Lindsey + Scotty

Today is my dear sister (in law)'s 21st birthday!! Yay! Happy birthday Lindsey!

She, along with her mother and one of her brothers, came up for the weekend so it was great getting to spend time with them and celebrate her birthday. In lieu of getting her a birthday card, though, Matt wrote this, pretending to be Lindsey, writing to Scotty McCreery. You know, of American Idol/adorable country singing star fame. Don't know? Watch this:

Dear Scotty,

This is Lindsey, Lindsey XXXX (but soon to be Lindsey McCreery of course). I was wondering…

1) Do you have a Scotty? You should. Maybe two or even three.

2) Will you marry me?

Also, I love you THIS big. You may notice that is a very big font (an 80!), that is because I love you a lot. Even if you don’t want to marry me, I figure I can still marry a card board cutout of you. I would mount an iPod dock behind the cardboard face, if seems like it would work fairly well. Anyways look forward to hearing from you soon!

Love,

Lindsey




So again, I wish a very happy birthday to the sister I have always wanted and I hope Scotty gets his letter :P

What I'm Loving...

It has been kind of difficult to be positive lately with school, 24-hour long storms, and not getting to see my husband much. Hopefully taking part in This Kind of Love's link up will help! 


I'm loving that it is raining. Though it makes it dangerous & scary to drive, our area still needs the precipitation badly!

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I'm loving that I get to spend the entire evening with Matt tonight. Neither of us have class today so we actually get to have dinner together and everything!


I'm loving that some of Matt's family is coming into town this weekend, and hopefully I'll actually get to spend some time with them and not read the entire time!


I'm loving that this semester will challenge me. I know I can complain a lot about how much work it is, but this is grad school- that's the point. Plus, as Matt says, it builds character. Or something like that.

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I'm loving that I get to cook tonight. Hey, it's the little things!


And because I want a cute, happy picture, here ya go!

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Reading, IKEA, Reading, Baked Oatmeal, Reading

That about sums up my weekend! This semester is starting off fast and it looks like it will be much more time-consuming than the last one (and probably any other semester I've ever had). Three fairly difficult courses, TA'ing for a couple of classes, working on editing a paper, plus doing all of my typical duties means I don't have much free time!


In preparation for how much reading I will be doing this semester, we got a laser printer. We already have an all-in-one inkjet, but just the sheer number of articles I will be reading make it much more cost-efficient to have a laser printer. We didn't have a formal 'home' for the other printer (seriously, it was living on the floor under the desk), so after purchasing this new one we knew we had to find homes for both of them.


Enter IKEA,  the Swedish land of all of our other post-wedding furniture purchases. After perusing the selection for an hour or so, trying to figure out if this small coffee table type thing would work or what about this bookshelf, we finally settled on this one:

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Those shelves are nice and adjustable, so we only put in one of them so I can have tall things sitting on the shelves, like books and filing systems. The Type A, mega-organizer in me is quite happy. The printer sit on top, I have plenty of room to store my articles and other materials, and it sorta kinda matches our bedroom furniture-- what's not to love? 


Anyway, after building our new bookshelf, I started reading. And reading. I pretty much read all weekend, pausing for food and work out sessions with Matt. All of that reading was for one class, too. Definitely made me think long and hard about why I want my Ph.D. Thankfully Matt was there to remind me when I wanted to throw the highlighter across the room! 

We still managed to fit in some other things though, like a nice chill date of Freebird's Burrito's and watching a not-so-bad movie. We also made this on Saturday morning. HIGHLY recommend it! It came together quite quickly, it is healthy, and it is different than cereal. Win win!

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I am sorry to say that my posting will probably decrease this semester, along with my ability to read all of the blogs I follow. I will still try to post the random fun things we do, and just what's on my mind as I'm sure I will need another outlet for stress asides from the gym! 


I hope everyone has a great start to their week!

A peak into my dreams

I've always had strange dreams. One of the most vivid ones I can remember is Aladdin (yes, the Disney cartoon Aladdin) chasing me and my brother on flying carpets through our old house when we were kids, yelling at me to marry him. Odd, I know.


Anyway, one of the weird perks of being married is you end up having conversations while you are falling asleep. This can result in silly conversations, such as this one, as I'm partially in a dream. 


Context-- we're reviewing our day, some of which included my plans for this semester.


Me: There will be one week I'll have to drive to campus all 5 days.


Matt: Oh, really? Why?


Me: Lion King's bridal shower.


*Pause a few seconds*


Me: Wait, what did I just say?

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These things do not go together...

