Blog Swap!

Hi all and Happy Monday! I recently signed up to be part of a Blog Swap and was partnered up with lovely Amie! Her post is below, enjoy and visit her blog to see my post (and a delicious recipe for Seven Layer Cookies that Amie just posted)!

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Hi everybody. I’m Amie, and I have been partnered up to do a Blog Swap with Hollyanne, so you’re all stuck with me today. Visit my blog to see what Hollyanne wrote too, because she’s the one you all really like, isn’t she? That’s ok.

The theme for this swap, if I choose to accept it, is “Action. What will you do in the next year that you’ve been putting off for too long?”

I accept.

Oh, how I love to procrastinate. I put everything off for too long. If I have a letter to drop off, and the mail gets picked up at 5:00pm, you can bet I’m there at 4:59, letter in hand. But I also love to make plans. These two loves of mine collide (BLAMMO!) and I have all sorts of plans for the next year, and I have been putting ALL of them off for too long.

There’s the mundane stuff. I haven’t been to a dentist in 3 years or so. I know, that’s gross and bad for me. But I was in grad school and had crappy insurance, and I don’t really like my dentist. And then I moved to a new state and got new insurance and need to find a new dentist, and just haven’t bothered yet. I don’t want a new dentist staring at my teeth and then getting all judgy at me for not going to a dentist for 3 years. They LOVE to judge their patients, you know. I haven’t been to the eye doctor in about 2 years, and I’m all out of new contacts, so I really do need to do that again soon too.

There’s the slightly-more-interesting stuff. I’ve been putting off a Real Serious Job Search for a while now. I tried it for a while, but the complete and utter silence from all corners (no one could even be bothered to send me a rejection! Ugh, the manners of some people) left me super disenfranchised and grumpy. It’s time to get off my tail and do the work and write a bunch of snazzy cover letters and really try. And keep trying. And not give up. And then get a new job that will leave me marginally more fulfilled and marginally better paid than my current job.

But this is all boring. You want to know about the plans for stuff I’ve put off for too long. The good stuff.

Seven years ago, I did a study abroad in Europe. One of my best friends was there with me, and before we came home, we promised that we’d go back to Europe before we each turned 30. I turn 29 in about a month, so this will be my last chance to go back to Europe. I mean, I went when I was 24 (honeymoon in Ireland) and again when I was 26 (6 weeks in France) but .. well, this is my last chance before I’m 30! Plus, my husband only went with me on the honeymoon, and hasn’t ever actually set foot on the continent of Europe. So we really should do that. He really needs a break too, he’s been working too hard, the poor dear.

My townhouse has a living room that is completely devoid of couches. We bought this place and it’s huge and we don’t have enough furniture to fill it. We’re putting off buying couches as long as we can, so we can afford fancy nice ones that will last forever, and just in case the car dies. It’s highly likely that the car will die. But I want couches by the end of next year.

Heck, while we’re at it, I want a new car by the end of next year. The car is old and falling apart and exceptionally uncomfortable. The driver’s seat back doesn’t adjust, so I have to toss a pillow behind my back to see over the wheel.

Once we have a new car that is not exceptionally uncomfortable, there will be more road trips. More road trips to my grandmother’s place on the lake for the long holiday weekends over the summer. More road trips to football games and tailgates and random state parks worth visiting. More road trips to visit friends and family. Because the new car will be comfortable and I won’t hate being in it and I’ll like driving it and it’ll be good.

Yep. That’s my plan for next year. Dentist. Eye doctor. Job search. Europe. Couches. Car. Not too much to hope for, is it? Now I just have to get off my butt and make it all happen. Wish me luck. Hopefully by this time next year I’ll be able to have made some serious progress on the list. Because if I haven’t, that means I’ve REALLY been putting it all off for too long. Oops.

Fiance Friday - Life Update!

Hello blog-o-sphere!

I know it has been quite a while since you have heard from Mr. Groom-To-Be! As you all finish up your holiday shopping, remember to get the groom-to-be in your life something special. If you are looking to get me a present and you live in the Midwest, a six-pack of Boulevard Wheat or Boulevard Nutcracker Ale is always the perfect gift! :).
So, since the last time I wrote, several things have happened. Let’s go through a couple of those.

