Monday, June 24, 2013

the do and don't of your four year anniversary

My husband and I celebrated our four year anniversary this past week. We wanted to go away and stay the night somewhere but with a baby on the way and my husband's crazy rehearsal schedule, we decided to make the celebrating simple and go big next year. And although we had an amazing day, there are some do's and don't's to the four year anniversary celebration.

Do start the celebrating early by going to see a great movie, especially since your husband was dying to see it. Hold his hand during the movie, make a few funny comments, and spend the drive home discussing the content of the movie, (like how Superman finally asked Jor-El why he didn't come with him to Earth and Jor-El vaguely answered the question).

Don't go see the movie at 10:00 o'clock the night before causing you to finally fall sleep at 1:00 AM, then waking up early the next morning because you have to go the bathroom...cause you're pregnant.

Do eat out for every meal, especially if you love food as much as we do. Head to Kneaders for breakfast and eat their delicious all-you-can-eat cinnamon french toast with strawberries. Head up Logan Canyon for dinner to Garden City where there's a little burger joint with famous raspberry shakes and an overlook of Bear Lake. Love every bite of the raspberry shake and yummy cheeseburger, feed the seagulls your extra fries, enjoy the conversation, and look over at your husband and think to yourself, "I love this guy. I am so happy he is my best friend."

Don't go eat at KFC for lunch. It'll be a good laugh and okay food but you will have a tough time deciding what to order and have a discussion with the cashier about how you don't want a drink but instead want another side because you were expecting two sides in the first place...it was frustrating. You will then spend your meal in the company of several elderly people and a semi clean building. At least you are with the love of your life who helps you find a way to laugh about the whole thing.

Do enjoy a beautiful drive up and down Logan Canyon. Spend the time together talking about your baby, your lives together, the future, and memories from the last four years.

Don't almost hit a deer on the way home. The deer will clear the road before you pass him, but it will give you a little scare. Also, don't be mad if your husband passes gas in the car. Let him be considerate and say he's sorry before he does, and then roll down the windows to help get rid of the smells. You'll laugh about it because you've been married for four years and are totally comfortable with each other's bodily functions...totally...

Do give each other gifts. Take your husband shopping for some new shirts because he mentioned he wanted some green ones. Enjoy seeing him in different outfits and telling him how great he looks. Love the gift he gives you which is a Willow Doll with a husband and wife, both have a hand on the wife's pregnant stomach. Love the fact that he's given you one every year and how this one is so perfect because you are excited to be starting a family together.

Don't wear yourselves out by walking around four different stores, especially because you are tired from staying up late. But because you're feet are hurting so bad, but...

Do take a break, sit on the couch, and play Mario Party 9 on the Wii. Almost get your butts kicked by the computers until the very end when the tables are turned and you end up winning first and second.

And of course,
Don't forget to tell your husband you love him and you have enjoyed the last four years and look forward to eternity.
Don't forget to tell your husband that you are excited to start a family with him and that he will make the perfect daddy for your little ones.
Don't forget to write down everything so you can remember what a wonderful day you had with the love of your life.
Don't forget to end the day with the ultimate expression of love, letting him know that you are his forever.

Last but not least,
Do let you husband cut off the skin tag in your armpit, which he's been asking to do for the last four years. That's true love right there.

Enjoy your four year anniversary!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

oh boy, oh boy

Well, hopefully this is old news to most of you but ... 

It's a boy!

We went to the doctor about a week and a half ago for the famous midway ultrasound. Going in I was pretty sure it was a boy. And he wasn't shy at all to let us know that he is a boy. Although, he didn't want us to show us his head, so we'll have to go back in for another ultrasound. Silly baby. :)

Besides seeing his ... friend ... I was amazed at how much of him we could see. We saw his heart beating; we saw his bladder and kidneys; we saw his spine and thigh bone; we saw two legs and two arms; we even caught a tiny look at his nose and lips. But this was by far my favorite picture of the day - his tiny little footprint in the sand. 


Isn't it adorable?! There's a life inside me!

At only 19 weeks, he's already developed so much and he's still growing. He's wiggling and hiccuping and starting to work his organs. He's an amazing little guy! 

We love our little guy and can't wait to meet him.

Four and a half more months!


Saturday, May 18, 2013

as we call it - gradumacation!

He's done it! 
My husband has graduated!


