8 Things I love About Kyle

As the New Year gets closer (like, massively closer) I've been thinking about how awesome 2008 has been and all the cool things that have happened to me and the people I care about. Luckily, it won't stop at midnight tonight, because The Year of a Million Dreams doesn't end until the end of April (phew!). (I'm so glad that Amanda and I got/are getting married in that time frame, because it means that the magic of Disneyland is real.) Anyways, the best thing that happened to me this year (and every year from now on) was, obviously, Kyle--so I want my last post of 2008 to be about him.

These are 8 things that I discovered in 2008 that I love about Kyle (I could think of a million):

1. Kyle is an awesome singer. I love his funny renditions of songs--my favorites are The Littlest Birds by The Be Good Tanyas, The Way I am by Ingrid Michaelson, and He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother by Rufus Wainwright.

2. Kyle has a gift with handling money. That, plus his killer work ethic, got him through school with no help from anyone and debt-free (and early!). Now it's making my life super easy--I always assumed that once I got married, money would become The Most Stressful Thing. But Kyle handles it all beautifully. We have no debt, we're building up a hefty savings account, AND I feel like we're living luxuriously.

3. Kyle is into things. I have a pretty obsessive personality, but it doesn't bother Kyle any--because I think that he's secretly the same way. When we love a show, we LOVE that show and watch it for hours everyday on DVD until we're out of episodes. Examples: Heroes, Lost, Prison Break. And those are just the ones since we've gotten married. During our engagement I caught him up on 3 seasons of 30 Rock and Arrested Development. He doesn't get bored with one thing before I do, which is pretty much a miracle.

4. Kyle is an amazing gift-giver. He takes my advice and still manages to surprise me. With our Christmas present budget this year, he totally made all my dreams come true. 3 of the perfect sweater vests from Forever 21 in the best colors (I'm obsessed with them), a webcam so I don't have to cry everyday because I miss Lucy (wasn't that a great idea?), and a trip to The Nutcracker in Salt Lake City to help me feel the Christmas spirit AND make us sound fancy. He's proven himself to be a thoughtful and fun gift-giver with every gift-giving holiday since we've started dating.

5. Kyle's sense of style is basically beyond description, but I have to try anyways: It.Is.Awesome. He is adventurous, fun, classy, fashionable, and wacky. And some days he's downright conservative. And he looks so good.

6. Kyle loves to learn. I'm into some pretty a-typical stuff, and I love to share it with Kyle. Instead of thinking that I'm weird or boring, Kyle does his darnedest to love it--and usually does (I just can't get him to see the merit of Twilight--but I can't blame him for that). Whether it's Bollywood, wacky music, old movies, plays, books, opera, etc.--Kyle doesn't mind me bugging him with it. Kyle just considers himself better-educated when I'm done showing him something.

7. Kyle has several distinct sound effects that he always makes in certain situations. Unfortunately, I can't share them with you because they are untype-able. I think my favorite is when he makes a turn in the car--it's so fun. And for a while he quacked every time he approved of something--Katy and I are trying really hard to make that stick. I would really miss those sounds if he stopped making them.

8. Kyle has genuinely, easily, and quickly become a comfortable member of my family. This Christmas holiday proved it. I was so happy to see all the people that I loved the most together, having a blast and not being awkward. I was especially pleased that Lucy seems to LOVE Kyle (more than she likes me, but I'm not hurt--Kyle is really rad). She always had a smile for him, and he read her about a million books last week, at her request. They were so cute.

I'm excited for 2009. A LOT is going to happen. I feel pretty safe though, even with all the changes that are coming. Having Kyle at my side makes everything a whole lot more comfortable, and I know we can handle it.

So cloooooose

We're leaving tomorrow night! I hope the crazy snow doesn't impede our journey--I KNOW it will though. Katy spent all night in the Salt Lake Airport, and I just pray that our delay isn't that long. I don't have time to spare! I am so excited for home, and Lucy, and the fireplace, and presents, and good food, and my parents, and no snow, and Christy and Danny, and Christmas movies, and Christmas music, and downtown Walnut Creek, and the temple, and Fentons, and my home ward, and LUCY. And CHRISTMAS.

