I arrived home after work today craving some time in the sun. Luckily this little girl was more than game to go for a walk with me and enjoy the outdoors.
We walked around our neighborhood while I caught up with my friend Carrie on the phone.
Once we arrived back home, it was time to prep dinner.
I got to work popping some beans (possibly the most tedious activity in the world) and my hunger started raging.
What’s a girl to do but grab the nearest peanut butter jar and go to town?
I think Sadie was more than happy when I polished it off because she got to be the designated “jar cleaner” before I tossed it into the recycling bin.
She went to town!
While Sadie was polishing off the peanut butter, the green beans were roasting in the oven and gradually morphing into green bean fries.
I served the green bean fries alongside two pieces of pizza toast that I made with Nature’s Pride hearty wheat with flax bread that I received through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.
Pizza toast and English muffin pizzas are such delicious throwback meals!
The bread made great pizza “crust” because it was hearty but still soft and full of flavor.
Now I’m hoping to accomplish a couple random things around the house before Ryan arrives home from work. He’s stuck at the office late tonight (boo!) and I think Sadie is wondering when her roughhousing buddy is going to walk through the door. I’m hoping soon!
Long Distance Relationship Post Idea
Before signing off for the night I wanted to share an idea that I had late this morning when I saw how many of you are currently in long distance relationships. I think it might be neat to compile a list of tips for maintaining a wonderful long distance relationship in a blog post on PBF. If you have any pointers, please, please share below!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
That sounds like a great post idea! I know for me, the ket to a long-distance relationship is that BOTH sides must be putting in equal effort. I know this is true in every relationship, but with long-distance ones the people involved have to really be committed to developing the relationship.
Skype dates! My ex and I used to pick out a recipe, buy the ingredients, and then Skype while we cooked together. Then we could eat the same dinner and chat. Sometimes we would watch the same show or movie afterward, too. It was the best thing for our relationship. It’s amazing what SEEING the person does for you!
that’s such a cute idea!
Meant to say “key” instead of “ket”…not quite sure what a “ket” is…
Omgosh, I literally just pulled a pan of roasted green beans out of the oven, inspired by you! I LOVE them. Soo good.
In my experience, the best tip I can share for maintaining a successful long distance relationship with my man is to really make sure that communication is both honest and open. If a problem or argument arises (which it is bound to at some point) take care of the issue right away rather than letting it linger! Pizza toast looks wonderful!
Skype, Skype, Skype! Even though nothing can replace physically being together, seeing the other person is a million times better than just talking on the phone.
Schedule a weekly phone call time. Otherwise you tend to put it off or make excuses. Besides it gives you something to look forward to (applies for friends more than boyfriends).
Haha–I’m actually sitting here, waiting to pick my boyfriend up from the airport! How timely, right?
We consider ourselves pros at this game by now. We have a whole schedule down: we email every morning, just to check in and say hi, we catch up on the phone in the afternoon and a few times in the evening (and we just discovered Skype! What a lifesaver). We try not to ever go more than three weeks without seeing each other if we can help it, and we ALWAYS plan our next visit before the current one is over (generally, we’re planned a month or two ahead of time). We send each other cards and small packages in the mail, just to let the other one know we’re thinking of each other. And I guess, most importantly, we try to focus on the good stuff, whether when we’re apart or together. We’ve learned that our time together is too important to spend it fighting. If we disagree on something, we talk it out, try to find a solution, and move on. It’s been the best learning and growing experience for both of us!
Phew! Sorry for the rant. This is just such a huge part of my life. Let me know if there’s any other info that you’re interested in, and I’d be happy to share!
Ah, the long distance relationship! My bf and I have been together for two years and a couple of months, and we’ve been long distance for all but 4.5 months of that. He’s in the military and has been away on training (looong distance) for a total of 11ish months, and posted elsewhere for the rest of it.
I think the #1 tip I would have is that you HAVE to communicate. Its way easier to shut down over the phone than in person – he can’t read my mind (or my facial expressions) so you have to be honest when you’re upset, happy, etc.
The other key is to be really clear about how you feel about each other, and say how much you love each other often – long distance is a lot of work and a LOT of lonely nights and it helps when you know that this is just one of a hundred phases you’ll go through in your life together!