I told him to look all excited and this is what I got. 
I guess the fist pump says everything it took in four years to graduate from college. :)

My husband graduated from Utah State University two weeks ago. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Theatre Education with a minor in Spanish Education. It was a really fun day for us and I'm so proud of him.

The day started up on the Quad where all the graduates met to line up for the processional. I met up with some family along the processional route to wait for the star of the show to pass by us. The processional was lead by the our country's flag and drummers. Once I found my husband in the crowd, he blew me a kiss. :)


The University ceremony was held in the Spectrum and luckily we sat on the same side as my husband. We found him quickly among the sea of grads. The keynote speaker was the President of  Nike, Charles Denson, who is also an Aggie. It was a wonderful ceremony.


We followed this with a fantastic lunch. And I mean fantastic! We went to Gaucho Grill, a Brazilian restaurant, who brought us a full array of delicious meats and served us with yummy foods. They even brought my husband the Aggie special, a blue fruity drink. I'm pretty sure we all walked away with full bellies.

The highlight of the day was the Caine College of the Arts ceremony. It started off with the USU Scotsman Pipe and Drum Corps, followed by all the college graduates and several faculty members. Since Theatre Arts starts with a T, my husband was third to last...but we found him. The valedictorian is a good friend of ours and she did an incredible job, especially since her speech was misplaced and she was improvising. The Teacher of the Year is a guitar professor and decided that he would feel more comfortable playing and singing rather than speaking. Splendid idea! He sang the Graduation Blues, a song he wrote, which had the entire audience laughing. My husband's name was read loud and clear as he proudly walked across the stage, receiving hugs from both his department head and the college Dean, Craig Jessop.


And of course, once the tassels were turned, the party music came on and streamers were flying. Celebrate good times! And you can't graduate from Utah State without finishing off with some Famous Aggie Ice Cream. :)


I am so grateful for wonderful family and friends who support my husband and me in our journey through life. We will miss Utah State terribly but we are on to bigger and better things. (Like seeing Iron Man 3 in 3D because that's the only thing my husband wanted to do to celebrate his graduation.)


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

that little thing called life

A lot has happened in the last three months and all I can say for is:
That's life.

Whether good or bad, it's just life. Things happen. 
Blessings and trials come our way and we learn and grow.

So let's start at the beginning.

THE TRIP
We went to Chicago the first week of February so my husband could audition for grad schools. It's this big shindig called URTA. (Long story short, all the schools accepting show up in one place for auditions instead of us going from school to school to school to audition. Smart idea.) My husband received callbacks and six interviews. He saw a total of 14 schools and felt confident with a couple of them. We spent two days auditioning and three days seeing the Windy City. It was a great trip.
The Silver Bean was my favorite thing we saw.
THE JOY
The day we got back from Chicago was a pretty memorable day for us. It was the day we found out that I was pregnant. Yep, we're expecting! I'm currently 13 weeks and feeling good. We went to the doctor three weeks ago and got our first ultrasound. It felt so good to hear, "There's a little one in there." Pretty much melted my heart. My husband got to see the screen and both he and the doctor commented on how baby was so wiggly and jumpy. He's definitely my husband's baby...performing in the spotlight. 
We're due Oct. 14th.
THE SAD NEWS
The baby is really exciting news for us and we've been really happy to tell our family and friends. However, we've had some sad news to share with them as well. My husband made a trip at the end of February to visit Penn State and Columbia for further auditions. We also went to Las Vegas the first weekend in March to tour UNLV. He received great comments and felt comfortable with several schools. He received an offer from a school in London but it wasn't the program he's looking for. And he received an offer from Savannah College of Art and Design but they offered very little to no financial help. As the weeks went on, we kept receiving "thank you, but no thank you" from school after school. It wasn't until after University of Houston that we finally accepted our fate - we will not be attending grad school in the fall. 
This is how we feel about it.
THE NEXT STEP
But since we've accepted our fate, we've come to realize it's a blessing in disguise. With our first baby on the way, it will be really nice to have my husband around to share in the adventure with. So what's next for us? Well, we will be Logan until at least mid-August because my husband has signed on for another summer with the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre Company. (He's a brother in Joseph and ensemble in Fiddler on the Roof and the opera The Flying Dutchman.) Then we'll make a move to the Salt Lake valley where my husband will have more professional acting opportunities. 
My acting man in Twentieth Century.
THE LOVE
Although things haven't gone according to plan for us these last few months, we are grateful to have gone through it together. 
Forever and for always.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

top ten of 2012

So, it's been awhile. I blame it on the holidays ... which were a blast.

