A day in the life

So a lot has changed for us over the last few months. 

Jareth has started working as a photographer with the company Lifetouch and has proven to be an awesome photographer!  He travels once in awhile and is working full time for them.  Right now he is in Iowa for the next week.

I am still working with Cargill in Fargo.  My hours have been cut to three days a week but we are in the process of hopefully taking on a project that will provide me with more hours.  In the meantime I did get a part time job working with Jareth at Lifetouch but due to the lack of need, I am no longer working for them.  For now things are kind of in limbo but I do have my necklaces to help me out.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the necklaces I make I have posted a picture below.  My sister and I have started making glass and scrabble tile pendants.  We are currently in progress of expanding to domino pieces, multiple chain options, possibly keychains or other items, custom ordering and possibly creating a website.

Why I love my husband

Jareth brings so much joy to my life and I believe we would agree one of the best parts of our relationship is how much fun we can have together.  Over the summer we have done a number of things.  To share just a few

- we enjoyed a couple good twins games in the metrodome
- we watched the Fargo horse races for the first time
- Jareth taught me about his 1971 Ford Torino and we worked on restoring it
- we love the restaurant Kobes and trying their sushi
- we went camping with our good friends Kayla and Josh 
- we started working together at Lifetouch, a photography company
- we got to see the Vikings play in the Metrodome this fall thanks to my uncle Robert!
- we watched Travis Barker kill it at the Blink 182 concert
- we went to Valleyfair and made Jareth face his fear of Power Tower
- we enjoy relaxing on our couch watching more movies than I could have ever imagined

and so much more!

Camping with Josh and Kayla!

Preston, Jareth and I at the Twins game.  They were playing the Seattle Mariners, Ken Giffey Jr's team- of course!

Jamie, Justin, Travis, Justin, Chase and us at Justin's 21st birthday bash.  We are just missing Katie!

One more for the kitchen

Jareth and I LOVE seafood.  When celebrating our anniversary of being engaged we made crab legs and crawfish.  This recipe turned out to make the best crablegs we ever had. 

1 1/2 lb crablegs
1 cup dry white wine
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp minced onion or scallions
3.5 oz butter
1 tsp garlic salt

Combine wine, lemon juice & onion in pot.  Bring to boil, add crab, steam about 10 minutes or until crab is warm in center.  Remove the crab bringing wine mixture to boil once again.  Allow mixture to evaporate down to half, whisk in butter, add garlic salt.  Mix and use as dipping sauce. 

We hope you enjoy!

Jam it up!

I also attempted a couple types of Jam.  The blueberry turned out the best.  Here is the recipe if you want to try it out.  It was easy, even for me!


1 1/2 qts. blueberries (fresh or frozen, thawed/not drained)
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 box Sure-Jel or Can-Jel
4 c. sugar

Place 4 cups berries in a very large kettle and stir in the lemon juice and the Sure-Jel or Can-Jel. Place over high heat and mashing berries and stir until the mixture comes to a hard boil. Immediately add the sugar and bring to a full rolling boil; boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat; skim off foam with metal spoon; stir and skim 5 minutes to cool slightly and prevent floating fruit. Ladle into sterilized glass jars, leaving 1/2" space at top. Seal with lids.

This recipe makes about 7 cups or 3 1/2 pints of jam.

Pickles!

So I have decided since for the first time in my life I do not have classes and homework consuming most of my days I am determined to learn some other types of things in life.  This summer I pickled some green beans, eggs, and cucumbers.  Here is a recipe I followed that turned out great for the pickles and beans!

4 dozen pickling cucumbers
1 bunch dill
1 quart white vinegar
8 cups water
garlic cloves
pickling spice

Refrigerate pickles for at least a few hours in cold water.  Pack the cucumbers into pint jars as tightly as possible.  Poke in a spring of dill and a clove of garlic into each jar.  Combine the vinegar, water, and spices.  Fill jars with brine and microwave each jar 3 minutes with lids on.  Place in hot water bath for 1 hour.  Pickles should be ready in about a week when their coloring changes.

The pickled eggs recipe went as follows...

1 tsp mustard
3/4 cup water
1 tbsp salt
1 medium onion, sliced
1 1/4 c white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pickling spice
12 hard boiled eggs

In  a small saucepan blend mustard with 1/4 cup vinegar.  Add remaining 1 cup vinegar and remaining ingredients except eggs.  Simmer uncovered 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved and onions are crisp and tender.  Pour over eggs.  Cover and refrigerate overnight!

How is married life?

So Jareth and I have heard this question quite a few times since we have been married and the answer is great!!  We lived together before we were married so we knew what to expect for day to day activities, chores, schedules etc. but what we were not expecting is how much the emotional and mental aspects of our relationship would change.  It has been a learning experience and our bond has grown enormously.  We have had a lot of fun taking on the roles of husband and wife!!

The rest of the family

Jareth and I have two dogs.  Bodacious, an English Bulldog who is just over one now and Ludo, a Yorkshire Terrier who is two and a half.  They are very different dogs.  Ludo loves to bark and play fetch.  Bodie chews on EVERYTHING and gets annoyed when Ludo barks.  At first they did not care for each other too much but now we are just one happy family.

Ludo as a puppy.

All grown up!

Bodie as a pup!

 

Bodacious all grown up!

We Did

Of course in May we also took the plunge and had a beautiful wedding on the 30th.  The weather was very cooperative and the whole day was more than I could have ever imagined.  I never imagined my wedding without me carrying flowers down the aisle...oops.  I never imagined breaking my wedding dress just before the vows...oops.  I never imagined forgetting my veil...oops.  Besides a few minor setbacks- the day was perfect and I think we had a pretty good party. We hope you enjoyed it!  Here are a few pictures from friends and relatives.  The professional pictures are still being processed!
 

 

 

 

 

May 2009

We are going to fast forward to May 2009. This month was incredibly busy for us. On May 15th I graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.



Jareth also graduated from North Dakota State University Moorhead with a Bachelor of Science degree in Art and a minor in military science. He also commissioned into the U.S. Army Reserve on July 12, 2009.

October 15th, 2008

Let's start from the beginning. Jareth proposed to me last year on October 15th, 2008. After asking him several times to go for a walk in the park through the colorful fall leaves he finally caved. It was a Wednesday and I was going to meet him after class.

Now, I must admit since we had been talking about the future quite a bit I had previously expected a proposal. When we went out to a nice dinner the week before I spent hours getting ready, making sure I was "picture perfect" for the evening. Whenever we had a night to ourselves, my camera was always nearby. After a few of these always ending in disappointment, I decided this certainly was not the day...either.

Back to the story... I came home to put on a warm winter hat and we headed out as it was getting dark. We went to Lindenwood park dividing Fargo and Moorhead along the Red River. We walked for awhile and decided to sit on a blanket overlooking the high waters and full moon. Jareth slipped a small box into my hand and I yelled, Are you kidding me?!?! I stood up and he got on one knee and asked me if I would marry him. I cried "of course I will!"

I was not all dolled up and I didn't have my camera but I wouldn't change it for the world. It was the happiest day of my life until May 30, 2009.

Flagship

Here it is! I have joined the world of blogging. Please bear with me as I learn how to operate the page and construct a fun blog! Things you can do with this site

-become a follower of our blog
-leave comments and feedback for each post
-watch as Jareth and I grow and join us in our adventurous life
-connect to my sister, Jackie's blog www.austinjackieanddarius.blogspot.com

I hope you enjoy the blog!

More to come soon!