Russanne Kathleen

Bucket List

2012-03-19T15:27:00.002-04:00

Ask me almost two years ago if I was excited to move to Boston?

The answer was no.

Ask me a year and a half ago if I actually liked living in Boston?

The answer was no.

And ask me now?

Well let's see...

So far we have :

Got sunburns on Cape Cod

Saw the biggest firework show on the Charles

Completed the Freedom Trail

Cheered on the marathon runners

Ate at Cheers

Gone to three sox games

Picked apples and ate cheese in Vermont

Fell in love with Plum Island

Ate the best pizza and pastries

Camped in the white mountains of New Hampshire

Explored alllll of Montreal
Picked Strawberries in Concord
Done scenic fall foliage drives in Vermont & NH

Toured the mansions of Newport Rhode Island

Got emotional of the history in Lexington

Walked the beaches of Maine and Acadia

Made many visits to Walden Pond

Climbed to the top of the Bunker Hill monument

Toured the USS constitution

Jammed out at a country music festival

Explored the spooky Salem for Halloween

Experienced a New York City Christmas

Went to the Museum of Fine Arts and Museum of Science

Pet sharks and sting rays at the Aquarium

Cheered on the Crew teams at the Head of the Charles

Snowshoed in New Hampshire

Went to many many estate sales

Ate many many meals together in our cute home

Made many many wonderful friends

But, we are not finished yet....

Things to still do include:

Go whale watching(soon)

Camp at Joseph Smith's birth site

Go to Hill Cumorah for Pageant

Visit Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

Bike around Martha's Vineyard

Visit P-town

See all of Washington DC

Take a trip to Philadelphia

Find the Dan in Real Life house in Rhode Island

Go to the Sleepy Hallow cemetery

Our Bucket List is getting smaller!

Doing all of these amazing things has made me completely

fall in a smitten type of love with New England.

I know it's just a fling, but I can't help my feelings!

Don't worry Washington, I will always care for you more...

Oh Boston...We love you.

Extraterrestrial

2012-03-13T15:53:00.001-04:00

Reason 487 of why I belong in Washington:

A few days back I received a few picture texts from my sister of my Dad.

You see, there are only three of us girls in my family, four including my mom.

So this means my mom has never really had a fair opportunity to practice her kitchen

haircuts like any mother with sons would. My Dad's hair is fairly easy to do, and has only ever

suffered from uneven sideburns from the occasional trip to great clips.

Until my mom thought it would be a super good idea to just go ahead and have at it

with the clippers, my Dad and my Dad's dignity.

It turned out a little something like this.....

Ummmmmmmmm....hello alien neck! Nice to meet you neck wrinkle we didn't know existed until now! Welcome to the family!

I received the picture text from my sister while in the middle of a very serious and very spiritual church meeting.

Wherein I couldn't control my laughter and had to excuse myself.

Church laughing is my favorite kind of laughing.

I still can't get over how incredibly hilarious this is!

Nothing, and I mean nothing is worse than a bad neckline.

I even shudder at the sight of square necklines, let alone one that is 3 inches too high!

Ruh roh.

Just another reason of why I belong in Washington!

The Mountains

2012-03-10T17:21:00.000-05:00

For the rest of my life the mountains will send surges of home through my blood.

Every time, I tell you!

Kyle is on his spring break this week, so we took advantage of a two night stay in a little

town nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Remember that post about those snowshoes we found for me at an estate sale?

Well they came along for the ride.

We are so outdoorsy.

(okay Kyle forces me to be outdoorsy, but I like it...? Maybe)

Our road trip up to the mountains was filled with diet coke and laughing and anticipation

for our snowcation in the mountains. Once we arrived we quickly dropped our stuff at the hotel and drove the winded drive up to the top of the mountain where one of the trails we wanted to snowshoe on was placed. The temperature on our car thermometer kept dropping and dropping as we traveled higher, until the numbers where in the single digits.

We were a little weary that we would die in the woods.

But it turns out 19 layers and heavy trudges through the snow actually just make you

sweat like a mo fo.

Talk about a freaking workout!

Do any of your husbands get more excited to see a waterfall than to see your boobs?

Kyle loves him some waterfalls. And frozen? Even better!

I felt so hardcore snowshoeing along, until we reached some ice climbers that were

scaling all the waterfalls...

Turns out snowshoeing isn't that hardcore...

(Kyle's sporting some Matrix/Men in black shades, NBD)

Kyle and I have this very very very favorite breakfast place located in the tiny

town we were staying at. We were so super excited to go both of the mornings we

were staying there....

Our beloved place was however closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays....

Ummm, what?

Jerks.

It led Kyle and I to settle on this other not so cool breakfast place

wherein our waitress had meth teeth.

My pancakes were bisquicky and Kyle was so depressed that he was clumsy

enough to drop one of three of his bacon strips on the floor.

Don't worry, depression causes emotional eating and he picked it up and ate it anyways.

He's been married to me for too long.

Some other highlights of our trip include:

1. Finding a random outlet mall in the middle of no where in the mountains

where we sampled some chocolates from lindor, and bought Kyle a nike jacket

he has been eyeing for quite sometime.

2. Also found a random dairy queen in the middle of no where and purchased

a buy one blizzard get one for 99cents.

I highly highly discourage getting the chocolate covered strawberry.

Not. Good.

3. We went late night swimming at our hotel pool all by ourselves.

We had swimming races and Kyle judged my dives.

4. I saw a big huge dear with antlers and made Kyle turn around so he could

see it.....

Don't worry it was a fake dear.

5. We watched a whole lot of cable in our hotel room.

Barefoot Contessa inspired Kyle to make scones when we got home.

We need cable for this reason alone.

6. I turn into the hulk without diet coke and snacks.

Kyle was worried this might happen at one point in time while

we were driving around and Kyle goes,

" umm, are you going to start hulking it?"

bahah.

Poor guy.

7. Almost getting emotional at how beautiful the snow was in the woods.

It made me feel like at any moment a tiny centaur from Chronicles of Narnia

would gallop up to me and offer me some turkish delight.

8. Me getting sooooooo pissed the whole entire uphill climb of hikes.

Just wanting to dig my grave and die the whole time.

Wanting to kill all the woodland creatures and set the forrest on fire.

Almost dropping F bombs. Actually dropping s**t bombs.

Telling Kyle I hate that he makes me hike with him.

And that it's THE LAST TIME!!!

9. Feeling on top of the world and laughing at every single thing

in the whole world on the hike DOWN hill.

Telling Kyle I love him and I love nature!

Drawing private parts in the snow with my ski pole!

Then laughing some more!

I love hiking! Hiking is so fun!

Hiking endorphins for lifffeee!

ha....

10. Loving on New England a whole lot more.

Pinterest fail

2012-03-04T19:00:00.000-05:00

Just another testimony that Pinterest isn't really

all that it's cracked up to be....

So....

Whatever okay?

Like you could even do it!

Russcipes

2012-03-01T16:28:00.000-05:00

I have a really weird and transitional relationship with cooking. It's not something that ever came naturally to me on account of my impatience and impulse. For the longest time I had no sense of teaspoons over tablespoons, broiling over boiling, and olive oil over butter. My mom was a very simple woman in the kitchen, rotating between the 20 or so dinners we all knew and became familiar with like old friends. She was simple in that she would use onion powder over the real cry your eyes out deal. Who knew that was real? I am just finding out.

When I moved off to college I was on a fast and furious path of calorie counting and weight loss. It took me under faster than blinking, controlling my grocery store purchases and small attempts in the kitchen. Fat free this and low carb that. Meat always being the trickiest. Tough rubber like chicken over under cooked brown rice with a side of blandish salad. It was a learning experience for me to say the very least. I never really found my groove during those college years. Finding a healthy relationship with my kitchen tools and the ingredients I read off pages of cook books were foreign and confusing. My little mind just didn't understand why wet ingredients are mixed separate than dry, and why higher heat means burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. Logically it doesn't sink in well. But I do as i'm told now, and the results are wowing me day by day.

I love cooking for Kyle. He has a simple palette that can be easily scared off, which makes the game all the more interesting. Our marriage has opened new doors. New recipes and new creations, spins of traditional meals with a little Russanne sprinkled on top. We lean on those 15 or so staple meals as the anchor to our evenings. New creations exciting us weekly. I am finding now more than ever, that I want cooking and eating and enjoying to be the healthiest and most praise worthy part of our nights together with our family. I want it to be wholesome and flavorful and a nightly ritual that we can count on. I want our portions to be in tact and our veggie intake fulfilled. I want music in the background and conversations of our days to fill the gaps of bites and sips. I want to start with a prayer and end with satisfied souls. I don't believe I am reaching too far. And i'm not.

