A hint of what's to come:

So earlier I blogged about wanting to post-blog about my wedding (among other things) and lucky for me, my amazing, talented, SIL, Twila, is going to let me show case some of her beautiful pictures, as I talk about my wedding!

Back in December Twila gave us these boxes.

The pictures don't do them justice, because they are beautiful. (Except the one B-man dropped... that one as lots of scratches all of it, and the pictures are out of order.)

There is one with all of the pictures from our rehearsal dinner, and the rehearsal, and some setting up. I was apparently making some... interesting faces, and she caught me!

There is one box with pictures from the Temple, and from our Ring Ceremony.

Then the last box is full of pictures from our reception.

I am so excited to get to share these all with you, because my wedding really was perfect, and wonderful, and I wouldn't change a thing!

If you are looking for a photographer in the NoVa area, she's the woman you're looking for! Check her out at Enchanted Light Studies!

Back Tracking: Easter in Nashville

B-man and I have been planning on visiting Nashville for a while. It was on my list of 23 things to do before I turn 23, and it was part of expanding B-man's horizons. I can now say I only have 22 things left to do, and B-man can say the furthest West (in the US) that he has been is now Nashville! We also got to see extended family, and B-man got to meet relatives that were unable to make it up for our wedding.

We arrived Friday afternoon. I love visiting my Aunt & Uncle's home. It's always so beautiful, and every one is so welcoming and kind. I don't know how we managed to draw the longest straw, but we ended up sleeping in a room that felt more like a hotel than most hotels I've stayed in.

We also snagged our own bathroom! Both were so spacious and beautiful. It definitely felt like a vacation, which is wonderful - because I was in desperate need of a comfy bed, and a bigger bathroom.

On Saturday Brandan and I made a trip to Franklin (which get's its own blog post). We did a bit of touristing, and then went back to the house for...

Some quality swim time. The pool was so nice and refreshing. See! Just like a hotel, but with better company!

After church we opened up Easter baskets! Ours was German/European themed!

My Aunt The Easter bunny also include these for me!

Because I'm One Shiny Star! I'm also a big fan of post-it notes. Yes!

Then every one had a job to do...

Some how Brandan got the best job, but I think he ended up playing video games any way. I think he really enjoyed getting to be around some guys his own age!

As people started arriving, my cousin's boyfriend decided it was a good time to try and rescue this kite... again. They had tried on Friday with little success.

So every one trounced out to the field, and with a bottle of some car fluid tied to a rope, they put in their best effort to get the kite down. It had only been there two years!

Succes...?

Nope.

Oh well... I'm sure my Aunt's dog Rocky enjoyed being out there while the fun lasted!

Then it was dinner time!

The food was delicious and the company was fantastic.

My Dad's brother's family was not able to make it up for the wedding, but they finally got to meet B-man, and I'm glad we got to see them (well... almost all of them, once of my cousin's had to work).

B-man in a food coma!

I was nervous about leaving the dogs, but everything turned out fine... better than fine! I am really glad we went! The dogs were happy to see us when we got home, but Zuko had chewed off his harness.... gah! I had bought the one that was a little more sturdy and expensive, in hopes that it would last... but apparently puppies left to their own devices will chew on ANYTHING. At least it wasn't his bed! Now he has a new, blue collar. I prefer the harness... it's like a puppy-handle!

We really did have a fabulous time though, and I'm hoping it won't be too long until we see every one again!

Life as I know it...

Hello... life has been kind of busy, but I'll try to sum things up for you.

Gretel has taken over the couch. I don't know that we will ever regain control of our furniture. Thankfully, she has also become (magically?) quite obedient, so "Go Lay Down" has her sulking into the office to lay down on her bed.

This sight kind of made me laugh. Can you guess which pillow is mine? I guess I'm kind of clingy... or cold. I start out at the wall and end up on the other side! Maybe it happens when he gets up in the morning and leaves a warm spot under the covers. Hmm... yes.

Tuesday evening B-man made dinner while I was in class. It was sweet and sour chicken, and it was delicious. Fantastic! Wonderful!!! I am so thankful for him... he did the dishes too. I'm pretty spoiled.

Today started out like this! When I bake for bake sales, I tend to go semi-homemade. I still had to mix and bake and decorate, but I didn't have to measure out all of the ingredients. Win win! For this baking event B-man bought me a cookie scooper, to make the job easier. LOVE!

I didn't get pictures of the cookies, but I did get a picture of the cupcakes. This white frosting with soft candies in it is probably my favorite frosting ever!

Once the baking was finished B-man really wanted to out to eat. His buddies from the office all went out to lunch today, and I guess he felt a bit left out. Don't have to tell me twice! We recently found this Mexican restaurant called "Cancun's" near Kroger on Chapman Hwy... best food ever, and the portions are huge. I've never finished a meal here. It's fantastic! He got the enchiladas, and I got the chimichanga!

Then we went to Lowes, and bought a garden, complete with walls, dirt, seeds, gloves and tools. It will definitely be an adventure. Now we just need to find a home for it!

The last thing we did was go to Deaf Night at Barley's. I get extra credit for it, so there really is no reason to NOT go. We didn't stay as long as we did last time. It was crowded, and kind of awkward where we were sitting... surrounded by a bunch of people who didn't know any one.

Instead we went home, watched a movie, and now I'm going to bed! <3

Pictures!

