Making Friends: Dating Edition

If you've been around here a while, you may recall this post. I just stumbled across it yesterday when I was looking at the stats on my blog. Someone ended up reading that from over a year ago. Crazy! And here's the thing, I didn't necessarily forget to write a follow-up post, but I didn't necessarily remember either. Sorry!

And as I promised at the bottom of that post, here's another installment of Making Friends. This time, it's the Dating Edition.

When Kyle and I started dating, we were transitioning from being friends into being...more than friends. It was an interesting scenario. We met sometime during the fall of 2009 while I was working at the Huges Fine Arts Center Music Library. Again, nerd much? I thought he was cute. So what did I do? I tried to figure out who he was. Duh.

As it turns out, he was a friend-of-a-friend. Okay. I know. Not the point.

Fast forward to February 2012. We started dating and we were trying to figure out how to make friends with others. I had my friends. He had his friends. We had our mutual friend group. How in the world could we make all three of those groups work together?!

It's chaos, I tell you.

Okay, it's not really. But what ended up happening is that we took turns spending time with different friends. Sometimes we would have a game night with my friends. Other times we would go out to eat with his friends. Even other times, we would make sure to see our mutual friends. And do you know what? Eventually my friends became his and vise versa.

It was magical!

The hardest thing for us as a couple, was making new friends entirely. Usually it would happen if one of us knew someone from work and we'd meet their S/O (significant other) and then we'd all be friends. This happened with Kyle's music colleagues.

The main thing that I recommend for making friends when you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, is to be open to new relationships. Sometimes your S/O's friends really are cool. Sometimes your S/O will be wary of meeting your friends. If this is a relationship that you want to make work, be open to involving your man friend or woman friend in your life. He/she will greatly appreciate it.

Happy Friday, all! 

Next week is Christmas!! Woo!

Tis the Season!

You know what time it is, right? The time for joy. The time for laughter. The time for song. The time for Elementary Christmas Programs??

Can I hear a whoop whoop??

No?

Hmm. Okay. Well, tonight is the night, folks. Kyle's second 2nd Grade Christmas Program. I'm not entirely sure what the show is, but I do know there are jungle animals that will be appearing. Monkeys, cheetahs, giraffes, etc. They'll all make an appearance and I'm sure it's going to be adorable.

They'll sing and dance and generally be so cute.

Kyle's been stressed. It's not been a pretty sight at our house. He has programs every year and somehow, I manage to be surprised that he's stressed. Seriously. What's the matter? Duh, Kelly. Your husband has a program to put on and you're just worrying about yourself. Oi. Insensitive much?

But, seriously. My commendations to all elementary music teachers. You've got a tough job and working with children isn't easy. Plus if you've got an insensitive clueless forgetful spouse at home, your work is cut out for you. Thank you for all that you do.

This season, whether you have kids at home or your friends have kids, make sure to say thank you to an elementary music teacher. They are busy (and stressed) with getting their Christmas programs going. They probably don't sleep much the week leading up to the program and odds are, their spouse/SO is frustrated because they don't know how to help.

Not only are they getting their students ready for programs, they're probably rehearsing for their own performances. Here's the music teacher in my life, singing in the annual Sing Along Messiah.

 

 

As much as this is about Elementary Christmas Programs, it's also about being appreciative of those around you. I need to remember that in this season, it's not all about me. It's not all about what I want and how I think things should look.

And now that you're significantly bored and ready for this post to be done. I bid you adieu!

Happy Friday Eve!

 

Tuesday Traditions: Tacos

I'm not sure about you, but our family loves tacos. I'm not just talking Kyle & myself. I mean, our family.

My mom's family has tacos for Christmas Eve. Every. Year. They've even discussed getting together every July 4th for tacos.

We. Love. Them.

Confession: I like tacos.

Notice I said "like". I'm not the aficionado that my husband and the rest of my family tend to be. I used to dread having tacos on Christmas Eve.

Can't we just have ham or turkey like everyone else? Gah.

But then I grew up. I love the tradition. I love the jovial nature that reverberates around the room as we're dishing up our tacos and getting ready to try Grandma's hot sauce and homemade tortilla shells.

I love sitting at a new table every year talking with my cousins or holding the newest baby while mom and dad eat.

I love seeing the smiles and hearing the laughter as we take bets on when Grandma will ask, "Is the hot sauce hot enough?" (It happens every year, folks.)

Mostly, I love the tradition and the sense of unity we have as we enjoy our tacos on Christmas Eve.

And the real reason I have tacos on the brain? It's Tuesday. Taco Tuesday. Every other Tuesday we go to the Krueger's house to eat tacos with them. Tonight is the night.

You may be thinking, "Why only every other week?" And that's because they're at our house on the opposite weeks. We make something and they make tacos. It's the best of both worlds, because Kyle would eat tacos every Tuesday if I made them. Granted, I probably could be convinced. But there's just something about sharing tacos with other people.

Just like Christmas Eve, it's the unity and friendship that you share over a meal that makes it special.

Enjoy your Taco Tuesday! I know I will.