I am no chef. This I know to be true. While Andie was visiting me I made a favorite meal of ours, margherita pita pizza with a heaping side of lemon parm roasted brocolli. We listened to music and enjoyed each others company over a fresh and flavorful meal. The next night Andie made us a delightful and healthy vegetarian version of stuffed bell peppers with a tex mex salad on the side. Delighted with our kitchen creations, Andie suggested I start jotting down my own recipes in this here blog. I don't want this to turn into a foodie blog, because that's not who I am. But when Andie suggested I call them 'Russcipes' I died twice and told her I would. How could I not? I'm not promising one a week, they will come when they come. But I am excited to share the love and joy of a recipe done well at the Sasser abode.

So without further adeau....

I shall share the recipe of my very favorite lunch!

Healthy and lovely and so easy that it's dumb.

But I love it and so should you!

Salad Tacos

1 heaping pile of your favorite leafy greens

10 halved grape tomatoes sprinkled with salt

1 handful of large black olives

Very thin sliced red onion

Artichoke hearts roughly chopped

A sprinkle of fresh parmigiana cheese

Two whole wheat medium sized tortillas

Dressing:

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup low fat or no fat mayo

1/4 cup milk

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp italian herbs

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 T. graded parmesean

Mix all ingredients well in a blender.

(more milk for thinning, more vinegar for tang, more mayo for thickness, do what you want!)

Toss together all of the salad ingredients.

Turn your oven on broil. Lightly spray both sides of tortillas with canola spray

and broil in the over for 5-8 minutes until lightly crisp.

Remove and scoop two heaping piles of salad on each tortilla.

Drizzle with dressing.

Sprinkle with more parm.

Squeeze the juice of a lemon over top, for added kick.

Fold tortilla like a soft taco and devour.

Die over your new low cal, high flavor, high fiber lunch!

Best with a large diet coke from Mcdonalds.

Just sayin.

(not my picture, but basically what it looks like minus the chicken, plus creamy dressing)

Russandie does Boston.

2012-02-28T13:02:00.000-05:00

Where do I even start.

First of all, did you know I have the BEST best friend in the world?

I don't know how I got so lucky. I swear people probably think she is my life partner.

Which I would tell them that she is.....dur.

Well Andie came to BOSTON! Like a true friend would.

Count your many blessings ya know?

What I really wanted to do was document every single conversation and

laugh we ever had together. But no one would understand or think it was as

awesome as me and Andie would...

Things that we did:

Took advantage of Februany

Shopped at Building 19&1/5

Went to an estate sale

Ate at Russo's

Watched netflix

Cut some hair

Got ice cream at this place(goat cheese and brownies, yes please!)

Watched Breaking Dawn

Road the T

Saw Fenway Park

Window shopped on Newbury

Paroozed through the Public Gardens

Did the Freedom Trail

Ate authentic pizza and pasta

Got cannolis in the North End

Enjoyed our cannolis on Bunker Hill

Got breakfast at Athens

Nature Walked around Walden Pond

Felt patriotic in Lexington at the start of the Revolution

Wandered around Concord enjoying bookstores and cafes

Got the best hot chocolate in Harvard Square

Walked through Harvard's campus

Made some amazing dinners

Colored Andie's hairs

Watched Harry Potter

Got me and Iphone with her

Enjoyed countless Diet Cokes

Stayed up till 1:30 every night

Laughed until we cried

Talked until our throats hurt

Became better friends

The whole entire drive to the airport I had knots in my stomach because

I am always so nervous of saying goodbye to people I love.

I just really hate it. I tried to make light of the situation the whole car drive

there and even tried to pretend like I didn't care while hugging her goodbye on the

curb at the airport. I told her that I had to go before I cried and we parted ways.

I buckled my seat belt in the car and bawled nearly the whole way home.

Having Andie as my best friend is something I just can't understand.

How in the world did I get so lucky?

I just can't figure it out.

See?

Life partners.

I love her.

No one compares.

I miss her.

Sob....

(I promise i'm not a lesbian)

Videos

2012-02-25T11:32:00.000-05:00

Youtube gives me so much sick satisfaction.

In any situation where we are with friends and there

is a computer in the area we find ourselves throwing around

hilarious youtube videos like idiots hoping that our video suggestions

have never been watched before by our said friends.

I mean, don't you guys get that weird amount of pleasure

knowing that you are introducing some new video to a friend?

And instead of watching the video you just sit with the most amazing anxiety

while watching your friend's reaction to the video you suggested?

And telling everyone to

"Be quiet the funny part is coming!!!!!"

"Shhhhh this is the best part! It's coming, just wait!"

" Let's watch that again! And again! Till it's not funny anymore!!"

" Let's watch all the youtube videos IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!"

I'm crazy.

How do I have friends?

Now that I live a sheltered married life I usually don't see the funniest

youtube videos until it has like 14 trillion hits.

And then it's really just impossible to find someone who hasn't seen it.

But sometimes you can find another married idiot who probably doesn't have

a facebook or a sense of humor and usually they haven't seen that youtube

video you have watched 600 times.

Doesn't it super suck when something you think is a goldmine for all the

laughs in the world gets a mere chuckle out of someone else?

And you suggested that video?

And you are watching it with them?

And then you have to explain why it is funny and they should laugh?

And then you make them watch it again?

To only cause more awkward forced laughs from your friend?

And then you die?

Yeah.

Well I guess I will just show you some favorite videos you all probably know about.

Whatever.

I'm so cool and funny because I watch youtube videos!!!!

No but really these videos are funny and you don't have a

funny soul if you don't think they are funny too.

So.

I'm sorry I guess.

.
.
.
And just for good cat video measure...

I'm alive

2012-02-21T13:48:00.000-05:00

Whoa.

Sorry guys.

I can honestly say that it makes me a little queasy when I see that little '1 week' next to my

name telling me how long it's been since I have blogged.

My very best friend Andie came to visit me in Boston and there ain't no way this girl

is going to sacrifice any time with her for things like blogging and showering and sleeping.

Here is a quick update though!

I got a new phone.

I had been using my stupid LG keyboard flip phone for a solid

two and a half years. The thing only stayed alive for one hour at a time and was

basically a landline because it had to be plugged in all the time.

So sorry everyone for the lack of contact for the last 5 months.

( I kind of hate talking on the phone and getting back to people though, ruh roh)

But....

I told myself I wouldn't let myself get a wardrobe, dog, i-phone,

i-pad, new TV, or cable until Kyle and I were grownups.

But when your upgrade says the I-phone is only 50 bones and

that it only adds $4 dollars a month onto your plan...you get the phone!

So...tell me your favorite apps! Play me in words with friends! Hey tell me!

So. We finally have a solid plan.

You see the last two semesters of Kyle's graduate program is clinicals.

Which is were he will go to a Physical Therapy facility and shadow a PT for a whole

semester and work on his own clients and stuff.

We already had the last clinical set up just north of Seattle, and we were hoping for

yet another clinical in WA so that we could skip back home from the East and never

look back.

Well....praying works guys!

Kyle got a clinical set up at St. Lukes in Spokane which will start Jan 2. of 2013!

HOORAYYY!!!!

I have been so excited. 15 whole weeks in my home land.

So, start making plans to get your hair done during that time!

Annnnd that's it.

Well besides Andie coming to visit.

Which is a blog post in the making.

For now here is a little teaser pic from us

hiking around Walden Pond.

My two favorite people in the whole entire world.

Two

2012-02-13T16:40:00.000-05:00

Today my blog turns two.

I'm celebrating with cupcakes.

Here's to many more blog birthdays!

I'm outdoorsy?

2012-02-13T14:31:00.003-05:00

Kyle and I haven't gone a weekend without going to an estate sale in over two months now.

We have found many treasures. It's so fun driving around from this house to that house with that cute husband of mine. I don't think we will ever stop.

That is until our family submits our names to some TLC show about hoarding.

I guess we will stop then.

The last two weeks have been all about filling our outdoorsy needs.

You see, I have never been one to claim that I like to hike and climb and get dirty.

Because, you see, I'm not that girl.

I do however love thick forests filled with mossy smells.

I love crisp mountain-y fresh air.

I love the views and the exercise.

I love spotting a dear and thinking Snape must have sent us his Patronus.

I love making out with Kyle in a tent.

I do! I do.

And maybe someday I will resist the urge to baby wipe my hands and feet

every ten minutes while hiking and camping.

And maybe someday I will find pure enjoyment of the sweaty and torturous up hill climb

on that 6 hour hike Kyle forces me to do with him each summer.

I'm more of a nature stroll kind of gal, ya dig?

Kyle and I went to an estate sale on Saturday that was so awesome.

I got myself a pair of snowshoes. I bought Kyle a pair for our first married

Christmas together. Figuring he would just go by himself....right?

Well, turns out it's supposed to be done in pairs. So Kyle says.

I think I could like it?

I think.

We also snagged a $100 brand new double burner stove for only $5.

