Beyond the vows

(Image by Fort Mill Photography)

We've only been married for five months and already we're living up to several of the commitments in our vows. One of the most important being "for richer, for poorer." Robert has been working seasonal jobs when given the opportunity and I've been trying to do what I can to build a post-college career. Yet on top of our financial concerns, these last two weeks have tested us on another important part of our vows- "in sickness and in health."

I have a chest/throat infection because of my severe allergies (or at least, that's the latest theory). I've been in and out of the doctor's for the entire two weeks, but when I finally received antibiotics and steroids, my symptoms just got worse. My throat felt more swollen and sore than before and I could barely swallow soup. The fact that my chest was tight and I couldn't breathe well resulted in a few emergency calls to the doctor, and a trip to several pharmacies to get allergy medicine- just in case I was having an allergic reaction to the pills. While I'm still feeling low today, stopping the medications has helped, and I feel like I can breathe a little easier.

Throughout the night Robert was by my side. I usually fall asleep on the couch while he plays video games, but if he wakes me up to go to bed, I get chills and feel faint. So he offered to sleep in the living room with me. When I fell asleep on the small, uncomfortable couch cushions, he fetched my pillows and made sure I slept comfortably. Better yet, he stayed up the entire night to keep watch over my symptoms. I learned this morning he was awake until 7am making sure I wasn't have an allergic reaction.

While our first year has started out rough, we've worked through our trails and become stronger for it. When I've been at my worst, Robert has shown me that he's there to love and support me like any good husband would. Maybe our situation has been rough, but at least I have a husband I can rely on. Someone who takes the words in our vows and lives by them in our marriage. We'll probably experience many other trails and tribulations during our first year, but we have each other, and for that I know we'll be okay.

Celebrity freebies: yes or no?

My favorite magazine (The Nest) left me thinking about an interesting question; would you allow your boyfriend or spouse a celebrity freebie?

I believe my answer to this question is one of the reasons Robert and I got together in the first place. He has quite the crush on Jessica Alba and I have given him the hall pass if any such occasion were to arise. I know it never will which is probably why I'm so okay with it. The fact that she is a celebrity and so unobtainable makes me feel as though I would understand why he did it. However, that is because I know it isn't even a possibility, so how would I really feel if it was?



(Image source: http://www.starshub.com/1024x768/jessica_alba_006.htm)

Hubby returned the favor too, but bless his heart, my list is a little longer. Actually narrowing my choice down to one would be quite a challenge. Would I choose Dane Cook, Jim Carrey, or Timothy Olyphant? That makes me sound awful, doesn't it?



(Image source: ones2watch4.com)

However, the truth is, given the opportunity, I wouldn't go for it. The fact of the matter is while my hottie list is nice to look at, none of them will ever equal what Robert means to me. The attraction just isn't enough to spur a one night stand because I already have everything I want.

What do you say. . . would you go for it given the opportunity?

Tasty Tuesday: Wake-up wonton cups

This Sunday I managed to actually cook something- albeit a small something. My mother in law actually recommended this recipe to me and I couldn't help trying to make something so cute! The recipe called for scrambled eggs and tomatoes as the ingredients (in order to make it healthy), but since Robert doesn't eat tomatoes, I changed my recipe from the source. . . as I always do!

Wake-Up Wonton Cups
Source: Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook (the new edition)
Makes: 12 cups



Ingredients:

4 eggs
Jimmy Deans breakfast sausage meat (it comes in a roll/tube)
Wonton wrappers
1/4 green pepper
Tostitos Chunky Salsa: mild

Method:

The first thing I did was chop up the pepper. I only needed a 1/4 of a green pepper, and I cut the slices very thin because the cups are so small.

Next, spray a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray, place the wonton cups delicately into the cups, and spray those with cooking spray also. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and once heated, place into the oven for roughly 10-12 minutes. This will make the cups crispy, however, I followed the recipe completely and haven't attempted to make them softer yet.

