The Last Leg

It's getting close. Not close enough to clean out Jack's car or buy him a new toothbrush, but close enough to feel a sense of relief when I look at the calendar. Kind of like driving through a tunnel in a large mountain; just before you think that it will never end, the walls seems to lighten and you know that the passageway is almost visible. Just a little bit longer and the light will brighten everything.

That's where I'm at. The last two months were difficult- they seemed endless. And it didn't help that Jack's return date was pushed back by nearly a month. But soon enough the tunnel will be so white and bright that I know the last little bit will fly by. Almost there.

Ready for some updates?

First, I have to apologize for the time lapse between this post and the last. Even my friend's mom expressed her disappointment! ;) I have some very loyal readers, even if I only have like 7. And I am very excited to announce that at least two are not directly related to me... Mrs. Hall and the infamous Khalid Rumjan Jr.

As a whole, April was great. I was busy with my show, the Six Women Play Fest. I met a lot of talented actors and directors in the Colorado Springs area, and I am hoping that it will lead to some more opportunities here. It's already started to! One of the fellow actors actually asked me to be in a staged reading of her original one act play, so I am looking forward to that this summer! I also did a commercial shoot last week with one of the directors of the one acts. (It was a sweet deal- took a few hours, got my makeup done, the acting consisted of looking pleasant while using electronics, got free lunch, AND got paid! Apparently commercials are where it's at.) And of course I did a lot of substitute teaching and babysitting.

I started May with a visit to San Diego with my besties from high school. It was wonderful to feel silly and free with them and I miss them dearly!

Ready for some news?! I am going to be in a feature film. I think I posted about the auditions last December- I had gone to Cheyenne, WY for it. I didn't hear back until a month ago, when they asked me to come to their final auditions about a week ago. And then I got the part. :) Our first rehearsal is this Saturday, and I am excited to meet the rest of the cast and read through the script. The film is a quirky Christian comedy about a Bible quiz competition and my character is a high school senior named Sydney. And before everyone starts asking for their ticket to the Emmys, let's just say this is a low budget indie film and I probably won't get paid much at all, if anything. But it's more experience. And the opportunity to do something I love. And it will probably end up on Netflix at least. :) Right now my big concern is the shoot schedule- I'm so nervous that Jack's going to come home and then I'm going to have to leave him right away for the film. Being the wonderful, supportive husband that he is, he says that it will be okay if we have to be apart for a little while. But if you can offer up any prayers for the timing to work out, I would appreciate it.

Okay, so I have some seemingly insignificant but actually really good news.

I moved onto post. Despite it being ridiculously awful to move a house entirely by myself (I told Jack, "I'm never doing this again"), I LOVE LIVING HERE. I really really love it. I have already met all my neighbors. They know my name, they know Molly's name. They know that Jack's deployed. I borrowed the neighbor's vacuum the other day. I got coffee with someone I had just met. I leave my door unlocked, windows open, garage door open. Even right now, when it's dark outside, I don't feel creeped out with all of my blinds open. The duplex aspect is oddly comforting too. I love when I can hear the kids next door thumping up and down the stairs or when I go outside with Molly and talk with the kids through the fence. They love to pet Molly through the fence too! The dog park is a two minute walk down the street. Molly's puppy friends are a walk away and they play together all the time. And my friends are just a walk away too! Instead of 35-34 minutes away, the groups I'm involved with are anywhere from a walk down the street to a five minute drive. This weekend, my friend and I are hosting a BBQ for our friends with deployed husbands, and I'm excited to finally have some people over. I'm even going to host a Bible study this summer. I'm throwing around the word friend a lot, and I probably just mean acquaintances, but still. I think moving on post will help me to make many more real friends.

I do have two actual friends from Bible study who are leaving this month, and that's kind of sad. Another friend from Bible study left a few months ago. It's kind of hard to explain what military friendships are like, especially the ones I have made through Catholic Women of the Chapel. When I first came to CWOC, I was overwhelmed by the differences between me and the women I met. I was a newlywed, fresh out of college, 22, never lived on my own, didn't have any babies let alone teenagers. Some of the women were into their 40s (some even older... spouses of retired service members), and having never had a single married friend before, I honestly didn't know how to relate to them. I even remember telling Jack after the second meeting that I didn't know if I could be close friends with them because we were in such different stages of life. But now, not only was I elected Vice President for next year, but I feel such closeness with them. I have learned so much from them about being a Christian, a wife, and someday a mother. Every single woman at Bible study, no matter how well I know her, is so special to me. So when someone leaves, there's this sadness along with the calm acceptance that this is inevitable, that people are going to move in and out of your life in the army, and also this hope that maybe someday you will run into each other again. Phew. Anyway...

