...I had more advice? (You know you love it)

Can you believe it? I've survived 3 1/2 whole months of being married. I know. Right? I'm an old married person now...

no really... we go to bed at 10 like every night.

It's awesome.

I just thought I'd share some wisdom from an old lady...

1) Changing your name is confusing. I'm still going through an identity crisis.

The other day I was at church and introduced myself as: "I'm Mickelle Myers... AH! No, Smith! Ahh... It's been at least a week since I've done that. Mickelle Smith."

They think I'm crazy.

Don't even ask me which name to sign at the bank...

2) The first thing you should buy for your new apartment is a plunger. Not kidding.

Like 3 days after we got back from our honeymoon, at 11:30 pm, our toilet got stopped up. Awesome.

Even more awesome? Both of us had to work really early in the morning- like before stores open- and we wouldn't get home home until like 6 that night.

Gross.

Needless to say, when I bought a plunger- I bought some hard core cleaning chemicals too.

3) Best presents we got, in no particular order: Gift cards, food, and cash.

Weirdest present we got? A kids telescope (?)

4) Being married is expensive. Save your pennies if you want to get married.

Lots of pennies.

5) Living in an apartment isn't so bad... best part is that we don't have to take care of a yard. The saddest part is- there's no yard for my dog to run.

Buying a house is definitely still on our list of things to do in the near future... after our lease is up.

6) Making dinner for a meat-lover and a mostly vegetarian is hard.

We eat lots of meals like Hawaiian Haystacks, Tacos, Fajitas... things you can add what you want. It's kind of silly- but it works. We do mostly okay. Sometimes we have to give into the other and I make him some sausage-laden meal and sometimes he lets me have my veggie pasta... but it's good.

7) When you have someone sleeping in the same bed as you that wakes up at 6 am every morning, you can kiss sleeping in good bye.

I've tried to sleep in, but the latest I get is 7 am.

8) Sometimes letting him pick the movie isn't so bad... and sometimes it's real bad. Like fall-asleep-in-the-theater bad.

Good: The Conspirator (excellent movie)

Real Bad: The Eagle (yes. maybe I did fall asleep)

9) Boys don't really care for decorated apartments... unless it's with Superman memorabilia or giant posters of movies.

yeah.

not a fan.

That's why you just have to decorate when they're gone, then let them notice it on their own.

This is one thing I give the advice: Don't ask. Just do.

10) Being married is the best... My advice is to get married. I'm a huge fan of it.

...it was the simple things?

Yup. I am sitting here watching the National Spelling Bee... not kidding. It usually doesn't take much to entertain me. I'm okay with it though... who doesn't enjoy a good game of Angry Birds every once in a while? Or napping in your car because you're too early for work and you refuse to go in 5 minutes early?

Last night I got to experience one of these simple things...

yes, that's right... Rick and I BOTH got to sit at a TABLE and eat dinner... at the same time!

Whaaat?! Oh yes... for the past 3 months we haven't had a table so we've had to sit on the couch and eat... being extra careful not to spill anything. No longer will that be the norm. We officially have a table- granted we only have one folding chair so someone has to sit on a rubbermaid container- but that's besides the point. We have a table. Chairs are the next order of business... but we'll take care of that later.

See? I take pleasure in simple things.

(it's ridiculous I know)

Speaking of ridiculous things... I'm starting to feel the pangs of missing EFY. For the last couple years it's been the branding of my summer... "The EFY Summer of 20__"... and now it's not. One day I would L.O.V.E. to be involved as a Teacher or as a Session Director (I'm still working on getting Rick on that bandwagon) but for now I just have to shout out to my EFY Counselors of 2011 (including my brother):

Live it up!
Be the best counselor out there.
Love it... best summer of your life-
Sharing what you love with people you will love... alot
Take care of my kids
and Dance to some Miley for me...

Now I'm going to go crank up a little "Party in the USA"...

...I had a VERY 2-year-old brother?

This is my little brother. We call him Cheese. And okay... maybe he's not quite 2, but he definitely acts like it. I don't know how my mom even keeps up with this:

Exhibit A is after he got into the paint
Exhibit B is when he got into the fireplace and got ashes everywhere.

