Sadly...

Just as I get used to life here in DC, start to feel like our apartment is home, start to get used to having such a crazy schedule at work, use the metro like a pro, feel comfortable walking past the homeless man (who screams stuff like "I like yer dress!" and "You've got pretty hair!", but still makes me jump) to get groceries, memorize the grocery store, know relatively where the streets and metro run, and how to get places without glancing at a map all the time.....

I buy a one-way ticket back to Utah.

I'm excited to see my fam-damily, friends, even acquaintances, eat at Cafe Rio and Bangkok Grill, drive, shop at Harmon's, have a doctor, finish school, and work somewhere I can sit down, but there seem to be a lot of cons.

I'm going to miss JJ a LOT. I'm going to miss laughing with him, cuddling and watching the Food Network, meeting up for dinner, even talking about work and bills--but I'm also going to miss how much he does to help me with every day life.

Marika Singer might be the most spoiled wife in the world. Not only does JJ have a great, stable job, which makes it so that I don't have to worry about how much I'm contributing to the bank account, he also is the perfect house-husband. I can't honestly say that I've done a load of laundry, from start to finish, since we got married--and even before that. Sure, I've put wash in, and folded on occassion, but he usually does the larger part of the laundry. He also does the larger part of loading the dishwasher, and I just have to put the clean 'uns away. He'll run me a bath if he knows I'll be home soon, and gets me a glass of water every night when we're headed to bed. He lets me just do the chores that I like--Grocery shopping, bill paying, and cooking a little more than half of the time. He's the BEST!, and I haven't even mentioned how he's always making me smile with little anecdotes and jokes, hugging me right at the right moment, and encouraging me to accomplish more and more.

Okay, now that I'm getting all emotional...

I'm flying in on July 22nd, then I'll be helping my sister move that weekend. JJ will be out in UT for Katie and Andrew Moravec's reception on Aug 15th and my birthday on Aug 17th, then he'll probably be back for his friend Walker's wedding on Aug 29th. I'll be in DC September sometime and October for UEA. He'll be in UT for Thanksgiving, I'll be in DC/PA with him for the Holidays.

The next 8-ish months are going to be hard, but I know that in the end, I'll be happy that I'm graduated and then we can start our "real lives".

I'm just going to miss him :'(

Our Apartment

As promised, here are the pics of our apartment:

We have a few common areas in the building, including the "games" room:

We bought a new TV when we moved here (one of the many fabulous deals we got). JJ's been pretty happy with it. Note that it's tuned to our favorite channel:

We also bought a new couch just days before the move. We got it at the RC Willey outlet, and would recommend that place to just about anyone!

It's so different living here! Here's the bathroom:

And our walk-through closet (between the bathroom and the bedroom).

Our bedroom is pretty plain, and I think it's going to stay that way for a while. We're not really sure about where we'll be living next, so I don't wanna personalize anything until we know how it'll be.

We also have a nice patio here. JJ keeps his bike on it lately (there are AWESOME bike trails around, I guess.... do I LOOK like I bike?), but this pic was taken before. Also, notice the large somewhat-2001: A Space Odyssey-esque roofy thing (just above the trees). That's the Metro station.

And now for the living/dining/kitchen area:


So that's it! I hope you enjoyed it.

On an almost unrelated note, I'm truly enjoying iPhone's new software.

My Meaty Man

This story was just so funny I had to tell it.

Today JJ and I decided to go to Costco and stock up on some meat. We grabbed some backpacks and off to the Metro we went! For those of you who have never lived in a big city without a car, you'd know a trip to Costco as something pretty different. We get on the Metro, go 3 stops, get on the next train, go 2 stops, get off the Metro, walk 2 blocks, then we're finally there.

So we go shopping, and, since we were there for some meat, we headed right to the back of the place. We go to the meat coolers, and I leave JJ to look for some steaks. When I look back, I see that he's struck up a conversation with a man that was very well-dressed and neatly trimmed. Hmmm....

Apparently, the conversation went a little bit like this:

"Excuse me, is this a good price on this meat?" says the stranger.
"Yeah, it looks like a pretty good deal to me." responds my husband.
"I just usually shop at a butcher's in Dupont Circle"
*Note that Dupont Circle is where most of the gay bars are located*
"Oh, yeah, well Costco generally has really high quality meat at a good price... for example, this is a USDA-Certified Prime New York, at a price that you could pay for Choice somewhere else."
Then I walk up just when the stranger says.....
"Well, I'll get them then... You look like a guy who really knows his meat!"