I guess I could stop talking about myself and move onto my husband. ;) He's doing well. He is back in Kuwait for a little while working on his Expert Infantry Badge. Apparently not that many people actually get the badge (which he says in his humility is because of stupid rules during the process), but of course he will be one of the few to get the badge. Otherwise, there is not too much going on for him. At least that he tells me! Besides just plain wanting to come home, he has been pretty positive this whole deployment. It definitely has made it easy as far as our relationship goes. Since we are both positive and supporting of one another, it just makes the whole deployed newlywed thing a piece of cake.

Since its getting close, we have a lot of fun talking about what we are going to do for block leave. We decided that we are going to go camping and explore Colorado. I still haven't been to the zoo here, or Estes Park, or Boulder for that matter. We did only have two months here- technically six and a half weeks here in Colorado-- and I haven't done a lot of exploring on my own. So I am excited. SO excited. I just realized that I actually am starting to get ready for his return. I bought a stake and tie out rope for Molly for when we go camping. It's getting real!

I'll post pictures soon. :)

an eventful month

I thought April was going to be quite uneventful, but I was wrong.

NEWS TIME:

First of all, I'm in a show. Yay! It's the Women's Playwright Fest and it opens on Thursday and runs for three weeks. I feel quite honored to have been offered a role- there were so many people at the auditions. Definitely a bit of a confidence booster after so many rejections!

In May, I'm going with three of my best friends from high school to SAN DIEGO! We are super excited. It's our first "just because" trip ever and it will be amazing.

Another thing to make this month (and the next) even busier...

We are moving!

We're moving into this townhome in May. And it's on post! Jack and I decided that it was best for us to live on post for a ton of reasons:

1) He will live a few minutes minutes from his office, if that. Instead of waking up at 4:30 and leaving at 4:55 in the morning, he can leave at 5:45 to make it to PT (physical training). And then he can come home. And shower. And eat breakfast. And take a nap if he wants. And go back. When he's running errands, he can come home for lunch. Or to say hi. And after work, it will take him 5 minutes  to get home instead of nearly 40. And he can ride his bike. 

2) We can walk to church. And to the PX (mall-type thing) and to the commissary (grocery store). And to the park. And dog park. And other places.

3) Gas savings, for obvious reasons.

4)  I will make friends. And live near them. And that's gonna be awesome... 

....Because as positive as I try to be and as busy as I try to be, I am lonely here. Jack and I met one neighbor before he left. I finally saw him again, and he asked how Jack and I were enjoying Colorado- and I told him that Jack was actually deployed! He was very nice and told me to let him know if I needed anything, but that was literally five months after Jack left and it wasn't because he noticed. 

Contrast that with when I pulled my car up to take pictures of our (soon-to-be) house. Our soon-to-be neighbor, Sarah, was outside with her four kids ("Yep, we are the big crazy family!"), and we talked for a little bit, and she made it a point to learn my name, and she knows that Jack's deployed. I'll take her four kids playing outside any day over the isolation that I feel here. So I am really excited. It will be a lot of work to move on my own, but it will be worth it.

PICTURE TIME:
Let's see, I never posted any pictures from Jessie's visit (in February! eek), or Ariel's, and I also went home at the end of March as well. Unfortunately, the only pictures I have from Ariel's visit are with her in her WEDDING DRESS (!!!), so I can't share it here. But her dress is beautiful and she is going to be the most gorgeous bride.

Our ski trip!

Just gorgeous.

We went cross country skiing. It wasn't physically exhausting like I thought it would be, but it was hard to maneuver because of the shape of the skis and I fell down A LOT. I definitely enjoyed the downhill more, but it was really cool to be in the back mountain trails by ourselves. Except for the bear paw prints. Yeah, then it was not so fun to be in the back mountain trails by ourselves.

Here is the view up on the top of the mountain where we went downhill skiing.

Wolf Creek was pretty awesome. It was so inexpensive and and laid-back... and the runs were HARD! Lots of moguls. I would love to go back though. 

This table here survived my aunt's lake house (including 6 kids) and four years with me (and my roommates and their dinner parties) in college. It needed a makeover or to go to the thrift store. You really can't tell in this picture, but paint is chipping, the tabletop is covered in paint and markers, and the stain is fading. One of the chairs was totally broken and I finally had to get rid of it and come up with another solution. I snagged this bench when it was on sale at target. This was my first major refinishing project, and I'm really excited to share what I did!

I had to sand it inside (lots and lots of sand in my house). Actually, in the throes of this project, my friend had an emergency and I watched her two year old for the afternoon/evening. The kitchen was a mess, but I had a spray bottle full of water and castille soap, and he had so much fun spraying it EVERYWHERE that we cleaned up the entire kitchen. He was even spraying the walls. I literally could not get him to stop cleaning, even when we were done.

