Thanks...

It has been nearly a month since my last post! (sooo sorry, blogie)

Life's been grand around here, but the reason for my long absence is not grandness, but rather excessive busy-ness. For the weeks following Thanksgiving, Matt and I were busy preparing for finals and our last days in this past semester. It was awful - A-W-F-U-L!

My days for about 2 1/2 weeks went like this:

Days without work:
-wake up early
-quick shower
-quick breakfast
-oodles of homework, papers, and art projects
-night class

Days with work:
-wake up at 6am
-work from 7-3:30
-come home
-change (sometimes I didn't even have time to change until minutes before heading out the door to class!)
-quick dinner (that had usually been prepared by the time I got home by my sweet hubs)
-last minutes touches to homework
-night class

In case you're wondering, it was exhausting. This semester has definitely taught me my limits and boundaries. Never again will I take 18 credits/6 classes the first semester I am married while working a full time job 5-6 days a week. I'm not saying all of this for pity or for your approval, but I am proud of what I managed to accomplish between several mental breakdowns that left me wanting to give up on my education. Thank the Lord for a good, comforting man. And chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

But these days, we're busy recouping. And THAT is glorious. Yesterday AND today have been spent doing a whole lot of cuddling, movie watching, and Christmas-ing our apartment. Give me a "woot" for days off!

Since the semester has ended, I have re-dedicated myself to documenting our lives through the lens of my camera. Here are a few special things I am especially thankful for (since I did not have the chance to post on the things I am thankful for):

Snow! Just enough to silence footsteps and make evening walks extra romantic.

A Thanksgiving Dinner. - Our very first as a married couple!

Marie Calendar's Apple Pie Deliciousness.

Matts first attempt at what will become his "specialty" - Honey Mustard Chicken!

Our baby, Mochi, experiencing her first Christmas tree for her first Christmas.

(We bought this [pre-lit] tree on sale! - 5 days before Christmas in search of some Christmas Spirit)

Homemade garland made out of popcorn and fresh cranberries.

And my handsome.

The beaut. 

The gifts Matt has been dying to open. :}

Tonight: a walk down Temple Square to see the awesome lights we pass every day up-close, while facing the crazies (pedestrians) that have been causing so much traffic downtown. We will brave the cold and become part of the group that we vehemently dislike on simple trips across town.  

Tomorrow: the ZOO! Hogle Zoo makes this time extra special for the animals and the people who visit with Christmas lights everywhere! So naturally, we need to go pay those animals and lights a little visit. 

I stinkin' love this time of year!

A day (or two) of thanks.

Our Thanksgiving was simple and lovely. How was yours?

I slightly over estimated how long it would take to make our little feast, which I blame my mother for. Just kidding!... but really. At home she spends alllll day cooking so I figured that's just the way the cookie crumbles. And then I realized she cooks for six mouths. I was cooking for 2... and a half. I don't know how Matt is able to consume so much food and still manage to be so skinny.

Everything was going wonderfully - the food smelled delicious, everything was getting cooked and heated up - until I shorted our power causing us to try to keep things hot (didn't work) and finish cooking the rest of the food on the stove. We rushed to get everything on the table and into our mouths before it got cold (again, it didn't really work aside from the stuffing which quickly came out of the pot and into our stomachs at rapid speed). But a cold Thanksgiving dinner is still a Thanksgiving dinner and is better than no Thanksgiving dinner, no?

Needless to say, I was rather disappointed about how the first Thanksgiving dinner I ever prepared didn't turn out how I had hoped. After lots of grumping during dinner I finally realized that this holiday is not about the dinner. It's not even about pie.(!) It's about being thankful for what you have and who you are and where you have come from and where you are going. It's about knowing that the person sitting across from your on a tiny dining table is everything you could have hoped for and being thankful for everything they do and have done and will do.

I looked at Matt and apologized for being so bummed and unreasonable when he was trying to comfort me.  He apologized for trying to comfort me a little too firmly. We kissed and made up, took a few pictures with Mochi, and lounged around for a bit between flipping on and of the switches for the breaker in our apartment wondering when our power would turn back on. THEN my genius of a husband remembered about the breaker box two flights of stairs down from our apartment! He turned our power back on and we made pie and watched a movie. It was glorious. (He's exceptionally dreamy when he fixes things).

Thanksgiving Eve!

