Reflections and Ruminations 2012

Every year I like to take a second to reflect on some of the things I've done in the last year. This is going to be a really long, boring, and narcissistic post about how all-consuming my wedding was this year so feel free to move on to other things if posts like this annoy you.

Five for Friday: Week of December 22nd

1. You drove all over creation on Sunday to visit my friends and family.
2. You remembered how much I loved the coffee on our honeymoon, found the exact same kind and gave it to me as a Christmas gift. Amazing.
3. You let your sense of humor show through when you bought "Das Boot" for me.
4. You cuddled with me on Thursday night. We both know how much you hate that...
5. You cooked an amazing and healthy dinner for us when I was too tired to cook anything.

We're Gonna Party Like It's... 2013?

I am either a complete masochist or am just unable to learn from my mistakes because I somehow found myself inviting people over for a New Year's Eve celebration. In the past, Jason and I have held a few holiday parties... Most of which involved ordering a few pizzas and drinking copious amounts of liquor. Unfortunately the creation of Pinterest just won't allow me to act like a college freshman anymore so in an attempt to act like a classy adult for once in my life I've been putting together a fun menu of hors d'oeuvres for our little soiree. Good lord, I sound like an asshole.

Five for Friday: Week of December 15th

1. We survived yet another weekend in Philadelphia and you were super suave at your holiday party, even though I was bored to tears.
2. You were forgiving when I forgot to tell you that we were driving my brother back to NY and letting him crash at our apartment. Whoops!
3. You bought wrapping paper!
4. You were very kind and only a teeny bit patronizing when I forgot how to use a coffee pot. ;)
5. I had a great time just hanging out in the hotel room watching terrible Animal Planet shows with you. You always know how to make me laugh.

Simplify: Two of Thirty

Okay, so I am totally cheating on this simplify my life thing, but whatever. I did something even more liberating than canceling my gym membership. I deleted my Facebook account. 

Five for Friday: Week of December 8th

1. You cleaned practically the entire apartment on Saturday by yourself.
2. You went and picked up a pizza when we had company over so I wouldn't have to miss a second of the Giants game.
3. You let me buy a ridiculous Santa hat for Luna even though you knew it would be a waste of money.
4. You planned a special dinner for us and you weren't upset when I had to cancel because I was sick. 
5. You brought home and cooked dinner for us on Thursday.

Making a Run For It

So Monday's post was basically a lead up to this one. As I mentioned, I recently purged myself of my gym membership and have decided to start running with my husband. If you've been keeping track, this poses a slight problem for me right now due to the climate and my allergy to the cold. I did a serious amount of research on running gear and I've managed to find a few pieces that protect me fairly well from the cold and discomfort. But you should know that this is not the only beast I'm up against. I've got three words for you.

Exercise. Induced. Anaphylaxis.

Allergic to... Well, Everything!

Welcome to the first installation of "New, Unique and Frankly Unexplainable Ways My Body Tries to Sabotage Itself." I intended this to be one post, but in order to truly describe the hilarious depths of my suffering I decided to break it up a bit.

Growing up, I was always proud of myself for not having any allergies. Peanuts? Love 'em. Shellfish? Can't get enough of the stuff. Dust and dander? Bring it on. Shit, I'm not even allergic to poison ivy. This was always surprising considering the myriad of health problems I am constantly suffering from. The running joke is that my body is constantly finding new, unique and, frankly, unexplainable ways to sabotage itself. Except it's not really a joke and it's definitely not funny.

Five for Friday: Week of December 1st

Most days I love my husband. But some days are obviously harder than others and I think it's important to keep things in perspective by remembering and celebrating the good. I am known for taking things for granted and in an effort to be more aware of the great parts of my relationship I would like to take a few moments each week to talk about the simple, everyday gestures my husband does to make me feel happy and loved.

1. You went to the craft beer festival with me this weekend, even though we both know you would much rather have been home playing video games.
2. You went to the grocery store and picked up some food when I was sick. 
3. You missed over an hour of work to take me to doctor without complaint (even though you will have to make up the time this weekend).
4. You let me into the apartment when I locked myself out. Oops.
5.  You charged my laptop for me when I just left it on the floor to die.

Christmas Decorations and Obsessions

Since we decided to forego a Christmas tree this year I went above and beyond with the rest of the decorations. I prefer subtle touches over in-your-face lights and tinsel so I spread just a little bit of holiday decor throughout the apartment. 

I started with the foyer. The dresser, which usually accumulates mail, sweaters and other various junk was adorned with a small basket filled with ornaments that weren't being used. I also picked up two candle holders from The Christmas Tree Shop and filled them with pine-scented candles to make up for not having a tree.

