For the month of June, I've been doing a marriage linkup series with ladies who all celebrated one year in 2013, and for our last linkup on Wednesday, we talked about our first anniversaries! Kalyn from Love.Laughter.Happily Ever After had the cutest idea for a gift. She started a photo album with a picture of her and her husband on their anniversary and then wrote what they did to celebrate and she is going to continue to do it every year, how fun!!
Favorite Song
I've really been loving the new Keith Urban song, "Little Bit of Everything"
Favorite Recipe
Last week I tried this new cookie recipe I found on Pinterest from Sally's Baking Addiction called Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies, they were delicious!!
Favorite Tweet
One of my friends in nursing tweeted this, made me laugh because elderly people say the funnies things!
Favorite Email
I got this great prayer from my dad earlier this week, and he always seems to send them at times when I need a reminder of our Lord and all the blessings we have been given and that God is always there for us!
Today's Prayer
Dear God, I ask You to please give me the grace to be a faithful follower during times of prosperity as well as lean and trying times. I pray that I will be consistent "in season and out of season." I pray also for my family, that my whole household would serve you with gladness. Where there is doubt, give reassurance. Where there is sorrow, give joy. Where there is an ounce of faith, give an abundance of hope. I thank you and praise you in Jesus’ name, Amen. Happy Friday Everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!
It's the last week of this lovely June linkup series, and for the final week, our topic is...
Anniversary Celebration Recap
On the day of our actual anniversary, we started the day off with the top of our wedding cake. We were a little skeptical after hearing good and bad things about year old cake, but ours was very good!
Then, we went home to see our new baby niece, had supper with Ryan's sister and brother-in-law, sat around the fire, had some drinks and smores!
And, the next weekend, when we had time to ourselves to celebrate, we went putt-putt golfing and had some delicious frozen yogurt!
I'm glad we got to celebrate our first anniversary! It's been a wonderful first year of marriage, and I look forward to many more years of happiness with this amazing guy!
Linking up with Sami to share my birthday celebrations over the weekend!
And, before you read about my weekend, Samantha from 3 Oh 1 Grace St just made a Facebook page for her blog, so go check it out and like it to show her some support!
Click HERE to find it!
1 - Ryan got us tickets to the College World Series game Thursday night for my birthday, with great seats along the first base line!
2 - Enjoying the game
3 - Along with our tickets, he got us passes to a hospitality room with free food and drinks throughout the game, which was awesome!
4 - After the game, in which North Carolina beat NC State
5 - Goodbye TD Ameritrade Park, see you again next year!
6 & 7 - Having some fun on our way back to the car.
8 - Friday night, my parents and brother came up to take us out to eat for my birthday. We enjoyed supper outside while a band played.
9 - The rest of my weekend was spent at work, but at least I got this pretty view driving in Saturday morning.
How was your weekend? Are any of you CWS fans?? I'm excited to watch the finals on TV between UCLA and Mississippi State.
Linking up with Jamie and Jaime for the last Thursday Thoughts, sad day. But they are both super busy ladies and need to focus on some other things right now.
Yeah, today is my birthday, the big 24!! And, I even have the day off of work, which is great, although I have a list of things I need to get done, so the celebrating will have to wait until tonight! Be sure to check back tomorrow for the recap.
So far, it's been a good birthday week! Our niece just spent a few days with us, and we spoiled her, of course!
Went to the Children's Museum
Went shopping and got some new clothes
Baked some cookies
Went to the pool
It's also Jaime at Toby's Tails Blog's birthday today!! So head over and wish her a Happy Birthday by clicking here!! Pretty neat that we are blogging buddies and birthday buddies!
It's Week 3 of our From One Year to Beyond Series, and the topic for this week is:
What Have You Learned From The Unexpected and How Have You Grown as a Couple During The First Year
Through our first year of marriage, Ryan and I have learned a lot, both about being a married couple and about eachother. I have learned that marriage is tough, at times. Living together for the first time after we got married, we had to each learn to get used to the other's habits. I also learned and was reminded that Ryan is a guy, and most guys are a little less tidy and organized than us ladies. I had to learn that everything doesn't have to be spick and span all the time.
I also learned that marriage is so much better than I could have ever imagined. Having my husband there all the time is awesome! I love having someone to come home to, cook with, eat meals with, watch movies with, and most importantly, share my faith with! Marriage is amazing in that Ryan is always there when I need someone, whether I need to talk (he is an amazing listener), need a hug, or need a laugh.
