Couples Quiz... again, courtesy of Facebook

This is kind of like the 25 things - except they are pre-decided questions and it's about you and your spouse, not just you.

What are your middle names? Marie, Eastwood

How long have you been together? We were married in December 2007... and met earlier that same year in August. Together a year and a half at best.

How long did you know each other before you started dating? 2 days. Although, I don't know that we really "dated" since someone had to rush off to college.

Who asked who out? He asked me, but it was only supposed to be a one time deal.

How old are each of you? He's 22. I'm older than I'd like to admit... 29. Yeah, yeah "robbin' the cradle" heard that too many times. Guess what? The kids in the cradle can still be trained, so who wins now? (He already had excellent training, but sometimes he has selective memory...)

Whose siblings do/did you see the most? Before we got married: his. Now: Probably mine, they are only 4 hours away. We don't see either nearly as often as we'd like.

Do you have any children together? Funny you should ask, we've got one in the oven right now!

What about pets? Names? I had 2 cats before we got married, Kitty and Poop, but they couldn't move with us. Now we're catsitting the homeowner's cat, Smokey Joe. We prefer to call him Joseph. It's more civilized.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Finances. He's a saver in the most extreme sense and I like to shop.. not a lot, but enough to make him nervous.

Did you go to the same school? Nada.

Are you from the same home town? Nope. He's from Bellingham. I'm from Silverdale... same home state if you don't count all those other cool places he 's lived.

Who is the smartest? Alex is very smart when it comes to things like Math, Physics and pretty much every other subject I detested in school (wait, that was all of them except band).. I tend to have more common sense or street smarts.

Who is the most sensitive? Hard to say. I tease him about being heartless, but he has some tenderness deep down. At first glance.. probably me.

Where do you eat out most as a couple? Zupas. We love, love, LOVE Zupas. When does a soup and salad not taste good?

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Maui, with his family. It was a great trip.

Who has the Craziest ex's? Definitely me.

Who has the worst temper? Me, hands down. I'm a woman, it goes with the territory.

Who does the cooking? Normally me, lately Alex. There are some benefits to being pregnant.

Who is more social? Depends on the situation and who we're with. I'm really reserved when I meet new people, Alex isn't. Once I get to know people, I like to hang out with them all the time. Alex has to take it in smaller doses. Social interaction wears him out, "too many emotions".

Who is the neat-freak? It's a tie, we're both equally OCD-ish about our surroundings. (Thank goodness!)

Who is the more stubborn? Me.... hmmm... maybe him. It depends. He can be a big butt when he wants to be.

Who hogs the bed? Me because I sleep on my side in the "flamingo" pose which isn't very space friendly. He sleeps on his back like a dead man in a coffin... and he doesn't move or twitch until it's time to get up in the morning. Creepy.

Who wakes up earlier? Alex. He feels guilty if he sleeps past 9. I love sleeping in, but usually don't get to.

Where was your first date? Bellis Fair Mall. He had recently gotten home from his mission and needed to get some "blend in with society" clothes. After the mall we had ice cream at Mallard's and then played Operation at my apartment. I'm pretty sure I won, but it didn't seem to bother him at the time. I guess he was waiting for the marital commitment to go into effect before letting his true, competitive colors come out.

Who has the bigger family? Immediate family or extended? I'm pretty sure it's me either way. Maybe not with Grandma Booth's huge family. In our immediate families I have 8. He has 6.

Do you get flowers often? No, but it's my own fault. I've told him not to waste the money. I'd rather have a beautiful flower garden someday than get bouquets of store bought flowers that don't smell good anyway.

How do you spend the holidays? Usually with family or friends. When we can, we fly home to see our families. Otherwise, we try to get together with our friends.

Who is more jealous? Jealousy isn't much of a factor in our relationship.... unless you count me wishing he spent less time at school. Okay, probably me.

What is "your song"? We're not that cheesy (no offense to those that do). Most people that have a song attribute it to some romantic moment they had or something. Well people, Alex and I are not highly romantic. We have our moments, but we're a little more practical about it.

