4 happy years

4 years ago yesterday Paul asked me out. 

Well actually he asked if I thought we could ever be more than friends and, thankfully, I did  think so. 

To me that date is almost more significant than our wedding date. By the time the wedding happened we were already a couple. I loved our wedding and being married really matters to me, but the amount of life change that happened when we started dating was bigger than when we got married because relationships change us, and they change our plans. 4 years ago by deciding to date Paul the course of my life was altered. Now I assume this is all in God's plan, but to me this lead to a big shift. 

My life pre-Paul was great. It was full. It was missional. It was fun. It was a great life. 
My life with Paul is also great. It is full. It is missional. It is fun. It is a great life. 
It just looks a bit different.

I was now part of a "we", no longer just an "I".
Though Paul had been my best friend for a while he was now my someone special. 
I now had guaranteed moving and oil change help. 
I now had someone special to spoil with food and affection. 

I see how God uses my husband to help me love and serve others to a fuller extent. 
I see how God uses me as part of a couple to minister to others. 
I see how God uses Paul to help me become gentler, softer, more loving and more gracious to others. 
God has given me a loving husband and that gift has changed me. 

When Paul and I started dating I heard very clearly from God that He has given me a husband that would show me how God felt about me. 
That every time Paul told me he loved me God loved me even more. 
That for every action of love and affection Paul offered, God would do even more. 
He used a man to help me understand in deeper and new ways how great His love is for me. 
He used a relationship (and many others) to help me learn even more what security in Him looks like. 

Since we have been married people often say to me, "Marriage suits you". They comment on how confident I am; how much more secure I am. I always want it to be known that while, in fact, marriage does suit me, it's not because Paul is so awesome (he is though) but because God is using our relationship to teach me things about Himself and about me. In a God-centered marriage there is freedom to be vulnerable and honest about every aspect of life and self and watch God move in those places. On top of that God has given me a husband that listens and cares and who had dedicated himself to seeing me be all that God has intended for me to be. 

In the face of the love of God and the people He has put in my life to love me how can I respond with anything other than love for others? I get the joy of loving Paul well. He is easily pleased, so this isn't always too hard but oh, it's fun to treat him with the love and respect God would ask of me. Hard sometimes too, but mostly fun.

So it has been 4 years since we started our relationship. He asked me out November 22nd, 2008. We got engaged August 21st, 2009 and we got married May 1st, 2010. 

In that time we have travelled to 20 states and 2 provinces, played countless rounds of Settlers of Catan, gone through 4 vehicles, lived in 1 house together and 4 houses apart, dealt with 5 combined months of unemployment, lived through 1 back surgery, gone through Kingdom Life Ministry School 2008 and School of Ministry 2012, been made Deacon's and Lifegroup Leaders, watched each weekly SNL since we have gotten married, and we have fallen more and more in love each year. 

We have also changed.
When we met I hated Zucchini, Spinach and Squash.
Now I love all three and cook with them all the time!
When we met Paul dressed like a lumberjack.
Now he dresses like he lives in the city.
When we met I could cream Paul at Settlers of Catan, now I don't have a hope in the world of beating him. 

Paul in flannel, plaid and Kirkland jeans. 

It's his country look now, but used to be his daily look circa 2008

Also when we started to date I had brown hair, then black hair, then orange hair and finally my current natural blonde-ish state. 
When we started to date Paul had just a goatee thing, and now has a chin strap. Wow, those both sound gross written out. I swear he looks good.

1. One month into dating visiting Heather & Mark Foster in Washington.

2. One month into dating in my backyard as Jonathan and Mark built a giant snow ramp off the garage.

3. First new years together just over a month into dating.

4. 6 months into dating at Loreili and Jesse's wedding. 

See the change? Look at us now!

1. June 1st @ Louanne & Steve's wedding in Portland, OR

2. June 16th @ Centennial Park for Swing Dancing in Nashville, TN

3. July 14th @ Carnton House w. Lance and Becky Boer in Franklin, TN

And lastly....this is us now:

I quite like this man of mine.

P. Morgan - lover of history.

Hater of photographs.

I tell you, the energy it takes to get him to pose for these photos is extreme.

Stopping By

Work is continuing to be fairly busy/steady. I like that!

Since the weekend life, outside of work, has been very restful. Sadly this means there isn't much to blog about. But I have thoroughly been enjoying the week. 