We have learned that putting the other first is important in a marriage, and is also what Christ teaches us, as the Lord always puts all of us first! I have learned to think of Ryan's needs and tried to put them before my own, whether this is having supper ready when he gets home from work, letting him choose what's on the television, trying to keep things clean, or surprising him with cookies after he is gone for work. Ryan, in turn, is great at helping me with things around the apartment!
Finally, we have learned to take time for us in our busy lives! With both of us working a lot and with other things that keep us busy between our family and friends, we have learned to try and set time aside for the two of us! This might include a walk outside, renting a movie, going out to eat, or playing games. This time is great for both of us to just relax and enjoy each other's company!
After making it through year one, we have both grown in our marriage, but we know we have a lot of growing yet to do. We pray every day for the Lord to help us grow in our relationship with Him and with each other.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs about love by Warren Barfield, called
This past weekend, my besties from college and I spent a girls weekend in Kansas City! This trip was much needed and overdue, as all 4 of us haven't been together for over a year! I love these girls so much and when we get together, it's like we haven't missed a beat. We just pick up right where we left off, and even though we all live hours apart, we still get along great! We had some good times and good laughs...here's our trip recap!
1. Started our trip out at Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. We rode some roller coasters and enjoyed some sun in the water!
2. Headed to our hotel downtown next.
3. Thursday night, we ate out at Bar Louie and I had a delicious BBQ burger and a watermelon margarita.
4. The four of us at the restaurant.
1. Friday was our shopping day! We hit up the Legends mall, which has quite a few outlet stores, along with regular shopping too!
2. Ready to go out for the night.
3. My cute toes from our pedicures on Friday.
1. Out on the town Friday night at the Power and Light District!
2. We watched the Saving Abel concert after we ate.
3. Enjoying our jello shots, in syringes, which makes them way easier to take!
Linking up again with these lovely ladies for the "From One Year to Beyond Marriage Linkup!"
This week's topic is: Hardest Moments from the First Year
* Ryan's traveling for work - Once we got married, I got very used to Ryan being here all the time. This past year, Ryan has worked out of town a lot for work, which means he is gone for a week at a time. I definitely miss him when he is gone and wish he didn't have to leave so often.
* Adjusting to each other's habits - We've been challenged with our differences in cleaning, eating, sleeping, and TV watching. I'm a clean freak and like to put things away right away, where as Ryan would rather just wait and do it at a later date (even a week later). I would like us to eat together for meals, but have learned to compromise because sometimes we are hungry at different times. Ryan likes to sleep in, where as I would rather just get up and get things done with my day. And, we've done a pretty good job of sharing the TV and taking turns picking what we watch.
* Financials - We have both been blessed with good jobs, but we have done our best to try and save money instead of spending it. This gets very tempting at times, as we would both like to buy new things!
* Location - With both of our jobs being in separate towns, we have each had to adjust to a longer drive time to work than we would like. This also means living in a town where we don't know many people, but we are feeling more at home as time goes on.
* Pet Peeves - I know every married couple has them, but at times our pet peeves get the best of each other and send us into unneeded arguments. We are both learning that there are some things about the other that aren't going to change, but we can still try to compromise and adjust to have a happy, loving, caring, and faithful marriage!
Just wanted to share an app that I've had for awhile and have used quite a bit! Pin Point is a rewards card that gives you discounts at a number of restaurants and businesses! When you sign up, you get a welcome reward for all the places in your area. Then, each time you eat there or do business there, you get points on your card towards more discounts!
Even if you use it mainly for the welcome rewards, it's still worth it! Most of the restaurant discounts are $10 off or a free entree. How awesome is that!
If you go to their website, it's FREE to sign up and download the app! They are adding more and more places every day, so definitely go check it out!!
Linking up with Sami to share about my wonderful weekend!
Most of our weekend was spent celebrating our friends' wedding! Congrats to Justin and Jenni!
We started off the weekend by checking into our 5 star accommodations at the Cedar Motel! Let me tell you, it was a one of a kind experience with shag carpet, retro furniture, the sliding wooden door to the bathroom, and that awesome lamp! Besides the vintage look straight from the 70's, we also enjoyed the many spiders and spider webs, questionable looking sheets, and the dirty shower. Needless to say, we won't be staying here again, but we survived!