We are so excited. We are campers that like to cook eggs and burgers and things.

So it's perfect!

Now....see those lumber jack boots I am wearing in the pic below?

We decided to hit the outlet mall, which is one of our favorite things to do.
We like to go on weekdays, when it's nice and quiet.

We go in almost every store, mostly just window browsing.

Kyle loves Nike, I love J.Crew and Gap.

I buy myself a fountain drink from the food court and do laps around

the outlet mall, refilling with Diet Coke with each lap until I am dizzy with caffeine.

Mall walking is a good work out guys!

(is that trashy?)

We decided to venture into the store 'Bass'.

Don't ask me why.

I thought all they sold were khaki colored

fishing hats with a rainbow colored fish on it.

Well...the thrifty Gods were looking out for the both of us

because I purchased $160 winter boots for just $25 !

Kyle got himself a pair too!

I wear them everywhere. They are so warm and cushy.

Like walking on a cloud.

Plus I feel like cool lumber jack wife.

Kyle and I are so cool.

Don't be jeal.

I-90

2012-02-09T14:51:00.007-05:00

Between all the stages of Kyle and I's relationship, we found our self often driving my very favorite drive to drive with Kyle. The drive that connects east Washington to west Washington. The drive that stitches his family to mine. The highway that I know the very most. Interstate 90 is my very favorite path to be on.

Usually starting out in Spokane, I would make a quick trip to Rocket Market to load up with funny drinks paired with a bag of salted chips and dark chocolate. My favorite combinations. Starting out with the winded curves of hatch hill, that quickly merged us with that perfect interstate. Kyle usually would quickly merge to the very left lane, trying to avoid the tire grooves that made my car drive itself like a trolley. I would find myself with an insane amount of I-pod A.D.D, playing all my favorite Bon Iver songs very first, then MGMT, then Feist. The first hour of the trip Kyle and I usually end up very quiet. Settling into our road trip groove. Softly taking in the hipster tunes and the Rocket treats.

The exit for Sprague approaches and I trick Kyle into stopping, in hopes that he will give in and buy me a wolf T-shirt from the only gas station the town owns. Instead he usually bribes me with sharing a pack of limited edition M&M's. Which always end up being a bust, and leaves me feeling like a child who didn't get the present from the toy store you hoped your parents would splurge on. I find myself getting sick of my I-pod and switching carelessly between this country station, and that Spanish station. Which are the only two types of stations Central Washington has to offer. Silence is still lingering between Kyle and I until we pass the Gorge in George. Which then leads me into a swift and furious conversation with Kyle about all the memories I have made there. I think that Kyle by now could rank which concerts were my very favorite. In mid sentence of telling Kyle how I felt the Spirit at the Bon Iver concert, I find myself pressuring Kyle to please please please take me to the horses! Oh those big iron rod galloping horses. If only he would take me there! On the way back, he claims.

Our speed slows as we try not to Tokyo drift onto the bridge. Kyle usually wants to stop for a Hawaiian burger from Blustery Burger in Vantage. Temptation either strikes or folds. In the case of folding, we usually begin with the car games. Swirling through the winding roads, while dinosaur sized windmills hover over our tiny car. We usually play 'what am I thinking'. I always win. Except for the time Kyle was thinking of a Peacock and I nearly cried I was so frustrated that I couldn't figure it out. We resist all temptations to stop in Ellensburg, which usually then makes us stop in Cle Elum. Which is always a mistake because we can't resist the great and spacious building of the AM/PM. That big and bright and beautiful AM/PM. I always get a rockstar zero carb, and Kyle a beef stick.

With those calorie free caffeine creatures pumping through my veins, I start to tell Kyle all of my hopes and dreams and fears without a breath in between sentences. The big and beautiful snow capped mountains in the pass loom and listen to the conversations I have about ideas for dog names and the worries of my soul. I find more comfort in the big beautiful mountains that lead to Seattle more than I think words could explain. I blink, and there is Angel Moroni on top of the Temple peering at us on my right side. Couches of my loving in laws await us. I find myself with peace and comfort from a drive that fills my bones with love.

I-90 in my car on our way to either side Washington is my favorite place to be with Kyle. Snacks and conversations and Bon Iver and mountains and a lovely scruffy faced husband of mine. Our families graciously waiting on either ends of the line. With that boy of mine and me in the middle, on the interstate that belongs to us.

And no matter what side we end up on, I can count on the

road that will drive us home.

A gaping hole

2012-02-07T16:43:00.001-05:00

There is still a quite large, and quite real, gaping hole in my heart

ever since the stories ended.

Its as if Joanne Rowling created some sort of bottomless pit in me

that just aches for more.

So, I find myself watching interviews of her when the that gaping

hole is extra wounded.

My favorite part is when she says with weeping words,

"But it was my life, and it was very hard, and I didn't know there was

going to be this fairy tail resolution"

And when James the interviewer asks,

"How would you like to be remembered?"

Joanne says,

" As someone who did the best she could, with the talent she had"

I adore her.

Bachelor Ben

2012-02-06T09:50:00.002-05:00

Well,

it's that time of year again folks.

When roses are worth more than love.

When bikinis are worn more often than dignity.

When the gloves come off, and the claws come out.

When your husband's embraces his full on Bachelor Ben Bro crush.

(Kyle looooooves Bachelor Ben)

I've said this once and I'll say it again...

This is a story about boy meets girls,

but you should know up front.

This is not a love story.

Where should I even start? There are so many places to start!

First things first.

Ben

Here is my husband's crush.

Kyle is all,

" I think I would actually want to be his friend...I think he would get me"

And I am all,

" Kyle there is like 10 girls wearing a bikini right now...so...."

What I am trying to say is that both Kyle and I agree that the Bachelor for once

doesn't really seem like that big of a tool! I mean he is nerdy, socially awkward,

accomplished, and has kind of bad hair!

And yeah so what if he gets a skinny dipping boner.

You probably would too!

I mean that boner is big fat mistake, but some things can't be helped.

Anyways, I think he deserves at least 6 months of post bachelor love.

Which is a pretty steep desire for me to have for any given Bachelor/ette contestant.

I give him an 8.5.

9.5 with out the skinny dipping.

Kyle gives him an 11.

Next up!

Emily

Hey Emily! Maybe you will make it for one more pity week!

I mean it's never really a good sign when your very very partial boyfriend

tells you to watch your back...

I mean, you don't actually hate that one girl.

You just hate that your boyfriend doesn't hate her.....naked body.

Lindzi

(yeah that's how she spells it)

I mean who doesn't love a girl who probably

french braids her hair before she goes horse back riding?

Equestrian girls for life!

Equestrian girls are shockingly, and mind numbingly

annoying.

I am just going to go ahead an blame it on the horses.

I mean I get it, I bought a saddle for $100 dollars of my own

money when I was 7 years old because I figured my parents cared

about me enough to find a pony to match my seat.

But, they cared about my dating life and I will forever be indebted.

Hey Lind-Z! Stop talking! Your voice does more damage than a mandrake's!

Nailed it.

Kacie B.

Oh Kacie.

I like you.

Hopefully you get that six months ya know?

Keep up the good work.

Ummm remember how much I hated Michelle Money?

Well, turns out I was just kidding myself.

Meet...

Courtney

Yup. She is gorgeous.

Gorgeous in an unfairly gorgeous type of way.

I mean I don't even care! Whatever! Ya know?

How is it that every season the one who gives the

roses somehow is always like,

" I don't care if you are a Gryffindor and have a heart of gold!

I am going to just go ahead and love make with this Slytherin over here"

Moonlight manipulation anyone?

Skinny dipping boner giver....anyone?

I swear of my life, if she does that thing where she

makes her little mouse lips purse to the side one more time

I am going to lose my s**t!

Hopefully she got a vaginal infection from the under the sea sex.

I mean....

I miss Jennifer.

The poor Hufflepuff....

(I swear she is cute and has a sweet spirit!)

The.End.

PS~ We don't watch the show until Tuesday on account of the zero channels we have.

So....don't tell me anything!

Mmmmkay?

When Parents Text

2012-01-31T23:51:00.002-05:00

So there is this website that I have been frequenting for a long long time.

It has been my goal since I have been stalking this site that my loving

Dad would send me the perfect text that I could submit.

My dad sent me this picture text yesterday and I nearly died laughing and knew

that it just had to be a winner.

So I submitted it to when parents text.com thinking that I probably wouldn't be so lucky...

No more than 5 hours pass after my submission and

I ask Kyle to go to the website casually, just to see...

And.....

CHECK IT OUT!!

I fell to the floor laughing and had so much anxiety of

WHO TO CALL FIRST?!

So of course I called Dadio.

He of course had no idea what the site was but

now he is on cloud nine and he managed to tell both of my sisters

before I even had a chance to.

So! I am asking you! PLEASE VOTE!