Monday night I was supposed to go to a church meeting to hear from Paul WB. Paul used to live in Vancouver and go to our church - he and his wife and kids moved to Newfoundland to be close to her parents and for him to do more schooling. We miss them a lot! They are heading overseas as a family which is inspiring.  Paul spoke at church on Sunday (bold, convicting and inspiring) and has two more sessions planned for us this week. Monday was the 5 Dysfunctions of Team by Patrick Lencioni and Tuesday and Wednesday he's speaking in two different locations about what him and his family are actually going to be doing. I was excited to hear both - my Paul and I had studied the 5 Dysfunctions of Team with Paul Barker this summer and had really enjoyed it. I was curious to hear Paul WB's take. 

Man that was WAY too many Paul's to have in one paragraph. 

When I got home from work Monday though I had a terrible headache and realized that I needed to skip the meeting to rest. I'm glad I did, it is helping my week immensely and my headache went away and I was able to get a really good sleep. 

Tuesday night Lifegroup was cancelled because we are going together as a LG to hear Paul WB speak on Wednesday night - we will be sharing my homemade Lasagne before heading over to Sheila's for the session. I'm excited to hear all about what they are doing!

In other news I have a secret. No I am not pregnant. It has to do with a rental house. BUT I am not going to post any details, photos or anything until we sign papers and pay money on Saturday. So I will remain mum. Except of course for those of you I already emailed with the details...I'm terrible at keeping my own secrets :( I swear though, the blog post that is coming at you on Saturday will be awesome. Unless something goes wrong, and then I will be super sad. 

But my excitement over my secret keeps me from knowing how to blog, because it's all I'm thinking about. I doodle house plans and designs, I make lists for moving...I'm a non-stop obsessing machine currently. 

So on that note: how do you plan your design for your house? How do you fill spaces? Do you wing it or plan ahead? Any tips for moving and decorating?

And of course, Pinterest is about to be devoured by me. I'm a woman in love. 

Ok, back to work. I have a day of expense reports, travel details and archiving ahead. Thankfully though we have a work lunch in between - full on turkey dinner - it's actually more Christmas themed, but since it's American Thanksgiving this weekend it does feel timely. 

Amazing food from the Butler Did it Catering

The wonderful centerpieces Leigh created.

Oh and just because it feel criminal to post without that many pictures, and honestly, despite my preoccupation I have been wearing clothing. I might as well show you. 

Though it does feel silly to post pictures of outfits I've already posted here, however I realized that both my outfits came from the internets and I should show you their origins!

First look from J's Everyday Fashion

As you can see, the bottom half of the above photo is blurry. Nice one Tara. 

And that is a wrap for today. 

A show, a movie, some outfits and more food.

Despite working on Friday, I feel like the weekend began on Thursday. Paul and I were heading downtown with some friends to watch our other friend Sam Alviar play at the Roxy. Not only was Sam excellent, but it was a lot of fun to get to see him on stage, other than playing at church. 

Here's a little glimpse of what he sounds like:

I must say it again, every time I take the skytrain downtown with Paul to go see a show I feel like a giant fake - like I'm pretending to be this trendy urban person, but really I'm like crafting and cooking and watching movies at home in my PJ's. And of course whenever get home from night out, I'm immediately into pajama's and on the couch.

Paul took this blurry group shot.

I think he's under the mistaken belief that if he takes bad enough pictures I'll eventually stop asking him to take them. But I won't. He underestimates my want of pictures.

Anyways, I was sitting with Stef, Jodi, Marilyn and Anne.

And look, we could see Sam on stage!

And Jonathan in the background as well.

The cymbal nicely hides his terrible moustach for "movember"

Stefano and Paul found a less squishy place to sit by the bar.

Jodi and Stef were proud of Sam! 

Stef especially, as Sam is her boyfriend

We tried to get a shot but Dustin always does his model face.

It's not great.

Phew, finally!

Stef and I!

Me and Jodes!

And and here's this guy - this was the next band up.

He was dedicated to his craft.

Oh and there was the an episode on our walk home where an energy drink burst in my purse and the whole purse was full with it before I noticed. Ugh.

Then it was back to work for Friday. 

All week I had free lunch and breakfast because we had meetings in office Monday and there were leftovers. This was the last day of leftovers and man, it was still good. 

The Butler Did It Catering makes great food!

After lunch I was heading out to Starbucks to meet up with an old friend who I hadn't seen in years. As I headed to meet her I passed Miss Whistler and Miss Blackcomb....it was strange.

The coffee with my friend (Sheri) was great. I really enjoyed seeing her and catching up with her. After that it was a busy afternoon of work and then Paul and I headed off on a house viewing (it wasn't meant to be). 

I was a bit sad by the time I met up with Paul because we found out our dear homestay student Karen is moving out. She's been sick for a while  so will move in with family in the area. We understand that they can take care of her well, and take her to the chinese doctors she's used to. We'll miss her a lot but we want her to be healthy!

