Project 365

Take a picture a day for a year.  Has anyone considered doing this?  I might try to take it on for 2011.  We'll see how long it lasts. :)  Maybe y'all should join and we can motivate each other to keep going!

A night off

No, not a night off from work, I have pretty much every night off from work but tonight I have a night off from Ryan - it's weird!  That sounds horrible, like he is a job or something.  Though he does claim to demand the attention of a full-time job, I'm willing to put in those hours!  Anyway, he's just at the Duke vs. Michigan State basketball game tonight.  So here I sit blogging (after I watched Glee with my friend Ali!). And correction, here I LAY blogging.  This is what our apartment currently looks like:

We decorated for Christmas on Saturday and when it was all said and done we didn't want to leave it to sleep in our bedroom.  So, we pulled out our couch and enjoyed a night under the glow of our Christmas trees.  The bed is actually quite comfortable and due to our silly heater, it is much warmer in the living room so four nights later, the couch still remains our bed.  Neither of us have the heart to put it away, it's just so cozy! And yes, that is Duke basketball on TV.  And yes, I'm watching it even while Ryan isn't home.  Oh marriage, whatever have you done to me? I hate basketball!!

In case you didn't catch it in the last paragraph I did say treeS.  Each one has a story and I'm head over heels in love with each of them.  See below:

Tree #1:  This is a ceramic tree that Ryan's mother made - but he doesn't know which Mom, silly boy.  I love everything about it and what it means to Ryan.  I especially love his "tree skirt" and the random fleece cloud blanket that he sets it on.  Seriously, it makes me literally JOYFUL every time I see it!

Tree #2:  This little 12" tree I have had since I was 10 years old?  Maybe a little older, I don't remember.  I do remember however, standing in the massive aisles of Hobby Lobby trying to decide which of the super cute teeny tiny ornaments I was going to purchase!  My mom made me the mini tree skirt and I even have little presents under the tree. Again, LOVE. Pure LOVE.

Tree #3 is a new addition to Ryan and I's lives.  It's like our own little baby!  Last Christmas Ryan bought me that little Husker ornament you see sitting down (we would have put it on the tree, but it the tree is one sided because we wanted to see all the ornaments and the little football dude was the tipping point - literally).  All of the ornaments are from places Ryan and I have been together (awwww how cute, right?!).  So far we have our little Husker, for a Husker game; Hawaii; Steamboat Springs, CO; Park City, UT; Las Vegas; Outer Banks, NC; and Wilmington, NC.  As much as I love perfectly decorated and coordinated Christmas trees, I'm excited to add to this collection!

Moving on to a few random other things.  As I was on the phone with Pearl last week she was lucky enough to hear my squeals as I discovered this furry friend of ours (with the before and after of Ryan saving the day):

Now, any ideas as to what this is?

How about now?

Yep, that's Ryan's scrubs with an 8 INCH hole.  That's right, EIGHT WHOLE INCHES!!

You better believe there were tears with this laughter when I got home from work and Ryan showed me these bad boys!!  The story wasn't as good as I hoped, so maybe I won't share and I'll just let you use your imagination and laugh at my silly crotchless husband.  Good thing it's the last week of class!

Phew, Duke just won so I'll have a happy husband tonight upon his arrival home. Goodnight, all!

A year ago...

I often find myself browsing through old photographs, reminiscing about the "good ol' days" as I'm sure many of us do.  As I was looking at where I was a year ago, all the memories of finding a wedding dress came flooding back to me.  It seems as though for most girls it is a magical experience full of joy and celebration.  Me? Not so much.  I'm sure many LDS girls can relate to the challenge of finding a modest dress that isn't just another cookie cutter square neck, A-line dress.  Don't get me wrong, there are many beautiful square neck, A-line dresses, but I just knew it wasn't for me.  I also knew that I HAD to find my dress in the few days I had in Utah or the hunt was going to become increasingly more difficult.  And pardon me if I seem a little dramatic, but this IS a wedding dress we're talking about; only the single most important dress of your life! :)

So, I don't know if any of you really care, but let me share my adventure now that Ryan has seen "the dress" and the rest really doesn't matter.

I started off trying on dresses just to see what style I liked. Actually, I knew I liked the more fitted style, I just wanted to make sure that style liked me!

    

From L -> R:

1. In looking at the website, I thought this was THE DRESS. I loved it on the model but I was not such a fan of it on myself.

2. More just for fun, I knew I would never have a skirt that full!

3. As you can tell, the mermaid style isn't exactly designed for moving. Gorgeous, just not practical!

4. and 5.  I loved these last two and decided that ruching was definitely for me!

This store was a total bust, but at least I had some good company!  It was a little Latino lady in Omaha who owned her own store with a small selection of modest gowns in addition to quincinera dresses.

    

    Another store in Omaha that had a few modest dresses, but it's a little difficult to get the picture when they're size 14!

