The World's Best Ab Workout

Everyone ready for the big secret?

Get a two-week cold.
Sure, you have to put up with a drippy nose, an achey body, feeling feverish, and complete lack of sleep, but after all that coughing you will have a 6 pack.  Maybe even an 8 pack.  Worked for me!

A Balancing Act

Writing a poem for a class, reading a novel, studying for an exam, and making enchiladas all at the same time!
Psssssh!
I haven't gotten that good.

Here's the thing:  Every married person I knew said that "settling down" helped them to be a better student.  You know, there's no more dates you're obligated to go on, not as many parties, and your social life generally sputters to a halt.  More time for homework?

SO untrue!  At least not for us.

If we're not hanging out with friends we're the ultimate distraction to each other!!!  I spend every afternoon scrambling to get as much homework done as possible because I know as soon as Roy and I are home together we're going to convince each other to watch a movie or go outside on the grass and see how many times we can bounce the exercise ball on our heads.... seriously.

I've never been so distracted in my life!  BUT, I'm having the time of my life, too.

Roy surprised me and took me to a pumpkin patch where they have a corn maze and hay slide and MORE!

Oh, and Kenny and Andrea were there too:

After running around in the still-green corn for a while and trying to scare each other around every corner, we hit up the hay slide.  It was dark so we didn't catch a lot of pictures, but it was so much fun.  At first I was kinda scared someone was going to bite the back of my head again, but once they all forced me into it we had a blast.

Balancing school, work, writing, and being married is definitely new, but definitely do-able.  I've made up my mind that first thing so be sacrificed is {honestly} school.  That sounds bad, I know.  Don't worry, I'm still doing fine in my classes, but I'm just not putting in as much time as I used to.  Unless it's a creative writing class, it's pretty low on my totem poll of important things these days.  Thursday Movie Night with our friends is a must.  Going out with friends on the weekend is irreplaceable.  And we always make time to just chill together.

{Thanks for the surprise Roy}

The Wedding

Roy and I recently celebrated our two month anniversary!

It almost seems ridiculous to bother putting any pictures up now that we have been married for so long. But I just got them from our photographer yesterday, and I can't help myself- I want them up for those people who weren't able to be there.  In fact, I was only given a small portion of the pictures, (grumble) but the rest are on their way.  I think I'll stick with this post and be quick about it.
Looking at these pictures has made both Roy and I giddy looking back on the best day of our lives.

July 23, 2010

That morning I heard the circulating rumor that Roy was nervous.

He got over it...

The bridesmaids looked beautiful

And the weather was mind-blowingly perfect!

Nearly all of our favorite people were there.

(I wish I'd been sent group shots involving family that I could add)

  

The reception was gorgeous.  It truly had a fairy tale wedding feel.

Our friends were very happy for us.

And we were feeling pretty ridiculously happy too.

We cut the cake, made toasts with sparkling cider, threw the bouquet, and tossed the garter.

And there was lots of dancing!

As we left we had rice thrown at us... a little violently from some...

And all in all it was even better than whatever wedding I'd been dreaming about as a little girl.  Everything was perfect!  I wouldn't change a thing!  I felt so blessed to have so many friends and family travel all the way out for us.  I felt blessed to be entering such an amazing and awesome family.  But more than anything...
I felt blessed to have been sealed in the temple-- in the house of the Lord

At the right time, at the right place, to the right (and greatest) person.  






Now to go...

 live happily ever after...

A Message From Roy

Sometimes Elliot can be a little harsh as she critiques herself, especially when it comes to her culinary skills. I think that Elliot is an above average, even pretty crafty chef. I make this statement on good grounds. I have eaten a lot in my life, and still eat a lot every day. I know what is and isn't good eatin. So everyone be notified- Elliot can cook and cooks well. So if invited, please don't be afraid to spend a pleasant evening at our home feasting on one of her delectable home-made entrées. Everyone is welcome- you bring the dessert.  

Roy-

Week 1 of Domesticity

Phew!... I've cooked more this week than I've ever cooked in all my days combined!  The best part: I've only completely ruined one thing.  This is a record.  Someone call Guinness!

  This week I've learned....
How to cook meat!

How to knead dough...

And how to cook for guests... who's only complain was that the weird corn tasted fruity.  I don't know how I pulled that one off...

What would I do without Roy documenting these momentous occasions?  And without him teaching me?!  He taught me how to turn Bisquick powder into warm biscuits!  (Unfortunately, they turned out hard and thin.)  He taught me what parts I'm supposed to take out of a chicken.  (Unfortunately, I shredded it too thin and they turned out to be more like crunchy chicken fries.)  And he got me a vegetable chopper (Unfortunately, I used way too much vegetable oil to cook it and the stupid thing was spitting and scalding my hands the whole time!)

