showered with love

This weekend Jill, Liz, Liz's mom, my mom, and Doug's mom threw Doug and I a beautiful shower. We felt so loved and supported by the friends and family that were there. They decorated with mums, and paper lanterns, and served a buffet of homemade soups. It was delicious. We played a fun game and opened presents. Everyone was so generous to us, we had said we were registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond and we also were having a mattress fund since Doug and I both have twin beds. We ended up receiving over half of what we registered for, and probably 2/3 a mattress! Wow! I liked that it was a little smaller so I was able to talk to everyone that came, and it was a beautiful day to boot. People ate, and chatted, and laughed, and stayed later, it was fun.

I walked in to see our old Barbie bed on a shoebox and was confused until I put 2 and 2 together that it was for our bed fund! (later I labeled the box so no one else would wonder)

Liz and her mom are the QUEENS of gift basket making! They had a nails basket, chocolate lovers basket, honey basket, movie basket, baker's basket, and basket of Liz's raw food goodies

Mmmmmm

Jill made this fun he said/she said game and people had to guess who said what.

I didn't get a picture of the moms! Fail :( they were probably clearing plates or something.

Thank you everyone who came and everyone who helped and everyone who loves and supports us! :)

long week

What a long week! Oh my gosh I'm so glad my shower is tomorrow and I don't have to go to work, today was crazy.

Doug and I have been busy with wedding stuff. And things are coming along. And even on the future job front things are looking a tad promising. I had a doctor give me his card to help find a job, and a CRNA wants me to email him my resume and said he has tons of connections. So helpful! Somedays I feel dumb as a brick and like I need another 2 years of school, but everyone assures me this is "normal". Ok, if you say so!

Yesterday Doug and I made it to the cidermill before close. Mmmm, cinnamon donuts, nothing so delicious. We were sitting with our cider and donuts and Doug asked if I wanted the last half donut, I said 'no', and just as I was going to say I wanted one bite of it, he stuffed the entire thing into his mouth. Oh my gosh man, bite and chew!! I will not be surprised if at some point in our future I am forced to do the Heimlich on him.

Then we went on a walk. This picture is an example of how something can be breathtakingly beautiful, and then just look like an average picture:

Then we went to dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant (yes, dessert first, naughty!). This place was wonderful. And the bowls of hot pitas and garlic paste kept flowing without the slightest bit of judgment, mmmm. So worth the 24 hours of garlic breath

We ran a couple of wedding errands, decided on a wedding band for me, and then went on a walk downtown. It was lovely.

(please excuse Becks's freaky eye, apparently the iphone's correcting powers could not tame it)

I'm going to miss walking downtown and definitely going to miss this little fluff!

weekend update

Man another weekend flew right by. I feel like the only time I had to relax was 5 mins on the couch with Becks before my phone rang and I had to leave again

Doug and I went up to my parents for dinner one night. My aunt came in town to help fix my wedding dress. I think it had been a 14 and now it fits perfect for me! Yay!! We also checked out the status of our little pumpkins and gourds for our fall wedding centerpieces. On 8 plants we saw just 2 teeny little guys. Boo. The cool summer/early fall didn't do us any favors, we might not get any to keep growing before the ground frosts :(

hang in there little guy!

Doug and I had planned a date together, but we got to the cidermill too late and it was closed, wah wah! The next day he picked up some cider and donuts for me

Pet peeve about Doug: when I try to share and give him a bite of something, but he just gulps down the entire thing!!!

I roasted these carrots and beets from mom's garden. They turned out so tasty and have a delicious natural sweetness. I took some to school yesterday for my lunch and shared them with a friend who likes eating my cooking. Then I watched them get passed around as everyone was like 'mm.. yumm..' haha, it was funny. For a group of nursing students we sure have no qualms about all eating off the same fork.

Sunday night Jill and I went to a Hall and Oates concert (it turns out it's actually not "Haulin' Oats" as I had always thought). It was kinda drizzly and cold, but we had fun. Here's a not great pic of us

Mom also gave me a buttercup squash, so today I made that into my favorite fall soup

butternut/buttercup probably close enough, we'll see!

feathering the nest

Doug has started doing a few house projects to make me feel more 'at home' in his house for when it will be 'our' house. It makes me feel so loved when he calls it "our house". He has moved and cleared away some stuff, unpacked some boxes, and he told me he cleaned away a bunch of spider webs :)

Some projects have been frustrating since the house was flipped when he bought it, and upon closer inspection it appears several shortcuts were made. Doug bought a new light for outside the front door, complete with a motion detector (which is awesome because it's really dark on his street, and it's hard to see where to put the key!). But when he went to install it, I got a barrage of texts about how he found too short screws, and brackets and all other nonsense behind the scenes. And I don't think he could install it. Frustrating.

Other projects have gone well. Doug repainted the living room ceiling and installed a star kit. I wish I could show a picture, it looks great. It's not those cheesy kids room star ceilings. It's various sized small dot stickers that each absorb a different amount of light, and so at night they reflect different amounts back like a real night sky. It looks really good. And it's so relaxing to lay on the couch together and 'look at the stars'.

