Young, Wild, and Free

Sometimes my husband and I agree to take the night off. Tonight is one of those nights. We ordered pizza, pulled out the carton of ice cream, and watched Avatar and League of Legends. We're probably going to stay up too late and not clean up after ourselves. Irresponsible? Yes. Fun? Very. While we do have obligations and responsibilities, our lives will only get more pressured from here. While we're procrastinating homework and unloading the dishwasher, it's a lot easier to take a night off from life now than it will be in five or ten years from now. So junk food it is!

This week, I had six classes canceled. For anyone who doesn't know how college works, having that many classes canceled in one week is unheard of. Professors being sick, out of town, or just wanting to not teach gave me a lot more time than I normally have this week. I took the chance to sleep in when I could because I've been having trouble falling asleep lately. I got a lot of my homework done, cooked some yummy meals, designed my future house, and listened to an audio book (Son by Lois Lowry--very good). But I still had too much time on my hands. It's weird to be bored. I can only refresh pinterest and facebook so many times and keep my sanity.

This week helped me to realize I need a new hobby. I got a lot of great suggestions from facebook. Thank you to all who gave me ideas. I've decided to be brave and attempt something I have very little skill for--sewing. My mom, Grandma, and sisters are all great at sewing. I, however, spend more time at a sewing machine undoing stitches than I do making them. I'm pretty sure trying to sew a sleeve in middle school caused me trauma. But I want to be good at sewing, and now, I might have enough emotional stability to handle needle and thread without my need for perfection getting in the way.

Anyway, I decided that I'm going to plunge in head first and attempt a project that's probably out of my league. I'm going to sew a stocking. I learned this past Christmas that Stephen's family and my family have the same kind of stockings. Bucilla has these adorable felt stockings with several patterns and designs. Out of my family's nine children and Stephen's eight, not one of the stockings are the same. Without any coordination, this is as improbable as having six classes canceled in one week. Because it is a tradition on both sides, I want to make Bucilla stockings for my future family, and with my skills in sewing, starting now is not a bad idea. I found a pattern that neither sides of the family have used yet (miracle, I tell you) and I'm going to order it and attempt to carry on a family tradition.

In other news, I got my hair cut today. I hadn't cut it since before I got married (btw, happy six months to us this past week) and I wanted to get rid of my dead ends. I only cut like, two inches off, so no one freak out. I still have ridiculously long, thick hair. I did do something different by not getting layers in order to make my hair styles easier. So we'll see how that goes. I will donate my hair someday, but not yet--it's too much fun still.

I got my hair cut for free because of our coupon booklet, so that's always a perk. I tried out a new place, Aveda hair school, and loved it! I've gone to many different hair schools for cheap cuts, but this was the best one I've been to. They gave me a scalp and shoulder massage with essential oils, massaged my head again with a wash, cut my hair quickly, and even styled my hair by giving me some really beautiful loose curls. It also took less than an hour, and for a hair school, that's impressive. I will definitely go back (especially because I have two more free cut coupons). Without the coupon, the package would have been ten dollars. I would pay ten dollars just to have her massage my head again. Ah, so good.

Speaking of massages, Stephen has been giving me a lot of massages lately. What a champ. I did something to my back the other day and now it is full of knots and tension. Every few hours when we have time, Stephen will try to massage away my pain, though it often feels like he's just creating more. It's the good kind of pain, don't worry, and I know it helps, but I think he doesn't know his own strength sometimes. For being a computer science nerd, he's got some strong muscles.

Yeah, I can't write a post without gushing about him. Deal with it.

So, Stephen got his tax return, and we decided to be responsible with the money...well, most of it. We're taking this chance to set aside some money that doesn't come out of our monthly budget to buy things that will take long to budget for. For instance, we got a new TV. Unnecessary, sure, but Stephen really wanted a TV that wasn't from the 90's, so we searched on craigslist and found a nice one for cheap. We bought it from a poorer family who is trying to get enough money to send the dad to school, so we felt good about giving them the money rather than Wal-Mart. We're also putting money aside for a new laptop for me. Mine is physically falling apart, though I love it dearly. I'm going to use it until I can't, and then we'll get me a new one with some of the tax return money. We added money to other saving funds like paying off the car loan, buying furniture, and stocking a 72-hour kit for me, so not all of the check is being spent recklessly.

Now, don't worry about our careless habits. This note is especially to our moms. We promise we're behaving like good students and citizens. We wash behind our ears and brush our teeth twice a day and everything. But nights off, slow weeks, and extra money brings out the side of us that makes us question if we should really consider ourselves adults. I think we're just two crazy kids in love, and you know what? I'm not complaining.

