Relaxation

So with the stresses in our lives we all have our different escapes. Cleaning the house, exercising, writing, puzzles, sports, watching tv, listening to music, reading books. There are a variety of ways. I haven't been too stressed lately but with having a night time job and not being in school currently I spend a lot of time in the apartment during the day. There is only so much watching of Netflix and Hulu one can take. So I have my ways that I relax and one of those ways is putting a puzzle together.

I really enjoy working on puzzles. A couple of weeks back we were at our friends apartment and they just finished a puzzle. Since that point I wanted to work on a puzzle. A week later I went to the local DI and bought 3 puzzles. There is always a risk in buying puzzles from DI because you never know if there might be a piece missing. The total cost of the puzzles was $3.75. That is a steal if I do say so myself.

Now that I have 3 new puzzles I started on one immediately. I started with the ocean one because it has dolphins which happen to be one of my favorite animals. But, also it is a round puzzle which I had never done before. Round puzzles can be a little difficult because some of the pieces aren't actually square or rectangle like usual. They are pieces that are rounded. I would mostly work this puzzle whenever I would feel like working on it or when I needed to escape from stress. Majority of the time I would work on the puzzles after I would get home from work at night. I have been working on the puzzle for the past few weeks. Last night I finally finished the puzzle. I spent about 3 hours on the puzzle last night. There is just something about escaping into the world of solving puzzles. You begin and before you know it, 1 hour has passed, then 2 hours, then 3 hours. It is also really satisfying when you find pieces that fit together and you are just on a roll. That happened last night, one piece after another piece. Of course you come to a point where it seems that you can't find any pieces that fit together. That also happened. Here's the final product.

But it is extremely gratifying and satisfying once the puzzle is completed. It's a great feeling. Now onto the next puzzle. 

Being married to an English major who loves to write stories, it's hard to compete. Now Kylee and I don't really compete when it comes to writing because it is a known fact that she is much better at it than I am. She is always writing. She is also always developing characters for future stories. But I have found out that writing for me is a way to relax as well. I don't write full stories like she does. I tend to lean towards poetry. There is something about putting words onto paper. I wrote a poem back in July one night, but the first draft was not very good. Since then I have edited and rewrote it several times. I have gained a lot of respect for writers because of all the revisions that has to be done just to get it up to a decent quality to share it with others.  It is still in the revising stages but it is almost finished. I'll give you a little sneak peak. 

Here's a couple of lines from it. 

The soothing waterfall

infiltrates the whooshing of the fan.

The water’s pulse

trickles down the rocks,

--N--

We're Back!

    And we’re back!!!!!! I know that it has almost been three months since we last wrote a post. There have been requests that we update you all what is going on in our lives. So here we go. The past few months have been super crazy. I am going to do my best to catch you all up to speed on what has taken place in our lives as of late.

     In December I was still in school finishing up the semester. Once the semester was done with we headed to Mississippi to spend Christmas with Kylee’s family as it was probably the last time we will all be able to get together for a while cause at the time Travis was preparing his mission (He has since left and entered the MTC). We spent a lovely 10 days there. It was very nice to get away from the cold to warmer weather, but it was also nice to get out of the bubble of Rexburg for an extended period of time.

       January came and Kylee started school. She’s taking 15 credits and still working early morning custodial. She is wonder woman because I definitely cannot get up that early and work and then go to school all day. Because she is taking 15 credits and working from 4-7 each morning she is a very busy woman. We don’t get to see much of each other between our schedules. I am still the lead official for futsal (soccer) this semester. I work from 6-11 Tuesday through Friday. Kylee also goes to bed between 7:30-8:30 each night then gets up between 2:45-3:30 depending on if I am driving her to work or not.

