TyChynRewind

Want to see something funny?

Sure ya do, it's Tuesday. How else are you gonna get through the day?

Who would have ever thought these two chubby-cheeked munchkins would get married someday? Pretty cute, huh? Also... Want to know how my mother got bows to stick on that tiny bald head of mine? Honey. That's right. Does that sound kind of torturous to you or is it just me? One more Also... Ty's mom says he looked like a little papoose baby when he was born. Good thing, cuz that means our little babies might look like little papoose babies someday, {in about 5 years, I might add} too. And those are dang cute, I don't care who you are.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Oh, and P.S. I bet you are all dying to here from the mystery man, Ty. He is the other one in this marriage. Well, it is your lucky week 'cause he is gonna be writing up a little somthin'somthin' for all of you. {Every week is my lucky week 'cause I get to be married to this handsome devil.} Anyway, be sure to check back!

T.G.I.F.

I have been thinking all day of what to blog about. This is all I have for you.

Our Friday faces. {Usually Ty's smile is a little bigger than this on Fridays though.}
Weekend will consist of:
-Seeing a movie we have already seen (in the cheap theater this time.)
-Going to dinner. Hopefully to Winger's. More hopefully Ty doesn't get food poisoning this time around. That was not enjoyable.
-Sleeping in.
-Grocery shopping at WinCo. Yes, we live a terribly glamorous life, don't we?
-Church.
-Letting it snow and blow all it wants to in this lovely little town. We will be stretching out on the beach in two weeks. Go ahead, Rexburg. Snow. Heaven knows you will anyway.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward

-The colonoscopy commercial currently playing on the radio. Their motto? “Just remember, no one ever died of embarrassment.” Except I think I just died a little for the person announcing that.

-English professors behind the scenes. No need to elaborate. I'll spare you.

-The lady at the post office who wants to talk about shopping while I feel death glares from behind sinking into my back. Oh, the line is just out the door. No big deal. They can wait.

-Asking the people in the hot tub at the apartments to unlock the door from the inside because you forgot your clubhouse key. And then hearing them all argue, “Not it. You go. No you. Why don’t you just climb the fence?” Ok, I wasn’t asking for a kidney here people…unlock the door.

-Telling the sales woman you don’t need any help. And then she loads up a dressing room full of clothes for you to try on. “Really, I don’t need any help,” you tell her, “I’m just looking.” She adds some more clothes to the dressing room. Then, she gives you a nasty look when you only buy one thing. Told ya lady. Now you have to go put all those clothes back. Ha.

Awesome

-16 days until sunny California. And twenty something days until classes start. Eeeeeee!

-Free ice cream at G’s Dairy. Makes my whole night.

-Roundabouts. Seriously, someone please tell me why they don’t just replace all stoplights with these?

-Weekend getaways to Salmon with my love. One of my favorite places in the world.

-Three hours of The Office on TBS. Every. Tuesday. Check it out, you will love it.

We Rode in Trucks

Could you just turn up your volume for this post? K thanks.
Down where I grew up was Heaven on Earth. Really.
I always play this song as Ty and I drive into the beautiful Salmon valley. All the memories of the 18 years spent there come flooding back to me. I think of this song playing in the background as we all clung to one another at graduation just before separating to embark on our new journeys across the globe. Sometimes an overwhelming love and appreciation for my little hometown just consumes me. I could almost tear up thinking about all of the things I love and miss about Salmon. But I will spare you that little episode. You're welcome.
Could you just bare with me as I reminisce about why Salmon is truly one of the best places on earth? I will be quick, I promise.
1. You see something beautiful no matter which window you look out of.
2. 95% of the time you can take ninety cents into the Quik Stop and come out with a large diet pepsi and ninety cents still in your pocket.
3. You know at least one out of every three people in Saveway.
4. You see children roaming the streets with no parental supervision. And that probably sounds scary and careless, but really it is just 'cause everyone is looking out for everyone. Ehhemmm..and Bekah and I happen to have been one of those children riding our bikes back from the store with a gallon of milk and a bag of cat food on our backs. That was quite a site, I tell ya. Good thing we could ride with no hands.
5. You see sincere Savage Pride in the eyes of each and every citizen.
6. The people in Salmon know a little something about taking it all in and enjoying the simple things in life more than those 'city folk.'
7. There is one radio station. And one newspaper. And one grocery store. And the truest small town feel that ever existed. And 3,000 people who support one another when things get tough. No matter what.
8. Salmon produces imaginative children...on account of there is nothing to do there. Then, that imagination creates big dreams and motivations burning inside of them and they spread out to do wonderful things with their lives.
9. It is utterly impossible to grow up in Salmon and then come back and not think about that time you and your classmates put a junkyard car in the high school commons. Or how you organized nearly a thousand bake sales so you and your classmates could go to Europe. Or how you signed yourself out of school and drove down Main Street just so you could say you did. Mostly, you just can't come back without thinking of all the good times.
10. No matter where you end up...you can always call it home. And that has got to be the best part of it all.

