If you can't tell by Matt's latest entry, we have started the bathroom remodel! Right now we are still in the demo/rebuilding walls phase, but once that's done the rest should go quickly! I have been so blessed to have a husband who enjoys building things and actually knows what he is doing. It's like living with Tim "the tool man" Taylor from Home Improvement, but with a Tim who actually knows what he's doing and isn't constantly hurting himself ;-).
Today's post is dedicated to our division of chores. During our pre-martial counseling we talked about how we would break up the division of labor around our house. We took a somewhat traditional route, with Matt being responsible for most things outside, and me being responsible for most inside things. (Side note: not because we felt so much that this was "the way it should be", but because I have pretty bad outdoor allergies and can't help much with outside stuff most times of the year, and Matt's not really that great at cooking).
Since I am in charge of getting most inside things done, that puts me in charge of laundry. I sort the clothes, wash them, dry them, and fold them.... except for socks. I don't like folding socks. This is a chore that takes more patience than I currently posses and that I find very tedious. It also takes me back to helping my mom sort socks for a family of 5- three girls and two boys, which as you can imagine is a ton of socks. So, Matt, being the best husband in the entire world, is kind enough to help me out with this and matches up all of our socks so that they can be put away.
This has been going on now for the past two years, with great success, except for my brown dress socks. Matt refuses to fold them, and he just threw them at me for me to fold a moment ago, inspiring this somewhat silly entry. These socks are not cotton, but something different from regular socks, as they are made to be worn with dress slacks. Because of their unique texture, they cause my poor husband some problems. He has calluses on his hands, and the socks end up sticking to his hands every time.
This may not sound like a big deal, but let me explain. My husband is a "manly man". At around 6 foot 4, he's a big guy. He can have a beard in a few days tops, and seems to know how to fix anything. He kind of reminds me of a lumberjack... Now picture this lumberjack man looking like a cat with tape on it's paws when he's trying to fold those brown socks. The mental picture is funny, but seeing it in person will make you laugh until you cry.
This is why I love my husband: He's a wonderful man with a great sense of humor, and he is willing to laugh along with me and the little silly things in life.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Our most current project: Week One
What you're looking at here is a view from our master bedroom toward the hall leading to our master bathroom. As you can see, we have a long hallway (which, by the way, is complete wasted space) leading to our bath, which happens to be rather small. In fact, we almost didn't buy this particular house because of the cramped space back here. However, we decided that if we bought the house, we would remodel the bath/hallway as soon as we had the time to do so.We toyed with the idea of having a contractor come do the
work for us since
we were originally told that a permit would be required to do the renovation. However, after having a contractor give us an estimate, and finding out that no permit was required after all, we decided to do the work ourselves. So here we are, day one of our remodel project. The photo above is of the bedroom before construction began and to the right is a view into our tiny master bath.The general idea is to demolish the existing doorway, seen here, and move the door to the end of the hall nearest the bedroom, thus enlarging the bath area with no real detriment to useful bedroom space.
This will involve the following:
1. Remove door and existing doorway (along with carpet and trimboards)
2. Frame in new doorway
3. Add drywall, begin framing in opening above door, finish removing old doorway.
And that's as far as I've gotten this week...
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
love being married, not so sure about being a grown up!
The title says it all... I think Matt and I are both still getting used to this whole "grown up" thing. (On a side note, will we ever??) There are bills to pay, groceries to buy, cooking, home and car maintenance and upkeep, and chores to bed done... usually something in each of these categories to do each day. Add on top of that school for Matt and full time jobs for both of us, and we can be pretty busy! I cannot image how much things will change and how busy we will be one day when we add children to the mix! (emphasis on the "one day" in that sentence for my mom who might be reading this!) Being married is by far the most awesome part of being a grown up. Having someone who shares the good and the bad, in life and in chores, is a blessing. I love working with my husband to keep our house in good shape, to solve the everyday problems, and get things done. I love learning more about him and myself each day as we grow together. I know most people in the United States get married at an older age than we chose to get married, but I love learning and growing with my spouse.
