Josh & Emily Sittin' in a Tree

This & That

2011-08-31T15:48:00.006-05:00

Since it's the last day of August and I haven't posted anything yet this month, I figured I should at least write something! So this post is just going to be a little of this and that.

I can't believe tomorrow is September already. This means that it will start getting cold soon and I'm so not ready for that. Summer went by way too fast!

Josh has been extremely busy with work lately. He's had to do a lot of driving and overtime, which hasn't been fun for either of us. Josh has been exhausted and I feel like I've been single lately.

Work for me has been slow and boring. Nothing new. To keep myself from going crazy, I've been trying to do a little photography on the side. I'm hoping that eventually it will become a full time thing. I did a photo session with a friend from church and her kids earlier this month. It was a lot of fun and I think we got some great pictures! This is one of my favorites:

You can see more on my updated website here.

Well, that's it for now. I'll try to be a more consistent blogger in the future. We'll see how that goes....

Family Pictures

2011-07-26T20:40:00.036-05:00

While we were in Texas, I got to take some family pictures. Besides the fact that it felt like 150 degrees outside and we were all sweating, they turned out really great! And thank you to my lovely assistant, Katie. Here are some of my favorites:

Texas Trip

2011-07-26T20:40:00.022-05:00

Last week Josh and I took a trip down to good ol' Texas. Besides the grueling 24 hour drive and the fact that I was sick for half of the week, we had a great time! With family, friends, and Sonic happy hour, what else do you need? It really was a good trip.

I started the week by going on a girls' day with Mom and Katie, which included an AMAZING pedicure.

We had some of the greatest sushi ever with our friend, Amber.

We went to the beach- it's Corpus Christi, you kind of have to!

We played a lot of Kinect, which always ended with everybody laughing hysterically.

We went on a triple date to dinner and to see Harry Potter 7 II.

And the best part of it all was just hanging out with family. Especially these two:

Josie and Holly at the beach.

We had such a good week on vacation. It was hard to leave. I can't wait to get back to Texas again!

According to Plan

2011-06-15T16:14:00.003-05:00

One thing I've learned in life, is that nothing goes according to plan. I like to picture exactly how I think my life should go, but it never works out. Although it's not necessarily a bad thing.

For example, Josh and I would have never met if things had gone according to plan. I was supposed to be working at school all summer and Josh was supposed to be selling security in Florida. It just happened to turn out that I wasn't getting enough hours at work and decided to go home for the summer, while at the same time Josh's sales team got transferred to Corpus Christi. We met a week after I got home and the rest is history! Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had stayed at school. Josh and I may have met when I visited Corpus, but I'm sure we wouldn't have gotten married. I'm SO thankful that things worked out the way they did! I can't imagine my life without Josh!

Lately things have not gone according to plan. I've been working at my office job for 4 months now, but it's not what I want to be doing. An opportunity turned up about a month ago where I would be working for a designer in her showroom a few afternoons a week. It seemed perfect. I would get to do a little design work, but still have enough hours at my office job. Then after I got the job offer, nothing happened. I tried stopping by and contacting her by phone, but she kept standing me up or just wouldn't get back to me. Finally she said she would call me for a time to meet. That was a month ago and I've heard nothing since. It was all a complete waste of my time! It still makes me mad when I think about it.

Last week I dropped off my resume at a few design companies. Two days later I got a call back from a showroom that is part of a hardware store. The lead designer wanted to hire me on as another designer. I was so excited! I thought that I would finally have the design job that I was looking for. So I went in for training last weekend and it was horrible! I called Josh crying on my lunch break. This is what the job description should have been: you will work in the hardware store wherever they need help and once in a blue moon when someone comes into the designer center, you will help them pick out paint or flooring. Basically, I would hardly be doing any design work. The worst part about it was that the job was only on weekends. They wouldn't be able to give me enough hours where I could quit my office job, so I would be working 7 days a week. No thanks! I ended up quitting yesterday and I feel great about it.

I just hate that things haven't worked out how I had pictured for my career. Fargo is a hard place to start a design career when the market just isn't there. So for now I will be staying as an office assistant. It's not according to my plan, but I'm sure things happened this way for a reason.

The Zoo

2011-06-01T16:53:00.012-05:00

On Memorial Day we got together with some friends and went to the Wahpeton Zoo. Who knew they had a zoo in Wahpeton? Who has even heard of Wahpeton? (It's a small town 45 minutes south of Fargo.) Anyways, we were pleasantly surprised that the zoo was actually pretty decent. We had a good time. And I got to play with my camera.

Josh's Dad has a Canon that he no longer uses, so he gave me two of his old lenses. One of which is an extreme zoom lens (obviously the technical term). The zoo was the perfect place to test it out. Most of the pictures I took were from pretty far away, but it looks like we were up close and in person.

With nice weather and good company, we had a fun day!

Awkward Family Photos

2011-05-26T16:24:00.004-05:00

Our new favorite hobby is browsing the pages of Awkward Family Photos. You're probably thinking that we have way too much time on our hands. But seriously, they are some of the funniest pictures I have ever seen! There have been a few times when we literally laughed out loud.

One day we came across this photo:

Do you recognize the guy in the brown shirt and beard? Doesn't it look exactly like Josh? When we saw this picture, Josh sat there trying to figure out when it was taken and who he was with. After about ten minutes, he finally decided that it wasn't a picture of him throwing a baby after all. Apparently Josh has an identical twin out there.

You never know what you're going to find on Awkward Family Photos.

House Guest

2011-05-18T22:12:00.008-05:00

A few weeks ago we acquired a house guest. This means two things: 1. We can no longer use the extra bedroom to store our laundry, and 2. Josh can no longer walk around the house in his underwear (which I'm sure you wanted to know).