At the end of every year, my family makes a list of our Top Ten stories. And since I've been married, I've done with with my husband. So my first post of this year is...


THE TOP TEN OF 2012

Number 10. My husband and I have been married now for three and a half years. We celebrated three years in June. And to celebrate we went to a fun park in Ogden. We played mini golf, arcade games, hit the batting cages, and rode the go-karts. Then we drove around and found a pasta restaurant for dinner. We were the only ones there and ate great, unique food. It was a fun anniversary.



Number 9. With my husband majoring in Theatre Education, he needed some experience teaching theatre. So while he was working for the Opera this summer, he had the opportunity to be a part of Broadway Bound, which is a week long class for kids. This lead him to be a teacher for the Opera's Conservatory for children. Last semester he taught his first class called Creative Drama. He has a really fun class and enjoyed teaching theatre to children. He's going to continue teaching at the Conservatory this semester.



Number 8. My husband turned the big 2-6 this past year and has never had a surprise birthday party. So I decided this was the year to do that. I planned a bowling party for him and invited all our family and friends to be there. That morning, I took him to breakfast and drove him around blindfolded. He has no idea what was going on and was surprised when we arrived at the bowling alley with everyone there. It was a great party complete with a Spiderman ice cream cake, which he wanted. 


Number 7. Aggie Football! My husband and I had to be the biggest fans of Aggie Football this season ... or at least we thought we were. We went to every home game and watched every away game. We would drive up from Salt Lake just to go to a game. We were even on the field when Coach Andersen was handed the WAC Champions trophy and accepted the invitation to play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. We watched them win the bowl game and finish off a perfect season. Go Aggies!



Number 6. Like I mentioned earlier and last year, my husband worked for the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre company this summer. This is was huge step forward for his career. He was working and being paid as a professional actor. He gained a lot of experience and connections. He also enjoyed being deeply involved with theatre. We're excited that he gets the opportunity to perform with them again this summer.



Number 5. This past summer was an Edwards Family Reunion to Moab, which my husband sadly missed out on. My favorite part of the trip was hiking to Delicate Arch. There's two different ways to see it. The lower route is a simple walk that looks up to the arch but it looks so small and slightly disappointing from this location. The other way is a 45 minute hike. But this is the way to see the arch. You're walking along this ridge, then turn the corner, and BAM ... there's the arch! And it's amazing! I promised myself and my husband that I would take him there to see it, because it's truly breath taking. (We're standing in front of it in the bottom right corner, just to give you some perspective.) 



Number 4. My husband has been performing at USU for almost four years now and has done a number of different shows. And sadly last semester was his last show ... Legally Blonde: The Musical. He was the leading male, Emmett Forest. What a way to end his career with USU! He was amazing and the part was perfect for him. Everyone who saw the show raved about his performance. It was a great last show and we're excited to see what grad school has in store for him.



Number 3. My husband and I haven't been on a vacation, just the two of us, since our honeymoon. So after he was done with the Opera last summer, we took a two week vacation. I planned almost every detail of this vacation and tried to squeeze in as much as possible. We went to a Bee's game, spent a day at Education Week, went camping for a night, relaxed in St. George, stayed at a bed 'n' breakfast, saw Les Mies and Wicked, and much much more. It was great time!

Number 2. So we've lived in Logan for over three years now and for most of that time the walls of our apartment have been white. I've always wanted to paint our apartment and in May, I finally got the courage to ask our landlady if we could ... and she said yes! So we did! We did most of it around Memorial Day and finished up on Labor Day. And it's been a huge improvement. I love our little home here.


And number 1. Auzi and King Louie. Our cars. We sadly watched King Louie hit rock bottom in 2012. He's been a good car but we didn't feel it was worth it to fix the damage. So we quickly looked for another car and quickly found the perfect one for us ... Auzi. And he's been a good little car. Complete with an Aggie license plate holder and Aggie sticker on the back windshield. :)



2012 was a good year for us. What's your Top Ten?

Saturday, November 3, 2012

i've won the war

I did it. I finally mastered the chocolate chip cookie.

