reacting in weakness

oh how i need grace a lot! from our God. from my friends. my family, especially my husband.

Martin and i have been married for a little over 6 months now and i am learning soo much! Sometimes i get sooo overwhelmed with irritation, or anger, or frustration, or just that my insecurities get the best of me in that moment.
I have said things that i am not proud of.. and most definitely would NEVER repeat. And like clockwork 3 minutes after those words have left my mouth.. i feel the remorse. The sadness that is in my heart because i have tore down my husband with what i have said.
Life and death ARE in the power of the tongue. (proverbs 18:21) and i want to give my husband life and not death!

"And He said, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.'...."

2 Corinthians 12:9

My shortcomings make me sooo glad that i have that grace. That God has given me that kind of grace. I am NOT perfect. I am weak... but in that weakness God's strength is perfect. At times when i fall and stumble i am blessed that i have a God who will reach out His hand for me to grab and get back up. 

I am also blessed that i have a husband who can extend the grace i need from him when i am found in that weakness as well. 

At times i do need to just take that extra 3 seconds... breathe... remember who i am, recall how i want to treat my husband (or a friend, or a waitress, or someone cutting me off in traffic) and respond in love instead of react in weakness. 

This is my prayer:

Lord, thank you for Your grace. Thank you that it is more then enough for me. Father, i pray that when a moment arises where i am about to react in weakness instead of respond in love that i can take a moment and remember who You have called me to be. God, i pray that i can offer this same type of grace to the people around me (especially my loving husband) when they need it. Be my perfect strength. Holy Spirit, guide me. I pray for wives and husbands to discover the grace that is available to them and that they can just yield to you and not have to be stuck feeling weak, because we have a strong God living inside of us. 

In Jesus Name. - AMEN!

grace, and responding in love. - Monica

♥ . ♥ . ♥ 

forgiveness

Well.. last night was a not-so-smiley moment for me. I even shock myself sometimes with my behavior.

I got home from work and my husband intended to be sweet and welcomed me home from my long 8 hour day of work. Insecurities, anxiety, and just plain tiredness overwhelmed me and i started an argument with my husband. Not my proudest moment.

This morning... after "sleeping it off" i woke up in complete shame and mostly embarrassment for the way i reacted. We BOTH apologized for not handling the situation better and it opened up to some beautiful discussion between the two of us.

I am soo glad that i am in a marriage where we can overcome. Overcome an argument. Overcome our pride. Overcome hurt feelings. We can still forgive time and time again because we are forgiven.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. 

Ephesians 4:32

I am thankful to the Lord DAILY that He has forgiven my sins (and the sins to come). I am an imperfect person but He still loves me. And i am an imperfect wife but my husband still loves me (and i love him). We are still learning and growing and i am sooo thankful that we get to do it together.

My prayer for today:
God, thank You for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I am a sinner and i and soo thankful for Jesus dying on the cross to wash me clean. You see me as clean and pure. Father, thank you for a husband who can forgive the way that You forgive and teach me to do this also. Speak to my heart and help me to learn more and more about forgiveness. Lord, give me eyes to see my husband the way that you see him and give him eyes to see me the way that you see me. Help us to grow more in love with each other and to You.
In Jesus Name - AMEN!

forgiveness and love. - Monica
♥ . ♥ . ♥

blog thoughts & 40 days fast

Happy Monday to you all!!! :)

I have recently discovered a beautiful blog last week. Unveiled Wife is a blog dedicated to encouraging and uplifting wives and wives-to-be. The author, Jennifer, writes beautiful and powerful prayers for soo many marital circumstances and situations. Her life story is real and out there for everyone to read. She is truly an inspiration to me.

I love to document fun recipes and the cute stuff my new husband and i are doing... but above all else, beyond the recipes, pictures of my every day life, and little updates i hope to be inspiring. To uplift. To encourage. To brighten people's day. To be real and raw no matter the cost. To show love and kindness.

My blog is like my journal... rejoicing in the happy moments and contending in the not-so-smiley times. After all, i am a woman who cries when i am sad (or mad). Who laughs so hard at times that my side hurts. I am a girl who makes up phrases and chooses alternatives to cuss words.
I just hope that with the words that i write... even if it is one person who reads it... that the person on the other side feels the hope that is inside my heart.
So laugh along with me... even cry when the moment needs it... but in everything feel inspired.  Inspired to not be ashamed of who you are. Encouraged to be proud of the person God made you.

