The year 2011 will go down in my personal history as the year of change. My oldest daughter graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in Theater and moved to New York City to set the world on fire! My youngest daughter graduated from high school and moved to Los Angeles to begin her four-year studies at Columbia College, a prestigious film school. I live in Richmond, Virginia so about an eight hour car ride from NYC and a six hour plane ride from LA. Aside from my career, I had dedicated pretty much the past 23 years to raising, nurturing, supporting and enjoying my two daughters and their friends. I was already feeling pretty "empty-nested" when, two days after I left my "baby child" in LA, my husband of seven years asked me for a divorce. I had to find a new place to live, get my house ready to go on the market and rethink pretty much every aspect of my life. Wow - that just took empty nesting to a whole new level! The way I figured, I had a few choices of how I would react; I could do what felt most natural and curl up in the fetal position and never leave my room, I could check into a mental health facility and let the world pass me by, or I could pick myself up, brush myself off and start over. I have chosen the latter.
This blog is a way for me to document my empty nesting experience with the hopes that it will help someone else who may be going through a similar experience. It's my personal journey to discovering what's next for me. Hop on and let's enjoy the ride together!
Phase One - Where do I Want to Live?
For the past 18 years where I lived was in direct correlation to a proper school district. Now, for the first time in a long time, it was really all about what I wanted. As great as that sounds, it really isn't that easy to figure out when you haven't thought about anything YOU wanted for a long time... I began the task of not just house-hunting, but location scouting as well. For the past seven years I'd been living about 30 minutes each way from my job on three acres of land in a 4,000 square foot home in Hanover County near Ashland, Virginia with one of the best school districts in the State. I loved that house and I loved that area. But if I could live ANYWHERE in Richmond, I always thought I'd want to move back to the Fan, where I lived when I attended Virginia Commonwealth University in the seventies and early eighties. So that's where I began my search.
Turns out I'm not so into traffic, parking on the street, noise and city smells anymore. After driving around and looking at a few row houses, I decided I should reconsider. A lot of my friends really like living downtown, so that was my next stop. A high-rise condo complex seemed really cool; ultra modern layouts, gym facilities, covered parking all seemed great, but taking an elevator up and down every time you need to go outside was a turn off. I have a dog that needs walking and isn't always patient so that factored in as well. Plus, I discovered I prefer cozy over cool, who knew? I always have thought of myself as a really "cool", hip person, so this discovery threw me off a bit. I did like the concept of being close to things and having the option of walking to some places. The Libby and Grove area seemed perfect for that - but I really wanted to rent for a year and try and figure it all out. There aren't a lot of rental options in the Libby and Grove area, fyi, so I was stumped again.
Remember, this all happened in a week because when I have a job at hand I don't mess around! I wanted to move out and move on so this search was my number one priority. I found a place online that looked perfect. In the City, but near the West End (and my job), within walking distance of several great restaurants and even a 7-Elevan, but nestled back off the street in a planned-community setting. My oldest daughter came home for the weekend to come to my rescue as she had done so many times before, and we visited in person, took the tour and fell in love! The complex is a well-maintained, high-end townhome community with Country Club amenities like gym, pool, in-house theater and game room and I could get a three bedroom over looking the private 6-acre park complete with a gated dog park - sold! As I said, it surprises me that I chose this over the trendy, cool downtown option, but for me, for now, this works. I've lived here for two months and it's starting to feel like home. Cool! And cozy.
Getting to Know Yourself, All Over Again
That leads me to Phase 2 of empty nesting, getting reacquainted with who you are. Ends up this wasn't the only shocker I was in store for. A lot has changed about my tastes and needs over these past 23 years and every day of my Empty Nesting experience brings a new surprise my way. Here are a few things I've learned about myself in the two months since my Empty Nexting journey began:
Weekly Recipes
Cooking for one really can be fun! I am challenging myself to come up with a new recipe each week to share with you, but mainly to test out on myself. It's challenging to cook for one because I'm not a left-overs person. So what I'm experimenting with is ways to turn the left-overs into a different meal. Here's what I mean:
Sunday Shrimp Stir-Fry
8 medium sized shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 table spoons of Canola Oil
1/4 lb pea pods
1 small green pepper
1 small orange pepper ( I really like these but you can use red, yellow, whatever color you prefer!)
4 green onions, sliced white and green parts (I use these because they contain less sodium than other types of onions)
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
Black pepper to taste (you shouldn't need salt due to the sodium content in even the low sodium soy sauce and broth)
Mix cornstarch and soy sauce throughly and set aside.
Heat the oil in a medium sized skillet on medium heat until fragrant. Add shrimp and peppers and stir gently with a wooden spoon until shrimp turns pink, about 5 minutes. Add onions and pea pods and cook an additional 3 minutes. Push shrimp and veggies to one side and add cornstarch mixture. Stir until slightly thickened and mix with shrimp and veggies.
Serve 1/2 of this with 1/2 cup of whole grain rice cooked according to package instructions. I sub half of the water with low sodium vegtable broth - try it! Put the other half in a sealed container for...
Monday Night Shrimp Wraps
Use the remaining shrimp/veggie mixture from above for these filling and yummy wraps.
1 spinach tortilla (again, use whatever color you prefer, I like the spinach version the best but tomato basil is also a great choice)
1 tablespoon red pepper humus
1/3 cup of fresh sprouts
Romano cheese
Heat shrimp mixture and tortilla in microwave, toaster oven or saute pan until warm.
Spread humus on warm tortilla and put shrimp mixture, sprouts and cheese in the center
Wrap like a burrito with ends folded inward to keep the good stuff from spilling out
Cut in half. Leftovers never tasted this good!