How? you ask. What's the secret? you say. Well, I'll tell you:

Refrigeration

Let me explain. The chocolate chip cookie has always been my arch nemesis of the dessert world. I'm a pretty darn good baker but when it came to the chocolate chip cookie, I could never seem to get it just right.

Growing up, we always had cookies of some kind in the house ... snicker doodles to gumdrop cookies and everything in between. I grew up helping my mom bake them and eventually it become my Saturday chore to make cookies. I learned to love making cookies, but I still struggled with my arch nemesis.

I remember one day my mom came home with a new recipe to try. She insisted that this was the recipe to solve the madness. So I gave it a shot. And guess what? They turned out perfect ... great tasting, nice and round, soft. We thought that was it, that life would be blissful with a perfect chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk. And for awhile it was, till I tried the recipe again ...

Failure. Pure and utter failure. To my amazement, the recipe never worked for me again.

When I got to college I discovered the best tasting chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's on the back of the Western Family brand of chips. I said to myself, "Self, why not try this recipe out?" They are delicious! But, they always turn out flat. I think after years and years of fighting with the chocolate chip cookie, I finally settled for a delicious tasting cookie regardless of how it comes out of the oven.

A few weeks ago I was craving cookie dough. So instead of making some, I picked up some pre-made Western Family chocolate chip cookie dough at the store. It was delicious, of course, but deciding against making myself sick on raw dough, I baked some cookies as well. I assumed the dough was made from the same recipe Western Family promotes on the back of the chip bags. But when I took the cookies out of the oven, they were perfect. Golden brown, round, soft for days, and delicious.

So I started to wonder what the difference was between my pathetic cookies and these brilliant ones. The big obvious answer was that this store bought dough was hard from being in the fridge. When I rolled the dough into balls, they stayed tight. And the dough was cold so when placed in the oven, it took longer for the dough to fan out. I concluded that the next time I made chocolate chip cookie dough, I would put the dough in the refrigerator and see if this would put a stop to my rivalry.

My husband loves chocolate chip cookies so it wasn't long until I made some dough again. But this time, the dough went in the fridge over night. The next day I baked two dozen and to my wonderful pleasure ... they came out golden brown, round, and soft for days! And of course, absolutely delicious, especially warm right out of the oven. The perfect chocolate chip cookie!

The battle is over; the war is won. I have mastered the chocolate chip cookie. Who know all it took was a little chill.


Thursday, October 18, 2012

costumes galore

Most theatre departments and companies have what you call costume storage. And most of these costume storage spaces are full of costumes. Go figure. However, I think you would be surprised by just how many costumes there actually are. At least I was when I saw Utah State's costume storage. I guess I would have to describe most costume shop people as ... pack rats ... They save everything because they never know when they are going to need it again.

Last year Utah State got a new costume shop adviser. I think she has the same response as me when she saw the costume storage ... because seriously, there are a lot of costumes. This year, she approached my husband about having a costume sale to get rid of the excess of costumes. They would split the profits with TSA if they helped out. They agreed and the sale was on.

When I first heard about the idea, I thought it was great but I didn't think it would be a huge success. But with Halloween right around the corner, maybe it would strike up some interest. TSA was in charge of promotion so they posted fliers around campus and around town. The costume crew spent hours getting ready. The night before, several students helped pack the dance studio full of ... stuff - clothing, purses, hats, shoes, and other random items.


The sale was last Saturday for six hours. We arrived in the morning and looked around. I was surprised by how much cool stuff there was. Everyone around me were trying hats on and getting excited over period clothing. I immediately found a hat that I fell in love with.



The longer we stayed, the more people showed up. It was great to see people interested. My husband and I search through everything. It felt like an awesome yard sale, except it had items from the last few decades ... and everything was ten dollars or less. We found a few great items but sadly didn't have enough money to pay for it all. So we put it aside and left to grab some more dough. When we came back later that afternoon to pay and help clean up, so much was missing! The costume shop adviser said they had a steady stream of people all afternoon ... and that sometimes it got so packed that you could barely move around. She had also dropped the price of everything to twenty cents. Twenty cents! My husband and I found a few more things to buy at that price.

Overall, it was a huge success! The department sold over 80 percent of the items and made some room for more costumes in the future. The costume shop adviser wants to do this again in the Spring. If she does, you won't want to miss it.