Another project that went well was installing a laundry room dryer rack. I wish it was a stainless steel, it's plastic, but I think it will work!

yay! good job Doug!

family of 3

Well Doug's roommate didn't want to keep her, so we are going to.

Please welcome to our family Miss September Bigglesworth

(you can just call her September)

She's already worked her way into Doug's heart, and worked her fur into every corner of the rooms already. She isn't the sweet little shy creature that we found outside anymore, she seems to have grown in confidence and is already running all over the house and jumping up on everything. Doug sent me this picture

(sorry about the turds)

And told me he's sprayed her a lot already. She was climbing up the window screen to get a moth that was outside. haha, but does she kill the mouse in the house? No, she just played with him and let him go. Although, as a person who preferred a pet mouse to a pet cat, I was glad he escaped. Anyway...

(yes Doug sleeps on a stack of cinder blocks)

It will mean a little more adjustments, but I like our little family.

hot stuff

I think the saying goes... when your roommate gives you jalapenos, make a grilled jalapeno and cheese sandwich

and when your fiance and friend both buy you spicy chocolate for your birthday, make already delicious mexican snickerdoodles and add chocolate chunks

my dad always used to say I didn't need to 'gild the lily' (as in the cookie by itself was good enough) but I don't care, the gilding is delicious!!

sorting boxes and feelings

Doug and I picked up a couple boxes of stuff from my "storage facility" aka Liz's big guest room closet she let me store stuff in the last 2 years (thank you!!) and also got a trailer of furniture from my second storage unit, aka Dad's barn (thank you too!) Somehow with all the wedding planning, and school finishing, I forgot about the joy that is packing/moving/unpacking. I don't know why, I'm not the neatest/cleanest person, but it really bugs me to live in a state of unpacked boxes. But I'm trying to be more flexible and just wrap my head around the fact that I will likely have stacks of unpacked boxes, and things not 'the way I like it', and having a home with 2 rooms consumed by an air hockey table and a foosball table for several months, and IT WILL BE OKAY.

A box at a time, Doug and I will unpack and set up our home together.

But a couple boxes did bring back some feelings. I found the box of wedding stuff. This morning I took pictures out of frames and albums, and found the recipe cards from my shower. I want to pass on the frames/albums, but I want to keep the cards. Mostly I sorted the albums with speedy efficiency and only a wistful thought of how I was a little lighter and a little less wrinkly 4 years ago! And I looked happy. I threw away our guestbook which was one of those snapfish photo albums of us, but that made me sad to see all the well wishes and kind words from our friends and family. I especially felt sad seeing what my parents wrote. And for a second I couldn't help feeling like I let people down. But almost just as quickly, I came across my journal and my Power of a Praying Wife study guide (which I recommend to any wife, struggling or not!!) and I tried again to give up what I could not control to God. I just hope God continues to use my past to teach me to constantly trust and follow Him, and to do what is in my control to be a good wife that loves and honors her husband. Being divorced might have stolen some of my naivete, but I'm standing on the verse that God will use it for my good, and for the good of Doug and I in the future. As painful as it was, I really did learn so much about love and marriage- through being divorced.

Wow this post got heavy! But I am thankful, and look forward to beginning a new life with Doug.

On a lighter note, we went to the movies last night. Doug had been wanting to see Guardians of the Galaxy for awhile, I had not, but we went, and I actually liked it. There were funny references and we both laughed out loud several times. It was fun.

Also last week I made my aunt's granola. It's a little sweeter than my mom's recipe I usually make, but very good

mine got a little too toasty, but still good

And finally, nothing says fall like the return of a pumpkin smoothie, mmmm

lost and found

look what we found last night!

(naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah sin ta yaaaaa!!!!)

Doug was walking me out last night and we heard meowing. He went and got a flashlight and we investigated. Across the street where the neighbors just moved there was a cat hiding at the bottom of a pine tree. (they better not have left her, nothing makes me madder than losers who abandon their poor pets to fend for themselves) Anyway. She came over to us for some petting. The next thing we knew Doug was taking her into the house to show his roommate and feeding her some lunchmeat.

Doug loves cats. It's kinda funny because we already had a 'fight' about it. I don't want any pets at all. I like not being tied down. I like not having to rush home to let something out. I like not having vet/pet food/etc bills. I like not picking up poop. I like having a home without fur flying around or pee/poop/puke on the carpet.

And I was thinking, maybe someday a dog. A nice little fluffy friend like Becks. But Doug wants a cat (or big dog). He just loves cats for some reason. I loved our family cat, but our couch was shredded on the side from her claws, and you just never know the personality of the cat you'll end up with. My bro's cat is a complete B who swats you in the back of the head on the couch when you're minding your own business. And I don't want to end up with a cat like that.

But on and on Doug went with his cat "pros" and he really wants one so our kids can have a "cat filled childhood" or something like that he said.

Anyway, I had told myself I would never purchase a cat, but if one found me, then I might keep it.

So. Here we are.

I can't imagine a worse time to get a pet. Wrapping up nursing school, planning and paying for a wedding, getting ready to move, and honeymoon, and take a national exam... but if little Ms. Bigglesworth (that's Doug's name vote) sticks around she just might make herself a part of our new little family.

To be continued....