This is how we live.

 

Large and overflowing.

Can you think of one thing better than this bowl right here?

Marriage-eh eh. (no)

Warm bubbly bath? Not quite.

A massage-maybe.

I guess what I am trying to say is.

We know how to pour a bowl of cereal right.

Valentine's period (this is a long one).

Curt is good at surprises.

He does the unexpected.

This is another reason I love him.
Anyways.

Friday, at work, I received a package.

I was slightly confused.

What could this be?

There was a dozen red tulips

with my name on it.

It was from none other than my one and only,

Curty Curt.

Definitely caught me off guard. 

Those made up for his camping trip Friday night.
Saturday was a spledid day as well.

I worked from 7-12 while

Curt went to an art gallery in Crawfordsville

with his little boy scouts.

Adorable.

My brother and I enjoyed a delicious 5 dollar footlong.

Holler.

I am addicted right now.

Upon arriving home,

Curt and I took a quick nappy.

We have come to heavily rely on our naps.

We then cleaned here and there.

Then we looked through our wonderful Oprah Cookbook,

figuring out what we want to make for the official Valentine's Day.

Everything looks so good.

Then we went to Nine Irish Bros.

Gotta love them.

We had the Valentine's deal,

ribeye, shrimp, asparagus, and taters,

all for 32 dollars.

 good deal.

And then Curt had another surprise up his sleeve.

"How bout we go ice skating. That sounds fun."-Curt

I guess we could do our grocery shopping after, I thought.

We headed to the ice rink on this wonderful evening.

And it just so happened that Curt had my scarf and my hat and some long sockies with him.

i was a little suspicious now.

We get our gear on and skate for a while when...

A bunch of our friends start showing up!

It was a surprise skate party!

I had a balloon and birthday hat.

I loved it.

It actually was a joint birthday party,

with Matt Olsen.

The decade party-

I am 20- he is going to be 30.

Whoop whoop.

We had blue angel food cake after.

Matt's fave.

And after the partay was over,

Curt and I finished the night off with Baby Mama.

Great movie, hilarious characters.

Can you believe this weekend so far?? It's not even over, let alone Valentine's Day yet.

Sunday was great.

Curt and I made delicious pancakes on our griddle.

We then made little heart shaped sugar cookies,

which we gave away to our Beehives and Deacons.

and then we had a Valentine's Bash at the Isenbarger casa.

Everyone we loved was there,

Lynn, Craig, Pooma, Grandma, James, Curt and I.

We had Hawaiian punch, stuffed pork, salad, taters, and peas.

SO good.

We love our family dinners.

We love our family.

After we went over to one of our BFFs

 and played with their adorable gray kitten.

I want one.

And now, It is officially Valentine's Day.

What will happen next?

I don't know if you can top a weekend like this.

We decided to make another Oprah creation:
Moroccan Chickies over Couscous
 with sauteed garlic orange spinach.

sliced garlic and diced mint. powerful stuff right here.

fresh spinach for our "garlic orange spinach"

our delicious chicken thighs, seasoned with cumin, salt, and pep

finished result. <3

nomnomnom

More about my Mondays.

Setting: YMCA
Job: To greet members and answer phones and crack some jokes and make people feel at home.
Time: 6:38 pm
Situation: A man calls the YMCA. I hear children in the background. This is the conversation:


Man: Can you page Megan B.? (Name will not be fully revealed)
Me: Sorry sir, we aren't able to page anyone in the building.
Man: Okay, can you go find her?
Me: We aren't able to do that either. It's our privacy policy.
Man: Well, leave her a message. Tell her that her babysitter is QUITTING as of now. He is DONE. She better come back and get her kids. I am NOT taking care of them anymore.
Me: (trying to hold my laughter inside, not working) Is everything okay sir?
Man: Yes, give her the message.

I was crackin up. It was funnier in person. Believe me.

I work every Monday, 2:00pm-10:00pm. It's a pretty rough day. Especially after going to class from 7:30 am- 12:30 pm. Man oh man. I am dead. I took a quick nappy when I got home, that helped a little. But there is one thing that helps me get through the evening. My wonderful husband, Curt Dawg, brings me dinner at approximately 7:45. I absolutely love this. It breaks up my evening a little, and I get a small break from the onslaught of members. Curt is too good to me. Today he picked up sammiches from South Street. Nom nom nom. If you haven't been there, you need to. It's on South Street, believe it or not. Anyways, I was starving by 7:45 and let me tell you, that pulled pork sammiche tasted glorious. Especially when topped with fresh corn bread smothered in butter and honey. Are you salivating yet? And on top of that, I was with the most handsome loving man in the world. It can't get better than that. Unless, of course, I was eating a Curt Dawg sammiche. But we won't get into that. 

I guess what I am trying to say is, Curt makes my life a million times better.

What's a story without magical unicorns and plump gnomes?

The Beginning

Once upon a time, in a far, far away land there was a princess. This princess was young and restless. She hated being trapped in a land where she knew no one. “How could the king do this to her?” she would ask, “Why would he punish her so?” Oh, how little this princess understood. The King had a plan for her. He could see the bigger picture.