I am starting a 40 day fast inspired by Unveiled Wife. I will be fasting coffee (and espresso) and all sweets. I will be contending for my friend's, family's, and for my own marriage to be Christ-centered, to fall even more incredibly in love with Jesus, for me and my husband to realize our calling and identity, and for complete restoration to God and to each other in broken marriages that surround me. If any one is interested please feel free to join me!
Read the inspiration for the 40 day fast here. Also, if you need prayer for anything please comment below and let me know. (:

wives learning from other wives, more inspiration, and love. - Monica
♥ . ♥ . ♥

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas is almost here!!! Hooray!!!

These are my Santa jacket-inspired nails for Christmas... except.... being a busy little wife... they got all messed up. hehe

I have been very busy with work.. and hanging out with my husband. I have had a few days off and i have just been enjoying some much needed quality time with my hubby. :) Its been nice.

Tomorrow is Christmas eve and we are going to my in-laws for the Christmas celebration. Its crazy because last year is when my love proposed to me.

Its amazing how fast a year can go by and how much can change. Now we have been married for 4months! To think that a year ago today i had NO idea... where i would be today. haha. And the same goes for next year. I have no idea where i will be next Christmas... or what i will be doing. hehe.
Life is amazing and God is good! That has been my focus for the past few days. My hunger and passion are stirred up. Maybe its because of this Christmas season... but i pray i keep the Christmas spirit all the days of my life.

I have no idea where i will be next Christmas, next year, or even next month. But i do know that i am a child of God and He says that my footsteps are ordered.
He says that I have a future full of hope. (Jer 29:11). He says that when i am tired and weary that He will carry my burden (Matt 11:28-29). He says that i will find my strength in Him and not get weary (Isaiah 40:29-31). God will always supply my needs. (Phil 4:19). He tells us that ABSOLUTELY NOTHING will separate us from His powerful love (Romans 8:37-39). God will give us peace when we need it (John 14:27). AND... God has freely given me the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. (Romans 6:23).  I will walk by faith forever and believe and trust His promises.

Since i will probably not write before Christmas day... Merry Christmas! Sending you lots of love and lovely smiles from my house to yours!

peace, joy, goodwill to men, and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

relaxing with my curly hair.

Well it has been a week since the Lovely Little Perk-Up Challenge started. I know i didnt do a great job with the whole pictures thing. Its hard when i am working... hehe... since i am just in my uniform. i promise to get better.

Yesterday was church and my handsome hubby and i decided to dress up a little. He wore slacks, a nice shirt, and a sweater... and i wore a dress with some leggings (since it is FREEZING! ).

Church was really great and i feel like everytime we go..i love it more! :) With Christmas only a week away they talked about the spirit and meaning of Christmas. I loved it!

We can tend to forget the TRUE meaning of Christmas when we are running around, shopping, preparing to cook, trying to get together with family, and working to get all the extra holiday cash. There are parties, cards, gifts, long lines, wrapping, busy stores and everything else that can get in the way of us remembering the meaning of Christmas in the first place - Our Savior's birth. So the pastor had us remember to take joy in the birth of Christ and all that it means. Our salvation. Our entire faith is based upon the birth of Jesus. (: So.. remember that when you are running around with the holiday fever! Remember to take a moment and give praise to God for sending His son.

After church we rushed home and i got RIGHT into comfy, warm clothes! It was been sooo cold lately. Sunny... but cold. So i looked like this:

It was kinda funny with my fancy curly hair... in my fuzzy hello kitty pj pants and a loose sweatshirt. 

curly hair, wearing dresses for an hour, and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

spicy chicken

On the menu for this lovely Thursday day off: homemade buffalo chicken strips! yummy for my hubby's tummy!!!

So.. what we have in the freezer (meat wise) is either chicken breast of steak. Since i am still learning a lot about cooking different dishes (and we still have a LIMITED amount of ingredients in the house) sometimes it is hard to figure out what to cook. Today we decided to use the Franks Hot Sauce that my husband bought.
Excuse me now for the not accurate measurements... i found a recipe but didn't have all the ingredients so i just went with it. hehe.