 

21 Day Fix: What is it?

Here's the thing. I've struggled with exercise and portion control for years. I don't like exercise and I usually eat until I'm full. Unfortunately, that's not been a good habit to fall into. I just keep giving myself excuses to eat what I want and not exercise as much as I'd like.

Well, this summer a friend and I both decided to try Beachbody's 21day Fix. It's not a diet, it's a meal plan and a workout regimen. You get portion control containers and a booklet to help you get started. There are lists of foods that are better for you and which foods qualify for each container. There are also 2 workout DVDs. There are 7 workouts (one for each day of the week...in case you didn't figure that one out) and they're only 30 minutes long. It's hard to complain about only 30 minutes...especially since I could have another tv show on at the same time.

One thing I couldn't get past was the fact that it's $60+ and I had to spend more money to buy the Shakeology meal replacements at $130! Yikes.

But the more I tried to talk myself out of it, the less ground I had to stand on. Yes, I'm spending $130 on a meal replacement for only myself for only one month. BUT! I'm also going to be spending less money all around on groceries, because we'll be eating healthier all month long. Instead of buying snacks, we were buying carrots and eating cucumbers right out of our garden.

The skinny is, in order to feel better about myself and have a better attitude, I had to change something. Thank goodness for my supportive husband, because he said, "Go for it! If it's going to help you feel better, that's what's important." So. I did.

And I'm so glad I did. I've completed two rounds since July and while it's hard to stick with it, I've felt better each time.

If you want to know more about the 21day Fix, let me know. I'm more than happy to talk to you about it. And in a few days/weeks, I'll be sharing a few of my favorite recipes with you!

It's snowy and chilly here, so I hope that tea and blankets are on the agenda for the evening.

Happy Wednesday!

 

One Last Chance

Oh man. Not only has it been ages since I've posted anything here (10 days to be exact), but I've also dropped the ball with our Second Chance Book Club. I was supposed to be writing and discussing The Catcher in the Rye with you, but unfortunately that didn't happen.

So. That being said, Aubrey is going to host our final Book Club of the year. She's going to be discussing A Christmas Carol on December 26. Check out her newest post for more details.

Also, please take our survey for next year's Book Club! This year we (clearly) focused on classics and even though we didn't make it through all of them, we still enjoyed our time.

This next year, 2016, is a time for us to explore other genres and styles than we have previously read. When you take the survey, don't be afraid to suggest specific titles you'd like to read. If you're a fan of certain time periods, don't hesitate to request those! I know there are some books on our list already that focus around WWII. If you love graphic novels and there's a new one you want to read, suggest it!

We will try our best to accommodate something from all of the surveys. If we don't, please don't hold that against us. We're trying our best!

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know and we'll do our best to get back to you in a timely manner!

On that note, HAPPY MONDAY!

Five on Friday: Home Improving?

I really, really, REALLY wanted to have some great renovation/home improving photos for you. Alas, it isn't so. So...this will be Five on Friday: Misc edition.


one | home improving updates

Our kitchen is painted (?!). I know. Big steps at the Entzel house.

We also have a new door on the front of our house. It's an $800+ door that we scored for $200! Thank you, scratch and dent!


two | fall

The fall is wrapping up. Every day I sit at my desk and look outside at the sad, sad, sad trees lining the street and our building. And there are NO LEAVES. Boo.


three | snow

It's November 13 and we've not had an accumulating snow yet! How awesome is that?? We live in North Dakota, so snow is a staple in our wintry lives.

Two weeks we had some large, pretty, fluffy snowflakes. Unfortunately fortunately they didn't stick around long. It was a bummer for hunting and tracking (not that our hunters needed it), but it's not keeping me up at night.

I originally wrote this post for last Friday. Unfortunately we now have snow on the ground. So, scratch all of the information above.

four | upcoming projects

I really want to redo our front entry way. I'm thinking about tearing all of the wallpaper down and  some tile for the flooring and a nice storage bench for future littles to store their shoes and hats and mittens. I'm thinking something like...

source

 

five | Friendsgiving

Tomorrow we are celebrating our first (hopefully, annual) Friendsgiving here. I've been asked to bring the dessert. What should I make? Cupcakes? Carrot cake? Pie? Help!

 

As always, head on over to see who else is participating in today's Five-on-Friday. 

 

 

 

MIA

I'm sorry I've been absent this week. Life has been absolutely crazy. Last weekend, as you know, we hand our last wedding of the season year. It was a blast and we are so thankful we got to spend time with friends and family.

In addition to that, we had our Christmas cards taken by Carissa Pic Photography on our way back home on Sunday. I can't wait to share them with you!

Carissa and I went to college together and shared a few education classes. And instead of teaching, she opted to go the photography route. Seriously though, aren't these photos just lovely? More on that later.

I also finished up Parent/Teacher Conferences last night. It was niiice when all was said and done. Bonnie over at The Life of Bon wrote about conferences a few months ago. Go see.

I'll be back more in the next few days. I hope. If you want to get in contact with me when I'm not around here...check here, here, or here.

Happy Wednesday!

Also, don't forget to take the book club survey here.