Over time this princess met other princes and princesses in the kingdom, mostly through religious activities. There was one particular prince who she fancied above the others. His name was Prince Isenbarger. It seemed as though every princess was chasing Prince Isenbarger. Who wouldn’t? He was tall and strong. He had dark hair and blue, blue eyes. And when he smiled, the princess felt as though she would melt inside. But it would never work, she thought. The King was to ship her off to become an educated and learned princess in a few days time. Again she asked herself, “how could the King do this?” She finally met an honorable and worthy prince, and not to mention, a very attractive one. It was puzzling, to say the least. Nonetheless, the King had the final say.

Leaving the handsome and well groomed Prince Isenbarger behind, the young princess went off to the learned kingdom of Sir Brigham Young. She studied diligently and achieved high grades. She learned many great things and met many wonderful people. Yet that young and handsome prince never left her mind. No one in all of Sir Brigham’s kingdom stirred her heart the way Prince Isenbarger did. Thankfully, the princess had a magical contraption. It was a little box with magical buttons that allowed the princess to talk to the prince every night. They talked into the wee hours of the night, every night, growing more and more in love with each passing day. Prince Isenbarger was her prince charming.

They had many hardships to face. They were separated by high mountains, firey dragons, raging rivers, and empty deserts. It seemed as though there was little hope for these young lovers. They questioned the King, “why must we face so many challenges?” They were on the brink of desperation. But on one blizzardy day, Prince Isenbarger could take no more. He jumped onto his flying horse, and braved the empty deserts, raging rivers, dangerous dragons and lofty baggage fees. He soared past mountain peaks and icy tundra. Anything to return to his beautiful princess.

When he saw her, waiting for him, he knew that he would never leave her side again. He picked her up in his arms and asked her, “Will you make me the happiest man alive and be my queen for all eternity?” The princess’ skin sparkled with joy. Happiness bubbled inside of her, and just then, she had a glimpse of what the King had planned for her the entire time. She shouted with ecstasy, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Prince Isenbarger strapped her to his flying horse, and together they flew into the horizon.

Upon their return, the King praised them for their ability to overcome all trials. He gave him His kingdom for being obedient to His words. The two were married in His holy temple, with His holy consent. They were sealed together, as Queen and King Isenbarger for all eternity -- one of the greatest gifts of all.

* * * * *

I say ‘The Beginning’ because in reality, this prince and princess have just begun their life together. They have begun a new chapter in their fairytale story; a chapter that will be filled with much happiness and joy emphasized by trials and tribulations that will surely come their way. It is the beginning of us -- Curt and I.

I tell this story to show that we are all princes and princesses in our Father’s eyes. We are living our lives, day by day, to return to our beloved King. And if we follow his commandments and have faith in His plan, He will bless us with all of the joys in the world. I have come to learn to trust my Heavenly Father more than ever this past year. I now understand that I cannot understand what He has in store for me; but I can follow His words and commandments. By doing so, Heavenly Father promises us everything He has.

-Curt & Vanessa

2010

50 days vs. 50 years

My grandparents have been married for 50 whole years. That is a lot of years. To celebrate, they made the trip from Madison, WI to the good ol' Lafayette, IN yesterday. After working our little buns off, Curt and I picked them up and went out to dinner, just the four of us. We went to a wonderful Italian place called Spageddies. Not gonna lie, it was ten times better than Olive Garden--no offense to anyone. We talked about everything. They told us how they met, which was during a bio class --while dissecting insects and things of that sort. A perfect place to spark interest. They told us about how they were introduced to the church, which was a very amazing story. One of the elect, I tell ya. All in all, we talked for about an hour and a half and I loved every minute of it. It is amazing how much they have been through and all they know. Not to mention how funny they are! We came back to our apartment after and showed them around. They were so shocked how big it was (which made me feel pretty dang good). They can think that all they want!
They are amazing people and I am so lucky to have them as grandparents. They absolutely adore Curt --who wouldn't? They have given him the "stamp of approval" and think the world of him.
My grandpa actually recently had brain surgery. You wouldn't be able to tell from the picture and how he acts, but a few months ago he had a egg sized tumor in his brain be removed. It was a scary time, but here he is-alive and well! I love him so much.


Words of Wisdom:
Cherish the time you have with your family.

Now we can say Halloween is partially complete.

 I am not sure if you knew this, but there has been a FIRE BAN in IN. super lame. Because of this, we had to cancel our much anticipated camping trip. even more lame. But our fall break weekend still turned out well. Our plan B was to carve pumpkins! Yes, it's only the first week of October, but we thought it would be appropriate. The festivities included apples (yum), with caramel dip (yummm), more caramel candies, chocolate milk (apparently the official drink of Halloween-says the label), pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack (wonderful), and good people (below).


Curt and I happened to browse the internet for ideas of what to carve exactly. Brooke and Phil had not. They definitely didn't know where to begin. This was their list of ideas:

• dead cat
• bat carrying a dead cat
• a catbat
• monster of some sort
• something terrifying

The list continued. for quite some time. But it was extremely humorous. Finally they decided upon something grand. 

