The Christmas Bus

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, I searched Amazon's list of free Kindle books in hopes of finding a Christmas story. I wandered upon one titled The Christmas Bus. It had decent reviews, but I didn't know what to expect from what could be a potentially cheesy Christmas fiction novel. I was pleasantly surprised by this story about a small town called Christmas Valley. The story is about a couple that owns a bed and breakfast and the guest that come to stay during Christmas. I read it in about two hours, so it was a short read. Slightly cheesy yet enjoyable. Christmassy.

Bailey's Christmas "Outfits"

     Every day I come home from work, the cutest little bulldog is curled up on my couch. I think I have a million pics of Bailey's sweet, snugly poses, but I thought today wouldn't be a bad day for a little Christmas photo shoot.

     Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce to you Bailey's "everyday" look. Just your classic Christmas colors and a little sparkle. Perfect for lazy days around the apartment.

    

      Our next look is for more formal holiday occasions. Three red felt flowers accented with red rhinestones makes Bailey the "daintiest" bulldog around. 

And finally, for more whimsical nights, a quality acrylic and polyester reindeer suit complete with antlers and red nose. However, Bailey wasn't really diggin' the outfit and got a little camera shy

Pretending to be asleep.

Posing next to her Christmas gift from me and Kyle

"Hey, I smell something in there that I want."

"Allie, enough is enough."

Look for the Spring 2012 collection soon. :)

... thanks for humoring me.

Christmas Family Tradition

     I love how cozy homes feel during Christmastime. The ambiance of Christmas lights and candles mixed with baked goods and holiday movies... well, you can't go wrong. Last year, I picked up a few decorations at the Nutcracker Market, but we still had one thing that we were missing-Christmas stockings! Right when we got married, if not sooner, I knew exactly what kind of stockings I wanted us to have. Growing up, my mom made all of our stockings. Albeit from a sewing kit, but nonetheless, I looked forward to the time each year when my mom pulled out the box of stockings and perfectly arranged them around the fireplace. Each stocking was perfectly picked out for each of the kids, and every time I look at them I still associate all the stockings with everyone's personality. What's even better is that every time one of us gets married, my mom makes another stocking.

     Well, as I said, I knew the kind of stockings I wanted Kyle and I to have. I wanted to carry on the tradition my mom had started. I went ahead and picked my stocking out first. I had no sewing experience at the time, and I would have felt terrible if I had messed up Kyle's stocking. I did manage to figure the stocking kit out, but it took forever to finish! It is no easy task, and I now appreciate how much time it took for my mom to sew 13 of them!

Stockings at my mom's...

My mom made this when I was in the 3rd grade. I wanted to take it to show and tell, but I thought I would get made fun of for believing in Santa. :0)

Kyle's- Notice... my mom had "Howdy" monogrammed on Santa's shoe. Gig'em.

Little brother's... he's 19, but I remember when my mom was pregnant with him while she was sewing all of these stockings.

Little sister's... again, she's 24.... I guess the May kids are all grown up.

The boss hog... my big brother's stocking

Josh's wife's

My stepdad's... I think this snowman is so cute!

My older sister's... she had a dog named Lucy when my mom made this stocking.

My mom's... the Christmas Queen

If you look closely at the bottom, you can see the scraps of Steven's. My mom is working on his Football Santa stocking. :)

Carrying on the tradition...

My first stocking to sew

And Kyle's... he wanted another beach stocking.

Looking forward to making more... but not for a few more years. :)

Routine and the Future

     I have noticed that about the time October rolls around, a nice consistency has started to form. Granted, this was only our second October as a married couple, but still, there is such peace. It is so easy to get bogged down and tired from the work day. Seemingly, it takes a lot of will power to not want to become a permanent fixture on the couch once the work day is done. But, what makes our marriage fun are the times that come once we are both home from a long day at work.

     I generally get home from work 1-2 hours before Kyle. Within that time frame, I take Bailey on her "mini walk," work-out, prep dinner, and do a chore. I can't even think about sitting down on the couch, or I won't get up. And, without fail, the moment Kyle steps in the door from work, he goes into his "de-work" mode.

  Step 1: Say hi to wife and dog.

Step 2: Walk to side table. Empty pockets of business cards, cell phones, and wallet. Take off watch.

Step 3: Walk into bathroom/closet (loosen tie on the way there). Slip off shoes, hang up tie and suit. Put shirt in the cleaners bag. All the while, we recap our day while I sit in the computer chair nearby. 

Step 4: Put on workout clothes.

Step 5: "I'll be back."

    It seems that we rush through the "unfun" things so that we can get to spending our quality time together. We only have 4 hours together everyday, and we try to make them the most stress-free, fun, and happy hours. One of the things that I love about Kyle is that he is always planning for our future. I am a planner/worrier by nature, but Kyle takes those worries and uncertainties away from me. He wants to take care of me. Naturally, our evening conversations tend to gravitate towards talking about our future.

