20-yr old vs. grasshopper

I must preface this story by saying that I am afraid of bugs. Those who know me well know that I'm highly allergic to bees, and therefore anything flying, buzzing, crawling, or jumping creates an instantly spastic version of me. Case in point:

Yesterday, I went to run some errands. One of my errands was to go to Michael's and get a pillow form to put in a cute decorative pillow case my mom made to match our bedpsread. Hence, I had the pillow case with me (yes, this becomes important in a moment).

I happily walked out the door, excited about the decorative changes that were happening in the apartment and thinking to myself what a beautiful day it was. Suddenly, just before I reached the fence that leads to the front yard, I was stopped in my tracks-- by this monster:

It was like an old western movie-- I could hear the tumbleweed rolling and the whistling wind as I faced my opponent. A shootout was iminent.

Just kidding, it wasn't that dramatic. But I was stopped for a minute, unsure of my next move. Since the monster was smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk, I couldn't go around him either way-- he would jump on me for sure. I couldn't step over him, for fear that he would jump on me then as well. After thinking over my options for about 3 minutes (not a joke) a light came on in my head. Why not gently sweep him into the bushes with the pillowcase?

The rest of the story isn't very exciting. I swept him into the bushes, and he jumped super-high and smacked himself pretty hard into the shed. My fears were confirmed: a grasshopper attack would have been every bit as awful as I thought. Thank goodness I had that pillowcase.

Some things I want to remember about our first 3 weeks of marriage

-Day One: wedding day. Has there ever been a better day? I think not.

-The honeymoon! Still need to post pictures. It was so great to get away and relax. My favorite part was spending 24 hrs/day with my best friend!

-Coming home and setting up our apartment. That has been super-fun. It's like playing house, but for real!! We love our little place.

-Going to Bed, Bath, and Beyond almost EVERY DAY to return or purchase something. Thank goodness for gift cards.

-Trying to find some kind of shelving for our pantry (which is, by the way, in the living room haha). That resulted in going back and forth to Target 4 times, and Lowe's once. Lowe's won.

-Embarking on quite possibly the most frustrating job hunt of my entire life. Good thing Tyler's middle name is patience/sweetness... poor guy's had to put up with a lot.

-Getting a new Social Security card with the last name of Juergens replacing Andersen! I am truly Mrs. Juergens now. :)

-Decorating our cute apartment. Now it really feels like home. I love this place.

-Cooking for my hubby. Who knew cooking and cleaning could be so fulfilling? I love cooking for people, but cooking for Tyler is my favorite! The man who performed the sealing ceremony told Tyler to say "I love you" every time he was hungry. Because of this instruction, we've been eating a lot lately.

-Watching Tyler react to my quirks that can only be seen by living with me. For instance-- my OCD about organizing my clothes in the closet (by color moving from light to dark).

-Taking a trip to Ikea together yesterday. Is that not the greatest store ever?!

-Doing Pilates together. It was HILARIOUS. I do Pilates every morning, and Tyler decided to try it out with me. He's pretty flexible! I was impressed.

-Planning a hike to the Y, but ending up walking to Bridal Veil Falls. Yeah, laziness won. Why have I instinctively been putting an "e" at the end of every won in this post?

-Spending tons of time with my husband! The first week I don't think we were ever apart. This past week he's been working at BYU Grounds from 8-12 each morning. Boooooo! But I'm so grateful for this time we've had together before he starts the Accounting program at BYU. I doubt I'll ever see him again. :)

My overall feelings on marriage: I highly recommend it. But only if you can find an amazing spouse like I did!

And so it begins...

Real life, that is. Home from the honeymoon, back to reality. Tyler and I have been having so much fun setting up our apartment! It's like playing house, only for real. The only frustrating part has been the job hunt. I think I've sent my resume to about 100 different jobs, and I've interviewed with 3 companies in the last few days. No word back yet from anyone, but hopefully soon. Yesterday I did a group interview... weird? Yes, it was. I felt like everyone was trying to one-up me! I'm not holding my breath for any of these... still sending my resume to everyone.