The reason for my reflection on my short (so far, we're in it for the long haul!) marriage is that my little brother got married this past weekend. Maybe it's the big sister in me, but sometimes I worry about them- will they be able to handle the pressures of real life and still like, love, and respect each other? Do they know what they are getting themselves in to? Of course, my brother is older than I was when I got married and has been on his own longer than I had, and I'm sure they will do just fine and grow and figure things out together just as Matt and I did, but that concern was still there. I finally chalked it up to the question "do they really know what marriage is", but then I realized that I don't think you can know what it will be like until you experience it for yourself. You can be mentally prepared to be selfless, work hard for what is best for both of you, love and respect someone, but doing these things on a daily basis is what a marriage really is, and until you have to do it daily, I don't think you can be fully prepared. I have been and will be praying for them as they start out their lives together and learn how to work together as a couple. I am so happy for them as they start out on this new journey in their life, and I pray that their marriage will be a very happy and joyful one because I love them both very much! My advice: enjoy the wonderful parts and learn to work together on the not so wonderful parts of being a grown up!
The reason for my reflection on my short (so far, we're in it for the long haul!) marriage is that my little brother got married this past weekend. Maybe it's the big sister in me, but sometimes I worry about them- will they be able to handle the pressures of real life and still like, love, and respect each other? Do they know what they are getting themselves in to? Of course, my brother is older than I was when I got married and has been on his own longer than I had, and I'm sure they will do just fine and grow and figure things out together just as Matt and I did, but that concern was still there. I finally chalked it up to the question "do they really know what marriage is", but then I realized that I don't think you can know what it will be like until you experience it for yourself. You can be mentally prepared to be selfless, work hard for what is best for both of you, love and respect someone, but doing these things on a daily basis is what a marriage really is, and until you have to do it daily, I don't think you can be fully prepared. I have been and will be praying for them as they start out their lives together and learn how to work together as a couple. I am so happy for them as they start out on this new journey in their life, and I pray that their marriage will be a very happy and joyful one because I love them both very much! My advice: enjoy the wonderful parts and learn to work together on the not so wonderful parts of being a grown up!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Where has the time gone?
So it's been quite a while since I've had the time or inclination to write. My (Kristen's) work has been really crazy the past few months, and it's left me with no desire to even look at a computer or write with one once I leave work. Many of the things going on in our life are not really "broadcast to the entire world" worthy, either too boring, or too private, so that also had limited our writing. It's strange to think of your boss, parents, or complete strangers reading this, but I guess that's something we'll (or maybe just me since Matt is not that interested in writing in here due to a full time job and being in school full time as well) have to get over.
My topic for today is our current living situation, which over the past few months has gotten some rather strange comments, and that is really starting to bother me.
My husband and I own a home in the DFW area. We've been married for two years, and been living in this house for just over a year. Late this spring, my best friend, who is so much like a sister to me, moved in. My husband and I were both happy to have her move in with us. She lived in our guest room and uses a guest bathroom on the other side of our split floor plan house. She buys her own food for most meals, has her own schedule, and pays us a small amount of rent. Some days we see her in the evenings, and other times our schedules differ and we may not see her for several days at a time.
We all consider this a win-win situation. She gets a place to live for cheap, near her boyfriend, and we get someone for me to spend time with while Matthew is in class and someone who looks after our pets many times while we are gone out of town. There is no plan for this to be permanent as Matt and I are looking to start a family in the next few years and my friend and her boyfriend are considering marriage in the next few years, but she is welcome to stay as long as we are all comfortable with the arrangement, we have a baby, or they get married, whichever may come first.
The problem in this otherwise great arrangement is some of our family and friends just don't get it, and either ask endless questions about how we are all able to live in one house and get along (which doesn't bother me too much), or make comments about how she must be interfering with our married life. The questions as I said do not bother me, since most of them are just curious about how we all get along in the house (How do you split up food? etc.), but the snide comments are another problem.
My friend does not interfere with our married life. One person asked my friend, "What if her husband wants to walk around the house in his boxers, huh?". Well, person, if my spouse wants to wander around the house like that, he can do it when she is not here, or put on some pants when he is not in our room... it's not hard to do! (and just an FYI, for his sister who might read this, he didn't ever wander around in his boxers in the house, even before our friend move in, so don't worry!)
One other point: we are in a recession/depression, and many people are taking in boarders or roommates to make ends meet during this time. While our intent was to help out a friend in need, not add to our income, the situation is not that different. I'm not sure why we get some of these comments when other people all across the country are doing the same thing.
