Forever is only the beginning

Sunday, March 10, 2013

a mouth full of metal

brace face- metal mouth- tinsel teeth- tin grin... no matter how your say it, the emotional pain could never be worse than the physical pain! i'm honestly not much of a complainer so let me just have my moment here. this has been just awful. my mouth no longer belongs to me. i have become a prisoner to these torture tools and have been forced to survive off of sustenance that is equivalent to baby food.... i just keep telling myself that it will all be worth it in the end, right???
of course it will! you know that song you sing in first grade at christmas with your toothless, spiting grin- yeah, that's the one... all i want for christmas is my two front teeth. i for sure sang loud and proud, that is until those two front teeth came in and one was crooked as could be. santa you can take those crooked teeth back because I DON'T WANT 'EM {or so i thought back then}. and growing up with 8 kids in my family there wasn't extra money for things like braces... i was grateful for food on the table and clothes on my back. straight teeth would just have to be saved for my dreams.
wouldn't you know though, that with all those kids, one of them was bound to become a dentist! dave the dentist, making the world a better place one smile at a time! thanks to dave's hard work for 10ish years of school and now 8ish years of practice this lady will have the smile she's dreamed of for the last 17 years.
until then i'll stick to my baby food and milk shakes.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

spring break

Hey its Jon, i'm back again due to a rare spot of a relative lull in busyness. Being as the last time I got to throw in a quick edition of jon's true 'forever is just the beginning' stories was Christmas, you can tell how often I have a chance to get on here and share my side of our story.

Spring break - a magical time of the semester that is for fun and irresponsibility, unless of course you are in grad school! I usually spend my time recovering from a lack of sleep and high stress levels, including preparing for the next length of studies. Having gone to BYU-Idaho with shorter semesters to allow for three full school tracks to allow more students I never really got to experience the whole unforgettable, head to warm climates, hang out with friends, crazy stereotypical spring break during undergrad. I must say though that Ashlee has made my spring breaks even better than one could imagine, and we didn't even have to leave the state of Michigan!

My first week long spring break was at law school, and I was dating a great girl named Ashlee. She was from Traverse City but had been all over the state of Michigan so she decided that on spring break she would give me a tour of the state (and show me all the places she lived and her past).

We went to Grand Rapids (where she went to GVSU for undergrad) with her sister Lara, went to the public museum, rode on the merry-go-round, ate delicious food, saw where she worked at Ferris Coffee and Nuts, and hung out with her friend Katie!

Later that week I took her to 'little italy' as I cooked her a couple pasta dishes and put up pictures of New York's 'little italy' on the wall - it was fun. Someday I hope to take her to the real 'little italy'.

Our last fun trip that first spring break was to Ann Arbor where Ashlee went to University of Michigan School of Social Work for her masters! She showed me the law school - a building that was so old it reminded me of a castle - almost like something from Harry Potter. Then she showed me the school of social work. It was cool to she where she went for her masters degree. Finally, we went to a little middle eastern restaurant to get some delicious lentil soup and talk.

It was such a great spring break and great last day of spring break and also the first time we told each other that we love each other! We have since had two more spring breaks! This last spring break we went out to Grand Rapids to the museum again and to hang out with Katie. This year however Ashlee has her wonderful dream job so she has little precious free time which we had to use to get dental work done and visit family up north so we didn't get to continue our spring break tradition. So, I thought I would post a blog about the great memories of last spring break.

Thanks Ashlee for making my spring breaks so special and unforgettable! I really love you!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