We ♥ Raymond...Everybody Does

Adding to our list of things we love to do together...
1. Shopping
2. Fishing
3. Having Everybody Loves Raymond marathons late into the night. ♥
(Ok the first two might be things we have to endure together, but the third one is true as the sky is blue.)

This is our new favorite family. Even though they fight all the time. And are in each other's business. And can be really annoying. But, like any other family, they are loveable. I think Ty is starting to pick up on Frank's lines: "Hooo-ooolly Crap!" and "Get me some food, woman!" All in good fun, of course. He knows better.

A&A-Round 2

Dontcha just love Awkward and Awesome Thursday? If you do, you can check other people's out by clicking here.

Awkward
-Skype conversations where you can only hear every 8th word of the other end. "....Virginia...eh...fishing....December..." Smile and nod, I say.
-Sewing patterns. Ridiculously thin paper+a thousand tiny lines+ten languages+size charts that make you feel like you might as well order another milkshake=a discouraged sewer.
-Registering for classes at 5:30am.
Who even thought of this system anyway? Seriously.
-Physicals at the Plasma Center. The "doctors" there are like fifteen. Eeeeee.
-Crosswalks. Sometimes walking across a crosswalk is like when you come upon someone in a hallway and they go left at the same time you go left. Then you both go right. Then left again. Don't ya just love when you wave for a car to go ahead at the same time they wave for you to cross. Then, you both obey and start crossing/driving. Then stop. Then go. Then you let the car go cuz they would surely win in this little situation. Awkward.
Awesome
-Gmail Chat. Couldn't make it through the week without this little puppy. The highlight of my day is when the box pops up and says, "new message from...Rebekah." Ahhh gotta love keepin' in touch.
-Ty's Mom. And her being born on this day some years ago. (Is that reason enough for us to eat cake in Idaho when she is in Missouri? I think yes.) Happy Birthday Jody!
-Diet Dr. Pepper.
-Watching probably a hundred fish fight over one little bread crumb at Warm River. It's kind of sad 'cause it seems like they are starving, but they are all pretty fat so I think they are doing fine.
-My optimistic and patient husband.
Does anyone mind if I just brag him up for a sec?
k. Guess what happened last night? Oh, you'll never guess...I will just tell you.
Ty works late on Wednesdays and since his car doesn't have headlights, I take him dinner and then we trade cars. (Can you see where this is going yet?) Anyway, last night I was going to trade cars but I was so busy talking on the phone that I got all the way home before I remembered! So I went back and traded one maroon beaut for another. I drove Tyler's car home, and thinking I would be a nice wife I parked way out in the boonies so he could have the covered stall when he comes home at 11:30. Except as I am sitting on the couch waiting for him it is like 11:45. Figuring he was just chatting with some coworkers, I sat patiently and watched a ridiculously romantic old movie on TCM. Then, I hear him come bounding up the stairs and when he bursts through the door he says between huffy breaths:
"Where....is....your...phone?"
"Uhhh....right here." Oh. Much to my surprise, I have 5 missed calls and a new voicemail. Looky there! (In my defense, my phone was on silent.) He gives me that good-thing-I-love-you-cuz-I-am-kinda-irritated-at-you-right-now-look and I cringe.
"Your car was locked. And the keys are in it."
I gasp. "How did you get home?!"
"I walked. Well...ran. Sort of. It's really cold out there."
Let me tell you people...windy Rexburg nights are coooolldd. And we only live about oh, a mile and a half from campus. Just a nice leisurely jog in the middle of the night, ya know?
No.
I felt like dirt. I hurried and made him some hot chocolate and held his head as he felt like he was going to faint. (You know how when you run a long way and get sweaty when it is freezing outside you feel funny?) Thinking about how mad I would be if this situation were turned around, I was surprised at Ty for keeping his cool. Then again, not really. He is the calmest fellow you would ever meet I tell ya. I apologized almost a thousand times, and you want to know what my awesome husband kept saying to me in his sweetest and sincerest voice?
"It's ok, honey. Really. It's not your fault. I love you so much."
For real? Someone pinch me. There is no way I deserve this gentleman.