Matt and I pretty much live our lives like we did before she moved in. We just have to let her know if we will be out of town or our plans change, the same as you would do with anyone you live with. I know some people may think it's strange, or be worried for our friendship, or my marriage, but we are all adults in this household, and while we might be fairly young still, we are dealing with this very maturely.
So questions about our (current) unusual living situation are welcome, but rude comments are not. If you need to make a snide comment, don't share it with any of us or our loved ones! Keep it to yourself.
My topic for today is our current living situation, which over the past few months has gotten some rather strange comments, and that is really starting to bother me.
My husband and I own a home in the DFW area. We've been married for two years, and been living in this house for just over a year. Late this spring, my best friend, who is so much like a sister to me, moved in. My husband and I were both happy to have her move in with us. She lived in our guest room and uses a guest bathroom on the other side of our split floor plan house. She buys her own food for most meals, has her own schedule, and pays us a small amount of rent. Some days we see her in the evenings, and other times our schedules differ and we may not see her for several days at a time.
We all consider this a win-win situation. She gets a place to live for cheap, near her boyfriend, and we get someone for me to spend time with while Matthew is in class and someone who looks after our pets many times while we are gone out of town. There is no plan for this to be permanent as Matt and I are looking to start a family in the next few years and my friend and her boyfriend are considering marriage in the next few years, but she is welcome to stay as long as we are all comfortable with the arrangement, we have a baby, or they get married, whichever may come first.
The problem in this otherwise great arrangement is some of our family and friends just don't get it, and either ask endless questions about how we are all able to live in one house and get along (which doesn't bother me too much), or make comments about how she must be interfering with our married life. The questions as I said do not bother me, since most of them are just curious about how we all get along in the house (How do you split up food? etc.), but the snide comments are another problem.
My friend does not interfere with our married life. One person asked my friend, "What if her husband wants to walk around the house in his boxers, huh?". Well, person, if my spouse wants to wander around the house like that, he can do it when she is not here, or put on some pants when he is not in our room... it's not hard to do! (and just an FYI, for his sister who might read this, he didn't ever wander around in his boxers in the house, even before our friend move in, so don't worry!)
One other point: we are in a recession/depression, and many people are taking in boarders or roommates to make ends meet during this time. While our intent was to help out a friend in need, not add to our income, the situation is not that different. I'm not sure why we get some of these comments when other people all across the country are doing the same thing.
Matt and I pretty much live our lives like we did before she moved in. We just have to let her know if we will be out of town or our plans change, the same as you would do with anyone you live with. I know some people may think it's strange, or be worried for our friendship, or my marriage, but we are all adults in this household, and while we might be fairly young still, we are dealing with this very maturely.
So questions about our (current) unusual living situation are welcome, but rude comments are not. If you need to make a snide comment, don't share it with any of us or our loved ones! Keep it to yourself.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Married Packing
Matt and I are packing for our vacation with his family today, and I have made a few observations about married packing:
1. Matt and I have very different ideas about packing. I tend to be very organized (I make very detailed lists of what we need to bring) and one of those people who would be packed a whole week before if I could. Matt, while just as organized, is more last minute. He packs minutes before going out the door, but somehow ends up with everything he needs. If I do that, I end up forgetting half the stuff I need!
2. I MUST fold everything I plan on taking, I cannot just throw everything in to the bag and go. Today, everything was folded and rolled in order to fit into my bag. Matt would be ok with folding or not folding everything in the bad, depending on his mood and how much time he has to pack.
We are so alike sometimes, but so very different as well. While we are both organized, I am such a planner while he is much more spontaneous. We are very much looking forward to our vacation and a break from the everyday. It will be great to spend a week with his family and get to catch up with his parents, sister and brother in law, and our really cute nephew.
His dad's surgery went well, and he is healing well. They found some spots on his lungs and lymph nodes that they are checking out now, so we're not quite out of the woods yet on everything.
That's all for now. We are very excited about a week off!
1. Matt and I have very different ideas about packing. I tend to be very organized (I make very detailed lists of what we need to bring) and one of those people who would be packed a whole week before if I could. Matt, while just as organized, is more last minute. He packs minutes before going out the door, but somehow ends up with everything he needs. If I do that, I end up forgetting half the stuff I need!
