Productivity?

I'm trying really hard to be productive this morning. And sprinkled in with the "chores" are a few things that I "want" to get done. One of those things was write in the blog. Unfortunately, I don't have much to say. Correction, I don't have any interesting pictures to share. And we all know that is the best part of blogs so I'll do my best to find some that relate...



We watched Seven Pounds on Friday night ( I know, Brett and I aren't big movie people so we see movies long after they come out on redbox). It was a good movie, made me laugh and made me cry. It also reminded me how hard losing someone you love would be. My heart goes out to all those who are suffering from that kind of loss. Between my tears I made Brett promise me to never leave me. And although he couldn't technically promise that, he reminded me that we will be together forever. What a comfort that is!! Speaking of Will Smith, we also watched the last half of Pursuit of Happyness last week. Brett had not seen it before and we both enjoyed it. True, both movies are sad. But I appreciate the ability they have to make me think about life and appreciate what I have. We truly are blessed.


This weekend we also finished one of the books we started while dating. I'm sure many of you have head of The Five Love Languages book. If not, I highly recommend reading it. Being in love and being married are great. They provide comfort and security. But from my short experience (and in talking with others) I know that marriage won't be easy and doesn't always just happen naturally. This book helped Brett and I evaluate ourselves and how we express our love to each other. One of the greatest things about love is that it helps you be more selfless and willing to work towards a successful ending. And there is nothing wrong with getting a little bit of advice from an outside source on how to do that better.

The other book that Brett and I are reading is called Peaks and Valleys. We started while spending numerous hours at the airport on our honeymoon. Although it is a quick and easy read, we haven't finished it yet. You'll have to check back for my report on it. But if you have time, I'd recommend reading it in the meantime.

Well, this week promises to be another good week. We are going on a hike up to Stewart Falls tonight for FHE (Elise, remember when you fell?). Tomorrow is Temple Tuesday, gotta love that. I have another job interview on Thursday. And Saturday is the 4th of July!! Brett was able to get the night off from work and we are lucky to get to go to Stadium of Fire, so we're looking forward to that. And if you are lucky, we'll take pictures and post them! After all, I don't want you to forget what we look like! :)

Our life as of late

I realize that I've posted very little about what we are doing now, after the wedding festivities and road trips have settled. So here is a little peak into our life - well, at least a few of the highlights :)

• We had our first house guest last week. Dekker was participating in a padded football camp here at BYU and slept on our couch the night before and a few nights after. It was fun to have him around and gave me an excuse to get up and make breakfast in the morning. yummy!
  
  
• We bought season passes to Seven Peaks! Brett and I are pretty excited about this since the weather is finally getting warmer. Plus, we used some of the wedding present money to buy the passes. Awesome gift! Happy wedding to us!
  
  
• We got out first calling as a couple a few Sundays ago. We are Temple Preparation teachers in our ward and I'm loving the calling! Its weird to teach about the temple because I feel like I don't know everything but its a good excuse to go lots and I'm learning so much! Also, the class is small and intimate so that is really nice.
  
  
• I'm still looking for a job. I've had two interviews in the last week. Currently I am waiting to hear back on 3 different jobs, all of which I would enjoy. The waiting process is killing me, but it will be worth it. I'm sure things will work out, they always do.
  
  
• Brett continues to work at the MTC full-time and is Umping baseball games Tuesday and Thursday nights. He is such a hard worker and I appreciate all he does for us!
  
  
• My name change is official and almost complete. I got my new social security card in the mail this week and as soon as I get a few pieces of mail with my new address I'll get new ID to match. Kirsten Clark Smith! Truth is, remembering that I have a middle initial is harder to remember than the new last name. Also... my friend Maria pointed out that my voice mail still had my old name, so I changed that ASAP. So many little things.
  
  
• Lastly, I have a photo shoot tomorrow. haha. Random story, but I'm helping out my friend's aunt who is a photographer for the church. Who knows... I might become famous? Look for me in the Ensign!!
  

