love is in the air

Greg and I work at a university where a lot of life is pretty much centered around dating . . .  or the lack thereof. Just Monday there was a front page article about what to do if you graduate from college gasp! SINGLE gasp! So I decided that as we lead up to Valentine's Day this year I wanted to make sure that while walking around on campus everyone knows that we are together. You know, that our love knows no bounds - even when and if it is negative a jillion degrees outside we are going to hold hands and shout it from the rooftops!

This smitten makes all that possible:

This morning was our first morning of trying it out. And sure, we felt a little stupid, but I think there were a lot of envious eyes checking out our love while walking into work. At least that is what I'm telling myself.


And don't worry - I've done my best to talk it up with the Rosscat so we don't have a repeat of this FAIL! 

oh brother!

We have a family rule . . . no heat until at least November (and longer if we can make it). Because I am the one that set this family rule . . . I can't complain. But Greg sure can. Last night, in protest, he slept in his subzero sleeping bag.

Woose.

i should be a hand model

Greg has been out of town for most of the week (don't worry I have a post all about it lined up - I have to pace myself). In our marriage we have an unspoken rule - I am the person who loses stuff and he is the person that finds stuff. One of the things that I often "lose" is my wedding ring. Now don't worry, it always turns up but right now it hasn't. I have looked in the normal places and no luck - and since he is gone - it remains missing. But because I don't want this to happen again . . . I've come up with the perfect solution:

I think it looks classy. I've always liked the look of a simple gold band. To me it says, "jewelry means nothing - really it is all about our love." However, my gold band has a secret:

I really need to find my ring.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like a car accident on your way to work

Now don't worry. We are fine, the other driver is fine - everyone is fine. In fact, check out the beloved Honda after this morning's accident.

We really are having a hard time finding a scratch (but we'll still take it in to make sure there aren't any problems). Now . . . check out the other guy . . .

The driver of the Chevy Cavalier thought that it would be a great idea to do a u-turn while crossing into our lane and not look for any traffic. So you know - Greg kept his cool and did his best but couldn't avoid it (of course, he was driving). No ticket for us - no damage- no pain. However, Greg then used this moment to remind me that when I pulled an illegal u-turn in Chicago I got a ticket precisely to prevent an accident such as this one. He told me that this accident should be a powerful learning lesson for me. And then reminded me that when I did that illegal u-turn . . . I broke the law, just like this driver.

So helpful to be reminded of this right then. So helpful.

P.S. It probably is the lawyer/skeptic/awesome blogger in me that made me think - I should take a picture of this to make sure this guy doesn't try and say it was our fault and I should post these pictures on the blog. Good work me. Good work.

cold is no way to sleep

We continue to press forward on our experiment with no heat. That being said, I don't think we are going to make it. Last night Ross could not stop asking me "why are we doing this?" "How is this fun?" I told him that we need to become tough like the pioneers. He looked at me as if I was ridiculous. I then told him that the furnace was broken so we had to figure out how to survive (he didn't believe me). I mean it was kind of sad - he heated up the George Foreman and warmed his hands while cooking his chicken. I sat and listened to him complain about it all - in the kitchen - dressed in a hat and gloves.

To make matters worse - I slept last night in thermal tights/sweats/turtleneck and a sweatshirt. At 1:00 am I woke up and decided that I was warm enough to take off my hat and my gloves. I've downgraded my goal and now just want to see if we can make it through October. I don't think we can.

On the bright side of things - it makes coming to work a treat.

Don't worry - Laurie's visit last weekend was a blessing - the second before she walked in the door Ross cranked up the heat to a respectable level. I, of course, cranked down that heat the second she left.

the disagreement . . .

Ross and I are in the midst of a disagreement. He thinks we should turn on the heat - I say it is only October 7th and it isn't that cold (especially when you layer up while walking around the house). So far I'm the toughest and we haven't turned it on. Yet.

However, last night when I was getting ready for bed . . . I saw this.

be prepared

So Ross is off to his first Scout campout this weekend. I sent him off and there he was in his Scout uniform (purchased at Savers and DI) amongst a bunch of ridiculous teenagers. I felt bad for him because, let's face it tomorrow, I'm going to get my massage and he's still going to be recovering from sleeping on the ground.

However, I should have planned farther in advance. Because here it is, Friday night, and I should be out partying and living it up. But instead I decided to just go back to work and get some stuff done. How lame is that? Don't answer that.

music - for the people

It's no secret that Greg and I have, what I would call, wildly different tastes in music. My music? All things great and good. His music? Well, let's just sum it up with two words . . .Chris Cornell. I can't stand Chris Cornell. In fact, I can think of few things worse than listening to Chris Cornell - solo or with his various (crappy) bands. Because our tastes are so different we have a hard time ever agreeing what to listen to. Thus, we listen to a lot of npr, some other talk radio (but usually these programs just get us both all fired up), or else our Saturday night standby of Cozy Saturday night (don't judge - they play broadway songs -I like it).

