Halloween Treats

Look what I made! I was asked to make a cake walk treat for our ward Halloween party, so I thought I'd have some fun with it and decided to make spider-web cupcakes (with spiders). It was fun, but I decided things like this and Halloween in general would be a lot more fun with kids. Someday...

For Halloween, I attempted to make bread bowls for our chili. I failed: someday I'll get the whole bread-thing down. Brendon ended up having a giant roll with his chili, but I insisted on using mine as a bowl, even if it was small. We handed out candy to, oh...maybe 30 kids, and went to the gym (TCC) for a mad game of racquetball. No need to mention who won, who played left-handed, or who got mad when they lost, but we both had a lot fun.

Happy 25th Birthday!

We celebrated a birthday! Brendon is a quarter of a century old and admitted to wondering how people make it through 50 (just a few aches and pains...but he's doing okay).

The day started early with a waffle breakfast made special with eggs, sausage, and love. We drove to the school and he headed in for...that's right, another test. (Yet again, a fine performance by the birthday boy.)

My family came into town for the weekend (we were both soooo excited)! Brendon took a study break to give a tour of the school and to go out to eat. When we came home, it was back to the books for Brendon while me and my family talked. After study time, we ate apple cobbler (the birthday boy's favorite), opened presents, and played a rambunctious game of Spades (to put it nicely).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRENDON!

I Don't Buy Candy

Ever since I can remember, I've have a little bit of a sweet tooth. I, single-handedly, kept the Gibson Girls' Goodies (a mini candy store my mom had in our basement for "the neighborhood kids") in business. Fortunately, my mom would let me have $1 here and $0.50 there of free candy, but I also spent $5 here or $1.50 there on candy, candy, and more candy. I LOVE candy!

Since college, I've tried to suppress my sweet tooth with desserts or marshmallows (which are really good warmed up in the microwave for 25 seconds). And, for the most part, I manage my sweet tooth well.

Last week we got a Halloween package from my mom. I was SO excited, I smiled all the way from the front door (as I shook the box) to my kitchen table. I had been thinking about buying a bag of candy, but resisted every urge while at the grocery store. Now, I wouldn't need to buy any candy.

This was my favorite treat...Costco chocolate covered raisins! This is no Hershey's chocolate either. "Gourmet" in the subtext is rightly deserved on this yummy treat.

Fast forward to 7 days later...



...OOPS! Nearly 3.4 pounds of chocolate covered raisins consumed! Brendon has eaten some, but I've at least doubled his portion. Let's not do the math on this one.

This is why I don't buy candy (and why Brendon would argue that I should buy candy more often, so I don't eat 3.4 pounds of candy when it is available).

Thanks for the package, Mom! We are enjoying it (there are still a few things left).

Siblings...gotta love 'em!

Life has been busy for the Holmes! Brendon's schedule: study, study, study; Stephanie's schedule: work, cook, clean, find new job (contract up in 3 weeks).

This past week I was able to have a good phone chat with my younger sister & a good gmail chat with my older sister.

This is why I LOVE siblings (chat with older sister)...

Sister: (Checking up with job search) What applications are you filling out?
Me: University applications and cover letter after cover letter after cover letter.

Sister: What about city organizer something or other?
Me: Community Director...so I called the guy who supposedly does the job right now with questions I prepared. Turns out, they're doing some reorganization & this is a new position. So I asked if it was okay if I asked some questions anyways & I totally bombed the call. Felt really dumb. It was BAD. Who can mess up asking questions you ask...well I can, & I did.

(Told her the story)

Me: I wanted to cry after the call. But I held in the tears. Dad would be proud.
Sister: Good job, dad...you...I was just saying that!

Me: Brendon made me feel better when he got home. He told me I used some words I probably shouldn't have. I chalk it up to culture difference...from the West to the Midwest.
Sister: Chalk it up to learning experiences, right?...Hey!
Me: That's hilarious! It's like we're sisters or something.

Sister: You keep typing things I'm thinking!
Me: I just type faster.
Sister: You can just type...
Me: :)
Sister: ...faster.

Me: HAHAHAHAHA! Is the baby in bed?
Sister: Yep. But I'm laughing my head off!!!

The conversation continued...

I just loved this conversation & wanted to remember it, so I decided to blog about it.

Happy One Year Anniversary!

Yesterday marked the exact day (September 22) to make the happiest, most amazing year of my life! Brendon & I have now been married for just over 525,600 minutes; 8,760 hours; 365 days; 52 weeks; 12 months; 1 year! What a wonderful ride it has been. This is mostly for journalling purposes, so if you want to spare yourself now, don't read on.

It's amazing how you know with your whole heart that you should marry someone long before you completely know that person. And I have learned so much about Brendon this past year that I didn't know before we were married...

• He's HILARIOUS (don't let his calm demeanor fool you)
• He has a love for tickling like his mother
• He is SO willing to help out around the house
• He has extremely strong faith (assuring me that "everything will work out")
  

Some of my favorite moments of the year...

