Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Sunday Currently XV


currently...

needing... to have days away from my laptop more often!  I left my charger at my parents' house when I was there yesterday and my battery died just before bed last night.  Of course, my phone can do most of the things I use my laptop for, but I tried not to treat it as a replacement today - I Instagrammed as much as usual but was pretty internet-free until I got the charger back this evening.  It felt really good!

reading... this month's Martha Stewart Living.  Jon and I won't be hosting our own Thanksgiving any time soon, but I love imagining the day we'll have both of our families around our table.

writing... a really big post on my definition of blogging success.  Honestly, for the past few weeks I've been really frustrated by the attitudes of a lot of bigger bloggers that I peripherally follow.  (I'm pretty confident that none of them are you, dear readers, because you've got your heads screwed on straight!)  But, as my mom always tells me, sometimes you have to figure out what you want to be by ruling out everything you don't want to be; once I started examining my feelings with that in the back of my mind, I stopped feeling so angry and uncomfortable about blogging.  Those bloggers define success one way and it works for them, but that's not my way and it doesn't have to be.  It's not a question of better or worse - it's just a question of doing what's right for me and, as I've become more confident in that, I've started caring less about what they're doing and how and why.  It's actually very liberating!

listening... to a CD I was sent after donating to WETA last October called Fright Night: Music That Goes Bump In the Night.  It's got all the best Halloween-type classical music like Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,  Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Ride of the Valkyries, and In The Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg.  Charlie gets really worked up when I conduct from the couch!

smelling... the apple compote from the spiced apple scones I'm going to blog about tomorrow!  I'm not a fan of food-scented candles or plug-ins or whatever, but I'd be a happy camper if I had this smell wafting through my kitchen ever autumn.

hoping... that, since we're now just playing the waiting game for Jon's visa, a lot of the tension between us goes away!  As I've mentioned before, dealing with the stress from wedding planning and preparing the visa has been the most challenging part of our long-distance relationship.  While the next few months will be hard regardless, I really do hope that it will be easier without the added frustration of this process!

wishing... that USCIS and DHS breezes through our paperwork and grants Jon's visa in a flash.  Unfortunately, the wait time has doubled since we last talked to our lawyers and we now might be looking at another eight months of separation instead of the four we originally expected.  But that's just approximate, so who knows?  Maybe it will take less time.  Some wishes to come true, which I know because I am...

loving... that I'll get to see my husband in 35 days!  Even though it was heartbreaking to find out that the visa process might take a lot longer than possible, we also clarified that Jon's allowed to come to the US while his immigration status is in flux.  We found a decently-priced flight from London to DC for Thanksgiving, which means we'll be reunited in just over a month!

wearing... my Old Navy Diva skinnies.  When I was at my biggest, I almost never wore jeans - even when they technically fit, they made me feel bad about myself.  I'm still not yet where I want to be with my weight loss, but it's really nice to throw on jeans and then not worry about my outfit for the rest of the day!  I'm totally susceptible of the placebo effect, I know, but it's funny what just being a size down can do to your confidence.

wanting... the Marine Corps Marathon 10k that I'm running next Sunday to be as smooth as the last week's worth of runs has been!  I've been feeling really good and I hope that my body stays in the groove until I cross the finish line.

feeling... relaxed.  Charlie and I had a blissful day - an hour running around the dog park, a good nap for him and pancakes for me, and then time in the sun working on a marrow bone and carving a pumpkin.  (Again, the former was Charlie and the latter was me!)  It was so lovely spending the afternoon just hanging out without being constantly on a screen.  We took walks and cuddled on the couch, I ran errands and made another batch of scones... and now it's time for a glass of wine and dinner.  Bliss, right?

clicking... on all the blogs I follow! It's almost impossible for me to keep up with everyone's posts during the week, so I binge on the weekends.  Be warned, you might get a deluge of comments from me this evening!

linking up with siddathornton

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32 comments:

  1. I'd love to know which bloggers you are talking about, but it's not so important, is it? I had to unfollow several big bloggers whose writing tastes did not match my own, and I'm happier not having them in my feed.


    Hooray for blissful Sundays! Charlie looks like he had the best day ever.

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  2. you know, as I was writing that I was thinking about how the size of a blogger's success is all in the eye of the beholder - my "bigger blog" reads might be bigger or smaller than your "big blogger" reads. it's such a subjective thing, just like success!

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  3. Totally true. And so many bloggers talk about getting caught up in the numbers. I would be totally happy with fewer readers and more frequent commenters, because those are the ones who are really "following" you. Not that people out there aren't faithfully reading while just not commenting, but you know what I mean.

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  4. I'm so happy to hear that Jon will be here for Thanksgiving and that you're going to be able to see him soon! I've got my fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed for a quick return on the visa. Looking forward to the posts on blogging success and apple compote (seriously, my stomach is growling now...)