However, the other day we were painting (yes - we will probably be painting for the rest of our lives) and Greg busted into one of the case logic cases and pulled out a bunch of cd's that an old paramour had made for me. Sort of like listening to a bunch of good mix tapes. I hadn't ever busted these out simply because a) our tastes are so different and b) I didn't want to make Greg jealous. Of course, that was of no concern - instead of being all "up in my grill" about hanging on to an old paramour's mix tapes all he could say was "Oh man, I need to meet this guy - he must have a ton of great music on his computer." Oh brother.\

Also you know you don't feel well when you dream of simply going home from work and putting on the couch sack. Nothing sounds better to me right now. Nothing.

B is for budget

This month marks our fourth anniversary of marriage. Yes. We made it. We are now officially experts in all things marriage . . . except for one thing. Budgeting. In our four years we have (true confessions) never really had a budget. Now, lest you think that we have never had a budget and so we have been forced to declare bankruptcy 12 times over. No. Nor are we really in debt (I've decided this term "debt" doesn't include the farm). Neither one of us are big spenders so we just haven't really focused on it. We'll save and then sometimes we'll spend. But we'll only spend on big things after agonizing over it for quite some time. However, the little things? Well, just throw it into the cart.

We have decided, however, that slowly but surely those little things start to add up. We don't want to collect junk and that we should be a little more cognizant of making choices and *gulp* saving for big things instead of just buying them when we think we can afford it. So this month marks the beginning of a full scale Dave Ramsey type budget.

This is new thinking for us. I won't even tell you how much we have budgeted for food. It's an embarrassing amount considering there is only two of us. But slowly but surely we'll start figuring it out.

My only problem? Now that we are on a budget - I just want to spend! spend! spend! I look at my e-mails that I get from banana republic and instead of automatically deleting them like I normally do . . . I ponder. Ooooh that does look nice. Much nicer than what is in my closet. I look at my "deal" website and think "Oh man - I need that large food processor and the griddle" (something that I have never thought before in my life). It's such a good deal - how can I say no?

It's really only been three days but already we've made progress. Yesterday we actually walked out of Target (it was actually Wal-Mart but Target sounds classier) without purchasing anything. This, my friends, is a miracle.

Although I may have to go back for their waffle iron. It's totally on sale.

nothing says welcome home . . .

Like this potted plant to greet you at the door.

I think we can all agree that this thing isn't coming back to life.

Also - Ross made cookies last night. I would tell you how they tasted but Ross thinks that 11:00 pm is time to make cookies and I think 11:00 pm is time to go to bed. Ross also thinks that making cookies relieves you of cleaning up the kitchen. What a fun surprise this morning!

Also - pay no attention to that can of "Raid" in the background. Ross promises he didn't confuse it for "Pam" spray.

not to gross you out or anything

So I've been pretty proud of myself lately. I planned meals for the week, bought the right groceries (well, of course, Ross did the grocery shopping) and we have been eating some delicious new recipes.

I was reminded, however, of the importance of wearing a hairnet. Greg found this in his leftover lunch this afternoon. There's no denying it - it's my kitty hair. Gross. Good thing I had the lean cuisine instead of the leftovers.

And duh - of course this didn't stop Greg from eating it all.

things can only get better

Today has started off poorly.

1) Horrible commute/snow - resulting in us being late for work due to 1,000 accidents (at least we weren't involved in any of those accidents).
2) My oatmeal exploded in the work microwave. Gross.
3) Ross and I feel differently about the short-sale house. I am unsure - he is full speed ahead. Resulting in somewhat of a conundrum and more importantly and more awkwardly - a conversation where it ends with neither one of us knowing what to do to help the other person.
4) I have a jillion things to do. A jillion. And really - I would just prefer to relax - watch some tv, read, and maybe take a morning nap. Oh well.

See? So here's looking on the bright side - today can only get better. Except I pretty much know that the morning nap isn't going to happen. Oh well.

Life Lessons

1) When your keynote speaker cancels 12 hours before an event - it is a big fat pain to become an expert on student loans in such a short amount of time. I don't think I fooled anyone.

2)Never ever ever go to the gym without an elastic band for your hair. It just isn't worth it. I did my best to try and keep it pinned up via the tried and true pencil stuck through the middle of the hair. It didn't stay. With the gym over - I looked a bit like a lioness (with a mane).

3) When a baby's blessing starts at 2:50 pm - don't show up at 2:55 pm and think it will be fine. You'll miss the blessing. We did.

4) It is impossible to work out at night and then wake up at 5:05 am to work out the next morning. Impossible. Don't even bother setting the alarm. Just don't.

5) It is possible that when you move cross country you will find yourself living in a place longer than you originally planned. Unpack more clothes before you put it all in storage so that you have more options. My gray/black attire matches the winter but I'm sick of it - and I'm sure everyone else is too.

SHOCKTOBER!

