1 year - whaaaaaaat????

Holy poop, Eric and I have been married a year.

...Excuse me?

Yes. One year.

Obviously, this is crazy town.

Clarification: the fact that it's already been a year, not the fact that we made it a year. Although that could be argued, maybe...?

I've been thinking about trying to do a "all the things I've learned in my first year of marriage" post, but 1) thinking of all of those things is hard, and 2) there are so many...?

I will, however, tell you one thing we learned when trying to figure out how we were going to celebrate our anniversary. We tried and tried to plan a weekend trip or something super romantic, and we came up with nothing. No ideas. No exciting trips that wouldn't cost two appendages per person (why is traveling in winter SO expensive for how unenjoyable it is?).

So the weekend before our anniversary, we stopped stressing about making our anniversary super romantic, and decided to do something we still enjoy - snuggle on the couch, watch a movie and eat cake. And it was perfect.

Lesson learned - don't put tons of pressure on yourself to come up with a super awesome plan for celebrating. If it's stressing you out to plan something, go the simple route and let yourselves focus bask in how awesome your relationship is and how much you love each other, because you should definitely love someone if you marry them. Just sayin'...

And we had cake!

Happy 2013!

Coming from a family that always sends a yearly recap with their Christmas cards, I didn't really feel like I could skip out. Strangely, when I was planning this letter, I kept thinking 'I have no idea what I'm going to write about - nothing really happened this past year'.

That's why it's strange - essentially everything changed in 2012.

First, I became a Swanson on January 7 after three years of dating/being engaged to Eric. The day was so fun and everything felt like us. We were blessed to have so many friends and family make the trek to South Dakota to celebrate.







Seventeen days later, with a honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico in between, we moved to Kansas City - Overland Park, Kansas, to be exact. And we love it. Eric and his parents did a wonderful job picking out our 2-bedroom apartment, and we couldn't have asked for a better location. There's a wonderful outdoor mall and our favorite barbecue place only a mile down the road. Yes, please.

Maybe you're asking 'why Kansas City?' Before we got married (but after lots of stress about the future), Eric was offered a job as a software engineer at Cerner Corporation, where he started working shortly after we moved. For a few months, I played housewife until I got a job as a marketing coordinator at BRR Architecture, Inc. We're both extremely happy with what we're doing and the way that everything fell together.

In May, we trekked back to Chicago to walk the stage in graduation. Eric and I both graduated in December 2011 but waited to participate in the actual graduation ceremony until May so we could walk across the stage with friends. It was great to officially close out our college careers with all the wonderful people we started them with.



Since moving here, we've formed a great group of friends in Kansas City, because while we love all of our friends from afar, we were sort of becoming hermits without a friend group in KC. One of our favorite things to do with friends is go to Sporting KC games. Sporting KC is Kansas City's major league soccer team, and they're awesome. We've become instant fans, and I've blogged about them before (check here and here).



After a busy summer of graduation parties and weddings, things slowed down in the fall - enough for me to run my first half marathon! The experience was great, and while I don't think it will be my last half marathon, there are definitely no plans to ever run a full marathon or change my career to a professional runner. Also, for anyone considering running a half marathon, be prepared for how terrible you smell after 2+ hours of running. We're talking a threatened skunk meets a dead opossum with wet dog. That bad.



The fall culminated with us spending Thanksgiving in South Dakota and Christmas in Indiana. Both holidays were a hullabaloo of family gathering. We've had fun.

And for all of those wondering, we finally found a church! For the past six months, we've been attending Christ Community Evangelical Free Church. In the next few months, we anticipate becoming official members and hopefully getting involved in praise teams and Bible studies. We're big fans of everything about the church. Except the crazy, salted-caramel-mocha-nut-soy-whatever coffee creamers. No dice.

Summing up the year, I can't believe how much has changed and how fun it's been. Marriage has been a lot of fun, a lot of work and very humbling for both Eric and I. We find that different days bring new frustrations, but overall, every day gets more fun. If I had to describe the past year, I think that's the word I would use. Fun.

To all reading this, we sincerely hope you had a wonderful 2012 and that 2013 only gets better.

With all the love,

Eric & Ashley Swanson

Airport dates

I'm sitting in a leather chair next to Eric, waiting to fly out to Chicago. We've been here for a few hours waiting for a flight that was supposed to take off 45 minutes ago...before it was delayed to the same time that we should have been landing in Chicago.

Typically, this situation would piss me off. I don't like traveling - not to be read as I don't like places. I like places, I hate getting there.

