Blegh.

I'm sick for the first time in a while. Boo.

Sunday I woke up with a sore throat, followed by a fever that night. The next day no sore throat, no fever, but hoarse. Tuesday and today...sore throat, coughing and sniffly. What kind of illness is this? Indecisive.

I did, however decide to go to the movies today with my friend Jill. We chose Dear John which was pretty decent, I suppose. The plot was predictable to me, but I stayed intrigued. I didn't appreciate that girl ending things with him the way she did, but whatever. It's a fictional story.

Onto real life, last night Travis and I used our outdoor George Foreman grill for the first time. We decided to make burgers. I have no actual recipe for seasoning burgers, but I felt that they came out to be quite delicious. I just used barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, onion powder and a little garlic powder. I do wish that we had a regular grill, but that would be more inconvenient for us than anything else right now.

Tonight, I watched the new episode of The Real World, and not only do I continue to dislike Ashley, I really just wanted to hit Josh for being such a jerk to his girlfriend. I hope that she realizes that she is much better off without a guy like that in her life. I know that it's 4 months apart from each other, but it's not like they have no communication. I would expect for Travis to be able to survive 4 months without me being physically near him and not cheat during that time.

On a much less superficial note, since being introduced to the story of Eva Markvoort, I keep checking her blog. On February 11, she posted the video that I posted a few entries ago, and then they told her she just had a few days. I'm happy to see that she's still hanging on and continuing to relish every moment she's been given with her loved ones. Her story and strength continue to impact me, and I am continuing to pray for her and her family.

I randomly decided to watch Seven Pounds again, and it just continues to move me. Knowing a story like Eva's, it makes you wish that everyone had just an ounce of the compassion as the character in that movie. Obviously, I don't expect anyone to do what he did, but I just want people to understand that kind of compassion.

Wow.

Tonight, Travis arranged for a friend of his to meet him at our church to work on our network. (The friend does networking for a living). Travis was running a little late so the guy was wandering around the church property to find the church office.

Someone apparently called the police because there was, "a black man looking in the windows."

Yes, because he's black he's going to break in.

The police arrive, the friend tells him that he's waiting for Travis to get there, the police call Travis to make sure this is true.

Ridiculous.

Lamebook.

I love Lamebook.com.

Here are a few of my favorites that I've read today:

Upload.

I've uploaded photos from my camera.

Valentine's Flowers

Travis' 25th Birthday Surprise Dinner
His birthday cake, which the waiter was too lazy to bring out properly.

The two of us


Robert and Sarah


Bryan and Alissa. They do don't 'serious' pictures.


Bryan and his imaginary date


My first pizza with homemade crust:

In other news, for Valentine's Day, Travis and I decided to just buy something we'd both been wanting instead of buying separate gifts for each other. We decided on a Blu Ray player since we were able to catch one on sale. Our first Blu Ray to purchase was The Hangover, which I must say, I just haven't gotten tired of that movie yet. It still makes me laugh, and every time I think about it I smile. I had read that Blu Ray players upgrade the quality of a DVD, and I must say, the rumor is true. I'm watching Girl, Interrupted and I noticed blemishes on Winona Ryder's face that I'd never noticed in the dozens of times I've watched this previously.

That's all. :D

Organ Donation

I was introduced to this story today, thanks to a friend on a message board.

www.65redroses.com

It's the story of a 23 year-old girl from Canada battling Cystic Fibrosis. She was given the news this week that her life is coming to an end, and that she needs to prepare herself.

She posted the following video on her website and I found it to be incredibly moving.




This is a reason that I am an organ donor. To save people from having to go through this agony.

I mean, really, whats the point of keeping my organs to myself once I'm gone? I'd much rather help save a life.

My thoughts and prayers are definitely with her and her family.

Save a life. Become an organ donor.

She's fabulous but she's evil.