Vegas/Birthday
Hollyanne and I took a trip to Las Vegas over my birthday weekend. We stayed at Circus Circus hotel right on the Strip, which was really fun! Unfortunately, we didn’t hit it big like we were hoping. In fact, on the Friday night we got there, I officially lost $20 in 5-10 minutes. However, after a stroke of luck on the Nebraska football game, as well as the penny slots, we only ended up down $19. Not bad for Vegas, right? Overall, it was definitely a great time! If you haven’t been to Vegas, you MUST go! I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Work
I am very excited to announce that yesterday, I accepted a new position at the University of Arizona! I will now be a Coordinator in the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership! I’ll be working with a variety of programs in the department, developing student leaders. I’m definitely very excited about this opportunity!

Anyhow, this weekend for us includes volunteering with the Tucson Community Food Bank at the Farmer’s Market Saturday morning at 6th and Irvington. If you are in Tucson, come check it out and get some great local produce! Also, we are going to check out the Winterhaven Festival of Lights tonight, which is an annual Tucson event! As I’ve never been to it before, I’m definitely looking forward to walking through!

That’s about it from me! I hope you all are doing well and are having a great weekend!

Peace, Love, and Grooms,
Kevin

What happens in Vegas...makes you really exhausted.

This weekend, Kevin and I went to Vegas to celebrate Kevin's 26th birthday (which is today, so make sure you wish him a happy day!). We had a fab-u-lous time but are totally exhausted this morning upon our arrival back in Tucson.

Here's just a snapshot of what we did in Sin City:
-watched the fountains at the Bellagio, which played to Christmas music!
-visited the M&M store, and spent way to much money on color-coordinated bags of M&M's for gifts
-played the penny slots, not only because they're cheap and strangely fun, but because we got free drinks every morning while playing!
-drank frozen drinks even though it was freeeeeeezing!
-watched the Circus Circus circus
-tried on silly hats at Urban Outfitters
-cheered on the marathon and half-marathon runners in the Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon
-pretended like we were actually in Paris when we walked through Paris Las Vegas
-spent all day Saturday trying to figure out how to get free nightclub passes, secured passes to 3 clubs, and then fell asleep at our hotel after getting all dressed up
-ate at the Rio Carnival World Buffet Champagne Brunch, and then had a food coma
-walked around Fremont Street and visited the original Vegas casinos, and I had my first fried oreo - delicious!

Happy birthday Kevin! Only 4 more years until you are THIRTY!

thankful.

Kevin and I spent the last five days with my parents and sister at their timeshare in Newport Beach, CA, and had a lovely time. We celebrated Thanksgiving, along with our friend Ashly; visited the beach; ate way too much food; and I had a bridal shower!

Things we're [I'm] thankful for:

seasonal food on our table.

our upcoming wedding.

the ability to act like kids even though we're adults.

the ocean, and how it reminds us of something bigger and better than ourselves.

sunsets.

cupcakes, especially ones decorated with engagement rings!

best friends and sisters.

my amazing fiance, who puts up with more than you can imagine. 

Engagement anniversary!

This Sunday marked one year that Kevin and I have been engaged, and 230 days until our marriage begins! What did we choose to do to celebrate this momentous occasion?

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Grocery shop.

Okay, maybe we did a little more than that. Kevin did buy me these lovely flowers at the store. He is so lucky that I love carnations, aka the cheapest flower on the planet :) I really do, though. It's weird.

Then we decided to make ratatouille, one of our fave dishes but one that we rarely make. We used about ten different vegetables, almost all of which were from the farmer's market that we recently started volunteering at. The recipe called for chicken, but we decided to keep it vegetarian. We're considering becoming vegetarian...more on that later. For now, we'll just call ourselves "meat minimalists." Anyways, I don't have the recipe right now, but I'll post it in another post when I do. I highly recommend it.

We also decided to make something sweet. I hadn't made brie in a long time, and recently found a recipe I wanted to try, so we went for it. It was absolutely delicious. The recipe for "Holiday Brie en croute" can be found here

Last but not least we decided to hit the batting cages. This was my first time at a batting cage, so naturally I was scared at first, but once I discovered that slow-pitch softball is indeed quite slow, everything was a-ok! All in all, it was a great way to spend our engagement anniversary :)

How did you all spend YOUR weekend?