Well, that about sums up the last few weeks. We are loving life and loving each other. Not to brag, but being married to Brett is the absolute best! :-D

Dear Brett...

Thanks to Elise, here is a little entertainment.

Dear Brett,
I don't really know how to tell you this, but I'm joining the dark side. When you put cuffs on me in your apartment, I saw you sit on my father. I'm sure you're shamed enough to understand that Santa doesn't exist. I'm returning your toe ring to you, but I'll keep the results of that blood-sample as a memory. You should also know that I always wanted to break your legs and you should get that embarrassing rash checked out.
Love always,

Kirsten


Here's how!:
Dear (last person you talked to),
I don't really know how to tell you this, but (1). (2) (3), I saw you (4)(5). I'm sure you're (6) enough to understand (7). I'm returning (8) to you, but I'll keep (9) as a memory. You should also know that I (10) and (11).
(12),
(Your name)
then tag 10 people



1) What's the color of your shirt?
Blue - I'm in love with your cat
Red - Our affair is over
White - I’m joining the dark side
Black -Our romance is over
Green- Our socks don't match
Grey - You're a leprechaun
Yellow - I'm selling myself for candy
Pink - Your nostrils are insulting
Brown - The mafia wants you
No shirt - Purple hedgehogs want to destroy you
Other -I dislike your eyelashes

2) Which is your birth month?
January - That night you picked your nose
February -When I quoted Forest Gump
March - When your dwarf bit me
April - When I tripped on peanut butter
May - When I finally changed my underwear
June - When i saw a purple monkey
July – When you put cuffs on me
August - When your dog bit me
September - Last year when you peed your pants
October -When you smacked me
November - When I heard you sing
December - When I threw up in your sock drawer

3) Which food do you prefer?
Tacos - In your apartment
Chicken- In your car
Pasta - Outside of your office
Hamburgers - Under the bus
Salad – As you were eating Kraft Dinner
Lasagna - In your closet
Kebab - With Jean Chrétien
Seafood - In a clown suit
Sandwiches - At the Elton John concert
Pizza - At the mental hospital
Hot dog - Under a street light
Other- With George Bush and Stephen Harper

4) What's the color of your socks?
Yellow - Ignore
Red - put whipped cream on
Black - Hit on
Blue - Knock out
Purple - Pour syrup on
White - Carve your initials into
Grey - Pull the clothes off
Brown - bite off
Orange - cry over the jonas brothers with
Pink - Pull the pants off of
Barefoot - Sit on
Other - Drive over

5) What's the color of your underwear?
Black - My boyfriend/girlfriend
White - My father
Grey – My mom
Brown – The Montreal Canadian’s goalie
Purple - My corned beef hash
Red – My knee caps
Blue - My salt-beef bucket
Yellow - My illegitimate child in Ghana
Orange - My Blink 182 cd
Pink – Your ‘My Little Pony’ collection
Other --The elephant in the corner

6) What do you prefer to watch on TV?
One Tree Hill - Senile
Heroes- Frostbitten
Lost - High
Simpsons- Cowardly
The news - Scarred
American Idol - Masochistic
Family Guy - Open
Top Model - Middle-class
Other - Shamed

7) Your mood right now?
Happy - How awful you are
Sad - How boring you are
Bored - That I get turned on only by garbage men
Angry - That your smell makes me vomit
Depressed – That we’re related
Excited - That I may pee my pants
Nervous - The middle-east is planning their revenge on you
Worried - That your Ford sucks
Apathetic - That you are too much of an Edward lover for me
Silly - That I'm allergic to your earlobes
Cuddly - That Santa doesn't exist
Ashamed - That there is no solution to you being a dumb kid
Other - That your driving sucks

8) What's the color of your walls in your bedroom?
White - Your toe ring
Yellow - Your love letters to me
Red - The pictures from Vegas
Black - Your pet rock
Blue - The couch cushions
Green - Your car
Orange - Your false teeth
Brown - Your nose hair clippers
Grey - Our matching snoopy underwear
Purple - Your old New Kids on the Block blanket
Pink - The cut toenails
Other- Your Hannah Montana underwear