Maybe we could be in the book??

VOTE VOTE VOTE!

I mean even Ellen Degeneres my life idol puts up funny

when parents text submissions on her show!

That's how you know this is the real deal funny.

He made my mom hold that white paper there while he took the pic.

Priceless.

Glad I could give my Dad his 5 minutes of fame.

Makin my Dad proud, I mean, I am his favorite...

It's happening...

2012-01-30T15:54:00.002-05:00

Back in the days of living in single land, I always had this little list of

things that I wanted in a husband.

They went a little something like this...

1. Love God more than he loves me.

2. No snoring or night talking.

3. Love Harry Potter as equally as much as I do.

(not more, because that's impossible)

I dated boys that loved Harry Potter, but snored and didn't love God.

I dated boys that didn't love Harry Potter, but snored and loved God somewhat.

I dated boys that loved Harry Potter, but didn't snore and also pretended to love God.

And then there was Kyle.

You see, Kyle really really really loves me.

He also really really really really loves God.

(one more really)

He doesn't snore and he doesn't sleep talk.

But.....

He was completely blind of the joys of knowing

and understanding the true gospel of Harry Potter.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed that the man of

my dreams lacked this one thing.

But hey, it's not like he had read all the books and watched all the films

and then decided that he didn't think that gospel was true?

I mean that's a very serious sin.

He just hadn't heard the word yet.

You know....the good news.

Fast forward 3 years.

Kyle so lovingly bought me the complete 8 disc edition of the Harry Potter

movies for Christmas this year.

Which lead to 8 nights straight of Harry Potter movie marathon.

Each night we would cuddle up to each other and the dim light of our

TV screen and Christmas tree.

It was romantic.

Each night I fell a little more in love with Kyle.

Fast Forward 2 weeks.

Kyle and I were having the missionaries from our church

over for dinner. While Kyle and the two lovely fellas were waiting in

our living room while I finished the final touches of dinner I heard this..

Missionaries~ Hey, I can't remember if you told us this or not, but are

those frames on the wall supposed to have pictures in them?

Kyle~ They usually do, but they just are somewhere else right now.

You know, like in Harry Potter?

!!!!!

I died a million times over.

My.Husband.Made.A.Harry.Potter.Reference.

Fast forward 1 week.

I was looking through some blogs when a friend of mine

posted this on her blog

I laughed so hard.

Then Kyle wanted to know what I was laughing at and so I showed him.

And you know what?

He laughed too.

Sometimes dreams do come true.

We now have big plans to get all 7 books on audio to listen

to when we drive the long and roundabout way home to Washington

in 10 short months.

I didn't know it was possible to love Kyle anymore than I already did.

But you know what?

There was still room for more.

Jewels

2012-01-24T16:04:00.002-05:00

I want to start showing all of you the wonderful and lovely and thrilling life

of buying things thrifted. It is oh so magical!

It can be gross and awkward and smelly and overwhelming...but...

when you find a treasure that should surely be yours, all of that just kind of slips away.

Enter 1960's jewelry box.

This treasure I found at an estate sale here in New England.

It's always a little nerve racking when you find something that you really

really want and you know that you have to go ask the owner how much they

would be willing to sell it for. I am no good at bartering, and so I usually just end

up buying it at the cost they throw at me.

But, 50 cents for this golden box isn't so bad :)

Enter second jewelry box.

Is it too good to be true when in a matter of 48 hours you find not one

but two lovely golden jewelry boxes? Because you knew that the first one surely

wouldn't fit all of your favorites. And playing favorites is fun for no one, especially not for accessories. Well the thrifty heavens opened up and I snagged this little sister of a jewel box.

It wasn't 50 cents, but two dollars isn't so bad either.

Doesn't it make my wedding ring up front look so timeless?

And if you are wondering if that is a yellow hippopotamus necklace

on the left hand side, you would be right.

J.Crew offered up the perfect hippopotamus for me for Christmas this year.

Shirley Temple style.

More blogs of all the second hand treasures I have found over the years.

You know me, changing the world, one hipster blog post at a time.

Flashbacks: A story about number one

2012-01-19T19:05:00.002-05:00

Kyle and I had only been dating for no more than 6 weeks. It was a very warm spring evening in Spokane, and Kyle had baseball on his mind. Kyle was apart of a pretty awesome program called Big Brothers and Big Sisters and decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to take Rod, his 9 year old 'little brother' to an Indians baseball game with us. Now if you know anything about Spokane, it's that it is a breeding ground for all kinds and variations of white trash. And if you know anything about white trash, it's that they flock to minor league sporting events. This warm night just so happened to be $1 concession night, which meant for crowds of families sporting double denim and camo cutoff shirts. In all of my 20 years of life in Spokane I had yet to attend an Indians game, and was skeptical, but excited for the people watching and dollar diet cokes.

I was wearing a lighter wash of jeans and a pink flowey top with ballet flats. As we first arrived to the stadium grounds I was quick to find a bathroom on account of my overflowing bladder. I told Kyle and Rod that I would be just a quick second and that we could all find our seats together soon. Overwhelmed with my out of control full bladder, I quickly rushed to the quickest stall I could find.

I unbuttoned my jeans and took a seat a little closer to front side of the toilet seat than I should have been on account of the rushed need for relief. In a bit of a hurry to not make Kyle and Rod wait too long for me, I decided to speed things up a bit and give my bladder a little push to get things done. What I didn't realize, was that if you are sitting on the very front edge of a toilet, and if you push extra hard, your chances of keeping your new boyfriend become slim to very much none. You see, what seemed like a normal and good idea ended up with soaking wet light colored pee jeans. Yes. I repeat, not one drop of my number one ended in the toilet bowl. And every single drop ended up on my jeans around my ankles and the surrounding concrete bathroom floor.

I just sat there for a good minute or two in complete shock and panic of what I could possibly do to convince Kyle that I should still be his girlfriend. Should I tell him the sink backfired on me? Should I tell him that a big mean double denim wearing lady spilled her large mountain dew on my jeans? I quickly unrolled wads and wads and wads of toilet paper and started ringing out my urine infested true religion skinny jeans. I must have sat in that bathroom stall for 2o minutes patting and wadding and squeezing my jeans out. With everything mostly damp, I slung my purse in front of the wettest part of my pants and braved the greeting of my new boyfriend. Kyle impatiently asked me what took so long and I just shrugged it off in hopes he would conclude to long lines. He probably thought I had a serious case of the number twos, which at the time was sooooo much better than telling him I wet my pants.

As we sat on the hot aluminum stadium stands I became increasingly itchy and rashy and stinky. Hoping that Kyle would think that this pee smell was coming from the 7 year old boys sitting in front of us. I couldn't pay attention to anything else than my wet hot pee pants. Minutes turned into hours. We sat in those baseball bleachers for 3 whole hours. The game finally ended and we walked into the dusty dirt ground parking lot to Kyle's car. I sat quietly in the backseat as Rod rode shotgun. We dropped him off at his home and I told Kyle I was fine in the backseat. He laughed and said that he wasn't a chauffeur and that he wanted me up front. I reluctantly moved to the front and sat in silence. After the tenth time of Kyle asking me what was wrong.....I cracked.

" I wet my pants okay?! "

And we lived happily ever after.

Ummmmm, what? Tears.

2012-01-16T19:53:00.001-05:00

This may be the most amazing 10 minutes of video I have ever seen.

If you don't watch this you are a fool.

Before&After

2012-01-11T15:52:00.002-05:00

Yikes.

I mean who doesn't like pickle, pepperoni and mayonnaise sandwiches?

Hand me down carbs

2012-01-06T19:19:00.001-05:00

Kyle had never really ventured into thrift stores until he met me.

You see when I was just old enough to drive I would go to all the local thrift stores in

my area to find cute vintage finds that no one else could replicate. If anyone wants to

know the very best thrift stores in Spokane, or even which thrift stores to go for what...

I'm your girl! I know them all. Because I have been to them alllllll.

I think I had no chance of beating off the hipster era.

Hipster hipster hipster.

I have a cat and I thrift, so kill me.

So now it's been Kyle and I's thing that if we are ever bored and

have an afternoon to kill we go thrifting! Hooray!

My good friend Ginny opened up my world to Estate Sales, which is incredible.

Why oh why was I not born in the 50's? No. Why wasn't I born in the 30's so that I could

be in my twenties in the 50's?

This tragedy I will never know.

Basically all Kyle and I like to do is go to garage sales, thrift stores, and estate sales.

We are on the fast track to being qualified for my favorite show! Hoarders! Whoop whoop!

Kidding. We are pretty selective about our purchases.

Kyle and I both were wanting a bread machine. BAD.

I kind of thought he would buy me a brand new shiny bread machine for

Christmas, but it wasn't so. Which is fine because the present I got totally

rocks the house. I think it was kind of fate that he didn't buy me that brand new

bread machine because.....