Thankfully my evening had some plans to help cheer me up. I was meeting up with my new friend Lindsay (who no longer feels like a new friend and who I must soon take a photo with) to go watch "Pitch Perfect". Well. Pitch Perfect. You are awesome. Chick Flick, meets Dance movie, meets spoof. LOVE IT. Plus Lindsay thought my laugh was funny, so that extra added to the amusement. Lindsay is a super easy, fun person to be with, so it was an excellent night. After the movie we went back to her house to drink tea and chat. When I left I felt so much better!

Saturday was a stormy morning, and I was up fairly early to head to prayer training so I can help be on the prayer team at the youth worship night, Chapel. Bernice from our teach was training us and it was really wonderful; and at the end she prophesied over us and did some impartation which was awesome. 

After the meeting I headed out grocery shopping - note to self; never go to the Willingdon Costco on a Saturday. NEVER. Busy. full. no parking. OH MY WORD. And I thought Richmond Costco was bad! Also, Walmart is not much better on a Saturday. 

However I stuck to my budget (well only $20 over) but managed to include a spontaneous belt and crock pot purchase in there, so that's a win. You'll see photos of the belt at the end of the post. I'm loving it. 

Also I needed a new crock pot because my current one doesn't have a timer, and I'm gone for work for 9 hours, so unless a recipe is that long (most are 4, 6 or 8) I'm kind screwed. I ended up finding one at Walmart for $40 and it had a timer! So when it's done it just switches to warm. WIN again!

Afterwards I met up with Paul for another house viewing - I'll give you more info on that tomorrow once we seal the deal because it looks like we've found our dream house to rent. But I don't want to get my hopes up and tell you about it until we've put down a deposit. 

Then it was time to head home. I texted my sister pictures of the house (she insists on following along on our viewing adventure and I love it) and got dinner ready. Then the Papali's came over for dinner. I made all comfort and pub like food, plus salad. 

The menu:

Wings (BBQ & Honey Garlic)

Potato "Chips" - homemade so not super chip like

Salad with Balsamic Dressing leftover from the Butlers catering at work

Crab Dip w. Pita Chips

Oh man, it was good.

We stayed up late with them, talking and chatting. We got to hear all about their trip to the Phillipines for our friend Daniel's wedding and it was lovely. 

Sunday was perfectly restful. Paul left at 5am to go hunting with our friend Glen from church. I slept in for another 5 hours after that (so awesome) then got up, cleaned and tidied the house, organized the fridge and then sat on the couch for a few hours proof reading my uncle's book. It was a nice day. 

Then Jenna came to get me for church - since Lindsay's husband John is in Panama and my husband was away hunting we sat together. I enjoy her so much. Church was full and felt great, as per usual. I am so blessed to be a part of this church. 

After church everyone was busy. Strange. I kept asking people what they were doing, and normally people go out to eat. This time everyone was heading home. 

My parents were heading home also, so I suggested we eat dinner together. They were totally on board and very excited. It sure makes one feel good to have their parents enjoy them that much - they are such wonderful, supportive, loving parents. 

We headed out for Mongolian BBQ at Main and 14th. It's kind seedy looking but it's a decent price and it tastes awesome - plus it's all you can eat. You get to pick what goes in your bowl and what sauces, then they cook it for you on the oven below. 

There's all sorts of great meat and veggies to add, as well as udon noodles!

And then this guy cooks your food with sticks. 

Awesome.

Mmmmm

Paul came home by 9pm and we got to cuddle on the couch and catch up.

It was the perfect ending to the weekend. 

Oh and speaking of perfect.

Enter, skinny belt.

It matches my boots!

I wore the above outfit to church and loved it so much I needed to recreate it for work on Monday. I could have worn it as is for work, but really didn't feel like wearing a skirt to work on this rainy day. 

Which do you like better? I tend to lean to the skirt look.

And there you have it. A weekend recap written on Monday!

Pinterest Results & Work week thoughts

This week I tried a few Pinterest meal ideas. Some where a success and some were lame. But in the case of the lame one, I'm gonig to go ahead and blame Thyme for that. 

So up first, Ham & Asparagus Casserole. 

Source: myrecipes.com via Tara on Pinterest

I didn't take a picture of the finished result but it looked just like the photo, honestly. However....the taste. Turns out Thyme sucks. It made the whole casserole taste kind of dirty. 
I would make this casserole again but instead of adding time to the roux I would add some garlic and sauteed mushrooms. It needed more. And I think I would either dice the onions smaller or have them pureed in the sauce. Other than that though, it wasn't too bad. 