.......Gay guys love us.

And yes, JJ really does know his meat. As in steaks. What a dirty mind you have.

I Avoided This Until Now

but Rachel tagged me. Here goes:

8 Things I am Looking Forward To:
1. Graduation
2. Getting the time we have to live apart over with
3. Christmas! Who's not?
4. Buying our first house
5. Getting a real job
6. Seeing the house in Vegas my parents just bought
7. Seeing my famiry (I miss you people)
8. The next vacation (again, who's not?)

8 Things I did Yesterday:
1. Got dressed
2. Worked
3. Turned my suit into the dry cleaner's
4. Napped
5. Chatted
6. Went to dinner with JJ
7. Got red in the face when the lady I thought was cat woman was actually a belly dancer who tried to make me dance with her. UGH. Yucky and embarassing (even though I didn't dance).
8. Watched a very sweet little girl who is staying in my hotel win the National Spelling Bee!

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Buy a house (it's a recurring theme)
2. Graduate without taking my last 10 stupid credits
3. Win the lottery
4. Eat a banana just to know what it tastes like (without dying)
5. Go eat Pho with the family
6. Relax! I've been high-stress today.
7. Get JJ a car to have out here while I drive his VW in Utah
8. Go to Thailand

8 TV Shows I Watch (I chose to just say the religiously watched ones... I like TV):
1. Jon & Kate + 8
2. Intervention (haha)
3. Charm School
4. Jacques Pepin (I like Fast Food My Way, but Jacques and Julia was good while it lasted)
5. Throwdown with Bobby Flay (or anything with Bobby)
6. Trading Spouses
7. I Didn't Know I was Pregnant (because I'm an idiot)
8. Hell's Kitchen

8 People I Tag
Ummmm.....
1. Britt or Joe (or both)
2. Diana Anderson
3. Rochelle
4. Britt Beardall
5. Tabitha
6. Jeffiner
7. Rachael Noxon--You haven't written in forever
8. Ummm... Sandi.

Sorry for tagging, I guess you kinda have to? I won't be offended if you don't do it.

Oh, herro....

Welcome to a day in the life of the Singers (I'm still not used to being a Singer, even if I've been married for a year. In fact, when I was filling out my paperwork for the new job, I had to ask for a new W4. I'm no longer Marika Roby)!

I guess this is a day in the life of Me, mostly. So here goes:

4:30 AM: Alarm clock #1 rings. I get up, and get into my uniform. It looks like this, except it's brown with a blue shirt, but I'm not supposed to take pictures of uniforms, etc (so this is what I interviewed in).

Then I go across the street to the Metro. I have to catch the very first one (or else I'll be late), so I show up there at about 5:10 AM.


That person actually isn't me, but she looks close enough, right? I wait for the first train, then get on, and show up at work.

7:00ish AM: Alarm clock #2 rings. JJ doesn't have to be at work at any time specific, as long as he puts in his 8 hours. Lucky ducky. He also only has to go 1 stop on Metro, as opposed to my 7. So he gets on and then it's like 3 minutes' ride for him.

I stand in a VIP Lounge all day and make sure everyone is happy. JJ sits at a desk all day and... does a bunch of secret things.

Then we both get on the Metro and come home. I try to stay happy and up-beat, since some people on the metro are grumps.

This is unrealistic, but it's a pic of us going... somewhere. I don't remember. But I'm sure it was fun! I think we were probably going to the mall.

Then we eat dinner, which, on Cinco De Mayo, was fish tacos:

JJ is always very accommodating of my hectic schedule. He usually makes dinner, or at least really helps.
I'm really tired by the time I get off of work, since I'm not good at going to sleep early.

As for today, I'm training to work the night shift, so I don't have to go into work until 3 PM, but I also don't get OFF of work until 11 PM. Oh well, I guess that's what you do to get school credit while doing almost nothing but work. In lieu of dinner with JJ, we're going to lunch at noon. I better get dressed and go on the short little Metro trip.

More blogging later!

By the way... I do know that I still owe you pictures of our apartment. I'll do it. I should've done it yesterday, when JJ had tidied up everything, but, alas. I'll do it when I get a day off (which is most likely Tuesday and Wednesday of next week).