9) The first letter of your first name?
A/B - My life
C/D - Your photo with the mustache drawn on it
E/F - Your neighbors dog
G/H - The oil tank from your car
I/J - Your left ear
K/L - The results of that blood-sample
M/N - Your glass eye
O/P - My common sense
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - Your collection of butterflies
U/V - Your criminal record
W/X – Your jonas posters
Y/Z - Your credit cards

10) The last letter in your last name?
A/B - Love your sweet, sweet butt
C/D - Always will remember the pep talks
E/F -Never will forget that night you cried when Joe Jonas waved at you,
G/H – Will not tell the authorites that you stole the whale from the backyard.
I/J – Mocked you behind your back constantly
K/L - Hate your cooking
M/N - Told in my confession today about the moose poaching
O/P - Told my psychiatrist about the bruises
Q/R - Get sick when I think of your feet
S/T - Always wanted to break your legs
U/V - Will try to forget that you broke my heart
W/X - Haven’t showered in a month
Y/Z – am better off without you

11) What do you prefer to drink?
Wine- Our friendship is ruined
Soft drink – I’m off to lead a new life as a lemon
Soda – I will haunt you when I’m reincarnated as an Eskimo
Milk - The apartment building is on fire
Water – I'm scratching my butt as you read this
Cider– I have a passionate interest for mice
Juice – You ruined my attempts at another world war.
Snapple/Vitamin water – You should get that embarrassing rash checked out
Hot chocolate – Your Cucumber-fetish is weird
Whiskey - I love Oprah Winfrey
Beer – Thanks for the Cocaine
Other – you should stop picking your nose

12) To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation?
Thailand – Warm tingly sensations
Australia - Best of luck with Nick Jonas
France - Love always
Spain - Greetings to your frog Leonard
China – You make me sick
Germany – Please don’t hurt me
Japan - Go milk a cow
Greece - Your everlasting enemy
USA - with tears of saddness
Egypt – Kiss my butt
England - Go eat a happy meal, on that thought, super size it..

mensiversary?

According to Wikipedia the term anniversary is used to celebrate a yearly occurrence and the term mensiversary is used for something you celebrate monthly. In that case, Brett and I celebrated our 1 month mensiversary yesterday! And although it's only been a month, we are looking forward to many (real) anniversaries in the future.

Brett is the best husband :)

Brett and I are both blessed to have some awesome examples of life-long marriages in our life. Ironically enough, our parents have the same wedding anniversary and both celebrated 25 years at the begining of this month. We are so grateful for them and for the examples they have been to us. We know its not easy but we are willing to work and achieve- just like our parents have. Happy 25th anniversary Monica & Harold and Mike & Tracie! Here is a little tribute made out of pictures from the wedding.

Monica and Harold Clark

Mike and Tracie Smith

Ode to my wedding shoes

I could write an actual ode to the shoes, but lets be frank- I'm too lazy. So instead I'll just comment about how much I loved them! After many shopping trips looking for the perfect green shoes we finally found them. (Truth is, Brett was actually the one to spot them.) The added pop of green was a perfect touch for the pictures.



In other news... I crafted an outfit for church today that allowed me to wear them again! I was just loving it.

This ones for the girls

Part of what made our special day so special was all of our friends who came to share it with us. As a thank-you for all of the girls that traveled to be there, here is a shout-out to each of them.

Sydney:
My first college roommate, and my last. All six of "the girls of 219" were able to make it for the wedding. I'm so glad we were able to build such a strong friendship my freshman year of college. Sydney was my Maid of Honor and did so much to help make the day a success. She is always there when I need her and was willing to help out with even the littlest details. While talking at the luncheon she gave some tender remarks that made me tear up and shared memories that made me laugh. I truly am grateful to call Sydney my friend!
Brittany:
Another great friend and helpful bridesmaid. Brittany and I have been good friends since high school and I've always been able to count on her for help when I need it, and a good time when I want it. Brittany got married last summer and I was able to participate in her wedding. Since being married Brett and I have found great friendship with her and her husband Rob. Although Rob was unable to make it to Portland for the wedding, Brittany did a great job planning a bachelorette party and being responsible for the beautiful flowers during the day.