We had a great weekend:

We celebrated Ludichristmas! We opened the presents under our tree before our night in Salt Lake City.

Before

After

We watched 4/5 of the first season of Prison Break--which is a VERY addicting show. Kyle was sick for half of the weekend, so we made a pallet out of blankets and pillows on our living room floor--and spent hours and hours there, watching Prison Break, surrounded by dishes and candy wrappers. Decadence in the extreme.

Before Kyle got sick, we were lucky enough to go see The Nutcracker! Man, I had forgotten how much I worship ballerinas. The Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy were gorgeous. The music was awesome, the Russian dancers crazily fun, and the experience wonderful! Is it weird that Herr Drosselmeyer reminds me of Kyle?

Kyle had to look extra stern because this particular Nutcracker was purple.

Just 5ish more days...

Last night we dropped off Katy at the airport. She is now snug at home (actually I'm sure she's on her way to kindergarten by now) and I gotta say, I'm jealous. Kyle and I considered buying tickets while we were there last night, and just hopping on the plane (we don't need luggage, and my family doesn't need presents, right?) but decided to stick around Utah for a little while longer. It's not so bad though. We have some fun plans to occupy us until Tuesday:

• Tonight we're going to the temple with Emily and Council Bluffs, and then hanging out with Amanda on her last night in Provo. I can't believe she's moving already!
• Tomorrow is Friday--don't know what we'll do, but I'm sure that it will be spectacular. We'll probably watch the awful movies that Kyle rented--and by awful, you know I mean that they're going to be awesome.
• I'm really excited for Saturday--Kyle got us tickets to The Nutcracker! I have not seen that ballet since I was teeny, and Kyle has never seen it--so it's sure to be fun. I know that going to Salt Lake to see it is going to make me feel REALLY Christmas-y. Plus it's at the Capitol Theater, and I love the Capitol Theater.
• I don't have to work at all next week--that is going to be such a relief! I'll actually feel like I'm on a break.
• Maybe it's time Kyle and I played in the snow. We did run barefoot in the snow last week...but that was too painful to be considered playing. We have regrets.
• Mini-Christmas! We actually decided that it would be our own personal Ludichristmas. We have some mini (and a couple big) presents under our teeny (I mean HUGE) Christmas tree. Can't wait to open them and feel like we get Christmas twice.

So that's plenty to keep me occupied until we leave. And I just get tons of time to anticipate how much fun we'll have in California.

Um, Title.

Yesterday was one of those days where you can't believe how happy you are. I kept trying to think of something that was bothering me (something had to be wrong) but couldn't come up with anything. It was great. I don't think it was what we did so much as how happy we were to be together.

• We slept in, after staying up late with Katy the night before.
• We made a fun breakfast ("eggy toast"/"egg in the hole"/whatever you want to call it and bacon).
• We drove through the snow to Salt Lake City.
• We went shopping at the Gateway--bought me some much-needed shoes at Urban Outfitters, walked through Anthropologie drooling, and I finally spent my birthday gift certificate from Emily.
• We drove back to Provo and ate at India Palace--I needed to get some naan and tikka masala in me! It was delicious, of course.
  
• Katy came over and we made cookie dough and watched a terrible movie (Westworld). The hero looked exactly like my ex-boyfriend (the one we don't like). It didn't make us want him to survive the robot cowboy. (Plus, the robot cowboy was Yul Brynner, so he should obviously win)
  
• We started another movie (Westender) and turned it off after 4 minutes--that's how bad it was. I don't think we've ever done that. We LOVE stupid movies.
  
• Watched Pulp Fiction on tv. Bruce Willis continues to be the best. What is up with John Travolta's freakishly hideous hair?

Um, I love Kyle.

Catching Up on Pictures

Here is our Christmas tree. It is just about the teeniest tree you can imagine--but I love the Christmas cheer it brings to the house.