Ta da!

Kyle and I stumbled upon a lovely bread machine for....

$2.50!

She is kind of a huge dinosaur, but who doesn't like dinosaurs?

She works perfectly and we have been making two loaves of bread a day.

So far we have made loads of Kyle's Grandpa's wheat bread, a few other

versions of wheat, pumpkin bread, cinnamon sugar bread, and now we are

patiently waiting for a lemon poppy seed bread to be done!

This may or may not be one of those things where we use it a whole

lot for a month and then retire it to a closet. But I kind of hope not?

I hope we never have to buy store bought bread again.

It. Doesn't. Compare.

So everyone! Go buy a bread machine!

Thrifted of course.

My good friend Deja described thrifting in the best way possible...

"I love this part of it, the hunt of it. And the feeling, when you find the perfect thing, that you've somehow beat the system, like you win more than the clothes themselves, like the universe surely loves you and longs to fulfill your every wish"

Touche Deja, touche.

Go!

2012-01-05T21:23:00.001-05:00

My dear friend Rubi is teaching a hands on styling workshop!

I so wish that I could go...

But even though I can't doesn't mean YOU can't!

Click here for details!

Hurry before it fills up!

If you can't make it you should still check out her totally awesome

hair blog!

2012

2011-12-31T15:48:00.001-05:00

Standing back

2011-12-28T17:16:00.001-05:00

Today was a brisk and windy Wednesday. Kyle has been trying to stay busy while he is

on his extra long holiday break. Today I was trying to catch up on the routine things that need to be caught up on. Sweeping, dishes, counter wiping and so on. Two o'clock rolled around and while Kyle was outside on our deck working on making us a hand crafted coat rack, I decided it was a good time to make a home cooked warm lunch. I have been meaning to make a pumpkin version of gnocchi and with all the ingredients in tact my plan was ready to be played. The wind was extra twirly on the bare branches outside, making a nice whistling gusts. All the while the glowing sun was beaming through the kitchen windows as I kneaded the pumpkin dough. The sound of a hand saw and electric drill complimented the whooshes of wind and Holocene by Bon Iver was playing softly in the background.

And just then, I had a moment.

One of those moments where you are completely content with everything going on around you. One of those moments where you hair is twirled up in a knot on your head and your flour dusted yoga pants match the flour dusted counter tops. A moment where the sound of those electric tools out on our deck made me miss my Dad so much it hurt. A moment where I was glad that I have a husband who would rather be constructing something from wood than playing video games and eating junk. One of those moments where the smells of garlic and basil and steamy water fill my lungs with gratitude for all the small things I have.

It might have seemed normal for anyone else to see at first glance, and even for me it was a normal everyday ritual. But it was my ability to take a glance back at what was really in my life, that turned a mundane afternoon into a brilliant and magical moment.

Cheesy, I know.

A Buffalo Gal Production

2011-12-27T13:08:00.001-05:00

Who even reads blogs the week that surrounds Christmas?

Not this girl.

Kyle and I had the pleasure of trying out our celebration skills all by our selves this year.

I was a little panicked that I would be drenched with homesick-ness the sooner those special

days inched toward us...

But guys! We did it!

We did it so well!

Wanna see?

We did New York!

Kyle and I decided since we weren't going home for Christmas

that we had to make it extra special and Chrismas-y!

So we went to the big city during the week before the holiday.

The city took our breath away.

We were both NYC virgins and so this trip

was extra romantic!

Kyle booked our hotel in Time Square.

We ended up in a swanky Austin Powers-esque hotel.

It.Was.Awesome.

We found out though that Time Square is totally

fun to see....for like 30 minutes.

Then it's just as barfy as Vegas.

(Vegas is soooooooo barfy!)

(Except I have some really not so barfy Vegas friends...:)

See me there? On that corner?

Yeah that's the f.r.i.e.n.d.s corner.

I died a million times from all the butterflies

swarming in my stomach.

Greenwich Village is a little piece of heaven I tell you what.

And Radio City was magic!

We walked the whooooole city.

We only took 2 subways the whole time!

We seriously walked 20 plus miles!

It was amazing.

We had so much fun turning onto this block and walking

up to that block. We saw EVERYTHING.

Oh, and China Town is totally gross.

I hated it.

Kyle loved it.

We followed allll our very favorite traditions in Boston.

We drove around looking at Christmas lights with a bottle of Martinellis!

We took pictures by the big tree in Quincy Market!

We fixed up some snacky snacks for Christmas eve!

We cuddled up and watched It's a Wonderful Life.

That George Bailey...I tell you what.

Kyle and I both have some serious crushes on George Bailey.

We cried of course.

Then we opened jammies and read out of Luke:2 and fell asleep

while sugar plum fairies danced in our head.

We didn't even get homesick once!

Isn't it a miracle?

Look at that turtle neck and comb over....

Our Christmas was very very merry!

Kyle...?

2011-12-21T21:56:00.001-05:00

I mean....

Cutest husband of the world award goes to me.

Duh.

Spring time feelings

2011-12-15T11:27:00.002-05:00

Let's stay together by Al Green is Kyle and I's song.

We danced to it at our wedding and it forever will be our romantic

tune....

Untill now!

Maybe this won't be our song all year long...

Okay but maybe it will!

It's that good guys.

Our goal is to have a super cool grown up Kareoke

Christmas party, wherein we invite all of our coolest friends

and our kids will most likely be in high school and we will most likely

be the parents that embarrass the life out of them...

By singing this song.

Seven/Eleven

2011-12-08T15:13:00.001-05:00

Never in my life did I think that a mini mart would be such a big part of my life.

After writing that sentence a little part of me died...

I think that the nice array of 7/11 employees probably know more about what

is going on in my life than I should feel comfortable with.

More of me would die if I knew that number of times I have been in my

local 7/11, and I all of me would die if I knew the amount of dollars I had put

in their pockets.

Here are just a few shades of Russanne that 7/11 has been lucky to have seen.

The Addict

7/11 supplies me with my poison.

Death....

Russanne that strolls in around 2:00 for her

midday fuel. Bra-less. China Bun. Dirty yoga pants.

Wearily reaching for the Super Big Gulp.

Leaving with nothing else but a tall fizzy drink of black-ish death.

While giving up a small portion of my dignity.

Okay big portion.

Girl on the Run

Whenever I know I am going to have a big day

ahead of myself and whenever I have a list of things to do

I usually always find myself mad dashing in, grabbing a rockstar

zero carb, and a Special K protein bar.

I don't even want to know the number of zero carbs I have

walked out of the store with.

And when they had their 2 for 3 deal?

Ooooh boy.

Drink Daters

Kyle and I frequent 7/11 together for mini dates.

Addict Russanne usually feels a bit better about herself

when she can show these 7/11 cashiers

(who know my secrets and saw me earlier that day even though Kyle doesn't know that)

that she is happily married to an

adorable husband who buys her snacks.

I usually go for swedish fish or a couple dark chocolate lindor truffles.

Kyle gets peanut butter m&ms.

With either some sparkling water or fresca to top it off!

$5 dollar date.

Nailed it.

Got Milk?

Oh you get your milk like a normal person at a normal

grocery store?

Well we get ours shamelessly at 7/11.

$5 at the store.

Or $2.70 at 7/11.

Um duh.

Oh and every time we are out of milk it means one thing.

I get a Diet Coke too!

Whoop.

I really do feel bad for those cashier boys who have

to see me in a state of with drawl from my drink of choice.

Maybe I will start wearing a bra.

Maybe I will stop trying to talk to them about

whoever is on the cover of US weekly while they ring out my purchases.

Like i'm not going to freak out about Kourtney Kardashian baby #2 or

that Ali and Roberto break up.

Shampoo&Conditioner

2011-12-05T13:24:00.001-05:00

I think the thing that blows my mind the most is that most all

of my clients don't really know the proper way to wash and condition their hair.

My husband probably thinks I am not one to talk on account of how infrequently I wash my

own hair...but when did his opinion ever matter?

HA! I am so kidding...

I am not going to sit here and tell you that you need to go out and buy

the most expensive hair care products around.

I will say though that most all of drug store shampoos are filled

with loads of unnecessary sulfates, glycerin, and chemicals that should

never go anywhere near your scalp or hair.

Drug store shampoos aren't even the guilty culprits either...

But that's for another day.

More.After.The.Jump.

What I am trying to accomplish is how you are supposed to wash your hair.

Here we go!

Step 1: Thoroughly wet your hair with hot water. I let my hair

sit under neath the water for a few minutes to open up the my cuticle and

to soften my scalp.

Does anyone else think a softened scalp sounds super gross?

Step 2: Squirt a nickle sized amount of shampoo and rub them

in between your hands to help ensure even washing.