I took the final pictures at night, so it seems king of dark and  brooding to me, but it's actually so bright and cheerful. It looks amazing. Trust me!

Here is my cousin Gracie the night before her bat mitzvah. We had the whole family over for dinner at our house after Friday services. I can't believe she's 13 already! I used to babysit her when she was a toddler! Gracie is wearing the heels that I wore to a dance in high school. She's had the shoes for years and they finally fit her, so she had to go out and find a dress that matched them for this occasion. Isn't that cute?

Gracie has always been my little twin; you can sort of see here how we look alike (despite the poor quality picture). My mom helped my aunt put together her slideshow, and it's kind of crazy how similar our pictures growing up are, only her hair has always been darker. We have followed the exact same growth chart too. She's in seventh grade now, and she wears the same size jeans I did then. And she's probably going to barely hit 5 feet tall, like me. Yep, my little twin!!

Here is a picture of something exciting at home! I have to wait a little bit to elaborate though. :)

VIDEO TIME:

Here is the short that I did last fall is currently playing at the WorldFest Film Festival in Houston. Keep your fingers crossed that it wins a Remi award!

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/76237042" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/76237042">The Beautiful Mundane</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user5227252">Cody Courmier</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Our wedding trailer!
 <iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/89869112" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/89869112">Jack + Emily Wedding Trailer</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/romanticreels">Romantic Reels Media</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

UNRELATED EXCITING THINGS:

My sister-in-law, Katie, got engaged! And my bestie, Jessie, got engaged the weekend later! And after all the time in the next year and a half that they have to get married, they both decided to look at June 20th at different Catholic churches in the same city a year from now. Have you ever seen that movie where someone has to attend two weddings on the same day? Considering Jessie and her fiancé, Kerry, were both in our wedding, how crazy would that be for Jack and I if that actually happened to us? We'd go from one rehearsal dinner to the next and one bachelor/ette party to the next and one wedding to the next. ;)  Hopefully that won't happen, since Katie and her fiancé haven't officially set the date yet and they now know of this conundrum for Jack and I. But it had me laughing imaging the scenario!

lists, lists

Here is what the Holt's have been up to:

Jack:

1. still deployed

2. working out a lot (getting "swol") 

3. randomly ran a half marathon before work the other day

4. although the food there isn't bad, is still (desperately) missing his wife's cooking

5. enjoying weather in the 50s and 60s

(I made these up)

Emily:

1. still without her husband

2. substitute teaching (finally!)

3. actually auditioned for a lifetime movie today

4. ordered a pizza for herself (for the first time), a medium cheese from Papa J's, and ate it all in less than 24 hours (yes, I am proud of this)

5. enjoying weather in the 50s and 60s (okay, okay, off and on- one day its 30 degrees, the next high 60s)

I have to mention that Jessie visited me again a couple weeks ago. We went skiing and it was amazing. I will do a post about it when I get the pictures on my computer. AND Ariel is coming next week! We are going wedding dress shopping, and I can't wait! So much to look forward to. :)

Speaking of things to look forward to,  I'll be heading home the last week of March and into April. My cousin's bat mitzvah is then and I'm excited to see everyone! Hopefully people still remember who I am- This is actually the longest I have ever been away from home!

Genius discovery of the past five months: 

GOOGLE VOICE

When Jack has wifi, he can call me through my phone signal. This is amazing because he can call me when I'm driving or out. Before google voice, we would miss talking to each other if I wasn't at home. And now we can! We have actually only used it once since the big discovery the other day, but it is comforting to know we have the option now. Ah, technology. 

Happy Valentine's Day from Across the Sea

Happy Valentine's Day to my husband across the sea (with a picture of us by the sea!). 

<3

Well, Valentine's Day came and went. I went with a friend to get lunch and pedicures and we went to an event at a Deployed Spouses Group. We had dinner and made edible arrangements. It ended up being a very pleasant day! I got to open a present from my husband too. :)

One thing that is great about army wives is how different we all are. We range anywhere from 18 to early 50s; some of us have 6 kids and some have none; we're diverse races from diverse backgrounds; we have different interests and different jobs...yet we all just "understand" each other. I'm generally a positive person when it comes to other people (some might call me a bit naive), but I honestly have not yet met an army wife that I don't like or can't connect with in some way. Maybe it's because of the people I surround myself with and the groups I go to, but I also think that part of it is because army wives simply have to learn to be positive, learn to be friendly, and learn to be strong. If not, then she can't survive. So we adjust- and we thrive.

