Guess Who's Back?

No, it's not Slim Shady. It's me, Carolyn. A once avid (or at least semi-regular) blogger, I have recently fallen victim to a lifestyle full of reality TV, macaroni and cheese and oh yes, a full time job. These pesky nuisances have caused me to neglect my blog completely, much to the disappointment of all 14 of my followers, I'm sure. ;)

In all honesty, life has been a bit overwhelming these days and sometimes it's hard for me to blog when I feel like I'm in a rut. After all, nobody wants to hear about my body image issues (really, ANOTHER skirt that doesn't fit these days?), the absolute band of muppets I deal with at work (seriously, WHO shows up to a job interview sporting a J.L. track suit?), and my homesickness for Utah (the most beautiful and fantastic place on the planet, hands down.)

Today I'm feeling positive and happy, so I figured I'd take advantage of it and pen a cheery blog post to catch all 14 of you up on the latest and greatest. Well, latest at least.

On December 17th, Brock and I celebrated our first anniversary. Although the year has absolutely flown by, it seems like we've been married for longer than that. I feel like an old fogey (I've never written that word before, so forgive me if the spelling is off) saying this, but I hardly remember life pre-Brock sometimes! We recently pinpointed our "married pet-peeves". For one, I personally hate how Brock doesn't think it's necessary to hang/fold one's clothes up when done wearing them. Apparently to him, the floor, specifically right next to the bed, is a perfectly acceptable place for all clothes, clean and dirty, to reside for days on end. Brock's pet peeve regarding my behavior? I guess I don't do a very good job rinsing/scraping dishes before I put them in the dishwasher. I mean, maybe a FEW times a couple bowls have emerged from the wash cycle still crusted with bits of oatmeal... But it's not like I'm throwing full steaks in there. Brock swears I once attempted to wash an entire grilled cheese sandwich. But hey, if these are our biggest marital woes, I'll take 'em. Brock is my absolute best friend in the world and I feel so lucky to have him.

We celebrated Christmas just the two of us down here in Phoenix. It was weird not to be with our families but we tried to make it as festive as possible anyway. We bought a real Christmas tree (it dried out weeks before the 25th, leaving a mess of pine needles everywhere-next year we'll have to step up the watering), hung stockings (I actually sewed them out of Christmas cloth napkins, because the fabric stores were seriously lacking in non-tacky fabric by the time I got around to it) and made a bunch of cute and surprisingly tasty Christmas treats. (Caramel/chocolate dipped pretzel rods? I'm telling you- they could rival Rocky Mtn. Chocolate Factory- that good.)

For New Years, Brock's family came down and helped us move. We only moved about 20 minutes north to a nice area in Glendale, but it has made all the difference in the world. For one, the SWAT team doesn't seem to make regular appearances at our apartment complex up here. Sadly, that happened more than once down in West Phoenix. Our neighbors are also really nice and normal. They don't chain smoke on the balcony, nor do they have weird piercings adorning odd parts of their faces. In fact, we coincidentally moved in next door to the family of a girl I worked with at Magleby's for years! So nice to have a built-in friend... It was nice to spend time with the Sargents while they were here.

Brock bought his first pair of Costco jeans. They are Kirkland brand and utterly horrendous. I love my husband dearly, but these jeans have got to go. Apparently Brock has some really unique dimensions because it is almost impossible to find him pants that fit well. Well when Costco actually carried a pair in his size, he swooped in and snatched those guys up quicker than I did the neighboring potsticker sample. It's just a shame that they are so...blue... The only way I can describe it is the crayon color "cerulean". (Illustration below.) I guess this means that our marriage is truly based on more than physical appearance.

Here are below are some accompanying illustrations:

 Standing amidst the beautiful Douglas Firs. There were a few other varieties, but the Dougs were the only ones in our price range.

 Always prepared, Brock brought his own twine to attach the tree to the car with. When the old Christmas tree man offered him a few yards of string, Brock responded with a firm and confident "no need."  A very proud moment, indeed.

 I am not a food photographer (nor a model), obviously. But these pretzels really were amazing.

 Brock wanted me to crop his body out of this shot. He's not wearing a real shirt. But this slightly pointy, crooked but full of character is his Christmas stocking, made with love by his wife.

 I wasn't a fan of my face/body in this picture either. Plus, I wouldn't want it to distract from the lovely cloth napkin creation I'm displaying. Behold, my Christmas stocking.

 Brock's new Christmas present. I am purposefully not displaying the pictures of me with my new loot because I look like I just woke up. Which I did.

 The Sargents family chillin by the pool. Our new complex has got a great pool. The best part? Nobody ever seems to be there. Plus, they play a lot of John Mayer and Journey there.

 This picture cracks me up. Not the best picture of any of us, but I mean, we WERE in the middle of moving. I think I need to tone it down on the posing.

See? Cerulean: the color of Brock's Kirkland Signature jeans. Eww. Haha