Yes, that paragraph kind of makes me sound like a failure-- and trust me, the incidents don't end there-- but it's really a giant leap for me.  The last few nights Roy has been saying, "Wow, we're doing really good!  We're having really good full meals every night this week!"  Apparently he wasn't entirely sure that I would stick to my new goal of domesticity for more than a day- haha!

I asked him, "Do you love me more now that I'm cooking for you?"  And with a mouth full of Mexican quiche, he said, "Definitely!"  HAHA!


P.S. The only room in our apartment that I have really completely finished decorating is the kitchen... because that seems to be where I spend most of my time.  Here she is:

It Could Be Worse... WAY Worse

“Being married sucks!  I never get to see you anymore!”

I couldn’t stop laughing when Roy said this as I was explaining why I would be gone all day Saturday.  It’s true, we’re both so busy this semester it’s insane!

My life: 16 credits, an internship with lots of social networking, hours of reading and writing a day, taking baby steps to become domestic.

Roy’s life: work every day until 5, studying LSAT material every day, Wednesdays and Saturdays hours and hours in a BYU LSAT prep course, assisting me with my baby steps. 

But I get an average of six calls a day from the husband while he sits in his office at work.  Unfortunately, three out of those six calls I’m usually in the library and can’t talk.  But our quick conversations and “love you” reminders is the perfect pick-me-up when I’m drowning in essay revising. 

Yesterday I came home to this:

No reason at all, just being sweet.  He knew I would be working at my internship until late and used that extra time to run and buy me some awesome flowers that totally match our kitchen.  And then there’s the note (kind of an inside joke), complete with heart illustrations! 

Just as I’m basking in the warmth of Roy’s thoughtful sweetness, the table shakes from the slamming of a door downstairs.  This is quickly followed by a series of cussing and a child crying.  Yeah- they’re at it again.

One of the joys of living in a 4-plex: sharing walls with strangers.  The people who live directly below us are having some major familial issues.  It's not any of my business, of course.  But yet it has a small impact on my daily life.  The parents fight a lot.  And it's loud.

A few nights ago I woke up at 4 a.m. to the F bomb exploding at an amazing volume through our bedroom floor. I don't want to go into any more details, but it has made me feel so blessed.  

Today I'd forgotten to pack a lunch, so when I got home my husband had a veggie burger warm and waiting for me.  Love you Roy!  Thanks for doing the little things every day to let me know you love me!

Life could be worse... sacrificing time for classes etc. really isn't so bad.  Life is awesome.  In fact, I don't think it could be any better!

Mission: Domestication

Sometimes I enjoy a little rebellion.  For example, when I was sixteen I told my dad I wasn’t going to college.

Hah- yeah that was fun…

Then when I did end up going to college, I proudly told everyone who would listen that I was completely anti-domestic.  I couldn’t iron a shirt to save my life, cleaning the bathroom was forever last on my To Do List, and most importantly, I didn’t cook anything unless it came pre-made and frozen.  I had roommates that didn’t believe me… until they experienced it first hand.

I admit I got secret pleasure out of the looks on some people’s faces when they saw just how bad I really was. 

“Just give it a try.  You just need to practice.”

*One hour and a crusty purple casserole later*

“Oh… wow… you really do suck at cooking.”

And I loved how whenever someone burned something in the kitchen, whether or not it was me, (although it usually was) it was tradition for everyone to walk in and ask, “Oh no, is Elliot cooking again?”

Once I even had a date that spent the majority of the evening trying to convince me that it was my duty as a woman to become an amazing cook.  Yeah that was our last date. 

So, I found a guy that liked to cook himself and didn’t mind my anti-domesticity.  Yes!  I can lead my one-person rebellion for the rest of my life, right?  I’m set!  

Then we got married and moved into our own place.  How that changes everything I’ve been fighting for the last ten years, I have no idea.  But when Roy comes home from work I suddenly have this overwhelming desire to transform into Martha Stewart and whip up the most monstrous feast he’s ever laid eyes on!  I want the apartment to be spick and span and everything to match and look flawless!

Ew- what’s wrong with me?  Something about being married to the sweetest and awesomest man on earth is arousing weird womanly instincts I thought I’d been born without.  In fact, just for him my new mission for the year is to become… dOmEsTiC!

So, here I go.  Not only am I going to learn how to cook but I’m going to learn how to iron, too.  And I’m not going to forget about the laundry and let it get all mildewey in the washer.  And you know what?  I’m going to wear an apron too.

I mean… if I’m going down I might as well go all the way down.  Plus, I got a lot of cute aprons at my bridal shower.  I can almost wear one for each day of the week. 

And I’m going to! 

I really want to have a nice little nest for my husband.  You know, a place he doesn’t just like to come home to but LOVES to come home to.