It's the eve of our very first Thanksgiving as a married couple and the first year we will not be celebrating with our families in California. It's bittersweet, really. We're happy to be doing this on our own - a sort of symbol of our new independence and a new chapter of our lives, but being away from family during the holidays.. I don't highly recommend it.

I've always loved Thanksgiving - sleeping in, moseying down the stairs to be greeted by a waft of great smelling food as my mom slaves away in the kitchen, and (aside from eating) my favorite part - making the cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries. And the past two Thanksgivings, I've been fortunate enough to be able to celebrate twice; once with Matt's family and once with mine. (Helloooo holiday l.b.s.!)

This year we're having to compromise a little with our Thanksgiving meal. Our oven is out of commission so we're using the toaster oven my parents bought us on their most recent trip to Utah (Thank you!). And since toaster ovens aren't traditionally used to cook Thanksgiving meals - especially turkeys - we're making due with cornish hens. But to balance out our lack in the turkey department, we bought a teeny little ham. Other traditions are still going to go on as planned. I have all the ingredients needed for my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes: green bean casserole, butternut squash, yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, and honey-butter carrots. I opted out on making my own cranberry sauce. Matt's not a fan and there's no way I could finish or let a family-size portion of cranberry sauce go to waste. I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to get everything cooked in time with the very limited space and resources I have to cook in, but I am excited (and a little bit nervous). If it doesn't turn out well, I'm hoping Wal-Mart will still have some of those ready-to-eat chickens on hand.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.
May your hearts be warm and full this holiday season.

xo.

Lately...

I've been too busy reading other people's blogs to post on my own..
That and I've somehow been juggling a full time job and a full time student schedule.

We've been getting showered with little snow flurries. Fall never lasts long enough in Utah. I figure there are two things that I like and dislike about the cold white stuff of the ground: 1) it looks fabulous on our view of downtown [like], 2) our heaters in our apartment haven't quite gotten the message that it's time to turn on and stay on [dislike].

Mmmmagic.

Matt's off on another whirl-wind adventure (I just got word that he has safely landed in Memphis for his lay-over to San Antonio), and I'm stuck at home with my homework, a long to-do list, and an energizer bunny.

But guess what!?

I found the slightest bit of free wireless internet in one area of our apartment - a Christmas miracle! It's slow, but it works! I felt like a kid on Christmas discovering that smidgen of internet to use in the walls of my own home. Life is wonderful, no?

That is all.

Today...

Matt told me two things.

1) He is going to San Antonio, Texas in just over two weeks. Wha!? Well he told me he was, then asked permission to go. Well, duh! Yes, you can! Pack me in your suit case please!? My first reaction was not sadness, but jealousy! I'm so excited for him. He gets to go check out the hospital on base in San Antonio for three days to get a feel for what he will be doing once he graduates and gets shipped off. FUUUUN! Luckily, I'll be bus-ayyy with my new job and getting ready for my family to come visit. Maybe I'll even get a little homework done, and with any luck I'll be able to teach Mochi some tricks and hopefully figure out a way to keep him from eating the baseboards that he has suddenly found a liking to.

2) ...... it's a secret. A very exciting secret. A secret that warms my heart, makes me feel giddy, and makes me smile randomly in class because my happiness and excitement are uncontrollable. Don't worry. You'll figure it out someday, and maaaaybe you'll be as excited as I am.

Anyway, I've never been to Texas, and I don't really know what the hype in San Antonio is so I looked up pictures. Now I'm way more jelly than I was before. Here are some of my favorites. Hopefully he is able to do a little sight seeing for me while he's there.

The "Riverwalk". Ooooh. 

Downtown. Standard, but still pretty. 

Life's good, yes? 

A weekend.

This weekend was our first weekend apart since being married. It was strange, but it felt normal - good almost. It gave us an opportunity to reflect on how much we love and cherish each other's company. Matt was off on an "adventure" with the ROTC. I like to refer to everything that the ROTC does as an adventure because it all sounds so fun! He got to ride in a helicopter, sleep outside under the beautiful sky, sleep in the barracks (like in the movies!), and shower with other men. An adventure, indeed. It was incredible listening to his stories and seeing how happy he was. He makes me so proud. He snapped this picture just before his squad was picked up to go to "battle."