I just got way too mad at this Mario game. This World 3 fortress is seriously more than I can handle. Maybe I suck, but maybe it's because the controls for the keyboard are strange.

Whatever, I'm getting cheese fries.

My latest internet addiction & television

Due to the awesomeness that is Super Mario Wii, I decided to see if there were places to play Super Mario 3 (originally on the NES) online.

Sure enough, there are places. I can't stop playing.

[Play Mario Here!]

The game could definitely use some work...sometimes the keys don't interact with the game when you press it, but it's doing the trick of bringing me back to my afternoons as a kid.

Super Mario 3 was by far my favorite. I'm currently on world 3 and I'm having trouble getting past 3-2. I keep falling in the water and those evil fish-things get me every time. Thankfully, the game lets you continue when you run out of lives.

In other news, I'm currently watching The Real World on MTV, and I want to slap Ashley constantly throughout each episode. Not only does she complain constantly about her hardships in her life (Hardships = learning experience. Take the pain and learn from it to better yourself; don't dwell on it) but she's rude to people. She just told Erica that she's spoiled. When the other girls were like, "Whoa, Ashley. You can't judge her based on her parents choosing to pay for her car." and she thinks she's totally justified. She also got mad when Erica asked her get off the phone so that she could call the cab company so that they could all go out for the evening.

Oh man...now she's crying about---I don't even know. Such a drama queen. She reminds me of someone I don't really care for. Perhaps this is why I don't like her. I'll be excited when someone else is the center of attention on the show.


Ok, kids. The final season of LOST is officially in full swing. I am so happy for things to finally be coming together, but I am quite sad that it's coming to an end. I'm pretty convinced that God is Jacob and that the guy in black from Season 5's finale is Satan. I did not expect for the smoke monster to be the Satan-guy, but it actually makes sense. I was thinking that since Jacob's ghost had insisted that they take Sayid to the temple that he was going to take form in Sayid, but I'm not so sure now. John Locke immediately started behaving differently when the Satan guy took form in him.

It's all quite interesting. Up until now, I've been against reading blogs with theories about the show, but now that I'm starting to get some of my own, I'm considering reading some. My sister says that there's one on www.chron.com that's really good. She said that they catch little details that are giving away more than what you'd catch the first time around. We also continue to joke that there really won't be anything to live for once the show is over.

Today was my mom's birthday and Travis and I went over there for cake. Ethan (my nephew) was cracking me up the entire time. He'd make me go into his tent with him, "make a meal" with his toy food and dishes and we'd serve it to people. He'd ask what they don't like and be sure not to include it. When he made me a meal, my dessert was a potato chip.

Then he told me he wanted to spend the night tonight. I can't say that this statement doesn't melt me like butter...but I told him that we'd do it sometime soon. He's so adorable. :)

Just a Few More Days...

Nearly two weeks ago, Travis interviewed for a job at a different district doing the same job he does now, only this school district is about five minutes from our apartment and the pay is much better. He's finishing out his final two weeks this week and Friday will be his last day.

I'm so excited for him and really proud of him. He's good at what he does. It never ceases to amaze me just how much he knows about computers. Apparently, when making cables for a network, (I've learned that 'pulling cables' is the correct term) there's a standard order for with the wires in a single cable, and it's color coded. He interviewed with a few people, and one guy asks, "What's the order of the colors when pulling cables." Travis rattled off the order without hesitation, and the guy asking says to another, "Well, I guess I owe you lunch!" He proceeded to tell Travis that they had a bet that those interviewing wouldn't get the right answer, (this isn't common knowledge, I suppose) and the loser had to buy lunch. This, of course, made Travis quite proud.

It's going to be strange when he leaves on Friday. I know everyone in his office and they're all really nice people. I hope that he's able to maintain some sort of relationship with them.