 Curt, being the manly man he is, was in charge of the cutting and dissecting of our lovely pumpkin. He is very good, let me tell you. He cut with such precision and detail. Amazing.

 After the final product.


It was very abstract. And definitely took a minute to see, because of their amazing craftsmanship and talent of course.

CatBat

 Beware of the Bat carrying the DEAD CAT. It's mind bobbling! Terrifying.

Jack Skellington

And this, we reveal to you as our creation!




JACK SKELLINGTON.

Not so terrifying, but definitely cute and halloweeny.

 Now our home looks very festive.

hallway decor

 We have new friends.

playing with our pumpkin friends.

Jefferey.

AND my sister and I made Jefferey, our newest friend. We love him dearly. We thought long and hard about Jefferey. We knew he would be sweet and slightly nerdy. We also didn't have any white, so we used fabric for his teeth, and buttons for his braces! It was so fun.



Words of Wisdom:

With my experiences with Jack and Jefferey-I have come to the conclusion that painting pumpkins are so much easier than carving. No offense Jack.

The wonders of Chicago unleashed.

Curt and I are busy people. We have no time to spare, this is no joke. Despite this, we were able to set an entire day aside for THE TEMPLE. yaaaay. our favorite. It took a daunting 3 hours to get there, mixed in with a TON of traffic -- but it was all worth it for the Lord.
Upon arriving at the temple, two great things happened.
One. Dear family friends (the Zhuels) were down at the Chicago Temple at the same time. The reason for this was because their beautiful daughter, Emily, was able to be sealed to her husband and daughter! AHHH. I cannot tell you how happy I was! They looked sop happy. Barb Zhuel, Emily's mother, has been in my life since I was about 13 years old. She is the sweetest woman I will ever know. I love her. Emily is a few years older than I and was always my Young Women's camp counselor. She is great. So being there, at the very moment they happened to be leaving their sealing, was incredible. Such a blessing. God loves us so much.
Two. Callie (the woman who I wrote a blog about earlier) also entered the temple for her first time! What a glorious day. She was able to do baptisms for the dead and we were so so so SO happy for her. This is another big step closer to our Heavenly Father which opens a door to his everlasting love.

And on top of that, the temple was wonderful for us as a couple. It was my third time and our first time as a couple, on our own. I felt the spirit so strongly. It was incredible.

But wait, there is more. We ended our wonderful evening with one of Curt's favorite restaurants...Portillos! (I have to point out it took us a good fifteen minutes to find the place. Curt knew the general area, but not quite how to get there. Finally, we stopped for directions and made it there before we starved to death.) It was my first time and I loved it! They had pasta and chicago style sandwiches and dogs. Lovely. Delicious. Scrumptious. My stomach was very happy. And the experience was heightened with the presence of two of our dear silly friends, Jamesy Wamesy and Sheree(ka). They are great. love them.

So, next time you are in Chi town-find one of many portillos and go there. You will not regret it. map of Portillos
And to find the one near the Chicago Temple...It is here. Portillos----8832 W Dempster St, Niles, IL

Clifford the Big Red Dawg.

Curt and I were asked to help out at an elementary book fair. It was seriously crazy. Kids were every where and every single one of them wanted their face panted and Clifford the Big Red dog ears. Curt was in charge of those doggy ears, thank goodness. That was definitely the hot spot of the night.
When the face painting booth started slowin down I had time to be a little creeper. I don't think the parents liked it too much, but the kids were so cute. I couldn't help myself. I can't wait (maybe I can a little) until we have our own kids and can take millions of pictures of.

This is David. He is adorable.

I come here to find myself.

I absolutely love weddings. They are beautiful and when Curt and I were invited to one of his friend's wedding, we were definitely excited. The trip to Normal, IL was even better because Lynn came with us! The wedding was in a small wooded area, with a small, rustic chapel and picnic area. The ceremony was held outside in the middle of woods. The guests sat on large logs covered with white vinyl. There was a violinist, guitarist, and banjo playing throughout the ceremony to fit the mood. Their theme song was "All I want is you", which I thought was adorable. The lyrics are so cute:

If you were a wink, I'd be a nod
If you were a seed, well I'd be a pod.
If you were the floor, I'd wanna be the rug
And if you were a kiss, I know I'd be a hug.

That was my favorite verse. Anyways, following the ceremony there were horse drawn carriage rides (which Lynn loved), tons of cookies, and drinks. It was a time to chat and catch up with people. We didn't know too many people there, but Lynn and Curt talking with their old neighbor for a while which was fun!

Later that evening was the dinner. The restaurant was call Macini, in downtown Normal, IL. I loved it! They used wood to decorate the     entire restaurant. It was a very unique and chic place to dine. The area they used for the reception was beautiful. The decorations were lovely. Did I mention how much I love weddings? Well, this is one of the reasons. I absolutely love all the decorations and happy people. But the food was wondreful! We have delicious hors d'oeuvres to prepare us for salad, seasoned chicken, lasagna, smoked macaroni, and roasted potatoes. Oh my goodness. It was wonderful. Our tummy's were happy.

But we had a blast talking with Michelle's mother and friends. It was great to meet some of Curt's childhood friends. It's always fun to learn more about their younger experiences.