A missionary we knew while he was serving his mission in Fargo is now engaged to a girl who's family lives here. Whew, that was a mouthful. He came back to Fargo to work for the summer and Josh offered to let him stay with us as a back up plan. So basically one thing led to another and we now have a guy named Eric living in our third bedroom.

To be honest, it's been a little weird sharing our house with someone else. And after a few weeks, it's something we're still trying to get used to. We now have a roommate, a bathroom schedule, and a reservation system for the washer and dryer. Sounds like college all over again.

But it hasn't been all that bad. We really don't see him much since he spends most of his time with his fiance. And we get a free dog sitter out of the deal- a definite bonus.

One thing is for sure: it will be an interesting summer!

The Joy of Cooking: Take 2

2011-04-28T20:48:00.002-05:00

Remember that time I baked a pizza with the cardboard underneath it? I do.

It's been about a year since my first Joy of Cooking post, and I've come a long way since then. (You can read about it here.) In fact people even refer to me as a good cook. And Josh can vouch for that. It's amazing what a year and some good quality time in the kitchen can do. I can honestly say that I love cooking now.

Although my cooking skills have drastically improved, I still have my moments. Like the time I unsteadily wedged the strainer in between two dishes and ended up dumping a pound of pasta down the sink. At that point I just gave up on dinner. Or the time, no every time, I make rice and it turns out soggy. I still can't figure out why that is.

One recipe that turns out every time I make it is tortellini soup. It's really easy and inexpensive to make- two things I always look for in a recipe. And the best part is that it looks as pretty as it tastes. It's not one of those recipes that looks like art in the cookbook and then looks like a sloppy mess when you try to recreate it. Josh and I love this soup:

Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. dried oregano
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juices
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
9 oz. tortellini, any variety (fresh or frozen)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed
Salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in the oregano and diced tomatoes. Add the broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tortellini to the pot and cook according to the package directions. One minute before the tortellini is fully cooked, stir in the spinach. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with grated Parmesan as desired.
*Source: Annie's Eats

So good! You should try it.

April Showers

2011-04-15T21:41:00.013-05:00

When I say showers, I mean snow showers. And yes, it's the middle of April. You would think that spring would be here by now, but no. It just had to snow again.

I don't even remember what warm weather feels like. How depressing!

My Canon

2011-04-15T21:39:00.008-05:00

So.......I finally got my new camera!

After photography classes and experiencing high-quality camera equipment, our little point-and-shoot just didn't cut it. We made a deal that if Josh got an Xbox, then I would get an SLR. Josh ended up getting his Xbox around Christmas, but my camera had to wait a little longer (which has something to do with the fact that it costs about 3 times as much). Then a few weeks ago, Josh surprised me after work and took me on a field trip to Best Buy. I was so excited! And that's where I found my Canon Rebel T3i.

So now we're both happy. Josh gets to play video games and I get to take 18 megapixel photos. I definitely got the better end of the deal.

It's Been Awhile....

2011-03-30T21:52:00.002-05:00

Hi again. It's been awhile.

I've been really bad at blogging lately. Ok, it's been pretty much non-existent. I haven't blogged in two months, which is mainly due to the fact that I have had zero desire to blog about anything. I've also had a lot less free time.

I finally started working again last month. I'm an Office/Sales Assistant at a mailing and advertising company. Not exactly the dream design job I was hoping for, but it's not all that bad. I work for some of the nicest people and I have perfect hours- 9 to 3.

That's the biggest news as of late. Other than that, we've been spending time with friends, watching a lot of Netflix, and waiting for the snow to melt (which I can tell you is never going to happen).

I know this hasn't been an exciting post, but I'll have more coming soon.

20 Degrees and Sunny

2011-01-25T18:04:00.002-06:00

When Josh and I went outside today, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't very cold. In fact, I think we even used the word "nice."

It was 20 degrees.

That's when you know you live in North Dakota.

The Beard Hat

2011-01-25T17:41:00.006-06:00

This is Josh's beard hat.

We went to a white elephant party last month and a hand-knitted beard hat was one of the gifts. It was so funny! I couldn't stop laughing when people were trying it on. At the end of the night, Josh was very disappointed that we didn't go home with the hat. Since he loved it so much, a friend from church ended up making him one just like it. It made Josh's day- no, his entire year. So now he wears it out and about and attracts awkward stares (which is his favorite part).

And it keeps his beard warm.

One Year

2011-01-13T12:13:00.008-06:00

We have been married for a whole year! Time has flown by, but on the other hand it seems like we've been married forever. The past year could not have been happier. A year ago I wouldn't have thought it possible, but I love Josh even more now than I did on our wedding day.

One of our very first dates was a double date to Chuck E. Cheese. We did the whole thing: we played games, won prizes, smelled the wonderful scent of cheap pizza, and took our picture in the little photo booth. On our wedding night, our hotel was right across the street from a Chuck E. Cheese. We decided that it would be hilarious if we got our picture taken there right after being married. So we did. And now we have a little tradition to get our picture taken at Chuck E. Cheese on our anniversary. It's kind of cheesy (haha), but we like it. So when we're 80 years old, gray-haired, and wrinkled, we will be that old couple taking our picture in the Chuck E. Cheese photo booth.

Happy anniversary Josh! I love you!

January 8, 2010

January 8, 2011

Sunny Corpus Christi

2011-01-13T12:11:00.029-06:00

Last week we drove to Corpus Christi to visit my family and celebrate our first anniversary. Besides visiting family, the best part about the trip was escaping the freezing cold. The weather was perfect!