Totally agree. I think communication is key in ANY relationship!
I loooove making my own version of “pizza toast”… and it’s so easy peasy and fast to throw together, too!
Wish I could offer words of advice for the LDR, but I have never been in one myself. I’ve been able to keep friendships going long distance, though… snail mail is AMAZING and so is Skype!!!!!!!!! I have friends in Australia and New Zealand from my study abroad trip back in college that I still keep in contact with thru skype… it’s seriously amazing!! And I agree with what y’all have said before… planning the next trip is a must! Gives you something to look forward to 🙂
wow! I never thought of making pizza on regular bread! usually its strictly english muffins, tortillas or pizza crust. why have I not thought of regular bread! haha THANKS!!
My boyfriend and I did long distance for one year. My biggest tip is to make the reunion special. My boyfriend always did something special…picking me up at the airport with flowers, stocking the fridge with my favorite foods, picking up a bottle of my favorite wine…anything to make our time together special.
When I was in a long distance relationship, we always used to send each other little goodie boxes in the mail. It was fun getting a surprise in the mail!
WRITE LETTERS! My boyfriend and I are sort of forced to do that (he’s in Army Ranger School & it’s the only communication we have right now) but we were sending each other mail/care packages even before it was our only option. It’s so much more special than a text message or an email.
One thing I constantly have to work on myself is not being jealous of other couples. Because he’s in the military, we know a lot of other long distance couples and sometimes when I find out that one of the girlfriends is going out for a visit, it’s hard not to get sad and sometimes a little bitter. So I have to remind myself that all of our situations are different and most of the time the other girls are just as lonely as I am.
Awww. I used to be in a long-distance relationship with the wonderful man who is now my husband. Here are some of the things that helped us…
-Write letters occasionally — real, snail-mail love letters
-Send surprise gifts on random days! There’s nothing like opening the door to a flower delivery (or cookie delivery for the menfolk ;-)) when you’re feeling lonely
-Watch movies while on the phone/webcam with each other
-ALWAYS look forward to your next date, even if it feels like it’s a million miles away
-Stay involved in each other’s lives! Know who your BF/GF’s friends are, what they’re up to, how their hobbies are shifting, goals, etc
Pizza toast sounds really good!
I think that is a great idea for a post — I’ve never been in a LDR, but I have plenty of friends that I don’t see often — we keep it together by skyping, sending each other funny cards, emailing, etc.
As someone who is currently in a long-distance relationship (been dating for 8 years, long-distance for the last three) and a therapist who recently gave a presentation to college students on “how to maintain a long distance relationship”, this topic is near and dear to my heart!
Through training and also my own experience, these are my main pieces of advice for making a LDR work:
1. Communicate! (In LDRs, you don’t have the ability to read body language in the way you can when you are face-to-face… you have to learn to communicate what you need and want with words, which is a great quality within a relationship anyways!)
2. Ignore those who say it won’t work (Only you know the true nature of your relationship… no one else)
3. Establish trust (Let your partner know what you’re up to so they don’t start getting suspicious if they see pictures on Facebook from a party you never told them about.)
5. Be thoughtful (Occasionally, do things above and beyond to keep the romance alive)
6. If possible, keep an end in sight (Know when you’ll see each other next… it makes saying good-bye so much easier)
7. Continue to nurture your social life (Don’t sit at home missing your partner… get out and find support from friends. It will help keep you busy while your partner is away
I’m not in a long distance relationship, but if I was, I’m sure I’d be a Skype-a-holic!
Sadly, my husband is away for work for at least the next month, it’s already been two, and only comes home every other weekend. It’s very difficult. The biggest thing for us is establishing a time in which we talk every night. I teach third grade and always have work to bring home, which I can’t do while talking on the phone, if we have a set time to talk, that’s so helpful for us.
Also, stay busy! I coach for Girls on the Run, blog, run with friends, and schedule lots of outings with my friends when my husband is away.
mmmm I love quick, yummy dinners 🙂 I am married- so now long distance for me, but I would def use a lot of ichat, phones, and airline tickets!!!
