To Utah To Utah....

To build a fair deck!

A Christensen deck of course!

It was such a wonderful expedition 

out of Rexburg

and down to Utah!

We got to spend the weekend with

Merry and Ryan,

Renton, Eli, and Jory!

And we even got to sneak a visit from mom and dad steinkuhler!

Oh, truth truth truth 

I loved it all.

We are so blessed to have so many friends

and family in Utah so close to us. 

It's probably my favorite part of living in Idaho.

Hopefully we'll be able to come down again

and visit more friends and family :)

This is Tommy mid-scowl.

No pictures while he's being a genius

you know Nakies.

Nephews and ice cream.

Too cute!

Way to finish another book in the Book of Mormon!

Yep, I married well.

I got Tommy. 

Biggest blessing of my life.

Then I also gained every member of his family,

and lucked out even more.

I love being an aunt,

sister in law,

and daughter in law.

I love you all my Steinkuhler side of the family!

COOK OFF!!! ARRRRRRRRGH!! MANLY MEN!

It has come to my attention 

that when manly men get together

they do things that involve competition 

and eat things that induce heart burn.

My lover has joined a gathering of such men.

Clue #1:

Bowling/Stuff Face With Pizza

This was the fist activity of the ACMS

(architecture and construction management society)

a committee that Tommy-love joined over a year ago.

Clue #2:

BBQ Potluck

This was the second activity.

At which Tommy tried some macaroni salad.

He turned to a friend and said, 

"This stuff is terrible, don't eat it."

And his friend said, "...I brought that."

: ) 

(turns out he'd bought it from Broulim's 

and it was in fact terrible to all.

It has become part of the 

"Do you remember that horrible macaroni salad you brought..." 

jokes.)

Clue #3:

Pinewood Derby/BBQ

About 20 men created some of the most amazing,

(and in some cases ridiculous)

cars I've ever seen.

It was the comeback of all comebacks for every former scout in attendance. 

Clue #4:

Chili Cookoff/BBQ

My baby came home a few weeks ago so excited about this one : )

We need to go shopping to get ingredients for my chili Carly!

It was his first chili endeavor ever!

He was so excited, he couldn't wait 

 and made the chili a couple days in advance.

And he put in my new favorite 

Garbanzo Beans!!!

THE CHILI!

Tommy won 2nd place!!

THE PRIZE!

This is a really gorgeous set

(the picture does not do it justice)

of handmade tools

gold and wood.

There is a square,

an angler,

and a special cutting tool to score woodwork.

They are so pretty we are putting them up on the wall

until Tommy learns how to do more specialized woodwork 

: )

Two Nerds For a Picnic

Once Upon A Time, 

two nerds fell in love. 

And on a sunny April afternoon, 

though both were feeling under the weather,

they pushed up their spectacles 

and set off in their dreamy, red, subaru,

to Picnic.

They feasted on saltines.

And drank some bubbly to settle their stomachs.

And while they cuddled,

their glasses cuddled too. 

At one point, 

the taller one fed the wild life.

The squirrel's loved him 

as they leapt away with their treasures.

And with a sigh,

they packed up their rainbow blanket,

and what was left of the bubbly,

and walked away from their delicious afternoon escape

to less simpler things

like statics class and being indoors.

But held hands the whole way home.

Honey Funnies

Welcome! Welcome!

This is my new segment called "Honey Funnies".

[cause this blog is totally organized with segments.]

Where I highlight my glorious husband and how wonderful and often hilarious it is to live with him!

Please keep in mind that my beloved Giant is a very sincere person. Which makes his genuine thoughts and feelings completely endear me to him on a daily basis.

[February 23rd, 2012:]

t~

"You're funny!

.....funny looking!"

*pauses contemplating the genius...*

"That is the best diss ever!"

[February 28th, 2012:]

Tommy set his computer down at 9:24 p.m. exclaiming,

"This [homework] is so boring, I'm falling asleep. Wake me up in 20 minutes."

It is now 11:51 p.m. and after many failed attempts to wake my giant, I am somehow going to get him to sleep walk from his current location (knotted up on our love seat) to our bed.

12:36 a.m., so far no luck on the sleep walking. But I did manage to rouse him by trying to change him into his pajamas : )

t ~

"What are you doing, Woman?!"

[February 29th, 2012:]

Tommy and I were discussing 'being able to "handle" emotion-inducing content in books. I am finishing the third book in The Hunger Games series.

t ~

"I'm not always positive you're not going to pee yourself or something."

c ~

"While reading a book..?"

t ~

"You never know."

[March 5th, 2012:]

t ~

"Sometimes I wonder how much telekinetic powers we actually do have."

[March 10th 2012:]

A text conversation between the best husband ever and his working wife who gets home later than him.

t ~

"What do you want for dinner?"

c ~

"I don't know what I want, what are you in the mood for?"

t ~

"You ask me that every day. Woman up and tell me what to cook you Honey."

"Fine. I'm just going to have to cook you up everything in the house until I can find something you want. You said you were hungry today."

[April 17th, 2012:]

t ~

"What do you want for dinner"

c ~

"I want rice and asian stuff : )

t ~

"Okay, what kind of rice? Just rice or fried rice? What kind of Asian food? I could look something up."

~ This is my man. Adventurous. Sweet. and Hilarious. ~

I know. I'm a lucky ape.

6 AM Is No Time For Pictures

Once upon a time,

my dear friend Janell Hunt completed a work out program called "Insanity".

And she posted her accomplishment on facebook and said she was in "the best shape of her life".

Which sounds really spectacular, don't you think?


I thought to myself, I am 22 years old! I should be in the best shape of my life!


So I scouted it out, and it was expensive, and the reviews on amazon said it was hard, hard, hard.

