November Updates

Yesterday I got one of those updates from Facebook that shows me what I was posting two years ago:

A typical night in November 2013

Well, here's what things looked like as I scrolled across that Facebook update:

A typical night in November 2015

We don't seem to be making much progress here. Or, at the least, not much has changed in two years.

I feel like I have run out of things to write about on the blog because there isn't really anything new happening. The excitement of moving to a new state is gone - of experiencing each month of the year for the first time in a new place. During the first year of the blog, each day seemed to bring something new to explore or discover in Oxford or the surrounding area. Now we have settled into a daily and weekly routine - nothing is new, exciting, or unexpected. But I still feel the urge to write, so I'm going to have to dig deep to come up with some topics (suggestions are welcome).

I could write about my thoughts on current events (of which I have many), but there are other writers and other blogs that do that a lot better than I ever could. Plus, I really prefer to discuss those things face-to-face rather than via the internet. On Facebook and Twitter there is too much room for misinterpretation and too much time to fume about other people's comments before responding. And I really don't need hate comments on my blog. :)

I could write about more personal aspects of my life, but I also don't really want that on the internet for all to see. I think we're living in a time of over-sharing, and I'm not really into it. My close friends and family are the only people who need to hear about my personal life, and they are the ones who know me well enough to say the right things at the right times.

So, I think I'll just have to continue on with updates from southwest Ohio. This will (hopefully) provide some motivation for trying new things around here - you know, as fodder for the blog.

So here's what we've been up to lately:

Ted and I attended our first Miami University men's hockey game a couple weeks ago. This was my first hockey game ever, and it was SO MUCH fun! We had the "smell-o-vision" seats right next to the Miami bench, so we got the full experience - sights, sounds, and the scent of large sweaty young men.

I was a little worried about getting hit in the face with a wayward puck, as our seats were next to the one gap in the plexiglass walls, but I just ducked whenever the coaches on the bench ducked, and I made it out with my face intact. :)

The men's hockey team is one of Miami U's strongest sports teams, so they have a really nice facility and lots of entertainment throughout the game... like parachuting gift cards during a media break:

During one of the longer breaks between periods there was a performance by Miami University's women's synchronized skating team. Who knew that was a thing?! They don't get as much attention as men's hockey, but Miami's figure skating team is also one of the best in the nation.

 

We have tickets for another game at the end of January, which I am really looking forward to.

Next up, Ted and I recently attended a wedding in Columbus - that of my best friend from elementary school. This girl was like my sister from 1st grade until 3rd grade when her family moved to Texas. I think my mom even called her Daughter #2. I can remember playing with barbies, sharing my crayons at school, and getting into quite a bit of trouble with this girl. Her family is Hispanic, and they are probably the reason I was so interested in learning to speak Spanish as I grew up. 

Photo credit: Gregory Rodriguez, via Facebook download

I did not have my phone or camera on me for most of the wedding, as I really tried to just "experience the moment", but I took a few photos (and downloaded a couple from her Facebook page). It was a beautiful wedding in a Catholic cathedral in Columbus, with the reception at the Westin Hotel in Columbus - a really cool old hotel. 

Trying to do my hair on the drive over
(thanks, iPhone, for being my "mirror")

We try to look purty for special occasions.

Lifelong friend, right here

The Columbus Westin Hotel, site of the wedding reception
(Ted and I highly recommend this hotel)

What did people do at weddings before photo booths?

Aside from these events, we've mostly just been hanging out at home and working a lot. Well, Ted is working a lot. I've gone back to part-time employment, so I've been using my extra time to try to cook us healthy meals and keep the house clean. 

This fall, it's been all about soups so far. I've particularly enjoyed a curried carrot soup from the Conscious Cleanse book, a minestrone soup adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and most recently, a delicious red lentil dal from the Oh She Glows blog. I've even had the time to make my own vegetable stock. 

I know. Domesticity, man.

Homemade minestrone!

Red lentil dal, cilantro lime rice, samosas

While Ted and I aren't quite willing to commit to a vegan or even a vegetarian diet, we are trying to eat a lot more vegetables - at least one vegetable-based meal every day. We feel better, and I think we're starting to look a little better, too. 

So there you have it, a really random post about some of the things we've been doing lately. I'll try to do something else that's interesting this week so I have more to write about in a few days... Until then, feel free to make post suggestions!