Let's Get Medieval!

The fabulous Arizona weather continues, so we've been doing our best to take things outside and enjoy it while it lasts.  I know the terrible, terrible season that these people call Summer is coming, so we're living it up while we can. :)  I'm surprised at how quickly time is flying by these days--in just a little over two weeks we'll get to find out (if the baby cooperates) whether we're going to have a little boy or girl! Super exciting!  The last appointment went well (145 bpm heart rate!), so fingers crossed for a cooperative little one at the next visit, too!

So, catching up: we spent the first weekend of the month in snowy Utah, enjoying our good friends' wedding (the Manti temple was gorgeous!), but I was very glad to leave the cold behind.  Our first day there was clear and sunny, actually, and we didn't even need jackets, but by the time we left...well, nothing we wore was quite warm enough!  It was a good time, though, and so much fun to see our friends again and meet some new ones!  We also got to visit with my cousins and their kids, some of whom I hadn't seen in years!  I would put up a picture of the whole group, but I was the one holding the camera and forgot to take one...photographer is not my calling in life.

Fresh off the plane in SLC, on an impromptu detour to Antelope Island and the Great Salt Lake.

Since we've been back, it's been a lot of work and a bit of play, including, I kid you not, a trip to the Renaissance Festival!  It was hilarious, and actually a ton of fun!  There were quite a few people in costume, which was fun to see, and Kyle and I tried our hands at knife throwing and old-fashioned archery.  How did we do?  Let's just say that in the event of an apocalypse and a subsequent need for self-reliance, Kyle will be nominated as the hunter.  I probably won't even be allowed to touch the weapons, 'cause I just might jinx them.  Kyle had a smoked turkey leg and we both had frozen lemonade, of course, and we sat in on a comedy show or two (I was thoroughly unimpressed with these, but I did get to sit down in the shade for a bit, so, you know).  We watched a jousting match and RODE AN ELEPHANT (the Renaissance period was famous for elephant rides, after all).  We got a bit sunburned, then went home and made sure to get ice cream after dinner.  Good day, right?  Hope that many more are on their way!

We've got our tickets and we're ready to go!

The elephant kept flapping its giant ears on me!

And a 15 week picture, plus my Valentine's Day shoes!

Weeks Fly By

Not much has been going on in Arizona-land, but per Mom's request, here's a little update.  The weather has been beautiful the past week or so (it's about time!), and Kyle and I have been enjoying every bit of it, even the rain.  And yes, rain is beautiful weather, especially here in the desert.  We hiked a little mountain trail that led to a pool surrounded by Native American petroglyphs, which I loved, of course, and dined on gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the top.  We tried a new pizza place that was delicious to the nth power, and spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in the park playing a rousing game of Bananagrams (we're not actually very good, but playing a game made us look less creepy every time the mini-train full of children drove past the spot we were hanging out).  We grilled burgers by the pool and I drank strawberry soda for the first time in probably 10 years, and that's about it....oh, wait--we also got through my FIRST TRIMESTER!  That's right, folks--there's a baby in my belly!  Here are a few pictures that I think are kind of lame, but my mom insists on seeing them. :)

This was after baby's first ultrasound at 9 weeks!

And this is at 3 months.  Please excuse the awkwardness of this picture. My camera takes like an hour  before it snaps the photo and I was getting a bit tired of waiting...

Things have been going very well with the pregnancy so far.  I haven't experienced any morning-sickness, and have just been a little more tired than usual.  But the baby's been meddling in my life in other ways already.  For example, I was craving some of my granny's macaroni and cheese for weeks, and I finally got around to attempting to make a batch.  I was so excited, and it actually looked perfect, but right as I was picking it up to put it in the oven, the baby pushed me out of the way and threw the whole uncooked pan on the ground!  Don't believe me? EVIDENCE:

You can imagine my sadness.