While the cups are baking, start cooking the sausage and peppers in the pan. While leaving them to simmer, break four eggs into a separate bowl and beat until there is a consistent yellow color throughout. Once the sausage/pepper mix is well cooked, add the eggs and keep sifting them about to create scrambled eggs.

For an aesthetically pleasing picture, I probably should have cooked my sausage mix and scrambled eggs separately. But in the end, it was all going in the same cup.

If you cut your peppers first, your sausage/scramble mix and cups should be done around the same time. Remove from oven, let cool, and scoop mixture into the cups. Add salsa for dressing.


There was a general agreement that the recipe was good, but the cups were too crispy. I've received lots of advice on how to make the cups a little softer, so next time I try them, I'll let you know how it goes.

A snapshot of newly married bliss

This weekend has had its ups and downs. We ran into some unexpected financial troubles, and I've been feeling under the weather and trying to do very little. However, doing very little involved decorating the bonus room in my parent's house. Since my car troubles hit our savings account, we're having to stay at home a little longer than planned. As such, my parents are letting us use their bonus room as our sitting area. We haven't done a lot yet, but it already has a touch of us.

Robert moved his entertainment center to our new living room, and we redecorated the couch with a black cover, adding magenta cushions for a pop of color ($4.98 each from Target). Even more exciting, we finally got to put up our American wedding gallery. Apparently this took me three hours and it still has a few wonky areas. I think I should have held off putting the gallery up until I felt better. As for now, I'll fix the odd areas when I've rested.




(The I Do was actually a part of our wedding decor. We used the letters to accent our cake table)

It was interesting to work on a decorating project with hubby too. We've never built anything together or tried to shape a room, but today he gave me his expertise on putting my gallery together. Not only was it fun to work with him, I felt we worked really well together. Hubby may disagree as I am very OCD and my eye is twitching at the wonky angles of the frames I put together. But we didn't get heated with each other, we took each other's advice, and we stayed calm and had fun with it. I actually can't wait to work on another project with him.

The adventures of the weekend lead to a moment of newlywed bliss. Robert and I relaxed on our new couch in a space outside of our one room. I can't even describe the joys of sitting on a couch instead of being restricted to a bed. Granted, my parents have a couch in their living room, but this space was ours! We were undisturbed and secluded in our own little bubble of newly married life. I watched as he showed me his Call of Duty secrets, and then, he sneaked in a movie and we laid down to watch Gnomeo and Juliet. That little window of time we spent together was indescribably blissful. It's amazing the little moments that stand out to you. While our evening together isn't even a memory yet, I know years from now I'm going to remember this moment when I think of our life as newlyweds.

We know this room isn't really ours and that we still live at home, but it does make a difference to have another room to escape to. Another room that we can make personal to us and settle into. We still have a little work to do, but we've started off right, and we love the progress we've made so far.

When the going gets tough, we stick together

Yesterday was a trial and tribulation. I'm certainly not going to complain because the situation could have been so much worse, but I definitely need to share my story.

Robert was driving me to work yesterday because he was going out to job hunt. Such good intentions until we arrived to my job a few minutes early. We turned the car off, he smoked a cigarette, and we just talked until it was time for me to go in. Well, when we went to start the car again guess what. . . I'm sure as you have already imagined, the car wouldn't start.



(my car)

This is the first time anything like that has ever happened to me. My car is still fairly new (three years old) and quite ridiculously I thought I had a little while left until things started dying. Well, someone I work with was kind enough to give the car a jump for us; however, the jump didn't work. Robert, being an ex-mechanic, started investigating to see if it was the starter, the alternator, or just about anything else. Apparently Honda has a protective shield over the starter (underneath the car), so even if it was the starter, there was no way to access it without tools. At this point, poor Robert was at a loss and I had no idea what to say or do being completely clueless about cars.