(for an alternate view, see Kyle's blog)

This is the turkey we made. I never put up a picture of it. I just wish I'd gotten a picture of it before Kyle started carving it!

We had so much fun with these guys over Thanksgiving break! It was impossible to get one picture with ALL of us smiling normal...that silly Emma.

Amanda's bridal shower was Most Fun. Cool people and sweet presents! I think it went very well. There were a ton of people there, most of whom I had never met before! The only good pictures I got were of the pom pom decorations that I made with Katy and Kyle. I think they're neat. Thank you, Martha Stewart. After the cleanup crew (us) pulled them

down from the ceiling, we couldn't resist playing with them.

Kyle came over to help us clean up. Alan came strictly to eat our leftovers. He also played.

Now The Biggest Loser is on so I have to go!

Best. Day. Ever.

In the last ten minutes, I:
--not only SAW Keith Johnson, but HE saw ME first and said HI!! KEITH JOHNSON RECOGNIZED ME AS A HUMAN BEING!!!!
--discovered that there is in existence Christmas time CADBURY MINI EGGS!! They are DELICIOUS and I am consuming them RIGHT NOW.


I feel radiant and exuberant and...yes, I feel EFFULGENT.



(Keith Johnson is not a secret lover, do not fret. He is the English professor that I have reverenced for the last 3 years. Ours is a hero worship/vague recognition relationship.)

Sick and Welshy

I was so sick yesterday. As Katy (and actually, I) would say, sickubus. Losing 4 lbs. is the silver lining. It was awful, of course, but I did get to watch all 4 hours of North and South--a very fun BBC miniseries. I'm all better now--except for the exhaustion and soreness. That's okay though, I don't have to do anything really awful today--just learn the Welsh language. Which is kind of fun, actually.

Katy and I are working in the LRC until our class in 4 hours. It's great except the space key on this keyboard squeaks everytime I hit it. ANNOYING. I'm wearing headphones, but the folks around me must hate me. Oh well.

I'm at work. I thought that if I worked hard, time would go by quickly--but unfortunately, that is not the case. It's always harder to stay at work when I'm stressed/excited for things. I just have a lot to do today, and sitting here isn't getting it done. BUT it's giving me money so I'll still do it. I'm just antsy to get a move on! The things I have to do aren't terrible--just necessary to get done TODAY. Making pies, making cupcakes, buying things from different locations, etc., and then just mapping out what I have to do tomorrow morning, making a schedule, etc. It'll be great though. I get a lot of pleasure/stress out of being a hostess.

In other news, I'm done with all of Kyle's presents, so I'm officially done with Christmas shopping. I'm almost sad, because it's so fun to do! We won't be eating for the rest of the month to make up for all the presents we got for our family (don't feel guilty, guys, you know I love it--giving presents is one of my truest joys). Of course, we'll eat great once we get to California!

Oh man, eating...I forgot about that. Dang I'm hungry. Now I REALLY want to leave work!

Pantrucas

This is Kyle with a scrumptious bit of fried cauliflower. Actually to me it looks disgusting--but Kyle loves it, and it is very Chilean apparently. We had a blast at Pantrucas last night. The owners are SO NICE. The man was our "waiter", although it felt more like we were buddies. He came and sat with us and told us about the menu. He said everything in Spanish to Kyle and then repeated it to me in English--although I could understand him, I told him I didn't really speak Spanish because I didn't want to have to try to actually respond in Spanish. I'm a wuss. He was really cool. As we were about to leave his wife came out, and let me tell you she is GORGEOUS! I loved her, and her voice. Kyle says she looks very Chilean. I'm amazed he didn't end up marrying one if they look like that! The place was tiny, and we were the only people in there. You know how once you go to a place that looks like it might be struggling, it automatically becomes YOUR responsibility to take care of it and keep it afloat? Is that just me? Anyways, we're definitely going back there. I got a ham and cheese sandwich that wasn't special except for the delicious homemade Chilean bread it was on. Kyle got a tasty empanada. Next time we'll get pastel de choclo (it takes a while to make and we didn't feel like we had time) and the Torta de Mil Hojas--a "cake" pastry thing that sounds SO GOOD. I'm glad Kyle knows about these sorts of things so I don't miss out on anything delicious. I'm also glad that Kyle is such a fluent Spanish speaker, because this week I'm reading a Spanish play and I have really needed his help! I try to read it, and I get most of it, but I can tell that I'm losing a lot of the subtle things. So then Kyle reads it to me so I can really understand--it's very sweet. And attractive.