I have a funny story! While getting pedicures, I was telling my friend about buying the piano from the thrift store. She stopped me and said: "I almost bought a piano from a thrift store a few weeks ago!" Of course, after describing the piano and the location of the store, it sure enough was the same piano I bought. Turns out her mom is a concert pianist and she recognized the good quality of the piano and was so tempted to buy it. But she also would have needed help to move it, and she is pregnant, and just got out of the hospital, thus she realized that she didn't need to complicate her life any more. So the piano was left for Jack and I to claim and our future concert pianist children. ;)

I was sick over the weekend. It was kind of strange to be all alone in this city without my husband or any family here to help me out. I ended up texting a friend to see if she could bring me some ginger ale. She was out of town but gave me the number of another friend who lives nearby. She was my saving grace, because once I had the ginger ale, I started to feel a lot better. It reminds me of when I came down with the flu last year. Of course, I had a roommate who would have brought me back anything from the pharmacy she worked at, but my sister was the person I asked to bring me medicine. I realize how blessed I am to have had support from my family all these years! My mom, my siblings, my dad of course when he was alive, and even some of my aunts and uncles have always been just a drive away. Now that I don't have that here, I've been pushed to ask for help and reach out to others- something that doesn't come naturally to me. This is a good thing. Just another positive to think about as far as this whole deployment thing goes. In addition, there's nothing like the stomach flu to help you appreciate good health! Whenever I got out of bed yesterday, I felt like a walking zombie. I remember dragging myself over to Molly's food bowl, dumping in a cup and letting it drop down to the floor, without saying a single word to her! And then dragging myself back to bed and collapsing! It feels sooo good to feel good!

This weekend my Jessiekins is visiting again! We found a locals-type ski resort that is southwest of here. We're going to cross-country ski one day (her crazy choice) and downhill ski the next (my choice). Since this is kind of an off-peak peak, it's really inexpensive and the powder is supposed to be amazing! I'm so excited to ski! My family went twice when I was in middle school. My parents put us in ski class and I got pretty good then- advancing to some blacks. I went for the first time in 13 years last February with Jack, and it was pretty easy to pick up again- sort of like riding a bike. We mostly did greens since it was his first time skiing. We went down a blue and he did really well so I convinced him to go down another blue that ended up being slightly disastrous. It's hilarious now but it was NOT funny at the time. The blue was definitely a more advanced one and I had to help Jack slide down it on his bum! There weren't many people on that run but once in a while some 10 year old would ski past us. Anyway, I've learned my lesson and I won't do that to Jessie!

I can't wait for this week to go by and Jessie to get here!

In other news, some of you might know that my maid of honor got engaged at the young age of 16. Finally on this Valentine's Day she and her fiancé SAVED THE DATE for this September! I am so beyond excited for her! We were planning this wedding as roommates during our freshmen year of college and even went dress-shopping a couple years ago, so needless to say, this has been a long time coming. And some more exciting news...she asked me to be her Matron of Honor! 

 Ariel is visiting next month (so is her mom and soon to be sister-in-law) and we are going to go dress shopping! She was such an amazing maid of honor that I have some tough shoes to fill...but hopefully I will do a good job!

And to wrap up this post, I will now share with you a very common screen I see when Jack and I are talking...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Goodbye Les Mis: Hello ________?

The past few weeks have been wonderful. Jack's parents came out to see Les Mis; some friends drove up from Colorado Springs to see it; my mom and grandparents and my sister and my Aunt Cindy came to see the last weekend too. All the support I had was just incredible.

John and Suzy with me and Anne (my Colorado Springs carpool friend) 

Jenna, Chris, Michelle, and Marilyn drove up from the Springs (even though they haven't known me very long at all- how wonderful is that, right?)

The final song of Les Miserables

I don't have a picture with my mom, sister, aunt and grandparents. (Mom- did we take any? If so, I'll post it here!)

And then- after all these months of rehearsals and shows- this part of my life is over! All of the people I had met and were becoming friends with- well, it's done! I auditioned for the next musical at this theatre, Into the Woods. I was called back for Cinderella but found out last Tuesday that I didn't get the part. I was so hoping for it, and I have to admit that I was a little crushed. Of course they said that out of the few of us who were called back for Cinderella, anyone could have done it. It was just going to be a matter of who looked best with the rest of the cast. Well, when I got the cast list, it made sense that they didn't pick me. The other people they had cast were all very mature for the roles. Even the young Jack (from Jack in the beanstalk) was in his thirties (at least) and Little Red Riding Hood was much taller and older looking than me, and the two princes had at least a foot on me. And the Cinderella they cast is very tall and a bit older than me, and she really will be a wonderful Cinderella. So yep, it made sense. After a bit of a mini-breakdown, I realized that I was the most upset not because I wasn't cast, but because I had, well, nothing to look forward to. No more rehearsals. No more shows. Just a trail of breadcrumbs called rejection from other auditions I'd had in the past couple months. And all the friends I had made during Les Miserables are still in Denver and I'm here and while I've met some wonderful people, no one here has become a true friend (the ones that we can bear our souls to, the ones who just get us, like my best friends, my bridesmaids who are all back home). And yes, now we're halfway through this deployment. But halfway is really not close enough to actually start looking forward to Jack's return...or I will drive myself crazy. And I have enough experience with long distance to know! 