I got to have a couple of my girlfriends over on Saturday night. It was so good getting to catch up with them and have our much needed and missed "girl time" (and pizza!). I also got to work on decorating our little apartment, although I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped. It was still successful and so fun to get some things up on the walls. I couldn't wait to get Matt home to show him my work. He loved it.

Us at The Original Pancake House. 

After picking Matt up from his adventure, we went to Chili's for some more grub.

 Before.

After.

Friday night I spent almost 2 hours walking around IKEA trying to decide what to buy. Making decisions is already hard for me, but not knowing what Matt would think made it harder. I picked up and placed so many things into my shopping cart that I didn't end up getting, but I am very pleased with the things I did walk away with. (Not pictured is a darling little ironing board that I found for only $5!)

Now that Matt's home, we're back into the swing of things. School has been a horror show for the both of us the past few weeks. Midterms and homework assignments are relentless and don't allow us to have much of a social life. But this weekend is Halloween! We're hoping to do something, although I haven't gotten our costumes yet. If time does what it normally does, I won't get around to finding our costumes and we'll end up having a scary movie marathon with lots of unhealthy things to eat, which doesn't sound like too bad of a plan. I am thoroughly excited about what I have planned as costumes (I've been planning since last year!), but the holiday snuck up on me. If it doesn't work out in time, I'll have a whole year to gather our costume pieces for next year. 

In other news: 

I got a second job! 

... at Target. Last Monday I walked into the store for an interview, and walked out with a job. Being hired on the spot is definitely a self-esteem booster. Things are looking up for us. We are excited for everything in our bright little future. 

Happy happy.

I am so excited, so blessed, so hopeful.

I've found myself looking at beautiful pictures of 

destinations around the world, and it's making me giddy.

I'm so excited that Matt's position in the ROTC will give us the opportunity to

leave the country. I cannot wait to see the world. My heart feels like it will 

burst with love and happiness for the prospects of our future. 

We don't know where we'll end up, but that's half the fun.

I can't believe how perfectly content I am with life right now.

Despite the stresses of homework, midterms, work, a dwindling bank account, 

and colliding schedules with the hubs,

I don't think I could be much happier. 

My life is turning out better than I had ever imagined it would. 

Mo-ch-ee.

WE GOT A BUNNY!

Finally. :)

His name is Mochi, but we're not sure if "he's" a boy or a girl. 

For all intensive purposes, "he's" a boy until otherwise noted. 

He is mischief in a soft, fluffy package. 

Fun.

We got to take some time to explore a little more of our new city the other day. Here is what we found and absolutely love. I cannot wait to mosey back to these little stores!

 I love these urban apartment buildings.

 This little shopping center is darling. 

 They sell all sorts of specialty foods, and CHEESE WHEELS!

We didn't eat here, but I hear it's wonderful.


Then we went to the mall, got cookies, and people watched.

Chocolate, of course. 

Lemon raspberry sugar cookie. :))

It was a fun, tasty afternoon. 

Farmer's Market!

I'm pretty sure my favorite thing about living in this city is the Farmer's Market. No, I am sure. There's just something about walking around and seeing all of the different sorts of people enjoying their Saturday afternoon the same way you are. Matt's favorite part, aside from the glorious food, is seeing all of the different types of puppies. I swear that man is obsessed with dogs. He's always talking about our future dogs and the wacky names he come up with. He's always talking about our future children, too. It's awfully cute.

Anywho! Here are some pictures I took of our adventure to the Farmer's Market last Saturday. Next week I'll have to go by myself, if I go at all, because Matt will be doing some clinical stuff for his CNA course (which is almost over! yay!).

A Farmer's Market is a tomato-lover's dream. I am a tomato love, fo sho.

 I can't begin to explain how neat this guy's instrument was. It was an awesome combination of so many sweet musical sounds. We loved it.

This picture does not give justice to the ginormous size of those onions and fatty carrots. 

 Those veggies were big even in comparison to this Great Dane!

(This dog is my dream dog, by the way. I nearly squealed when I first saw him,

 I was so excited! okay, maybe I did squeal, and maybe Matt rolled his eyes.)

It's he beeeeautiful?! He's my favorite coloring, and definitely twice as big as I am. 

Matt asked if I was sure I wanted a dog big enough for me to ride. 

YOU BET!

But he'll have to clean up the poo. ;)

 One of the greatest parts about the FM is the free samples. 

This fresh kettle corn and caramel corn was to die for!