Exhibit C is getting eggs out of the fridge and cracking them everywhere

Exhibit D and E is him in the kiddie pool in the garden filled with rain water.

He's a quick one. He literally takes like 5 seconds to get into something.

again... how does she do it? She's amazing!

Happy Mothers day, Momma!

... I got to marry my BFF?

I love this picture of us... Special thanks to our amazing photographer, Crystal at www.envisionimage.net. Couldn't have done it without her. I can't wait to see the pictures from the actual wedding and reception...

Best. Day. Ever.

Isn't he so cute?

...I felt smarter after flying?

I woke up yesterday, with a million things to do. I did most of them before I had to head to the airport to fly to be in Portland for the next 36 hours. (My Guide Dog puppy is graduating. don't judge.) Little did I know that in the first 10 hours of the day, I would accomplish nothing compared to the plethora of learning experiences on the plane...

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I learned how to make an elephant out of a dollar... On the plane! Don't be jealous. That is what can be learned by reading the intellectual reading material available on the aircraft. I would like to thank Lindsey for opening my eyes to this. Not only did it make my day- but we left him as a tip for the server at Chang's Mongolian Grill. Who doesn't want a tip in the form of an elephant? Heck, I probably could have even just left a dollar, if it was in the form of an elephant and the tip would be that much more valuable.

Not only did I learn this- but I was able to catch up on my reading in the "Sky Mall" magazine.

Wow.

That's all I can say.

Wow.

I've now been convinced that the "snuggie" is no longer cool... it's all about the "Slanket" available for just $32.99. And just in case you want to cuddle with that special someone- add only 8 dollars and you can order yourself the "Siamese Slanket"

And just in case you enjoy using your cat's litter box as an accent piece in your home: there's the "Hidden Litter Box"... or you could get rid of the litter box completely and toilet train your cat.

And if your looking for the special gift for the Harry Potter fan in your life- all you have to do is head over to the sky mall. You can pick up a replica of Dumbledore, Harry, and Hermione's wand for only $34.99!

Really, What else do you need?

So the next time you fly- be sure to take advantage of the benefits offered in the sky- and I'm not just talking about the free peanuts and pretzels.

... I was MIA?

Yeah... Sorry about that...

I'm just here to confirm and dispell rumors.

Rumor #1: Planning a wedding is fun.

False.

It is not fun. I wonder why people drag the process out upwards of a year or more. Gag me. I'll be engaged a total of almost 3 months and I'm already sick of it.

Here's my confession: I don't like making decisions. Especially ones that I don't really care about, or that other people can make just as well as I can- or even better. (Q: Do you want floor length table cloth or knee length table cloth? A: I don't know. You've gotten married before/planned a wedding before. You pick out what looks best.) I know they are trying to give me a choice, in case I do have an opinion- but I promise, if I do have an opinion, I will let you know.

(Promise I'm not a bridezilla. Quite the opposite. I really just want someone else to plan this for me.)

Then, there's the figuring out where to live, what to sit on (couches/chairs), what to wash your clothes in (Anyone know of any free/cheap working washers or dryers?), what to sleep on (check!)... and registering was the only fun part- except apparently you should go with how you want to decorate in mind so you can pick the right colors of towels, dishes, and comforter...

I dislike it all.

I don't think I'm ever getting married again.

...and I'm okay with that.

Rumor #2: Once you get engaged, you disappear from life.

True.

It's very sad, but very true.

I feel like I haven't see my own roommate more than 15 minutes this week- and I live with her! (Steph, I kind of miss you!) Between working being at the school from 8 am-9 pm on Tuesday's and Thursdays and working Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and fitting planning a wedding in somewhere and actually seeing Rick (really, he's the one I see the most though. Mostly because he follows me around with wedding stuff/we do homework together)... life is crazy and in all reality, life is gone.

So, I'm sorry to all those who have sent me texts saying "We should hang out before you get married." It might not happen. But, I promise, we're still friends. Promise.


Only 5 more weeks of this craziness and maybe my life will cease to be non-existent and I can breath again.

...I had a new favorite blog?

I've had several things I've been meaning to blog about- but man, planning a wedding in 3 months is tiring!

I have a list of topics I will eventually cover- but to keep you updated. Check this blog out. Enjoy :)