I will be the first to admit that lately, I've been kind of a bad blogger. Moody, grumpy, spastic, and a tad bit crazy. Oh well, I'm feeling much better now.

A week ago B-man and I took our first trip to the American Aldi but I was sorely disappointed. We purchased a bag of pasta, and a waffle maker. It was cheap. Why not? So on Saturday I decided to make waffles. The wells are really small, so the waffles turned out a bit... weird, and the recipe had no sugar in it, and it was kind of bland. But it looked good. Maybe I'm just a sucker for warm breakfast foods. I love the steam in the picture though!

Or at least, Zuko thought it looked good!

Oh well, the recipe was VERY close to the Ebelskiver recipe, but just not as good.

Another recent food adventure involved making pizza. But this was fast pizza. At our local grocery store they make tons of different kinds of breads, and recently I had bought some Naan, but we had not eaten it yet, and I was worried it would start molding soon... so I made Bar-B-Q chicken pizza. It was.... in a word... delicious.

I think that is all I have for tonight. This week is going to be crazy, what with all of my homework, a bake sale, and a few other activities. Then I'm planning on driving out to Nashville for the weekend. We will be leaving the puppies home for the weekend. We've hired a pet sitter, but I'm still kind of nervous. I would feel better if some one I knew was looking after them, but with two dogs I feel bad asking any one! They can be a handful sometimes. After this week, and weekend are over... I'll be a hop, skip, and jump away from GRADUATING!!!!

And now I will stop playing with my food.

Dragons and Skating

So yesterday, after all of my cultural events, B-man and I went out for a few social activities. First we went to the movies.

B-man had never seen old city Knoxville, so it was a nice little walk. We met up with a friend of mine from UT, and a bunch of his friends to see the movie "How to Train Your Dragon." It was so cute and funny, I would highly recommend it.

Then it was time to drive to north Knoxville, where my friend Jamie was having a birthday party! To celebrate, Jamie invited people out to "Skatetown" so do a bit of roller skating, or roller blading. We went with the first choice.

I've done plenty of activities where you strip things to your feet and go. Roller skating, roller blading, ice skating, skiing, and snowboarding. So, I tied on the skates and got to orienting myself (it had been a while since I'd used roller skates, but the idea's pretty much the same as skiing.).

B-man on the other hand, tied on his skates, then hugged the wall. I was torn between roller skating, and walking on wheels with my darling husband. I alternated.

Then, all of a sudden, these kids came out of nowhere!

There was one... then two...

Then he amassed this group of kids. His personal tutor being the girl right behind him. She said cute things like:

"You'll never learn to skate if you're hanging onto that wall!"

and

"Take the training wheels off, and get out here!"

Too cute.

Then this group really had big plans for him. Especially the girl on the right. After getting him off the wall she says "now let's pick up the speed!"

Ha!

The evening was fun, and entertaining... until I fell while waiting on B-man, and I felt the pain shoot from my buttocks, all the way up to my neck. Then I decided it was time to stop. Funny enough, as we're sitting taking our skates off, B-man says:

"I think I want to learn how to skate..."

Hmm... we'll see how that works out.

A more successful baking endeavor.

Because of my recent failed attempts at baking, I decided to do something a little more tried a true, so that I could feel successful. The answer? Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! Yep! Now, my cookies don't usually make it to cookie form, usually the dough just gets stuck in the fridge and eaten... but b-man wanted actual cookies... so I did end up baking them.

Step 1: You'll need 2 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 sticks of butter (softened), 1 tsp vanilla, and about a cup of chocolate chips!

Step 2: Mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl.

Step 3: In a larger bowl, mix the sugars, and butter.

Step 4: Keep mixing...

Step 5: Until it looks like this!

Step 6: Then add two eggs!

Step 7: After the eggs are fully incorporated, start adding the dry ingredients a little bit at a time.

Step 8: Once you've added in all of the flour mixture, be sure not to break your favorite spatula drying to stir in the chocolate chips!

Step 9: Thoroughly incorporate the chocolate chips. I tend to add less than most people, because I prefer the dough over the chips. Adjust to preference.

Step 10: Bake for 8 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve with milk.

This was a much more successful baking spree. Yeah!!!!

Fail...

Yesterday was a rough day. But thankfully I have some good friends to see me through. Plus, I got to go on a lunch date with Amy! She is the sweetest gal I ever met, and so positive. A good person to be around if you would rather be sulking and seething.

We went to McAllister's. Good stuff.

_______________________________

Today I wanted to cross something off of my list of 23 things to do. Here is my adventure:

Step 1: Find Clay Pot that your mother-in-law gifted you for your wedding. Check.

Step 2: Find Recipe. Check

Step 3: Collect Ingredients. Check.

Step 4: Soak clay pot. Check!

Step 5: Stop working because husband fed dog, and there's no room. Check.

Step 9: Line pot with parchment paper.

Step 6: Mix flour, salt, and tiny bit o' lard until crumbly. Check!

Step 7: Heat milk, then add sugar. Check.

Step 8: Add yeast. Wait 15 minutes.

Step 10: Cry when yeast refuses to work. FOUR TIMES...

Step 11: Give Up.

Step 12: Make Cinnamon Rolls.

Now, to be honest... the cinnamon rolls weren't very good either. I didn't really cry. I just got really upset. I may or may not try again next week.