Our week-long trip included 2 days of straight driving and 5 days of visiting. We had a blast! I've been missing my family, so it was really great to see them after six months. Here are some highlights from our trip:

The beautiful sunset on our drive down. This was before we got bored, tired, and to the point where we only thought of how we can't wait to get out of the stupid car.

Lilo leaning on the headrest between her usual car activities of sleeping and whining.

Holly: She is so grown up since the last time we saw her- and cuter than ever. And yes, there is pen and frosting on her face.

Josie: This was the first time we got to see Josie since she was born in October. She is the sweetest, prettiest baby. I love her smile!

Me, Katie, and Mom making cakepops. Katie was much better at in than I was.

The final product. They tasted really good!

We spent a day in San Marcos shopping at the outlet malls. Holly and I are taking a break and lounging by the fountain.

This is a picture of us in five years.....just kidding. Josh, Josie, Me, and Holly at the outlet mall.

Our anniversary! We had lunch at Water Street where we held our wedding reception. Unfortunately, it was a huge letdown. The food was amazing at our reception, but this weekend it was basically the worst food ever. I still don't know if we were more disappointed that we were served crappy food or that we payed a fortune for it.

Our last day in Corpus. Josh, Me, Holly, Katie, Andrew, and Josie.

We had so much fun on our trip and were sad to leave. It was a great visit filled with family, friends and good weather- three things which I will miss dearly.

Holiday Recap

2011-01-11T14:49:00.010-06:00

From Christmas through this past weekend, we have been crazy busy. Here is what we've been up to:

We spent Christmas weekend with Josh's family in Minneapolis. We had a good time. Between playing Kinect, Killer Bunnies and singing karaoke, there was never a dull moment. We spent most of our time visiting family- with parents, grandparents, and dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins, we kept pretty busy. But we did find time to go to Ikea, which is always a must when we're in the cities. Lucky for me, Josh likes Ikea almost as much as I do.

We spent New Years.......snowed in. We had been planning a big New Years Eve party for weeks, but the snowstorm of the year just happened to be the same day. The weather was so bad that we ended up having to cancel the party altogether. So instead we played games by ourselves and ate some of the 2 dozen cupcakes I had made. It was slightly uneventful but we had fun. Practically all of Fargo was shut down for the rest of the weekend.

Last week we spent some time in Corpus Christi with my family. We got back really early yesterday morning and are still recovering from the drive. I'll post more about our trip later.

So as you can tell, we've been a bit busy lately. But we had a really fun holiday season!

My sweet (literally) New Years cupcakes. I was really excited to make them and then no one even got to see them (except us)!

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-14T20:13:00.005-06:00

Since Christmas is my favorite holiday, I wanted our house to have a little Christmas spirit. And it really is little:

A real Christmas tree isn't exactly in our budget this year, so we're settling for a mini version. Our little Christmas tree stands at a whopping total of 2 feet and is decorated with a few things I dug out of my craft drawer. It doesn't really give the grand effect I was hoping for, but it's our first Christmas tree together which makes it special. At least it's a step up from Charlie Brown. Maybe even two steps.

Now all we need are a few presents....

A Pink Tutu

2010-12-14T19:46:00.008-06:00

Baby Josie is so stinking cute! Especially in a tutu. It definitely suits her.

So I might have stolen this picture off of Katie's blog. I think I'm becoming one of those aunts who brags about their nieces and has to show pictures of them to anyone who even glances in their general direction.

As a baby gift for Josie, I volunteered to make her baby announcements. After all, people should know who she is. I love being crafty, especially when it comes to pretty papers. Here is how they turned out:

The pink tutu is my favorite part!

....

2010-12-06T11:02:00.009-06:00

Yesterday was Josh's birthday. It was a pretty busy day: eating, napping, eating, relaxing. It was great! We also went to the theater and saw Inception, which is one of Josh's new favorite movies. It's really good and if you haven't seen it, you need to. During the entire movie, I kept leaning over to Josh saying "This is crazy!" or "This is so cool!" We had fun. Then ended the day with birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Josh! I LOVE YOU!

Let It Snow

2010-11-30T21:12:00.014-06:00

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

It has been snowing every other day for the past 2 weeks. It makes me want to go sledding and Christmas shopping! Or maybe just curl up on the couch with a gallon of hot chocolate- that's more like it.

We decided to do a little playing in the snow:

Josh throwing snow at Lilo

Taking a break

Jumping for joy (or to keep warm)

Lilo likes eating snow

Lilo's snow face

Josh's snow face

The end!

The Search for Boots

2010-11-15T09:34:00.004-06:00

I love shoes. I can't always find a pair of jeans that fit just right, but I can always find a pair of shoes that fit perfectly. I came to Fargo with a shoe wardrobe made up of flip flops and peep toes. As I have recently discovered, that's not going to cut it.

With winter approaching, I have been looking everywhere for boots. And I mean everywhere. I'm a little (okay, a lot) picky when it comes to clothes shopping, so that may have something to do with it. We looked everywhere in Fargo and I tried on countless boots, but I couldn't find any that fit right or looked good. The whole process was very frustrating.

We decided to take a day trip to Minneapolis this past weekend and do a little boot shopping while in town. Josh and I were prepared to be trying on boots for hours. Surprisingly, at the first store we went in I found not only one, but two pairs of boots that I liked and both happened to be on sale. Seriously!?! My luck changed and I finally found boots that were both cute and warm.

So now I feel a little more prepared for winter. Next I have to accept the fact that I won't be seeing my flip flops for a very long time...