When my mom cooks a huge pot of sauce, I steal some of it while it cooking and put it on bread and eat it with a little parmesan cheese. Your pizza toast reminds me of it. Yum! 🙂
I love the post idea, I am currently in a long distance relationship! The major things for us are trust and communication. We are very open about the good, and the things that bother us.
We always plan to see each other before we leave from a visit. I’m lucky that we’ve been able to see each other every 2 weeks, since we are only 2 hours apart. Skype “dates” definitely help those 2 weeks fly by. And, yes, I get dressed up for them like they are a date!
I’ve also found that it is REALLY important to verbalize when I am having a bad day or in a funky mood. He may not know that my day has been less-that-stellar, but if I tell him how I feel, I am far less likely to be snippy with him.
The other, silly, thing that we do is play a game of “tic-tac-toe” every day. We started because we saw a statistic about there being enough outcomes to last 70 years 🙂 But, it’s nice to always have a little no-stress distraction every day!
I’m also in a long distance relationship and my boyfriend lives in a different time zone so I am really excited to read everyones suggestions (and offer some of my own)!
Make a point to talk on the phone often. We try to have at least one long conversation a day as well as several shorter ones throughout. Skype dates are also awesome!
Share as much as you can about your day-to-day life. That way the other person doesnt feel like they are missing out.
Make sure to communicate how you are feeling. This is really important in regular relationships but uber important in long distance ones. If the person doesnt know, and they cant see you right away, you’re setting yourself up for failure!
Plan plan plan. We always plan extra special dates when we see each other and plan our trips to see each other a few months out. We also plan vacations!
and just be nice to each other. being in an LDR is already tough enough!
I just discovered a new vegan pizza sauce that I love and need to use before it goes bad…I’m thinking pizza toast for tomorrow!
My boyfriend and I are long distance, so we try to send each other a picture of ourselves everyday! It sounds like a lot, but with the ease of camera phones and webcams, its so easy to just snap a pic while working or going about my day. It’s really nice to “see” him everyday.. and when I’m feeling lonely, I have so many pictures to look through!
Pizza toast?! I gotta try that looks great!!!
Currently doing the long distance thing myself, and since we are both in grad school, it’s going to be a long TERM long distance.
When I don’t keep myself busy and motivated, whether it be with school, working out or something, I get the worst anxiety and sadness. Keeping busy doing your own thing during the long days apart truly helps me!
I love pizza toast! I’ve been eating that since I was probably 8 years old when my mom would make it for me.
Now I love to put that turkey pepporoni, oregano, and crushed red pepper on it too!
My boyfriend and I have been doing the long distance thing for nearly THREE years! We live on opposite sides of the country and the distance and time change is daunting. Fortunately, I think the long distance part may be coming out of our relationship soon and I couldn’t be happier! 🙂
My advice would be:
– Set expectations. You should know how often you plan to see each other and how often / how long you’re going to talk over the phone/skype.
– Plan visits in advance. Always know when you’ll see each other again. Not knowing when the next visit is going to come is maddening.
– Talk about the future. A long distance relationship can’t go on forever. At some point, someone is going to have to move which can have a huge impact on other areas of your life such as work and family.
My best friend goes to college in California and I live in Kentucky. Luckily, we’re close enough that when we do get to see each other…it’s like we were never apart. We’re both pretty busy (each being full time students and part time workers), plus there’s a 3 hour time difference on top of that! We set aside a specific time to talk on the phone and allow at least an hour for it. We also talk about our separate friends, which makes us feel more connected. When we don’t have time to talk, we usually send random texts throughout the day.
That pizza toast looks amaaaazing! 😀
My husband and I were long distance for about a year! We used to skype by watching our favorite shows. My other tip is to not forget about snail mail, his letters and cards gave me something to re read whenever I was feeling really lonely. Plus they are really fun to read now that we are married!
My boyfriend and I have been long-distance for three years while we both do our PhDs. I think the best thing is that we’ve learned to *appreciate* being long distance. That’s right, long distance can be awesome. We value how much more time we spend talking than most couples – instead of sitting in front of the TV, together, we listen to each other and ask questions. Instead of feeling guilty about going out with our own friends instead of each other, we value our independent time. Instead of existing in the same space but doing our own things, we are constantly forming a trajectory and plan together – i think we goal set so much more than other couples! And on a lighter note, we’re both fitness fanatics, and we’re both incredibly competitive, so we train for events while we’re apart and then get to have some friendly competition 🙂 Overall, I think a change of perspective is what makes it so easy!
