, not that big) house. When I lived alone, the apartment was the perfect size for Coltrane and I. Being alone in this house is much different. Anyways, I enjoyed my alone time immensely, but, I'm very happy to have my man back in one piece.

Today, Chris and I moved the boat into the backyard, moved our cars away from the very precarious trees in the front yard, and, to quote the news, "hunkered down." I kicked his ass at Rummy, we watched a movie, and now Chris is making quesadillas for us. I could get used to his hurricane thing, I think.

I hope everyone is safe and enjoying themselves!

Day 8 of Living Alone

Felt another aftershock last night at some point. It woke me up! This whole earthquake thing is pretty crazy. Throw in that crazy bitch Irene, and we got ourselves quite a weekend coming up.

- Got up, wrangled the bunny into his carrier. Drove the poor, little guy to the vet to have his eye checked out (AGAIN!). It's been weeks, and his eye is still dripping goop and tears. The vet flushed his tear duct (again) and took a culture from his eye (which is now on its way to a lab somewhere). I have now spent a grand total of $450 on my bunny's eye. Sweet.

- Got a latte, went to work, picked up the bun on lunch and dropped him off at home.

- Had a headache of an afternoon. Sometimes the grease biz is too much for me!

- Went to the grocery store. Got some supplies for when Irene comes.

- Did about half of a workout (I felt like my hamstrings were on the verge of cramping or pulling, so I stopped. Seemed like my body was trying to tell me something).

- So, to compensate for missing half of a workout, I cleaned. I cleaned the bunny's pen, I cleaned the kitchen, I cleaned our shower, and I did laundry.

- I then cooked dinner: Chicken breast and a giant salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, avocado, and goat cheese. And a beer. Yum.

- Talked to Chris on the phone. He may be coming home a day early because of Irene. Come on, Irene!

- Currently: chillaxin' because I feel like I deserve it.

Goodnight everyone! Have a wonderful Friday!

Day 7 of Living Alone

Ok, so this is a day late ( so shoot me!).

- Got up, showered, fed the bunny, went to work. You know, all my morning stuff that I cram into about half of the time that it should take to do all those things.

- Work. Not too much to report except that things were busy.

- Took my car to get it inspected. I was excited when I got to the auto place because there were so few cars there. But, it still took and hour-and-a-half. Good thing I brought my book, although, the TV in the waiting room was SO EFFIN' LOUD that I could barely hear myself think. And there was only one other person in there, but he was watching. So, I suffered silently. The guy came in to tell me that my car had passed just fine (it better have- it's only two years old!). He then told me that I should think about getting my alignment looked at sometime in the near future (he said my tires were just starting to wear unevenly). And I was like, "ok thanks, but not today" (aka, "You're full of shit."). I then started to follow him out of the room and he was like, "oh, I'm not ready for you yet, I have to go put everything together." And I'm sitting there thinking (well, trying to over the VERY LOUD SOUND OF NEWS ANCHORS BEING VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE) that he better have meant the paperwork and not my car. And then I started to have this sneaking suspicion that the guy messed with my alignment so that I'd HAVE to take my car in sometime soon and pay them many dollars to adjust it. Oy.

- Ate half of an energy bar on my way home, then worked out, showered, and made dinner. When I say "made," I mean scrambled some eggs, grabbed an apple, and toasted a piece of bread on which I put hummus and turkey.

- Plopped down on the couch to read through Lesson 3 of my Project Management Fundamentals online course.

- Talked to Chris (ok, I'm to the point where I'm fully admitting that I miss him) on the phone, watched a little Ally McBeal, and then went to bed and passed out.

- Woke up to an aftershock from the earthquake at some point in the night.

Day 6 of Living Alone

- Slept for as long as humanly possible (hit snooze like 5 times this morning) before getting up. Got dressed (in the light again!), fed the bunny, grabbed a Nanner (that's a banana), hit the road for work.

- Heard the Adele song "Someone Like You" on the radio and burst into tears because I miss Chris so much. I talked to him for awhile yesterday (our anniversary) and had gone through old pictures of us (see Day 5), and was feeling like, well, that I missed him!

- Got to work. Chris had written me a romantic email, which started my day off wonderfully. Then, I busted my ass all morning. I got to go to lunch with some work people, which was great.

- Then, a f***ing Earthquake rocked the East Coast; the epicenter was not an hour from where I live. The whole building started shaking (at first, the rumbling made me think something in the HVAC system was failing or that a train was passing nearby or something), but then it got stronger and my computer monitor started doing a bobble-head type thing. I just sort of sat there, and saw that co-workers were sprinting for the stairs. I was sort of frozen at first, but then I got up and followed them down to the sidewalk. And then it was over.

- Worked hard some more.

- I was going to go get my car inspected, but I was so worried about my little bunny Coltrane at home (alone during the earthquake) that I decided to go home instead. I found my little bun safe, not squished by a falling picture frame like I had worried about. Whew!

- I worked out, showered, and ate dinner (scrambled eggs, and apple, and hummus with pita chips).

- I was supposed to go to girls' night, but no one but me could go. So, I stayed home and watched Ally McBeal (yes, new obsession) and hung out with Coltrane.

- Wrote a little bit.

Goodnight!