thoughts on time

jon and i have many conversations about time. it's a routine discussion in our house. every morning it's what time do you want to get up, what time do we have to leave, what time do i pick you up? at night it's always do we have time for the gym, time to prepare dinner, time to spend together and time for jon to get his school work done? in the wee hours of the morning as he's crawling into bed i hear him plea for just a little bit more time to get his stuff done.... and that's a big fat NO to you mister!
everything revolves on this never ending continuum of time. and that's how i stay organized best, i like time to prepare, time to wind down, and time to do. i used to arrive to class 20 minutes everyday- just to make sure i made it on time... i've learned that i'd rather not go to an event than go late or if i feel rushed for time it causes a melt down... weird? yes.
i also had the thought the other day about how supposedly we should get 8 hours of sleep a day, then for those that have full time employment thats another 8 hours of your time {or more, for many} which leaves only 8 more hours in a day to get everything else done?! So in that last 8 hours someone might have to get ready for their day, travel to and from work, eat {at some point} and get the endless to-do's done.... but really how much does a person get done in those 8 hours? how much of those 8 hours are really truly enjoyed?? how many times do you laugh or smile in that 8 hours? hug and kiss a loved one? build and maintain important relationships? how much of that time is spent actually relaxing? if you're anything like me i can guess that probably not enough time is being spent on the really important things... sooo here's your chance- i'm giving you permission to enjoy the next 8 hours that you don't have to catch some z's or be in the office.... indulge in some of this time you have- because you're never going to get it back, and you're worth a little self care!

and my secret confession: the reason i have been so time obsessed the last two weeks has something to do with a certain someone that will finally be back in the mitten {where she belongs}, my sweet sister will FINALLY be home in 34 days! so when she gets home and tells me all out how she's spent her time the last 18 months of her life.... i hope i can report back that i did something worthwhile with my time too.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

snap shot of our satuday

oh my goodness, what a week it's been... and wouldn't you know i was supposed to be working today too. thank goodness the weather-gods were on my side because some unforetold snow flurries mixed with icy roads and a worried grandma driver {aka this girl here} meant a cancelled class near detroit. and it's a good thing, because this soul needed a break, in the worst kind of way.
i am all about early rising to get the worm and carpe dieming the heck out of my weekends, but this morning when my alarm woke me up to go to my long over due- 7am yoga class, i just turned the darn thing off and went back to sleep! and i'm not gonna lie it felt so so good! take that 7am yoga!
finally after 9am rolled around the day could start because i heard the whisper of the many things around the house calling my name; starting with the pile of laundry.... followed by the disaster taking place on the kitchen counters, and a tub that needs some love. and they are still calling as i write this post.
but i couldn't give mind to those taunts until i took a moment for myself to whip up some french toast, belt out my current fave, zee avi and make a quick appearance here.
hope you come visit me again, weekend.
xoxo

Thursday, February 7, 2013

food rut

the last few months that i was on hiatus from blogging, i was also on hiatus from the kitchen.... anything that required me to be in the kitchen for more than 22 minutes was just not gonna happen.... poor jon- it began to show on his shrinking waistline.
i guess i just ran out of ideas, or was too mentally drained at the end of the day to even think about what i wanted to eat. before, working jobs that didn't require much mental effort allowed me the flexability to think about food all day long. and so i did. i would think about all the ingredients i needed, if i could add anything or subsititute anything, i thought about the spices i could add or try to make the meal better. i also tried to think about ways to make it healthier or richer, or just increase the overall joy in the prepping and eating experiences. i also spent time thinking about the process of preparing the food. what should be started first, how long that onion needed to sautee before adding another item, and then when to mix ingredients a, b & c... when to put on the rice or quinoa on and of course if we needed beans- then i had to plan for that the day before!
so it all became too exausting... we resorted to eating things like enriched pasta noodles with meijer brand sauce. i would add a little sauteed onion and some basil to it, sprinkle some cheese on it and call it good. jon's tuna sandwiches and turkey wraps became pb&j's {2 if i was feeling extra loving}. his homemade trail mix became a handful or pretzels. meals were dull and nutritionally unsatisfying-it was not good... for a month straight we were having the same black bean enchiladas once or twice a week... needless to say it will be a LONG time before we have enchiladas again.
so last week thursday i made up my mind... i search for some new food-spiration, made my lists and dreamt about new delicious meals.
friday i left work 2 hours early so that i had plenty of time to wander around 3 different grocery stores picking out all the necessary items for happy hearts and full tummies.... it was a glorious two hours unrushed and void of worry and stress. it was extremely satisfying to come home and fill the cupboards up and pack the refrigerator with fresh produce again.