Maybe it's the Christmas season or the Starbucks finally kicking in, but I'm shockingly okay with this.

Eric and I have been really busy lately, and it's been a busy that has resulted in us spending Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights separate. We're definitely thankful that our schedules have been picking up and that we're enjoying all we've got going on, but honestly, by the time Thursday and Friday roll around, we're super tired from the first half of the week and we don't really think about putting energy into spending some quality time together. And looking into the new year, it's only going to get busier.

Quality time together in a marriage, even without kids, is harder than it sounds. This is something we've talked a few times about recently, and something we're both working towards. For us, it means eating more meals together, even if it's grilled cheese before I head to volleyball. It means talking in bed until neither of us can form coherent words. It means using commercial breaks to give Eric hugs and kisses while he programs and I watch The Mindy Project.

So tonight, I'm actually a little thankful for the extra time we've spent in the Kansas City International Airport. It's quieter here than usual, and we've caught up on things - devising a plan to buy black tights because I forgot mine in the dryer, finding a slip cover for our couch, why sleeping with our down comforter is a blessing (it's super warm and fluffy) and a curse (it's super warm).

Cheers to taking advantage of unexpected time together.

Picking sides

A few weeks ago Eric and I got to hit up a KU game via season tickets from my boss. Since I first started working at BRR, there have been a few instances where I've been asked where, since I'm not a Kansan, my allegiance when it comes to D1 sports lies. Depending on who was asking, I would switch between K-State and KU (never Mizzou - that opens a can of worms no matter who you choose).

After the KU vs. San Jose State, I think I can safely say my cheers belong to KU...for now. The experience at the historic Allen Fieldhouse is nothing short of phenomenal, and being a lover of college basketball, I was enthralled with the game. Also, Mass Street in Lawrence is our next day trip. So.many.fun.things. And pizza.





Kudos to Eric for being a trooper. Basketball isn't really his thing.

Oh Christmas tree

I am all over Christmas. Eric is more of a Thanksgiving guy, which is a great for us because he keeps my Christmas obsession in check. Target's Christmas section (the traditional stuff...none of this lime green and bright blue crap) would cease to exist of I had my way.

After an afternoon car ride from South Dakota that took FOREVER, Eric trooped through some exhaustion and a cold and helped me set up the Christmas tree Sunday night. The only thing it's missing is a tree skirt (and presents!), but I'm planning to make that with the sewing machine I just got. :)

Hello, holiday season. I've missed you.

*the teapot is a Delft ornament my grandma gave us // the 'S' is the first ornament we got as a married couple, a gift from my mom 

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Bad days + pie

Eric had a crappy day at work today, so I made him a pie.



Some days, marriage is too easy. All it takes is a piece of pumpkin pie with some whip cream. ...Lots of whip cream.

Movember is upon us.

It's about to get real up in hur, folks.

Movember is upon us. In a few short hours, it will officially be November, and in approximately 11 hours, Eric will begin the day with a clean-shave face.

I think I've told you before about his beard-growing abilities. They're basically nothing short of impressive. And this month, those abilities will go unleashed and unshaven in his quest to support the Movember movement and prove his manhood.

...That last part was probably a little dramatic.

Anyways, to prepare all you out there for the next 30 days, this gem of a video from the man of all mans Nick Offerman is just spectacular.

Aw, yeah. Movember is on. 

Pumpkins!

We carved pumpkins!

We were maybe/most definitely a little too ambitious this year. Since the man discovered Dr. Who months ago, he's been nothing short of obsessed. Because I like to do things that make him happy, I printed off a couple Dr. Who pumpkin carving stencils.

As you'll see, they involved a lot of detail...too much detail. Neither of us will swear by our patience, so I'm a little surprised that I actually completed as much as I did. Eric did not stick with it as long, but whatevs. At least now we know we're just an all-American, jack-o-latern-carving couple.

I would like to say that mine actually did turn out pretty good. High-five, self.

(Eric passed on a final result picture.)

Just..ugh.

I had super high hopes for this post. I curled my hair and wore my favorite (only) puffer vest. And it just.didn't.work.

Last night we went to WaterFire, a really cool event along Brush Creek in KC. They had tons of live music, fire pits in the middle of the creek and a gorgeous husky that Eric and I kind of wanted to kidnap.

But back to the "ugh." I was going to take lots of photos of us at this cool event, and I was struggling. I am the furthest thing from mastering my camera, and it showed.

