Hey there poor little neglected blog... how ya been?
Sorry I've left you high and dry.  I really don't have a good excuse.
Every time I think about blogging I have SO MANY thoughts in my head that by the time I narrow it down the blogging bug has left and I'm on to some other task. (and the fact that we don't have internet at home slows me a bit as well).

As of Sunday, it's been one year since I became a Mrs.  It seems like so much longer than that (in a good way, I promise!).  I often think back to when I would have liked to have gotten married but then realize if L-dub and I had gotten together then we wouldn't be the people we are now.  Things would have been different, probably harder.  God knows, His timing is perfect and I'm thankful for that.  I think getting married a little later in life (yes, getting married at 27 is "late" in life compared to most marriages in our church family) has helped to mature and prepare us for this great adventure of creating a family.  Right now it's just us two.  But hopefully, someday, in the relatively near future it will expand to three, or four, or possibly five (the final number is still up for debate).  I love and adore this amazing man that God has blessed me with.  Yet I need to be careful not to put him on a pedestal.  He is a sinner just like me.  He will fail me as much as I don't want to believe he will.  He is a man.

There is one relationship that must remain above the one with my dear husband. 

One relationship that is of eternal value.

One that I must not allow to be pushed to the back seat.

The only one that truly matters.

The relationship I have with my heavenly Father!

At the very beginning of our wedding ceremony we each confirmed this relationship in front of all our friends and family.  The songs, message and vows all revolved around the theme of our Heavenly Father. 

Why?  

Because without Him we would have nothing.

Without Him there would be no purpose in life.

Without Him we wouldn't have each other.

Some cooking...

So I know I haven't posted anything in a looooong time. There are many things I could update this blog on.
I got married, hooray!
Became a stay at home wife...
I now officially am a homeowner...
Got a part time job...
And so much more.

Since I became a wife I've been experimenting with recipes and random ingredients that sound good to me. Somehow becoming a housewife makes me so much more adventurous in my cooking endeavors. I spose it may have something to do with another person eating my concoctions on a regular basis, cottage cheese and ritz crackers no longer are an acceptable supper. =)

Last night I decided to make fish, Tilapia. I made it a couple weeks ago with spinach, tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. It was good but I was craving something with a little bit fuller taste this time around.
In a recent attempt to make our meals healthier I've been substituting plain Greek yogurt for other dairy products. It doesn't always work out but it's always worth a shot.
Now I didn't do any measuring whatsoever so I'm not sure how accurate the recipe below is. I love just throwing things together until it looks and smells and tastes right. However, it makes duplicating recipes rather difficult.
Here's what I think I came up with. (Sorry there's no picture, we gobbled it down in short order)

3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup fresh chopped spinach
1-2 cloves garlic
Dash of pepper
*Mix above ingredients.

3 Tilapia filets
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1/4 - 1/3 grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

Sprinkle small amount of olive oil over fish.
Spread yogurt mixture on tilapia.
Top with tomato slices and Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

I'm still here!

Sorry little forgotten blog... I didn't mean to leave you all high and dry, out in the cold, all by your lonesome. Forgive me?
Life has been rather crazy of late. I know I promised wedding details as they happened but well, we both can see that didn't happen. Now that the craziness has subsided to a minimum I will once again attempt to keep you a little more up to date. However, we current have no Internet at our place of residence (even now I'm typing this post from my iPhone, oh technology)

So in a feeble attempt to jump back on the blogging bandwagon I will post a very lovely picture of my lil sis and myself on my wedding day, pre beautified. Enjoy!

Summer summary, so far...

Sorry little blog, I know I've been neglecting you.  Life has been so busy with summer and our upcoming nuptials.  I've started at least 5 different posts but none of them have made it up, obviously.  What have I been up to of late in summary fashion... =)


Family Reunion) 34 out of 44 aunts, uncles and cousins were there. Not bad. I was able to see two of my cousins little ones that I hadn't seen yet since they were born. Both cuties! My family threw together a short bridal shower for L-dub and I, of course with a game aimed and embarassing us. (what is a bridal shower without an embarassing game or two. lol). There was card playing, picture taking, marshmallow roasting and lots of laughter. All in all a great time, can't wait to do it all again in two years.


Boating/wakeboarding) Yes, we've made it out a few times. woohoo! I don't know what I did over my summers before I found this glorious hobby! ;) L-dub has even managed to get the hang of it.  If it were up to me I'd spend all night every night out on the water. Perhaps someday we'll have a lakehouse and a beautiful wake boat. Until then my dad's tri-hull powder blue boat will suffice. =)


Wedding planning) Ah yes, what has taken up the majority of my time. Honestly I feel as though my mother and sister have been doing the large majority of the work up to this point. I spose in a few years I'll be able to pay my sis back when it's her turn.  Now that it's a month away we're kicking things into high gear. Having to make serious decisions, no time to change our minds now.  I've had my first dress fitting and will have the 2nd (hopefully final) one in ONE weeks.  Can't wait!
Honeymoon tickets have been booked, RSVPs are rolling in, the flowers and food will be ordered shortly... and then in a mere 30 days I'll be married to my best friend, awesome! <3

God has so amazingly blessed me over this last summer, this last year.  It's cool to sit down and reflect where I was a mere year ago and see all that He has changed in my life.  So often I think we put God in a box, if things aren't happening in our time frame surely they won't be happening at all.  Then He swoops in, turns your life upside down and settles you into a new normal that you'd never expect.  Silly me to underestimate my Lord and what He is capable of.