The Little Things

2010-11-09T18:34:00.005-06:00

As a newlywed, you realize what things are really important in life. After 10 months of being married, here is my answer: the little things.

Starting a life together is beyond wonderful, but it's also hard. Being in a new city and being a little tight on money has brought its challenges. We've had to cut back and spend a lot of evenings at home. But those evenings have been some of the best. It's just the little things: watching our favorite movies and quoting every line, rearranging furniture, eating nachos at 1 a.m., wearing ridiculous footie pajamas, laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. Life is fun together.

Yesterday was my birthday. Josh and I spent the entire day together, went out to eat sushi, and finished by cuddling to a movie. We hadn't eaten sushi in months, so we were pretty excited. Although we didn't do anything big, it was a nice day. I appreciated just spending time together and enjoying the little things. Everything is better together.

"It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving, I'll tell you one thing it's always better when we're together."
-Jack Johnson

Dress Up Day (aka Halloween)

2010-10-31T23:31:00.020-05:00

Halloween is Josh's favorite holiday, as it is the one day of the year where it's acceptable for anyone over the age of 5 to play dress up. He's one of those people who plans his Halloween costume months in advance. So naturally, I'm required to wear one too.

Last year Josh chose our Halloween costumes. There is one word to describe them: Pokemon. Being a good fiancee, I went along with it. Our costumes involved buying and returning 3 different sweatshirts, Josh slaving over a sewing machine, and me shopping in the boys department. They actually turned out pretty well:

This year we decided to dress up as Shaggy and Velma. Lilo, of course, dressed as Scooby Doo. To complete the gang, some friends from the ward, Matt and Haylie, went as Fred and Daphne. We had fun with it.

I have to point out that I made my skirt, which I am very proud of. We couldn't find a red skirt anywhere so I had to get creative. Since I can barely sew a button, sewing an entire skirt was definitely out of the question. Instead, I made the whole thing out of red fabric and safety pins. I'm still impressed with myself.

It was a good Halloween. And we already have next year's costumes in the works.

Our New Niece!

2010-10-26T09:56:00.007-05:00

Josie Emma King

Our new niece was born Thursday, October 21. I really wish we could have been there! For now we just have to settle for pictures instead. She's beautiful and just as adorable as her older sister.

I love being an aunt!

Portfolio

2010-10-20T10:12:00.014-05:00

I've been missing on our blog lately for two reasons: 1) I haven't had much to blog about, and 2) I've been working on my portfolio. I'm hoping that my portfolio will help me find a job that I'm at least interested in.

Since I know how to use blogspot and can practically blog in my sleep, I made a second blog dedicated to my portfolio. It pretty much sums up what I've been doing for the past four years. Here is a little preview:

It's still under construction, but if you're interested or just curious, you can see more at emilymassey.blogspot.com.

Fall

2010-10-04T17:52:00.007-05:00

Despite the fact that I've been freezing for the past month, there are a few things I've been enjoying about fall up north:

- A real excuse to wear sweaters and pea coats
- Drinking hot chocolate
- No humidity, which means non-frizzy hair
- And watching the leaves change

Ahhhh.......fall.

Holly Jean

2010-10-04T15:05:00.007-05:00

It's official. We have the CUTEST niece in the entire world!

Blah

2010-09-28T10:16:00.008-05:00

This is how I've been feeling lately: blah.

Job hunting is going very slowly and unsuccessfully. Kind of frustrating. Right now I feel like my college degree is pretty useless. Companies want to hire someone with experience, not someone fresh out of college. Okay then, how am I supposed to get experience if no wants to hire me?

We are still waiting on Josh's company car, so I'm temporarily stuck at home during the day. I've been going a little stir-crazy. Between job applications, I spend my days cooking, watching 30 Rock (thank you, Netflix), and making Young Women handouts. And that is my exciting life.

Hopefully things will progress soon. Until then, life is a little blah.

Right Turn Ahead

2010-09-16T10:05:00.010-05:00

I have a bad sense of direction. You'd think that having a GPS would solve the problem, but in my case it doesn't. Our GPS (aka Tom Tom, or as we like to call it, Tomas) and I are not very good friends. We have somewhat of a hate-hate relationship. Let me explain:

When Josh and I spent a week in Minneapolis for his work training, I had to rely on Tomas to get around. This proved to be more difficult than it sounds. I wanted to go to the Galleria about 10 miles away from our hotel. I'm not familiar with the city and Tomas started taking me through confusing little side streets. He would say "Right turn ahead." Ok, no problem. Then all of a sudden he would be screaming "Turn right! Turn right!" So I turned right, but it would either be a street too soon or too late. Then I would hear the all too familiar words: "Turn around when possible." With this happening at least five more times and construction on the highway leading me on a detour, I arrived frustrated at the Galleria an hour later.

Earlier this week, I decided to do a little job hunting with the help of none other than Tomas. Besides the fact that Tomas is getting too old to locate some of the streets I was trying to find, things were going fine. Then I had to take the highway. Tomas told me what exit I needed, so I took the exit. Then he suddenly decided to switch the exit from 63A to 63B, but it was too late for me to get in the other lane. So then I found myself going in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go and Tomas telling me to "Turn around" like it was my fault for taking the wrong exit. I hate that thing.

Besides the fact that we have a GPS, I'm somehow constantly getting lost and turned around. I don't know how it happens, but it does. Josh thinks it's a user problem, but I blame Tomas.

This Old House

2010-09-10T10:50:00.021-05:00

I often prefer older homes to newer homes. They just have so much more character and charm. And I'm not talking about houses built in the 80s- they're too old to be considered cool, but not old enough to be charming. Although the vintage charm is a huge plus, living in an older home does present its own set of challenges.