This is the real deal.  I’ve not only written it down, but I’ve PUBLISHED it! 

If anyone is reading this… make sure I follow through, ok?  Haha!  I really don’t want Roy to have to eat cold cereal for the rest of his life.

Never Tired of London

School has started.  I've scrambled up my schedule enough times to cause a few stress-zits, but I think I'm finally settled.  After only one week of school I can already tell you what my favorite days of the week will be: 
Tuesdays and Thursdays.  When I get to take Writing for Children and Adolescents and then Literature into Film.  At last, after three years of college I've arrived at the subjects that I've truly been thirsting for.
It so happens that a girl who was in London with me last fall is in my Literature into Film class.  It's always nice to have a friend in class.  You know, it helps me look like somewhat less of a loser.  Plus they're good for homework emergencies etc.  Rachel and I fill in the gaps between lectures reminiscing about our time in London and our other travels from Paris to the Isle of Skye.  It always leaves me feeling nostalgic and craving Nandos.  (Mmmmmmm)
Today Rachel told me that it was the anniversary of when we arrived at the London Centre.
WhAt?!?!?!
That brought on a whole new onslaught of intense nostalgia!  At this exact time one year ago I was setting up my bed beneath the slanting ceiling in the attic.  I was looking out the window at all of the chimney tops and wondering what the place held in store for me.
Wow, and then I met some of the greatest people and had some of the most amazing experiences.  If only I could have deciphered from those chimney tops that I would have the greatest semester of my life... maybe it would have helped me fight off the jet-lag.  
"When a man [or woman] is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
- Samuel Johnson

I couldn't agree more with Sam.  London afforded us our ring!  And it was when I knew Roy was the one I wanted to grow old with and return to London with again and again.  I hope we do.  I miss you London!

Home Sweet Home

Prepare for a pictureless post.
I know that means most of you have already navigated away from our page.  Maybe all of you.  Sorry, but our tumbled up sweet apartment is covered in cardboard boxes and garbage bags and we haven't had time to shop for wireless Internet yet.  The husband dropped me off on campus so I could get some things done.  Not necessarily to get the blog done, but here I am.
What I should really be doing is my Spanish online class, which starts today.  The rest of my BYU classes start on Monday and I should probably look and make sure I don't have any assignments yet.  Usually about this time each semester I'm excited; new teachers, new material, new classmates!  But this time I'm dreading the responsibility of school!  I'd rather just keep hanging out with the husband like we've been doing for the past month.  No responsibilities but to set up house.
Which, by the way, has been a blast!  We spent the entire day yesterday searching for a good deal on a mattress.  We're convinced we found the BEST!  We also got our hands on our very own washer and dryer (thanks to having kind cousins like Candice).  It's been fun.  And we love the apartment.  It's spacious and has a cool back door that leads to the grassy area and basketball court we share with our neighbors in the 4-plex.  It's so nice, we wondered how in the world it was so affordable!
Oooooh.... yes I'm reminded about once every hour as a huge galumphing train blasts right under our window blaring its horn, which rattles our furniture slightly.  And these trains are long!  Clank clank clank clank clank clank as each individual car clunks past us for three to five solid minutes.  I suppose I can bear that, but why the horn?  Who is going to be hanging out on the railroad tracks at three in the morning?  And if someone were really insane enough to be doing that, who would not see the blinding headlight on the front of the train from 10 miles away- or feel the earth quaking beneath them- and get the heck out of the way?
Personally, I think that the train conductors must get an unholy amount of pleasure out of shattering a beautifully quiet night in suburban areas with those blasted horns!  If I had to be up driving a stupid train in the middle of the night, I'd probably want all of the peacefully sleeping people to share in an ounce of my suffering too.  OK, so I get that.  But what does the rooster have against me???
If I'm not being woken up in the night by a roaring train, a confused rooster will certainly do the trick.  The thing lives just on the other side of the railroad tracks.  Close enough that I could probably throw a rock at its head.  I get the feeling that would cause more problems than it would solve, but it's definitely tempting.
I always had some ideal image in my mind of being woken up by the crowing of a rooster once the sun was fully in the sky.  This thing doesn't even wait for a ray of sunshine!  It just crows its head off at any time- night or day.  Seven a.m. would be perfect.  One a.m., two a.m., and any other possible moment between train hurricanes, is not what I'd ever dreamed of in my ideal farmer world.
It's been a fun adventure.  Roy sleeps right through it all.  Lucky him.  The only time he ever wakes up is when I'm giggling.  And I'm giggling because that rooster is so dang confused it's just hilarious.
Mom says I'll get used to it and soon I wont be waking up anymore.  Well... I'll let you know how that goes.