Nuptial news

I've started so many posts about my upcoming nuptials but recently realized I've never actually posted any of them.  My bad! We are attempting to do most everything on our own to keep the budget low.  Here are some examples of what we've done/plan on doing.


Designing/printing/assembling the invites.
    I designed them from a picture I found online. My wonderful momma is 
    putting them all together for me!  Once we finally finish our guest list we
    will be addressing and mailing them ourselves, that's right, no fancy 
    calligraphy here. =)


Decorating the ceremony and reception venues
    This could be a whole post in itself... so much we are doing!


Doing the flowers on our own.
    It's a little intimidating but I helped a friend do her's a couple summers 
    ago so at least her and I kinda know what we're doing. =)
    The part that scares me the most is ordering flowers that don't look good 
    together, but we are using lots of pics for inspiration. It will be fine I'm 
    sure. =)


Making the meal.
    My older bro works for a food distributer so he's getting us everything 
    CHEAP! He's also offered to prepare all the food for us. Thanks bro!! We're
    just doing super simple fare so hopefully it won't take too much time and
    effort.


Baking all the desserts.
    So I have this grand idea for a dessert bar.  All kinds of sugary confections
    for our guests to enjoy. My dear mother, sisters and I along with help from
    future in-laws and a handful of aunts plan to tackle this ourselves.  I think
    some of what we plan on making can be done ahead of time and frozen...
    At least I'm hoping. =)




So we are pretty much thrifting, borrowing or making basically everything.  I feel like that makes things a little more personal and unique.  As it draws closer i'm realizing a little more all the work ahead of us but I'm excited.  I've had soooo many offers from friends to help me I could prob get away with doing NOTHING myself. =)


Crossing my fingers things come off disaster free.  Though I spose a disaster or two will make it more memorable. ;)

The nephews...

There's something about nephews that is so special.  Those little boys can melt your heart with the bat of an eye or a few words out of their mouth.  Don't get me wrong, I love my niece, but those nephews... =)


My 4 yr old nephew gave me some input while I was trying on a couple dresses I got for engagement pictures.  When I came out with the first dress on he informed me...
"oh Alicia, you're just beautiful!"

Then I came out with the next one,

"I love that one on you, you look so beautiful"

And then I asked him which one he liked better, his response…

"I don't know, you look just beautiful in both of them"

Made my heart melt!

Every wednesday night at Awana when I pass my 10 yr old nephew he always stops what he's doing (even in the middle of game time!) to holler out a hello. =)

The youngest of them all, who is 2, has given me the endearing nickname of "Sa-She" (we think due to the fact I let him watch this obnoxious show "Sean the Sheep" while babysitting one time. Ah well).

AND SOON I'll gain two more nephews (and another niece too). =)

The younger of the two has already informed me that on our upcoming trip to Phoenix he'll be bunking with me.

Also, since I'm like the cool new person in the family I always get chosen to sit beside for all family meals. bahaha (but then L-dub is always chosen over me with MY niece and nephews at family meals, a few weeks back I was demoted to the kiddie table because V just had to sit next to Lucas)

I don't know what it is about those little boys... I hope they stay this sweet for years to come!

just stuff

So I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything.  I've been busy, wedding planning. 
*little happy dance*

It's only 4 months away and we have so much to do! Yet whenever I tell people all that we have gotten done so far they are always amazed.

That's comforting!

What's the theme you ask?  Um... theme...

Beg, borrow and DIY perhaps?

Seriously though, we are attempting to do a lot of stuff ourselves. My mom and I have been hitting up thrift shops to find cake plates, baskets, random decorations...

We are doing the programs and invites ourselves.

We are doing all the decorating ourselves.

We are doing all the food ourselves (thanks to my amazing older bro!)

We are going to attempt to do the flowers ourselves.

So many little projects but it's kinda fun.

L-dub told me he thought this was great because it makes the wedding truly our style.

I was doing it to save money but I guess he has a good point.  It will be totally us. =)

I guess it could also be classified as country chic (don't tell my little sister, she thinks that theme sounds ridiculous)

It's outdoor, super casual, there will be lots of burlap and a hayrack ride for the wedding party. Oh and definately country music at the dance. yipee!

See our church is under construction from June til Dec which means getting married there is out of the question.  Which actually is totally fine cause I was kinda set on getting married in Seward anyway. =)  Perfect timing! haha

I'll attempt to keep my blog up to date on all the wedding happenings, the DIY projects (and disasters), you'll get a behind the scenes look at everything as it goes down.