The other day I picked up our pottery after work.
We have been waiting (impatiently I might add..)
all week for them to be fired so we were pretty
excited when we heard they were ready.
Let us know what you think!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Painting our Hearts Out
This past week Dan and I went to Arts on Fire, a "paint your own pottery" place. About a month and a half ago I saw an episode on one of my favorite shows "Jon & Kate plus 8 (a show about a family with twins and sextuplets) about them taking their kids to a place like Arts on Fire. After watching that episode I had a HUGE craving to go to one as well. So my friend Mallory and I went about a month ago. I painted a plate as a wedding gift for Andrew & Cami. Ever since then I have been wanting to go back with Dan. I was a little worried he wouldn't really enjoy it but we want to start doing more stuff with each other that entails teaching one another about a hobby of ours. So painting we did go!
We each picked out plates to decorate to use each Sunday for dinner. Dan painted a "Cajun Basketball" theme on his, which consisted of an alligator sitting on top of a basketball (basically his two favorite things....lol) with a landscape like background and a sun in the corner with a goofy grin and sunglasses on. I painted a "Frog Kingdom" (who would have ever guessed....:)on mine, which consisted of a frog prince and princess with a castle in the background. It had "And they lived "HOP"ily ever after" written around the border. Both plates definitely fit our personalities!
I was surprised at how much fun Dan had painting his plate and how good he was at it. I helped him out a little but I think he discovered a little bit of artistic talent he never knew he had....don't think he will probably pursue that talent much other than when I drag him into doing craft projects with me...which knowing myself, that might happen quite often. Overall, it was a nice day. We have been so busy lately that it was nice to take time out of our Saturday to just relax and enjoy one an other's company without having to worry about anything other than painting our plates!
2 Years...CrAzY!!!!!
As I mentioned in the previous post we have officially been married two years now. It really doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Probably a big part of it is because Dan was getting ready to deploy on our first anniversary. So when he got home from deployment we were already halfway to our second. For our anniversary we had planned on going out of town for the weekend but had to postpone it due to Dan getting called in to work. We still had a nice dinner at home on Sunday and exchanged gifts and such. I have to say, the gift from my parents (more so my dad), pictured on the left, definitely sums up our marriage!:) Hee hee...not really but we both definitely enjoy teasing each other on occasion!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
I've Been Tagged!!!! Thanks to Amber:)
Okay, so I was tagged by Amber to post 6 random facts about myself. I decided to use this tag as a way of filling everyone in on our current life. I have been thinking about doing that for quite sometime since I have several friends who now read my blog that I haven't talked to since before I even met Dan.
1. Dan & I met on a blind date January 2, 2006. Both of us were NOT excited about going on a blind date...but are glad we did! We definitely don't give testimonials on the pros of blind dating but if it works for you, great! It worked randomly for us (Dan's first blind date and my second). I will say it makes the difference who sets you up. Dan was asked about the date by his brother's best friend and my best friend asked me about it.
2. We were engaged just shy of 6 weeks of dating (I know crazy....) on Valentines. Dan went off to basic training for the Air Force at the end of April and returned just a mere few days before the wedding.
3. We were sealed in the Bountiful Temple, August 10, 2006 and just celebrated our 2 year anniversary a few weeks ago. We took a short weekend honeymoon to Vegas and moved a week later to our first Air Force station, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.
4. We have been living in Louisiana now for two years and LOVE it! We do miss family at times but we definitely have a great life here and have made lots of forever friends. When we were waiting to find out where we would be stationed (much like waiting for a mission call) my mom and I kept on praying we would be near family (or near enough to have someone to run to in case of emergency). Our prayers were definitely answered, but not in the slightest way we expected. We thought we might end up near Utah or in Arizona by Dan's brother, but here we are in Louisiana only 3 HOURS AWAY from Dan's Dan and Stepmom (they moved here about 6 months after we did). Plus we also have the Deatons (my old neighbors from Utah) that we consider next to kin as well.
5. Dan works on base as a cook and goes to school part-time at night. He teasingly said he was given the job because he was a newlywed and the Air Force wanted him to learn how to cook for his wife. I think that is actually slightly true. Although he has had his challenges of downsizing a recipe for hundreds of people just for the two of us, he is a big help in the kitchen when I have down days. Oh yeah, that's another random tidbit from the past two years, I was diagnosed as a Diabetic about a year ago, therefore the down days. Dan enjoys his job but eventually would like to work at the gym helping plan races and other events on base. Is the Air Force a career for him? Who knows??? That is a big question lingering in our minds but we enjoy it for now and want to make the best of it! Dan has deployed once so far, last year he was in Kuwait from September until the end of January this year. It was hard having him gone (I spent a majority of the time in Utah with family) but we both grew a lot from the experience.
