the perks of being married

During the first semester of my freshman year, I had no computer.

If it had been up to my mom, I wouldn't have had a cell phone, either.  [She was convinced I should get a land line in my dorm room.  Fact.]

As many of you know, having a computer in college is pretty darn important.  So, after an entire semester of walking across campus to use the computers in the computing commons and using my roommate's computer, I decided that - expensive or not - I needed a computer.

I saved up my money, but I still didn't have enough.  Which was when my mom decided to convince everyone to chip in as a Christmas gift to make up the difference.

Christmas morning of 2007, I woke up to find my brand new HP laptop.

I had my beloved laptop until January of 2010, when it abruptly died - just in time for my warranty to run out.

Thankfully, my work lent me a desktop computer, which served me faithfully [however slowly] until I got married, which was when I upgraded to a much-faster desktop.  [The perks of being married.]

On the first day of this last semester, I noticed that almost everyone in my class had a laptop to take notes on.  I convinced myself that I didn't need a laptop for the whole semester.  And you know what?  For the most part, I was right.  I didn't need one.  But it sure would have been convenient.  [Because my teachers made us take notes like nobody's business.]

Whenever Tim mentioned that it would be nice for me to have a laptop, I shrugged it off.  Yeah it would be nice.  But it's not necessary.  And we can't afford it.  I'm doing fine.  No big deal.

This year on Christmas morning, I woke up to find my very own brand new Toshiba laptop.

From Tim.

And do you know how he got it?

He sold one of his guitars.

He says he didn't need it.

That he didn't even want it.

That it was no big deal.

But you know what, ladies and gents?  It sure felt like a big deal.  And my eyes still fill with tears when I think about it.

And so here I am, sitting on our bed, writing this blog on my very own laptop, and feeling very spoiled.

Talk about the perks of being married.

[Or maybe about the perks of being-lucky-enough-to-have-married-the-sweetest-man-in-the-world.  Whichever you choose.]

lack of motivation

Would you like to know why I haven't been writing very much lately?

Maybe you don't care and are going to quit reading my blog immediately.
Maybe you are a stalker and care entirely too much.
Maybe you are a blog stalker, in which case, it's ok.  [I do it, too.]
Maybe you are a friend and actually care about my life [but in a non-pathological way].

Well, enemies, creepers, blog stalkers, and friends...

...there is actually no good reason that I haven't been writing lately.

School stopped, and therefore, so did my brain.  And my drive.  [If I ever really had any to begin with.]

But, in case you were wondering, I got the highest GPA I've ever had in my life this semester.

What the.  How did that happen?

Also, Tim and I sang at a wedding this last weekend.  Actually, to be more specific, we sang during their ceremony.  Because Samara is my friend and my coworker, and because it was their wedding [no big deal], we were more than a little stressed.  We wanted it to be perfect for them.

And it really was.

Everything was so beautiful, and I'm pretty sure there wasn't a single dry eye as they both cried through their vows.  Talk about touching.

Don't they look perfect?  [And there we are, chillin' in the background.]

[I stole borrowed this picture off Samara's facebook.  I hope nobody gets offended.]

Speaking of weddings, I just wanted to show you this:

And this:

Ok, fine, and this, too:

Ah yes.

Being married is the best.

I get all teary-eyed just thinking about how lucky I got.

Ok kids, I'll see you when and if my drive comes back again.

In the meantime, Happy-Five-Days-Until-Christmas!

[Again, nobody sells signs that say that.  I am definitely starting my own product line.]

half birthdays

About 6 months ago, I bought a new planner.

Now I don't know about you, but buying a planner is an exciting time for me.

I get to enter all kinds of important dates and [temporarily] feel like my life is perfectly organized.

One of those important dates was December 12, 2011.

Was it an anniversary?  No.
Was it a holiday?  No.
Was it the last day of finals?  No.  [Well, uh...yes.  But I didn't know that at the time.]
Was it a birthday?  No.
Was it a half birthday?  Yes.

Tim's half birthday, to be more specific.

I'd never celebrated half birthdays before, but I thought it might be fun.

So I secretly planned for months that I would do something for Tim's half birthday.