Day 5 of Living Alone

Today is not only Day 5 of Living Alone, it is also mine and Chris's 6-Year Anniversary. It is six years since we started dating today. Six years ago, Chris asked me to be his girlfriend on a park bench in Colonial Williamsburg (awwwwwww...). We were teenagers when we started dating! So, I'm a little sad today since Chris is off having fun in Lon Gisland (although, he sent me a present that arrived today, so that helped).

And, without further ado, I'd like to use the rest of this post to celebrate six years with my man:





















Here's to 7!

Day 4 of Living Alone

Oh, Sunday. How I love to be lazy on Sundays.

- Got up at noon o'clock.

- Ate a banana.

- Went to the coffee shop, drank a big ole latte from a big, round cup. Completed Lesson 2 from my online class, and did some stuff for work.

- Came home, hung out with the bunny.

- Watched The King's Speech. What a great movie! I highly recommend it.

- Ate some dinner.

- Read Caribbean.

- Watched TV.

I've talked to Chris on the phone a few times, and it sounds like he's having a good time in Lon Gisland. I wish I was there too!

Day 3 of Living Alone

- Got up at 10:30 (slept for TEN un-interrupted hours last night!). Cleaned the very-messy kitchen, made myself a tomato, goat-cheese, and spinach omelet. Which I ate with a side of strawberries.

-Went out for a latte. Read my book for awhile while I drank my coffee. Currently reading: Caribbean by James Michener.

- Went to Old Navy, bought some jeans and a couple shirts. Went to the mall.

- This is of note:  I went to Victoria's Secret. Inspired by Heather Armstrong's recent post about getting a bra fitting at dooce.com, I got one done. The woman measured my bust in the middle of the store (a bit awkward), and after I informed her of my size, she corrected me. I was compeltely skeptical until I tried on a few bras in the size the sales associate told me I was. Annnnnnd, it's a miralce. I can't believe a bra can fit so well. Seriously. Every woman (and maybe some men) should get measured. Sooooo, I spent like $80 on bras after that, mainly because I've never been so comfortable with a bra on in my life. Good marketing on their part, I guess.

-Met my sister and her boyfriend for a beer. I ordered a Bud Light and was mericfully made fun of. T'was lovely.

- Went to the grocery store. Got supplies for girls' night (spaghetti sauce stuff, noodles, dark chocolate).

- Ate pasta, garlic bread, salad, drank cranberry wine, and watched Sex and the City. Then Pirate Radio (LOVE this movie).

- Something I realized today: I am between demographics. Today in the mall, I didn't feel like I could shop in any of the stores. I'm between the young, hip stores and the old lady stores. I can't shop in the Juniors section or the Misses section. None of it really appeals to me. Where's my in-between, mid-twenties, young-working-adult store? Also, my friend and I realized we're torn between finding young men and older men attractive (Pirate Radio features very attractive young men and older men). What's wrong with me? Being twenty-five sucks.

-Now, I'm watching re-runs of Ally McBeal and trying not to fall asleep. And, holy hell, it's late. Goodnight!

Day 2 of Living Alone

Day 2:

-Had all the covers on my side when I woke up. Got to turn the light on in the bedroom to get dressed (usually, Chris is still asleep when I get up so I get dressed in the dark. I have worn two different colored socks to work on more than one occasion as a result).

-Had a very busy day at work. Got soaked in the rain when I went to get lunch, so I spent the rest of the day freezing in the offie in my hoodie with the hood over my head. Talked to Chris on the phone around lunchtime. The afternoon flew because there was so much to get done, and I got out of the office a little late.

-Got off work, drove to get sushi. Salmon rolls= The Best Thing EVER.

-Ate sushi, strawberries, and fudgesicle(s) for dinner.

-Completed Lesson 1 for an online class that I just signed up for. It's called Project Management Fundamentals.

-Now: Watching Sex and the City and trying not to fall asleep before 10 PM (Oy, I'm tired).

Annnnnnnnd, though I am enjoying my time alone, I also really miss Chris. Why can't I have both at the same time?

Day 1 of Living Alone

Now, I lived alone for awhile before Chris and I moved into The Palace, and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I think people learn a lot about themselves when they live on their own. Like exactly how many bags of groceries you can hold while still managing to get your key into the door, or how long you can really go without taking a shower.

So, Chris left today staright from work, so I had to say goodbye to him this morning. My alone time began this evening.

Day 1 of Ryan the Girl's Time Alone in the House (Post Work):
-Went into Urban Outfitters to browse for a minute after work. I never do this, even though I pass it every single day. T'was nice. Did not buy anything.

- Stopped at Whole Foods to get salad-making supplies. I had leftover chicken in the fridge that needed eating (but Chris actually ate it), so I stopped to get greens, an avocado, a tomato, etc so that I could have a wonderful dinner. Then, I stopped and got some mozarella.Yum.

- Went to the pet store. Got hay. Yay.

- Went home, fed the bun.

- Went to Target and got the only season of Sex and the City I didn't have. Wahoo!

- Came home, made my salad, and ate the hell out of it (along with some pita chips and garlic hummus). Drank some red wine as well.

Dinner... mmmm, yummy.

- Played with Coltrane.

- Watched Sex and City.

- Drank more wine.

- RELAXED A LITTLE

- Went to bed.

Goodnight!