      On Saturday Kylee finished all of her homework early so we got to spend the day together. This rarely happens. Up to this point she has always done loads of homework on Saturdays just to catch up or it was due the following Monday. Anyways since she got done with everything, we decided to head out to buy a couple of things that she needed for Choir. We went to DI to look for a gem colored shirt but to no avail. We then decided to take a trip down to Idaho Falls. It had been a while since we had gone shopping there. We ended up finding a shirt at Target, but we also went to other stores while we were down there to look around. Since we were in Idaho Falls, we decided that it would be good to get together with our good friends Kris and Drea since they now live down there. We invited them to go to Buffalo Wild Wings (Bw3). Surprisingly I was the only one that has ever been. I had been craving their wings.

    While there we just talked and caught up and enjoyed the atmosphere. I honestly wish Rexburg had a sports bar of some sort besides Apples Bees. This whole small town isn’t really suited for my type of personality. Anyways after we left BW3s we went our separate ways and Kylee and I headed over to Walmart. We need lactose milk for me and Great Value mac and cheese. The stuff is really good and Kylee is somewhat addicted to it. Being lactose intolerant isn’t all that fun. That is because most sauces and things like that use milk with lactose or cream in them. Both of those make me sick if I eat too much. So we have to cook with my milk just so I don’t get sick. That means we go through milk rather quickly because they don’t have lactose free milk by the gallons. They only have half-gallons and Walmart brand is the cheapest. But anyways we went to the milk section to grab some milk. To my surprise and delight, they had Chocolate Milk!!!!!!!!!!!!

     This is the first time I have ever seen lactose free Chocolate milk. Usually when I want chocolate milk I have to make it myself, which is another reason why I go through milk so quickly. I have been craving chocolate milk a lot lately. Also Kylee and I have been trying to eat healthier and save money while we eat. We would usually go through almost 2 loaves of bread a week. That can add up quickly. So we decided to buy a 25lb bag of flour and make our own bread. Let me tell you, it is so much better than store bought bread. Usually Kylee makes it on Sunday morning because it’s really her only free time and we don’t have church until 1 in the afternoon.  Today I made the bread. Not only do we make our own bread but we also make our own tortillas when we need them. Those are incredibly easy to make and are a lot tastier than store bought ones. We had Chili Verde for dinner tonight with tortillas. Best part about the tortillas is the recipe says it makes eight semi-large tortillas but Ky and I like small ones so instead of eight we can usually get twelve out of one batch. We make six and then freeze the other six for a later time.                            

 This is the bread before it raised. 

 This is the sixth tortilla that was rolled out with the other six about to be put into the freezer bag. 

 

       Overall Ky and I have been really good. We’ve just been super busy like I said. We will try to write more posts often. Right now I’m pretty sure Ky won’t be writing much because she is so busy with school. If you want any of our recipes let us know. We do have some good ones. 

    As of this posting the bread was not finished baking.

-N-

And the Day After . . .

Yesterday, my dear husband wrote about gratitude and some of the blessings in his life.  Reading through it made me pause as well to think about how much I love that man.  I realize that this may seem like a "last word" post, but I can't help stopping in and adding my own two cents about gratitude during this time of year where we're so focused on what is good and sweet about life.  While I will always find it very cliche and disturbing that we don't ponder on our blessings throughout the entire year, maybe these holidays with their focuses are meant to boost us in the right direction.  

I am a newly married woman living from paycheck to paycheck with no idea how I'm going to make it through the holidays.  And yet, in the past three months, I haven't thought about what little we've had.  In fact, I've been pondering lately on how I can be more grateful for the numerous blessings in our lives.  We have so much, we really can't stop to covet or crave what anyone else should have.  I have a beautiful apartment that we got for cheap as dear Nate informed you; I have the most amazing husband who is more perfect for me than I could ever have imagined; I have talents and passions that make my life interesting; I have a job (despite the early hour) and a steady income; I have multiple families that I can turn to in times of need and fun; I have a Heavenly Father who is perpetually looking out for me.  I am blessed.  We all are.  No matter what situation in life.  No matter if we want to see it or not.  

So why don't we choose to see it more often?  

Enjoy that little teaser of a question and let it change your life.  

