March 2024

March is the season of uncertain weather, as Spring struggles for its inevitable defeat over Winter. And this year in the northeast, Winter hardly put up a fight before the daffodils popped up and the Spring Peepers started croaking. But anyway, here are all the photos and videos from March and below is what we've been up to this month besides waxing poetic about the seasons.

Redecorating

Becky: I signed up to host book club as motivation to finish decorating our living room (see pics).  I do enjoy coordinating wall/shelf art with furniture. This room was kinda fun because it has large wooden beams (our house used to be a barn).  So we decorated around those, mostly ordering things of Amazon and Etsy.  We found the giant picture at IKEA- the place for giant pictures when you need to fill a large space.  Overall it turned out much like we wanted it:)

Rob: Redecorating also meant getting rid of old things. Our old futon/couch that we've been using for too long got moved into our office/storage room when we got a new couch. I end up sleeping there a lot because I have some snoring/sleep apnea that I need to get checked out (the doctor said I had a deviated septum and also large tonsils that might be an issue). But that futon/couch wasn't very great to sleep on, so we gave it away, and I made a trip back to our house in Binghamton one Saturday this month and got a twin bed that I had in storage there from our AirBnB hosting days. So glad to have that bed back here, it is much better to sleep on.

Hosting Book Club

Becky: I wanted to have our book club read something action-packed (and maybe historical) or funny, so I proposed "Bomb" or "A Long Way from Chicago".  We tend to read a lot of deep and often feminist type books (which are also good).  They opted for comedy and picked "A Long Way from Chicago".  I'm always surprised at the range of discussion generated by whatever book we're reading.  I like that the book club is for anyone- not just ladies from our church.  It makes for even better discussions and it's always a good time.  Whoever hosts tends to make some type of amazing dessert or bread and usually some type of charcuterie board.  I decided to go Asian and made spring rolls, ginger apple salad, miso peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (mini), edamame and mochi ice cream balls (from the freezer section).  

The spring rolls were the only thing that took effort.  I get bored cooking but love cooking shows so I like to pretend I'm in a cooking/baking competition when making anything.  The spring rolls tasted good, but I would have lost a lot of points for presentation.  At any rate, book club gives people a chance to be experimental with culinary creations.  Last month, our friend Shakira, make a cake with browned butter and lavendar- pretty exotic and tasty.  And I still think back on these super chocolatey date brownies made by Jamie Phipps- who always makes amazing food.

A Sudden Possible Career Change

Rob: I feel fortunate to have a great remote work situation with Baylor College of  Medicine in Houston, where I have been for the past 2.5 years. But through a professional network, I came across a job posting for a remote science editor at NYU with a salary that is a lot more than I currently make (and aligns more with the cost of living in this area). The job responsibilities overlap quite a bit with what I do now, and what I did in my previous job. While the pay increase would be a big upside, a downside would be that I'd have travel in to the NYU campus in Manhattan 3 times a month, which is a bit of a journey from here. But I thought I should at least update my CV, draft a cover letter, and send it along to see what happens. I was surprised when they contacted me right after the closing date for applications. I had three interviews the following week and the next week I had one more. I did a skills test and a personality test, and then they asked for my references. That was the most difficult part, because it required having a conversation with the people I work for about potentially moving on. They've been great to me.  I knew this would come as a complete surprise to them. Thankfully, they understood and expressed support. I expect to hear back from NYU with a decision the first week of April. I'm not sure if they'll make me an offer, but they seemed particularly interested in my mediocre skills with Adobe Illustrator because their office is looking for that. So stay tuned.

Easter Sunday

Alex got an Easter basket in the morning with some new books and toys, and also some goodies for Mom and Dad. After church we had a little egg hunt around the yard, and the eggs had these little eraser animals in them that he really likes, so he can add them to his growing collection. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and a walk around the gardens at the county arboretum although most of the flowers aren't in bloom there yet. And then we made our annual Easter salmon dinner.

What Else Is New

Rob: While helping Becky put many pictures up on the walls lately, I discovered a handy tool that does minimal damage to the wall and allows you to adjust the level of the picture. They are called Wall Buddies -- highly recommended. 

Alex: After several years of giving Alex a smoothie mix every morning as a means of getting more fruits/vieggies/fiber into him, he finally reached a point where he wouldn't eat it anymore and our tactics no longer worked. So we've switched to putting a variation of the smoothie in pancakes and waffles, which he'll gladly eat every morning. So far so good.

Becky: Our landlord/neighbors gave us a box of Mallowmars they didn't want, which I had only heard of from Gilmore Girls. Turns out they are quite tasty, and a local favorite of the NYC/NJ area. Another new food item I have fallen in love with is a dish called the "Smothered Mother" at a Caribbean restaurant we go to often called Empanada Nirvana. It is basically nachos, but with tostones instead of chips.