So at the urging of my patient and supportive husband, I snapped myself out of my little funk and did some things. 1) I completed an application form to volunteer at the crisis pregnancy clinic here. 2) I followed up on some job applications. 3) I decided to sign up for an improv workshop at a theatre here on Monday nights (it starts tomorrow!). 3) I joined the church choir. 4) I responded to a fellow army wife's request for a babysitter for her professor (and I met them yesterday- the little boy I will be babysitting every so often is super cute!). 5) I RSVP'd yes for a deployed spouses' Valentine's Day dinner next Friday. 6) I sent Big Brothers Big Sisters an email about becoming a Big Sister here in the Springs. 

 I'm keeping busy, getting involved, making a life for myself here so that I can make a difference and live my life fully and meaningfully.

I had an audition today for Shakespeare's As You Like It (in the Springs- and a professional theatre!). I'm really crossing my fingers here. I read for Rosalind (a lead), but the director stopped me and said that I was doing great but he couldn't consider me for her because she is supposed to be older. Instead, he wanted me to read for two other characters, so I spent 30 minutes going over these extra scenes and trying to get a grasp on 1) what they were actually saying 2) what they were actually feeling while meanwhile 3) creating a persona for these characters. I hate to jinx it, but I think the director liked me! Of course, after I was done, I thought of all the different things I should have done during the audition...but the director actually burst out laughing after one of my lines, so that's a good sign, no? The rehearsals aren't even until July, but I would so love to act professionally again and not to mention make some contacts with professional actors in this city. But I've learned I can't hang on to these auditions. Once I'm done, it's over. And maybe if I'm extremely lucky I'll here back in a few months. Who knows!

While we're on the same subject of Hello________ (something in the future)?, Jack and I are at a place where we really don't know what the heck is going to happen with his career, with the army, with life! He's really got to start thinking about what is next, and I can tell it's driving him crazy. On one hand, staying in the army is a solid, stable career choice with lots of benefits, including retirement at 40-frickin-2! I for one love the army community and even the prospect of moving around is exciting. I've met lots of really amazing women, and this family-centered community would be a wonderful place to raise children in. But on the other hand, the pressure on soldiers is pretty extreme for even the most easy-going of people. I'm going to attempt to put myself in Jack's shoes based on what I've heard him and other wives and soldiers talk about so you can get the picture:

Imagine a job that you can't leave, where you have no control over what time you show up (6am or earlier!), what time you leave work (sometimes as late as 7pm…or later), a career where you are moved around to different departments ("units") that require completely different skills than your previous job, where you have to start developing relationships all over again after you were only just settling into your previous position; where you have to leave your loved ones for months on end while putting your life in danger; where dangerous training exercises are an everyday reality; where your boss is allowed to scream at you and humiliate you for something that's probably not even your fault; where you have little autonomy, very little creative expression; where your body breaks down because of the physical training you have to endure (think of miles of ruck marches carrying upwards of 50 pounds on your back), where missed birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays due to training and deployments are so commonplace that your family is actually used to "online" birthday parties (or even watching your wife give birth over Skype!)

... the list could honestly go on and on. So while I definitely appreciate aspects of the army life, I understand 100% why Jack would be questioning whether or not to make a career out of this. I see how the pressures affect him on a daily basis, and if he can find a career that ultimately fulfills him, I want to support him as much as I possibly can, even if the transition is difficult. Which means we are up in the air, and probably will be floating up here for a while as Jack explores some of his interests and the careers that could go with them. It's a scary thought, but one of my friends is currently in this process and her husband has already turned down several really great job offers, so I know that it would be okay with us as well. Please keep us in your prayers-- that God will give us some direction on what the next step is, whether it is the army for some other adventure. We would so appreciate it!