Oh, also, I'm grateful for puppies.  You can never have enough puppies.  

Especially chubby little long haired dachshunds that fall asleep in your arms with their little tongue sticking out.  

Thanksgiving

So it has been awhile since I’ve written a post.  Today was a very good day. I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving Day festivity. It was a pretty good one for us, it was our first one as a married couple. We ended up going down to Idaho Falls and celebrated with my Aunt’s family. We were asked to bring a side dish, so since it’s the holiday of feasting I decided to bring my mom’s sweet potato recipe. You can’t have a thanksgiving meal without sweet potato casserole. Yesterday I went to the store and bought the ingredients that I needed. Last night I prepared the dish and when I finished I wasn’t quite sure how it would turn out. Part of the process of making the casserole is to put it in the fridge for four hours. So I put it in overnight and I put it in the oven this morning.

We headed down to Idaho Falls about 11:00 this morning. When we arrived, the aroma of all the food was deathifying. There was two types of turkey, a ham, plenty of potatoes, and a lot of raw vegetables and of course my homemade casserole. I still wasn’t sure how people would like the casserole. So once everybody arrived, the feasting began. The food was delicious of course. Kylee doesn’t like sweet potatoes and I’ve tried to get her to try them but with each attempt, no success. But today I finally got Kylee to try them. And, she LIKED them which was surprising but it must have something to do with my cooking skills. Later in the evening when we were all sitting around recovering from the food coma we were all in, Bret said that he really enjoyed the casserole and that it was good. SUCCESS!!!!! Another person liked the dish. Needless to say my worries were no more. It was a good day.

When we got home this evening, Kylee and I sat down and watched a movie. We ended up watching “Act of Valor”. I have been wanting to see it since it came out and it is finally on Netflix on watch instantly. So we watched it and it was a decent movie. I don’t want to spoil the ending of the movie for those of you who still want to watch it, but it got me thinking of the things that I am thankful. I know today is the day we are reminded of the things that we are thankful for. But I am thankful for the military and everybody who serves. They protect us and give us the freedom that we have today in this country.

I don’t want to list everything that I am grateful for because the list is so big so I guess I will just list a few of the things. I am thankful for my wife and everything that she does. I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings comfort to my mind especially in times of trial. I am thankful for my family, both immediate and extended. I am also thankful for Kylee’s family. I am grateful for the university that I attend even though sometimes it may not seem like it. I am grateful for the apartment that we have. We really lucked out with the apartment. It is priced very well for a two bedroom apartment. It is also very quiet which is extremely nice. I am grateful for the friends that I have.

Since I’m somewhat of a traditional guy, let the Christmas music and celebration commence!  

Clichély Chevron with a Kylee Twist

I, like many other women in this world, have succumbed to Pinterest.  I admit that now with all the shame and pride appropriate for such a situation.  I love how many ideas float around, just ready to be downloaded into my brain and used for my own purposes (whether the pinners intended them that way or not).  However, that being said, I would like to claim the next two ideas as my own.  Today, I shall discuss the first. 

  

I would like to be able to say that I fell in love with Chevron long before it became ridiculously popular over the entire internet.  That would be a lie.  Pinterest introduced to me to the very classic looking pattern.  I instantly fell in love and began to wonder how I could incorporate it into my life without really believing I would do anything much where Chevron was concerned.  And then I received the greatest wedding present in the world:  our good friends, Jen and Adam, created a bookcase just for me.  That’s right, world!  They designed the most epic bookcase.  When I saw that beauty sitting on the front stoop of Jen’s apartment (right after I’d helped her lug the thing out of Adam’s van and then up the stairs), my brain began to double time. 

It was incredible!  So totally “Kylee” in its design.  When I saw it for the first time, Jen hadn’t even started sanding it.  She needed to finish a second bookcase for another friend of ours, and ours had fallen to the side for the moment--fate.  

“Can I please paint this?!” 

It took very little convincing. 

