Easter 2016

Our Easter was very low key this year. Normally I go to church on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the vigil Easter Saturday... well with doctor appointments in Wilmington (yay for normal Thyroid levels!), work schedules and more I only made it to the Vigil on Saturday (with my husband in tow). Our mass this year was a long one, two hours and forty minutes, with five baptisms and thirteen confirmations! Pretty impressive. Saturday I ran around like crazy so Easter Sunday we could have a low key day just the two of us.

In the morning we made our pisanki and at first I panicked because our dye wasn't sticking to the eggs! That had never happened to me before... turns out they were too cold. A quick hot water bath and a little time made things much better. 

We also tried "double dying" our eggs this year. First you dye the egg, let it dry, then do the beeswax, then dye it again and after it dries you pick off or melt off the wax and get a two toned egg... we picked off the wax and it looked ok! The second and third ones in from the left on the top row, and the first ones in rows two and three on the left were all double dyed.

I also made a special blue egg for our Bean. Unfortunately his egg was one of the ones the wax did not stick too since it was too cold, but it held enough to dye once so it is a white and blue egg. My mom made a similar baby girl egg when she was pregnant with me in 1987 so I wanted to continue the tradition a bit.

Overall we had a nice, quiet day. It rained for nearly the entire day, so staying on the couch and watching tv was ok. We also had a huge Easter lunch... I made pierogies, kielbasa, string bean casserole and ham and it was all delicious. So much so that we ate it a few hours later that night for dinner.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and a Happy Easter!

Easter

Like most of our holidays lately, Ryan and I had a quiet Easter at home. Even though Ryan was not in cycle, he was naturally on the range, so travelling with our work schedules wasn't really an option. I am still trying to earn back leave time from my surgery in January! Bein sick has not been my friend. As you may remember, recently I wrote I mentioned I was getting an endoscopy done. Fortunately my biopsies were all negative, no bacteria or cancer or anything like that. I did have some gastritis and duodenitis as well as some severe bile reflux. Not acid, bile. Ugh. So I am on a new medication that I have to take three times a day to see if it helps prevent my attacks and general nausea. Naturally a side effect of the medicine is nausea, so I have had some yucky moments again, but I am trying to go a few weeks to see if it truly helps. No idea what my options are beyond this though!

 

Anyway, Easter. I went to Holy Thursday mass at the church on base by myself (as Ryan is Baptist this is a normal thing for us! The Triduum is pretty uber Catholic). Good Friday I sadly had to work and could not attend mass. Ryan and I went out for seafood that evening and ended up having some really good conversations. Saturday we scrambled like crazy to get things done so Easter Sunday we wouldn't have to do chores. We cleaned the house top to bottom, discovered a leak under our kitchen sink and repaired it, did laundry and grocery shopping all in time for the Easter Vigil mass that evening. The vigil is hands down my favorite mass of the year. Yes, it is long mass and my husband is a saint for putting up with me to go! We had seven people baptised, four convert from other branches of Christianity and a total of thirteen people confirmed. I am always teary during that part! It is a beautiful thing.

 

We got home that evening and made our pisanki. Ryan is getting to be quite good aafter being with me all these years! His are on the left and mine are on the right.

 

Our pisanki/pisanky (depending on your spelling!)

We were up pretty late but still didn't sleep in too much Easter Sunday. We had a nice lazy day of watching movies and opening the Easter basket my mom sent us. After awhile it got too lazy for Ryan and we decided to go out and play tennis. It was my first time doing anything particularly strenuous (aside from hiking or walking the dog) since I got sick back in October. I did alright but man am I out of shape! After a few hours we came home and I made the pierogies I had been saving for a special occassion. They have sat in the freezer from our last trip to New Jersey and are the made from scratch pierogies my Babci made.... so they are uber special! We had that with her babka bread that I also unfroze as well as a ring of kielbasa Ryan grilled for us.