But I was emboldened yet. My knees aren't deteriorating! My heart is strong! I eat cheerios!


Plus the overweight man who reviewed the program on amazon was dedicated and he sweated through insanity TWICE. And his determination was outright moving. I would do the whole thing just for him. Whoever he is.


For four months, I waited. Looking for a good deal. But more importantly, looking for a job.


Then I got a job and two weeks ago....a GREAT deal was found!


Becca was a champ to go with me to pick it up from some {really ripped} dude I found on Craigslist.
[It was broad daylight, in the middle of a well-trafficked parking lot, don't you nakies worry.]

Becca said the transaction was akin to a dope deal haha...the guy had a whole bunch of the dvd's and had apparently set up appointments with several people other than me. Folks were pulling up all over the place to cash in and get exercising.

But I didn't ask questions. I had mine! And it was legit! The ticket to the Best Shape of My Life!


I returned from Alisa Grace's wedding on Saturday night, and the program has you start on a Monday so 6AM this Monday morning; I started.

First day, is the Fit Test. Which they don't grade you on...but I definitely flunked.

7 minutes in I almost puked in our sink that doesn't have a disposal. Ew.

My mind felt competent, I could do those moves! But my body started a teenage rage speech..

"You woke me up at 6 AM!
You haven't fed me breakfast!
Where's my chocolate milk and my warm shower?
You don't understand me at all!
Why don't you stop and let me climb back in bed with Tommy?
You're ruining my life!!"


I said,
Tomorrow will be better...our overweight man friend on amazon [who I will now be calling Paulie Chrysanthemum] did it!
We can do it!

And my body said,
...Fine.
But if that stupid chick on the videos keeps acting downright perky like she eats Insanity for desserts and vacations, I'm going to punch her.

I said,
Deal. She is annoying.


~ Two Days Later ~ ~ ~

I am currently on day 3 of the work outs, and I know I won't give up in the next 64 days. I love the progress I am making! I didn't even fast forward through anything today! ; )

Stairs and I are not friends right now though.

I limp up and down them like a wounded kangaroo.



p.s. Gareth, who used to work where I work, said talking to yourself is normal. But if you answer yourself out loud, you are mentally crazy.

I told him prove it.

I only answer myself in writing...

Just a little....Anniversary!

YES it has been slightly over 365 days since we were sealed/married and ate a lot of cheesecake with our most beloved loved ones!


Tommy and I were lucky to score a 3 day weekend (off from my work) and a warm 72 hours in Rexburg for our celebrations. It was a much needed reprieve and so refreshing!

We spent all of Saturday morning outside at the park and it was absolutely glorious!!

Tommy packed us a picnic, the awesome book we've been reading, a quilt, frisbee's, slingshots, and a ball and gloves. Did I mention he is stellar?

First, Tommy played catch and I played runaftertheball. I was not so glorious.

Because A.) Tommy thinks I'm 7 ft tall or can at least jump few inches...
B.) The whole catching with a glove thing where you are supposed to use the additional three inches past your fingertips to catch the ball...severely confuses my hand.

Luckily there were several small children at the playground 80 feet away who were more than willing to retrieve the baseball and carry it to me at least 10 of the feet : )

THEN

we officially gave our *sling shot christmas presents* a go using local pinecones as ammunition.

We successfully avoided hitting anyone in the face and perfected our aiming skills.

Tommy had to show me how to hold the slingshot and pinecone for optimal release speed. I am 100% better than I was before however I don't think I could kill any birds quite yet. I'd probably just make them mad if I got anywhere close to hitting them.

[no we aren't planning on using our slingshots to kill birds but if you could kill a bird with a slingshot you would be REALLY good and I'd salute you before giving you the stink eye for murdering Tweetie's cousins.]



Then we ate our lovely picnic and read our book and soaked in some sun!

Eventually we ran away to the movie theater where we plotted our devious return 4 hours later.
4 hours later I smuggled snacks (vanilla yogurt + granola) into The Hunger Games and clutched Tommy's arm through the entire 2 hours.

Isn't it crazy how you can read an entire series and know everything that's going to happen to every character and still sit in the theatre and freak out through all the tense parts?



Sunday we went to church and spent time with our nursery kiddos whom we love : )

One of the 2 year old girls cracked up in the middle of the coloring time, turned to me and chuckled "I farted!". We. Love. Them. All.

It's hilarious to be in a class of all girls. They stir up drama and fight over babies and whose hair clip is whose. And they have giggling fits and like to twirl in their dresses and they LOVE Tommy : )


After church we built a fortress!




And Tommy cooked up a bajillion delicious onion rings:





And my stupid dough did...nothing:



For hours! It refused to rise! So I baked it anyway!

My rolls were definitely more dense than I'd hoped, but still super tasty.


We read more of our book and snuggled and watched our t.v. shows and had the best time just spending all day together : )

I'd say a definitely delicious anniversary vacation.


Plus there was Apple-Mango Bubbly. What?!

Try it.

Confession:

Pink is my pop-up shoulder devil.

The singer. Not the color, come on nakies.

I'm not saying that when faced with a decision, Pink pops up and tells me to do bad, selfish stuff. She just pops up and says, "Hey Carly, listen to this awesome song I wrote. You'll feel better girl." [edited version. Pink uses harsher language with her peeps. which I am one of.]

And then I do it and get distracted by how awesome and punk-rocker I am. I even think I'm a funny punkster and not at all that bad.

But it's just the Pink in me. Or at least, on my shoulder.

All I'm saying is, Oprah is pretty cool, lots of ladies in this world feel a sisterly connection with her, they'd probably hug her if they had the chance, but Pink's my girl. I'd hug her. Or have her back in a dark alley against other punk-peeps. Whatever.


Rock out nakies. To whatever makes you happy.