Step 3: Apply the shampoo ONLY to your root and scalp area. Make sure

you are using your finger tips to apply in all areas of your head. Not just on top

of your head. ALL AREAS. I sometimes flip my head upside down to help

sift through all my hair to get to my scalp.

Step 4: Thoroughly scrub your scalp with your fingertips and nails.

I scrub my roots and scalp really really hard. No pansy washing here!

Getting your scalp clean is more important than your hair. A healthy clean scalp

is the key to healthy beautiful hair. If your scalp is clogged with dead skin, product buildup,

and oils, you can GUARANTEE loads of unnecessary hair loss.

Yup.

Step 5: Don't even think about scrubbing your midshaft and ends with shampoo.

Why? Because it doesn't need it! It's not dirty!

It is very damaging and drying to over wash your fragile little ends.

While rinsing your hair of the shampoo from your roots, the soap will

help cleanse your ends as it makes it way from your roots down your hair strand.

Step 6: Sometimes if my hair is REALLY dirty I go for a second wash. It took me a long

time to realize that if my hair didn't soap up while washing it that it was still cleaning my hair.

Lots of lather and soap means that you are over washing your hair. If it doesn't soap up it is just tackling the oil and product. If it does soap up it means its further drying your hair.

Because I only wash my hair once a week I usually go for a second wash, but I use very very

little shampoo.

Step 7: Throughly rinse your hair. I MEAN THOROUGH.

Step 8: Squirt a nickle sized amount of conditioner in your hands.

Now apply this conditioner ONLY from the midshaft down to your ends.

News flash! Your roots do not need to be conditioned on account of all

the natural oils that gets to deep condition your hair all day! Hooray!

Conditioner is meant to condition the parts of your hair where oil doesn't flow.

Over conditioning can lead to build up on your hair and scalp.

Which means.....hair loss and no volume!

Don't do it!

Step 9: Let conditioner sit while you clean all your other parts....

Step 10: Rinse that conditioner out very very well with luke warm water!

Then once you feel the slime gone, give your hair a quick cold shot of water to seal

that cuticle down!

Hot=open cuticle

Cold=close cuticle

Ya dig?

Oh and also, the more you wash your hair when it doesn't need to be,

the more your scalp thinks it needs to produce oil.

Why do I know this?

Because I used to wash my hair everyday!

I was that girl that was all,

'I have to wash my hair everyday because it gets soooo greasy!'

Then I figured out that you can train your scalp to not be so gross.

I was never a greasy hair girl all along!

And neither are you.

Don't get your panties in a twist.

You can still shower without washing your hair.

And you can give your husband a good laugh when he

peeks around the curtain with this totally

awesome shark hair cap!

via

Suzy

2011-11-29T19:14:00.001-05:00

I don't know who decided that a homemakers name is most likely Suzy....but I will have to

say that my inner Suzy comes out in mass amounts around this time of year. Oh and I have this serious love hate relationship with Pinterest. I mean, I think that it gives me a lot of false hope of what my life should be like. I have said this before, but not one single pretty girl in all of those cute outfit pictures eats a damn thing seen on pinterest.

False. Hope.

But I am in luck because marriage is all about letting yourself go.

I kid. Kind of?

This recipe has seriously blessed my life in all sorts of ways and I was taught

that when you are given blessings that you must share them.

Because I have been given much I too must give.

Hey oh!

More after the jump.

Ricotta Gnocchi!

15 oz Low Fat Ricotta

1 egg

1 tsp olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cups flour

So.

You are going to whisk together all ingredients besides the flour.

It should look like this.

Next you mix in all the flour.

It should look like this.

Next you will make ropes out of the dough and cut

them like pictured below.

Next you are going to bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil.

Plop all of the little gnocchi's into the boiling water.

Once the little guys start to rise count to 30 or so give or take

and then remove.

I then saute mine in a little olive oil and crushed garlic.

You can add ANY type of sauce to this and it will be good.

Red meat sauce, pesto, cream sauce, pumpkin&sage sauce, vodka sauce

or even just a little butter and parm.

This is a staple folks.

And you can freeeeeze the dough!

Just slice them up, place on cookie sheet in freezer for 1 hour, and

then store in gallon sized bags.

Easy peezy.

I quadrupled this tonight.

Ruh roh.

Stay tuned for more Suzy-ish stuff.

Popcorn garland?

Yup.

recipe&photos

The blues of the beauty kind

2011-11-27T20:25:00.001-05:00

Yup.

Every last ounce of summer has leaked out of my soul, and with that comes the beauty blues.

You may or may not have been reading my blog for a while, but if you know anything it's that

I suffer from sometimes mild and sometimes severe beauty blues.

With the last few leaves on the trees trickling and swaying down to the frosty ground,

in wooshes the tretury of dry skin and sallow complexion.

But you must have already known that.

What's very worst about the winter beauty blues is that the side affects can

be very itchy and very rashy.

I told you that change was rashy.

Long heavy sigh.

BUT! With the beauty blues sweeping in something else is counteracting

the weatherly madness.

The type of counter action that comes in the form of

Holiday Cheer!

Which has lead me to have a day of at home beauty!

This lovely shade of green has made it's way to me.

First time painting my nails in.....6 weeks?

That is the longest my nails have gone without paint

in over 6 years.

Blues.

I then went to the gym and did this workout.

I then came home and painted a few highlights around my face.

I then sat in the shower for 20 minutes with a deep mask on my hairs.

I then gave my eyebrows some love following my simple guidelines.

(Still my most frequented blog post to date)

I then slathered up my visible body parts in my favorite self tanner.
I then sat.
And pondered.

The results?

A little more glow and a lot more cheer.

I'm not sure if the results would have been the same

had I not have had such a boost of holiday cheeriness in my bones.

What in the world am I to do in January?

Rashes ahoy.

Traditionally speaking...

2011-11-21T15:58:00.001-05:00

With the holidays approaching fast as ever, I have been particularly overwhelmed with the ideas of making and keeping traditions. Kyle and I have lucked out because it just so happens that our families had very similar traditions in the Christmas area. When we wed I was all, " Um Kyle on Christmas Eve we have to have a tons of snack tray foods, and we have to look at Christmas lights, and we have to open Jammies, and you can't say no to me!" and Kyle was all, " Ummm, that's not a problem because those are the exact things I had in mind for Christmas too!". It's either because we were really truly meant to be together.....or that our families have really unoriginal traditional ideas.

But then I am all worried about making all these new traditions! I want these traditions to be all ready and set in stone for our kids(which won't be for 5 plus years so we have time). You know what's really hard to figure out? What in the world are our unborn children going to think is totally awesome to do? I mean we have to pick a breakfast to make that is not common enough that you would make it regularly through out the year....but also yummy enough that you really want to savor it for that one Christmas morning. If you didn't know already, I don't really take things one day at a time. Basically I just want to be a really cool mom and so that's why I am trying to figure out all the quirks and kinks. I bet all you mothers are all like, ' Plan all you want sister! Cause that will all go down the drain'. Well I can tell you what....

My plans to be the coolest mom are going to work!

I think....

So far these are my new ideas for traditions

Santa Pancakes for Christmas breakfast!

We can make cinnamon, pumpkin, chocolate, and regular santa

pancakes! Cause who even knows what race he is....

We are open to any kind of Santa Claus race!

......ha

Aaaaaaannd that's all I got.

Heeeeelp!

What do you do?

I only have 5 years to figure it all out!

I know I know, first world problems are hard.

Tips!

2011-11-15T15:45:00.001-05:00

I am being wonder wife today.

Scrubbing, laundry, errands, dishes, and baking!

I have become a lot more thrifty on account of the all of

the debt we are acquiring while trying to prepare for careers.

And stuff....

Also I am becoming thrifty on account of all of the episodes

of 19 kids and counting I have been watching...

Love those Duggars.

Want some tips?!

I totally fell for the whole direct foam thing.

I was gifted the foam pump from a friend who didn't want

to pack it with her across country. The half bottle of foam she gave

me has lasted for about 4 months or so. I use A LOT of dish soap.

I finally ran out of the foam and decided to try a little experiment.

Instead of buying the 6 dollar bottle re-fill I decided to just go to the

dollar store and buy a regular bottle of dish soap.

I then filled the bottle a quarter of the way full with the dollar store

soap and the rest of the way with water.

Guess what?! It totally worked!

I guess you could just do the same thing with any foam pump bottle.

Next.

I have been a perpetual counter top wiper thanks to

my lovely mother who taught us to wipe your counters

regularly. I seriously can't STAND it when people don't wipe their

counters. I lost a few years of life while living with 5 roommates

when I was going to hair school. They didn't care like I care about counters.

Sheesh.

I found this recipe on pinterest and I feel real good about it.

Fill an empty water bottle an 1/8th of the way full of rubbing alcohol.

Drop two drops of dish soap in. Then mix a few drops of your favorite

essential oil. I like peppermint or orange.

