on being married to a good man

I am so blessed.

That just hit me tonight.

I know that I know it everyday, but some days I know it more than others. I opened the mailbox today and saw an "official document" addressed to Tyler Hansen. So I open it, because that's what any wife would do.

It's a diploma.

Not the kind designed on Microsoft Word and handed to the student of the month. Nope. A real one. Signed by Kim B. Clark and Thomas S. Monson. With one of those fancy little emblem imprints. On official cardstock, nonetheless. A Bachelor's Degree with husband's name on it. Tears welled up in my eyes for a second as I thought about all the nights I watched him do his homework at the kitchen table. The furrowed eyebrows, hand under his chin, nails chewed down to stubs, his diligent but handsome looking face on. He worked for every calligraphic letter printed on the certificate, and then some.

I hurried and took a picture of it to send to everyone I know.

Ty texts me back, "It feels so good to have  this part of my education done."

I think, "it feels good?" How about freakin' awesome, amazing, fantastic, this-is-what-you've-slaved-for-for-the-last-four-years good?! You bet your buns that's what kind of good it should feel.

Humility, that man, he's got it. Never heard him toot his own horn, not even once.

Then, he tells me later that he worked 14 hours today. Mostly he shoveled dirt. But it felt good. It was a good day. I suddenly felt kind of guilty that I took a nap, read a book, watched tv, and possibly even shopped a little bit today. Meanwhile, he was shoveling dirt and feeling good about life.

 I think it's true what they say about marriage...whatever one person lacks, the other person makes up for and vice versa. I'm not sure what that man lacks, other than the ability to navigate his candy wrappers to the garbage can, but I feel pretty darn lucky to have found him. Sometimes that scary thought crosses my mind of what life would be like without him. As quickly as it comes, I dismiss it, knowing that I don't even want to know what I would do without my best friend.

And I know that good isn't a  very strong word in today's world, but he is so good. I could list a lot of adjectives to describe him, but I think that does it. I have myself an inside, outside, all-around good man.

xo

summer bucket list

(pinterest.com)

Ahhh summer....you and your neighborhood strolls, sticky watermelon fingers, bbq dinners, sun-tanned toes and carefree days have arrived again. I couldn't be happier to see you!

This summer will be an adventurous one for us, to say the least. The sun is out and we've got the itch to experience the world. Besides simply lying outside and soaking up the heat, we have some other things planned, too.We like to think of this as the last summer before we actually have to be grown up. {Because even after you graduate, you still get that one last summer to play, right?} Just a few things we have planned for the months in the sun:

1. Graduate college. That one also gets crossed off of "life goals" bucket list, too. Woo-hoo!
2. Visit the Grand Canyon. And Havasu Falls...see that picture? Ah-mazing.
3. Soak up the sun on a beach. Any beach. Get this girl to the ocean!
4. Visit the San Diego zoo.
5. Read lots of books.
6. Perfect my "I'm-not-scared-of-you-even-though-you're-in-a-gang" face before teaching high schoolers this fall.
7. Find a few mom&pop icecream shops for the husband. He is a tad stressed about the Arizona heat.
8. Finally get the tent out that we received for our wedding.
9. Improve my golf game enough so that Tyboy will take me out in public.
10. Run a 5k. Or at least finish one. We'll see how that goes.

Anyone else have a summer bucket list?

quite possibly the most awkward twenty minutes of my life

Anyone who has lived in an apartment knows the joys of assigned parking stalls, three flights of stairs to carry splitting grocery bags up, and strange and uncomfortable sounds through shared neighborhood walls. You know the drill. My favorite though? Oh, it has to be when the maintenance men come to unplug your toilet while husband is away.

Disclaimer: the toilet was already plugged when I got home from a trip last weekend. So either some creep has been in here clogging up the pipes while I am gone, or the cheap plumbing of mass-produced buildings has failed me. Let's go with the latter.

Anyway, I planned not to be here when he came. I really did. I was gone most of the day, but of course, the odds were not in my favor. The maintenance man showed up at the door, and I--mildly horrified that I kind of knew him--showed him to the bathroom. I sat awkwardly on the couch texting Tyler:

"he's here."
"omg this is so embarrassing."
"kill me now."
"please?"

No response. Men. Always there when you need 'em, eh?

The maintenance man did what he needed to for about twenty minutes before deciding this was a two man job. He called in the professional. So, there I sat. Again. Oh-so-awkwardly. This time though, I pretended to attend to some important business on my laptop. Very convincingly, I might add.

They consulted each other on the woes of toilet-declogging, meanwhile I am dying inside a little bit. I hear a "geez, this is bad" come from the lavatory. I am cursing Tyboy for being far away--thinking that even if he couldn't unclog the commode, he could at least make this situation a lot less awkward, on account of he and maintenance man are fishing buddies.

I hear a flush, then they leave.

They tell me don't worry, EVERYONE in the building is having toilet clogging issues today. It's the plumbing system, they say. It's not just you. Your neighbors have it too.

Maintenance man could have started with that. Really really could have, should have started with that.

Oh the joys of apartment living.  We only dream of the day when we have a house (and a toilet) of our very own.