Let's hear your awkward&awesomes!

Doing Our Part

Ehhhh...anyone else still a little queezy from last Friday's footage of the earthquake/tsunami in Japan? I know I am. However, like most people, I felt awful for a moment, tried to imagine myself in their situation, then--I am ashamed to admit--I went on with my day like normal. It's hard to feel empathetic when life is so hectic and demanding. Please tell me I am not alone here...

However, the more I hear about this tragedy, the more I cannot stand to do nothing. That could be us. You know? Like our families, friends, neighbors, cars, homes, etc. I cannot imagine if I woke up tomorrow and the country that I love looked like this...
(All photos courtesy of Associated Press. 2011. For the full article, click here.)

Can you?
Whenever tragedy strikes a country, I always think to myself, "I should do something." That's about as far as it goes. But how 'bout everyone doesn't follow my example, and they actually DO something. Just think how quickly Japan could be back on their feet if everyone would help. Wouldn't that be awesome to know you were a part of that recovery? It's like being a little involved in a big part of history. No matter your reasoning...I am just encouraging everyone to do a little somthin'somthin' to help out our friends in Japan. You don't have to hop on a plane and go rebuild their homes...you could just donate like a buck or five to help out.

Anyway...that is enough of my little gathering people on the bandwagon for today. If you want to donate to this cause, there are tons of ways to do it. However, be careful who you send your money to! Sadly, there are lots of scummy people who really don't understand the need. If you are looking for a reliable place to donate some $$, click HERE for the Red Cross. Also, the LDS church is doing their part...if you want to donate to their humanitarian fund, click HERE. Both of them will get your money where it needs to go. Promise.

P.S. Cheri, at I Am Momma, Hear Me Roar, is giving a freakin' cute little sewing pattern to anyone who donates. If you are interested, check out her blog HERE.

For Your Enjoyment

Friends, it has come time for me to share a recipe from the Hansen kitchen--or the Hansen cubicle, rather. You might be wise if you choose to skip out...I won't be offended. You will probably miss out on some fun though. Anyway, here it is...

Homemade Pizza (so original, huh?)
Ingredients:

-Some Jiffy crust mix (the just-add-water kind)
-Hunt's tomato sauce
-Shredded cheese
-Pepperonis
-Canadian bacon
-DON'T FORGET Pineapples. Unless of course you don't like pineapples. Then you are crazy.
-If you are feeling really starving you can get some ready-to-bake breadsticks, too. (Put some garlic salt and parmesan cheese on before you bake them though...mmmmm.)Instructions:
-Gather some buds and make an FHE out of this. Unless you have a fam with kids...then you can use them.
-Go to the store to purchase ingredients. Preferably leave boys home watching Jazz game unless you like to spend time wandering around buying stuff you don't need.
-Add 1/2 cup water to the dough mix and stir stir stir.
-Cover and let sit five minutes. (This would be a good time to open your cans and stuff).
-Put flour on table and hands BEFORE kneading dough. Unless your us. Then things get sticky.
-Knead dough until it feels like dough.
-Press into greased pan and BAKE for 2-3 min. on 375.
Or don't. It tasted the same to us.
-After you do/do not bake the dough, put some sauce on there.
-Then put some cheese on the sauce. If you are awesome like Jordan and Cheyenne, you can put some on the edges and roll the crust up a little bit.-Put all the other meat and stuff on there and bake for 18 min. on 375.
-Take it out and ENJOY.
You have just made something your man will love to eat. Also a big mess.
And a memory or two.

Ingredients for a Happy Day

1. One Crazy Aunt and Mother...who act like driving through IF is pretty much a vacation to NYC. And who sit in the back seat and laugh for an hour comparing shoppers to the mechanical gorilla outside the vacuum store. (Don't ask.)
2. Two sane witnesses...who know exactly what I am talking about.