How long did it take to get serious? 3 weeks.. I was in Colorado the second week, so we had to take things "slow".

Who eats more? Alex. Who's fatter? Kristine

Who does/did the laundry? Totally me. I won't let him touch the laundry for fear that everything will be shrunk, discolored or otherwise maimed in some horrible fashion. However, he is excellent at folding.

Who’s better with the computer? Me. Unless you're talking mathematical programming, then he takes the gold.

Who drives when you are together? Me. I'm a control freak. His driving makes me anxious... something about the split-second jamming the brakes to the floor and jerky last minute turns gets me going. He usually drives to church on Sunday... 2 minutes away.


A short history in pictures:

August 2007 at the Booth's family cabin - I had just flown back from Colorado early in hopes of figuring out what the deal was with this guy. First thought, he's so young, but something kept pulling me in. The charisma, right?

More cabin - checking out Maren's "awesome" dating book. Worst book ever. I think one would get more enjoyment reading the book for a date than actually doing any of the date ideas in the book. The pickup lines were PRICELESS!

September 2007 - Alex flew me down to Utah to sort things out. We got engaged later this night. I told Alex I wanted to hike the Y-trail. BIG MISTAKE. I was sore for 3 days.. not to mention we shot this horrible picture at the top when I was completely nastified. Alex adores this picture for some reason. Weirdo.

The official engagement photo. This picture has magical powers. Seriously.

Wedding Day!

Yay we're married!

Yay we're still married... and dressed a little more comfy the way I like. Sorry dude, you didn't really think I was going to do the cute thing forever did you?

Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Upchuck

This weekend was my least favorite holiday, VALENTINE'S DAY.
Earlier in the week I told Alex he didn't need to worry about doing anything special. In part because I had no intention of doing anything and I really didn't want him to worry about it either. At the end of the week I brought it up again, reiterating that I really didn't want anything for Valentine's Day. Based on the way he responded, I knew he was up to something.

Friday night he got a call from Denis. The whole conversation was in Russian, so I had no idea what was going on, but as soon as he hung up he told me he needed to go help Denis with something and wouldn't be back for a couple hours. That was mistake number 1. He spent the next 15 minutes answering a stream of questions, me trying to pinpoint exactly what he was helping him with. After I could see his case was weak, I knew he was up to something and I blew his cover. Normally if Alex was helping someone, he would have felt guilty leaving on a Friday night and would have asked if it was okay, rather than announce that he was leaving. Number 2, he was way too vague about what he was going to do. Number 3, I know Denis and Valerie well enough to know that he (Denis) wouldn't normally leave her on a Friday night to go do something random with one of his guy friends. Typically Friday night is date night. Part of me feels bad for not letting my husband do the whole Valentine's Day thing, but it's really just a waste for me. I don't find any enjoyment in it.

On to the weekend events. Diane, Karen and Niklas came Friday night and stayed with us through Sunday. On Saturday we ventured out and did some shopping. For years Karen has wanted a Kitchen Aid mixer - and Saturday her wish was granted. She was pretty excited. She also wanted to get a Wii Fit, which should have been impossible to find, but one store in Provo had several. I ended up leaving the store with one myself. Surprisingly, you get a decent workout - sore muscles and all. Sunday we went to church and congregated back at the house to play our new board game - Munchkin Quest (the board game version of the Munchkin card game). Had we known the game was going to take 4 hours, we probably wouldn't have taken on such a daunting task on a Sunday afternoon. Karen and I fell asleep midway through. In the end, Diane won. Then it was time for them to hit the road (Karen had to work today). Bummer. We really enjoyed having them, even if I was sicky all weekend.