Fill the rest of the bottle with water.

Done!

Next.

My good friend Rachael put this tip on her blog a while back

and I just need to share the love because I love it so much.

You just put two drops of dish soap in a water bottle

and fill the rest with water.

Best.Window.Cleaner.Ever.

Before you know it I am going to be coupon clipping and

making casseroles!

Wha wha whaaat?

Casseroles are good and I don't care who knows it....

Cry face

2011-11-14T16:32:00.001-05:00

I just dropped my wonderful sister off at the airport to

head back to the great northwest. I think ever since I was little

I have always been afraid of crying. I would go to extreme amounts to

avoid having to face situations that would make me cry.

Why?

Oh just a little something I like to call

Cry Face

Ever seen this girl before?

Ummmm.

I feel my face doing this when I cry.

I mean, when it rains it pours right?

If I feel just a little urge to cry I start fighting it

which then make my face look like hers, and then it

makes me want to cry even more.

Rule of thumb:

Fighting the feeling to cry=ugly cry face

Don't do it! Just let it roll!

Sorry Raegan for the cry face at the airport.

Miracle worker

2011-11-08T15:41:00.001-05:00

I like to overkill things. I go through phases of loving hard on particular things.

This might not be new news to some of you who know me well. I mean if you knew 7 year old Russanne you probably would think there is no way that girl will ever find a husband if she keeps obsessing over things like tornado chasing, horses, and all things Harriet the Spy.

(For the record I still kind of wish I would have been a tornado chaser......or a spy.....or a full time horseback rider?)

Well 7 year old Russanne never really stopped.

Right now? I am in a hardcore vinegar phase.

You heard me right, vinegar!

Picture the old grandpa from My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Now substitute him for me, and windex for vinegar.

Yup.

So, where is this going?

Oh you know...just a good ol' list of 10 things!

Hooray for lists of 10 things?

What would my blog be without a list of 10 things?

Here goes nothing.

10. Relieve dry and itchy skin by adding a couple tablespoons

to your bath water. Winter time dry skin anyone?

9. Feel good time: Tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 cup

water, with a bit of honey. Removes appetite and gives

an overall healthy feeling.

True story!

8. Help clear up skin by cleansing skin and then

applying apple cider vinegar with a cotton swab

all over face and letting sit for 15 minutes. Then rinse.

Adult acne? No more.

7. Mix 1 cup of vinegar with a few gallons of warm water

to clean kitchen and bathroom floors.

6. Microwave 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 cup water

for a few minutes to help loosen and remove

stains and smells.

5. Make buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon

vinegar to one cup of milk and let stand for 5 minutes.

I never buy buttermilk anymore....mostly because

I have one recipe that it calls for. Buttermilk is gross.

4. Clean showers, counters, light fixtures, and appliances

with equal parts vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle.

3. Stop hiccups by taking one tablespoon of vinegar straight.

It totally works! But is kind of disgusting...

2. Prepare fluffier rice by adding a tablespoon to your

rice water.

1. And lastly, my favorite! Rinse your hair

with equal parts apple cider vinegar and warm water

in the shower after shampooing. It helps remove build up

on your scalp and hair! It seriously wooorrrks. I love it.

I don't even use conditioner after. I am doing this once a week.

Let it sit on your hair while you wash and shave.

And I have heard something about using baking soda as a shampoo?

Thoughts?

Recipe time!

Roasted turkey hoagies with apple cider.

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 hoagie rolls from bakery
- 1/4 lb shaved deli turkey
- 4 slices favorite cheese
- 1/8 cup thin red onion slices
- apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS:
Turn oven to Broil. Cut hoagie rolls in half long ways and place on baking sheet. Cover one side of rolls with cheese and the other with shaved turkey and red onion slivers. Broil open rolls for several minutes or until cheese and onions are golden. Close rolls and slice in half. Serve with apple cider vinegar for dipping.

recipe via

Scent

2011-11-02T13:58:00.001-04:00

I had a really wonderful childhood. So much so that nostalgia pours over me nearly every day at the multiple scents that enter my body and mind. A long while ago I was taught that our sense of smell has a strong and powerful connection to memory and emotion. Ever since this profound statement enlightened my life, I feel that I can connect most day to day scents to memories good or bad.

The strong and perfumed scent of Tide detergent wafted into my lungs the other day as I walked past our local laundry basement. I was quickly reminded of my freshly washed pajama shirts and sheets that wrapped around me each night as a child. Or the smell and feel of the visitors lodge in the White Mountains. The low lit wooden lodge smelt of woodland must and mountain air and was filled with friendly women wearing khaki vests. A rush of love for the great northwest and Priest Lake filled my heart almost instinctively. The smell of the oldest cabin on the lake came swooshing through my senses as it did every summer I stepped foot in it, for nearly 19 years. The scent of the local gas market always is a friendly reminder of my Dad's work truck. The salted smell of sunflower seeds and beef jerky reminds me of trips to my grandparents house with my Dad on the weekends. It reminds me of the sound of Oldies 101.1 and my ever going appreciation for 60's music.

Kyle always uses the same shampoo, body wash, and deodorant. The combination of three scents always bring me comfort and memory of those late nights resting my head on his shirt while we were dating. I never knew what it was that made that unique scent of Kyle until we started sharing a shower. The one time he strayed away and bought a different body wash nearly caused a panic for me. It was as if I knew that it was Kyle, but all my senses weren't ringing together like they always had before. Needless to say, he didn't finish that discounted bottle of body wash.

I really could give lists upon lists of certain smells that directly correspond with memories from my past. It's something I do day in and day out. That being said, excuse me while I go make a homemade pot of chicken soup with homemade noodles and take a trip back to rainy Sundays on 44th avenue.

Salem

2011-10-31T22:08:00.001-04:00

We went to Salem!

I would say on a scale of one to festive we definitely

topped out on festive by the end of the day.

I have had my grumpy pants on for a little while now and

I knew that the only cure would be to do the very most halloween-ish

stuff that was really humanly possible in one day.

So we invited our new BFF's Scott and Ashley to adventure out with us.

(more after the jump)

Scott and Ashley studied up the night before on all the Salem info

and this just so happens to be the house where the first two little girls

started with the contortions....

Do I really think they were witches? No

Do I think maybe they could be though? Yes

Does that make me superstitious? No

Does it make me a little stitious? Yes

Are you spooked yet?

Did the neat-o halloween picture editor app make you spooked?

It made me spooked...I'll tell you that much.

Busted

Um isn't that food stand the cutest?

It was like a really artsy trendy fallish fair stand.

Minus the white trash.

Plus hot cider.

Oh and Ashley and I blog about each other.

It's not often that friends for only three weeks make the blog.

Is it because she drew whiskers on her face?

Mostly yes.

Isn't my hair getting looooong?

All on it's ownnnn?

Well it's not.

I need at least 5 more inches.

Seriously Salem rocked my socks off.

We topped off the day with heading back to our abode

and feasting on Pumpkin Chili and Cornbread.

Then we even watched Hocus Pocus!

Allison has pretty good yabos, not as good as mine..but pretty good.

Did you know that Hocus Pocus was partly filmed in Salem?!

I never realized what a huge sliz Sara Jessica Parker is. Really Disney?

Then we ate our weight in caramel apple dip and apples.

How do you like that for the most festive day ever?

Sorry Scott that you weren't included in the pictures.

Someones gotta take them though....

Pick me ups

2011-10-27T11:53:00.001-04:00

Volcano Candle

Emails from Rubi

Soup

Sugar cookies from friends

Picture texts from my Dad

Benedryl (makes sleep possible)

Free lance hair styling

Whale Wars & Sea life documentaries(?)

Laying down in the shower

Praying in the shower(try it)

Calls from sisters and mom, daily

Invites from new friends for dinner

Plans to go to Salem for Halloween

Texts from sisters in law

Visiting teachers

Renewing Temple recommends

Wearing my Dad's old pajama bottoms

Wearing slippers identical to my Dad's

Organizing & cleaning

Homemade hot cocoa

Dreaming of Washington

And....

Funk

2011-10-24T20:34:00.001-04:00

I haven't died. Although I feel like I have a little.

I have a serious and emotional case of funk right now.

Some things kind of turned upside down in my life and

I am having a really weird and cry-full time handling it.

I could probably write for hours on this thing about how I feel

deep down inside my stomach where all the ulcers are forming,

and deep down in my heart where all the anxiety is pumping, and

deep down inside my soul where all the doubt is brewing....

But...I don't have the energy to because I don't feel like eating

which makes me extra exhausted.

I swear I am not trying to make you feel bad for me.

Pick me ups never hurt anyone though....

Really the only thing that makes me feel better is this guy

Over the weekend I woke up and told Kyle that I really just

need to get in the car and drive.

