i have my husband back!

he's back.
the matt that is allowed to have fun with me.
not studying for once.
and fully loving life again. (at least for the weekend...)


it's wayne state med's spring break. and matt's taking the weekend off before studying for the boards alllllllll week.

here are some things we've done in the past 36 hours:
-watched the social network.


-went to the partridge creek, the amazing outdoor mall where you can bring dogs. but we didn't bring bailey. because you can't have dogs in restaurants (but you can in the stores!).

(bought me some stuff for guatemala, too! a compressible pillow and ridiculously foldable towel)

-ate p.f. chang's for the first time. (holy YUM.)

-grilled out. making hot dogs, of course.

-stayed up really late.


-got up really late.


-made pancakes. with bananas and cinnamon chips in them. that's not cheating, because it's breakfast. don't even tell me that's a dessert.


life is good.
on the docket for this week: ikea, nice dinner out, matt's burppppppday, bailey visiting first grade, and much more!

PISTONS.

deeeeeetroit basketballllllllllllll.

matt won free pistons tickets by entering a random raffle through a pistons facebook page.

this is us excited to be there:

and then, i went crazy when the workers came through with free pizza for people who were the most excited. needless to say, we won pizza.

it was also dollar hot dog night! yeahhhh buddy.

fun night had by all.

my cute dog.

we gave my dog a bath.

and then she was cold.

this is what happened.

wrapped in a towel on the couch.

so, so cute.

a week in the life.

well, this week has been an interesting one. i decided the best way to show how interesting it's been is to take you through a week in my life.

monday: 

wake up a little too late. go to school. be guest reader for elementary, dressed up as a pirate and read Pirates Don't Change Diapers. (unfortunately, it was all so busy and crazy, i forgot to take a picture! just know i looked awesome).

tutor for a few hours after school. get home. make dinner. 

need to clean bathroom. out of paper towel, so i decide to use a sponge.

TERRIBLE idea. i don't know if you can see how blurry this mirror is, but it's bad news:

so then i bought something to fix the problem...

THE BIGGEST ROLL OF PAPER TOWEL EVER MADE BY MAN. 

(i normally love to be green. but how do you clean a mirror without it?)

tuesday:
wake up later than wanted to. again. get to school... ALL DAY FIELD TRIP TO ANN ARBOR HANDS ON SCIENCE MUSEUM.
great trip, but it was a bunch of super-super-excited first graders in a land where they're allowed to touch everything. they loved life. i again don't have a picture, because i feel shady putting pictures of my students up. just know that they loved it.
tuesday night: got home. made dinner. matt told me that he wants to fast from sweets, too, but he doesn't want to start until our church starts--march 14. i tell him i'll do that with him, while simultaneously biting into a sugar cookie. a one day fast did not pan out so well... we'll see how 40 days goes.


wednesday:
school. guatemala meeting during lunch. SO excited. long meetings. small group with high school girls. love them and our discussions.


thursday:
ALL DAY READ IN. pajamas. blankets. pillows. no chairs or desks all day--all day of reading. i made hot chocolate, we had snacks, we had guest readers, reading buddies, and high school readers.
oh, and susan wonch got her package from my class... which created a bit of excitement.


friday:
dress like your favorite character from a book day. translation: Christian school halloween. my students looked awesome and we got to have a parade around the school. later, matt talks about how i have every factor for getting osteoporosis. i don't want my bones to all break, so i buy these:

and because we are about to fast from desserts and sweets, i buy these:

(they're gone). 

i couldn't chance not eating them all.

crazy week, right? add in grad school, night out with friends, both of my parents' birthdays, and tons of prep work... roygbiv. oh, and the cutest dog ever.

FAT tuesday.

welp.
fat tuesday.
i have only had a paczi (or however it's spelled... it should be poonch-kee, right?) one time in my life, so i'm not too attached to this day.
i also am far too attached to being the purity police to be into mardi gras.
and... i am not catholic, so i don't have a religious affiliation to this day.


but i love the idea of attempting to better my life by giving up something with the intent of spending more time with the Lord. (in theory, that's what would happen...)


but i am terrible at it.


one year in college, i gave up desserts, and i remember two things vividly about that time:
1. going to the DC and telling matt to let bites of cake and things "fall into my mouth." what could i do at that point??
2. being out really late at night with the hayes house girls, graffitting the bridge. sus and i were the car drivers, and we snacked on coconut hershey kisses until kingdom come, figuring it didn't count since it was four in the morning.


THIS YEAR, I'M GOING TO DO IT!
no desserts.
really.
i can do it.
and instead of eating desserts, or when i'm tempted to eat one, i'll attempt to remember to pray instead.
in theory, my life will be much better in 40 days. 

a pinch of this and that.

welp, i'm making recipes up today.

oatmeal cookies.

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

a dash of cinnamon

1/4 + 1/8 cup brown sugar

1/4 + 1/8 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup cinnamon chips

mix butter, shortening, vanilla, egg, sugars. for a while.
add flour, baking soda, salt mix just until mixed
add rolled oats, chocolate chips, cinnamon chips
mix well.
350 or so, about 13 minutes.


deeeeelish. 
and sort of made up... started with a recipe then made my own.


and then, a made up marinade for steaks tonight!
we'll see how it tastes... basically, a good amount of Worcestershire sauce, a bit of garlic, rosemary, white wine vinegar, olive oil, sea salt.


yummm!

adios, taylor university.

as much as i love taylor university, i love not owing taylor university any money even more.


we are DONE with undergraduate loans.
holy crap. i'm pumped. it's possible! less than 2 years after graduation.
living poorly has it's benefits!


now, on to... car, my graduate school, matt's medical school.
we sort of like spending money on school. 
we're geeks to the core.