Valentine's Weekend

I love my husband, in case you haven’t noticed yet. Valentine's last year, Stephen asked me out on a group date. It had been nine months since our previous date, and I figured his friends had roped him into an activity and he needed a girl to go with him. We were friends, but I had ruled him out thinking that's all we would ever be. He had apparently been trying to be more than friends, but was slow at his approach. He would try to sit by me when he could at ward activities or strike up conversations with me or come over to hang out with our group of friends more. I wasn't suspicious. In fact, I didn't notice. Our date was fun. We went to his mission friend's apartment and decorated cookies. He taught me how to play monopoly deal, though we didn't end up playing it. I had no idea I would spend the rest of my life being taught new games by him, this being the first of many, many games (anyone who spends time with the Rollins family knows how much they like games). We listened to music and talked and had an overall nice night. I went home happy but clueless as to what was ahead for us. 

Last Friday, we celebrated our second Valentine’s Day together. We had plans to go to his family’s cabin, but decided against it due to the weather. Instead, we went out to eat and had sushi. I love sushi, but Stephen isn’t use to it yet. Still, Stephen’s not a picky eater at all, so he doesn’t complain. We got sushi once before on our honeymoon, so it’s kind of our special occasion food. The wait was long and the restaurant was super busy, but I didn’t mind. We spent most of our wait deciding which rolls to get. Neither of us are connoisseurs on sushi rolls, so if you have any recommendations, please share. The names seem so arbitrary. But we ended up splitting four yummy rolls.

While we were eating, a woman wandered around the tables with a basket full of roses, offering to sell them to the couples. Both Stephen and I admired her entrepreneurship, and he bought me a rose. We went home and ate some cream-filled chocolate-covered strawberries I had made. It was nice to have an evening with my husband where neither of us was stressed over chores or homework or other obligations. We started watching some episodes of Avatar (one of my favorite childhood series we’ve been rewatching together) and ended up staying up way too late to finish the season. Neither of us regretted it once we had slept in Saturday morning.

We took Saturday easy. Stephen was able to play a lot of online games with friends and we both cleaned the house for a few hours. I finally scrubbed down my fridge, something I've been meaning to do for a while, and it looks a lot better. I still need to make time to do the freezer--by the time I was finished with the fridge, I was burned out. Saturday night, I babysat for my neighbor, though the baby was asleep the whole time, so I got some homework done. Not as fun, but still good.

I was stressed for time on Sunday morning because my hair wasn't cooperating, so Stephen made me breakfast. We commented that it was probably the first time he had made me something for breakfast. I was proud of his scrambled eggs! Good job, sweetheart! That afternoon, I invited my brother over for a dinner of homemade egg rolls (I even made the wrapper from scratch!). So Mom, don't worry, I fed him and gave him water and took him for a walk afterwards. He and I use to live in the the same apartment complex, but now that we're a few blocks away, I hardly ever see him. It was nice to have him over for dinner and to chat with him. 

Monday was the day Stephen did his homework. He spent most of the day programming and studying. I'm surprised at his workload when mine is so small. Last semester was much harder for me than this semester is. I was able to go shopping and play games and watch the Olympics. Aren't the Olympics amazing? I've been watching them when I can and both Stephen and I are getting into it. It's funny, because neither of us would care for these sports any other time of the year, but when it's the Olympics, suddenly I'm emotionally invested in the athletes. I love watching the ice skating and the freestyle jumping of the snowboarders and skiers.

Going back to reality on Tuesday was hard after a nice weekend with my husband. He's back to being busy. I can't wait until summer! 64 days until I graduate and we're freed from homework--me being freed forever! Stephen has been doing something with his computer that I don't completely understand. He gave me an analogy of his computer being a shoe box and he's putting dividers in the shoe box. He's happy with it, so I guess that's good.

Leading up to Valentine's day, Stephen and I talked about our expectations. I asked him to write me a note, which he did. He said he wanted to surprise me with something, but then was nervous if I would like it or not, so he kept telling me his ideas in order to get my approval, but then that ruined the surprise. It was cute. He talked about writing a blog post, but so far, that hasn't happened. I guess it's still an option, because it is our blog and not just mine. Though if it were up to him to recap everything, it would be an entirely different and shorter blog. Though that may be better than my mundane updates. This blogs is very much like a journal for me with motivation to write. I want to remember this time in our lives, and I'm happy to share it with those that are interested.

As of Late

Last night, at 10:55, Stephen rolled over and said to me, "I think it's going to take me a while to fall asleep. I just can't seem to get comfortable." By 11:05, he was snoring.

He and I have a lot of fun moments in life. There are plenty of time where we look at each other and laugh. He's also really great at holding me and getting me to cry even when I'm too stubborn to let it go. I've become a better listener when he just wants to vent for a bit. I also love when I can do something silly that makes his face crinkle when he smiles. It's really the little things that make our marriage so good for both of us. We're still learning for sure, but I feel like we're getting better at being married. I mean, we've been working at it for over five months now, so we should be pros, right?