Well, this little blog post has become a little more than little, so I'll finish it up with some exciting news. I made my first crazy purchase (gotta have at least one of those in life, right?)! It's this baby:

She was made in 1914, so I'm thinking we should name her Dorothy? Anyway, she plays like a dream. I saw her at the thrift store for $100, and after looking up the brand (Schaeffer- which made its last pianos in 1931) and talking to my mom who reassured me that I'm not that crazy, I went back and bought her and hired someone to move her for me. Well, of course after the purchase, I started reading up on old pianos and realized I might have been pretty crazy to buy her because she could require thousands of dollars of work. My imagination caught up with me and I ignored the fact that she was actually fairly in tune and I freaked out a little! The tuner came and he was so helpful. He took me through the process of checking out Dorothy (it's starting to grow on me…is it weird to name a piano?).

1. Check the pin block. This is the back board of the piano, which the tuning pins are attached to. Basically, if this is cracked, you're kind of screwed. Super expensive. Guess what? No cracks at all in Dorothy's pin block!

2. Check the sound board. This is board underneath the keys. It amplifies the vibrations and is also very very important. Guess what? Dorothy's soundboard is in great condition! At this point, the tuner turned to me and said: "This piano is gold." Apparently because she is so old, she is made with real quality materials and craftsmanship. Basically, as much as I'd like to say I knew from pure musicianship she was in great condition when I played her at the thrift store, I had no idea what a pin block or soundboard was, so I got really lucky!

3. Next, we opened up the piano and went through some of the smaller fixes. The only thing that truly affected the sound was a missing little hammer so the highest 'A' didn't make a sound as well as a missing soft pedal (the farthest left). But we found the hammer at the bottom of the piano and he showed me how to use a straw to glue it back in place, and ta-da! Free fix. The pedal he said he would keep an eye out for an old pedal to use, but if not, we could buy a new set of 3 for $45. Of course, there are some smaller things that we can do if we want to really build up this piano and refurbish it. But basically it works wonderfully and we only need to if we want it to be the best it can be. Maybe we'll think about that in the future. He told me he once had an old piano that was in good condition like ours, and he did about 500 dollars worth of work on it and sold it for 5k. But of course, we'd have to pay him for the labor so it would be much more expensive for us to do. I like that he told me that though; it shows that he is honest. For now, I'm just going to work on sanding and staining it and that sort of free-ish thing. He also said the piano keys are real ivory so I can take a nail file and sand down some of the chips in them. So in summary I'm really excited about Dorothy! I've been playing her and working on some of my old piano songs I used to play. Maybe our future kids will be little concert pianists! ;)

And now this huge post is finished! I hope my 3 readers (7 on a good day) enjoyed these ramblings. :)

The Zero-Waste Home Begins

Remember this picture?

Well, ladies and gentleman, I will have you know that I am becoming quite the homemaker/handyman all bundled into one. All for the sake of the "Zero Waste Home." Which is a book about a family who made changes to their lifestyle so that they would not produce as much waste. And then they actually began to produce *no waste.* Well, the amount of trash that they had in one year fit into a mason jar. While I'm not planning on going to those extremes, the idea really got me thinking about how much trash we produce. The biggest culprits I realized are paper towels and tissue paper. Then plastics. Plastic bags, plastic containers, plastic packaging, etc etc etc. And it made me realize that there are literally islands of plastic landfills floating in the oceans, and that I am contributing just as much as anybody else to that type of pollution. It also reminds me of all the missions trips I've gone on, where I've seen children running around barefoot in trash and filth. I don't want to be a part of that! So I've been making some changes in the Holt household.

The first thing I did was make a portable compost. I drilled some holes in a plastic bin (hence the drill above). It was actually my first time using a drill, and I figured it out. Then I used a Bed Bath and Beyond gift card to buy a small compost bin for kitchen scraps. It even matches the green colors in our kitchen. I read that about 1/3 of our trash is kitchen waste, and I've noticed that to be very accurate. Such an easy solution and already it has made a 33% improvement in the amount of waste.

The next thing I began to do was stock up on cheap cloth towels. I put the paper towel holder under the sink and realized that I actually don't have to use it. Cloth towels work just fine! I have one for dishes, one for the counters, and one for drying. I haven't even touched the paper towels since I put it down there. 

The next thing I did was start to collect some glass jars. I have been reading a lot about plastic, and with recent discoveries about the dangers of BPA (and toxins in other man-made materials like teflon), I think it's healthier to use materials like glass and porcelain instead of plastic. I have even read recently how plastics can cause hormone deficiencies in women. Obviously, I can't avoid everything, but I can go back to living a little bit more simply to try and produce less waste and live a little more naturally. So I've lately been picking up glass jars at the thrift store and that sort of thing! Along the same lines, I've sewed some cloth bags out of some linens and made mesh ones as well, so that I won't use plastic baggies anymore. I even went to the grocery store the other day and used my homemade bags to purchase bulk flour, nuts, and produce. The best part is I didn't have to throw anything way, and I felt a little bit like Laura Ingalls Wilder, except for the whole driving there thing.

