This & That

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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....

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

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

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

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

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

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)!