Speaking of jobs, tomorrow, (well, later today, actually) I'm going to turn in an application at the school district that I grew up in for substituting. I've been meaning to for a while but I keep forgetting. Hopefully that'll get me working more. I love the district that I sub in currently, but it's about 30 minutes away and after driving to and from work, I never feel like going to see our families on weekdays. Since both of our families still live where we grew up, if I work there, then he can come by after work and we can visit a little more often.

I need to call our photographer and start figuring out ordering prints and working on our albums. It's been almost two months since we got married, and honestly, I just don't feel like doing stuff in regards to our wedding anymore. However, I guess it's the last thing we have to do and then it's officially done.

That will be sort of refreshing, but a little weird. For a year and a half it's been all about wedding responsibilities, and once we finish with the photographer, it'll all be done.

In other news, it looks like I'm going to visit my friend Kate in Missouri for spring break. I'm really looking forward to it, since I only saw her briefly over the holidays. However, Travis won't be joining me, so he'll have to survive on his own for a week. He's probably counting down the days already until he's not only off of work, but has the whole bed to himself.

I'm off the night. :)

Stupid People.

I just am surprised at myself for being surprised at the amount of stupidity there is out there.

People, for the love of chocolate, please think before you speak/act/type. I regularly want to throw sharp objects at people for their stupidity.

Perhaps just be less stupid, so that I'll settle for throwing marshmallows.

The Superbowl

Travis is a die-hard football fan and I'm...not, to say the least.

So he's invited my brother over to watch the game, while I've invited some friends over that know how to knit so I can continue in learning.

That's how I'm watching the Superbowl.

Mmm...Cheesecake.

Tonight, I'm going to a "Ladies Dinner" with people from my church. They needed people to bring desserts, and since I've learned to make cheesecake and it's easy to make, I decided to make one.

People keep asking for my recipe, and I will share it here as well. I cannot take credit for it though, I got it out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. (A must-have for any kitchen). I did, however, add cinnamon into the crust.

Ingredients:

Crust
-Finely crushed graham crackers
-1 tbsp sugar
-Cinnamon for sprinkling
-1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
Filling
3- 8oz packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup milk


Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375.

You're supposed to use about 7oz of graham crackers. I just guesstimate about half of the box, (my box is 14.8oz). Use whatever method you feel is best for getting them finely crushed. I use my Magic Bullet Express.

In a skillet, melt the stick of butter. Once it's melted, add your crushed graham crackers and the tbsp of sugar. Mix it until the butter is well distributed. I take the wrapper from my stick of butter and wipe the inside of it into my spring-form pan for greasing purposes. Take the mixing and press it into the bottom of the pan until it's pressed pretty evenly. (To keep it off of my hands and in the pan, I put a layer of plastic wrap under my hands).

Take your cinnamon and sprinkle a layer of it onto the top of the crust. It adds a nice flavor. This picture is before the cinnamon.


For the filling, take your cream cheese, the sugar, the vanilla and the flour and mix it well with an electric mixer. Once it's mixed, beat in the milk until it's smooth. Then beat in your egg. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl for any chunks of cream cheese that may have been missed by your mixer. (This is problematic with my mixer). Beat it again to make sure it's all in there mixed evenly. Pour it into the spring-form pan and put it in the oven.


I use a 9" spring-form pan and bake it about 35 minutes. If you're using an 8" then you should bake it for about 40 minutes.

As you can see, I put a cookie sheet under the spring-form pan. I do this because when you pour the filling it, it's very runny, and there's not always a lot of room at the top. It's just to catch an accidental spill. You also can do a bath for your cheesecake, a method I've not tried because I don't have a pan that's deep enough. It can reduce the cracking in your cheesecake. Some people prefer to put a pan of water on the rack below the cheesecake so that the crust doesn't have the chance to get soggy. I think I will try this next time.

A great tip to knowing if it's ready: Gently shake the pan. If the outer 2 inches appear to be solid and the rest is jiggly, then take it out. It's ready.