Two Ingredient Dough with Cheese & Ham/Bacon.

Source: lessonslearntjournal.com via Tara on Pinterest

Here is my attempt: It definitely doesn't look as pretty. 

Looking at the inspiration picture I wonder if I was confused on how to bake them, however they tasted great and my guests (Katie and Joel for the first batch and TC and Irene for the second) seemed to enjoy them. Katie and Joel were raving. I would definitely make these again. And the first time I made them I couldn't use cheese because of Katie's dietary needs and they were still wonderful. I used shredded chicken, ham and bacon. WIN.

And lastly I made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles:

Source: loveandoliveoil.com via Jessica on Pinterest

They are amazing. I will make these over and over and over again. They are a bit tricky to dip and I'd recommend only taking half out of the freezer when you go to dip them, or stopping part way to refreeze because once they start to soften they fall apart as you dip. 

I used Almond Bark for my coating and MAN. So good. I have been wowing people with these all week - and it makes quite a few. These were a win for sure. 

Also, this made me laugh.

It has been back to work this week after the long weekend and back on my bike. It has been cold and crisp and dry. The views have been amazing. 

Snow on the mountains and fall on the streets.

Beautiful sunshine despite the cold.

And now on to outfits. 

Pinterest helped inspire two of my outfits

The first was made up of brown boot, jean, long gold necklace and jewel tone sweater.

I didn't have turquoise (side) but used purple and loved it. 

Second was jeans (I used black for work), maroon/red cardigan, beige and gold necklace with brown boots. 

I wouldn't have paired these together and I loved it. 

Lastly I wore this outfit to work on Thursday. While I came up with the outfit on my own I wouldn't have ever thought to pair a floral pattern or a pink with brown boots. Pinterest is also where I got the idea to help tie the boots in by wearing my gold necklace. Thanks Pinterest!

More than just Pinterest I get ideas from quite a few bloggers for food and fashion - but then I can just turn them into Pins and acredit them to Pinterest. But for a moment let me tell you some of my favorite blogs for fashion.

**With the disclaimer that I don't always like all the outfits I see in the blog world, I don't always get fashion...but often these wonderful bloggers help push me out of my comfort zone and I'm liking it!**

Abbie @ 5 Days 5 Ways

Aunie @ Aunie Sauce

Cassie @ Hi Sugarplum!

Cori @ la vie petite

Erika @ Rouge & Whimsy

Erin @ Living in Yellow

J @ J's Fashion

Kaylin @ Stay Blonde

Lilly @ Lilly's Style

Nadine @ Back East Blonde

Natalie @ Natalie Dressed

Sheaffer @ Pinterest Told me to

The Hollie Rogue

The Pleated Poppy

The Small Things Blog

The Shine Project

The daybook

Yikes...how did I ever get dressed before the internet?

And I'm telling you now, start preparing, because the moment we move it'll be DYI decor and organizing out the yingyang! You better believe I've been pinning and bookmarking away and will have so so so many ideas for our new space - whatever that will be!

Weekend Catch up

Somehow this past week had felt long. 

I try to stay away from Energy Drinks but week's like last week sometimes just need them. 

Especially on a busy Friday at work.

Thankfully though the work week eventually finished and I headed home to get ready to have my nephews over for the night. We cuddled and played with them and it was lovely. After Austin went to bed Connor and I stayed up to make treats.

We were making Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. This dough is made without eggs so it's entirely edible - which is key when baking with at toddler :)

I'll share more on these tomorrow with recipe included but for now I'll say they were a huge hit.

After that I got to tuck Connor into bed, pray with him and cuddle while he rambled on for a while. It is one of my favorite moments in the sleepover. He says the FUNNIEST things when he's supposed to be sleeping.

And then the house was quiet. Gabe and Sunshine were coming over to babysit for a couple of hours so Paul and I could head out to our friend Devin's surprise 40th Birthday Party. The party was being held in the Shebeen (Whiskey Room) of the Irish Heather. I love the Irish Heather because they serve Snakebites - Cider & Lager mixed. Mmm. 

There were great friends to chat with. Many man with moustaches since it is after all Movember.

Stef and I amanged to match again! 

Brown boots, skinny jeans, ruffled blouse and grey jacket/cardigan. Weird!

It was fun to celebrate Devin, he's great.

Lydia (Devin's wife, who is awesome) and I.

Leah, Morgan and I.

I heart this picture.

The glow from the flash, the smiles. 

Plus we all look good.

I realized that I have been friends with these ladies for a while now.

I met Morgan in the fall of 2005 (though we weren't friends yet at that stage) and I met Leah January of 2006. I searched through FB to find photos of us from the year after I met them and voila! Boy have we changed!