     Within the past 7 months, Kyle and I have joined a Sunday school class at our church... First Methodist-Westchase... you should come :). And even though Kyle and I have both grown up in church, we have really been challenged by the things we are learning together. You see, Kyle and I have such big plans, and we have had to really step back and evaluate the future we have said we want versus the future God has for us. To be completely honest, Kyle and I have struggled with the idea of owning a house. We want one. Now. However, God keeps telling us, "not yet, you two." Kyle and I have had countless conversations about when and where we will buy as well as why haven't we bought a house yet. It is hard for 2 people that want their lives mapped out perfectly to not be in control. So, we will wait, and wait on His timing. By accepting this, we know that owing a house won't make us any happier. We are very happy... and blessed already.

     What's wrong with our cozy, 900 square feet and evenings spent together on the couch? We don't need a house to do that... well, not yet anyway.  

Allie and Kyle Firsts: Boy Meets Girl

     I don't deny that it was love at first sight, but I wouldn't necessarily say I saw my future spouse the moment I laid eyes on Kyle Schielack. It was a fall, Thursday night in college, and Ol' Ags (Kyle's not-a-frat men's group) was having a crush party. Kyle invited my roommate Marisa while I was invited by another Ol' Ags friend. I typically denied any such invitation and usually cringed at the idea of going out on a school night (I know, what kind of college kid was I)? However, spontaneity ensued, and the next thing I know, I'm dressed like an indian and headed out to the "Boston Tea Party."
 
     I had no real agenda in going, and for the most part, it was a fairly uneventful night. Marisa did insist that I meet her friend Kyle, though, and this is how it went down.

SCENE: A male dressed in khaki linen pants and a deep, v-neck, white linen shirt dances in the middle of four college girls. The girls are wearing feather head dresses and other native american garb.

Marisa: Kyle, this is my roommate, Allie.

Kyle: continues to dance Hi Allie. Nice to meet you.

Allie: Hi. (In my head... He's a little ridiculous- clothing and dance moves)

     Lets say that meeting Kyle didn't really change my world... yet. The real highlight of the night was when the dj finally played "My Humps," and Marisa and I were able to show everyone what we were made of... dance moves more ridiculous than Kyle's.

     Okay, fast forward a few days. Marisa comes home from class- the one she has with Kyle.

"Kyle said you were hot."

     Now the boy that didn't impress me suddenly had my attention.

     Weeks pass. Kyle's not on my mind in any capacity. I don't even know him for goodness sake. But then, one random night, I spy him studying at West Campus Library. 

My thoughts: Oh gosh! There's Kyle! If he thinks I'm hot then he can't see me like this. On man! Why'd I wear these stupid cheer shorts! And my hair-the frizz! No make-up! Get out of here quick!

     The next time I would see him... well, the rest would be history.

     Stay tuned.

Kyle and Marisa... maybe it wasn't such a deep v-neck

Me and Marisa before Boston Tea Party

Simple Things

Yesterday was one of those days. I felt tired, overwhelmed, and lazy. I basically forced myself out of bed, all the way down 610 and 290, and taught with as much enthusiasm as I could summon. I hate feeling this way, so in order to recharge, the following were essential to reviving my attitude:

Prayed this verse

and this one

watched an episode of glee

Kyle knew I was having a bad day, and he came home from work with a chocolate chip cookie!

asleep by 9

Sometimes it only takes simple things to feel better... and knowing that a 3 day weekend is on the horizon.

thanks google for the pics.

Newlyweds: A Year Later

It has been about a year since I started the blog. One of my first posts was about life as a newlywed. Going back to work after a summer break is always a difficult transition, and I remember last year at this time I was barely balancing my life at work and my life as a new wife.

Before we got married, I lived with my parents. My responsibilities around the house were virtually nonexistent. My general routine was wake-up, go to work, come home, and repeat the next day. I took care of my laundry and other personal chores, but taking care of things around the house didn't really fall into my to-do list ... well, as far as I was concerned. My mom may tell you differently, but that's another story.

My expectation of marriage didn't seem like it would be too different than dating and being engaged. Kyle and I were very close. We had a good idea of each other's charming and not-so-charming qualities, and I knew the transition into marriage would be fairly seamless... and, it was.

However, I never would have expected that the following things would overwhelm me.

Taking out the dog
Making the coffee
Cooking dinner
Making my lunch
Doing the laundry
Putting away the dishes

It's not that I didn't know that I would have to take on those things, but oh, how overwhelming it all was at once. I expected our life to be so similar to dating, but there are many obvious changes that happen when you get married. With our work schedules, I was only seeing Kyle on the weekends before we got married. Our weekend plans tended to be routine: out-to-eat, watch recorded t.v., go to church. It wasn't until we were married about 6 months that we naturally evolved into a more "grown up" routine.

Last night I was talking to Kyle about all of this.

"Kyle, remember last year how upset I would be about having to make the coffee?"

"Kyle, remember when I wouldn't put the laundry up for weeks and it would sit on the floor of the laundry room?"

"Kyle, remember when we used to fight about who would take out Bailey... oh wait, we still do that." :)

I am prone to stressing out a bit, but I am also prone to fixing what stresses me out. A year later, I laugh at the things that I couldn't keep up with. We now have a much more organized way to get things done around the apartment and still feel like there is time to spend with each other after work.

Our favorite/typical weekday/evening routine:

make coffee and lunch
workout
1 chore (laundry, vacuum, etc.)
dinner
conversation on the patio
walk Bailey
t.v.
sleep

Oh, it works out so nice and organized. :)