How did I get so lucky?

As much as I despise the thought of a role reversal relationship, and long to be home with the hubs while I'm stuck at work, having him home this past week has been rather nice. I secretly hoped I'd come home from work one day to dinner on the table, awaiting my arrival, but, maybe those things take more time. And yes, I'm working on patience.

Yesterday I asked John what his plans are for his last day of his three week vacation, to which he responded, "I'm going to take care of doing everything you normally do on Saturday's; grocery shop, clean the house, do all of the laundry, etc. so we can have a fun and relaxing Saturday, no work involved...because that's how much I love you, and that's how good of a husband I am." Maybe those weren't his exact words, but the ideas the same nonetheless.

I only received two phone calls from him while he was grocery shopping to ask where to find things. Maybe it would have been more had his phone not died in the middle of our conversation. How did/do men grocery shop without girls doing it for them?

I know the laundry is done, he informed me of that one when he came to picked me up for lunch this afternoon. In fact, he started the laundry before I even left for work this morning. That deserves a "impressive" stamp. I'm just hoping nothing shrunk...

I'm not going to push my luck in hoping the house is clean. I thought about reminding him of that one, but I figured two out of three's not bad, and I didn't want him thinking I'm ungrateful for everything else he's done for me today.

As soon as I get home from work, we're headed out of town on a spontaneous mini-vacation. Sure we just came back from California a week ago, but I'm convinced you can never have too many vacations in life. And why not end his three week vacation with a vacation, right?

You know, It used to bug me when I'd read people's blogs that talked about all the sweet things their husbands do for them, wondering if I'd ever find a husband who would do those things for me. Now that I'm married, and doing the thing that used to bug me, while having the sweet things done for me, I realized, maybe they share these things not to make other wives jealous, but to let them know what men are capable of doing. And maybe, just maybe, it's to make the husbands wish they were a little sweeter to their wives, like theirs is to them? Or mine is to me? 

And to that I say, thank goodness for three week vacations. We'll see you again in seven months!

The Golden State

It's a good thing I woke up this morning feeling refreshed, opposed to the usual groggy, sleepy, longing to stay in bed for a few more hours, feeling that seems to greet me most days. Otherwise, having to come into work this morning, after a two week vacation, while the husband lay sound asleep in bed, would have been a little more difficult and despised. It must be a new year! Thankfully, the mister didn't stay sound asleep too long after I got up to get ready. When questioning his being bright eyed at such an hour, knowing he could sleep his days away if he wanted, seeing he still has another week of freedom before he hits the books again, (the beauty of being a student, not a worker) he, in quite a mater of fact kind of way stated, "Well, I can't let you starve." So, off to the kitchen he went to put my lunch together. Am I spoiled or what? He then proceeded to walk me to the door, kiss me goodbye, and wave as I drove away. I felt like I had a glimpse into what my life could be like, say I happened to be a stay at home mom. I concluded long ago that I'm not a fan of role reversal, and today, that was made ever more apparent as I headed into work. Maybe one day things will change.One day. Maybe.

It's sad how one day back at work, and I feel like my Christmas vacation never happened. But it did. It was great. And believe you me, I wish it never ended. John and I flirted with the idea of never returning to Oklahoma, and staying in California as bums, forever. I'd be lying if I said we didn't think it sounded rather appealing.

But here we are, back to the real word, where things aren't always so picturesque. As I sat through my Monday morning meetings, all my mind could think about was...

 How much fun I had hanging out with my new nieces and nephews, who absolutely adore John. 

And clearly, the feelings are mutual.

 Hanging out with your in-laws for 10 days straight may cause negative emotions for some people,

But after this vacation, I like to think I'm pretty lucky.

 We enjoyed a Kings game, where Golden State won in overtime.

 Posing for a cheesy picture, 

after walking around and enjoying some gelato in old town Folsom.

How nice does the drive down highway 1 sound right about now?

 Why was I such a wuss in the cold windy air at Half Moon Bay?

I'd give anything to be there now.

 What would my life have been like 

had my parents never moved away from this quaint town just outside of San Francisco?

 I would have grown up in this beautiful home, built by my grandpa, parents, and a few uncles.

Notice the circular stained glass window? My mother did in fact make that fine piece of art. 

Seeing this house always makes me envious of whoever lives there.

 Especially since it's so conveniently located RIGHT across the street from this beach.

My goodness, what would my life have been like?

 How I love being back in San Francisco.

 I love doing things in the city I've never done before,

like making awesome looking faces,

just before we embarked on a chilly and cold, but absolutely beautiful Bay cruise.

It's good luck to kiss when you make your way under the bridge.

So kiss we did, 

We have to ensure our 2011 is a prosperous one, you know?

2010 was a good year, full of lots of surprises and good times.

Let's hope 2011 is just as good, if not better!

In fact, things are already starting off on a good foot.

After weeks and weeks of waiting for the news,

We finally found out that J passed his boards with flying colors.

Just as I expected! 

Happy New Year!

Deck the Halls

It was Saturday and,

My house still needed picking up. 

The laundry was slowly but surely getting done.

Groceries still needed to be put away. 

I'd yet to shower, and it was after four. 

John was studying. 