• Getting texts from Brendon saying, "I miss you!"
• Talking in bed together before falling asleep
• Waking up & hearing "I love you so much!" before anything else
• Shouting "Brendon's home!" & embracing
• Eating dinner together
• Going on hikes together
• Cruising with our friends, Mike & Rachel
• Playing volleyball together (just the 2 of us or with a group)
• Playing the smile & laugh game (can't be the first to smile/laugh)
• Running together (the whole 3 times we did this)
• Going on trips to California to visit with family
  
• Driving across the country together talking, singing, & laughing
• Working at Overstock.com together
• Giving Brendon the 12 Days of Christmas & hearing him say, "You really DO love me more!"
• Fighting about who loves who more

I still have my moments when I think, "I'm married! This is so cool!" And cool it is. Words can't describe.

I love you, Brendon!

I Have an Addiction

Dinner conversation yesterday

Steph: "So...I have an addiction. I'm addicted to blogging."

Brendon: "Is it bad?"

Steph: "No...well, it could be."

(Interjection: I make all efforts possible to spend my time wisely. I hate TV, not a big fan of movies, & I always try to keep my "to do" list full, giving me something to keep me busy. In fact, I've even had multiple internal battles about limiting my blogging time, so as not to "waste" hours on end in any given week. For those of you who don't believe I spend a lot of time blogging: I usually read other's blogs rather than posting on my own, because I enjoy it more.)

Steph: "Whenever I make a post on my blog, I get so excited about reading people's comments, that I check the blog ten times throughout the day. I check the blog first thing when I wake up, throughout the day, and before going to bed."

Brendon: (chuckles with a big smile) "Now you know how I feel about sports!"

Steph: "Really, is that what it's like? I thought I'd never understand."

Brendon: "That's exactly how it is: first thing in the morning, throughout the day, and right before going to bed."

Steph: "Wow!...

(Trying to get to a more important thought...)

"But wait, listen to this. I'm so addicted & I wanted to read a new post this morning, but nobody on my list had posted. I thought, 'I'll go to Sheryl's blog (my mom-in-law), she ALWAYS has someone who recently posted.' So I go to your mom's blog and randomly click on people I don't know. As I'm scrolling through a random blogs, glancing at pictures, a family picture catches my eye. The post mentions the family's lives have been changed forever. I was intrigued, so I followed the link to a blog and started reading about this family who's parents were in a plane crash and were in critical condition, but are now at a burn unit. The four kids now live with their aunt. I went back in time to before the crash happened & they were such happy people, who seemed to have a picture-perfect life. They loved life & seemed to cherish every moment.

"The sister of the woman in the airplane accident had a link to another blog, mentioning his hardships. I followed the link (this may sound familiar to some of you bloggers...link to link to link). The blog is a man writing about his wife's recovery. She had a baby in June, had complications with delivery, and the doctor's had to amputate both of her legs below the knee, her left arm, and she's blind. She'll never see her baby.

"My life was put into perspective today. It was amazing."

Anyway, I was in awe of these incredible stories and was once again reminded that life is about the relationships we build and the way we treat people, not keeping the house clean, building status at work, or worrying about the future.

Thank you, bloggers, for helping me keep my life in perspective.

The Holmes' Apartment is Now a Home

We have finally turned our apartment into a home and I am SOOO excited! While living on my own the past five years, I've never thought it was worth the money or extra nails in the wall to decorate a temporary dwelling. But I finally broke down and made our apartment a home by nailing pictures on the wall.

As a little preview to the our second apartment, when Brendon & I found our first apartment, I was proudly showing it to my parents. Their faces didn't show the excitement I felt and my mom said, "Well, at least it will always get better than this." And better it is.

Here is a little tour for those of you interested...



Thanks to my running buddy, who just happens to be an interior decorator, Brendon & I agreed on a nice, conversational set-up for our living room. The living room is my favorite room and, coincidentally, the only room that's decorated.

On the main level with the living room is the kitchen and we love it! There's a lot more counter & cupboard space than we're used to. There has been more time for dinner preparation than in the past, so we're finally trying a lot of new recipes.


Up the Stairs...
We have a bed ready for all of you coming to visit. There's plenty of room: you can even have your own closet! Unlike the spacious guest bedroom, the bathroom is a bit small, but it's working out fine.



And the "master bedroom" (that's the same size as the guest bedroom) is our bedroom. It's bigger than our last bedroom, so practically a master bedroom to us.

And Down the Stairs...
We have SO MUCH ROOM FOR STORAGE! And, as a result, no junk room. It's so great! Our washer & dryer are downstairs along with storage food & supplies, camping gear, volleyball stuff, and everything else that needs a storage room.



What's even better is that this apartment doubles as a study room for Brendon & an office for Stephanie.



That's right! Brendon has surpassed amazing! Here he is, studying hard in his newly remodeled study room.

And here's Stephanie working for Overstock.com in the kitchen/dining room that doubles as an office.