Amy:
I was blessed to have my cousin and her parents make the trip down to Portland for the wedding. Amy has lived the closest to me out of all my cousins and I have many fond memories with her and her family. Amy is an awesome girl and graduated from High School this year. I'm excited to see what great things await her in the future.

Cami:
Cami is Brett's cousin. Her and her family live in Utah and I have been lucky to spend time getting to know them. Cami is gorgeous and lots of fun; I can hardly believe that she is only 14. I'm excited to get to know Cami better over the years!


Chelsea:
Another one of the girls of 219. I was so glad Chelsea was able to make it since she was married only 2 weeks prior. We were engaged together and it was fun to help each other plan our weddings together. Chelsea and I used to joke that we would make a good couple. Her and I were almost-instant friends and shared many laughs over the year. Chelsea has been a great friend though out college and I look forward to being newlywed friends together.


Maria (and Steve):
Maria, one of the girls of 219, got married last summer to Steve. They both made the road trip up and it was fun to have them there. Steve did a great job managing with so many girls around. His camera skills also came in handy. Although Maria's hair color is constantly changing, her friendship is not. Maria and Steve are in our ward this summer and we have had fun getting to know them as a couple better.




Natausha:
Affectionately referred to as na-ta-ooo-sha, Tausha has been a great friend and loyal girl of 219. Although she commented on my wedding being a chance for her to "finally visit Portland" I'm glad she was willing to make the long trek northward. She is a loyal friend and I can always count on her when I need her. Tausha can also be credited for encouraging me to give Brett a chance even when I thought he was a "hick boy".
Elise:
This girl of 219 started the marriage-fest off two summers ago. She was the first one to get hitched and has been a great source of knowledge and guidance. Her advice helped me along the dating and engagement stages without going insane. Elise is easy to talk to and always cheers me up when I see her. I'm grateful she was willing to leave her husband behind for a few days to celebrate with me.

Chaela:
Although not one of the original girls of 219, you wouldn't guess that Chaela didn't belong. She has been a great friend always excited and interested in my life. She was nice enough to offer her artistic ability multiple times in the wedding process. She took our beautiful engagement pictures, helped with the announcement construction and help Sydney decorate the sign in book. I'm grateful for her talent and willingness to share.

Cassi:
Cassi is the newest edition to our group of friends. She was one of my house-mates this last year and was supportive in all my stages with Brett. I am grateful she wanted to take the trip to come celebrate with me. Cassi once paid Brett and I the complement of saying we were "just meant to be together" and although she was only a "second string bridesmaid" I am glad she was in my wedding and in my life.

So besides a day full of fun and memories. What happens when many of your closest friends come together for your wedding? Well, this is what happens....


Actually I have to give them credit... the car was decorated cute, a little scandalous, and not too hard to clean up. Good work girls!

Thanks girls. Love you all!

Road trip

In the last post I made reference to the road trip that Brett and I took last week. Because I have more pictures to share, and because we enjoyed our trip, and because I have nothing better to do at 8 am in the morning than lay in bed and type, I decided to blog about it!

The purpose: Brett's brother, Dekker, made it to the state championship game for baseball and so we took an impromptu trip to watch the game.

The itinerary:
We found out on Wednesday that we'd be making the trip, although we did know it was a possibility so we were mostly prepared.
Thursday: Provo to Baker(9 hours). Car troubles made the trip 2 hours longer than normal. Spent the night with his parents.
Friday: Baker to Portland (5 hours). The Smith's drove us which was much appreciated and then we spent the night with my family.
Saturday: Portland to Salem (1 hour). Watched the baseball game!! Salem to Baker ( 5 hours). Spent the night in Baker.
Sunday: Woke up, packed up the car and braced for the last leg of a long trip. Baker to Provo (7 hours). Home at last. :)