I actually wrote a post last night about being single! Haha! Clearly relationships are on the mind! 😉
My parent’s dated long distance and they would write letters all the time! 😀
My FI and I were long distance for almost two years. (And by long distance, I mean Boston to Knoxville). We kept it going by keeping in constant contact. We called each other to wake up every morning. We talked for at least an hour every night before going to sleep. We also emailed once or twice per day.
We saw each other every 6 weeks either by me going there, him coming here or meeting some place and visiting with friends. One great thing about being long distance, the . . . umm . . . sex. We did it A LOT when we were visiting over the weekend. And you are ALWAYS in the mood for it.
I think that being long distance helped us out in that we got to know each other VERY well by the time we moved in together. I also think the success of our LDR is that we knew that our relationship was very serious and heading towards marriage, family, kids, etc.
I think the best thing that my bf and I do is lovey little text messages. I love the letters and phone calls but a text is so in the moment and I love the instant gratification. It’s nice to know that he’s taking time out of his busy work schedule to just say hi, or I love you.
Since we’ve been together for 6 years and living long distance for the last 2.5 years it’s like we have it down pat and things can get a little blah at times but when I get that text out of the blue it lights my face up and I have a smile on the rest of the day!
My #1 tip is to create your own life, instead of moping over your LDR. I realized that after a few months of feeling lonely and depressed- sadness is never sexy! Forming my OWN interests and friendships made me a happier person on my own, which in turn made me a happier person to be around. Make the most of your time apart and it will pass much faster!
My bf and I started dating my junior year of high school, did the long distance thing during college, broke up for a few years, and recently got back together. The key is to not be unrealistic, and communicate and make time for each other. We pretty much text non stop all day, have Skype “dates” once a week, and plan visits about every six weeks. We also plan to take a week long vacation once a year to have an extended amount of time together.
Trust is a big issue in a lot of long distance relationships, so it’s really important to be open, honest, and communicate.
Oh I just got that bread and I love that idea. I love making mini pizzas out of english muffins but never thought to try it with bread.
Gchat and Iphone face time are my LDR SAVIORS.
Hey! I was in a long distance (he was in California, I was in DC) relationship for a year and a half, and honestly, my biggest advice for someone going through the experience is to trust your partner and DON’T nag them!
I have found that in real life, nagging or starting small fights isn’t a big deal, since you can hug it out or talk it out immediately. However, when you are long distance, you cant just snuggle up with the person, and small arguments can simmer and simmer without being completely resolved.
I think that a lot of couples that don’t make it through long distance start to let little things bother them, and those little things add up.
Have a nice night!
I definitely agree that letting the little things bother you can be detrimental–ultimately that’s why my LDR broke off. I think if there are fundamental problems with the relationship to begin with an LDR is going to bring them to light.
So…I guess it wasn’t the worst thing in the world that we didn’t survive long distance 😉
So I just started reading your blog, Julie – I love it!!
Great time to start reading! … My bf and I have been long distance for 5 of the 7 years we have been dating – high school sweethearts, then 5 hours apart in college, and now I’m in med school and he’s got a grown up job (but we’re only 2 hours apart – yay!!)
Biggest piece of advice – do not put so much pressure on the times your together. If you get all angsty about those weekends being perfect, then something is bound to go wrong and leave you feeling stressed and let down. There will be more times – just enjoy each for what it is and keep reasonable expectations!
I’ve done long distance with my boyfriend for the past 4 summers, and though it has been hard (and it seems as though it has got much harder each year), it has been totally worth it. My best advice is to COMMUNICATE. I would constantly get frustrated with my boyfriend who would go out drinking on the weekends and I would have no clue who he was with, where he was or what he was doing. It caused me so much stress and I finally broke down to him and told him that I don’t control who he is with (and would never ever do that to him) so the least he can do is tell me what he is doing. Its so easy to call, or even send a text just with little updates, or hellos.