Every October I have a goal to watch as many scary movies as possible. You know, just to really enjoy the season. This goal, however, is hindered by the fact that my husband (bless him) is a big fat baby when it comes to scary movies. He considers "Watcher in the Woods" (you know where Narek is Karen spelled backwards) as being about as scary as it gets. (Don't get me wrong Bette Davis is frightening but I sometimes want to watch some sort of slasher type movie just to celebrate the month of scary-ness). In my quest, we found this dvd, "Dark Tales From Japan" at the library which I thought might be perfect. After all, we have Japan to thank for "The Grudge." Um, let's put it this way - it wasn't that great. We found ourselves laughing when we should have been frightened. It honestly looked like it was a student movie project. To make things perfect - as we watched it (and were laughing) I went to turn out the lights and Greg said, "Um I don't think I can watch this with the lights out."

Needless to say - Shocktober continues to remain my a goal.

Breakfast of Champions

Lately, a lot of my friends have been posting some of their favorite recipes. I decided to get on the bandwagon and share one of our favorite recipes which we have been fixing a ton lately.

Breakfast Cereal

3/4 cup (of if you are Greg 2 cups) cereal (lately our favorite has been Life cereal)

1 cup milk (we prefer skim but if my parents buy 1% we'll use it - we aren't snobs)

Pour cereal into a bowl (I prefer a glass one - not plastic or paper), follow by pouring milk into the bowl.

Use one spoon and voila! (I prefer a small spoon - Greg prefers a soup spoon).

*ktc* tip - shove your face and then run out the door to catch the bus.

I wish I could say that we are joking - but this is about the extent of our cooking right now. . . except last night we did heat up some leftovers (previously made by the workhorse) so I guess you could say we are microwave connoisseurs.

how did you spend your saturday?

Today we found ourselves in what can only be described as a PILLOW EMERGENCY. Greg decided that he needed a new pillow . . .stat - his neck just can't last another day -he needs a pillow that is just like mine (because mine is much more awesome than his). Here he is in both Dillards and Bed Bath and Beyond attempting to find the perfect pillow. I wish these photos were either a) reenactments in our own home or b) only after begging and pleading would Greg willingly lay down on the floor in a department store to test out a pillow. Nope. Much to my surprise (and luckily I had my camera) he just laid down on the gross old floor - in the middle of customers on a Saturday attempting to fulfill his quest. Rest assured we found the perfect pillow - but will have to return to get it once we snag the Workhorse's 20% off coupon. Perfect pillows are much more expensive than just the regular ones.

happy anniversary. to me.

It's my wedding anniversary today. That's right, my wedding anniversary. I've decided it's fitting to take it to the singular (my) instead of the plural (our) because Ross is out of town. For the whole week. Thus, I'm celebrating my anniversary. When I was younger my church leaders would encourage us to make lists of all the qualities we wanted in a spouse. I listed qualities such as "rich" "hard-worker" "handsome." At the time, these qualities were so important. However, with marriage has come a bit of perspective. While these qualities are nice to have (and if you ask me Greg fits them), I have discovered that Greg has many qualities that I had no idea were crucial to having a successful marriage. Qualities and traits such as:

1) Recognizing that dinner is a team effort (usually this means Greg will make it - praise be - dinner often overwhelms me).

2) The "yes" man. Here is an example of our past three years - Me: "let's move to Chicago for my job - you may not find a job that you like very much but let's do it anyway." Greg "that sounds great - I totally support you." Me: "Let's move back to Utah because my job is killing me." Greg: "That sounds great - why don't you go ahead and I'll pack up all our belongings and move them across the country for us."

3) He doesn't hog the remote. In fact, Greg will watch Project Runway with me - and like it.

4) He knows how to clean. Not that he always cleans our house or anything - but working as a janitor when he was 18 taught him a thing or two about cleaning bathrooms.

5) He let's me tease him. Just look at the picture I am posting of him. Enough said.

Alright that's enough. I don't want to make anyone throw up in their mouth or anything. But sometimes his great qualities have to be documented.

ring-less and fancy free

Sometimes I forget to wear my wedding ring. Not a big deal - I mean I'm still married in my heart. I know of my propensity to forget this important piece of hardware and have previously taken action to prevent any issues. For example, at my old job I had a beautiful (what looked like to be about 5 karats) ring purchased from Target for approximately $3 in my desk drawer. When my ring finger would feel naked - I'd put it on and work away. With the job transition I haven't really moved into the office and so, it is true, sometimes I go ring-less. All day. Not a big deal until a student I was advising said the following, "I see that you aren't married . . . I have a brother that is in law school that would be perfect for you!"

I politely declined.

You may be wondering . . .

Due to our geographic "separation" Greg and I have been spending a lot of time apart. Part of me wonders what he is doing without me around to entertain him because let's face it - I'm his pride and joy - however, I was reviewing my camera and I realized, "duh" - I know exactly what he is doing even when I call and he says he is "packing."This is what I have been doing . . . being the aunt extra-ordinaire.

lunch plans

Now that it is official (finally) that Ross and I will be working at the same place we have already started to plan our lunches. For casual days - we'll just meet up at the c0ugareat - listen to some tunes, play the piano a bit and check out the jamba juice line. For more serious dates? The Skyro0m - all the way. I have to admit - I kind of like the idea.