We love living in a house. It's so nice to have our own space and room to breathe! But after living here for a month, we have discovered a few quirks about our old home:

1. Small scale- People used to be a lot smaller back in the day, which we have realized firsthand. Our 3 bedrooms are tiny and don't account for any extra room. Once we get our master bedroom completely set up, we figure there will be about a foot of space at the end of the bed for maneuvering around the room.

2. Funky floor plans- You have to sit a little sideways in order to use the toilet in the main bathroom. Whoever came up with the idea to install the toilet so close to the vanity clearly wasn't thinking. It's not the most functional bathroom.

3. Missing amenities- There are some modern amenities that just come standard. Our house was built before garbage disposals were considered necessary. I absolutely hate doing dishes in the first place and not having a garbage disposal makes it that much worse. Luckily, Josh usually volunteers for dish duty- I have the best husband!

4. Outdated finishes- Most of the finishes in our house really aren't bad, but some could definitely use an update. Our kitchen floor is far from attractive and you can tell that it's been there awhile. I'm sure it used to be in style, but I will be the first to point out that it's not anymore.

Cramped bathroom and oh-so-lovely kitchen floor.

Even though I've only mentioned the not-so-nice features of our home, we're really happy here. And there are some great features that we love: wood floors throughout, all of the original windows and moldings, a finished basement. It's not flawless, but with a little paint and elbow grease it will be perfect for us.

Goodbye Summer

2010-09-07T10:14:00.004-05:00

It changed from summer to fall overnight. And I don't like it. As soon as September 1 hit, the weather decided it was no longer summer and the temperature should instantly drop twenty degrees. Now it's chilly during the day and COLD at night. No more warm sunny days, which means no more shorts and flip flops. Welcome to Fargo.

The end of summer also means the end of my summer break. It's been nice taking some time off from school and work and just relaxing. Now I need to find a job. I hate job hunting, but at the same time I'm tired of being at home all day with nothing to do. I've applied for a few jobs here and there, but now it's time to get down to business.

Labor Day is another sign that summer is over. For the long weekend we made a trip out to the West's lake house. It was a weekend full of boating, surfing, off-roading, sauna-sitting, eating, talking, and more. We had a blast. There were five families altogether, so there was never a dull moment. Josh got to try out his surfing skills and we discovered that I'm a surprisingly good off-road driver for a city girl. Besides spending time with friends, one of the nicest things about the weekend was waking up to this view in the morning:

So it's time to say goodbye to summer. I already miss you...

Tennis, Anyone?

2010-08-23T13:04:00.004-05:00

Over the weekend Josh and I decided to play tennis together. And I'm using the phrase "play tennis" very loosely.

There is a park down the street from our house that has free tennis courts and we decided it was time to take advantage of this. I'll start out by saying that I'm not the most athletic person in the world. Josh on the other hand loves any and every sport. So we started hitting the ball back and forth, which wasn't as simple as it sounds. Josh was being a good husband and hitting the ball very nicely straight in my direction. I, however, do not aim with 100% accuracy. It's more like 15%. So basically, Josh was running in every direction chasing the tennis ball everywhere from the fence to the adjacent courts. Side note: this is why my dad stopped playing tennis with me after pulling one too many muscles. So there we are, Josh running like crazy with me on the other side of the net swinging the racket as hard as I can, sometimes missing the ball completely. Our tennis outing didn't exactly go as well as planned. I gave up after about 25 minutes, deciding it was enough for one day and vowing to get a better swing. Josh pointed out that I was much better at wii tennis and suggested we go home and redeem ourselves.

Next exercising adventure: P90X. Josh has been wanting to start it for weeks. He finally suggested that I should do it with him for motivational purposes. When he first mentioned this, I laughed. Like I'm going to last five minutes! In the end, I agreed to try it out and at least be there for support when I get tired after 30 seconds and take a water break for the rest of the workout. We'll see how it goes.

Homesick

2010-08-17T15:53:00.022-05:00

I've been a little homesick lately. After living in Fargo for only a month and a half, I'm still not really liking it much. With all of the stress of the past few weeks and the fact that I have absolutely nothing to do during the day, I wish I could be home in Texas with familiar faces. This is what I miss most:

Family.

Friends.

Holly Jean. (OK so Holly is part of the family category, but I decided she deserved her own category too. I miss seeing her little face so much!)

Although I wish I could be back home in Texas, I have Josh. It doesn't matter where we are, the important thing is that we're together. We could be living on the North Pole and I would be blissfully happy with Josh by my side!

Heat Wave

2010-08-12T16:45:00.001-05:00

The past few days I have actually been glad that we don't live in Texas. We found out our first night in the new house that our air conditioner wasn't working. Perfect! It's the middle of summer with 200% humidity and our house is a furnace. I love warm weather, but not when I have sweat dripping down my back inside my own house.

We've had three lovely days with no AC. To avoid overheating, we've spent a lot of time out of the house. Bookstore, grocery store, mall, you name it. Even driving in the car with the air blasting was a relief. We've also been sleeping in the basement where it's about ten degrees cooler than the rest of the house.

Finally this morning the AC was replaced. As soon as the cold air came rushing through the vents, we could hear the hallelujah chorus in the background. Ok, not really. But it was SO nice.

And we're now sweat-free.

Moving....Again

2010-08-09T09:01:00.013-05:00

You know how I said I hate packing and unpacking just to pack and unpack again? Well guess what? We're moving. Again.

Our apartment rental company was giving us grief about having a dog in a no pet facility. We had already worked things out where we could have Lilo in the apartment, but then they decided they just wanted her out. So after frantically searching for a few days, we found a house to rent. It's been really stressful this past week!

