New Addition!

Who has two thumbs and got home from work while it was still daylight?  THIS GIRL!

This is exciting, because last week I crammed the work of 6 long days into 5, didn't get home before 7:00pm four days in a row, and forgot to eat lunch a couple days.  I also worked a holiday I wasn't supposed to in order to be ready to bill 300 new accounts on time that encompass over 1300 new monthly parking customers.  All while fitting in (most of) my regular work that already fills 40 hours a week.  And as luck would have it, it was all endured midst raging mood swings and cramps.  It's like the perfect storm for loosing all semblance of sanity and patience in the workplace.  But never fear!  I prayed really hard and by the end of the week I was not suicidal which I think counts as a win with a capital W.

It's nice that business is growing, but it's not so nice to be one who bears the brunt of growing pains.

Anywhoodles, by the time the weekend came around needless to say I needed some decompressing which may or may not have lead to reckless behavior which included telling my husband we shouldn't wait for our tax return to arrive before we spent it all.  Not one to be given permission twice to do something he wanted to do last week, we headed to IKEA and Costco.  Behold the beautiful result in this crappy phone picture.

Now I can stop telling everyone I need a bookshelf. 

For the record, this is what we'd planned to do with the refund once it came.  And then the money arrived at our bank today so we aren't so irresponsible as we originally seemed.

There are these moments in my life periodically where I feel like a REAL ADULT.  

Setting up a certificate of deposit and a savings account.  

Opening a 401K.  

Shopping for and purchasing insurance.  

Buying a bed.   

Buying brand new furniture and a TV gave us one of those moments this weekend.  Almost all of our furniture was given to us or bought second hand which makes feel perpetually like poor college twentysomethings, so having something NEW has been a strange and wonderful feeling. (Having a real job and getting married didn't make me feel like an adult, just a kid getting away with stuff.)

On a sort-of-related-but-not-really-note, another reason my husband is awesome is in marrying him, my tax refund increased over 4000% (not an exaggeration).  That's all I have to say.  No wait, one more thing: my mom just became a great-great-aunt.  Her oldest brother's second oldest daughter's oldest son just became a father to a daughter.  (I dare you to say that ten times fast.) This means when my child has a child, it will already have a third cousin. That's craZAzy.

Are you mad I tricked you into reading this manic post by by giving it a leading title?  You may tell me in the comments.

Birthday, marriage, and crazy talk

My far-away friends told me I need to blog more, so here you go.

Pretty much my only tradition on this blog is recounting my birthday every year.  I had another one, same day, same time.  Less exciting than some years.  My mom kind of spoiled us gave us high expectations for birthdays growing up.  I realize they can't all be like that, but Husband humored me came through like a champ.  He made me French toast and elder berry juice for breakfast in bed and gave me a couple of thoughtful and much-desired gifts.  After a full day of work (me) and 12 hours on campus (him) we met up to have a late dinner downtown at a nice Indian restaurant.  My parents and his parents also sent some fun and thoughtful gifts as well.  No cake or anything.  We don't have any days when we are both available to host family and friends for something like that since I work weekdays and he works most nights and weekends.

We hit our 6 month wedding moniversary this week too. (It's can't be an "anniversary" since it's been less than a year.)  Our anniversary is on my half-birthday, so it makes measuring the time easy.  And it makes it easy to remember when I have to take my ring in to be cleaned and inspected.  

I keep waiting for that "hardest first year" part of marriage, but it never seems to arrive.  Like my friend Jeff, I don't think marriage is hard, it just takes time (and to give credit where credit is due, Jeff also coined "moniversary").  And time well spent, I say.  I feel like marriage makes my life easier.  It's made me so much better at serving and loving, and hard times (life is still hard, even if marriage isn't) are so much more livable when you have this permanent cheerleader to hold your hand and snuggle with to help you feel like things aren't so bad after all.  

Probably the hardest thing for me within married life in general is realizing how crazy I am sometimes.  As a single person I guess I covered it up really well, or just didn't see it not knowing any other way to be.  Probably the latter.  Having this person so close to me physically/emotionally serves as a sort of mirror to reveal me to myself.  Makes me appreciate how patient my husband is all the more!  Because I can seriously be crazy sometimes.  You don't even know.  I don't even want to deal with me on those occasions.  To find someone to tolerate the craziness and even like it I feel was a miracle, or "an event attributed to divine intervention" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle).

May you all find someone to love your crazy.

As promised

Honeymoon pictures!

That's a big fish sandwich

My husband is proficient at taking my picture at exact moments I look like a cow chewing cud.

ATV tour in Steamboat Springs!

It was dirty business

So delicious* it made him cry.

*full of horseradish

Other

We made falafel and homemade tzatziki sauce and homemade hummus

Free museum day

BWE** moment.  That is indeed a t-rex Portal shirt.

**best wife ever

Power Dome 400!  Thanks Hopkins!

I made pie for Christmas dinner

Homemade gifts for the mom and dad

New Years Eve, and my first time on the Denver light rail.  We really were excited, just cold.