Lots of fun things going on right now for me! First of all, I received my diploma in the mail – so it’s Dr. Honey to you!!! Very exciting.
In celebration, I threw away the 5 full drafts of my dissertation with my committee members’ feedback that I’d been saving “just in case.” The BF noticed the giant box was gone out of the middle of our living room when he got home, and was very pleased. I have some other things that can probably be thrown away now, as well (chapter drafts, my proposal stuff, some comprehensive exams drafts and notes) but they’re currently “away” so it’s not as urgent.
Also in celebration, I decided to make an appointment at the Biltmore Spa to use the gift certificate the BF got me for Christmas last year. There is now one $80 champagne pedicure coming my way – and I still have $20 on the certificate to use either on a) a fancy drink while I am having my feet done, or b) whatever extra treatment they talk me into while I am there. My feet are starting to get that Arizona-leathery summertime look, so this would be the perfect time to treat myself even if I wasn’t a doctor.
I’ve never been to the Biltmore before, but I know it’s a fabulous hotel (case in point: my valet parking will be comped because of my spa appointment). Hooray!
New Hobbies
In other news, when we moved to our new place, I decided that because a) our new kitchen had so much more counter space, and b) because I own at least 10 vegetarian cookbooks, that cooking would be my new hobby. It’s something that I can do at home, something that’s feasible with my new 15-minute commute, and since we have to eat anyway it might as well be delicious, right?
It’s kind of an adventure, since there’s about a 50/50 chance that the recipe will be something that we enjoy, but the BF says (and I agree) that the quality of my cooking has increased dramatically since I picked up my new “hobby.” I always had a few staples up my sleeve (marinated baked tofu, enchiladas, banana bread, and my zesty summer salad all are things that I made regularly before), but now I’m really branching out.
Now there have been some things that were only eh and others that made me cry (I describe a pretty significant casserole drama in the comments of this post). However, there are lots of things – the quinoa casserole, the mexican pizza, the zucchini casserole, the “beef” stew, the chimichangas – that have turned out great! Last night was a new adventure: Pad Thai. The BF loves Pad Thai, so he was vacillating between excitement because it’s his favorite and nervousness that it wouldn’t be good.
It was the best Pad Thai either of us has ever had. He ate THREE servings!
And, even better – he was playing Full Tilt poker online with one of his friends (i.e., they called each other before the game started so they could get in the same “room”) and said, “now I can’t play too long because Honey’s making dinner.” When his friend asked what I was making and the BF said Pad Thai, he was like, “Your girlfriend cooks for you?! I’m so jealous!!!” The BF said that made him almost, almost as happy as the Pad Thai.
If you’re interested in vegetarian cooking that’s simple and tasty (and better for the environment than meat!) my go-to books are Skinny Bitch In the Kitch, Meatless Dishes in Twenty Minutes, and The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet. The Pad Thai recipe came from Skinny Bitch.
Vacation
I also just booked my summer vacation (for a low low flight of $139). I’m going to Denver for five days to visit my best friend from grad school, who recently had a baby son. While I am not especially excited about the baby part, it’ll be nice to see her – she had gestational diabetes while she was pregnant so I only talked to her about 3 times during the last trimester and only once in the two months or so since the baby’s been born. We used to practically live in each other’s pockets and talk at least 5 times per day!
Of course, I’ll have to share her company with not only the new baby, but also her boyfriend, 13-year old daughter, three cats, and a dog, but I’m sure it’ll be a happy chaos. And while I return from Denver on a Wednesday, I took the whole week off work, so I’ll have a four-day “staycation” when I return before heading back. From someone who has always been a student, being paid to take time off still seems like an impossible luxury.
Also on the potential summer schedule are a party (which the BF claims he will plan, which is fine with me!), learning how to cook crab on our grill, and a long fourth of July weekend in Rocky Point, Mexico.
What are you up to this summer? Let us know your plans, and then check out these fine posts: