tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44268262498082015382024-03-13T05:38:39.652-05:00Everybody Loves VDVeronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16585997616568926212noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-65186736405520725152014-02-01T18:59:00.002-06:002014-02-01T18:59:39.912-06:00January Book Review: "Happier at Home" by Gretchen RubinFor 2014, I decided to set a goal to read one book each month. I enjoy reading books, but I don't often find motivation to read. Mike has been doing some coursework for work, so there's a bit more downtime to myself. Perfect time for reading!
For January, I selected Gretchen Rubin's Happier at Home. It's a sequel to The Happiness Project which I read last year. In the first book, Gretchen Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-76053965896578084912013-04-06T19:39:00.000-05:002013-04-06T19:39:11.404-05:00On Doing Nothing..."You're always so busy!"
"If you keep busy, time will fly by!"
"It's so great that you're able to stay busy while Mike's gone."
Busy, busy, busy.
My (and others') philosophy for the last three months has been "Keep busy and this will all be over soon." But you know what? Six months is six months. Whether you fill every second with activities or if you sit and stare at the wall Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-34137414430047423732013-03-09T13:27:00.004-06:002013-03-09T13:27:45.128-06:00Hello, 2013! (Part II)Check out Hello, 2013 (Part I) here.
February
In early February, my friend Sarah came to visit Ellie and I! Sarah lives in Alexandria, VA. We had a really great time enjoying margaritas...
and painting pretty pictures of the Alamo!
The next weekend, I was able to go out to Washington, DC and see Mike for a few days before he left for Afghanistan. We stayed in Old Town Alexandria Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-73168898352964943212013-03-09T12:00:00.001-06:002013-03-09T12:00:08.695-06:00Hello, 2013! (Part I)[Insert joke about how long it's been since I've posted.]
[Insert sincere apology for my absence and heartfelt promise to write more.]
It's 2013! Time for a fresh start! It's certainly a time for big changes here at the Holtz household! Here's a run down of the last 3 months (over this two part series). Hang on to your hat, it's been a wild ride!
December
I told you I traded in the RunnerVeronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-14721964601008734792012-12-11T15:00:00.000-06:002012-12-11T15:00:03.996-06:00Goodbye, Old Friend
Today I say goodbye to an old friend. A friend who served me well and got me through good times and bad. She saw so many chapters of my life and helped shape who I am today. Since I was 17, she has given me an invaluable gift: Freedom.
Who is this friend, you may ask? A 2000 Toyota 4Runner SR5 in Stellar Blue Pearl with a gold package, which I lovingly refer to as The Runner.
Here Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-64787526739468058862012-12-03T20:21:00.000-06:002012-12-03T20:21:55.807-06:00Color Me Rad 5KI'm going to go ahead and say we've established a new tradition. I believe the perfect end to any challenging triathlon and marathon season is some sort of unique 5K. Last year it was the Warrior Dash where we hopped over obstacles like beat up cars and 20-foot walls and crawled through mudpools. It was a blast, but not really for which you train (at least we don't).
This years fun 5K Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-32271182040658424472012-11-30T07:35:00.001-06:002012-11-30T07:35:12.803-06:00Giving Thanks 2012This Thanksgiving, Mike and I decided that it would be best if we stayed in San Antonio. We let our parents know they were invited to join us for the holiday, but that we were unable to travel this year. Mike's mom and my mom RSVP'd for our celebration and we had a wonderful time!
Mike's mom got in Wednesday afternoon and we took her to Flemings, a very nice restaurant nearby, for their happy Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-45261928859914300142012-11-21T07:00:00.000-06:002012-11-21T07:00:07.207-06:00Light the Way 2012
Man! I can't believe Valentine's Day is just around the corner!!
Wait, what's that?
It's not even Thanksgiving?
But just this past weekend I celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and the 4th of July!
My friend Kristin graciously planned out a wonderful evening for us at the University of Incarnate Word's Light the Way ceremony. Each year around the holidays they decorate their campus with aboutVeronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-595678786907472012-11-16T08:27:00.000-06:002012-11-16T08:27:04.102-06:00Medal Magnets!After finishing the San Antonio Rock n Roll half marathon and other races, many times I receive a finisher's medal. They're often very attractive and heavy! For a long time, I didn't know what to do with them, so I stuffed them in a drawer with the intent of displaying them eventually. (You know, when we have that 5-bedroom apartment in a high-rise in the city and we dedicate one room to Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-84747362898363131382012-11-15T08:00:00.000-06:002012-11-15T08:00:04.038-06:00San Antonio Rock n Roll Half Marathon
We did it!! You've all heard about me raising money for Spina Bifida while training for the San Antonio Rock n Roll half marathon. Well, this past Sunday we finished the race! I personally raised $650 dollars and the team as a whole raised
$3,000!!!
Mike and I rode our bikes to the convention center downtown to pick up our packets. There's a bike ride associated with the race, so a localVeronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-67865843105410383372012-11-13T20:39:00.000-06:002012-11-13T20:39:57.410-06:00October Foodie Pen Pal!Last month I signed up for a cool new program: Foodie Pen Pal!! Here's how it works: You sign up before the 5th of the month, then you are assigned a recipient and a sender. You pack a box of $15 worth of "foodie" things (can be homemade or local flavors or whatever) and send it to your recipient (you connect with them to find out their preferences and/or dietary restrictions). The sender does Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-22630112991613387562012-11-09T08:00:00.000-06:002012-11-09T08:10:00.669-06:00The 2012 Military Spouse Career Summit
The day after the Texas Conference for Women, I hopped on a plane bound for Washington, DC. I was headed to the National Military Spouse Network's Military Spouse Career Summit. I was very excited to meet with other military spouses who were interested in staying in the workforce despite PCSes and deployments. I was eager to here what the speakers had to share with us. Big thanks to Alaina Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-76390016596418335382012-11-07T08:00:00.000-06:002012-11-07T08:00:04.414-06:003 Things I Learned at the 2012 Texas Conference for Women
In October, I attended the 2012 Texas Conference for Women in Austin. It was a HUGE conference with over 5,000 attendees (everything's bigger in Texas...). There were many "celebrities" there (in my book, at least) like Gretchen Rubin, Danielle LaPorte and Cathie Black. I was also introduced to some new rockstars like Brene Brown and Lauren Berger.
That's a lot of seating!
The Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-14022366862854232372012-11-05T07:30:00.000-06:002012-11-05T07:30:00.744-06:00Boomer Sooner Homecoming!Way back in the spring, it was looking like we weren't going to be in Texas past Summer of 2013. Not knowing where we might land, I figured 2012 was really my last chance to go to an OU football game from within driving distance. (Turns out I was right!) So I told Mike I would be planning an OU football weekend. If he wanted to plan a trip to see the LSU Tigers play, I'd be on board completely, Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0Norman, OK, USA35.2225668 -97.439477735.0150263 -97.755334699999992 35.4301073 -97.1236207tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-29171534954776353402012-11-03T08:00:00.000-05:002012-11-03T16:44:09.829-05:00I think I'll go to Boston...So life changing things have happened over the past few months. I haven't written about it for several reasons, none of which include "I was busy" because I just wasn't.
Over the summer, Mike found out he will be deployed for six months starting in early 2013. We've done this once before, five years ago when we were living in Oklahoma and had been dating less than a year. It was hard, Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-43574179554902266622012-11-01T10:36:00.001-05:002012-11-01T10:36:49.403-05:00Happy November!Well, it's time to change the calendar yet again! Here we are in November! Fall is great, isn't it? It just smells good!
Pants enjoying her fleece kitty bed now that the weather has cooled off.
Well there's this thing that happens in November called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and it's for novelists who want that extra push to write more frequently. I don't know the Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-41555461533035050122012-10-05T17:00:00.000-05:002012-10-05T17:00:03.526-05:00I'm Not Special: 90 Days of FitnessNote: This post was written about a month ago and sat in "draft" status until today. I'm not sure exactly why I didn't want to post it right away, but reading it a month later, I know it needs to be shared.
My name is Veronica and I worked out every day for 90 days.
