Fall Fun!

For Halloween this year, Travis and I dressed up like Nacho Libre and Encarnacion from the epic film, Nacho Libre. (You should watch it :)) We called me "Encarlacion" and Trav made a handsome luchador, complete with sweats!

We're having such a great Fall season!
Loving married life :D

This is not a cooking blog, but food is still good!

This past weekend, we had a fun time canoeing with some friends. We went down the river and saw ducks, fish and a muskrat! The four of us went back to our house where I had a good Southern meal prepared. We ate chicken 'n dumplings and fried okra fresh from our garden. After dinner, we played my new favorite game, Monopoly Deal. Trav won!

My little brother got his mission call to Sao Paulo Brazil Interlagos Mission, Portuguese speaking! He had been waiting for a few weeks for that letter to come in the mail, but boy was he excited when he did get it! So happy that he couldn't wait two more minutes for us to get on Skype. We heard him read his call for the first time on speaker phone as we were outside the door to our home. Trav and I are elated!

Click here to see him open his mission call. 

Last night for FHE, we read a section from the pamphlet 3 Simple Ways to Become a Happier Family. The lesson was on communication skills, and Travis and I already do everything it suggests to have better interactions.

Trav did the activity, and so we played 20 Questions. My husband mysteriously got something from the kitchen and told me if I could guess what it was, he's give it to me. My last guess, after asking if it was candy or a nail, was a ring... and look!!

Travis, my sweet angel of a husband, had gotten me the wedding band I mentioned over a month ago! I was honestly surprised, and the rest of the evening was lovingly colored with happiness. :) And pumpkin cookies.

Cooking Class

I'm taking a cooking class and here's some of the things we made today! Starting from the top and going clockwise: pineapple almond muffin, buttermilk bran muffins, gingersnap cookie, cherry-filled tart, oatmeal cookie, chocolate chip and beans cookie (no trace of beans at all!) and raspberry streusel muffin.

The class has just started, but if we make anything delicious, I'll put the recipes up for you to try out!

Jealous? Well don't be. Today I had class from 9 am to 4 pm without any breaks for lunch or a breath of fresh air. School is going well, though! Yay for almost being done!!

Our First Apartment

Travis and I were very lucky to find our current home. We really love it! I figured I'd give those of you who are far away a virtual tour, so buckle up, because here we go...

Our front door

Our house looks a bit odd, but hey, it's home!

Come on in!

Right inside the door

Our laundry room/ guest bath

Another angle

Little things make having people over more fun! Gotta keep them on their toes (even if they are sitting tehehe)

The kitchen

The kitchen table which has a broken leg. I'm always afraid we'll have too big a meal and it'll fall over!

Where I do most of the cooking...

...and cleaning

Christ always has a seat at our table!

The living room view from the kitchen

Another angle

That TV weights a ton!!

Trav picked out the red couches - I think they work nicely, don't you?

The picture frame on the left has The Family: A Proclamation to the World, and the one on the right features the temple where we wed.

A for Awesome
Now for upstairs

This is the master bedroom

On top of our dresser. The book is entitled "Between Husband & Wife." I'd highly recommend it!

My side of the bed

Trav's side of the bed (although we often switch just for kicks and giggles)

Master Bath

Should I say Misses Bath now?

View from inside the shower (I need a hobby)

I hope my bouquet doesn't get wet! 

Trav's side of the sink

My side 

 And last, but certainly not least, the office/guestroom

We have an inflatable mattress to set up in here for when guests come visit!

The computer screen has a picture of the editing phase of this blog post. Trippy, huh?

You're not allowed to see the closet because it's messy. And hard to get closed again once open.

But you can look at out Chick-fil-A calendar!

We got most of our furniture second hand, except the mattress. That would be gross!
I hope you enjoyed our little tour. Come back soon, but in person next time!

When trying to impress your husband...

...do not leave the plastic lid on the casserole dish. Especially when putting it into a 350 degree oven.

July

This past weekend has been very hard for my loving husband and I. Friday, the 12th, was the 17th anniversary of Travis' Grandpa Pieper's death, and, unfortunately, his other grandfather, Grandpa Andelin passed away early that same morning. In a strange sort of coincidence, the 10th anniversary of my mother's death on July 14th was Sunday, making it a weekend of grieving. Travis thinks that these few days in July must be a missionary transfer day in Heaven.
Travis and I were both sad, but we were somewhat distracted by my stomach... I got pretty sick Saturday night and didn't feel well until Sunday evening. My sweet husband took such good care of me. I was able to get some much needed sleep - sleep which was a break from the world and the painful memories that clouded my mind.
We know that everything will be alright, though. Travis and I are so grateful for this Gospel. We know that we will see our loved ones again. When it's our turn to leave this world, they will be waiting for us on the other side. But for now, we will remember their love for us. We will continue in love for them, and each other. Because family is forever.

The Frenemy Syndrome

On another note...

Isn't it interesting how a friend can turn into just the opposite in the blink of an eye? I've had several friends over the years who I've been close to until... *poof*... our friendship is gone, and replaced by an ugly green monster. The first time it happened (that I can remember. Who knows how many frenemies I had in the days before I can remember) was in high school; I was friends with a girl who no one else in the ward seemed to get along with. I figured it was because she was just too cool for them, but after a couple sleepovers, I quickly discovered it was because she had a jealousy issue, sort of a if-you're-friends-with-anyone-else-we-can't-be-friends problem. Well, this relationship continued until I got into another relationship: with a boy. Needless to say, my teenage self didn't know how to balance a bf with a bff. The girl turned on me, spread my secrets everywhere.. and the boy broke up with me. That was a lousy weekend.

The next time I had a frenemy, she was a real downer. I felt like every time I was with her, the happiness was being sucked out of me. She kept a hold of that "happiness sucking" straw for a few years until I decided I deserved better. She told me something that should have made me mad, and instead of getting mad, I used that information to fuel my choice to get as far away from her as I could. More rumors. She still looks for me, though. Years later. She uses Facebook to keep in touch with my brother and to creep on my social life via the plethora of info about me that can be found on his wall. I've even had a few nightmares about that one.

But this frenemy, the one who inspired this blogpost, is the most confusing of all. She was my friends since we met at the very beginning of college. She and I went through a lot together: an abusive relationship, death of a loved one, and many other heart-wrenching events. The strange thing about the frenemyship was that, once we were both happy, we didn't need each other anymore. We grew apart, I guess. I started dating my husband and she hers. Even though we saw each other often, gone were the long conversations, the funny, friendly text messages, the baked goods with happy notes encouraging me to eat. All I got was blank stares, several subtle but biting remarks, and a cookie-less semester.

I recently saw her car, and my stomach lurched. A few days later, I stumbled across her profile as I was looking some things up on Trav's Facebook. I almost threw up.

What caused the intense reaction, you ask? Well, I'm not entirely sure. My heart grieves for the loss of our
friendship. I felt very betrayed by her, and my pride will not let me make the first move to reconcile our friendship.

But the worst part is the common element in each of these relationships: me.