I've gotten really good at making bread that Stephen loves. I can almost count on him eating half of the loaf as soon as it's done. I also had a lot of fun last Saturday freezing food. I couldn't sleep, so at 5:30, I went to the Bountiful Basket sight and helped set up the baskets. I then came home with a laundry bin full of fresh produce and decided I still wasn't tired enough to sleep, so I went to work on prepping my food. By the time Stephen woke up, I blanched and froze broccoli and asparagus, chopped and froze bell peppers, and cut potatoes and made hash browns from them. That morning, I also made a smoothie base by blending fruits and celery and froze that too, so I can add it to smoothies later (I needed stronger fruits to overpower the celery taste). During all this, I listed to Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. It's been a while since I've listened to a mushy love story besides my own (awww). I felt so much like my mother, cooking and cleaning the kitchen while listening to an audiobook. Growing up, I would sit in the kitchen and listen to my mom's stories while she worked. Only now looking back do I realize I should have been helping her while listing to the stories. Sorry, Mom. 

One of my new years resolutions is to do my hair more. I had gotten really good at letting it air dry in an awkward angle and hiding it in a ponytail. I decided that I should either cut my hair or actually do things with it. So I've been practicing new braids, buns, and bobby pin tricks. I have A LOT of thick, blond hair. My whole life, anytime I've gotten a hair cut, the beautician has commented on how thick my hair is. My mom can curl her hair in four curlers. I use to use all the curlers just for one side of my head, and then wait for them to set before doing the other side. I got some more curlers for Christmas, and if I strategize well enough, I can make it work now. But I wanted to get better at doing my hair, and so I'm putting my pinterest to use and practicing! I put a picture on Facebook of my most adventurous attempt and I'm proud of the results. I had only ever done a dutch braid on myself the day before, so I was nervous, but it worked!

The job interview I had for being an apartment manager didn't turn out how I wanted it to, and no one else has contacted me. I'm going to now follow up, but it's a little discouraging. I've been brainstorming other ideas and am considering being a nanny for the Summer. From what research I've done, there seems to be enough of a demand that hopefully, I could find a good job that way. It would also be far too much fun for me to play house every day with someone else's children. But I'm not giving up on the management job hunt either. I have faith that something will work out for me.

This week, I went to an optometrist and updated my prescription. I also chose some new glasses, since the frames I wear now are the ones I chose in middle school for my first pair. I'm excited to get them either tomorrow or early next week. I also got new contact lenses and a scolding from the optometrist to not sleep in my contacts. Oops. I'm going to try harder now to take them out before I sleep. My friend, Kim, drove me to the appointments since Stephen had the car for work. I feel bad to impose on people and ask them for a ride, but it was really nice to spend time with Kim and chat. She's in my ward and lives nearby, and has been friendly and helpful to me.

My whole ward has been so nice to me. I gave a lesson in Relief Society a few weeks ago, even thought that's not my calling. I substituted for someone and spoke on a talk about including everyone and making sure people feel welcomed at church. I felt our Relief Society could really benefit from the lesson and was prompted by the Spirit a lot to share important things. Most of my lesson was discussion based, and I'm grateful for the input from the women. I got a lot of positive feedback, and felt successful. Really though, I think a teacher's role in Relief Society is more of a discussion facilitator rather than a lecturer, so I can't take credit for most of what people said and felt. But it has helped the women in the ward to recognize me more by name, and that's something I will take credit for--I tend to be quirky and memorable in front of a crowd like that.

Stephen's been working really hard lately. He had a meeting with his supervisors at work who told him they see potential in him and want to help him learn and grow as a programmer. While he's still considered somewhat as an intern, they intend to offer him a full-time position once he graduates. It's comforting to have that job security. He's also been working at his art skills and has been drawing more lately. I can tell he's improving, and I'm proud of him for it. Stephen also continues to impress me with his help around the apartment. I made it his assignment to check the mail since I want to be in the cold as little as possible. He's dutifully checked the mail immediately after work, but he normally just brings back icicles instead of envelopes. He likes to watch them melt in the sink. I sometimes think I married a five-year-old. He makes me smile.

Well, it's late, and I believe I've rambled enough. Don't bother looking for some overall theme or flow of idea. It doesn't exist. This is a post of things I can come up with besides saying life is normal (which it is). But I'm not complaining. I told Stephen today I feel bad for everyone who's not us, because they just won't ever understand this level of happiness, which is really a shame. Honestly, I'm sorry for you that you're not married to Stephen. It's like the best thing ever, even if he eats the bread far too quickly or leaves icicles in my sink. One day, I'll look back on this blog and roll my eyes at how much I gush about him, but for now, it's just cute.