I took my chicken breast and cut it in little strips (not too thick). I made a mixture of flour and italian bread crumbs. (1 part to 1 part) I added about 2 tsp of garlic salt, uh... maybe like 1/2 tbsp of paprika, and some pepper. i took 2 eggs and wisked them... dipped the chicken in the egg and then coated with the mixture.

I heated up some oil in a frying pan and place about 5 chicken strips at a time in it. I cooked it for about... 5 minutes on each side.

Then i grabbed my Franks hot sauce and heated it in the micro for about 1 minute.

After the chicken was all nice and cooked i put them in the Hot Sauce.

I cooked the rest and soaked them in the very spicy sauce and served to my hubby! hehe. :)

My husband said they are his new favorite and is looking forward to them for football Sunday. hehe

I am not a HUGE spicy lover.... so i made some of the chicken strips and did not put them in the Frank's.. and i just dipped them in barbeque sauce. They were still really good chicken strips! :)

It was a very quick, easy, delicious dinner with not a lot of ingredients. The flour mixture in the recipe called for more spices then what i had (no breadcrumbs, garlic powder [i only had garlic salt], and cayenne pepper), but it was still delicious! Its one of those recipes that you could have changed or switched out ingredients. Which is sooo helpful for me in my not-so-stocked kitchen.

Dessert was ice cream. yummy! :) We needed something cool for our hot mouths! hehe.

spiciness, easy dinners, and love. - M

♥ . ♥. ♥

his hobbies are now mine too.

Hobbies. Interests. Likes.
These have been on my mind lately. As a new wife... i am 1) getting a whole new list of hobbies and interests (mainly cooking meals and "nesting") and 2) learning to enjoy some new hobbies.

It is soo wonderful because my husband really enjoys spending time with me. Its great because my love language is quality time and touch. My all-time favorite thing to do with my loved ones would be to enjoy a cup of coffee and just talk... about anything really. Some of my friends and i can spend HOURS just catching up on our lives, laughing, relating, processing, and enjoying each other. It really is the thing that can delight my heart the most.

Now... i am realizing that guys (well at least the one i married) doesn't REALLY like to chit chat over a  latte. he he. But he has a different idea of what "quality time" looks like.
I have mentioned before that my husband has recently bought the Madden 2012 game for his Xbox. Well.. he LOVES for me to sit and watch him play. Not just sit by him.. but actually WATCH him and CHEER him on. Granted, at times i do grab our laptop check out Pinterest from time to time... even catch up on reading my blogs..... but what i have noticed in my last 2 days off... is that it truly gives my husband great joy that i am getting interested in one of his hobbies. I am investing my time into an activity that my husband enjoys and that makes him feel loved... which makes me feel great!

Its important in relationships to take part in the other person's hobbies, activities, and things they enjoy. Its fun and can continue to have the two of you grow closer together!

So grab your spouse, your mom, your roommate, your friends, or sibling and do something THEY enjoy. You may not particularly LIKE it... but love is selfless... and this is one way of showing it! (:

new activities, video games with hubby, and love. -M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

this is how our sundays go sometimes

This Sunday i woke up late for church. :( i was really looking forward to church this week... luckily our church streams the sermons live so we were still able to watch it. ALSO... i woke up at 9am! So its not like i woke up SUPER late... but hubby and i intended to go to early service (which is at 8:30am). Hopefully next week!

The good thing is that we got to eat a homecooked breakfast... instead of a bagel on the go. I cooked my husband bacon and eggs! :) We had oven-baked bacon. (cook at 400 degrees for about 15 or so minutes)

i lined my baking pan with foil.. so that the clean up was easier on me.

We also had cheeeessyyyyy scrambled eggs.

I worked my magic in the kitchen wearing my oh-so-cute polka dot apron that i bought at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. i LOVE aprons.. so i really want to buy more!

I just love how girly this one is... with the little ruffles at the bottom. hehe. too cute!

This was my husband as i cooked.... playing xbox live. The ONLY thing we bought at Black Friday (which.. i guess really my mother-in-law bought it for my husband for Christmas. hehe) was the Madden 2012 football game for Xbox. It was originally $60 on sale for $28! So... my husband has been playing it NONSTOP since then!