The Case of the Upchuck
... So I was pretty much feeling queasy sick all weekend. Sunday was the worst. What I can or want to eat changes rapidly from day to day. One day something will sound amazingly delicious, the next day it makes me want to puke just thinking about it. This weekend I felt especially icky. My stomach was not happy and it had no problem letting me know. Often. I decided to play nice and fed it some Tums as a peace offering. Offering denied. The Tums kicked off the opening ceremonies for Pukefest 2009. Puke - 5, Kristine - 0. I'm hoping this was an isolated incident, but my gut tells me the real torture is just beginning...

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Alex looks the same... as do I with some added paleness and bloat. In the meantime, here's a cactus:

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

Absolutely nothing. I think they are disgusting! But I have a replacement that I think is delicious and craveworthy...

That's right, some good 'ol Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries (of course). Not only have I been craving this stuff as of late, it appears that crunch berries have a secret ingredient that wards off morning sickness. Who knew? For those worried about gestational diabetes, I am also consuming other, not so sugary things like turkey sandwiches, baked potatoes, eggs and Tums. Yes, lots and lots of Tums. I just can't get enough of that chalky goodness. Bleh.

My craving for sugared cereal leads me to believe one thing's for sure - this kid is a sugar fiend just like his mother. Maybe we'll have more in common than I thought... or maybe that's all we'll have in common, but at least it's something.

Other exciting news:

*My bad decisions of credit past have finally been wiped from my record. Not only is my credit looking good, my score was great! According to Equifax I'm considered an excellent credit risk. It's such a good feeling to know that all of the hard work of getting it cleaned up has finally paid off.

*Diane, Karen and Niklas are driving up from Rexburg this weekend for a visit. This means we have a large enough group to play some of our favorite games - Puerto Rico, Carcassonne and Ticket to Ride. We'd love to have an even bigger group if anyone else is up for some "friendly" competition (or maybe movies, since we all know Alex and I aren't capable of playing board games without immediate marriage counseling required) - Jack, Jill, Denis,Valerie. Any takers? Give us a call, we'd love to have you over. We'll even provide some edibles.... dinner? :)

*The most exciting news (other than Baby Booth) - Alex should be graduated this December. Initially we planned on heading straight to Grad School, but now we're not. Just like most great movies, there is a twist. If all goes as planned, we may find ourselves back in Washington much sooner than we originally anticipated. Since none of it's official, I'll leave it at that.

Why was Friday a bad day??

Because I totally got a speeding ticket on my way to work within 2 miles (possibly 1) of my house. So typical. I would love to know what it's like to have a clean driving record. Any time I get remotely close, I get pulled over. Luckily in Utah they give you the option of attending a 90 minute "driving school" and paying some extra cash to avoid having it go on your record. Did I mention my license is expired and the insurance card I had with me was as well? Not a good start to the day, BUT Friday also happened to be the day we got our tax return. We paid off most of the debt that has been plaguing us, which feels GREAT!! Now we have to start saving like mad for things like baby and Grad school. Bummer.

On a separate note, here are some pics of Alex's sister Maren. I stole them off Facebook. Isn't she cute?

Are you down with the sickness?

This week my luck ran out... although I haven't had a full on pukefest, my days of feeling good seem to be over. Most mornings I am queasy lasting into the early afternoon. I get a short break in the afternoon and then the late night queasy begins. I decided to skip my prenatal last night since I was already feeling so cruddy and I slept great! As an added bonus, I woke up feeling amazing and didn't start feeling icky until I got overly confident and waited too long to eat dinner. If only I could skip the prenatals everyday without affecting the baby...

On another note (since I'm trying really hard not to turn this into a pregnancy blog), I had to chuckle this morning. Alex is always trying so hard to be a good husband. If he doesn't focus his efforts he can come off detached and uncaring, even though this is far from his intention. Lately he's been working on being more attentive. Unfortunately he usually falls short by putting his attention in the wrong areas. This morning was the exception. He did something so simple, but it completely made my day - he put my laundry in the dryer. No big deal, right? But it was a big deal because I was SO tired and was in the midst of an incredible sleep, which doesn't happen very often these days. So I had my little, "Aw, he does care" moment... and then I drifted back to sleep. The funny part is when I called him later and told him how nice that was and thanked him profusely, he was completely baffled. He's like, "Wait, are you serious? That was really a big deal to you???" Maybe it finally clicked that it doesn't have to be something big and grand, the small acts of kindness mean so much and are so appreciated. Seriously. He seems surprised at this even now, even though I know I've told him time and time again, it's the small things that really make the difference. Maybe we need to work on retention...