 

Our neighbors also shared a special Easter treat with us. He found some baby bunnies abandoned on his job site and did not want to leave them. They all waited for the mother to come back but there was no sign of her. He brought them home for the evening and they decided to feed them and care for them for the evening until they could bring them to a wildlife shelter the next day. What that meant for us was that we were able to cuddle some furry little baby bunnies who had barely opened their eyes!

 

They were so cute and tiny and they made the tiniest little jumps. They had four of them total and I loved being able to snuggle them, even though it was pretty brief. A friend of mine recommended a good place to take them and the next day our neighbors dropped them off.

 

Monday we went back to work but that evening my brother came to visit us for our Spring Break! The Dup is in heaven, Uncle Stefan is her best buddy, and I am pretty psyched my baby brother is here for the week. Even though I work during the day we have been having some pretty awesome adventures at night and I hope we can get a beach day in before he goes. I hope you all had a Happy Easter and warmer weather is officially headed your way.

Easter 2014

Happy Easter!

For the first time I can remember I am working on Easter Sunday. It has been extremely quiet here at the library, but we have had patrons... at least 30-40 have been in throughout the day. Most people were just using the computers to print something out but it has been extremely quiet at the circulation desk. I have caught up on a lot of projects, practiced for my interview Tuesday, and cleared the carts of books we had up here. It is definitely different from a usual weekend here! I also had a very interesting lecture by an elderly gentleman about Crucifixion. I suppose wearing my Catholic University hoodie sort of set me up for that one...

Last night Ryan and I attended the Easter Vigil service. Usually it is my favorite mass of the year. I love watching the chuch flicker in candle light, hearing the Genesis readings, the gorgeous music and people entering the church for the first time through baptism or confirmation. I was spoiled growing up in a beautiful and welcoming church. My mom was our parish secretary and I knew almost everyone. I was a lector (reader) at mass from my teenage years through adulthood and I altar served and sang in the choir as a kid. It is the church I made my first communion, reconciliation, confirmation and got married in. It was home. I don't think I will ever feel so connected to a parish again, I hope I will, but I have yet to find it. Neither Virginia nor North Carolina have yet. At all.

The vigil service was long, I mean way longer than normal, nearly three hours. The music was alright but most of it unfamiliar... a reading was read twice and one was skipped (hey, I pay attention!) and Ryan and I were both starving by the end. The most beautiful part for me was the RCIA candidates. We had ten... ten.... people baptized into the church ranging from 6 to 60 years old. It was beautiful! Plus another seven on top of that received first communion and confirmation... seventeen people solidified their faith last night in my presence and I cried tears of joy witnessing it. Like I said, beautiful. But I was also homesick for the church I grew up in and missing the familiar as well as my family. I missed having a small reception with my church of cookies and other things late in the evening after the vigil... a trip to Buffalo Wild Wings isn't usually the most Easter-y of celebrations! I miss kielbasa and pierogies (even though there may be some in my freezer from Babci... hm... I'll have to check that out).

This is the first Easter I have spent without my parents and brother. Working this weekend made the trip impossible for either of us. I know I am an adult and married, but when your whole life centers around some traditions and familiarity it is hard to let go sometimes. This was the one holiday we always managed to make work, even since I have been married... but not this year. I know, one of many in my future, but it is still a little sad. I am so grateful Ryan made pisanki with me and accompanied me to mass (especially since he isn't Catholic, I know it isn't a walk in the park for him) and I appreciate it so much.

My heart is just a little heavier this year during a time it is usually flying and singing. I love Easter, what it means in my faith and family, but this year it is just hovering a little lower.

I didn't intend to sound so gloomy and down in this post, my apologies. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a Happy Easter (if you celebrate).

Slacking

I have been severely slacking on my blog lately. Sometimes I think, I should really blog about this... but then I don't. I have had more free time since the show ended, but I have been spending it with Ryan basically. And working. And back in the gym :P. I feel my blog suffering, I know I have lost readers (half my trip entries didn't even get a single comment) and I am not sure where to go from here really.