This last weekend, we drove to Eagle, ID for Tiffany and Tyler's wedding. We had so much fun! Thanks to Uncle Kelly and Aunt Launette for letting us stay with them during all the wedding craziness. It was so fun to see everybody, and so fun to finally meet Nicole's sweet baby Brynlee. Tiffany and Tyler are such a cute couple and we're so happy for them! It was so fun to be at the sealing and to remember our day and the covenants we made. Thanks to Tiki and Tyler for letting us be a part of their special day!


Sunday we went down to Spring City to visit my grandparents and to pick up all of the stuff I had them keep for me over the summer. Yay for having all of my clothes back! :) It was so fun to visit with them for a while. After Spring City, we went to Aunt Dana's for dinner. I love getting to know Tyler's family! I seriously got an ab workout from laughing so hard, and I feel so at home with all of them. We had a great day full of family.

Tyler started working for the BYU Grounds crew on Monday, so he's becoming quite the gardener. I've been dropping him off at 8 and picking him up at 12. Hopefully he'll be able to find a job more conducive to his major and his schedule. He is amazing-- he works so hard and always wants to help out around the apartment. I don't know if he understands how much fun it is for me to cook and clean for him! We are having so much fun just being together.

One more thing-- I chopped my hair! I went in to the salon I used to go to when I was 12 and 13 and cut most of my hair off. The woman who cut it sent it in to Locks of Love for me, so h0pefully they'll be able to use it. I'll put a picture up soon! I was afraid Tyler wouldn't like it, but he loves it. At least, that's what he says! Hopefully he really does. :) It's slightly past my chin, and she had to layer it tons because I have so much hair.

Seriously-- pictures to come! Patience!

Overwhelmed

Life is SO good! I am completely overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. Our wedding day was perfect! The weather was beautiful-- not too hot, but still sunny. In fact, I wore Tyler's jacket towards the end of the reception because it got a bit chilly. But the ceremony was incredible. Some of my sweet aunts even wrote down some of the things that stood out to them, and Tyler and I asked our parents to do the same so that we could have a few different perspectives. We loved coming out of the temple and seeing so many of the people we love there. Pictures went well, and we even managed to be on time to the luncheon! The food was good, and I loved the music from my aunts and parents, and the sweet words from both of our families. I don't really cry ever, but I felt so blessed and happy that I cried there! Talk about feelin' the love. :)

The reception was really fun too. Unfortunately, I was STARVING the whole time. Not just starving though, it was past that. I seriously just leaned over in pain sometimes. I wanted the reception to end far before it did. But the park looked beautiful-- Bonnie did a great job decorating it. So many people came that I hadn't seen in a while, and it was so great to see everyone. I'm still not really sure how everything went outside of the line (i.e. if there was enough food haha) but I guess everything went alright... no riots broke out.

Thanks to the Johnson's, we went to a beautiful hotel after the reception. Actually, let me back up. First, we went home and finished packing for the honeymoon. Talk about leaving things for the last minute! We ended up waiting at the apartment for a while because Tyler's sweet parents brought the gifts home for us. Anyway, we finally got to the hotel and by that time I was beyond hunger-- I could feel the hunger eating at the lining of my stomach. So we got some room service, and I got pizza. What a way to end the best day of my life, eh? :)

Don't worry, I didn't lie... as soon as I get my hands on Ty's camera, honeymoon pics are coming. As for wedding pics, I'm not sure! Hopefully soon!

A new... everything

Saturday, August 8th, 2009 changed my life. I became Mrs. Tyler Juergens and with it got a whole lot of news...

New last name-- Juergens

New apartment. It looks SO cute! I love playing house for real. :)

New e-mail address. Comes with the new name

New blog! Hence this post.

Keep following-- there are wedding and honeymoon pictures coming soon!!!