Ch-ch-ch-channnges.

As I sit just a couple of days away from starting yet another semester in college, mere weeks away from a new season (fall... yay!), and a handful of months from beginning a new year (eeks!) ... I find myself wanting to start anew and take the opportunity to make some changes. I have a tendency to say a lot of , "I wish I would...", or "I'm going to start...", but nothing ever really comes of it. I, along with most of my other fellow nerds, LOVE lists so... here you go. Hopefully, this will keep me more accountable. I'll call it...

"The Things I Want To Work on and Change About Me and/or My Life in General List"

• Reading - I want to read more. Or more honestly, make the time to read more. Reading used to be one of my all time favorite past-times. It saddens me that it's fallen to the wayside because of things like Facebook, or zoning out in front of the TV. Time to dust off the ol' Kindle...good book suggestions, anyone?
  
• Fitness - I know, I know. Even I'm sick of hearing myself say, "I'm going to start working out... next week." It's time to make hitting the treadmill a priority. Between working two jobs, going to school full time, and keeping our dirty laundry at a reasonable level, I know I need to be realistic about how much gym time I'll actually be able to commit. But hey, I'm willing to try...and something is better than the nothing I'm currently looking at!
• Quality time - Be it a pedicure with my sister, coffee with my mom, a walk in the park with my husband... I need it. Sometimes I feel like the daily stresses and worries of life robs me of the simple pleasure of just enjoying a loved ones company. Definitely working on this.
  

There's more, but that's all that's coming to my mind at the moment. What changes do you think you could make in your life...for the better?

Ups and downs.

I'm BAAAACK!

Three months ago, my trusty ol' Macbook (that I've had for almost 6 years... *tear*) decided it was time to go to Apple heaven. Left with only my iPad, it was difficult to keep up with my oh-so-important social networking AND blogging. Nevertheless, I am back in action...just in time to update on life's happenings.

My niece, Adleigh, was born May 31st, 2011 at a whopping 9 pounds, 6 ounces! My mom and I got the opportunity to be in the delivery room and I have to say - it was, BY FAR, the most amazing thing I've experienced to date. Being her aunt is already so much fun, and my parents are having a blast spoiling her rotten. One thing is for sure though: Adleigh has certainly cured my 'baby fever'! I knew babies were hard work but...holy moly! Tyler and I both agree, we're juuuust fine being the loving aunt and uncle for a while...a long while! :)

As for college, I changed my major...again. It's been a long, angst-filled road but I finally feel like I'm on the path I need to be. Let me just say, PtL for amazingly supportive husbands. Tyler has been such a trooper through my constant self-doubt...and when I threw my 'poor me pity parties' he refused to attend, lol. To be honest, I am still unsure of where my career path will take me, but I do know that it's entirely in His hands...and really, what else is there to know?

Married life is just as great as ever! Tyler and the rest of Team Oklahoma will be competing in the 'State Wars' hockey tournament in Cincinnati, OH next week... which happens to land on our 6th month wedding anniversary! So myself, Tyler, my brother-in-law, and his girlfriend will be piling in the car for a mini-vacation for a few days. Granted, it's not Cancun but we are still grateful for the chance to get away and have a little fun outside of Oklahoma!

On a super mushy-gooshy note...we are just stinkin' blessed - for lack of better wording! It's such a wonderful feeling, living every day with my best friend by my side, filled with the love of our families and friends. That's not saying that we don't have our ups and downs, but getting through those 'downs' make the 'ups' so, so worth it.

All aboard the Grown Up Express!

What to blog, what to blog... to be honest, the biggest reason I don't update more often is because I can never decide on just one thing to share. Every day seems to bring a new dynamic to my/our lives - but I'm definitely not complaining.

Random thought: I suspect there must be some strange time warp that engages when you get married. Tyler and I are creeping up on our three month anniversary of being married. THREE MONTHS! It cracks me up that three months when we were engaged may as well have been three years. But three months as newlyweds... truly a blink of an eye! Not long ago, Tyler's company asked him to go to Branson to work for about 5 days - that was a really rough week for us! I was surprised at how empty my days felt knowing I wasn't going to see him when I got home. During that week, I gained a tremendous amount of respect for those who are married to deployed men/women and have to go long periods of time without seeing them. It was truly a test for us both, and a nice reminder how blessed we are to be able to see and speak to each other daily.

In other news, Kendall - my sister - is about 5 weeks from her due date! A name has finally been decided, which has made it that much more exciting: Adleigh Grace Huerta. We are all so anxious to meet her... and let's face it, excited to spoil her rotten.

I keep having these random "whoa moments". Moments where reality suddenly hits how much things have changed/are still changing... and it's exciting and scary and overwhelming and awesome. Actually, this may be that 'growing up' thing my parents always talked about...and I have to say, I don't hate it. :)

I'm having a pity party - and you're invited!

It's been no secret - well, not to me or my husband, at least - that lately I've been in a funk.

While I try my hardest to keep this blog generally light-hearted and upbeat, I have to break that mold for one post. I know that nobody likes to read the "poor, pitiful me" blogs or Facebook status updates - myself included! But, please bare with me while I throw myself a small pity party, so hopefully I can move on from this.

WHY THE HECK DOES IT SEEM SO EASY FOR EVERYONE ELSE BUT ME?!

What is 'it', you ask? Life! Plans. College... why does it seem like everyone was handed the blueprints of how their lives were supposed to go, while I'm stuck trying to figure it out for myself? Normally, I would never be this concerned about what others are doing but it's somewhat impossible to notice at this point. From technical school programs, missionary work, Bachelors degrees, and graduate school... a lot of my friends/acquaintances have found their calling. Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy for them! So happy, and so very envious.