2. I MUST fold everything I plan on taking, I cannot just throw everything in to the bag and go. Today, everything was folded and rolled in order to fit into my bag. Matt would be ok with folding or not folding everything in the bad, depending on his mood and how much time he has to pack.
We are so alike sometimes, but so very different as well. While we are both organized, I am such a planner while he is much more spontaneous. We are very much looking forward to our vacation and a break from the everyday. It will be great to spend a week with his family and get to catch up with his parents, sister and brother in law, and our really cute nephew.
His dad's surgery went well, and he is healing well. They found some spots on his lungs and lymph nodes that they are checking out now, so we're not quite out of the woods yet on everything.
That's all for now. We are very excited about a week off!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Quite a few months!
It has been a busy few months. With class finishing up for me, and Matt finishing up his classes, along with life in general, we have been without much of a chance to write. Things have finally slowed down a little, so we might have more of a chance to write in the future.
Shortly after we started this blog, Matthew has some x-rays on his leg where he had his surgery and the doctor found what looked to be a tumor on his leg. This was very disconserting to say the least, but God is awesome, and after an MRI we discovered that there was no tumor or anything else that could harm my sweet and wonderful husband. It turns out that when Matt was having one of the many growth spurts that he went through to reach his current 6'4'' stature, his leg bone could not quite keep up. The spurt left a hollow spot in his bone filled with tissue. This spot pretty large, but as long as he avoids putting unusual pressure on it he should be fine (no skydiving for Matthew!).
God also blessed us by providing for us financially during the months of April and May. Matt has a union job, and while it provides very well for us, it does have its draw backs. There was a good chance that his union would have been going on strike, and we were not quite sure how we would make ends meet while he was out of work. We frantically contacted some family, and we discovered that if Matt was going to be out of work for a few weeks, that our families would be able to pay his to do some odd jobs for them so that we could afford to pay our bills while he had to be away from work. The strike ended up not happening, but we learned an awesome lesson in God's provision. God is really taking care of us, because we found out that the job he has we had thought could end this next January will most likely continue until at least next June. This will allow Matthew to finish at least a year and a half of school!
Right now, we are coming up on our two year anniversary. God has taught us so much about life, each other, love, Himself, and ourselves through these past two years. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband! Since our anniversary will be on a Tuesday this year, Matt will be in class and will not be home until well after 9:00, so our celebration was this past weekend. We slept in, ate a nice lunch, and spent the day hanging out with each other. Tuesday will also be a day for prayer as Matthew's dad will be undergoing surgery to remove skin cancer from behind his ear. We will keep you informed of his dad's progress.
Upcoming (planned) events in life:
VACATION! our first with Matthew's family in our married life: June 30th
My first cousin's wedding/trip to Galveston/shower for my brother's fiance: July 23-26
My little brother will be getting married: September 26
Shortly after we started this blog, Matthew has some x-rays on his leg where he had his surgery and the doctor found what looked to be a tumor on his leg. This was very disconserting to say the least, but God is awesome, and after an MRI we discovered that there was no tumor or anything else that could harm my sweet and wonderful husband. It turns out that when Matt was having one of the many growth spurts that he went through to reach his current 6'4'' stature, his leg bone could not quite keep up. The spurt left a hollow spot in his bone filled with tissue. This spot pretty large, but as long as he avoids putting unusual pressure on it he should be fine (no skydiving for Matthew!).
God also blessed us by providing for us financially during the months of April and May. Matt has a union job, and while it provides very well for us, it does have its draw backs. There was a good chance that his union would have been going on strike, and we were not quite sure how we would make ends meet while he was out of work. We frantically contacted some family, and we discovered that if Matt was going to be out of work for a few weeks, that our families would be able to pay his to do some odd jobs for them so that we could afford to pay our bills while he had to be away from work. The strike ended up not happening, but we learned an awesome lesson in God's provision. God is really taking care of us, because we found out that the job he has we had thought could end this next January will most likely continue until at least next June. This will allow Matthew to finish at least a year and a half of school!
Right now, we are coming up on our two year anniversary. God has taught us so much about life, each other, love, Himself, and ourselves through these past two years. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband! Since our anniversary will be on a Tuesday this year, Matt will be in class and will not be home until well after 9:00, so our celebration was this past weekend. We slept in, ate a nice lunch, and spent the day hanging out with each other. Tuesday will also be a day for prayer as Matthew's dad will be undergoing surgery to remove skin cancer from behind his ear. We will keep you informed of his dad's progress.