But hat ties into another tip: don’t stress over little things. Its usually something so small, that if you were together wouldn’t even be an issue. Learn to let things go.
Also, appreciate your time apart. Take up a new hobby, do something for YOU that you normally wouldn’t be able to do, and enjoy (as much as you can) your time apart, because in turn it will make your time together so much more rewarding and you will really appreciate your partner when you are finally reunited.
ps: LOVE the goofy pb lickin’ Sadie face…she’s adorable!!
What an awesome Idea :). My boyfriend and I are high school sweathearts but just now learning how to deal with a long distance relationship. Two years ago he joined the Marines and is living in Cali. He is stationed in Japan right now so there is basically no communication besides letters. I think that deplyoment and long distance relationships suck BUT you just have to stay positive, have amazing girlfriends and remember that whne you do see eachother again it is the most amazing thing in the world. Plus, gettting love letters in the mail makes my day :)! It won’t be long distance forever, that what I keep telling myself.
We have been together for nearly nine years (since 10th grade!) and due to college/grad school we are in our sixth year of long distance. We definitely have it down to a science. Even though we both are crazy busy, we talk at least 3 times a day (even if it’s only for 60 seconds) just to say hello. We also do gchat (video chatting) – so awesome. You can eat dinner “together” over gchat! It’s the best.
Pizza toast?! Omg i think we need to be best friends 😉
I was in a long distance relationship for a year, and we did all the obvious things like talk on the phone every night and visit each other at least once every two months. Another thing that we did was send each other hand written letters. It was always so fun to receive them, and it felt extra special knowing he had been holding that same piece of paper only a few days before. I would spray my letters with perfume, obviously 🙂
Make time for one another at some point during the day to have a real phone conversation. Brian and I text throughout the day and discuss little things, that you can over text, but at the end of the day we both make sure we set aside some time for a phone call. Doesn’t mean we don’t call each other at other times as well, but we make sure that we have that catch up call at the end of each day. Communication is key. It’s hard to experience every day things without one another but when you have the communication in place it’s almost as if you are experiencing the things together!! Also, when we do get time together, we make sure to make the best of it. No wasting time fighting or disagreeing over stupid things.
My boyfriend and I have been long distance for nearly our entire relationship–almost three years now!–because he has been at a service academy since the summer after senior year. I have learned so much being in a loving long distance relationship about patience, trust, communication, and making time for each other. The distance may be challenging, but the time we are together makes it so worth it!
have you ever been in a long distance relationship, Julie?
wowow! I have to commend you for your efforts and commitment and trust and everything!! that’s amazing Amanda~ 🙂
Thank you, Ellie! that means a lot.
Yes. I was in a long distance relationship with my high school bf of 3+ yrs. when we went off to college. They’re hard but can be great.
Mmm, pizza toast! Super tasty, but I love to whip up an easy dough for the crust if I have an hour or so till mealtime. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook it’s incredibly easy (I was shocked, because yeast-breads have always been my downfall). My favorite recipe is Mama Pea’s whole wheat vegan version at the Peas and Thank You blog here: http://peasandthankyou.com/2009/10/18/while-you-were-sleeping/
I’ve been considering putting together an LDR post of my own here soon.
My boyfriend and I have been long distance for three of the four years we have been together. During our second year, we lived together in NYC. We have lived halfway across the world from one another (me in Cambodia and him in NYC), then half way across the country (me in Minnesota and him in NYC) and now just a few states away (me in MN still and him in Chicago). I have LOTS of tips, especially for LDR couples in LONG TERM relationships.
Communication is important – but it has to be quality over quantity or you will burn out. It is important to make sure that you fit in time with your family/friends AND boyfriend. Every break and vacation cannot be spent with your significant other or your other relationships will really struggle. Set an end date for the distance (May 2012!) and always have a plan of your next visit. BE REALISTIC. It is likely that one of you may go out for a few drinks and flirt with someone. Set ground rules early so that you have some guidelines to follow. It is much easier to flirt when your significant other is MILES away (and all your single friends are doing it). Be realistic, be loving, and be supportive. Get a webcam – yesterday!