friday night we enjoyed a flavorful moroccan chickpea stew over brown rice
saturday i made homemade-double whipped hummus, cranberry salsa & protein bars
{we enjoyed dinner at fork in the road with friends saturday night}
sunday was eggs benny- didn't turn out as i anticipated, but i'll attempt it again
monday i whipped up quinoa patties over a bed of greens and some homemade dill sauce
tuesday was a collection of leftovers
& wednesday i tried a new coconut curry sauce over veggies and brown rice

and can i just say yummmmm.... we most certainly feel recharged and back on track nutritionally. i'm not sure if it was working in the kitchen & using my hands to create something that did it or the mix of flavors saying hello to my tongue, but whatever it is i hope i have the energy to keep it up.

moroccan stew

protein bars

hummus on left & cranberry salsa over cream cheese on right

**i don't have photos of everything... i'm working on my documenting skills!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Remember me?!

OH my! i can't believe it's been since OCTOBER since i've last updated or posted.... thank you to my sweet husband for making an appearance. i like when he has a break from school and has a little extra time on his hands.

so there isn't really any way to recap what we have been doing- but i will say in general each day has consisted of going to work/school, trying to make our way to the gym, trying to keep a clean house and keep the pile of dirty clothes to a minimum... when saturday rolls around jon studies for a good portion of it while i hit up yoga, go grocery shopping, catch up on a show or two on hulu, prepare our lesson for sunday (we teach 12 little 7 year olds, and love it!). saturday also involves cleaning, laundry, and cooking.... all just in time for sundays- the only day we got to stay in bed until 10am and slowly (so slowly) get ready for 1pm church- but since new year has changed to 9am church (AH what are we gonna do?! that means no days to sleep in this year!!). after church we spend the evenings usually talking about our upcoming week, writing lara jane, and talking with other family. and that's it... crazy to write it down to find it really doesn't sound like that much, but some how each day 10pm hits and I'm amazed that the day is over! how is that possible- i still have 17 other things on my to do list that need to get done!! and so that is why the blogging never gets done, because the everyday stuff takes ups all the minutes i have to use each day.

anyways, i'm rambling- the purpose of this is to say we are still here, and kickin'. jon has successfully finished his first semester of business school. crazy to think that we only have 3 more semesters left of this craziness and then it's time for jon to get a job- where you ask? who knows? the possibilities are endless. we could see our selves anywhere- so where ever the road leads, i guess. i am still super loving my job so thats another bonus about where we are right now.

we've now celebrated our second american thanksgiving, christmas and new years together as a married couple. we've made our second set of resolutions and hope this next year brings us as much joy and growth as the last... and i feel like we are off to a pretty good start.

so far in 2013 we have already made one trip out to canada- jon's little brother {hehe, sam is still older than i am and bigger than jon, which actually isn't a hard thing to be, i'm practically bigger than he is too!} got married to the love of his life in the calgary, alberta temple and we were so pleased to be able to share in their day!
we have also made a trip up to tc/petoskey area because my brother turned thirty... and its safe to say that we will be making many more trips up there {as soon as the snow stops falling}.
we had a lovely date night at the detroit auto show. let's just say i'm ready for some new wheels.... but i'll keep dreaming, because we still have three semesters of school + the bar exam standing in the way.
we've also discovered a new favorite restaurant in lansing {there aren't many options in lansing but this place is the bomb.com, yup you heard the BOMB DOT COM} Everything is super fresh, made with local ingredients and lots of love. they even make their own homemade noodles. fork in the road, i love you!
somethings we have to look forward to for the next 11 months of 2013: our second valentines day married, LARA JANE comes home.... no words for that one! jon will hopefully have another super awesome internship, trip out to san fran to see jon's sis graduate from dental school, jon turns THIRTY, our two year anniversary, and a whole slew of holidays we get to celebrate for the third time!

hopefully i can get back to blogging more regularly... no promises though.