6. As for me, I work in Downtown Shreveport at a law firm. There are 12 attorneys here so there is plenty of work to keep me busy! I work as their billing clerk and occasionally fill in with help on the accounting side as well. It is a good job for now, I have made some great friends and enjoy what I do (well for the most part....). I have definitely learned a lot here and they have been extremely good to me. Heck, they let me take off 3 whole months while Dan was deployed! Not sure if I will stay working at law firms in general forever, possibly thinking about becoming a dietitian or something along those lines, but for now the law firm is the place I am supposed to be! As far as schooling goes, I finished up my associates degree this past year and put school on hold while Dan was deployed. I have signed up for a few continuing education classes at the local college this fall and will hopefully be starting shortly again on another degree of some sort.
Bonus Random Fact #7. Dan & I are both currently serving with the youth at church and we both love it! I am sure I have mentioned that before in some of the posts but wanted to mention it again because it is such a big part of our daily lives. Our callings have definitely been the number one thing that has helped us make friends and start a support group in Louisiana, a home a way from home, I guess you could call it.
Okay, now it's someone else's turn. I tag Lora, Mary, & Desirae!!!!! Tell me 6 things about yourself!
1. Dan & I met on a blind date January 2, 2006. Both of us were NOT excited about going on a blind date...but are glad we did! We definitely don't give testimonials on the pros of blind dating but if it works for you, great! It worked randomly for us (Dan's first blind date and my second). I will say it makes the difference who sets you up. Dan was asked about the date by his brother's best friend and my best friend asked me about it.
2. We were engaged just shy of 6 weeks of dating (I know crazy....) on Valentines. Dan went off to basic training for the Air Force at the end of April and returned just a mere few days before the wedding.
3. We were sealed in the Bountiful Temple, August 10, 2006 and just celebrated our 2 year anniversary a few weeks ago. We took a short weekend honeymoon to Vegas and moved a week later to our first Air Force station, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.
4. We have been living in Louisiana now for two years and LOVE it! We do miss family at times but we definitely have a great life here and have made lots of forever friends. When we were waiting to find out where we would be stationed (much like waiting for a mission call) my mom and I kept on praying we would be near family (or near enough to have someone to run to in case of emergency). Our prayers were definitely answered, but not in the slightest way we expected. We thought we might end up near Utah or in Arizona by Dan's brother, but here we are in Louisiana only 3 HOURS AWAY from Dan's Dan and Stepmom (they moved here about 6 months after we did). Plus we also have the Deatons (my old neighbors from Utah) that we consider next to kin as well.
5. Dan works on base as a cook and goes to school part-time at night. He teasingly said he was given the job because he was a newlywed and the Air Force wanted him to learn how to cook for his wife. I think that is actually slightly true. Although he has had his challenges of downsizing a recipe for hundreds of people just for the two of us, he is a big help in the kitchen when I have down days. Oh yeah, that's another random tidbit from the past two years, I was diagnosed as a Diabetic about a year ago, therefore the down days. Dan enjoys his job but eventually would like to work at the gym helping plan races and other events on base. Is the Air Force a career for him? Who knows??? That is a big question lingering in our minds but we enjoy it for now and want to make the best of it! Dan has deployed once so far, last year he was in Kuwait from September until the end of January this year. It was hard having him gone (I spent a majority of the time in Utah with family) but we both grew a lot from the experience.
6. As for me, I work in Downtown Shreveport at a law firm. There are 12 attorneys here so there is plenty of work to keep me busy! I work as their billing clerk and occasionally fill in with help on the accounting side as well. It is a good job for now, I have made some great friends and enjoy what I do (well for the most part....). I have definitely learned a lot here and they have been extremely good to me. Heck, they let me take off 3 whole months while Dan was deployed! Not sure if I will stay working at law firms in general forever, possibly thinking about becoming a dietitian or something along those lines, but for now the law firm is the place I am supposed to be! As far as schooling goes, I finished up my associates degree this past year and put school on hold while Dan was deployed. I have signed up for a few continuing education classes at the local college this fall and will hopefully be starting shortly again on another degree of some sort.
Bonus Random Fact #7. Dan & I are both currently serving with the youth at church and we both love it! I am sure I have mentioned that before in some of the posts but wanted to mention it again because it is such a big part of our daily lives. Our callings have definitely been the number one thing that has helped us make friends and start a support group in Louisiana, a home a way from home, I guess you could call it.
Okay, now it's someone else's turn. I tag Lora, Mary, & Desirae!!!!! Tell me 6 things about yourself!