But we ate some deliciousness before we watched our sermon on our laptop.

One of our Pastors spoke on breakthrough and the process before you get breakthrough in an area. It was very encouraging! So... for the rest of the day we have just been relaxing and spending time together. My husband is still playing his Xbox live and i am still in my pjs as i type this. hehe.

relaxing sundays, yummy breakfasts, and love. -M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

decking the halls

My husband and i had a wonderful little Thanksgiving just the two of us on Wednesday... followed by Thanksgiving day at my father-in-law's mom's house with the in laws! :)

Tuesday we took out Hank (our tHANKsgiving turkey) at 3pm to defrost for the next day. I guess we missed the surgeon generals warning about defrosting a turkey at room temperature. Apparently you can get food poisoning and even death. We missed that memo. Wednesday morning (after the turkey had been sitting out for a whole 16 hours in the kitchen) my husband read the fine print on the packaging of the bird that said NOT to defrost at room temperature. Needless to say we did NOT eat it. Although our family were saying it was probably fine since it was completely frozen when we took it out...  but we weren't willing to attempt it.

Also Wednesday my sister, niece, and nephew came to visit for a little while. It was great... because i havn't been able to visit in a couple of months! My nephew is 4 and he keeps getting taller and taller!!! :) My niece is gonna be 18 in 2 weeks and she is sooo gorgeous! I love hearing about all her high school stuff and of course boy drama. haha. My husband and i got to have lunch with them and visit for awhile. She also brought me her old Christmas tree! :)
We went to the store to get ANOTHER baby Hank (well just a breast roast actually) and some pie. After 3 short little hours we were eating our very little Thanksgiving dinner.

rolls are not pictured. hehe.

It wasn't much... but it was good for just us two. :) We also had some dutch applie pie. (side note: we bought a cherry pie at the same time... and we put it in the refrigerator instead of the freezer. well... there was red cherry juice all over our food last night! uh oh!)

Before dinner we decided to decorate our cute little tree. So i ran to the Walmart store to grab some little Christmas bulbs. 

The tree already came with lights... which was sooo nice! We put the bulbs all around the tree and i had previously bought my husband 3 little ornaments for his favorite football team. I also bought a gold star to go on top of the tree. 

Our tree is 6 ft tall... so i let my hubby put the star on! See that little sock monkey ornament?! He is soo cute! hehe. 

Here is our finished product! 

I am soooo pleased with it! It really is the perfect size for us! :) Now we just need to get some stockings! hehe. 

Last night we went and had Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws. It was really nice to have all of us together. :) Then we watched the big 49er game. We lost and my hubby wasn't to happy. hehe. 

Christmas decorations, lots of turkey, and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

what the chicken tacos?

Wow! This week went by really fast.
I adore having my hubby home now. (: I have been practicing my wifey skills with cooking and cleaning (everyday.... when he was out of town working it was always "clean-up friday" since he would come home on Saturdays.).

Last weekend was our first Halloween together (last year we were apart while he was in So Cal for school). We stayed at the house and watched movies. hehe... we are sooo adventurous, huh? We didn't even have trick-or-treaters (which was a disappointment to me..  i love cute little costumes.)
This year was my nephew's FIRST year dressing up EVER (& he is almost 5), so it was a big deal! He was
"robot bumblebee".

my sister said that he wore it all night and the next morning.

I can't wait to dress up my future little kids in super cute costumes. (: I have found some cute ones on Pinterest that i like. (has anyone else noticed that the start of a lot of conversation are now starting or ending with "i found it on pinterest").

this is soo clever and adorable. 

i ADORE this! hehe.

ahh... (: Someday. (:

Also this week i discovered an amazing dinner that i have made twice this weekend (per my hubby's request)  The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tacos . Okay, seriously these were soooo good! I made them last night for my sister-in-law and my husband. I started with boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut it into little pieces.  And cooked it in the pan with olive oil.

We seasoned our chicken with Chicken Taco seasoning and peppercini juice. (my husband pronounces it "pepper-see-knee" i say "pepper-chee-knee". lol. We are in a debate.)

After the chicken is done and cooked... you set it aside and grab a corn tortilla. And this is where it is deliciously unique. You put the chicken IN the corn tortilla and put the whole taco in a pan with about an inch of oil and fry it!