The fun:
I can honestly say that aside from all of the driving/being in a car I had a fun weekend. (and I'm sure Brett would agree). It was fun to spend time with his family and I was glad we got to make it all the way to Portland to see mine. For those of you that aren't aware of Oregon's geography Baker City and Portland are on opposite sides of the state. This means that my parents are just too far to drive to on a regular basis. So it was a nice surprise to get to make that trip. Of course the game, the purpose of the trip, was also fun. I don't think I've ever been so concerned about a baseball game before in my life, but I was fully invested in this game. The teams both played hard and despite a slow start Baker was able to get back in the game and show the other team what they are made of. In the end, we lost. But we put up a good fight and Dekker had some awesome plays: a couple big hits and pick-offs at first base. That kid is a stud and I look forward to watching him play more in the future.

The proof:
As I promised earlier, I have a few snap shots I took. Enjoy :)






Additional Note: For those of you who asked, I edit the pictures in Picasa before uploading them to the blog. That is how the collages have been made.

Too Hot to Handle!

In the last month Brett's car, aka "The Jimmy", has driven over 2000 miles without breaking down. And since we started dating, we've made the trip from Provo to Baker City a handful of times without having a major vehicular problem.

That is.... until last week.

Our good luck ran dry just outside of Tremonton Utah. We were on yet another road trip, headed to Baker, Thursday afternoon. Brett was driving when he looked down and noticed the temperature gauge on the car was rising quickly. He alerted me and I was shocked to see the needle nearing the red zone. We knew we needed to do something, and we needed to do something quick.

Luckily the town of Snowville is perfectly placed in the middle of nowhere. We stoped at the gas station, opened the hood, and were met with a bone-dry and hissing radiator. After consulting with Brett's dad we added 2 and 1/2 gallons of coolant and water, crossed our fingers and hit the road again. We traveled successfully for a while but then the gauge started rising again.

Long story short, we made a number of stops on our way to Baker to fill the radiator with water. But after all was said and done we pulled into Brett's parent's driveway glad to have made it.



Friday morning Brett took the car to the mechanic and then we left town with his parents for the second half of the road trip: Baker to Portland. We were relieved to come back to Baker and find the car all fixed up. There was a crack in the radiator (or something like that...) and they were able to fix it just in time for us to drive back to Provo.

Although the rising car temperature was a hassle, it could have been worse. We were lucky nothing more serious happened and grateful we were able to get it all fixed in Baker where it was much much cheaper than it would have been here in Provo (thanks to family friends!) Although we don't plan on taking another long distant trip anytime soon we hope we can continue on with our good car luck.

Sick Day

The flu bug is all around us. No big deal, except that Brett woke up in the middle of the night on Monday feeling awful. Well, I guess he had been awake for a while and it was me who finally woke-up. Either way we were concerned. Luckily after looking at the symptoms of the flu and thoroughly quizzing Brett on how he was feeling we decided he didn't have "The Flu". Although this eased my worries, I still didn't like the idea that he was in pain and not feeling well. So I spent the rest of the night and all day Tuesday trying to nurse my new husband back to health. I'd be lying if I said that something I did miraculously made him feel better. Although I liked to think that I was helping. Ultimately we think he was simply suffering food poisoning from a bad cherry that he ate.

We enjoyed the time we had yesterday to sit around and do nothing. We watched a lot of TV, wrote some (of the many) thank-you cards, decorated a little around the house, played some games and mostly just enjoyed being able to do nothing. Sick days are the best! Well... let me rephrase that.... sick-days-where-you-aren't-too-sick,-so-you-still-get-to-have-fun are the best. Being sick was definitely not fun for Brett.

The good news.... Brett started feeling better and was able to return to work today.

The bad news... that means I'll be home alone all day today. Side note: Wednesday's are long for Brett (and therefore they are long for me). He leaves at 7:15 am and aside from a one-hour dinner break at 4 he doesn't get off work until 9pm. Poor guy.


Sorry, no pictures of sick Brett (you wouldn't want to see them anyway) but I plan on taking some pictures of how our new little home is coming together so check back soon for those!