Getting All DIY Up in Here

Just over a year ago, my dear friend Amy introduced me (officially) to Pinterest.  I had resisted it, not sure of what it was but knew it as addictive.

I was so missing out.

After hours collecting recipes and wedding ideas, my now husband was ready to block Pinterest from my laptop.  I found a few recipes, particularly for our new crock pot, which he enjoyed.  However, the wedding projects got a little much for a time.  Still, I was able to come up with some good ideas we used!  (Journals on the tables, a few wedding party poses, the lit arch at the reception...)

Now my searching habits are changing.  I still do recipes.  Gotta eat, right?  But I don't do wedding ideas anymore.  Now I do more craft/DIY and fashion.  The fashion is just for ideas so I have an idea what I want when I go shopping.

The DIY can get dangerous, but since Christmas is coming up, I thought I could try to be smart about it and not get in trouble.

Good news!  I've been smart!

A cheap, fashionable, and EASY accessory for cool weather -- the infinity scarf!

I found a simple tutorial and went fabric shopping.  Chris even went with me and helped pick out some fabric.

This one was a little long (wrapped it 3 times, and I think 2 will be better) and 

I plan to shorten it, but it's pretty cool anyway.  (Pun intended.)

I can't wait until I can wear scarves more often in Scotland!  They'll be almost necessary rather than just an accessory!

Speaking of Scotland, Chris mailed off his PhD application yesterday.  It should be there by Monday, and we should know something probably in January.

My handsome husband grinning funnily just before going to the post office

I've been trying not to get too excited and do tons of research (more than we have already), but it's difficult not to look at apartment options and job opportunities... but it's still so far away!  Anything we find now won't be there come July/August or whenever we'd be moving.

To tide me over until then, here's a photo of the building where he will be attending university.

It's okay to drool.  I do.

Can't wait to make more useful DIY projects we can use in Scotland! (Or at least know of them so I can make them there.  We won't have much room to move very many belongings!)

A Little Taste of Fall

This is the first Saturday in weeks that I can just do things around the house.

Last night we took out the trash, switched out the dishwasher, wiped down the bathroom, and vacuumed.  It sounds like a lot, but it's really not.

So today is the day to do more.

Like my nails.  I don't do my nails very often, partly because they're usually not very good and I can afford to get them done professionally.  Still, it's almost fall here in Texas (with just a few weeks left of the official season, of course), so I thought it was time to really indulge in the beautiful fall-themed colors out there.

The challenge is that I can't afford really good products either.  Well, by "good" I mean "expensive".  So I do the drugstore thing and get cheap stuff.  Probably another reason my nails don't tend to turn out very well.

Awhile back I found this really pretty fall color at the store down the street.  It's called Foxy.  I really liked that.  It's a bit of purply brown color, but it coordinates so well!

"Foxy" by Revlon

Forgive the messy edges.  They were still drying.

Next step towards fall is getting to wear scarves!  We'll see if that happens....

Hello, Autumn!....?

I never thought I'd miss seasons so much.  But I'm soooo ready for fall.  I want crisp air and changing leaves and hay rides and cookouts where you actually need to be by the fire to keep warm.

We have a few days (or more like hours) here and there that almost feel like fall.  Then the next day it's 90 again.

Anyway, the last couple months have been busy!  Classes, life, and so much else has kept us going.

Amidst all that, I've decided to go back on Weight Watchers.  By spring, I want to be truly healthy.  I've maintained about the same weight since around April, which is good since I wasn't trying very hard after the wedding.  But I've adjusted to seeing myself like I did before, and I don't like what I see.  I know it's a lot better than I was, but I still don't like it.  So veggies, smaller portions, and lots more water are the order.

So, on a very happy note, I visited my friends in Oklahoma this last weekend.  Their little 9-month-old baby is soooo cute.  And she likes me!  I know I'm not ready for kids just yet, but it was a learning experience watching Amy take care of her little one.  Such a good mommy!