Taking a load off Jen’s back, I stole my bookshelf along with the stain they’d been planning to put on it and a few pages of sandpaper.  I took the whole lot to my doorstep, and began the arduous process of sanding the stupid thing.  Warning:  if you think undergoing a wood project of this size for your first wood project EVER is a smart idea, know that it’s not.  I was sure that the process would be super easy.  No joke, my thoughts geared toward finishing it within just a week or two.  I was very wrong. 

A month later . . .

I finally finished sanding, and prepared to stain the surface.  I blocked off two panels per enclosed square with painter’s tape.  Surprisingly, this was the easiest job. 

After two coats of stain, the bookcase looked like the following pictures . . . GORGEOUS.  Such an amazing color.  I loved it!  "Bombay Mahogany Satin."  

Then time for retaping and priming the empty panels. 

And then came the paint. Due to my impatience and frustration by this point, I didn’t take many pictures until it had finally been finished. 

I really love how it turned out.  Especially with all our junk cluttering it up.  It’s so cute!

After I had finished the paint job, it had been sitting on the front porch--painted side facing out--when suddenly a neighbor popped up on our doorstep.  "Are you giving this bookcase away?  My wife sent me up here to ask about it."  I had to tell him that it was mine completely, but I was so flattered!  My bookcase is coveted.  I did a good job.  I hope it stays in the family for a long time.  

First Snow 2012

The other day, I went for a walk.  I came back soaked. 

Now, as I sit in my sweats having woken to find the world blanketed in white, I’ve realized how peaceful this apartment is.  I sit here in my brightly lit living room, looking out the window at the pure white rooftops, and listening to the squeals of our neighbor’s children as they play between the apartments.  I know in the coming months I will rue the snow and all it stands for; yet at this moment, I can’t help but love it. 

First snow, I welcome you with a tip of my knit hat and toast of hot chocolate.  Happy Snow Fall, Rexburg.

--Written Thursday, 26^th of October

Also, my husband has turned into a ninja in order to combat the cold.  

My sexy man. ;)

Aaaaa-AAAAt Laaaaaaast!

Granted, we’re over a month late, but man, we are finally married.  Look at us. 

No, really.  Look at us.

I can’t lie.  I’m super happy with how this marriage thing is turning out.  To summarize the first month: at first, I was like “daaaaaaazzzzzee.” 

Then I was like “hoooonnnnneyyymooonnnnn.” 

Thanks Uncle David and Aunt LaPriel!  Peace and quiet in the Tetonia home was amazing.

And then I was like “well, crap.” 

Home sweet home?  (It was messier than this, but I didn't take pictures...)

Over the next week, I began to prove my ability to homemake and fulfill other wifey details in a patriarchal home, thus establishing blackmail between the sexes.  [“ALL THOSE WEEKS AT HOME CLEANING AND ORGANIZING AND YOU WANT ME TO DO THE LOUSY DISHES?!” in which the age old argument is immediately dismissed.  A rather brilliant plan, if I do say so myself.] 

After laborious hours delving into spider infested boxes and surviving the stifling heat of a closed up apartment, our place of residence began to transform into something much more homey and comfortable. 

DI became the staple of our furniture followed by family members galore. 

Oh DI how we love you.

Kylee flare took to the walls and décor. 

Sorry for the yellow tone.  It's night time.  I'll post something prettier when I have everything ready. 

And Nate took over the Spare Room with his own flare for interior design and a manly desire to do homework. 

Overall, I can honestly say that I have had far too much fun as a homemaker and brand new wife.  I love staying up that extra minute just to be sure the dishes are done and the counters are clean.  I love putting things in their place and exercising my creative brain in storage space.  I love planning for the holidays, and designing my own decorations.  I love going to DI and finding those little pieces that really make it a home.  I love every piece of our apartment from the spacey living room and the pure white kitchen to the demon shower and stuffy bedroom. 

Marriage is good. 

I am content. 

Happy life, people.