I have the motivation. I have the drive to do something amazing with my life and also love what I do...I just have no clue what that 'something' is, and it's starting to take a toll on me. I feel hopeless, and depressed... and mainly, a failure.

Amidst all of this negativity, the only things that keep me going are my wonderfully loving family, my supportive husband, and the fact that none of this is actually up to ME. It's all in His hands. He knows my way, and I have to trust that - even though it's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Okay, pity party over. :P

The Newlywed 9

The dreaded 'newlywed 9'... even if you're not married, I'm sure you're familiar with it. Essentially, it's pointless weight gain resulting from being newly married, happy, and most likely extremely busy adjusting to a new married life - whatever that may entail!

Tyler and I are creeping up on almost 1 month of marriage (crazy!), and I have to admit: we are already experiencing this phenomenon first hand. This is not at all what I expected! We are eating out more now than we ever have when we dated, be it fast food or actually going to a restaurant. After a long day of class and work, the thought of going to the grocery store and then actually COOKING the food is absolutely out of the question. Now, the food that used to make my stomach turn at just the thought of it, is much faster and easier and thus, way more appealing. Also, all of the leftover candy from the candy buffet at the wedding isn't helping matters either - I am legitimately addicted to giant pixy sticks now. I realized things were REALLY bad when I couldn't stop craving and thinking about oreos dipped in peanut butter in the middle of Macroeconomics. Terrible, terrible, terrible!

However, my breaking point was yesterday while getting ready for work. A pair of pants that were almost 4 sizes too big for me last summer zipped up and fit me perfectly - oh hello there, reality check!

I am stopping this madness. Time to make eating healthier and exercising a priority...before the newlywed 9 turns into the newlywed 90. Operation Married-But-Still-Want-To-Look-And-Feel-Good begins...today! :)

The Time I Locked My Keys in the Car...sort of.

Firstly, let me just say that this is not a story I am particularly excited to share with the world, but it's just too ridiculous not to! After all, what can we do if not laugh at ourselves?

Last night, after a lazy afternoon of laying on the couch watching our shows, Tyler and I went out for dinner. As we were pulling into the driveway upon returning, I realized that the following day was trash day. We got out of my car, and admittedly, I started instructing Tyler how to properly put the trash by the curb. (Sidenote: In my defense, we got a 'stern' letter from the trash man last week because we supposedly did it wrong. Who knew?!) We finally agreed on the way the trash can is supposed to be, and started to head inside...and that's when I realized. Where are my keys? Check the inside of my purse, nope. Check my pockets, nope. Check the ground, nope.

"Tyler, do you have my keys?"
"No...why?"
"Um. I don't have my keys...they must be in be in my car. And I locked it..."
"GREAT."

...and so began the night! Not having ANY spare keys + being poor newlyweds and being unable to pay for a locksmith = Tyler Google's "How to Break Into a Car", while I began making all the frantic phone calls: to my parents, to my brother-in-law, to my friend who's husband is a sheriff deputy, to another friend who works at a local car dealer; anyone that we thought would know what to do. Within 10 minutes, our friends Nick and Kristi Score arrived and attempted the ol' coat hanger maneuver. Soon after, my sister and brother-in-law showed up to try their hand at it. Over an hour passed, and I walked inside the house feeling embarrassed, and terrible for taking up our friends free time on a Sunday night. I moved my purse to sit down on the couch and heard a tiny metal 'clink'. Odd, since I had dumped everything out of it earlier - just to make sure my keys were for SURE not in there. Then it dawned on me. THE SIDE POCKET!

Yes, sure enough...my keys were in there. I was distracted with the trash can, and put them in a place in my purse that I NEVER put them, thus I didn't even think to look there in my panic. Long story short: I have the greatest friends, family, and husband I could ever ask for. Yes, I received PLENTY of grief for it that night and probably always will, but nobody was genuinely mad - and if they were, I certainly don't blame them. I'm just going to file that experience under, "Things Nobody Will Ever Let Me Live Down", and just take it with a smile!

After everyone left, I told Tyler it was all just a test to see how much he loved me...FYI: he passed with flying colors! :P

Married...and LOVING it.

Greetings from Mrs. Tyler Wick! :)

WHEW. That pretty much sums up the last two weeks! I knew I would be busy, but holy moly! Unfortunately, this entry would be miles long if I tried to sum up everything that went on, so I will just leave it at... I'm so stinkin' happy to finally be married!

The wedding was amazing. We had a few minor glitches, but generally, all of my stresses and worries about the weather and other things were in vain...thank goodness! We had an incredible time, and I hope that all of our guests did as well. As hard as I tried to 'take everything in', there were several things I barely had a chance to see, if at all. For example, our cake. I barely looked at it all night, other than when we were cutting it...and at that point I was focusing on Tyler and making sure he didn't make the entire thing topple over, lol. So needless to say, I am (im)patiently waiting for our pictures to come back from the photographer to see all the little details I was too hurried to notice. All in all, it was just as I imagined it. There was plenty of laughing, plenty of (happy) crying, and there was sooo much DANCING! It was perfectly 'us'.

As for married life... have I mentioned that I love it? It's so nice to finally have a home we can call OURS. Waking up next to him every morning is the greatest thing. Also, experiencing all the funny little things about being newlyweds together is so fun. Example? Us trying to take a frozen pizza out of the oven with a bath towel because we didn't have oven mitts. And then attempting to cut said pizza with a knife...because we didn't have a pizza cutter! It's just one crazy situation after another - and I have to say, it's awesome. We are definitely cracking our families up with our stories of figuring out life together.

This is the reason I created this blog: to remember and savor these sweet moments...because I have no doubt that there are many, many more to come. :)