And then, a few days later, something happened that made me realize that the baby has nothing against me, but something against macaroni and cheese.  Since I was unable to obtain the macaroni dish that I deeply desired, a few days later I went for the regular ol' out-of-the-box-mix-in-the-powder-cheese kind of macaroni (which I also happen to think is delicious, even though I'm a full-fledged mom-to-be now).  And do you know what the baby did this time?!  After I fixed myself a bowl, I got a glass out of the cupboard and the pitcher out of the fridge.  Then the baby forced me to pour about half the contents of the water pitcher into my bowl of mac and cheese before I realized that it was not my water glass.  I didn't take a picture of this second disappointment.  It was too tragic.  The baby should just think about who is going to be in charge of feeding it during its helpless years before it strikes again...do they make macaroni and cheese baby food?  Mwahaha!

The next thing on our to-do list is catch a plane to Utah for our good friend Daryl's wedding this weekend.  I know, Arizona is finally beautiful and we're going to leave it for snowy, icy Utah?  We're just crazy like that.  Pictures to come!

Resolve

It's time I made a confession: I've always wanted to be a writer.  Writing is the only thing that has consistently appealed to me over the years, as exploits and explorations into anthropology, teaching, audiology, finance, ophthalmology, museum studies, and even history all flickered briefly then fizzled down to nothing.  I'm still interested in most of those things, as most things in the world are interesting in their own right, if you really think about it, but the thought of devoting countless hours and even years to any of them seems akin to taking that dark, scary path through the woods that leads to nothing but rabid wolves and icy anguish (think Maurice and Philippe in Beauty and the Beast).

But's it's hard to admit that you want to be a writer because, well, it's honestly not very practical.  And also because people then will have to read the things you write, and that is extremely intimidating.  It's one thing to write for fun, or for myself and my own personal reflection, but to share those thoughts with the world is something altogether different.

Anyways, the reason I'm vocalizing this confession in blog format is to make myself accountable.  It's the new year, right?  Time to form some resolve.  And stick with it.  

A few years back, I decided that I would publish at least one piece every year, even if it was just something small in the local newspaper.  If I could do that, then that would mean that I actually had potential, and am not just some crazy nut writing barely decipherable manifestos in the back recesses of some creepy mountain cabin (random quiz time--which are creepier: Smoky Mountain cabins or Rocky Mountain cabins?)  And that has worked out, four years running now--sometimes with more than one piece published.  It's not much, but it's something, and it's time to aim higher.

So, this year, I'm going to go for the book.  You know.  THE BOOK.  The dream.  I'm not sure I'm really up to it yet, but there's no better time to start than now.  I'm having a hard time focusing, though, since moving to Arizona.  I honestly just don't feel very inspired here--it's not beautiful to me, in any sense of the word, and is completely lacking in charm. It's all so...commercial.  And crowded.  And brown. Dismally brown. (What color should we paint our houses? How about the same color as the dirt, which coincidentally is actually the same color as our "grass" and "trees"? That sounds lovely).  Blah.  It's hard to get in the mood to write.  But that's why I'm making this goal.  To give myself a deadline, and force the creativity! Because that's how creativity works, right?  Haha, we shall see.  In a few months, I need to have a draft completed.  And no, you can't read it.  Not yet. :)

Sweet Home Carolina

Traveling is overrated.  I used to think it was one of the main things I wanted to do with my life--you know, visit the Machu Picchu and Chachapoyas ruins, walk the streets of Pompeii, marvel at the Angkor Wat, step into a crystal clear ocean...that kind of thing.  Okay, okay, it still sounds kind of nice (especially that crystal clear water right about now), if a little frivolous, but it's so not one of my priorities anymore.  Because now when I think of traveling, I think of suitcases and airports, cramped spaces and long lines, and spending, spending, spending (which, I'm afraid, gives me anxiety rather than pleasure).   Maybe one day when I sell my first novel and it instantly gets a movie deal and it's bigger than Harry Potter (by the way, I can't imagine what could top Harry Potter, except maybe Gone with the Wind) and I become an overnight bazillionaire, maybe then I'll like traveling more.  But then again, those blasted paparazzi will be hounding me.  I just can't win.