And all I wanted to do was make this, so I did:

Homemade Christmas decorations?

Why not, after all, I am my mothers daughter, 

and I'm trying.

I can't believe it's almost Christmas.

Which means, it's that time of year again.

Thanks to my ever so talented sister, 

here is another Candrian family year in review, 

video style...naturally.

Enjoy!

Expensive mistakes

Maybe this will expose my personal hygiene, my personal embarrassments, my personal blond moments, my personal self...or lack thereof at times, but can't we all learn from others mistakes, or our own for that matter? So, consider this,  lessons learned.

Never wear the same thing to work two days in a row (sick right?), even if you work at two different locations, no matter how big of a hurry you're in. Even if the quickest outfit you have to throw on is yesterdays. Even if you rarely work at both locations on a single given day. Because really, you just never know if you'll get called to come over to the place you were working at the day before. And believe you me, It's quite embarrassing when you stumble into the office wearing the exact same thing you were wearing when you walked out of the office the night before, hairstyle and earrings included...
Perhaps it's wise to act cold and just leave your coat on the entire time. Perhaps!

When you move to a new state, establish residency fast, especially if you just left a state that makes you pay county fee's for your possessions. You just never know what county bills you'll get charged for from your old place of residency. Oh, and when you call to find out how to get out of said bills, make sure you repeat, 20 times if necessary, what you were told on the phone. Apparently repeating only a few times still leaves room for error.
Leave the past in the past. How silly of me to want to hold onto my Virginia license plates as long as possible...or at least until the end of the year, when my registration ran out, and it would be time to renew anyway. Silly. Expensive. Idiot!

When your husband, or anyone for that matter, asks you where your car registration is, never say, "I don't know?" Just fake it until it's found.

Why do I always seem to learn the lessons the hard/expensive way?

One year ago...

Exactly one year ago today, I sat at work longing for the day to finally be over. I couldn't concentrate. I was anxious. Extremely nervous. But oh, was I excited, because today was the day that a certain Mister was flying out to send the weekend with me. We'd been on exactly one date. Spent maybe a few hours in each others presence. But boy, did we have the phone calls down.

Exactly one year ago we started dating. 

And exactly one year later, we've been married for almost five months. 

Seriously? 

It amazes me what 365 short days can do to ones life. 

In fact, it's kind of scary what can happen in one years time.

But I wouldn't change any of it.

TGIF!

Oh, and boards are over. 

Thanks for all of your prayers and good luck wishes, I know he appreciated it.

Getting my craft on

Anyone who knows my mom, can't deny the fact that she's one of the most talented and creative people there is. When it comes to her talented juices of creativity, she's pretty much amazing at everything she does. I may have inherited most of my looks from my mom, along with a few other things that I need not mention, but her creativity, and talent with the arts, well, that one somehow took a backseat in my creation. I try. But I will never reach the level of excellency like her. I've come to terms with this long ago. Yet, despite that understanding, I still take a stab at it, all the while, probably making 10+ phone calls to home, asking her what to do next.

Recently I've been trying to shift my backseat creativity into the front seat, while limiting the phone calls home. I've found that sticking with the basics generally works best.

My sisters and I may have gotten crafty over the Thanksgiving break, and put together a little front door decor:

 

And being the nice aunt that I try to be, I thought I'd crochet my little nephew a new beanie for his first birthday. Don't let that face fool you, he loves it! Or so I tell myself to make my efforts feel appreciated:

Really, I just wanted an excuse to post this picture. I laugh every time I see that face.

I hope to one day make it to my mom's level. But with her quiet book, stained glass windows, homemade Christmas stockings for all of her future grandchildren (I guess she thinks she'll be getting more), sock puppets to entertain her primary class, pop-up cards, homemade journals, and quilts for grandson 1 and 2,  not to mention her craftiness with my wedding preparations, and turning old things into new treasures--and that's just all in the past year or so--it may take me a lifetime and beyond to get there. She should win an award. Like most talented and amazing mom ever!

Bored with Boards

Tomorrow is a much anticipated day. John will finally be taking a test he's been studying for since our honeymoon! Yes, that would be since July. And yes, that would be nearly five months ago. In his defense, I told him I was ok with him studying while we lounged on the beach, why not make good use of time, right?

 

I can't imagine spending months and months studying for a test. I highly doubt I ever managed past a few days of studying for any test I've ever taken. Probably one of the reasons school and I were never great friends. But hey, I still graduated with a B.S. and a fairly decent GPA at that. Go figure. But that's beside the point. The point is, in 24 hours, the boards will be behind us, or him, for at least two more years. What's the big deal, it's just a test? Maybe so, but a test to tell him if he's got what it takes to continue on with dental school, and dentistry nonetheless. I know he'll do great. He gets A's in most of his classes. He's on the Deans Honor Roll List. And he's been waking up around 5:30am almost every day since we've been married to study for this oh-so-fun test. So, needless to say, I know he'll rock it. But hey, if you happen to be thinking of him around 8am tomorrow morning and wanted to include him in your prayers, I kind of think he'd appreciate it. I know I would.

I can't wait for him to be done with this test. I will no longer have to be a mute in my own home. Although, finals are in two weeks, so maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up just yet...

Good luck babe, you're going to do awesome!