Our new home:

It's a cute little house. It's older so it has a certain charm. It has 3 tiny bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Since we don't have a lot of furniture and we have a miniature version of a couch (see below), the space works for us. And it has a ton of storage! But the most exciting part for me is that I can paint and decorate as much as I could possibly want.

We're more than ready to say goodbye to apartment life. Now we don't have to hear every movie playing next door or every heavy-footed neighbor upstairs. Josh gets to put in a security system (aka: a new toy) and Lilo gets her very own backyard for both business and pleasure.

The stress is starting to go away, so now we just have to get settled in the new house. And I refuse to move again any time soon!

Our fun-sized ikea couch

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2010-08-03T09:49:00.005-05:00

As far as I know, we moved to Fargo, not Seattle.

It has rained practically every other day since we moved here. Whether the day starts out sunny or not, at some point or another you can always count on threatening clouds to roll in. We've woken up twice to tornado sirens and pounding hail in the middle of the night. And if it's not bad enough, Fargo has a tendency to flood. I knew that we would have to deal with blizzards and negative temperatures, but I didn't realize we would be experiencing monsoon season and tornado valley!

Moral of the story, never leave the house without an umbrella. Oh, and invest in some rain boots.

Lilo's New Look:

2010-07-24T12:41:00.011-05:00

1 dog + 1 red bandana

We actually didn't expect the bandana to last long. Lilo is not one for dressing up. But we thought it was cute and she doesn't seem to mind, so it stuck.

And now she's a cowgirl.

Space Issues

2010-07-23T09:48:00.010-05:00

659. Square feet.

I've already mentioned that our new apartment is on the smaller side, and we're discovering that more and more every day. We thought that getting rid of all our boxes would solve the problem, but no such luck. Now we just have piles of stuff on the floor instead of in boxes and nowhere to put things. Basically, our home can be compared to a shoe box.

Making more space in the apartment took desperate measures and some creativity. The other night, we (and when I say "we" I mean Josh) removed the doors between the bedroom and closet, and between the closet and bathroom. Then we had to sneak the doors out to the garage at midnight to avoid getting caught. After the operation was complete, we gained an entire wall of space in our closet that we can use for storage. There are now curtains in place of doors and a little less privacy, but it's worth it.

I can't wait until we have a house! Then we'll actually have space to breathe, not to mention doors in all the doorways.

Toto, I Don't Think We're in Texas Anymore

2010-07-10T10:58:00.005-05:00

In fact we're miles and miles away from Texas. We're on the other side of the world (okay I'm exaggerating). After a week of Josh training in Minneapolis, we're ready to get settled into our new home in Fargo.

We've moved into yet another apartment. It's nice and new and we're liking it so far. There isn't a ton of space and there is only one bedroom, but we do have a double garage which will especially come in handy during the winter months. Now we just need to empty out our boxes and find a place for everything. I'm hoping we'll be here for awhile because I'm sick and tired of packing and unpacking just to pack and unpack again!

Fargo and the general area seem pretty nice, although I may think differently in a few months when everything is covered in snow. Fargo is a big enough city where you have all of the amenities, but small enough where you don't have to sit in rush hour traffic for hours. Although it's not huge, I don't know my way around at all yet. Josh will confirm that it probably has something to do with my lousy sense of direction.

It may take awhile until we're completely settled in, but we're excited to get to know the area and start meeting people. It's a big change, but in the end it will be a good change.

Two Peas in a Pod

2010-06-25T18:55:00.010-05:00

Holly and Lilo, baby and dog. It's funny how much they have in common!

* They both beg for food: I was babysitting Holly one morning and I hadn't eaten breakfast yet. I poured a bowl of cereal and the second I sat down at the table, Holly and Lilo were practically on top of me begging for food. Holly held her arms up and Lilo gave me her puppy dog eyes. I gave in to Holly of course, but Lilo didn't have as much luck.

* They're favorite toys are stuffed animals: As soon as Holly lays her eyes on a stuffed animal, her entire face lights up. She carries them around with her and squeezes them so tight. As for Lilo, we've stopped shopping in the pet section for her toys. She prefers little stuffed animals that she can tug on and carry around until she slowly pulls out all the stuffing and is left with and empty rag.

* They both like chasing the other around, but don't like being chased: It's pretty hilarious watching Holly and Lilo interact with each other. Holly either goes for the tail or the eyes. Either way, she's delighted when she succeeds in catching up to Lilo. Lilo on the other hand has no problem catching Holly. She likes to sniff and lick Holly's face when she's close, which Holly isn't too fond of.

Although one is a lot hairier, they're two peas in a pod. And don't worry Holly, someday we'll even have a cousin you can play with too.

Changes...

2010-06-21T09:40:00.003-05:00

It seems like we just got to Corpus and now we're leaving. We'll be saying goodbye to the southern coast and heading straight north to Fargo, North Dakota of all places. And there's a pretty good chance that I may freeze to death.

Josh found a job in Fargo and has been training for it in Utah this past week. It's really the perfect job for him and it's a great opportunity for our little family. He'll still be working for APX, but as a service technician. We've even found an apartment in Fargo already, so things are really working out so far. Oh and did I mention- we'll be leaving in a little over a week. It's all happening so fast!

So there are some pretty big changes coming up for us. In about a week we'll be on our way, starting a new chapter in our life. And for this chapter, I'll be trading in my flip-flops for winter boots.