(Image source: http://www.home-dzine.co.za/Lifestyle/life-jumper-cable.htm)

After much, much begging, Robert finally came inside and in the shade, while I had no choice but to start working. Robert was busy talking to people for advice, calling Honda to schedule a tow truck, meeting with the tower when he arrived, pretty much being my hero while I was stuck at work. Luckily, turns out it was just the battery. Apparently my battery had reached it's shelf life, and because it was so drained, the initial jump wasn't enough. The tech from the tow company was able to start the car, and Robert drove it over to Honda. Finally, four and a half hours later, my car had a new battery, and Robert was able to pick me up from what felt like the longest shift I've ever worked.

It was a long day and I'm a little disheartened because our savings was hit pretty hard. Unfortunately, that will push our moving out date back further. But I will say it was so nice to have Robert at work with me and to know I had someone to depend on when I was so worried. Of course, my mum was there to listen to me too. My mum is always there for me and I'm so lucky to have such a good relationship with her. But what I mean is, I'm so glad someone was physically around when my car didn't start. If my car had died and I was by myself, I know I'd have panicked even more than I already did.

I am so grateful to be living at home too. While I am eager to move out and for us to have our own place, a new battery would never have been in my budget had we have moved out. There's a positive side to everything. Even better, it just goes to show that Robert and I are strong enough to handle lifes little trials together, and that is the best feeling I've ever known. Bring it on world!

A few exciting little things

Well a few exciting things have come our way. Firstly, Sarah Vivienne won an award for a picture of Robert! We're not surprised at all. Sarah is such a fabulous photographer and we can't wait to get back to England and do our next photo session with her. We all shared a little laugh because Robert hates taking pictures, and yet, it was a photo of him that won an award.



Sarah made a comment that he looks like Mr. Darcy in this picture. I completely agree, and I have to say, I consider him my own Mr. Darcy. The literary hero has been my dream man since the first time I read Pride and Prejudice and I never thought I'd find someone that made me as happy as Darcy made Elizabeth. Robert has been my dream man (my own Mr Darcy) since the moment I met him, and I can't believe how fortunate we both were to find real love. I have to say, taking pictures around Holdenby House made me feel a little like we were Elizabeth and Darcy for a day, too. Oh, England!

Also, a picture from our American wedding made it into Carolina Bride.



We look so happy and I loved those Mikasa Love Story flutes.

Finally, one of the guests from the English blessing sent a few videos from our service. I haven't seen them yet, but it's so wonderful to have something else to help us look back on the day. It's hard to remember all the details when there are so many nerves and emotions all in one moment. We didn't choose to video our weddings because we were on a budget, but this added little suprise gives us a chance to see and remember everything without missing the details, and for that we are so grateful.

So when work drags on a little, we now have these little joys to think on.

Girls just wanna have fun

I can't stress enough how important time with your friends is. As a newlywed, it's easy to fall into a routine where all you want to do is be with your husband or wife. While every year will be great if you're with someone you love, the first year can feel like you're dating all over again. The dynamics of a relationship do change, and while they may only be small changes, you'll feel closer to your loved one than you did before (at least I do). When you're all smiles and you're feeling nothing but the lovey-doveyness, how could you not rush home to your new hubby? But even during that first year, it's so important to make time for your friends.



Needless to say, I haven't been the best at this. In-fact, I was a little hypocritical because I said I would never be the type of person who came home every night and never went out. In fairness, I feel like my schedule plays a huge role too. Working nights inspires excessive sleepiness and the desire to just go home and do nothing. Truthfully, with so few hours in the morning before work, I don't feel inclined to go anywhere before clock-in time either. I use that time to sleep (and write these blogs if I'm awake). But I'd be lying to you if I said the thought of going home to my husband didn't make me drive a little faster.

However, lately I've been making sure I make time for my gals because I miss spending time with them. I had lunch with the Ryberg ladies a couple weeks ago, I had breakfast with my matron of honor yesterday, and am having lunch with my new sister in law today! Those little moments with friends have been wonderful and they've reminded me just how important it is to make regular time with the girls. After all, you need time to catch up and gush about your relationships, right?

How about you? Are you guilty of spending too much time with the hubby or boyfriend?