Pictures from Utah:)
Dan was excited about his new outfit
we bought for him to wear in Utah.
He was extremely surprised I thought
the idea of buying plaid shorts was
acceptable, and even more surprised
I liked them! FYI Dan, wearing plaid shorts
is NOT the same as wearing your
Hawaiian swimsuit on dates.
Dan, Jordan, & Rueb after a water war.
Andrew & Cami and Paul & Donna at the reception.
Dolores, Abby, & Aidan.
Donna, Angel, and I in our pretty little dresses.
My bro & I at the reception.
Bowling with Rueb.
Bowling again.
and again:)
Best part about bowling was our scores. I accidentally bowledfor my dad (F=fadduh) so he bowled
mine (S=Sierra). So I definitely ended up with a
better score that way! Heck I almost won the game!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Our Utah Trip
I am finally posting about Utah....I know I said I would do it a few weekends ago but life seems to be passing too quickly and I keep on getting more and more behind. Our home computer wasn't working for a few weeks and I was finally able to fix it this past weekend. So between having no home computer and being too busy to do it at work during my lunch, I just haven't posted for awhile:) So anyways, I figured I would at least try to do a few postings this morning. (minus pictures because I accidentally left my purse at home this morning, which has the camera in it...annoying to say the least!!!!!!!!!!)
Okay, so we went to Utah a few weeks ago for Andrew's, Dan's brother, wedding. We got there on a Saturday and became wedding plan/prep assistant's (for the most part....) for the weekend up until the wedding on Tuesday. It was a tiring weekend but we were glad to help and enjoyed being near family. The wedding was great, we enjoyed the day and were excited to be able to be a part of the wedding celebration. Donna, my mother-in-law, Angel and Kristen (two of my sister-in-laws), and I all enjoyed being able to dress up and FINALLY wear the dresses we all stressed over finding:) I enjoyed being all fancy and look forward to wearing my outfit again (yes again...I spent too much on it just to wear it once) at Angel's wedding in November. Overall, the wedding was a great day, tiring to say the least, but I always enjoy participating in weddings now just as much as I did as a little girl when I looked forward to and schemed about my own wedding someday.
After the wedding was over we made a hasty decision and changed Dan's flight plan to stay a few extra days. He originally was supposed to leave the morning after the wedding to head back home for work and school. But since we hadn't really had a chance to relax with family yet he decided to stay a few extra days. Wednesday we spent the morning with the Crandall family eating free breakfast at the Holiday Inn and that evening with the Jasmers playing killer bunnies...my new obsession! Kristen has been trying to convince me to learn the game for quite some time now and I have always cringed at the idea. Well this time when I was asked I finally gave in and joined the game and ended up falling in love with it. I bought the game shortly thereafter but haven't had a chance to play it since we got home...it is constantly on my mind though!
Thursday I was able to spend some one-on-one time with my mom and Dan spent the morning with his two younger brothers, while everyone else was at work. That night we spent time with my family. My mom and I put together a full Chinese dinner, chopsticks included. It was fun to just be able to spend time with my family, visiting, relaxing, laughing, etc...something I miss.
Dan left first thing Friday morning in order to make it back to Louisiana in time for class that night. His flight ended up being delayed enough that he missed the beginning of his class but it wasn't a big issue. I stayed a few extra days, enjoying time with both families. After going to church with my family and a quick dinner on Sunday I was scheduled to fly home...but my flight got cancelled. I really wasn't all that annoyed because I was sad to say goodbye and had a good excuse to visit longer. So my dad took work off on Monday and we schedule a daddy-daughter date. It was a great morning and I wouldn't have missed it for the world! We went up to Park City and he took me to lunch and we did a little shopping. That has always been a favorite place of mine to go because of all the memories as a child I have there.
As my dad and I arrived at the airport for my departure we waited in a long, long line for a long, long time for me to be checked in. When I got to the front I found out that my flight had been cancelled yet again...so I went home for another night with my family. My mom and brother were very surprised, to say the least, when I walked in the door that night!
By this point I was getting a little annoyed just because I knew I was missing work yet another day but I still won't complain, I enjoyed the extra time with family once again:) My brother was teasing me all night about me being just like the guy on the movie "Groundhog Day", where he keeps on living the same day over and over again. He kept on quoting lines from the movie and asking me if my life felt just like that....and actually it kinda did! But living the "Groundhog" life quickly ended the next morning when I FINALLY flew home to Shreveport after trying for 3 days with no avail. I was sad to say "see you soon" to my family once again but I think my husband was glad to have me home after my little adventure!
We spent the remainder of the week trying to catch up with our lives here in Louisiana and are back to being Cajun Crandalls again (for now at least....until Utah calls our name again this December for Mike's (Dan's brother) Homecoming).