This is me holding Emmalynn while she drank her bottle.

Time to get ready for class now.  And get together some recipes and a grocery list.

Nothing Is Constant in Life

Well, almost nothing is constant.  Hence why in the last 2 months we've hit a lot of milestones.

In June we got married.  In July we went on our honeymoon and visited a school in Scotland where Chris wants to get his PhD.  In August  Chris graduated with his master's degree.  Next week I will start my last year for my master's degree.

We had a good time in Scotland.  It's so much cooler than Texas... as in the temperature... we wore jackets every day!  In July and August!

Aberdeen is the "sunniest city in Scotland", which was funny since I read that on a very cloudy day indeed.  Turns out that the city is so far north the summer hardly gets dark at night and the winter sees maybe 5 hours of daylight a day.  Would it be worth it to live there?  Definitely.  I'm tired of the heat.  Texas is not for me.  I'd rather have rain and cold and darkness than all this heat and humidity.

Anyway, here is a photo of Chris and I outside the building where he will (hopefully) be going to school next year.

Pretty.  I kept telling him how jealous I am.  Although, if I end up working in a castle or something, I might win the awesome contest.  (Not that it's a contest, but I'd still win.)

So we're both okay with moving to Scotland for a few years.  He kept asking me if it was okay with me, and I kept saying, "Oh, the sacrifices I make for you."  (I'd move there in a heartbeat.  I even said I didn't need to finish my degree if he wanted to go this year.... he declined.  Apparently he wants me to have my master's before we go.)

Speaking of finishing degrees, he has his!  The family came down for his graduation, which was about 1.5 days after we returned from Scotland.  Talk about a whirlwind!  (I will do a separate post about the dinner we made.  It was delicious!)

I don't have very many photos of his graduation myself yet, but here's one.

Handsome master, isn't he?  So very proud of him.

So, he's done with classes, right?  Wrong!  He's sitting in on two classes this fall.  I think he's crazy.  I mean, I understand his interest in the topics, but good grief he just finished 3 years of classes... actually he's been in school for over 20 years, and now he's going because he feels like it.  Crazy.  Crazy smart and driven, but crazy.

Now I just need to focus on my thesis.... *sigh*

This Weird Thing Called Marriage

Two weeks and one day ago, I said my vows to my husband.  That's still weird to say.  Husband.  After so many years of wishing and waiting and waiting and more waiting, I can finally call Chris my husband.

Marriage suits me.  I know it doesn't suit everyone.  I know plenty of people who've been happy being single all their lives or at least at this point in their lives.  But marriage suits me very well.

I love having someone to come home to.  Someone to talk to while I fall asleep.  Someone to cook for.  Someone to help with the laundry.  Someone to play video games and card games with (and sometimes beat).  Someone to share my thoughts with that no one else could ever quite understand the way he does.  And he shares with me.

That's one of my favorite parts.  When we sit for hours just talking.  Sometimes about our life goals, sometimes about future children (give us a few years), sometimes about how badly our days went.

There's something about this guy that just makes sense for me to share my life with him.  We really are partners.  I know there will be rough times, I know we'll argue (we're both too stubborn with strong personalities), I know sometimes we'll wonder why we ever got married in the first place.  But the cool part is, I don't think we'll wonder for long.  We'll remember these first few weeks when using titles like husband and wife and falling asleep in each other's arms was not just new but correct.  It's the way life should be.

I know I'm no expert on marriage.  One cannot truly become an expert on anything in two weeks.  Yet I know the greatest thing that a married couple could ever know, ever remember, ever fall back on--love transcends.  Beyond the time of day, beyond the argument, beyond the headaches and hurtful words and impatience.

Now I need to do another load of unending laundry and hang a clock so we're not late for work in the mornings.

Continually Playing Catch Up

It's been almost 2 months since my last post!  Whoops!

Well, in the last 2 months...