The wedding was a blast! I got to spend some time with lots of friends and my handsome husband, who was a groomsman.
We started off the weekend with rehearsal and rehearsal supper. Saturday morning, a few of us girls enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Jerry's Hilltop Cafe (those pancakes were huge).
Then came the wedding ceremony! We enjoyed the trolley ride, and luckily it wasn't too cold or raining too hard. Then we had a great time at the reception and boogied the night away!
Besides the wedding, we also got to see Ryan's nieces and nephews this weekend and both of our families, which was nice.
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend, but I am exhausted, so I'm heading to bed now! Thanks for stopping by to read about my shenanigans!
So I only tried a bite of it and it was amazing, but my friend Jenna made it and I'm going to try it out next week. It's called: Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza Casserole, check out the recipe here!
Fav Pin
How cute is this?!?
Fav Tweet
Love the show Friends!
Fav Video
Wanda Sykes was on Ellen last week, that woman is hilarious! She talks about getting older in her conversation with Ellen.
Fav Moment
Right now...because it's my 4 day weekend for work! I'm excited to spend the weekend with my husband and some friends at a wedding!
Fav Song
My favorite song this week that I've been hearing a lot on the radio and loving is "I Want Crazy" by Hunter Hayes.
I'm linking up with these 10 lovely ladies for a month of Wednesday linkups sharing love stories, advice, and other fun things about marriage! As of June 2013, all the ladies above will have been married for one year, how exciting!
We also just celebrated our one year anniversary on May 26th, so I thought it would be a fun linkup to join to share my marriage experience so far and learn from other brides also.
Week 1: Funny Moments from the First Year
* While I was showering one night, Ryan thought it would be funny to throw a pitcher of ice cold water on me. I screamed, got very cold, and then we laughed about it later. And don't worry, I returned the favor a couple months later.
* Our common tickle sessions where Ryan tickles me until I feel like I'm either going to pee my pants or I can't breathe. He is stronger than me and can always hold me down for these.
* Witnessing Ryan getting his first IV ever in the emergency room and him throwing up and passing out because of it...not funny at the time, but we laugh about it now.
* While he is driving, Ryan likes to occassionally swerve or tap the breaks. Coincidentally, it's usually when I'm try to take a drink of something, I've only spilled on myself a couple times.
* On our honeymoon, we ate at a seafood restaurant the one night. I am not a big fan of fish, so I ordered the fried fish, thinking it would be sort of like fish sticks or nuggets that were breaded and deep fat fried. Much to my surprise, when my plate came out, I got the entire fish, eyes and all, gross!
I know there are plenty more, but just can't think of some right off hand. We've definitely had our laughs throughout the first year and I know laughter is a necessity in marriage. You can't be serious all the time and it's important to be able to laugh with your husband!
Last week, I created my own new recipe (or so I think I did, although it may be on the internet out there somewhere). However, I thought it up from my own brain.
I think I'll call it...
Spicy Sausage Pasta
Ingredients:
Elbow Noodles (1 1b)
Pasta Sauce (as much as you desire)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Cut up sausage
and the special ingredient that made it super delicious:
Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Cheese
It gave the pasta a great flavor with a little kick.
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together and either bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or warm up in the microwave.
1. Friday night we went to my friend Sarah's grad party, celebrating her getting her Master's! We celebrated with some drinks and card games, it was a good time!
2. Us girls at the grad party.
3. Saturday morning Ryan and I went golfing. It was my first time out for the year, it was cold and windy, therefore it wasn't my best performance. We still had fun!
4. Saturday night, we went to the Celebrate Lincoln Festival with a couple friends, and Montgomery Gentry was the concert for the night. They put on a pretty good concert and I knew a lot of the songs.
5. Ryan and I at the concert.
6. Sunday, we finally celebrated our anniversary and went into Omaha. We did some putt-putt golfing, in which I did better than my real golfing the day before.
7. Then we enjoyed some delicious frozen yogurt!
8. I ended the evening enjoying the BEAUTIFUL day outside reading my book and relaxing.
It was a very good weekend! We got to stay home and relax, see some friends, be outside, and enjoy some time together as a couple!
And...it's JUNE...which means it's my birthday month, woohoo! Stay tuned for a birthday giveaway that me and some of the other June blogger birthday ladies may be doing!