Do I want to keep this blog about me? Just something I enjoy, people read and interact on, and family can see a bit more of what we are up to? Or do I want to broaden my horizons... make it more about readership or even profit? Reviews and give aways and link ups... oh my! I honestly just don't know.

I have a lot on my mind at the moment and most of it really is not blogworthy. Ryan has een submitting his package for an SDA (or b-billet of sorts) to hopefully better his chances of picking up/staying in. He wants to be a security forces instructor but if that doesn't pan out then he will try for recruiting duty. Things keep getting shuffld and pushed around so we really have no idea what will happen, they won't even look at things until May. Hurry up and wait once again.

I am applying for a higher position within the library, a level two position that is full time in reference. As much as I love working in tech services the extra money of going up a level and to full time will really help us out. I have my interview Tuesday, so fingers crossed!

At the moment I am working circulation for the weekend... Easter weekend. I am pretty bummed to be working Easter, full hours, but they have been so accomodating with my schedule (between our trip, weddings and other things) I wouldn't dare complain. Easter is a special time for me (being Catholic and all) so I am trying to do everything I can while still working. Pisanki were made last night, mass is still being attended, and tons of smidgens are being eaten. It's a start right?

 

Ryan's pisanki are the four in the top row, mine are the five on the bottom row.

For all of you still around, thanks for sticking with me. I don't want to abandon my blog, four years of my life have gone into this thing, but I hope I will invigorate it a bit more in the near future.

Stay tuned my friends.

And Happy Easter.

Easter 2013

My mom and Stefan were here for Easter and we had a great weekend. Mom and I made a huge easter dinner for everyone and it was a bit daunting! I've never really hosted a holiday before and I'm glad my mom was here to help me cook!

We made a huge ham, green bean casserole, biscuits, sweet potato with marshmallows, home made macaroni and cheese, pierogies, kielbasa and spinach salad. Whew!!! 

It was great to spend time with family and have an easter with Ryan in our own home. Amazing.

Our family tradition is an egg hunt with clues to find our basket. This year Stefan, Ryan and I worked together on a twenty egg hunt to get our baskets. Oooh chocolate, how I love thee!

We definitely overdid the food and had a ton leftover! Ryan came up with the idea of bringing plates to the guys on duty that were stuck on base. We ended up making ten plates if food and delivering them to guys on Geiger and Lejeune and it was so sweet. They were all so thankful and I'm glad Stefan came to see us do it and help. My husband is amazing for thinking of it and it totally warmed my heart. 

Hope you all had a happy easter!

Making Pisanky

We have made pisanky every year of my life. And my mother has. And my Babci. It is an important family Easter tradition that I'm so excited to do in my own home and pass on to my own family some day.  We decorate the eggs with beeswax and then dye them. My babci's are incredible and I hope one day mine are that great! 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan made some too but he is impossible to get to pose for a picture!

Happy Easter to you and your families. 

(PS - this is my first time blogging from my phone so excuse any layout issues!)
 
 
 

Easter - Catching up!

It has been a busy few days... lots to do around the house and I am sending job applications out like CRAZY. Keep an eye out for a few product reviews and other exciting things.

Also, did you enter my giveaway yet?? Go do it! I finally cracked and made a Blog Facebook page too... to follow along please like! I'll shower you with cookies... or virtual ones anyway!

For now I am going to post some pictures from Easter. My mom flew up to DC and we drove with Rylie girl to New Jersey to see our family. My grandparents knew I was coming, but they were surprised by my mom. It was so wonderful. So here are pictures of Babci and Poppy, my cousins Jill and Lauren, my mom and I, and of course Rylie girl.... she wins on photo count! Especially meeting her puppy cousin Cooper!

Rylie LOVED Poppy. Anytime he was in the room she was right by his side. It totally melted my heart.... SO cute!!!