Anyways, what I'm saying is, maybe I'm growing up--or maybe I'm just getting old--but now whenever an opportunity comes for travel, the only places I want to go are those places where I can spend time with family and friends.  Travel to me is now about people rather than places--they're the only thing that can make all the suitcases and airports and long lines worth it.   And Kyle and I were lucky enough to do just that over Thanksgiving and the beginning of December, for Jillian's wedding!  Unfortunately, the camera battery died on like Day 3 of the trip, and we forgot to pack the charger, so our pictures are pretty limited.  We snagged a few shots down in Beaufort at Granny's house-in-progress, which is coming along beautifully.  I can't wait to see the finished product! We spent most of our time in Charleston/Summerville, including the lovely Magnolia Plantation.  Enjoy a few pictures below!  And oh yeah, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Granny is very kindly hiding my socks-and-sandals ensemble from the camera.

And we had a chance to stop to eat at Alvin Ord's (Jessie's first trip, right?!), which I am now craving...

Spying on a dolphin + hot chocolate + great friends = fun night!

Brynn on a bridge in Magnolia Gardens

It's about Time

I suppose I should begin by saying I'm not very good at "wifey" things.  I'm not particularly good at anything cutesy or crafty (how do people have patience for that?!), don't enjoy cooking dinners, and am dreadfully prone to procrastination.  That being said, it should be of no surprise to anyone that I am just now getting around to setting up a blog for our little family, approximately one year after we got married, give or take a month (okay, okay--give us the month).  But hey, don't I deserve some credit for even starting a blog at all?  This is a big step for me.  I mean, it's borderline cutesy AND crafty.  And by crafty I don't mean sneaky or shifty, like the villains in old Disney movies--I mean making homemade crafts, of course. But you knew that.  I just wanted to try to be funny.

One of the reasons I'm starting this blog is because I'm terrible at keeping a journal.  It's true--I've had the same spiral-bound small little orange journal for about 5 years now, and I'm only about 3/4 of the way through it.  If I were to die and someone in the future were to write my biography based on it, they'd never know that I ever got engaged, let alone married.  And those are big things!  So, in a way, this is to serve as a journal of sorts (don't worry--I'll keep the actually private and personal stuff in the orange notebook still...or just in my brain, more likely).  But I want to keep track of the important things that happen in our lives, and even the not-so-important things, and I'm hoping this will help with that.  Also, I want to share those things with my family, who now live so very far away.  That's another reason I'm giving this a go--trying to feel a bit more connected to them, every way I can.

Now to the actual post: Kyle and I have been married a year!  Time has flown by so quickly.  I can hardly believe it.  Since this time last year we've had two graduations, one cross-country move, Kyle's new job (I'm apparently still unemployable, by the way, which may also help with this blogging thing), two international trips (Mexico counts, people!), our 3-year first date "anniversary," and have eaten at approximately 8,391 Mexican restaurants. I mean, that seems to be all the restaurants they have in Arizona.  :)

We were lucky enough to be able to spend our anniversary on Coronado Island, near beautiful San Diego.  I've been to California before back in my college days (getting lost in Santa Clarita, anyone?), but I've never been to San Diego.  LOVED it.  It was so beautiful, and it was especially nice because I've been longing for the ocean something terrible.  Life is just better when there is green and blue in it.  I've put a few pictures of our trip below, just to make the blog look a little less dull for a while.  I'm sure anyone reading this already saw them on facebook...because everyone who's anyone stalks my facebook.  Duh.  Anyways, I'll have a new and exciting blog post up soon enough, after we celebrate the one and only Jillian's wedding this weekend here in my favorite Carolina. :)