Hold the taco with the tongs until it fries in the taco shape and then flip it over to the other side while you do another.

Once both sides are nice and crispy... take it out and wrap a paper towel over it to get the excess oil out. Put yummy cheese in them immediately so that it gets all melty! yum!

Then.. just put your toppings.. lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, hot sauce. (: and enjoy!

I was soo proud of them and they were soo yummy! (:

Today (of course) is football Sunday and my Sis-in-law came over for the game too. (:

delicious food, cute costumes, fun time with friends, and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

Football Sunday

My wonderful husband is home this weekend again. (: I love it when he is home.

Sundays are football days at our house. My husband is a lifelong 49er fan... and with me being his Mrs. i am a 49er fan as well.

I have always loved cute food! hehe. The first day that i met my husband's family  was on St. Patrick's Day. So.. OF COURSE i brought over green mint chocolate chip cookies. My sister has always been a pro with making beautiful, interesting, and totally scrumptious food. (just look at my bridal shower .)

Well, i have been finding some recipes on pinterest that fit the beautiful, interesting, and scrumptious checklist. I figured that Football Sunday would be the perfect day to try. (:

We got up Sunday morning and watched ibethel.tv and listened to a sermon from Kris V.  He talked about how everything that we do.. there is something that we are NOT doing.. and to pay attention  to what we are NOT doing. It was really good!

 Then it was time for the game.. and for me to cook. (:
The first thing i decided to make was pizza rolls. It was sooo easy! (which is also on this new bride's checklist)


Pizza Rolls:
2 can refrigerated pizza crust (i got pillsbury)
Garlic salt
Italian Seasoning
1 cup sliced pepporoni
1 cup shredded cheese (we used a pack of mozzarella and parmesan)
1/2 cup parmesan (which i just noticed i didnt use lol)
Ragu Sweet Basil Sauce for dipping

- Preheat oven to 425
- Dust a large cutting board or wax paper with flour and roll out pizza crust.
- Season each crust with garlic salt and italian seasoning
- Top with cheese and meat
- Starting with a short end, roll crust into a tight log.
- Place on a lightly greased pan and bake for 10-12 minutes
- Serve with Ragu Sweet Basil Sauce

See.. it is sooo easy!

Pizza dough with the seasonings.

Pizza log. 

Finished the pizza rolls.. and my husband loved them!

For dessert i made Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries! Also found on Pinterest. (: i got this recipe from The Sweets Life Blog.)

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries:
 1 lb large strawberries
 8 oz (1 cup) softened cream cheese (i used the whipped kind .. it was easier to work with)
 3 tbsp powdered sugar (4 tbsp for a sweeter filling)
 1 tsp vanilla extract
 graham cracker crumbs

- Rinse strawberries and cut the top of the strawberries off. Pit the middle with a paring knife. Prep all strawberries and set aside. 
- In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. Put the mixture in a piping bag or ziplock with the corner cut off. 
- Fill strawberries with the mixture and dip the tops in the graham cracker crumbs. If not serving immediately, put in refrigerator until ready to enjoy. 


Also incredibly easy and absolutely delicious!

pitted strawberries.

The mixture was soo good! We only did 3 tbsp powdered sugar.

They were so so good!

  i was very very pleased with all that i made and with our day. (:

football games, delicious food, and love. - M

oohhh stains. :(

Officially i HATE  highly dislike stains!

The other day my husband and i were hanging out in the living room, watching tv and enjoying deliciousness to drink.  i had a scrumptious 1 pump vanilla pumpkin spice latte while he drank a triple shot extra caramel iced caramel machiatto (ya.. we are one of THOSE people at Starbucks. lol).

Now... here is something you need to know before i go on with this rant  story. My couch is a 3-sitter, and one end table is on my husband's "side" and the other round coffee table is in the middle. The counter is on "my side" and sometimes can feel as wide and tall as a red wood tree! The couch is pretty short... and i am short... and reaching to the counter is like trying to put my coffee on the moon!