And I'm not special.
But I am so very, very tired.
Over a year ago, I thought it might be cool to work out every day for Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-35994486609287354812012-08-26T15:32:00.001-05:002012-08-26T15:33:22.764-05:00Texas Summer Vacay!Mike and I have frequently talked about how we'd like to take his nephew and niece, Landyn (8) and CJ (5 then, now 6 at the time of this writing), for a week or so over their summer vacation. Since we're in San Antonio, there are SO many things to do with them! Earlier this summer, Mike mentioned that he had a "free" 5-day weekend for the 4th of July if he stayed in town. I suggested that this Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-78694335996168755802012-08-16T17:41:00.000-05:002012-08-16T17:41:54.173-05:00A trip home - June 2012 (I'm back!)Excuse me while I dust the cobwebs off my blog.
There. All better.
So I didn't fall off the face of the Earth or win a million dollars or move to a remote location with no internet access. I have simply been neglecting my blog. I would say I've been SO busy and I just haven't had time to post, but I've watched WAY too much of the Olympics and taken far too many naps to use that as an excuse.
Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-54963147386719246222012-06-16T15:06:00.000-05:002012-06-16T15:06:04.248-05:002nd Anniversary Trip: San Francisco!So, I made a commitment to myself (and Mike) that we would go on a trip every Memorial Day weekend to celebrate our anniversary. Last year we went to New York City. When we were returning from our trip last year, we talked about some possibilities for this year's trip. Neither of us had been to San Fancisco, but we were both interested in going. Well, that was easy!
On Friday, we left early in Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0San Francisco, CA, USA37.7749295 -122.419415537.6745235 -122.577344 37.8753355 -122.261487tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-12867184630274552902012-06-07T08:00:00.000-05:002012-06-07T08:00:00.101-05:00Feeding Friendship: No-Bake* Strawberry CheesecakeWell, strawberries have been plentiful at the Farmer's Market and grocery store! Thanks, Ellie, for choosing strawberries for this round of Feeding Friendship!
I did a quick search of the usual sites (Pinterest, Punchfork) to get some ideas of what to make for this round. I ended up searching through the recipes at Skinny Taste and found this AWESOME No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-55847585531178296752012-06-02T16:52:00.000-05:002012-06-02T16:52:31.662-05:00Feeding Friendship: Stuffed Bell PeppersI chose peppers for this round of Feeding Friendship because I have serrano and bell peppers growing our planter in the backyard. The serrano plant is loaded with peppers and I get a few bell peppers a week. I needed help figuring out what to do with them!
I chose to make stuffed bell peppers. I did purchase mine from the store, though, since the one's I'm growing weren't big Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-14682712546286263282012-05-23T20:57:00.001-05:002012-05-23T20:57:49.733-05:00Big City DreamsOne belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years— Thomas Wolfe
I've been to New York several times. At one point my mom and I tried to make it an annual thing, but our lives got busy with other things. Mike and I even visited the Big Apple for our anniversary last year. For most of middle school and all of high school (and to this day) a postcardVeronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-88385016747225982842012-05-21T17:15:00.001-05:002012-05-21T17:15:17.273-05:00Feeding Friendship: Basil Pesto PizzaThis round of Feeding Friendship (for which I'm oh so late!) feature nuts! I'll admit, I had to scramble a bit as life has been hectic and I didn't get my act together quick enough. I did realize that something I had planned to cook anyway included nuts, however! My favorite basil pesto pizza! The pesto contains pine nuts!
Pine nuts!
This recipe is sort of just in my head, but it originated Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4426826249808201538.post-65258908092778961392012-05-13T15:32:00.000-05:002012-05-13T15:32:10.414-05:00Mom's Fiesta VisitHappy Mother's Day!
Last month, my mom came down to San Antonio for a visit. It was during Fiesta so we took in some of the events while she was here.
When she arrived on Saturday, Mike, Rhonda, and I picked her up at the airport and we all went up to Bulverde, north of San Antonio, to view a new home being built "off the grid." It had it's own solar power and water tank. I guess Veronicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09217919550788632203noreply@blogger.com0