Not much else happening in our world... for now. We'll be moving out of this house in July and into an apartment, hopefully a nice cheap one that will be much smaller and easier to keep clean. We are also starting to look at grad schools, but don't have any firm prospects yet.

That's the news.

25 Things about Me (Alex)

I woke up from an after-Church nap today a little groggy and immediately Kristine was reading her list of 25 things about her. At first, I was a little worried about the things she wrote and gave her a hard time. I hate that about myself. Now I realize that they are all true and part of why I love her.

Now Kristine is saying that I should write one and see how I come off to the world--then I'll see how hard it is. I'm already picking up on why I was wrong to give her a hard time. Anyway, here's my list of 25 random facts about me.

1. I still have a blanket that my mom made for me when I was about 10. It has airplanes all over it and it has worn out just right so that it is the most comfortable blanket we own. (No, I don't sleep with it always but I am always excited whenever it comes out of the linen closet.)

2. I am not a huge animal person even though my family has always had dogs. I'm the only one in the family that doesn't love dogs except for maybe my dad. My parents, picking-up on this fact, sent me a scarf covered in dog hair on my mission in a Ziploc bag. I still have never cleaned it.

3. My favorite place on Earth is our family cabin on Whidbey Island. I don't remember much from my childhood (probably because I'm not very sentimental) but I remember tons from the cabin. To give an example, I remember the transformer right to the front left of the cabin exploding one of the many 4th of July nights that we all huddled up in blankets because it was raining outside. I don't remember a single other thing that happened that year because I don't even remember how old I was. That's how much of an impression the place has left on me.

4. I served my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Republics of Armenia and Georgia. Consequently I speak 3 almost 4 languages and love Eastern Europe. I want to go back someday. I hope somehow they'll make it onto the travel list Kristine has going.

5. My little brother Austin has been bigger than me for almost my entire life. Most people think he's older when they first meet us together. Because he was bigger, my mom encouraged me to be nice to him (I have often tortured him throughout his life) and now he is one of my best friends.

6. My parents named me after my two great Grandpas. I got their middle names Alexander and Eastwood. It means a lot to be named after them because they were both good men. Both of them were also tinkerers and fiddlers. I got that fiddle gene and to this day am not permitted by my wife or family to touch or hold anything because I'll have it broken within minutes--sometimes even seconds.

7. I'm a geek. I love physics and science. I want to be a professor someday. I find secret pleasure in being able to talk shop (differential equations, matrices, quantum theory, etc.) with anyone who will listen. I know, I'm a lame-o.

8. We have a superstition in my family that anytime a bird flies into a house or my mother makes "funeral potatoes" someone is going to die. It has been true more times than not. (I can count on one hand the number of times it didn't work this way.) I don't know whether the superstition will carry through to Kristine and my family--I guess only time will tell.

9. I played the trumpet all through middle school and high school. My parents also had me take piano lessons for 10 years but I still can't play the hymns because I have never practiced enough. I always get overwhelmed and frustrated with all the keys.

10. I lived in Tokyo, Japan for five years when I was little. Most of my early childhood memories are from our Jubon apartment in downtown Tokyo.

11. My first real pet was a hamster named Andrew that I got for my 5th birthday in Tokyo. I say real because I think I had fish before that. I was a horrible master for both the fish and the hamster. I forgot about feeding both after a week or two of having them and so in their starvation, they went for blood. The fish ate each other and my hamster went for my hand every time I tried to do anything for him thereafter. When we moved, we let the hamster out in the park and I said "poor Andrew, he'll probably get eaten by a crow." My parents said, "We feel bad for any crow that tries to eat him." My mom had nightmares for awhile after that, that Tokyo would be overrun by hamsters and we would somehow get the blame.