Upcoming (planned) events in life:
VACATION! our first with Matthew's family in our married life: June 30th
My first cousin's wedding/trip to Galveston/shower for my brother's fiance: July 23-26
My little brother will be getting married: September 26
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
What we've been up to the past two years...
Just to kind of give you a point of reference for where we are in our lives right now:
In the past two years:
* On our one month anniversary we packed up our house and newly married life and moved to the DFW area so that Matt could pursue a new job in aircraft maintenance.
* We've each had at least three jobs in the past two years, one of which I hated so much I cried every day and one of which required Matt to work the exact opposite shift from me. We both finally have jobs that we love and a somewhat similar schedule.
* We bought a house and a new car!
* Matt had foot surgery.
* Matt has gone back to school to finish his bachelors in professional aeronautics, and I'm working on going back to school for my master's degree in history.
* We've both has some health problems that have required us to change our lifestyle to be healthier and more fit. (So far Matt has been better about this than I have!)
It's been a fun and wonderful two years of marriage, and by far being married has been the most wonderful part of being a grown up. It's great to know that God has given us someone to love us, support us, and be right there with us in the good and the bad times. We both look forward to seeing where God is leading us in the future.
Fun (or not so fun) stuff going on right now:
* Matt might be going on strike in the next few weeks! (How will we pay our bills and what will Matt do while he is off of work? We have a few ideas, but it will be interesting to see how it works out.)
* I'm getting ready to start studying and preparing for my GRE.
* We are hoping to go on a vacation with Matt's family at some point during the summer.
* My brother is getting married in September.
* We'd love to remodel our bathroom at some point this year- it needs help! This will depend on whether or not we have the funds and time to fix it up.
* We are in the process of trying to appeal our health insurance's choice to deny Matt's foot surgery claim after they said it would be covered in full. That is a huge hospital bill we are not sure how we would pay and are really relying on God to help us get through a very difficult situation.
As you can see, we've had an eventful marriage so far, and it won't be slowing down any time soon! We'll keep you posted on what happens next and where God is leading us.
In the past two years:
* On our one month anniversary we packed up our house and newly married life and moved to the DFW area so that Matt could pursue a new job in aircraft maintenance.
* We've each had at least three jobs in the past two years, one of which I hated so much I cried every day and one of which required Matt to work the exact opposite shift from me. We both finally have jobs that we love and a somewhat similar schedule.
* We bought a house and a new car!
* Matt had foot surgery.
* Matt has gone back to school to finish his bachelors in professional aeronautics, and I'm working on going back to school for my master's degree in history.
* We've both has some health problems that have required us to change our lifestyle to be healthier and more fit. (So far Matt has been better about this than I have!)
It's been a fun and wonderful two years of marriage, and by far being married has been the most wonderful part of being a grown up. It's great to know that God has given us someone to love us, support us, and be right there with us in the good and the bad times. We both look forward to seeing where God is leading us in the future.
Fun (or not so fun) stuff going on right now:
* Matt might be going on strike in the next few weeks! (How will we pay our bills and what will Matt do while he is off of work? We have a few ideas, but it will be interesting to see how it works out.)
* I'm getting ready to start studying and preparing for my GRE.
* We are hoping to go on a vacation with Matt's family at some point during the summer.
* My brother is getting married in September.
* We'd love to remodel our bathroom at some point this year- it needs help! This will depend on whether or not we have the funds and time to fix it up.
* We are in the process of trying to appeal our health insurance's choice to deny Matt's foot surgery claim after they said it would be covered in full. That is a huge hospital bill we are not sure how we would pay and are really relying on God to help us get through a very difficult situation.
As you can see, we've had an eventful marriage so far, and it won't be slowing down any time soon! We'll keep you posted on what happens next and where God is leading us.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
First Entry :-)
After having gone through almost two years of marriage and already having experienced several interesting adventures in adulthood, I decided to create this blog in order to share our experiences, good and bad, in being a "grown up". Hopefully it will be an honest look into our lives and a way to help others who are starting out in life with tips in navigating the fun, scary, and imperfect world.
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