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. :)