As you can see, mine did crack. It usually does. But it still tastes good. :)

This part is where the instructions ALWAYS differ. This is what I do:

Let it sit out for an hour at room temperature. Cover it with plastic wrap and chill for 6-8 hours. (I just do mine overnight. By the time it's time to eat, it's definitely chilled enough.) Take a paring knife (the really thin and inexpensive ones) and run it around the edge of the pan, separating the cake from the pan. Then it's ready to serve!

Oh, memories.

You know the "friend suggestion" box on Facebook? It's something that I personally would like to opt-out of, but whatever.

So it tells me that Jane Doe is friends with several of my friends. I decided to click to her profile and what I do realize?

She's the one that broke my Matchbox 20 "Yourself or Someone Like You" CD when we were freshmen in high school and refused to replace it.

I find that this memory of her was the first to come to mind was amusing. I also find it amusing that the first memory was not, "Oh she's the girl that was in my 5th grade class." or something like that.

No. She's the one that broke my CD.

Not House-Hunting

I definitely hope to own a house someday, but we're not in the position to buy one, even a little bit.

But this doesn't mean that I can't look around and dream for a house, right? So here is the house that I currently just want to pack up all of my belongings and move into. It's a whole neighborhood full of houses like these. I must say that this one is one of my favorites. It has an actual porch and doesn't look like a barn, as do most of the houses around here that have porches.


Buy it for me? You'd be my pal forever if you did.

Well, this is a post-nuptial blog, so I guess I'll start with the beginning...THE WEDDING!

The wedding itself is such a blur. Everything moved so fast. I was told that it would, but it was faster than I expected.

I took the week off before the wedding, and one of my bridesmaids took time off starting that Wednesday to run around town with me and do last minute errands. The week started pretty normal, just finishing up things that were little details. I actually can't remember now what those details were, but I was getting them. Thankfully, one of my bridesmaids was able to run errands with me.

Our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner went very smoothly. Everyone arrived on time. Everyone had a good time, and magically, we didn't take too long during the actual rehearsal like I've experienced before. For dinner, we went over to the church gym, where Travis's parents had prepared a sports-themed dinner. We had hamburgers and hotdogs and I can't remember if people wore sports attire or not. Either way, it was something that I thankfully didn't have to plan. The food was good and everyone enjoyed themselves. We played slideshows of Travis and I growing up as well as us in our relationship together.

That night, Alissa, Kim and Crystal (all bridesmaids) spent the night at my apartment and we were able to enjoy each other's company, and finishing any final tasks, included and not limited to making the guestbook (something I'd forgotten about) and packing for the honeymoon. I didn't get to sleep until around 3am, but we weren't starting too terribly early the next morning.

We woke up, got dressed and went to Kim's parents' house, where our bridal breakfast was being hosted. Kim's mom made all sorts of good things from muffins to eggs, sausage, bacon, a fruit tray, etc. It was all delicious and settled well in everyone's stomachs. I'm wishing now that I would've been smart enough to take pictures.

After breakfast, we went to get our hair done at the salon that happened to be right across from my church. My stylist (and long-time family friend) had prepared a table of goodies with fruit, crackers, cheese and another snack foods. It came in handy, I started getting sort of shaky around 1:30 (we arrived at 11) probably due to the hype of the day.


After we all finished with our hair, we went across the street to the church to get ready. My bridesmaid, Alissa, sells Mary Kay and does an excellent job with make-up, so she was elected as my make-up artist. She did a wonderful job! She was also gracious enough to do my mom's make-up as well.



Travis and I chose not to see each other before the ceremony. We wanted to be traditional and wait for the moment when I come down the aisle. The nerves were definitely building up. Once I was wearing my make-up, I ran over to the sanctuary where the ceremony was to be held to put set up the guestbook and put the programs out for the guests. Upon entering the church, my eyes began to well up with tears. It was just so pretty. Exactly like I had imagined it would be.