12. I have been to Disneyland at least five times; once in Tokyo, and a bunch of times in California. Some of our best family friends, the Mattsons live in Cypress right next to Disneyland so we went there often as kids. Ironically, my favorite is still actually Knott's Berry Farm which is just down the street from Disneyland. The rides were cooler or something.

13. I was born in Amherst, New York. We lived there for three years after I was born and then moved back to the same general area after living in Tokyo. I still talk to some of my friends from back there and it's like I never left. I still sometimes say things with a funny New York accent and get made fun of by my wife.

14. I skate boarded for a short stint from 8th to 10th grade. I was pretty serious about it (although not good) and enjoyed it a lot. It helped me get through the transition from middle school to high school and from NY to WA. I still wear skating shirts--my favorite is one that says "Skateboarding is Beautiful."

15. When I lived in New York, one of my best friends (Greg Shaw) was obsessed with rockets and blowing things up. One day, we strapped some rocket engines to a Burger King Buzz Lightyear toy and with a "To infinity and beyond" lit the rockets. It was awesome even though he just flew around in circles instead of going up as planned.

16. I'm pretty good at starting projects but never finishing them. When I was 14, I wanted to start a t-shirt company and even drew out some designs but never did anything with them. A little later that year, I was sure I wanted a car to fix up so my parents bought me a 1979 BMW 320i. I never fixed it and it's parts hung around in our garage until we moved away a year later. Even now, I have all sorts of things I want to do like learn Japanese, swim everyday or figure out the amount of energy that changes forms in an oscillating dipole problem but I still haven't done any of these things. I have started them.

17. One of the coolest experiences I've had happened in the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York. It was the time when I started to figure that there was a God and He loves me and others.

18. One of my favorite shows to this day is "Invader Zim." It's totally twisted and not funny to most but I love it. All who know it say it's weird but I guess it's my guilty pleasure show.

19. I want to be more humble. I've realized since getting married that I think the world revolves around me. I'm grateful that Kristine is so good at pointing it out to me even though fixing it is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

20. I eat very little sugar. Ever since I turned 20, sugar has made me depressed. Even now, if I eat too much I get cranky. (K can attest).

21. I am addicted to video games. We never had them growing up. Now we have them and I have to follow the same rules as elementary school where I can't play unless all my homework is done. Otherwise I'll zone out and play for hours. (Don't worry, the addiction is slowly fizzling out because I have homework all the time. I get to play them maybe once a week. I'm hoping it goes away with age.)

22. I've always been close with people older than myself. I don't know why but I've always liked running with the older crowd. (I was that kid that sat at the dinner table for hours after the rest of the kids went to play. I was always fascinated by the conversation and loved trying to get the jokes.)

23. I swim the breast stroke when I swim. I have tried many times to master the freestyle and can do it now for laps but once I get tired, I revert back. I think it's because I loved swimming under water once I learned to swim. Underwater, the breast stroke is the only one that works.

24. My family and wife always joke that I'm heartless because I never used to care about feelings. As I get older, I'm getting more tender. I find myself tearing-up when a little primary girl sings or when I go to movies like "Marley and Me." I pretty much get made fun of for it. It doesn't happen all the time thank goodness but it proves that my Grinch heart is growing.

25. As I was writing the last one, I wrote googness instead of goodness. We have always had weird sayings and gibberish words in my family that we pull out frequently for a laugh. Goog is a word that one of Austin's friends--Nathan Smith--made up. We still say it sometimes. Another one I remember from my early childhood is when my dad said, "Man Dies By Exploding Milk" as a consequence of a random breakfast conversation. One time my dad was way tired and he said, "atomic cilantro." None of us know why he said it including him.