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  5. Oh man, I wish I could find Martha Stewart Living here! I'm hosting Thanksgiving and while I'm full of ideas, I'm looking for more inspiration because I am determined to rock this Thanksgiving!
    I'm really looking forward to this post about blogging success, I always love hearing what you have to say on such subjects :)

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  6. "sometimes you have to figure out what you want to be by ruling out everything you don't want to be" - I love this. I might steal it from your mother and do something with it.

    my fingers are crossed oh so tightly for all of your visa issues to get resolved as quickly and painlessly as possible. but at least Jon can come visit! I mean, I'm sure you'd appreciate the opportunity to fly back to England, but it's only fair that you two share international travel duties, right?

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  7. I'm playing the waiting game as well for my husband's visa - we're waiting for his interview appointment letter. Luckily we're both in the UK but we applied back in May, then delayed the process until autumn and I am just ready for everything to be official and ready to go!

    Applying from the UK is a supposed to be quicker but I think it should be the other way around, you guys are the ones who are separated!

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  8. Jay and I were just having an email conversation on blogging frustrations... I suppose changing your mindset is a good way to go about it... just focusing on yourself and your own blog. I can't wait to read your post... always love your insights on topics such as these. And... bummer about the visa, but so happy that Jon will be out for Thanksgiving! Will be sending good vibes your way and hoping his visa gets approved quicker than expected.

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  9. YAY THANK YOU! and I'm finishing up the post now - stay tuned :)

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  10. DO YOU HAVE AN IPAD? if you do, I may be able to help you...

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  11. my mother has her wise moments :P


    and THANK YOU! I probably will go to England in the first quarter of 2014, but most of the reason I was doing all the flying there in the past year was because of wedding stuff. now that that's over, he needs to be flying here so he can get acquainted with the flat and the neighborhood and Charlie and his new life!

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  12. oh man, let me in on those emails next time! but seriously, the two of you are definitely my blogging role models - you blog when you're inspired and when it fits into your life, but every post is well-crafted. there's nothing forced about your blogs! you both seem so confident in how and why you blog :)

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  13. spiced apple scones? I'm all on board for those! Good news you and your guy get to see each other soon, long distance just sucks.

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  14. I can't believe that rotten news about the visa. 8 Months seems absolutely crazy! I'm praying it's way less than that for you guys (ideally, WAYYY less!)

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  15. Spiced apple scones?!! Sound delicious! I have a weekness for scones! Good luck with your run!

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  16. So glad you guys will be reunited soon!!!! :) 35 days will fly by!

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  17. I'm so sorry it might be twice the amount of time for the visa. I hope that doesn't end up happening. I'm happy for you guys that Thanksgiving is right around the corner.


    I really really think that for blogging it's to each their own. For example, I was reading a blog where the blogger did one of those ever popular--how to be a good blogger. But as a reader, I disagreed with a bunch. I just think everyone likes what they like. For example, she said to never do vacation posts. Well those are some of my absolute favorites. Not every blog I read does them, but I love reading them when people do!

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  18. Good luck with the visa process! I know any event that's stressful can bring tension to a marriage--we fought the most during the late winter/spring as we were going through the house hunting/buying process. It wasn't anything in particular, but the stress just weighed on us that we were snapping at each other all the time. Don't fret though, it's just something you have to soldier through and it makes your relationship that much stronger.

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  19. TRUTH. (also, I tweeted earlier today about all those "How To" posts - I'm going to learn more from watching you be a good blogger than by reading a post you've written with a list of things that make a good blogger, you know?) I'm sure that many of my readers will disagree with the definition of success that I'm using for myself, but that's the thing about it - we get to make and own our own definitions and if yours works for you then I'm thrilled! (not YOU, specifically... you know what I mean.) A lot of the frustration I feel comes from the contradictions I see out there, which compelled me to examine my own definition more closely.

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  20. so I read "run" as "rum" and now I want to make a rum glaze for the scones. Thank you. haha!

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/apple-spice-bundt-cake-with-rum-glaze-recipe/index.html

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  21. Totally unplugged this weekend after a week of being super connected and it felt SOOOOO good! I think I'm letting my computer take over my life and I'm really going to have to mindfully schedule my computer time.


    Wishing you the best of luck with the visa process! Sorry it's being such a headache :(
    And the classical Halloween music makes me want to hit iTunes like NOW.

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  22. No :( But my fingers are crossed for Christmas :)

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  23. I'm excited for your blogging post, girl! And I feel you about keeping up with blogging. This is exactly why posting every day is crazy! Ain't nobody got time for that!

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  24. haha I know I get really mad when I'm behind with my reading and my favorite bloggers have blogged EVERY FREAKING DAY.

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  25. For real! I'm like, stop apologizing for not posting. I love you for it! haha. People need to calm down.

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  26. ooh boy. we have that to look forward to eventually! hopefully we'll have learned from the past year and a half and all the upcoming Big Conversations will go smoothly...

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  27. DO IT! I've had Nightmare Before Christmas in my head for weeks too :)

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