After that, I went back to the parlor where we were getting ready and put my dress on. I had to step into the dress instead of putting it over my head so that it wouldn't mess up my hair, and let me say...that was a task in itself. Stuffing all of those layers took more than one person.


While we were getting ready, the guys were far away, hanging out and taking advantage of the photographer. I'll admit, I'm jealous that they had time to just hang out and that guys are ready in a matter of minutes. However, they got some great pictures.


Then it was time to get started. All of the excitement and plans were finally coming together for this moment: the ceremony. They told us it was time to go, so we all walked over. Thankfully, it had warmed up a bit since we were standing outside and waiting to go in. My wonderful bridesmaids were going in one by and with each one that walked out, the more anxious I got. All I could think to myself was, "Don't cry going down the aisle, you'll look stupid!" Let me just say that pep-talk was worthless. The minute I saw him, I got all sorts of emotional. I think it was due to the nerves of the day, and furthermore, the beauty of the moment. The song was perfect. The decorations were perfect, and there he was, looking perfect.

For the life of me, I have no idea what was said at the ceremony. I remember thinking to myself that I really liked what he was saying, but I cannot remember any actual words said. It was over really fast. I do, however, remember regretting accidentally handing my 'just-in-case' tissue to my sister. I needed it much sooner than I got it from her.

As far as the ceremony goes, I've heard nothing but compliments. That makes me a happy banana.



Our limo ride from the church to the hotel was...interesting. The radio was set on a Hispanic station and we couldn't figure out how to change it. So for a good 10-15 minutes we were just thinking "I really hope he changes that soon."

Turns out, the radio was right across from where we were sitting and we just didn't see it. Lame.

We arrived and I couldn't wait to see the way that the ballroom had been decorated. We brought our decorations to the hotel and they took care of the rest, so I was just crossing my fingers that they did it the way I was envisioning. We were waiting to be introduced, and the hotel manager cracked the door, and I got warm and fuzzy when I saw just a glimpse of it. I knew it was what I wanted. We were introduced and it was a little overwhelming to have everyone cheering and clapping for you. Once we were introduced, we took about 15 minutes and went to each table greeting everyone and thanking them for coming. After the meal was the dinner.

We served an Italian Buffet, complete with Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Tomato-Basil Salad as well as a pasta station. I have no idea what was with the pasta station, because I didn't eat from it. I barely ate anything, actually. They brought us the plates and I just couldn't eat. I tried, but all of the excitement from the day was just too much. We also had a hot chocolate bar which people have raved about, and I didn't have any. I was really hot from running around and the idea of drinking a hot beverage was more than I was willing to have.


Once Travis and I gave up on the idea of eating, we decided to go back to visit with people and enjoy ourselves. Once everyone was finished, we did our formal dances and then cut the cake and did the toasts. The one bite of cake that we had for the cutting was the only cake that either of us had that day, but we had some sent home and put in the freezer. We haven't touched it yet.


After that, it was just dancing and enjoying ourselves for the rest of the evening. A large portion of our guests were older, and ended up leaving early due to crazy fog, so we ended things earlier than anticipated, but it all worked out. We were exhausted and ready to just relax anyway.

We were able to escape for a few minutes and get some shots together, though I wish we would have done more. That's one of my few regrets regarding the wedding. Not enough pictures that were candid of the two of us.

We had an exit with sparklers that was a little disorganized (they had us leave from a very narrow doorway, so that was quite frightening) but it all worked out. I am, however, still unhappy with whoever threw birdseed directly into my face.



People, when throwing things at the couple, throw it up in the air, not directly in their faces. It hurt and made for an unattractive face in the photos.

We stayed the night at a hotel next door, where Travis had put rose petals all over the room. We actually ended up being really romantic and grabbing a late-night bite at the IHOP that was next to the hotel. Yes...we love romance.

We left the next morning for our honeymoon at Walt Disney World. But that's too much to post about now. This has taken me forever to write this.

Until next time.