Okay, so we went to Utah a few weeks ago for Andrew's, Dan's brother, wedding. We got there on a Saturday and became wedding plan/prep assistant's (for the most part....) for the weekend up until the wedding on Tuesday. It was a tiring weekend but we were glad to help and enjoyed being near family. The wedding was great, we enjoyed the day and were excited to be able to be a part of the wedding celebration. Donna, my mother-in-law, Angel and Kristen (two of my sister-in-laws), and I all enjoyed being able to dress up and FINALLY wear the dresses we all stressed over finding:) I enjoyed being all fancy and look forward to wearing my outfit again (yes again...I spent too much on it just to wear it once) at Angel's wedding in November. Overall, the wedding was a great day, tiring to say the least, but I always enjoy participating in weddings now just as much as I did as a little girl when I looked forward to and schemed about my own wedding someday.
After the wedding was over we made a hasty decision and changed Dan's flight plan to stay a few extra days. He originally was supposed to leave the morning after the wedding to head back home for work and school. But since we hadn't really had a chance to relax with family yet he decided to stay a few extra days. Wednesday we spent the morning with the Crandall family eating free breakfast at the Holiday Inn and that evening with the Jasmers playing killer bunnies...my new obsession! Kristen has been trying to convince me to learn the game for quite some time now and I have always cringed at the idea. Well this time when I was asked I finally gave in and joined the game and ended up falling in love with it. I bought the game shortly thereafter but haven't had a chance to play it since we got home...it is constantly on my mind though!
Thursday I was able to spend some one-on-one time with my mom and Dan spent the morning with his two younger brothers, while everyone else was at work. That night we spent time with my family. My mom and I put together a full Chinese dinner, chopsticks included. It was fun to just be able to spend time with my family, visiting, relaxing, laughing, etc...something I miss.
Dan left first thing Friday morning in order to make it back to Louisiana in time for class that night. His flight ended up being delayed enough that he missed the beginning of his class but it wasn't a big issue. I stayed a few extra days, enjoying time with both families. After going to church with my family and a quick dinner on Sunday I was scheduled to fly home...but my flight got cancelled. I really wasn't all that annoyed because I was sad to say goodbye and had a good excuse to visit longer. So my dad took work off on Monday and we schedule a daddy-daughter date. It was a great morning and I wouldn't have missed it for the world! We went up to Park City and he took me to lunch and we did a little shopping. That has always been a favorite place of mine to go because of all the memories as a child I have there.
As my dad and I arrived at the airport for my departure we waited in a long, long line for a long, long time for me to be checked in. When I got to the front I found out that my flight had been cancelled yet again...so I went home for another night with my family. My mom and brother were very surprised, to say the least, when I walked in the door that night!
By this point I was getting a little annoyed just because I knew I was missing work yet another day but I still won't complain, I enjoyed the extra time with family once again:) My brother was teasing me all night about me being just like the guy on the movie "Groundhog Day", where he keeps on living the same day over and over again. He kept on quoting lines from the movie and asking me if my life felt just like that....and actually it kinda did! But living the "Groundhog" life quickly ended the next morning when I FINALLY flew home to Shreveport after trying for 3 days with no avail. I was sad to say "see you soon" to my family once again but I think my husband was glad to have me home after my little adventure!
We spent the remainder of the week trying to catch up with our lives here in Louisiana and are back to being Cajun Crandalls again (for now at least....until Utah calls our name again this December for Mike's (Dan's brother) Homecoming).
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Back to reality......:)
Well for those that didn't know...we went to Utah for a week for Dan's brother's wedding (explanation for the lack of blogging...). It was great to spend time with family and friends for the week. It will probably take me several posts to catch everyone up on our life...so be patient with me! As for now I just wanted to let everyone know we didn't fall off the planet, just feels like it! Dan came home on Friday morning because he had to be back from school. I was supposed to return Sunday night but after SEVERAL cancelled flights I finally made it home Tuesday night (it was fun to be able to spend extra time with family but felt like I was on the movie "Groundhog Day"...kept on repeating the same day over and over again. Rueben kept on teasing me and saying lines from the movie all night Monday night after yet another cancelled flight). Yesterday at work was a really LONG day to say the least after being gone. From there we went straight to YM/YW. We took all the youth bowling on base. It was really fun. Now I am back to work again and the exhaustion seems to finally be hitting me....afraid if I even close my eyes for a second I might fall asleep:)
More posts to follow....hopefully I will be caught up with it all by the end of the weekend!
More posts to follow....hopefully I will be caught up with it all by the end of the weekend!
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