Last night we also celebrated with Dairy Queen! I couldn't help but remember my family's St. Johns trip over the summer--we went to DQ every day, and one day we went twice. Andersons on vacation.

School is almost over! This is the last full week of classes--and it's almost Friday! I can't believe how fast it's gone. I also can't believe how soon Amanda's bridal shower is! Yikes! I'm going to spend a lot of time in the next couple of days baking, and making decorations, and pie-ing, and frosting....yeah it'll be fun!

HOW long has it been?

Today is the 200th day of our marriage! And no, we don't keep track of the days we've been married. Kyle's phone told us last night that this was coming up, and hey, you may as well celebrate every chance you get! And let me tell you, the last 200 days are worth celebrating. But, too much talk of delirious love and happiness gets old, so I'll just let it be. I'm excited for our 200th day celebration. We're going to try out a Chilean restaurant that I discovered yesterday. Kyle always talks about pastel de choclo, and now I will finally get to try it!

Last night we had some fun campus activities. There was a Navidad fiesta for some of the Spanish classes, which was fun PLUS I got a hefty amount of extra credit for singing The Little Drummer Boy (en español, of course). Immediately after was Katy's orchestra concert! I love going to Katy's concerts. In all of her years at BYU, I have only missed one--and that was NOT my fault, because I was in Amarillo. Kyle is so fun to go to concerts with, and we definitely had a blast. The music was great! Afterwards we took Katy home with us and delighted in hot chocolate and Good Eats.

All last night I had Nazi dreams. I HATE Nazi dreams. And these weren't even "Oh, Nazis are bad, poor Jews" dreams--I WAS the Jew, and I WAS hunted. Kyle and I were on the run for ages. It was very scary :( Luckily, Grandma Joyce took pity on us and gave us shelter--until we got caught again.

Happy December!

Do you ever have days where it seems like every single person you pass is staring at you incredulously? And you have no idea why, and after checking yourself out in the mirror you confirm that you look fine, so why the heck are all those people so weird? Yeah like today.

Some Thanksgiving highlights:

• The delicious pie I made that we ate over the course of several days.
• Seeing Twilight with Nancy and the Dowse girls (hilariously delightful)
• Thanksgiving dinner with my second cousins and the Scott/Nancy fam
• Hanging out with Katy P.
• Seeing Australia (very Baz Luhrmann, which to me = amazing)
• Amanda's official engagement (finally!)
• Gallivanting through Provo in the middle of the night while hand-delivering a bunch of bridal shower invitations
• Chili's chips and queso
• Black Friday shopping, even though we didn't buy anything
• Babysitting for my cousins
• Burger Supreme
• Dinner with Council Bluffs and Emily--for the first time, Kyle and I made turkey, gravy, and stuffing
• TONS of Christmas shopping and bridal shower planning!

We've been listening to Christmas music nonstop, and this week I hope to get some Christmas decorations up. I want to feel the holiday spirit as much as possible, even though I won't be at home with the family until just before Christmas. I can't believe there's only like 3 weeks of school left. The semester has flown by, hallelujah. Just a couple of obstacles left!

I was postponing publishing this post because I have some pictures, but they just won't load. Oh well.

I am done with ALL of my Christmas shopping. Yes. It is December 2nd and I am declaring myself DONE. (Except for, you know, my dear husband. I have no clue what to do about that)

Happy birthday Dad!!