Well.. the other day when we were hanging out.. i decided to put my little cup of loveliness on the ground beside me (i know.. i know.. you are thinking "oh no!" right about now). Okay, so I knew where i had carefully placed my cup of Starbucks... but i did not mention this vital information to my husband.... so he got up to do something... and i am still not EXACTLY sure what happened... but the next thing i notice, my coffee is soaked into the rug. oh dang!
My husband and i kinda just looked down and laughed as he said "well, there goes the deposit." hehe. When asked why i didn't put it on the counter OR the coffee table i responded with a "it was to far", which i felt was a justifiable excuse. Not sure if my hubby agreed. hehe.

Not to worry though! Ba da da DAA.. Pinterest to the rescue! Luckily for us (and our apartment deposit) i remembered pinning a stain remover to my board.

So i started mixing up a concoction of dawn soap and hydrogen peroxide (after running to the store for it... cuz really.. what newlywed HAS hydrogen peroxide in their house). I poured the soapy goodness on the stain and waited... and waited... aanndd waited ... AND waited! After awhile (and about 5 barefoot accidental steps later) i noticed that maybe it wasn't working as well as i thought it would... and it was awfully soapy. I looked back to my pinboard and noticed it was 1 part dawn to TWO parts hydrogen peroxide.. i did one to one. I whipped up another batch and tried again. Its lighter... but still there. I let it dry today while i am at work.. and i am going to try again tonight. I hope it works! lol

powerful stain removers, pinterest, and love. - M

The plans for you.

My wonderful husband is home this weekend.. but he is working. boo! Today he had to work at 7:30, so i got up made not-strong-enough coffee and prepared his lunch. (at first i didn't put enough water in the coffee pot so i put more in... and it ended up being to much. hehe. )

I read somewhere (in the plenty of Christian pre-marital books that i own now) about a wife who made her husband lunch everyday and left a little note with a bible verse in it. Of course romance and spirituality melt my heart so i thought that i would maybe start this. (:

Today i made my husbands lunch while he was still sleeping (or at least laying in bed.. because i DOUBT he was sleeping with me making noise in the kitchen). I wrote a simple little note in there BUT my mind went BLANK on a verse.. and i didnt want to go to my bible in the room... because i wanted it to be a surprise. The ONLY verse i could think of was Jeremiah 29:11... but it seems like such a common, over-used verse. But the more i thought about it.. the more i realized that the verse is PERFECT!

"For i know the plans i have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Its powerful, right? Currently my husband works sooooo hard at a job that is not exactly his dream job. I am soo overly proud of him and all that he does. And i trust God that this is in His plan. The Bible tells our family that He has a plan for us... to prosper us.. to give us hope.. when we feel hopeless. We can't always see the entire plan... but i trust the Lord that it is a plan to not harm me and to give me a wonderful future. (:

My encouragement to everyone is that although we cant see the whole picture.. the Lord is at work. And when we feel down, and beat, and like there is no hope in our future... focus on this verse... really think about the meaning. We hear this verse all around and at every single graduation! But keep it in focus.. especially when your life feels like there is no way out and we have no hope - God is working out His plan for us. (:

bright futures, new found hope, and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

Rain, rain dont go away...

... the sun can come back another day.

It is Autumn! (: i love it!!! I love the crisp air, scarves, boots, and warm sweaters. Yesterday and the day before it rained and i was overjoyed because my husband was off of work. (:

TODAY....... we woke up to sun. i wanted to cry... or throw a fit! I am off work today... and i was looking forward to a thunderstorm and cuddling up to my husband. BUT he is working... so i am at the house watching Say Yes To The Dress. hehe. oh well... the season is almost over.

I was talking to my husband yesterday about how when he is home (since he is usually only home for the weekends) i feel like it should be like the honeymoon.. where we just hang out and don't do anything. haha. I am excited for this new season where we REALLY get to  learn to do life together. Right now when he is home.. i dont want to do anything, not eve work. haha. But... that isnt real life!

Real life is getting up and going to work and coming home and having dinner together... sleeping.. and getting up and doing the same thing. Real life is paying bills. Running errands. Cleaning the house. Reading our bibles. Going to church. Hanging with friends. Being with family. (: THAT is real life! hehe. Its gonna be fun to do this all with him.

Marriage is learning to go from MY life to OUR life. (:

On a side note: God is opening my  heart to people. My heart is yearning to help people. i am not sure what it will look like but i am sooo glad that God has given me this compassion again.