Somehow we managed in the exact same order for a shot as we did 4 years ago at Nate and Leah's Going Away Party - and joy, they're now back!

It was a great night. Conversation, Snakebites and lots of laughs.

I came home to this.

Melt. my. heart.

I was pretty restless all night worrying about not hearing Austin wake up in the morning and being very aware of not wanting to wake Connor up while he slept. So I was pretty tired when I woke up, but it was so worth getting to have a sleepover with them!

We got up and played around the house - we finished up the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough truffles and wrestled for a bit. And then we headed off on an adventure to Jodi's bakery, the Last Crumb. It was a beautiful fall day and as we walked we passed the Winter Farmers Market where the Hipsters were out in full swing. Plaid w. boots, thick glasses and bicycles with baskets abounded.

Jenna met up with us at the Last Crumb. I hadn't had a chance to see where Jodi was working yet, and let me tell you, it's adorable. No wonder she's so proud of it!

The layout is great too, with an upstairs with seats and space. How great when you have small children with you! Because man, Austin and Connor needed to run around. 

Then it was time to head home....I'll admit that Jenna dropped me off at 12:30pm and I was so tired from the late night, early morning and childcare that I slept until 4:30!!! Crazy. Then I got up and had dinner. Awesome. 

Paul had been out hunting all day with his Dad, I got a call from him at 6:30 that I should head out to Surrey to hang out with some friends at his Parents house. His step-sister was in town with her husband and baby and a few of our friends were visiting. I haven't seen Cory and Laura in forever, and havent' spent much time with baby Salem, so it was a great new plan. 

We played Tri-Bond (Cory and I won), laughed a lot and then played Pictionary (Paul, Mike and I lost) with giant wild animal tokens.

See the animals in their natural habitat.

Speaking of natural habitat's, Sunday Paul and I went to the mall.

A place that is foreign to Paul, but very natural for me.

Paul liked my outfit so much he even agreed to take an outfit photo for me...and in public!

I far prefer when another human being can take my photo and I don't have to try to capture it in the mirror. 

Sunday we also viewed a house that we fell in love with, but alas is now going to be rented by the owners son. Sad for us!

Then it was off to church. Now in a recent post I mentioned how much I loved a certain dress and would be wearing it again to church on Sunday. Here is it:

And being true to my word, I did wear it. And boy did I get comments - numerous people came up to me and said they were wondering if I would be wearing the dress as mentioned, or they wondered why it looked familiar. I was entirely amused that anyone even paid attention! Also I had a few lovely philipina's ask if this was my own inspiration or a Pinterest inspiration, and I think it's safe to say it's half and half. Pinterest gave me the boldness to mix brown and grey, but I came up with this outfit all by myself.

After church Jodi came over for dinner - we made a casserole that I found on Pinterest (more on that tomorrow) and Paul made us watch some James Bond introductions to help teach Jodi about the franchise. Because it's vastly important that she know?

Then we headed over to the Mitchell's for a family dessert night. Auntie Sandy was in town with Uncle Jake, and that's always reason enough to get together. While we chatted in the Christmassy living room, Noah (13) grabbed Jonah (4) and put him in a duffle bag, much to Jonah's delight. He proceeded to carry him around the house while the bag giggled and giggled. At times shrieking with delight. It was fun to watch.

Then Noah and Jonathan decided it would be hilarious to have Jonah walk in the bag. So they got his feet out and off he went. Noah had to be near by at all times otherwise Jonah would have crashed into far too many walls!

Eventually we left around 11pm since Paul was asleep in the chair and I was feeling tired as well. Since it was the long weekend we got to sleep in and boy, I was thankful for that!

Monday was very restful. I joined Jenna, her boys and their homestay students for a trip to Micheals. It was a big adventure for their students and it was fun for us. 

Plus I got more Connor and Aunt time.

Then I headed home to prepare Cream of Pumpkin Soup (since I had an extra pumpkin) and some new Pinterest Bread. I'll give you the rundown of the bread tomorrow in my Pinterest Review Post. We were having the Chibota's over for dinner and as they are both from warmer climates (Irene - Texas & New Mexico, TC - Africa) and it was POURING outside, I wanted to make something warm and hearty and fall-like. Pumpkin Soup fits that bill every time. 

We had a great night with them, chatting, laughing, planning and generally solving all the worlds problem. The four of us make a rad team. 

And then it was to bed by 10pm as I had to be at work by 7am on Tuesday for a busy busy week (hence the lateness of this post). Thus ends the Saga of my November long weekend. 
Stay tuned for tomorrow - Pinterest Results!