The Year Without a Christmas Tree

It's December so I feel like I am allowed to start talking about this now.

I love Christmas.

I hate winter, I hate snow and I hate the cold, but Christmas?! Ah, Christmas is the one little ray of happiness that keeps me going during these long, awful months. I love the music, the movies and the cookies. But most of all, I love Christmas trees and I have no one but my father to blame.

M-I-C-K-E-Y...

M-O-U-S-E!

That's right, folks. I am just crossing things off my list left and right! I recently booked my flight and hotel for that magical place in Orlando, Florida.

I have been to Disney five times now and it is seriously one of my favorite places in the world. I have always considered Mickey my buddy, probably because we share a birthday and I can't wait to see him again! Unfortunately Jason won't be able to join me due to time off restrictions, but he does really want to go one day so maybe I can actually sneak in two trips before I turn 30. (Do I smell an anniversary trip...?)

Instead, myself and four other friends will be jetting down to fabulous Florida in February for four nights and five days (have I mentioned how much I love alliteration?). I am super stoked and have really enjoyed planning out this trip. I swear I was a travel agent in a past life because I have loved scoping out deals and getting this done for as cheap as possible (which is the goal).

Thanksgiving

One of the items on my 30 before 30 list was to host a holiday dinner or something similar.

This year Jason and I hosted our first Thanksgiving. Yea, I'm just going to let that one sink in for a while. We currently live in an itty-bitty apartment, but there were only 8 of us and I was determined to make it work. As a true Type-A lady I made multiple lists and took the Wednesday before the holiday off to prepare. Unfortunately, in what I can only describe as controlled chaos, I only stopped to snap a few photos so I hope my words will be able to paint an accurate picture of how this year's lovely holiday all went down.

Simplify: One of Thirty

One of the things on my list is to get rid of 30 things I don't need anymore. This is mostly because Jason and I live in a tiny apartment with too many things. There is so much clutter and not enough closet space. I know so many people who function just fine in a much smaller living space so I think we're doing something totally and completely wrong. When I first put this on my list I meant to get rid of physical "stuff" to make our apartment a more comfortable place to live. But then I did something that felt very freeing and thought, why can't I put this toward my list?

A few weeks ago I got rid of my gym membership! The truth is, I hadn't gone in months and every month when that statement came in I was flushing good money down the toilet. My husband is a runner and absolutely refuses to pay for a gym membership. The world is his gym and if he can brave the elements for a quick run then so can I! I'm very nervous about joining him for outside runs, but it will be fun to have a running buddy for once.

I am so used to running in a controlled environment so I will probably have to invest in new sportswear. Any tips on cold climate running gear? My Guiness sweatshirt, although warm and fuzzy, just isn't cutting it!

My beloved Guiness hoodie. Great for a Friday night, not so great for a winter run.

Turning 30

Okay, I am not turning 30 (yet)... I just turned 27, but I'm starting to feel the pressure! It's hard to find yourself creeping closer to a milestone like 30 and reflecting on the things that you did/did not do. Obviously I've done some pretty fantastic things like graduate college, find my first "real" job and get married (!), but there are so many other things that I just tell myself I don't have time to do and instead sit down to watch yet another rerun of "The Office" and chow down on some chips. It's just pure laziness. In order to motivate myself I put together my very own "30 Before 30" lists and I am kinda excited to start working on it.

I tried to make the list as varied as possible and to include a little bit of everything. Some things will require a bit more planning than others (trip to Disney!), some are for my health (things like hiking and running to get myself on a better workout schedule) some are just for fun (cherry blossoms in DC!) and some are for the benefit of others (pay it forward, volunteering). I am not going to beat myself if I don't get to each and every one of these things (that trip to Italy is looking like the most difficult one right now), but I tried to make it as manageable as possible so I don't completely give up and hate myself after two months.

I've actually already started on a few of the things on my list and can't wait to share my progress!

30 Before 30

Welcome!

Hello all and welcome to Pecorino Romano! Some of you know me very well and some of you don't know me at all so I suppose introductions are in order.

My name is Cristina and I am a recently married 20-something. I spent way too much time writing about my wedding over on Weddingbee and now it's time to move on to blabbering about wifely duties. Y'know, like baking pies and finding the best ways to scrub a toilet.

Just kidding. I hate cooking and I super hate cleaning.

I actually joke that my wires were crossed at some point because I love sports and beer more than any respectable lady should. I will be blabbering about how I spend too much money at Starbucks,

how I'm too obsessed with my cat,

and how I have a fear of missing out on life. Join me I stumble through the rest of my 20s and discover the joys (and hardships) of being married, finding happiness and achieving my goals.