I finished my first year of graduate school
Chosen my thesis and gotten it approved
Started 3 summer jobs (one of which is an internship)
Moved to our new apartment
Gotten my wedding dress refitted after losing 20 pounds!

Those are the biggies.

So in a week we will be halfway to my hometown.  In 2 weeks we will be back in Waco, all married.

I've been thinking a lot over the last few months about how I won't be known by my maiden name anymore.  I've always been known by my family (mostly my dad), partly because it's not a terribly common name.  Last I checked, there were only about 800 in the country with that spelling.

I know I'll love my new name.  It sounds nice.  And I'll love being identified with my (soon-to-be) husband.  (He did, however, say that he would let me do whatever I wanted with the name situation--take his, hyphenate, keep mine as is... I've chosen to take his.)

It's just a weird feeling.  After 25 1/2 years of being known a certain way, that's going to change.  Just like it was weird when I started my student teaching over 3 years ago and became known as Ms. Minott instead of Sarah.  I've gotten used to it, and I even like it a lot.  Now I'll be known by another name.  I hope I quickly learn to answer to it!

So, beyond the thinking about names....

We booked our honeymoon to Scotland!  Yes, be jealous, but not necessarily as much as you might be.  We're going also for my thesis research and for Chris to visit a university he's thinking about attending for his PhD.

Either way, though, I'm stoked.  It'll definitely be an adventure!

I'm sure there are other things going on, but with all the wedding tasks I need to do and 3 jobs and being tired, I can't think of any more.

Peace be with you, and we'll see if I can try not to wait another 2 months for a new post.

Sometimes Plateaus Are Bumpy, Too

So the weight loss is slowing now. I've been stuck at 215 for a while. Plateau, it is then.

I'm mostly okay with it, though. I mean, I'm not stopping, but I'm not depressed over it.

Other things have been rough.

A couple weeks ago I was in San Antonio for my first museum conference. I'd been to 4 education conferences ranging from about 50 participants to 1,000. This was a bit on the smaller side with (I think) a couple hundred, but there were still a lot of people, I think. We saw many of the best museums in San Antonio, including the Witte, the McNay, the Alamo, and others.

It was our last night, the evening event at the Witte, when the roughness hit. Earlier that day, my mom told me that my aunt had had a stroke while at work. At that time, she was stable and awake. Then in the midst of enjoying the varied exhibits at the Witte, I discovered a missed call from my mom. My aunt was no longer quite stable and no longer awake. That was Thursday night. But Saturday night, she was gone.

I wasn't particularly close to this aunt, but I worried over my grandma. This was her second child to pass in less than two years. I felt it was very unfair to her. And my aunt was a couple months younger than my mom. That's a scary thought, too.

I was told not to come home by both my grandma and my dad. Part of me was relieved to not have the 14 hour drive each way, but the other part of me wonders how I will get closure. (I wasn't able to go home when my uncle died either.)

So that was rough. And I don't really know how to talk about it. I cried with my friends who were there at the museum with me. I cried while talking with Chris within minutes of talking to my mom. Then I was done. I haven't cried over it since. And I've only told one other person that it even happened. It's weird that Facebook explodes with prayer requests constantly, yet I have not said a word about it. I don't know how. Not really. Even a simple, "Pray for my family, my aunt passed away," seemed inadequate and desperate. So I didn't say anything.

Now, I am. And I suppose it's okay now that it's been a while.

It feels almost like it did when my childhood best friend what hit by that train a few years ago and died within days afterwards. The event is so removed from me geographically, and on some level emotionally, that I'm not quite sure how, or even if I need to, grieve.

I didn't mean to spend all that time on the one family sadness here. I was meaning to do more of a quick list, but that didn't happen.

But now it's time for a fresh cup of coffee so I can do all those little projects while Chris does his homework. Lots of books for my classes, things to do for the wedding, and a bit of reading and planning for my thesis.

I will be productive. I will be productive. I will be productive.

And maybe this plateau will decide to give way up or down.