In the end, it was just something small, but it was kinda fun.

He came home to see this:

And this:

I just got him some Reese's Pieces, but from the ecstatic way he reacted, you'd think I'd gotten him a flatscreen HD TV or something.

Moral of the story?  Nobody sells anything that says "Happy Half Birthday."  I might have to start my own line of products.

[Wait, what?  That's not a very good moral?  Ok, let's try again.]

Moral of the story?  Buy a planner.  They'll make you creative in ways you've never dreamed.

date night

Date night is pretty much my favorite night.  Like, ever.

I get to hang out with my best friend for an entire evening without worrying about homework or studying or school.

And Tim is a pretty creative date-planner so that makes it even more fun.

For example, last Friday, we decided to go get hot chocolate and drive around and look at Christmas lights.

Simple, right?

But so, so fun.

[Except I lied.  I didn't get hot chocolate.  I got Caramel Apple Spice.  But Tim got hot chocolate.  So really I only half-lied.]

 There's this street in Mesa that goes all out on their Christmas lights.  And it's pretty awesome.  

[At least I think it's in Mesa.  I wasn't driving, so I wasn't really paying attention.]

 Love him.  

Too bad this picture is so blurry.  [My bad.]

 I hope our kids get his eyes.

 I took way too many pictures to post on here, but I thought I'd post some of my favorites.

 I decided that the candy decorations are some of my favorites.  

[Which is not, of course, a reflection of what I eat a good majority of my day.]
[No really.]

 [Candyyyyy.]

 Caramel Apple Spice.

White Hot Chocolate.

It's the simple things in life, you know?

p.s.  For any of you who might have started following me on Pinterest, I express my deepest apologies.  I haven't even gotten back on since that first time.  And I had no idea what I was doing then, so...it might be kind of a disappointment.  But I haven't completely given up.  [Yet.]

christmas décor

Ok, kids.

I think we've finally put up all of our Christmas decorations.  [And by "our" Christmas decorations, I mean Christmas decorations my mom gave/lent to me because she either has too many or just isn't as into decorating anymore or is just being entirely too generous.]

Wanna see?

 That couch was mine and Tim's first purchase together.  Fifty bones off Craigslist, yo!

 O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

 Ok, I know this one looks pretty much like the last, but you couldn't really see the lights in the last one, and this one is blurry, so I figured posting both was the best of both worlds.  #don'tjudgeme

 My mom's old nativity set.  I feel so lucky to have it.

 I think my favorite part of this is the candy cane candles.  [Say that five times fast.]

[No really, go ahead.  I dare you.]

 I know, still blurry.  Alas.

My aunt got me these cute cupcake ornaments.  I especially love that they sparkle.

 Most of our furniture is furniture my grandma left to me.  Thinking about that makes me tear up a little.  

Yeah, I'm gonna do something a little different with that wall space on the left.  Just not quite sure what yet. 

These are salt and pepper shakers that have been around as long as I can remember. 

So, umm...I've been in love with Mickey and Minnie for as long as I can remember.  When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with my pink Minnie bedspread.  [At least these aren't pink, right?]

My grandma made this wreath. 

As a kid, these were my absolute favorite decorations.  I think I just loved that they fit inside each other. 

And a cheesy picture for the road.

'tis the season

I'm feeling a little tenderhearted today.

Not completely sure why.

Maybe because I'm really tired.

Maybe because of friends who are struggling.

Maybe because I had one of my last classes today and everyone in my group was being all sentimental and mushy-gushy.

Maybe because I feel extremely blessed.

Maybe because I'm almost done with the semester.

Maybe because it's almost Christmas.

Or maybe it's a combination of all of those things.

On an unrelated note, taking Tim to Costco is like taking a six-year-old to Disneyland.  His eyes light up and he wants to go up and down every aisle and eat every sample.  He also liked that they put all of our purchased items in this box:

making it appear as though we were buying an entire box of jerky treats for a dog that we don't have.

And he also really, really liked this ginormous jar of pickles we bought for $3:

In all fairness to Tim, this picture doesn't really do it justice.

Can't you just picture it...sitting around the Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate, and...eating pickles?

Alas.

Happy December y'all!