Catch Up and Cupcakes

Those little beauties arrived at the office today as a gift from corporate for Administrative Professionals Day! We also got some chocolate on chocolate ones to go with the red velvet. Sweet. I looooove red velvet cupcakes!

Easter was nice, sadly I forgot my camera so I have ZERO pictures from our first married Easter. Sigh.

It took us six hours to drive up to NJ, when it should have only taken three and a half! When you and your husband spend that much time in the car, you learn things. Like my husband knows all the words to Love Shack. I mean, every single word. I was slightly impressed and intimidated all at once!!

Saturday Ryan took my brother for a rousing five mile run while my best friend Sam and I had girl time at the hair salon and lunch. I got some subtle highlights for spring and summer, the last time I got them was a week before my wedding! They've lasted that long with no problem so maybe I can get them again at this time next year. :P

We went to mass Saturday night after a big turkey dinner care of my Dad. Sunday we did our traditional Easter basket hunt. My family makes you work for your basket! We wake up with an egg, and in that egg is a clue. That clue leads you to your next egg and another clue and so on until you find your basket. Instead of three separate hunts this year my dad the Easter Bunny had Stefan, Ryan and I work together. Our eggs were very difficult to find, including in our pool liner, a hollow tree, Stefan's rabbit cage, and the mailbox of the farm store down the street before we found them in my Dad's trunk. Whew. I got Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on DVD, some black licorice jelly beans, chocolate, and other little fun goodies.

Easter Dinner was at my Babci's and Poppy's with the family, most of whom were surprised we were there. Ryan and I also walked over to my brothers' house since it is so close to my grandparents now. I loved being able to see my family and stuff myself with Polish food!

Monday my mom was off so she and Ryan and I had a long talk out on the deck before we went and got my brother from school and went for a late lunch. After that it was rush hour so we went to the park to hang out. I watched Ryan and Stefan act like kids, climbing trees and kicking the soccer ball around... it was cute (:

Around 7:30 we at last packed up the car and made our way back to VA. My parents are moving from NJ to NC this summer, and I know my visits to my childhood home are numbered. I definitely cried from my house to the highway, and Ryan just passed me a tissue and told me some jokes to calm me down a little (:

We played word games in the car like the alphabet category game. Our first category was fruits/flowers. I did A for Apple, Ryan did B for Banana, I did C for cornflowers etc. Then at the end of the alphabet we swtiched letters so he was A I was B... we did fruits/flowers, Cities with their States, Cars and Colors, and Boy/Girl names. Man I love my husband!

I cannot believe Sunday will be our first wedding anniversary! What was I doing at this time last year? April 27, 2010... apparently I was making goody bags for out of town guests, baskets for the bathrooms, and doing my Wedding Weather Updates! At this point it was saying there was a chance of thunderstorms and it would be 85! Luckily it was a beautiful day, sunny and upper 70s, but I was panicking then!

I ordered Ryan's present yesterday so I am hoping it gets here in time! We both went traditional and got 'paper' presents. In case Mr. Snoopy comes on here I won't post what I got him yet, but I'll tell you all Monday!


We have the top of our wedding cake in the freezer... I have some more planning to do, but stay tuned!



PS - We're still pending, just in case you thought I may be holding out on you!

Good Friday

This is the first Good Friday I have ever had to work. Ever. So not liking this. I miss being able to go to the children's passion play, the solemn 3pm mass, and the 7:30pm Living Stations of the Cross. We may, just may, make it to Jersey in time for hte Living Stations, but not looking good.

My boss is trying to let me go early so I can go pack with Ryan and start the drive North, but if we inch too close to rush hour we're both just going to be tired and cranky in the car way longer than necessary.

Oh, and Happy Earth Day as well.

One week til the Royal Wedding.

Still pending.

And then, there is this video. It may or may not have just made my morning!



I hope you all have a Happy Easter!