 Finally, I was able to go to Utah over Thanksgiving and look for dresses that might actually work.  I went to three stores with three of my sisters and found some really pretty dresses!  But, I just didn't have that "This is it!!" feeling.  My sisters loved the first dress below and the second is actually almost identical to the dress I chose, but somehow this one just wasn't it!

 

  I absolutely fell in love with this first dress! Its high neck line with lace from head to toe was just gorgeous.  But as much as I loved it, it again, just wasn't me!

 The last store we went to had NO dresses for me.  I didn't even try them on.  They were all frilly and fluffy and beaded and so not me.  At this point I was incredibly frustrated because I wanted a dress, dagnabit!!

After a full day of dress shopping, my time in Salt Lake was up and Ryan and I were off to St. George.  On the drive down we stopped at the home of the Tucketts who were missionaries serving in Australia while I was there.  They are just the sweetest couple and I just love them!  Anyway, she insisted that I try one more store.  She said that every bride she knows has fallen in love with a dress at that store.  I really was not in the mood to try on any more dresses, especially by myself because Ryan sure as heck wasn't coming with.  But, he promised Sister Tuckett that I would go, and he was not letting me get out of it.  I walked into the store knowing exactly what I wanted and I told them that I didn't want to try on any dresses that didn't fit my specifications.  So, my attendant, named Marisa (just like my sister, and she had a sister named Caitlin!), pulled two dresses.  The first was nice, but no 'wow' factor for me.  Then, there it was.  Dress number two in all its glory! I was in love! I knew that was the one!! But, I had no one to share my excitement with.  So there I stood, beaming at myself in the mirror.  Yes, while the loneliness was a  bit of a bummer, it didn't matter.  I had MY dress. And it was being discontinued and it was the only one left in the store and happened to be in just my perfect size.  I think it was meant to be. :)

My Latest Projects

Somehow my life is crazy busy again.  Okay, so maybe that is false.  Or maybe just a slight exaggeration.  I still have time to spend relaxing with Ryan, but those few short hours each day when I'm not with him or at work are crazy busy.  My most recent projects have involved designing my super good friend Pearl's graduation announcement (for her THIRD degree - she ROCKS!) and adjusting to my new secretarial duties, which have turned into revamping a lot of our organization!

But here is how Pearl's announcement turned out.  She wanted a two-sided postcard, so voila! I love it!!

Eno River

For about 6 weeks now we've been planning days to go to Eno River State Park.  It's only about 10 minutes from our house but somehow things always came up, or we just didn't feel like it when the time came... story of all of our lives, hey? Well we finally got off our tushes on Saturday and made it up there! We took the motorcycle and discovered that the drive to and from was a little bit more pretty than the river.  We should have went a few weeks ago when the leaves were probably still on the trees. :)  However, you cannot complain that it is still in the 60s/70s even now in mid-November and that there are still plenty of colorful trees around!

 

My rainbow :)

He caught the jump on the way down - hence the awkward bowleggedness!!

 

What I do and don't love right now

Things I love at the moment:

• Glitter! It's unavoidable with the new job and I absolutely love it on all of our Christmas stems.  We have poinsettia's in every color with touches of glitter to completely covered - I cannot get enough of them
• Candy corn pumpkins
• The length of my hair - yes, it's long(ish) and I actually like it.  It's finally beyond that awkward length where it just sits on your shoulders.  It can't quite say love, but like is a big step for me!
• Being called "wifey" by not only Ryan, but his classmates, too.
• Being called "beautiful" by Ryan every day.
• Couponing! Okay, maybe this one isn't quite a love either, but it's getting better and I do love seeing the total drop as they scan each coupon.  That is really exciting and I do love that part!!
• Getting to design a friend's graduation announcement and another's Christmas card.
• The Ellen Degeneres Show 
• Cathy, the floral designer at work.  I said that I would love to learn how to do floral and she trusted me enough to throw me right in and with a little guidance eventually gave me free reign of a few wreaths and Christmas trees which are now on sale at A.C. Moore.
• Ryan's "manly moment" as he successfully replaced a broken hose in his motorcycle and changed the oil.
• My gummy daily vitamins.  My adorable husband leaves them on the counter for me every morning.
• Working part-time.  If only I could get a full-time income working part-time! It's the perfect balance of time at work and time for myself.
• Coming home for the holidays!! Ryan and I bought out plane tickets last week and will be in Nebraska from December 14-25.  We cannot WAIT to see everyone!