Here's the dinner I took to the show with me. Homemade tomato soup in a mason jar and bread in a cloth bag. I thought it was really cool that my spoon fit in the jar. The funny thing was that the doors to the theater were locked, so a few of us were huddled in the cold. I squatted down against the building and ate my soup, and as I was wearing a huge, baggy gray sweater, the actor playing Thenardier said I looked like a homeless person. Which I actually sort of did. Just with really delicious soup.

In general, I decided to stop purchasing disposable products whenever possible. I recently discovered castille soap and might switch to buying it in large quantities. It is all natural and smells yummy (my all-purpose castille soap smells like amaretto). You can use it as laundry detergent, as hand wash, shampoo, body wash, etc. I'm not sure if I will give up my shampoo and conditioner, but I've started to mix it with water and vinegar in a spray bottle to clean surface and will start to make my own versions of cleaners as the other stuff runs out. It's crazy to me how people one hundred years ago survived with this type of cleaning. I mean to be clear, sure I'll lather on some disinfectant around flu season and I'm all for vaccinations, but in general the constant sterilization, the heavy use of antibiotics, the intense chemicals in all our products--it's just making us more vulnerable. The studies keep showing that letting your kid crawl around on a floor that hasn't been disinfected actually strengthens their immune systems. Let me be clear…I love a clean home (in fact, I really can't stand things to be dirty), but I'm ready to use some natural cleaners! 

In a part of my waste-reducing efforts, I know it's time to simplify things. Because we joined our apartment possessions together (and because of wedding gifts), we're doubled up on lots of things. There are pots and pans I need to donate. I mean we can only fit 4 things on the stove and I just counted- we have 17 different versions of pots and pans that can go on the stove. How many travel mugs do we need? How many dishes can fit in the oven at once? Whew. Definitely time to simplify things. 

The same goes with clothes. In the book I'm reading, the author has 4 tops and 4 bottoms and a set number of accessories and shoes. She just mixes and matches and looks really cute. Okay, I definitely can't reduce my closet to 8 pieces of clothing (haHA). But the author's simple wardrobe along with the  children I met in Russia and Honduras who literally have one outfit makes me realize I don't actually need what I have. It just makes life more complicated to have so much (cue the song: "Wondering What Clothes to Wear"). Fashion can be a bit of an idol for me, a time-consuming thing that keeps me from seeing some of the beauty in life. I shop a lot at Plato's Closet and other consignment shops, so I felt like I was doing my part by recycling clothes, but storing up clothes I don't need, no matter where they are from, is still wasteful. And sort of glutton-ness. I'm starting out small. In the outfit above, I tailored this hand-me-down denim shirt to fit me (it was always slightly big so I never wore it). I sewed this flowy maxi skirt and then used the slip of an old skirt that I haven't worn in years as a liner. I've been adjusting my wardrobe so that it is less "wasteful" and keeping track of what I don't wear and don't need. Those will soon be donated.

To end this post on a fun note, I made my own calendar station. I actually used the binder from our wedding planning book. It makes me smile that I can reuse something so special (otherwise it would have sat on the shelf until I got tired of looking at it and thrown it away). The front of it even says our names and our wedding date. I used a calendar we had received in the mail for free and just cut out the months and glued them to scrapbook paper. I used page protectors to make it like a scrapbook. See the notes thing below? I can pull it out to write on it, and I can put photos in the page protectors too! Each month is decorated differently. My favorite is June. It's all about Jack's HOMECOMING! :)

As you can tell, I've been keeping busy. If I don't have anything to do, I'll find something to do! And it never seems like I have enough time to do it all. ;)

Last but not least, here is Molly and her puppy friend Bella. Bella's staying with us for a few days because her mommy got really sick and doesn't have enough energy to take care of a crazy puppy! We're happy here though, especially Molly! Leo will need a little work but he'll survive. 

Whoah, we're halfway there!

Well, as of next weekend. (Can you blame me for being premature in posting this? Almost HALFWAY THERE until Jack comes home! We'll make it, I swear!)

The easiest type of blog entry will follow. Pictures :)

My sweet husband had these flowers sent to me on my birthday. <3

I went home for Christmas and got to see this beautiful girl, Kelsie. She sang at our wedding and she was in the Bible study I led at KU. She is an amazing young woman and is going to do great things someday. I had the privilege of being her "mentor" in college, but I have a feeling she will far surpass me in her wisdom. (Now that I think about it, this picture might have been from Thanksgiving.)

I joined some of my sisters' friends at a gathering and got to see some of Jack's best friends as well. These two hooligans were groomsmen in our wedding.