3. A husband that cooks...how could anyone resist a home-cooked meal and a husband in a striped shirt on their birthday?

4. A new sewing machine (Imspoiled.Iknowit.)
5. A chocolate cake made with love.
Mix it all together and enjoy your bliss. ♥

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Hi friends...this week we are going to play a little awkward and awesome Thursday. Sydney, over at the DayBook, does this each week. She has A LOT of awkwardness and awesomeness in her life. You should check her's out...she will have you rolling with laughter.

Awkward
-Getting a thrilled response after texting your mom to ask if you can borrow some of her gold jewelry from the 80's. She said she always knew this day would come.
-Waiting not-so-patiently for the sixty-something year old ladies to wrap up their convo in the dairy isle at Wal-Mart and then hearing a nasally "Well, you know Lois... this really isn't the place to catch up (leaning closer to me as I walk around) with all these college kids taking over the store." Excuse me, I believe we keep this town in business. Just sayin.
-Thinking you know where you are going so you strut right past all these people and have a minor panic attack when you realize the hallway wasn't leading to where you thought it would. Then, you have to turn around and walk by again. Don't mind me, just gettin' some exercise!
-Walking into the bathroom at the same time as your English teacher. And then feeling strange when you hear a "Well...how's you day going?" over the stall.
-A coworker telling me how he didn't like me the first time we met...but now we're cool. How do you respond to that?
"Hmmm...ok. Thanks. I didn't like you either...?"

Awesome
-The very short 29 days remaining until Ty and I cut loose in the place where dreams come true. That's right...we are takin' a little spring vacay to DisneyLand.
-Seeing my boss (who is kind of a big deal around here) walk in and out of the office all day wearing no shoes..just socks. Now that's casual Friday if I have ever seen it.
-Getting a good parking spot even when I'm fifteen minutes late for work.
-Finding that cute dress in the closet you had forgotten about. It's like a nice little welcome to the day, "Good morning Chynna..remember me? I am still in style." Wear it, people.
-Thinking Ty probably had forgotten his lunch again when I receive a text only ten minutes after he left. Instead, I open my phone to read "I miss you already."

Now lets hear about your awkward and awesome lives!
We all have 'em!

Depends on How You Look at It

Blehhh...I hate when people tell me this!

Time for a little (or big) adjustment in la vida. (That means life. Ty, I hope you are beaming with pride at my Spanish right now.) I know I am not alone here in that sometimes my attitude needs adjusting.
And let me tell ya peeps, I am currently needing an adjustment.

The past six weeks of marital bliss have been exactly as they sound...bliss. Each day I accidentally discover a new reason why I love Ty. He is oh-so patient with me (my favorite characteristic about the man), he works his little buns off to get good grades, and not gonna lie...he is the best looking dish-doer I have ever seen.

Why then, has my attitude been less than enjoyable?
Hmmm...I think that depends largely on the way I look at things.
So, right now we are going to play another little game. (Stop making huffy breaths, I know you love games.) We are going to look at some smallish (insert name here) Hansen tragedies and spread some sunshine on them. You should do it, it will probably improve your attitude too.

1. Being Broke(ish).
It is quite possible probable that I have a shopping habit. Also probable that withdrawal symptoms can be crazy hard to get rid of. However, when the bills start coming in, that ugly purple cardigan from the 10th grade looks wearable once again.



How might this be positive?
I don't really know. But I do know that spouses learn a lot about each other when their piggy banks are on E and their efforts are on F. Know what I mean?
That's when you live on love. And that is a happier life than living in fancy clothes. Promise.

2. Spending an entire weekend doing nothing.
And I do mean nothing.
This is partly because of number one, and partly because we were both sick on Saturday. Needless to say, I could have probably been a nicer wife last weekend. Anyway...the pot of gold at the end of my dead-end weekend rainbow turned out to be the reassurance of Ty's love for me. He cooked, cleaned, and even took my poor little soul to the doc.How could a man in the kitchen possibly be a negative situation?
(ohhhh ok, it could be...but not this man.)

3. Not being able to sleep because the apartment is too hot, too cold, too stuffy...the bed is too hard, too soft, too annoying...my pillow hurts my neck, which hurts my back....the night is too long...my brain won't turn off.
Let me tell you a little secret--this girl needs her beauty sleep.
How can I spread some sunshine on this situation?By remembering that little beat my heart skips as he reaches for my hand just before falling asleep.

Pretty much in love with this quotation that sums up life:

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute.
-Gil Stern

I may just be working on my aviation skills in the near future.
You ready for that?