Things I'm not loving at the moment:

• Blackout dates.  Our flights would have been free if not for stupid blackout dates.
• Southwest Airlines new ridiculous taxes? Has anyone else seen these?? The prices they advertise now do NOT include taxes.  Not cool, Southwest.  Not cool.
• Getting idea after idea after at work but not having the money right now to do them!
• Local commercials. Enough said.
• Our cell phone service.  Towers have been down for a month and we have to make each phone call at least twice.
• Being scatterbrained. Once again, life happened all at once and I'm having trouble keeping up.  Besides starting the new job, I got a new (and big) responsibility at church.  I'm now the secretary for our woman's organization, the Relief Society.  Thankfully Ryan has had a few extra hours off of school and has picked up where I have slacked off.
• North Carolina Drivers.  I can't even start or I won't stop! :)

Halloween Weekend

Halloween weekend began with work for me. Yep, work!  I started my job at A.C. Moore this week, which is an Arts and Crafts store that only exists out here in the Eastern states.  It is VERY similar to Michael's which means it's nowhere near as awesome as Hobby Lobby.  Apparently Hobby Lobby is the king of all craft stores, and its competitors know it.  It is a big deal to even have worked there, so people are very impressed that I did and they already assume I know everything.  Hobby Lobby really does have almost anything you could ever need and plenty of things you just want.  In just my 20 hours I worked last week, I pretty much know everything that's in A.C. Moore, which is not very much.  I've had to tell a lot of customers, "I'm sorry, we don't carry that." But, I don't mean to bash A.C. Moore.  I have really great managers and I'm slowly meeting my other coworkers.  I say this in the nicest way possible but many of them look like they belong in a craft store, if you know what I mean.  They either have that "artsy" or "homely" look about them.  Don't judge, you know exactly the type of people I'm talking about!

All in all, it's work.  It's easy, but humbling.  I definitely feel like it's way below my pay grade (because it is), but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.  This is just one of those times.

Because it is retail, I did end up having to work Friday night, but only until 9:00 pm.  I was excited to come home to Ryan and a perfectly spotless apartment.  It was just one of those weeks where I did not want to even pick up after myself.  I worked 4-9 three days in a row and accomplished NOTHING before 4:00 pm those days.  So I was so grateful that Ryan cleaned up all my messes and even started some laundry.  It's weeks like this that remind me that maybe I'm not quite ready for a baby because there are plenty of times I can barely look after myself, let alone Ryan, too!

The remainder of Friday night was spent with our favorite classmates of Ryan's - Hillary and Laura (our pumpkin carving friends) as well as about six others.  They were watching Hocus Pocus (LOVE THAT MOVIE!) when we got there, but we were THAT couple that started talking so much they ended up pausing the movie and it never got restarted. After a few hours of good conversation and bellies full of pumpkin and regular cheesecake, I don't think anyone minded.    

On Saturday Morning our ward had our Halloween Party and Trunk or Treat.  We are part of the Activities Committee at church but weren't involved in any of the planning of this event.  We just helped before and after and I was the official photographer.  I must say, I just love all the trees in North Carolina.  Look how pretty these are, right on the church property!

The woman who did put it all together did a great job! Just look at her cute labels for the food and drink.  I've yet to decide if I will ever be like that.  While I appreciate it and think it's cute, I don't know I'll ever think it's worth MY time.  I've never had the desire to be that perfect hostess with the perfectly coordinated food, decor, treat bags, etc.  We'll see if that changes with time.

Ryan and I were really lame and didn't dress up, so I didn't take any pictures of the two of us.  But, here are some pictures of my favorite costumes.  Some families are just so creative and it makes me want to get more into it in the future!

Our Bishop

Sesame Street

101 Dalmatians

New York
The little taxi driver even had a beard and tattoos!

Fire Hydrant, Firefighter, Campfire and Fire Dog

Chefs and their victims
They put the little baby lobster in the pot and it might
have been one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

Charlie and the Chocolate factory
(their son's name is Charlie!)

Wayne's World

Aren't they just so fun?  The rest of the day was filled with football (GO BIG RED!!!!) and baseball and our favorite game, Monopoly Deal.  We just could not seem to get off our lazy bums and it was fantastic.  This uneventful Halloween we're off to our friends Ali and Daniel's apartment to help them cheer on the Texas Rangers. I hope y'all enjoyed your holiday weekend!! 

NC State Fair

Overall, I must say that I was very impressed! I only went to the Nebraska State Fair once and I was not impressed.  Instead of the decrepit fairgrounds in Lincoln (I know it's moved now, but that's where I went), these fairgrounds are beautiful.  The food stands and games went on, and on, and on; and it was one giant maze.  I don't think we went down the same row twice.  I do think our smartest move of the evening was splitting each of our fried goodies between four of us!  That way we got a taste of everything without feeling too disgusting.

Also, these pictures are a reason why all those Photoshop Actions in my last post are so much fun!

 

 
 

 

Photoshop Actions

Last night I discovered a miracle - Photoshop Actions!  I am constantly amazed at how much of photography is in the editing.  After finding and downloading all these free actions, it is just one click and voila - the picture completely transforms! A big thanks to the people who took the time to do all this so I don't have to.  One day I might eventually figure out all the inner workings of Photoshop, but until then, I'm loving this!