A Favorite Recipe

I thought I would take a minute to share a favorite, EASY recipe that Hollyanne and I love, which was also a big hit at Thanksgiving last year! Katie Ryan-Anderson, even YOU can make this (Yes, I'm calling you out). Last night we were in a hurry for dinner after being gone most of the day volunteering at the El Pueblo Farmer's Market (9-1 Saturdays at 6th and Irvington, come see us!), and then needing to head out again for the evening. We bought several sweet potatoes from the Farmer's Market, and had some Ziploc Steam Bags (Full disclosure: they don't pay us, we just love the bags) on hand. Knowing we needed to eat quick and get out the door, we made the recipe below, served on a bed of brown rice. Trust me, it was delicious. This recipe is straight from Ziploc's website. Anyone can make this!

Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Cranberries

2 medium to large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in to large pieces

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 medium Granny Smith apple (Gala works well, too), cored and diced in to 1 inch pieces

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

3/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in to Ziploc Steam bag and seal the bag. Shake the bag up, mixing everything together. Pat all of the ingredients into a single layer and place the bag in the microwave. Heat on high for 9 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Let stand for one minute, then open the bag and serve. This makes a great side dish at Thanksgiving, or you can add some pasta (as we did) for a great vegetarian meal!

Fiance Friday! - DIY Wedding!

Hello blog-o-sphere!

I know it’s been a few weeks. As I sit here, I have been watching game 2 of the World Series. It’s currently 8-0 Giants in the bottom of the 8^th inning. Coincidentally, it is currently Thursday night at 8pm here on the West side of the country. Do you know what comes on TV on Thursdays at 8pm? Yup, Grey’s Anatomy, followed by Private Practice. Since Hollyanne is at a classmate’s house working on schoolwork, we have the TiVo set to record both shows. Now you might be saying to yourself, “Kevin, what’s the big deal? TiVo can record on one channel while you watch something else on another.” Well, technically yes, but not if you own a Series2 TiVo that you bought off Craigslist from some guy in a shady Walgreens parking lot two years ago for $30. So, 8pm rolled around, I had a choice to make. I could continue watching the Giants game, or I could allow the TiVo to change the channel and record Grey’s. Needless to say, I’ll be asking my co-workers in the morning how the game finished up. Grooms of the world, trust me when I say that there was a right and a wrong decision that could have been made in that situation. I chose the right one. :)

Anyhow, enough about me missing the end of the second game of the World Series. Did I mention that baseball is my favorite sport? I digress…So, today I thought I would talk a little bit about this whole DIY wedding concept. For those unfamiliar with the term, it stands for “Do It Yourself Wedding.” Now I can’t knock the entire concept. Those who know me know that I’m a frugal guy, always on the lookout for the best deals. Don’t believe me? Re-read the story in the first paragraph and focus on the section about my buying a used TiVo from some random guy in a parking lot. For the most part, a DIY Wedding is a GREAT way to save money!

However, I have learned that there are many things grooms may not fully comprehend when planning a “DIY Wedding.” There is no such thing as a free lunch – trust me, I’ve have my share of many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners over the years. First, type in DIY Wedding into Google. Check out how many blogs and websites are devoted to future brides and their DIY weddings! I’m fairly certain that my beautiful fiancée may have visited close to all of them. There are also magazines upon magazines devoted to the DIY Wedding concept. I’m looking at you, Martha Stewart (PS – I’m still waiting on your response from both of my letters…Don’t think you can avoid me!). In fact, there is an entire industry devoted to DIY Weddings! I would call it the Anti-Wedding-Industry-Industry. Or, since I’m in Student Affairs and we like to make acronyms, AWII.

My main word of warning comes in this form, however, grooms: Craft Nights. Yes, that’s right. DIY Weddings lead to “craft nights,” which can and will eventually turn in to “craft weekends.” You see, there is no joking on this one, grooms. You’ll be up to your ears in superglue and construction paper before you can say “Do It Yourself.” In fact, I got the full effect when my beautiful fiancée looked me sweetly in the eyes this week and said, “By the way, I invited a friend over to do crafts for the wedding this weekend.” So, while you all enjoy games three and four of the World Series, I’ll be doing crafts, and watching TiVo’d Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Did I just mention that it is World Series time again?? :)

Before signing off, I just want to give a quick Fiancé Friday shout-out to my former classmate Joe and his new wife Allie who just got married last weekend in Ohio! Congrats to both of you!

Until next week…

Peace, Love, and Crafts,

Kevin