Brown Thumb

2010-06-14T12:08:00.006-05:00

There are certain things in life that Josh loves to remind me about because he knows it bugs me. Like the time that I promised to take him to see New Moon for his birthday and then never did. According to my story, it's because we were really busy and didn't have time, but Josh will tell you otherwise. And then there was the time that Josh bought me an orchid for Valentine's Day, which is now dead. He likes to claim that I "killed" it.

Some people have a green thumb and I just naturally have a brown thumb. I once bought cute little plants to decorate my bathroom and give it a fresh look. Bad idea- they were brown and dying a month later. Not exactly the look I was going for. And the last time I received flowers, I left them in the car. In 90 degree heat. In Texas. But that was really an accident. Basically anything that's green and has leaves will live a short life if left anywhere near me.

So the orchid Josh gave me was beautiful and I loved it. It had white petals with splashes of purple and was in full bloom at the time. The directions said that all you have to do is put five ice cubes in the dirt every ten days. I thought "Easy enough. I can do this!" Well, I was wrong. It was going well for awhile and I lovingly put ice cubes in the dirt every week and a half until we went out of town. We were gone for about a week and it completely messed up the whole ice cube schedule. Ever since then my orchid has never been the same. It started losing all of its flowers and then slowly started losing its leaves one by one. It now has one sad little brown leaf left.

I think it's finally time to say goodbye to my orchid. I kept denying that it was dead and hoping it was just "asleep", but it's obvious now. So yes Josh, I probably did kill it, but not on purpose. And I'm going to miss my poor neglected orchid. It was just another innocent victim of my brown thumb.

R.I.P. orchid.

Happy Birthday Holly!

2010-06-06T14:46:00.014-05:00

Our niece Holly turned 1 on Friday. She is the sweetest little girl and growing up so fast!

We celebrated her birthday over the weekend and Holly definitely knew it was a party for her. She had a great time being the constant center of attention. And with a room full of family, she had an adoring audience. Whether she was launching her dinner on the floor or running around the room, she loved being the entertainment!

And there were presents galore. The wrapping paper alone kept Holly busy for quite awhile. She then discovered her new stash consisting of clothes, toys, and of course her favorite, stuffed animals. There was so much excitement and she played until she was literally falling over.

The best part of the night was watching Holly's attempts at eating a cupcake. She first tried not to use her hands and just dived face first into the frosting. After diving and coming back up for air about twenty times, she finally grabbed it with her hands and devoured it. As you can imagine, there was frosting everywhere!

With family, presents, and most importantly cupcakes, Holly's party was a success. She loved it!

Makeover

2010-06-01T10:13:00.003-05:00

Since I'm getting the hang of the whole blogging thing, I decided to get creative: I gave our blog a makeover.

Because I'm not the most computer savvy or decisive person in the world, it literally took me hours to come up with this new look. Josh got tired really fast of me asking his opinion on no less than fifty different backgrounds. I needed an opinion! And then I had the header to deal with. After about ten tries, I finally got it the right size.

Anyways, it was a battle but in the end turned out cute. Needless to say, I won't try to give our blog another face lift anytime soon.

Hopefully everyone will like it as much as I do!

Another Corpus Christi Summer

2010-05-25T13:25:00.002-05:00

It's another summer and we've found ourselves once again in the city by the bay, where Josh is selling for APX the next few months. I'm happy because I get to spend the summer with my family and Josh is happy because we're not in El Paso (where we could have been for the summer). In the end, we're both really glad to be here.

We moved a little over a week ago, so we're still in the unpacking stage. Getting settled into our new apartment has been no problem at all, considering it's at least twice the size of our last one. We actually have room for all of Josh's superman action figures and all of my shoes.

While Josh is off securing the world one house at a time, I am taking up the domestic role of housewife this summer. It's been a really nice break from school and work so far. I may not be the best housewife in the world (as I am currently blogging instead of unpacking), but I try. I'm getting better at cooking and I usually have dinner ready when Josh gets home, so that should count for something.

Now we're back in the city where we met almost a year ago. I don't think anything can top falling in love and getting engaged last summer, but I'm sure this one will be great too!

Finally!

2010-05-24T12:54:00.011-05:00

I finally did it. As of May 15, I'm officially an alumni of Stephen F. Austin State University. And it's a great feeling!

Graduation was long, to say the least. The only thing I was concerned about during the entire ceremony was keeping my cap on. I naturally have a small head, and even with the help of bobby pins, that cap would not stay on. For the whole three hours, I just sat there pulling my cap back down on my head every time it slid off. And that is the memory I will forever have of my college graduation.

My parents, sister, brother-in-law and niece came up to Nacogdoches for the ceremony, so it was really nice to have everyone there. Afterward we took pictures, of course, and went to our favorite sushi restaurant, which we will dearly miss.

It was a good day!

The Oldest Town in Texas

2010-05-12T18:39:00.013-05:00

Right now I'm sitting in the middle of a dozen boxes trying to decide what to pack next. I hate packing. And for some reason I always leave it until the very last second. I've been saying for weeks that I need to start packing, and I just pulled out the boxes today. We're moving in four days- nice job Emily.

Josh and I will be the first to admit that we're not the biggest fans of Nacogdoches, but it's a little weird to be leaving after spending a long and memorable four years of college here. It seems like I'm just going home for the summer and then coming back for fall semester. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic about graduating and leaving, but there are a few things we'll miss.

3 things we'll miss about Nac:

1. Friends- I've made some really good friends over the years, and now we're all leaving and moving on. It's a little sad. We also finally started making a few good friends in the ward here just in time to leave them behind.

2. Driving- It only takes about ten minutes or less to get anywhere in town. The grocery store is practically across the street and a tank of gas lasts for weeks. It's nice.