HARRY POTTER! My family went to Universal Studios for Christmas. It was just AMAZING. I grew up reading the Harry Potter books and this place was just magical. We had a blast. I am so glad that I went and got to spend time with my family instead of doing that first play I was so conflicted about.

My siblings and my cousins Missy and Joey with Hogwarts castle behind us.

I have not made a crazy amount of friends here (and most of my friends are moms!), so I was a little underprepared for New Years' Eve, especially because I had just driven back the day before. Luckily I texted this girl with the pink wig to see what was up, and she invited me to a party, which was a blast! This group of Catholic young adults are so welcoming and friendly. Even though they don't know me too well, a group of them are coming up to Denver for my show this weekend. I feel so blessed! 

Show time! "Les Miserables in Concert" went wonderfully. My mom took this picture during our second performance. I was so so so nervous on the first night. I had never even had a solo in a musical before, and I was breathtakingly terrified that I would forget the lyrics or sing something terribly off pitch and lose my place. Cosette's songs require precise pitch and a good deal of vocal control, and one wrong note can kill it! However, I made it through! Each night I gain more confidence. One night, the actor who plays Marius and I goofed up our duet and made up lyrics on the spot. The audience had no idea! I realized then that I can really do this! 

Ariel had these flowers delivered to the theater for my first performance. It was just the sweetest!

 Marius and Cosette, with Eponine "photobombing" us purposefully in the background.

My mom and Susan (our family friend) came to see the show opening weekend, and we all took Molly to Garden of the Gods. Matthew flew out on Saturday to join us! I am so blessed to have such supportive family and friends. This weekend, Jack's parents are coming to Denver to see it. And the next weekend, my mom is coming with my grandparents!

A goofy picture with Thenardier, Valjean, Fantine, and Madame Thernadier. My family had brought me a sandwich during intermission and it became a prop for our photos. 

In the time since the show started, I have been consumed by a lot of home projects. I'll tell you about that in another post. Right now, I will venture onto some sappy 23-year-old life crisis diary entry-style writing. Humor me or skip ahead. Here goes: 

I am a little unsure where my life is headed. I had an interview two weeks ago for an English teaching position in an excellent school district at a high school only minutes from our home. I wasn't offered the position, and I can't even apply to substitute teach in the district except upon request by HR. My next step is to apply to substitute teach in a district just east of here. I despise paperwork and applications, but I need to just sit down and do it. At least I have my Colorado teaching license now, which makes the process a lot easier. However, subbing is just temporary and the time will come when I need to apply for permanent teaching positions this spring. The only problem is that Jack's battalion is disbanding, so that when he returns, we don't know for sure if he will be moved to another unit at Carson or if we will be PCSd to a different location (military lingo alert: PCS stands for Permanent Change of Station and is often used as a verb). The problem is that if we're PCSd, we might not find out about it until Jack gets home and we would probably move before the end of the calendar year. Sure, his orders can break us out of a lease, but not me out of a teaching contract. And I would hate to be in the position of choosing between being with Jack and leaving my class (and breaking my contract before my first year of teaching is over). So I'm in this lingo, not knowing what the next move will be for my career…if I'm ever actually going to teach or if God has something else in mind for me. But these are common problems for an army wife. For example, if the army does PCS us, it would likely only be for a short time, because Jack would have Captains Career Course to complete and we would have to move again. See how that makes having a teaching job difficult? Especially considered you can really only get hired at one time of the year, maybe during winter break. Sure, teaching jobs are everywhere but I never thought about the difficulties with being hired as an army wife. I was pre-nursing for a semester in college. It looks like I should have stayed on that path! ;) Anyway, my temporary *next steps* are to get a darn substitute teaching job and to begin volunteering. And to stop feeling so guilty about not having a job (sorry, type-A here, can you tell?). There is a crisis pregnancy center here in Colorado Springs. I called about volunteering several months ago and never head back, so I finally called back yesterday and learned that I meet to submit an application to volunteer (darn it, I just hate applications!). I'm also going to contact the church about being a cantor at mass (they better not have a dang application to sing at mass!). But I will do what I can while I can and  see where God (and/or the army) takes us next. 

Dialogue of the month:

Jack: So the 1st sergeant was talking about his wife, and he said to us: 'Well, you need to learn that women run the show anyway. She's got all the power,' and I was like, 'Oh yeah, I know.' She may act like you're the boss, but you're really not!

Emily: Yep, as long as we make you guys think you are in control!

Let's backtrack to earlier in the conversation:

Emily: We should make sure we talk about it before you do it.

Jack: (facetiously) We definitely don't need to talk about anything because I'm in control and you just have to do whatever I say. (looking at my mock angry face) Haha, you can't hit me through the screen!

Yes, FaceTime certainly does have its benefits!