Seeing all sorts of home-grown pumpkins got me SO excited for the fall season. It's totally my fave. 

the changing colors, cool breezes, perfect weather, and Halloween and Thanksgiving make me so happy!

I want to get a pumpkin which a huge stem like this. :)

 This is what Matt ate. It was some sort of sausage in a bun with some awesome spices.

 You probably can't tell, but he was in heaven. He finished it before My food was even ready!

 I got my lunch from the neighboring tent. That lady in the front was absolutely adorable. She had a great accent and said the cutest things. She told me I looked very pretty and kept calling me "darlin'".

This is what I ordered. YUM! I only ate half, and the rest (as always) 

was eaten by Matthew, my food disposal.

 While we were eating, we saw this. Isn't he an exciting assortment of prints!?

 We sat near a hoola-hoop area. It was hilarious, clever, and so so cute. 

 Then we heard some chanting, and I wanted to check it out.

The people who created the circle we chanting something while randomly, people would go into the center and flail around - doing cartwheels, and spinning with self-perceived precision of some sort. Every one and a while the people making the circle would clap. At least they were having fun doing whatever it was they were doing. 

We had a lot of fun. Just before this picture, as we were leaving, a man with fruit and a knife stopped us and made us eat a piece of peach, then a nectarine. We felt obligated, of course! I said "mmm", then the man said to Matt that I was having a "tongue-gasm." I probably did, but that's just a little awkward.

Preparations

This time next month, my Matthew will be leaving me for three whole days. I cannot bear the thought. When he first told me, my heart sank. I even teared up a little bit [but lately, I tear up at the slightest thing].

What on earth am I going to do with myself?

I'm trying to plan things to do now to make sure I'm good and busy so I have less time to spend missing him. He's going away for a weekend of training or something with the ROTC. I guess this little weekend will prepare me for the times he has to go away for a month or so during the next few summers.

I think I've figured out what I'm to do, though. :)

1. Call up some Provo friends and see if they want to come spend the weekend or a day with me exploring and shopping.
2. Work on all of my decorating plans that weekend to a) surprise him with a fresh, beautiful home to come home to, and b) be kept reeeeally busy.
3. Buy a bunny and spend the weekend coo-ing over him/her and litter box train him/her.
and the very least fun thing to do
4. Study. o_O

I've been doing some more hunting for ideas on how to decorate. Here's a few more ideas.

Somesing like thiiis...

plus...

this. :)

Maybe. I have some experimentin' to do.

Until the weekend he leaves next month, I will be soaking up and enjoying every last second I can with him... even when he keeps me from sleeping with his shallow, deep, loud breaths in his sleep, and when he leaves 4 pairs of shoes on the floor causing me to almost trip. I lurve him. 

a la mode.

These days all I can think of are the endless possibilities our little home possesses. I cannot wait to start the transformation. I've been doing a lot of "soul searching" and discovering what makes me tick, what makes me happy, what style is me, and more importantly, us.

Having Matthew's approval of design and style ideas for our apartment is so important to me. Lucky for me, he's into just about anything I show him. We've decided on a fun, vintage/shabby-chic look, and somehow, we'll incorporate the new modern-styled couch we got from IKEA. I couldn't be more excited!

We're very into recycled goods, as they're so full of character and tend to be a little easier on the wallet, and our wallet has been taking a pounding lately. Another good thing about used goods and our open minds are the ways we can get creative and reuse things in fun ways. 

This is the neatest little idea for a book shelf. If you happen to know 

where I can find some old wooden boxes, please let me know!

I can't get enough of this dresser. I absolutely love the color!

We really want/need a little extra kitchen space. A little shelving unit of some sort

 that would house some of our kitchen appliances, pots and pans, 

and food would be absolutely delightful!

And then we'll adorn the walls with funky pictures in vintage frames and other wall goodies, patterned rugs where space and good sense will allow, old goodies on shelves, and vintage-inspired throw pillows made by yours truly. 

You'd be amazed at how creativity has hit me the past few weeks. I've never felt so inspired or happy with myself. I've made two pillows, drawn a couple nifty pictures, and dreamed of my newly decorated space. 

This weekend I will check out some garage sales before it gets too cold. I must find these things.

Here are some pictures of our place just after we moved in. It has changed a bit as we have gotten a couch, coffee table, and a new comforter and sheets.

Yes, it's teeny, but we love it and it's home. I can't wait to get it decorated to make it really feel like ours.