This blog is a way for me to document my empty nesting experience with the hopes that it will help someone else who may be going through a similar experience. It's my personal journey to discovering what's next for me. Hop on and let's enjoy the ride together!
For the past 18 years where I lived was in direct correlation to a proper school district. Now, for the first time in a long time, it was really all about what I wanted. As great as that sounds, it really isn't that easy to figure out when you haven't thought about anything YOU wanted for a long time... I began the task of not just house-hunting, but location scouting as well. For the past seven years I'd been living about 30 minutes each way from my job on three acres of land in a 4,000 square foot home in Hanover County near Ashland, Virginia with one of the best school districts in the State. I loved that house and I loved that area. But if I could live ANYWHERE in Richmond, I always thought I'd want to move back to the Fan, where I lived when I attended Virginia Commonwealth University in the seventies and early eighties. So that's where I began my search.
Turns out I'm not so into traffic, parking on the street, noise and city smells anymore. After driving around and looking at a few row houses, I decided I should reconsider. A lot of my friends really like living downtown, so that was my next stop. A high-rise condo complex seemed really cool; ultra modern layouts, gym facilities, covered parking all seemed great, but taking an elevator up and down every time you need to go outside was a turn off. I have a dog that needs walking and isn't always patient so that factored in as well. Plus, I discovered I prefer cozy over cool, who knew? I always have thought of myself as a really "cool", hip person, so this discovery threw me off a bit. I did like the concept of being close to things and having the option of walking to some places. The Libby and Grove area seemed perfect for that - but I really wanted to rent for a year and try and figure it all out. There aren't a lot of rental options in the Libby and Grove area, fyi, so I was stumped again.
Remember, this all happened in a week because when I have a job at hand I don't mess around! I wanted to move out and move on so this search was my number one priority. I found a place online that looked perfect. In the City, but near the West End (and my job), within walking distance of several great restaurants and even a 7-Elevan, but nestled back off the street in a planned-community setting. My oldest daughter came home for the weekend to come to my rescue as she had done so many times before, and we visited in person, took the tour and fell in love! The complex is a well-maintained, high-end townhome community with Country Club amenities like gym, pool, in-house theater and game room and I could get a three bedroom over looking the private 6-acre park complete with a gated dog park - sold! As I said, it surprises me that I chose this over the trendy, cool downtown option, but for me, for now, this works. I've lived here for two months and it's starting to feel like home. Cool! And cozy.
Getting to Know Yourself, All Over Again
That leads me to Phase 2 of empty nesting, getting reacquainted with who you are. Ends up this wasn't the only shocker I was in store for. A lot has changed about my tastes and needs over these past 23 years and every day of my Empty Nesting experience brings a new surprise my way. Here are a few things I've learned about myself in the two months since my Empty Nexting journey began:
- I like to get up early; this is a real shocker to me since I've never been a morning person. I have really enjoyed getting up early and having time to relax with my dog, Ninja and a cup of coffee. Not having to rush is one of the best things I've discovered about empty nesting. It's well worth that hour of sleep you aren't getting.
- I still love Nirvana - don't judge me!
- I really missed writing. I was an advertising writer for most of my career and for the past seven years I've had another kind of advertising job, which I love. I recently discovered that I have really missed putting my thoughts down on paper (albeit computer paper). So that's how this blog began. I am so happy to be writing again that I can't tell you the difference it's making in my personality. Lesson to others - don't give up things that you love because you "just don't have the time". If you love it, make the time.
- I need to work out - one look in a full length mirror was an eye opener. I have let my body get the best of me and it's time to fix it. 'Nuf said.
- I love to cook, even if it's just me eating it. That's probably how the last bullet happened, but I am discovering all kinds of awesome recipes that fit a healthy lifestyle. See my recipe section to follow.
- I don't really need TV to survive. I thought I did because I was spending most of my free time on the couch watching some Reality TV show. Now entire days go by with me not even turning the television set on. CRAZY!
Weekly Recipes
Cooking for one really can be fun! I am challenging myself to come up with a new recipe each week to share with you, but mainly to test out on myself. It's challenging to cook for one because I'm not a left-overs person. So what I'm experimenting with is ways to turn the left-overs into a different meal. Here's what I mean:
Sunday Shrimp Stir-Fry
8 medium sized shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 table spoons of Canola Oil
1/4 lb pea pods
1 small green pepper
1 small orange pepper ( I really like these but you can use red, yellow, whatever color you prefer!)
4 green onions, sliced white and green parts (I use these because they contain less sodium than other types of onions)
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce
Black pepper to taste (you shouldn't need salt due to the sodium content in even the low sodium soy sauce and broth)
Mix cornstarch and soy sauce throughly and set aside.
Heat the oil in a medium sized skillet on medium heat until fragrant. Add shrimp and peppers and stir gently with a wooden spoon until shrimp turns pink, about 5 minutes. Add onions and pea pods and cook an additional 3 minutes. Push shrimp and veggies to one side and add cornstarch mixture. Stir until slightly thickened and mix with shrimp and veggies.
Serve 1/2 of this with 1/2 cup of whole grain rice cooked according to package instructions. I sub half of the water with low sodium vegtable broth - try it! Put the other half in a sealed container for...
Use the remaining shrimp/veggie mixture from above for these filling and yummy wraps.
1 spinach tortilla (again, use whatever color you prefer, I like the spinach version the best but tomato basil is also a great choice)
1 tablespoon red pepper humus
1/3 cup of fresh sprouts
Romano cheese
Heat shrimp mixture and tortilla in microwave, toaster oven or saute pan until warm.
Spread humus on warm tortilla and put shrimp mixture, sprouts and cheese in the center
Wrap like a burrito with ends folded inward to keep the good stuff from spilling out
Cut in half. Leftovers never tasted this good!
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