I just don't even know. I was apparently partially awake for this conversation, except after I said that Simba (or Nala?) was having a bridal shower, I woke myself up with the absurdity of that statement. 

Just where do I get these ideas?!?

What about you? Vivid dreams? Say crazy things when you're basically asleep?

Would you rather...

As I was reading through my blog subscriptions of the day, I noticed Rachel at   Simple Little Joys posted a game of 'would you rather' so I thought I would join in. It is my last full day of freedom before my 2nd semester of graduate school starts, so nothing like a game to kick things off, right?

Would you rather be given $5,000, no questions asked or lose 20 lbs with the guarantee of never gaining it back?

I'm fortunately happy with my weight- I think losing 20 lbs would put me underweight, so I guess we'll go with the money! Put that to the house fund, please!

Would you rather be poor and work in a job you absolutely love or be rich and work in a job you hate going to?

Poor + Job that I love. I'm a grad student for goodness sake, I will probably never have a large salary.

Would you rather have your flight delayed by 8 hours or lose your luggage, only finding it after your trip is over?

Flight delayed. Has happened before-- well, flight was canceled and we were stuck in a generic hotel outside Liverpool until we could fly home the next day. Made for some stress, but at least we had our luggage!

Would you rather go without Internet or car for a month?

Oh dear, I kind of need both. I guess the car. I would kind of still do some work without a car, just miss 4 weeks of classes-- but I could skype them :P

Would you rather be a member of the cast of Friends or Sex and the City?

Friends.

Would you rather date someone 20 years older or 10 years younger?

I'm married. I'm skipping this question.

Would you rather always have to say anything that comes to your mind or never be able to speak?

Oh another tricky one. Maybe say anything that comes to mind. The couple of times I've had laryngitis have been pure torture for me.

Would you rather marry Kris Humphries or Scott Disick?

First, I'm ashamed I know who these guys are. Second, they both make me sick, so I'm picking my husband. Again.

Would you rather be banned from Facebook or Blogger?

Facebook. Haha.

Would you rather skip Christmas or your birthday? 

Birthday. Christmas brings me way more joy and hope than my birthday.

R & R

This past Tuesday was a pretty exciting day for me-- I got my first R & R. For those of you outside the academic world (which I imagine is most of my readers...), R & R translates to 'revise and resubmit.' Personally- this is a big deal! Why?


Well, my senior year of college I wrote an honors thesis and presented some of my findings at a conference in Vegas. This past fall, one of my new profs encouraged me to submit it for publication. I figured it would be a good experience to rewrite something (AKA take something from 60-something pages to 20) and just go through the process of how to submit an article. I did not expect it to be given the R&R. [Aside- very rarely are papers in peer-reviewed journals accepted outright; the R&R is the standard] I mailed of my manuscript in August and didn't hear back until today.


I open the letter and it read that I just have to revise it based on the [anonymous] reviewer(s)'s critiques/suggestions, and then resubmit. This makes me that much closer to being published in a peer-reviewed journal.


This is a big deal because:
1) I don't even have my Master's yet.
2) When it comes to finding jobs post-graduation, the number of publications is an important factor
3) Dude, publication. That's just cool.


Maybe I'm excited about this because I'm a nerd. But I'm OK with that. Admittedly there is a lot of work involved in the revising process, but hey-- I am in grad school. It's not supposed to be easy, right? 


I'm not published yet, mind you, but baby steps.

Oh how Pinteresting Wednesday

On this, my last Wednesday before classes start up (and we'll see how much blogging suffers), I figured I would take part again in Michelle's link-up! My theme today is apparently things that you read.

My Pinterest board and the original sources of these images can be found here.

Everyone have a very happy Wednesday!

Oh how I love him.

So Matt was working on a design project for a work-related-prgoram and got out his TI-89, or what he (and apparently every one else familiar with the calculator) calls the 'God Machine.'

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This is what he said upon using it for the first time in approximately 8 months.


"I'm happy now. It's like coming back to an old friend."


I know they say kids say the darndest things, but I think husbands do, too.

Trying something new

As I have written in my past couple of posts, I have a large amount of free time lately. When I saw that some of the blogs I follow participated in a link-up on the topic of free time, I thought I would join in.

So, courtesy of Lauren's link-up at The Little Things We Do, here is my fill-in-the-blanks!

1.   One of my favorite things to do when I have free time is  read something non-graduate school related.

2.   When I have free time I tend to  spend a lot of time on the computer, catching up on blogs, looking at my Pinterest, or getting hooked on new shows on Netflix.

