The Hunt Is On

Apartment life will soon be ours! Oh how I've missed hearing my neighbors every move. I can't wait!

The apartment hunt has officially begun. Yes, I'm aware that the move is 5 months away, but I need a plan or I'll lose my mind. I made a few calls today and came to the sick realization that apartments in Orem/Provo are EXPENSIVE. That is, unless I want to live in something nasty, halfway underground lacking sunlight and most major appliances... So, here's the question of the day: Do I pay mucho bucks and get something semi-nice with all of the "essentials" - washer/dryer, dishwasher and A/C? Or do I go for cheap and suffer the consequences? In my past life, I did the cheap and the results were not pretty. The apartment itself was okay, well not really. It had carpet that was crunchy and worn through and the neighbors consisted of ex-cons, drug dealers and other not-so nice people. I never had any luck parking anywhere remotely close to my unit AND the managers were jerks. The next place I lived was pricey and the most amazing place I've ever lived (excluding Bellingham which somehow combined cheap and amazing). The apartments were beautiful, grounds well kept and the neighbors were nice. I never had any trouble. So, again do I pay the money and get what I want?? Or go for dirt cheap and use the money I saved to buy a bullet proof vest? I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Exhibit A: $750 per month



Exhibit B: $619 per month


What to do... what to do...?

Besides the depressing apartment hunt, I felt great today. I slept like crap last night, but wasn't sick this morning. I think it was a combination of late night snacking and Billy Joel that made for a better day. Or maybe the knowledge that I was having Cheesecake Factory for lunch. It was yummy! :)

A Year From Now

I'm in preparation mode.
Assuming everything goes according to plan, we have a lot to do. In 3 months, Alex is flying home to take a test that will qualify him for the teaching program at Western. In 5 months the homeowner's return and we'll be moving into something much smaller and more expensive. In 7 months, the baby is due.. our lives will be changed drastically. In 10 months, Alex graduates from BYU (Yay!). And in 11 months, we'll be packed up and moving back to Washington. I was a having an "I'm so overwhelmed" moment. I decided to change my perspective in an effort to save my sanity. What will our life be like a year from now? Are you ready for this? I hope I don't jinx it...

A year from now we'll be living in a place I've missed dearly. We'll be surrounded by family and friends. We may even get to see them once in awhile, face to face, in person. Imagine that. We'll have a beautiful baby. Probably one that likes to projectile vomit on Mommy and scream throughout the night, but we'll think is adorable just the same. All of the restaurants we've craved will be within minutes of our home, even if we're too poor to eat at them. We'll get to experience church again as religion, not a culture. My skin will recover, right now it's like crepe paper. My hair too... bye, bye static flatness. The rain. Oh how I've missed the rain! The rain will be a part of my life once again. (I wish I was joking).

That's my prediction. We can compare notes in a year. For now, I'm just going to tuck these thoughts into my happy place and do everything I can to make them a reality.

Oh. Almost forgot one. A year from now my retirement account will have tripled in value... ~wishful thinking~

**Again, sorry for the lack of pics. I'm sitting here in my comfy clothes, eating some Fritos. You didn't really want to see that, did you?

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.