More rain, compassion, and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

pasta for a week.

Well its 10:00pm on Saturday night and i am sitting in my apartment watching a marathon of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on Food Network.

Yup, my husband couldn't come home tonight after all. They did not get off work until after 6pm and they are 5 hours away and were too tired to drive home. :( So... (hopefully) he will be home tomorrow.

Before i knew if he was coming home or not i decided to cook dinner that i knew he would like and that would last even if he didn't come home until super late. I made delicious bow tie pasta with chicken, broccoli and alfredo sauce. It was very good but i think  know that i maybe went a little overboard.

I have a lot of left overs! I dont think i will need to cook for awhile. hehe.

oh well... at least no matter when or what time my husband comes home... there is PLENTY of food here for him!

I have ALOT of respect for people who are in a constant long distance marriage (with spouses who travel for work, military, and school). This is sooo much harder then i thought it would be. I mean we did long distance while we were dating... but it SOOO much harder now that we are married. He has been gone for 8 days... i cant imagine those wives who cant see their husbands for 8 months! My heart goes out to all of you.

Also.. i soaked my fingernails in acetone nailpolish for an ENTIRE 30 minute show... and i FINALLY got all my fake nails off (from my wedding!). hooray!! They look TERRIBLE... but i am glad they are off!

pasta, needing a manicure, and love - M

♥. ♥ . ♥

he's coming home!

My husband has been gone for a week for work now and he will be home on Saturday!

I am OVERJOYED! i cannot wait to see him! i am planning a delicious meal of chicken alfredo and dutch apple pie!!!

I work today... and then i have two days off to clean and cook by the time he comes home.


I sure am learning that "absence makes the heart grow fonder". hehe.

I am off to work... which i am enjoying because then i don't focus on how much i miss my husband.

absence, homecoming, and love - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥

His Mrs. (:

Well, it finally came! I am happily his beloved wife!!! (:

The rehearsal went sooo well! Everyone was there to help and set up all the tables and linens. (: We practiced how the ceremony would generally go.. and i didnt get emotional. (:

The wedding day was absolutely perfect!
We got up super early and had breakfast at the hotel and immediately started getting ready. I got my hair done first and i LOVED the end result! The inbetween was a little funny. hehe. (she curled all of my hair and pinned it all over my hair).

I got my makeup done at the MAC counter and it was soo fun! i had never done that before and i loved it! i got fake lashes and everything! (:

After my sis-in-law and i were done getting beautified at MAC we decided to go to In n Out and get some delicious food before the ceremony. I had NEVER seen In n Out that busy before! There was a drive thru line out to the street and like 300 people inside!!! We were waiting for ever! My hair was all done and my make up was applied and i was in pjs! lol. We had to be at the ceremony site at 1pm to get take pics and put our dresses on and it was like noon! We FINALLY got our food (after i silently commanded that I was the bride!) and left to the ceremony site.

yummy in-n-out!

We ate our food and put our dresses on. We took TONS of pics in the heat outside! Then we were rushed into the room so that i couldn't see my groom before walking down the aisle. While waiting, me and my girls were spying on our guests while they walked in with excitement!

the flower girl and i looking outside.

 
An hour or so later it was time to line up.

My girls walked down... then the ring bearer and flower girl and i was FINALLY allowed to get out of the little room. My two brothers met me in the hallway and i joked that i needed to pee. We started laughing and giggling until... i could see my groom waiting for me. I walked down the aisle with tears swelling in my eyes trying my hardest to not look at the guests surrounding me. I just locked eyes with my groom and walked towards him. My brothers lovingly gave me away and i was then joined with my groom. (: We had a BEAUTIFUL ceremony with wonderful words, gorgeous music, and beautiful communion. i loved every minute of it!

We were announced Mr. and Mrs. and we walked outside. (: We took AMAZING pictures with our bridal party and then took absolutely STUNNING pictures of just him and i. i cannot wait to get them all.

this is us walking back in the reception being announced husband and wife.

We had a very fun reception with dinner and dancing and all of our guests enjoyed themselves. (:

NOW... we have been married almost 3 weeks and it has been soo fun! I am enjoying getting to know my new husband even more. We are excited for what God has planned for our new life together.

New beginnings and love. - M

♥ . ♥ . ♥