3. Hastings- When we have nothing better to do on a Friday night, we usually go to Hastings. You can find movies for 3 or 4 dollars. I think we've at least doubled our movie collection since living here.

3 things we definitely won't miss:

1. Social/night life- With hardly anything to do for fun in Nac, we usually stay in on the weekends. Most shops and restaurants close at 9 pm or earlier, so after that you're pretty much out of luck.

2. Shopping- The mall has five stores and the hottest shopping spot in town is Wal-Mart-- enough said.

3. Allergies- I never got allergies until I moved to Nacogdoches. Every spring, there is pollen everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Your car will literally turn yellow. I've been congested for the last two months and I'm ready to breathe again!

So, we're ready to have all of the amenities of a bigger city again. We're leaving a few things behind, but we'll be happy to settle down and find our place in the world. As for now, I need to get packing!

Countdown...

2010-05-04T21:05:00.009-05:00

I've been counting down the days until graduation for weeks and it's finally almost here (11 days to be exact)! And in case you're wondering, I'm beyond excited. College has been great, but I'm definitely ready to move on.

To share my excitement with the world, I decided to make my own graduation announcements. The typical university provided announcements just aren't that attractive. When I first told Josh that I was planning on making them myself, he doubted my crafting abilities and said "You're not Katie!" Katie, my sister, owns every kind of scrapbooking supplies imaginable and has made everything from invitations for my bridal shower to bows that match every one of our niece's dresses. I do tend to talk about projects that I never actually start, so Josh did have a point.

Then I did what I always do when I take on a new crafting endeavor: go to Hobby Lobby. I stocked up on patterned paper and envelopes and I was good to go. It only took a few hours to print, cut, and put everything together. And in the end, they turned out pretty good!

Josh was even a little impressed.

Heroes

2010-04-24T09:35:00.000-05:00

When I say there's nothing to do in Nacogdoches, I'm not exaggerating. There's really nothing. We usually end up spending our evenings making dinner, cuddling on the couch, and watching a movie. We don't have cable and I'm getting tired of our movie collection, so lately we've been watching Netflix on wii. And that's how we discovered Heroes.

To say the least, Heroes is now one of our favorite TV shows. I guess you could say we're addicted. As soon as we both get home from school and work, we sit in front of the TV, grab the remote, and turn on the next episode. The storyline is intense and surprising and the end of every episode leaves you with a cliffhanger and a "To be continued..." So obviously, we have to keep watching. Sadly, it consumes hours of our day (so I'm pretty sure I just made us sound like couch potatoes). It only took us about a week to watch the first season and now we're probably going to make record time on the second.

And that is the story of how we became obsessed with Heroes.

What can I say? It's a good show.

The P-A-R-K

2010-04-15T15:40:00.000-05:00

Poor Lilo is cooped up in a tiny one bedroom apartment all day. She dreams of having her very own backyard for running around, sniffing fresh air, and of course, doing her "business". Until then, she has to settle for trips to the park (Also known as the p-a-r-k when Lilo is within earshot). We try to take her as often as possible, but when her parents get busy with work and school, they can sometimes neglect her.

When we do make it to the park on a bright sunny day, Lilo is beyond excited. She acts like Christmas has come early. As soon as we let her out of the car, she runs, jumps, and pees on every patch of grass she sees. Her park adventures usually begin with playing frisbee and end with splashing around in the creek. Then she is one happy, wet dog. With green grass under her paws and a red frisbee in her mouth, Lilo's world is complete!

The Joy of Cooking

2010-04-10T16:29:00.000-05:00

I've never been much of a cook, but luckily for me Josh is. He usually takes over the cooking, but sometimes I like to try to be domestic. Josh is always more than happy to tell the story of when I cooked a pizza with the cardboard still underneath. (In my defense, the directions said to take out the cardboard. So I did- I took it out of the cardboard box.) Besides Cardboard Pizza, my other specialties include Lumpy Chicken Alfredo and Super Salty Beef.

Cooking in our tiny kitchen is always an adventure. We have a refrigerator that thinks it's a freezer, a scorching hot oven, and an overly sensitive smoke detector. So our milk is iced, our food is burnt, and our apartment is filled with loud beeping. If you're in a hurry, our oven is perfect: just bake anything at a lower temperature and for about half the time. Then it should turn out right.

Although I'll admit I can't cook, I love to bake. I'll make anything from brownies to a 3-layered cake. I've found a perfect banana muffin recipe that I've been loving lately:

Banana Crumb Muffins

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 bananas, mashed
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1 egg, lightly beaten
* 1/3 cup butter, melted
* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
*allrecipes.com

Mmmmm.....tasty!
So if you're eating with us, make sure Josh is cooking dinner and I'll make dessert!

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage

2010-03-27T16:46:00.000-05:00

It was almost nine months ago that we first laid eyes on each other and instantly clicked. A week later we were saying "I love you," and a week after that we were planning a wedding. Yes we know it was fast, some even say crazy, but we knew from the beginning that it was meant to be. We sealed the deal in the San Antonio Temple on January 8, 2010. It was an amazing day that we'll always remember. Since then, we've never been happier and we love married life. It's been great so far and we can't wait to see what's next!

Once Upon a Blog....

2010-03-27T16:12:00.000-05:00

I never really thought of myself as much of a blogger. Yet here I am writing on my very own blog. It may be because practically every single person I know blogs, or it may be because I'm bored out of my mind in this little east Texas town. Whatever the reason may be, I've decided to begin my very own record of all the adventures and misadventures of the little Massey family, which includes me (Emily), my incredible husband Josh, and our only child/loyal canine Lilo. It can be crazy, dull, or anything in between, but it's our life and we love it.