3.  If I had an entire day completely to myself I would  fix myself a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, read for a little bit, go work out, take a nice hot shower, treat myself to lunch at Panera Bread or something similar, come home and read/watch a movie, then probably cook myself a nice dinner (or go out, would depend on my mood). I'm a very exciting person, let me tell you .

4.  I would prefer to spend my free time (alone or with others...)   with a small group of others-- a good friend or two, or my husband and/or family .

5.  Most of my free time happens    right now- all the time, especially when Matt's at work. When classes start it will be on the weekends .

6.  The best thing about free time is    it's more relaxed. Though honestly I like having structure and things to do. I'm Type A like that .

7.  The next time I have free time I should probably    do some school-related reading   but instead, I'll probably     watch something on Netflix or surf the internet .

Temporary Slow Down + Recommendations + Shopping Dilemma

As I said in my previous post, Matt's back at work but I'm still on winter break. A random fact about me- I don't like not having much to do. My to do list currently consists of only a few things, so I'm having to spread them out over this week and next so I don't totally go crazy. 


So asides from working out, cleaning, and cooking like a good housewife does, I've had plenty of free time to read, get hooked on a new TV series, and attempt to shop.


If you're looking for some book recommendations, I suggest the following:

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-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the other two from the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Don't read them if you're squeamish, though-- some parts were difficult to read. I probably won't see the movies just because of the violence to be honest. However, the plot is really interesting and the protaganist, Lisbeth Salander, is fascinating (for a psychology nerd like myself).

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-Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis. On a completely different note, this is an amazing true story of a young woman really letting God take control of her life. At age 18, she moved to Uganda and has since started a mission organization, providing children there with basic medical care, education, and food. She has also adopted 14 girls that need a loving home. Oh, she's currently 23. 

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-The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--A Love Story by Ree Drummond. On a much less serious note, this is the cute and romantic love story of Pioneer Woman herself. Definitely a fun & quick read.


Shopping
I have a really difficult time shopping for specific things. In this case, it's purses. They're either too big, too small, too flashy, or too expensive. I want a slightly larger purse than what I have now, but NOT one that just has one main compartment with no organization whatsoever. The thought of constantly digging for things is not really appealing. My current purse also has the crossbody strap that I have fallen in love with it so that's also a desired feature. 


I have found that this reasonably-priced, medium-sized purse with an across-the-body strap does not exist. At least not in my neck of the woods. Any advice or suggestions?


Have you read any good books out there? Though I currently have four books sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, I would love to hear your suggestions!

Christmas Recap

Well, after having a little over the past 2 weeks off, the husband went back to work today. Let me tell you-- Love is waking up at 5:30 so you can have breakfast with him. Anyway, though his Christmas vacation is sadly done, I still have two weeks left of mine! Which means I can finally catch up on my to-do list, including blogging. 


We were gone for 9 days in order to celebrate Christmas with both sides of our family. We put over 2,000 miles on my car, but had a great time doing it so it was worth it.


We left DFW to go to Houston, by way of College Station to visit some friends and have delicious BBQ. The following day was Matt's birthday, so we had some delicious deep dish pizza at Star Pizza, walked around Hermann Park & Rice University [residence of the fattest squirrels ever], and had dinner out with the family. 

Such good pizza! Was definitely full after one slice, though 

Fat squirrel!

We had to help my brother finish up his Christmas wrapping, including this HUGE gift for my mom. Let me show you the amazing tackiness of it all.

Yup. Pretty bad. She had NO clue what it was, so success :)

We had an amazing Christmas dinner, including the best steak I have ever eaten in my life. Seriously. Nolan Ryan beef, cooked by my dad. Not typical for Christmas, but there were no complaints by my family! We then attended the Christmas Eve service and opened gifts!

The gifts under the [midget] tree

Yum... SO good!

The aftermath

The day after Christmas, Matt & I packed our bags (again) and started the 11 hour trek to El Paso. Only is Texas, right? 

It somehow all fit on the first trip...

Yes, that does say 527 miles until the next exit

It's hard to read, but the speed limit is now 80 MPH

Look! It's a Hershey's Kiss!

Some of the wind turbines of West Texas

We had a great time with his family and I enjoyed getting to talk to his extended family for pretty much the first time ever-- the wedding does NOT count. We also went to some museums, such as the Border Patrol Museum, and had an adventurous drive up one of the mountain.

A cactus garden

All too soon it was time to drive home, though. We drove through more West Texas wind farms and eventually made it back to our place.  

It was a great first Christmas together and we were both happy to get to spend so much time with our families! Hope all of you had a great Christmas, as well.