Dinner at Komi

For our anniversary, we were supposed to go to Cabo San Lucas with my family. Unfortunately, swine flu happened, canceling our plans :-(. JJ made reservations at Komi, a restaurant in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington D.C.

When JJ got home from his 4th day of work, we got all dolled up, then crossed the street to the Metro (it's SO convenient, especially since we didn't bring a car).


This is Apres-Metro, and it's also the only pic we took besides the one below (of food).

So, I'd never had a tasting menu. For those of you who don't know, at some restaurants, they have a menu that is selected for you by the chef, made up of many smaller dishes, so you can get a taste of their style--In this case, JJ warned them about my allergies to bananas and scallops.

Dupont Circle is a really cute neighborhood--there are tons of brownstones and the roads are pretty much 1-laners. We had to walk a few blocks to the restaurant, but the weather has been gorgeous lately, and so it was a good walk (except that I hadn't really eaten anything all day in anticipation).

We entered the restaurant, and I immediately noticed that there are only about a dozen tables. It was simple and calm, especially compared to the rush of traffic outside. We were seated NEXT to each other at a table--which JJ usually doesn't like. At least it was on corners, not directly next to each other. The restaurant is so small that we couldn't really be across.

We opted for the "degustazione", which is more dishes and includes cheese before the dessert.

The first course came, and it was 2 bites of raw fish in a smoked turbot broth for us to share. It was delcious! Now, I realize that most people probably don't wanna hear about the next 9 small bites that were served, as courses, so I'll just write about favorites. My favorite of the first 10 courses was probably a steamed brioche bun with homemade creme fraiche and caviar. Perfect flavors for me, and I'm a sucker for steamed buns--I like my buns steamy :-). JJ loved a lot of things, but I think his favorite was probably the steak tartare with black truffle ice cream, or the date stuffed with goat's cheese with fleur de sel.

I can tell you one thing--we actually really hated one dish. It was like a shrimp paste, and was the grossest texture I've ever put in my mouth. I had to wash it down with plenty of sparkling water.

The most interesting dish was probably the deep-fried liquid Caesar salad. I don't know how they do it, but it really was just that. A crunchy shell filled with liquid salad.

The cutest thing, was, for sure, the animal crackers, shown here:


I got to eat the elephant (JJ always gives me first picks). They were cheddar and chive flavored.

After the first 10 courses came the pasta course (these are still chosen by the chef). JJ got the cheese ravioli with chorizo sauce. I got the tagliatelle with morels, prociutto, and ramps. My dish won for deliciousness. It was so smooth and buttery, I almost melted right into it, but then it was time to switch (we always switch halfway through).

After that was the main course--roasted suckling pig, served with homemade pitas and 6 tasting sauces. The skin was SO crunchy, and the meat was perfectly tender without being greasy. JJ liked the habanero hot sauce, and I liked the salt with oregano.

The cheese course was delicious, and then we got 3 desserts. The first one was definitely my favorite dessert--A lemon gelee with strawberry-rhubarb sorbet. Then we had an "anniversary" themed dessert, which was tapioca with passion fruit sauce. JJ commented that it was perfect for us, since we got married in Hawaii. Then I got a mint and fleur de sel ice cream sandwich, and he got greek doughnuts with a spiced chocolate milkshake. His definitely won on this one--it was SOO delicious.

The check came, and they included root beer lollipops, I think to distract from the price. Sales tax in D.C. is 10%, which really doesn't help when you're somewhere expensive.

We then went outside, where it had been raining, but it stopped for us to get to the metro (it always rains when we go on dates, or we always go on dates when it rains, I can't decide which). The walk home was peaceful and romantic.

All in all, best date, best meal, ever.

BEST WEEK EVER!

Best week ever, and it's only Thursday! Here are the things that made this week amazing:

It was our anniversary--JJ made delicious lasagna

JJ started his job and really likes it

I had a final interview for a job, and was happy with how I did

We ate at Zola

Our 40" HDTV showed up

I got the cutest jacket ever

I got the job I really wanted

We played billiards with Joe and.. Pete?

I made 7-layer bars

We had time to cuddle and watch a movie

We got a settlement for the damaged mattress (from the move)

I fixed the damaged mattress (we think)

*WE SOLD THE BLUE CAR!*

We're going out to dinner tonight at Komi for our anniversary

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Everything seems to be going so much better than we ever expected. Love y'all!