A Rehash from Facebook... 25 Things About Me

I posted these on Facebook after being tagged. It's surprising how hard it is to think up 25 things to write about yourself. If you haven't done it, try it. Alex was annoyed after he read my list. Some of the things are the exact things that bother him about me. Like my need for comfort. (Don't most girls have a need for comfort???) I've challenged him to post a follow-up blog with 25 things about himself. We'll see what he comes up with. In the meantime, here are mine. Enjoy!

25 Things About Me

1. I'm a sleep in late and skip breakfast kind of girl. With my job, I have to be out of the house by 8 am, so I set 5 alarms in the morning, each spaced 5 minutes apart. When the last one goes off, I sleep for 15 more minutes before getting out of bed. Miserable, I know.

2. I dislike most condiments - mayonnaise, mustard, sour cream, salad dressings, etc. The idea of eating them makes me want to puke, BUT.. I love potato salad.

3. As a child, I loved to eat baby meat sticks. I still indulge myself once in awhile.

4. I vowed I would never live in Utah or marry a return missionary. I've done both. Never say never.

5. I am Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... to most I am "that nice girl", but those who really know me, know better. I am sarcastic, controlling, and at times just plain hard to deal with.

6. I still have yet to finish my high school career.

7. Growing up I always felt like the odd one out. My two older brothers had the "we're guys" thing going on, and my three younger sisters bonded over Nintendo. Then, there was me.. in the middle, not associated with either group.

8. I sucked my thumb until I was 7. My parents tried all of the icky-tasting thumb stuff to break my habit. Eventually my Dad came up with a master plan and bribed me with $. I quit immediately. Money talks.

9. At the end of this year I'll be a Mommy. While this is extremely exciting, I'm also scared to death. I'm even more scared at enormous therapy bill we're going to receive from our children in 20 years. We better start saving now.

10. I only eat vegetables as a way to offset my junk food consumption.

11. I played soccer when I was 7 and basketball when I was 11. I still don't find any enjoyment in either. Watching sports is downright painful. I'd rather watch paint dry.

12. In my family, I was the kid who cried wolf. I often told lies to avoid being spanked. In the end it backfired. I often got spanked for things I didn't do. One example, clipping the buds off Mom's rose bushes before they bloomed. I'm sure Robert did it - but I got the spanking. I guess we'd call that taking one for the team.

13. At 29, I have only one goal in life. I don't know what I want to do when I grow up. I don't know where I'll be in a year (or ten). My only goal is to be happy. While this is vague, it can be applied to all aspects of life and has gotten me through time and time again.

14. I have a water phobia and I hate swimming. Even now the smell of chlorine triggers my anxiety. What's really funny about this? My husband was the captain of his swim team in high school and loves to swim. He still has this idea that he's going to convert me to swimming. I say, "Give up!"

15. I've never been in a full blown car accident (while I was driving), but I have several speeding tickets.

16. I love to buy smelly things. Most people like to buy clothes. I get more enjoyment out of soaps, shampoos, lotions and deodorant. I love nothing more than the smell of laundry fresh from the dryer...

17. I'm not very well traveled, but I hope to be one day.

18. I'm bad at hugs and saying "I love you". For some reason I just don't like doing either, even though I care about people deeply.

19. I've always wanted to be fearless... instead I am fearful of most everything.

20. Although the idea of looking cute appeals to me... the part about wearing makeup and fitted clothes does not. I live in warm ups and sweatshirts when I'm not at work or church. Comfort is my middle name.

21. I don't like being in charge, but I like people to use my ideas.

22. I am almost always right.

23. Someday I hope to be really good at something tangible or useful - like art, singing, crafts, sewing or cooking. Right now, I've got nothing.

24. I am a band geek. I loved band, especially during my high school years. Mr. Duenow was the best band teacher... even if I had my moments of despise during those cold evening field practices. I appreciate the discipline now. : )

25. I like to belt out random bits of song at random times... most times changing the lyrics to suit the situation. At first, Alex thought I was weird, but now he joins in.

Extra Credit:
26. My Mom almost named me Erin, but my Dad didn't like it.