So, I only have three photos that I feel are maybe blog-worthy, and can only be if you close one eye completely and squint with the other...question mark.







But at least I included a picture of thee best barbecue in KC.

13.1

Well, peeps. I did it!

Actually, I did two things. I crossed off one of my goals and ran the Kansas City half marathon. I'm not going to lie, I'm super proud of myself/kinda feel like I can take on the world.

I think I have a lot of stories and feelings from that day, so I'm going to communicate my experience by categorizing it, because that's how I do.

Best part: Aside from finishing itself, seeing my husband and his parents as I turned the last corner. I was jamming to "I Will Wait" and all I saw was Eric smiling at me and cheering me on. He stepped out onto the course and I ran over and kissed him before beasting (in my mind) the last 300 meters.

Second best part: I mean this in the nicest way possible - passing people as I raced for the finish line. We weren't racing, but I really felt like I was winning.

Worst part: Miles 8-11. They were long, boring, a steady incline and when my back started to really ache. No dice.

Second worst part: Taking too much to drink at the mile 9 aid station. Until and after mile 9, I took one cup of water and one cup of gatorade. But at mile 9, I took two waters and a gatorade. That sloshed around in my stomach for a bit and slowed me down.

Grossest part: My fellow champions might say any spitting I did while running (this is something I always do - get over it), but it was most definitely when Eric and I got in my car to leave and I got a whiff of myself. Was that a wet dog hiding in my car? Nope, just me.

(If you thought of this when I said 'Nope', high-five yourself for me because you are the cat's meow.)

Scariest part: Starting out. I was so paranoid that I would start too fast and crap out immediately. Thankfully, I used my brain and started in a pace group that was slower than my regular pace. After mile 1, I broke away and did my own thing, and the relaxed start was a huge part in being able to run the whole thing.

Tear-worthy moment: Generally, all the people along the course cheering on all the runners. I want to be friends with A-L-L of them. Specifically, this one older woman at mile 9 that told us all she was so proud of us and admired us. I wanted to cry and hug her, but instead smiled, waved and said 'thank you so much' as I ran past.

The "holy-crap-that's-amazing" moment: At mile 11, a parade of policemen on motorcycles came through signaling all runners to get over to the right side of the road. It didn't make sense until I saw they were escorting the marathon leader. The night before, I thought that moment would make me feel sadly pathetic, but it was not that at all. As he passed the rest of us, I couldn't help but clap and cheer for this guy, running double the distance we were in less time. Some humans are amazing.

Best surprise: There were some things working against me that shouldn't have allowed me to not only run the whole thing, but to finish under my time goal. For one, I have a bad knee that had not been holding up well in my training. Another was that in the last 3 weeks before the race, I was sick for two of them and didn't get in ANY of my long runs, which is not cool and made me extremely nervous. Those aside from this being my first race longer than a 5K, not knowing the route and being so nervous I thought I would poop myself were reasons I was terrified sleepless Friday night.

Overall, I loved it. The training for it was not my favorite, but I'm so glad I did this. A lot of people say after you run your first half marathon, you become hooked. I don't know if I am; I think I'd like to do another one, but it's up in the air. I know it's really not that far compared to a marathon or iron man or some other competition for crazy people, but for the past few days, I have felt like a minor league super hero. It's amazing what setting and accomplishing a goal feels like. Me likey.

Also, you have to give me a little credit for sharing this photo. Eric looks schmexy, and I'm a mess of sweat, stank, unflattering clothes and slicked-back hair.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

The things I do for this blog. 

Fall [eek]

- Fall smells
- Obsessed with my new rug that I paid <$5 for
- Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
- The best tie-dye I've ever done, for my volleyball league
- FINALLY a pizza that can hold us over until we can have Aurelio's again
- It's understood in this marriage that once fall officially hits, I must make Eric a pumpkin pie (yes, I really mean an entire pie for himself). And anything less than lots of whip cream is purely unacceptable.
- Our colorful complex.

Fall has been good to us so far.

Where all the knights and wenches are.

If you've learned anything from this blog, it should be that Eric is a nerd in every sense. Hence, I was not surprised at all when he asked me if we could buy tickets to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. In fact, I was surprised he didn't ask me sooner.

On Saturday, we made our way to Bonner Springs, Kans., for the Ren Fest. I think it was everything we expected it to be. There was an astonishing amount of free shows, amazing turkey legs and mead, and a very happy husband. We took Eric's micro-4/3 camera and tried to be good about capturing the day's festivities.