SpOiLeD

It's really not my fault my 22nd birthday cropped up only ten days after our Tucson reception.  We've already been showered with wedding gifts, it seemed ridiculous to even expect a sliver of birthday cake!  BUT, of course Roy and Mom wouldn't let my special day go uncelebrated.

Roy got up super early and got started on my breakfast-in-bed while I slept in.  He, Mom, and Dad marched into our room singing "happy birthday" and blinding me with the flash from the camera.  It was an awesome surprise and a yummy start to my day.
I spent most of the day with Mom and my hubby.  Roy was constantly reminding me it was my birthday and doing special things for me all day.  That night Lynn, Grandma, and Grandpa joined our little family at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and... of course... cheesecake.  AMAZING!

Of course the waiters were forced to come out and sing to me.  Poor guys...

But to-die-for cheesecake!!!

After food we went home and celebrated some more.  Honestly, I don't deserve it!  Too much attention for one summer!  But it really a perfect birthday and I loved every minute.  Especially with Roy- sweetest husband ever!  Thanks Roy and fam (which, of course, includes Lynn)

Teeth, Meet Skull

Before I start on my horror story involving a fatal teeth-bending accident, let me assure you that wedding and reception pictures are coming.  Tons of snapshots from friends and family have been shared on Facebook, which is fantastic.  It all looks beautiful. But I'm still waiting on our professional photographers before I post anything on the blog.  Just be prepared to be blown away.  I was!
In fact, the morning after the Tucson reception was over I simply had to bust out our camera and capture the leftover beauty.

It was depressing to throw the flowers in the centerpieces away.  Of course, there was nothing else we could do with them.  They were beginning to wilt and would soon make our porch a crunchy petal mess.  Before they would disappear forever, I captured them in the immortality of a picture... or two.

The tent was way more beautiful than I ever expected.  Even the word "tent" makes it seem incapable of anything romantic, but it was perfect!  What really made it amazing was the flower chandelier made by Emily Spackman and Pam Simkins (awesome family friends).

OK, no more spoilers.  I'll write all about the receptions when I have the pics.  Now for the horror story.

Roy and I both felt lucky to have so many good friends and family that were willing to travel to our receptions.  Quite a few made it down to Tucson, including Sydney, Alicia, and Brittany.

They helped Roy and I open and keep track of our gifts.  But, sadly, they had to go home on Sunday.  Here I am taking them to the airport.

We thought they would have to be missing out on a great day on Lake Roosevelt on Monday with the rest of us (Zac, Alexa, my cousin Nick, Dad, Roy, and Roy's sisters Kirsten and Leah).  And it did, actually, start out as a great day.  The perfect day imaginable!  We were the only boat on the whole lake, and the water looked like glass: every wakeboarders dream!

Look how flat that water is!  And how good Roy is getting at jumping!
Here's Leah, looking happy and ready to go tubing!

Little did she know...

 Little did ANY of us know, I guess. 

This is how we think it happened: Sometimes when Dad would make tight circles we would go flying to the outside of the wake and Roy would come crashing into us.  See how his tube goes beneath ours, forcing my end of the tube to dip down into the water? 
I remember flying across the wake and suddenly the end of the tube started getting eaten up by the water.  A split second later my leg got sucked under and I hit the water.  Hard- like slamming into a cement wall.  My chin was pressed into my chest as I skid across the water.  When I finally came to a stop I rolled onto my back and let my head rest in the water while I floated there.  Yeah, it hurt.  But I thought it was just because of the awkward way my head had hit the water and then been forced down to my chest.  Turns out that force was thicker than water.  It was Leah's face!

I wasn't even aware she was floating next to me until the boat came around to pick us up.  Her hand, covering her mouth, had blood seeping from between her fingers.  Dad and Nick pulled us out of the water and checked us out.  I was bloodless.  Just a headache and a quickly growing bump.  Leah was in worse shape, but she was toughing it out.  Three of her teeth had been shoved back- definitely not where they were supposed to be.  Dad tried to pull them forward again as far as he could, but most of the blood was coming from deep cuts in her bottom lip.
We got off the water right away and made the drive back to Tucson where we met up with friends: both a dentist and an orthodontist.  It was so awesome of them to come down to Dr. Blaze's office so late at night.  He and Dr. Johnson fixed her up the best they could with the time they had.  Who would have thought Leah would have braces by the end of the day?? 
The braces kept things in place while she flew back to Provo the next day and quickly got in contact with her dentist.  Unfortunately her x-rays revealed that one tooth had died.  Yesterday she had a root canal done on that tooth, but they expect her other two teeth to heal.  In October they plan on giving her a full set of braces.  Sorry Leah! 
And me?  Nothing but a bump on the head.  Great way to kick off my relationship with my new sister-in-law!