So within twenty or so minutes we were headed north to the White Mountains.

There is a great little breakfast place in Lincoln New Hampshire just at the

base of the mountains. I ordered one pancake on account of my ulcers and

worry-ish gag reflexes to the idea of food.

We spent the whole day driving and listening to the country station.

It helped.

Oh and we picked apples too and I even laughed a few times.

I love Kyle.

He helps.

2

2011-10-17T20:43:00.001-04:00

Kyle and I eat New England for breakfast.

With skim milk.

(name that movie)

You know what else we eat for breakfast?

Two years of marriage!

We made it! If our marriage was a mission we would

have totally returned with honor.

Two years of marriage is totally better than one year of marriage.

This I know to be true.

What's even better than two years of marriage?

Maine!

We totally rocked at adventuring to Maine.

Wanna see?

Kyle and I set sails for the weekend for Bar Harbor.
Or otherwise known as Bah Habah.
My mom never gets sick of trying to talk with a
Boston accent when I talk to her on the phone.
It never gets old.

Highlights of Maine include:

Finding an Arbys! ARBYS!
Ocean path beach walk
Ocean cliff hiking
Picture fests
Apple Cider
Fall foliage
Ocean breezes
Scenic drives
Walking around 'in' town
Being with Kyle

Lowlights:

Hair in my dinner
Lighthouses
.
.
.

Oh and Kyle has a massive case of the picture squints.

Like seriously?
It's overcast!
This is us on top of Cadillac Mountain. Which is the first place the
sun hits half of the year. It was really romantic...until this super nerdy
science teacher told all of his pre teen students to 'be careful of the walking on the
vegetation'....as Kyle and I were totally walking on all sorts of vegetation.
.
.
.
.
.
All in all it was an amazing little daycation.
I love Kyle soooooooo much!
He seriously is the only thing that gets me through
the day sometimes. I know that sounds super depressing and whatever,
but sometimes don't you just have days that are just filled with crazy bosses
and rude clients? Well my days are always filled with crazy bosses and rude clients.
So Kyle is my security blanket.
I luuurve him.
I am glad we picked each other.

Estrogen+Testosterone+Progesterone

2011-10-13T09:56:00.001-04:00

I blame hormones for mostly all my problems. I don't really know a lot about Progesterone, only that my doctor says I have extra amounts of it. I have normal amounts of Estrogen, which, whatever. BUT! Together the two I THINK, I think....make so things get a little crazy style. And then Testosterone? Well he just makes the two feel bad about themselves. Which is rude, but understandable.

I think I don't even mind Testosterone. Testosterone is in me, I know this to be true. Testosterone is all like,

" You don't care if those pants are tighter this month than last!

That probably means you learned to grow a pair!".

Has Testosterone ever told you that? He tells me that like twice a month.

Oh but Estrogen. Estrogen makes Testosterone want to go golfing on a thunderstorm type of day. Testosterone has been golfing in stormy weathers a lot these days. Estrogen has NO ROOM FOR HIM! Like for instance, I was sitting oh so neatly on our 1960's gold and green couch (that makes my bum go numb) whilst watching all the new episodes on instant netflix. Parks&Rec especially was being watched at this very moment, when a certain scene came about.

Leslie Knope was not so secretly plotting and scheming to give Ron Swanson a surprise birthday party. If any of you know anything about Ron Swanson you would at the very least know this....

Which means that Ron hates suprises and parties. Long story short, she made him think it would be a big fat party with balloons and cake but really it was just a ploy to take him to a party that he would appreciate. Which, included a low lit room, plates of bacon and red meat, a glass of whiskey, cigars, a brown leather chair, and a western movie all to himself. Isn't that just a pure act of love?!

Longer story even shorter.....Estrogen flew in like a beast and made me cry while viewing this generous act of love. Are you hearing this? Testoserone was all like, " ya kidding me?" and Estrogen was all like, " do these tears look like I am kidding?!" and Progesterone was all like, " Yeah! TEST-TOS-TER-ONE, do those tears LOOK like she is kidding??".

Oh and this morning I dropped off Kyley boo off

at clinical and then decided to listen to the country type of station. Then,

all of the sudden Kenny Chesney the Good Stuff came on and Testosterone was

all like,

"Booooo, change it!"

and Estrogen was like,

" His wife died of CANCER you pig!"

and Progesterone was all like,

"Yeah!"

And then I cried.

And then I got a Diet Coke at 8:24 in the morning at Mcdonalds.

Ages

2011-10-11T20:42:00.001-04:00

There is one thing I know to be everlasting and true about me. It's that I have a vivid and intense memory. Today I was driving to a friend's house and Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac came on in my car. Instantly age 18 came rushing into my bones. When I was 18 one of my favorite roommates Emily and I would drive all around Happy Valley listening to various 80's jams, but the one that stuck to my bones the most, was Gypsy. Emily's car and Fleetwood Mac drives were one of the few and far between things I loved the most about 18.

What did I love the most about 23 you might wonder?

Well getting lost around New England with my sweet husband of course.

22?

Driving across the country while listening to

Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magentic Zeros on repeat.

21?

Learning how to be a wife and really really

messing up the dinner with rice and mushroom soup and ground beef.

Yikes.

20?

Flitting around Spokane with my new boyfriend,

Sonic Limeaids, and red box movies that we would start to watch

and end with making out.

19?

I was a platinum blonde hair school student with

crappy boyfriends, crappy acne, and even crappier self esteem.

18?

Fleetwood Mac and 80's dancing with

Emily and Cailey. I loved Golds Gym, Charlotte Russe,

and kissing boys while knowing I would never talk to them ever again.

17?

I listened to Death Cab for Cutie like I had never listened to

music before. I danced half time at football games and stayed

up past curfew so that I could lay on trampolines and make late night

Albertsons runs.

16?

I was swept away by the idea of a cowboy from Montana.

I wore American Eagle jeans and drove my 1997 suzuki esteem

while drinking over sugared Time Out coffee drinks.

15?

I was swallowed by the awfulness of Sophomore year

of high school. My acne was worse than ever and I finally realized

girls can wear sweatpants to school, but only if they don't want to

get asked to school dances.

15 was bad.

14?

I had a big fat huge crush on Evan Thomas and wore

low cut shirts because my mom finally let me buy a padded bra

from Gap Body. I made mix CD's and looked forward to

'mixers' in the high school gym.

I would post a picture for each year but that would mean that I would need to

call my mom, have her dig through a box of photos, teach her over the phone to turn on a computer, scan photos, sign up for an email account, and attach photo documents to the message.

Whatever,

Kyle needs a haircut and I need to workout.

The end!

PS~ I hope Evan Thomas reads this someday.

I feel like nearly 10 years is enough time to clear the air about

secret high school crushes.

Phew!

Work out edition

2011-10-06T22:13:00.001-04:00

I had a really really hard time adjusting to Boston at first.

I resisted the change so much so that it cause a little bout of depression.

Depression caused a little bout of not wanting to work out.

Which caused things to get a tad on the soft side.

Well...It's safe to say that since I embrace

New England like it's apart of my soul,

and now.....

The workout willies are back!

So here are just a few things right now that I am loving on in

workout world

The workout:
You need:
1 treadmill
1 water bottle
1 amazing playlist
more on that after the jump!

To do:
Incline 2.5 Speed 4
Warm up for 5 mins
(things are going to start getting pretty spicy now)
Incline 6 Speed 8
Run for 30 seconds and hop out to the side
to rest for 30 seconds.
Repeat 5 times.
Incline 8 Speed 9
Run for 20 seconds and hop out to the side
to rest for 40 seconds.
Repeat 5 times.
Incline 9 Speed 10
Run for 20 seconds and hop out to the side
to rest for 40 seconds.
Repeat 5 times.
Incline 10 Speed 10
Run for 15 seconds and hop out to the side
to rest for 45 seconds.
Repeat 5 times.
Incline 2.5 Speed 5
Jog for 5 mins
Incline 2.5 Speed 3.5
Cool down and walk for 5 mins

The Playlist:
Edward Sharpe&the Magnetic Zeros-40 day dream
Florence & the Machine-Dog days are over
Foster the People-Houdini
Architecture in Helsinki-Contact High
Nappy Roots-Good Day
MIA-Come Around feat. Timbaland
Passion Pit-Little Secrets
Rihanna-Breakin Dishes
Janet Jackson-Feedback
Shiny Toy Guns-Le Disco
The Knife- Heartbeats
Helio Sequence-Can't Say No
Chris Brown-Yeah x3
.
.
.
Then of course cool down with Bon Iver anything.

The after math:

1. Yankee candle in my new favorite scent for fall.
I know I know, the whole pumpkin fall time craze is totally annoying.
But....it is really gooood.

2. Emergen-C mixed with orange juice and a dash
of organic apple cider vinegar. Loaded with vitamins and
electrolytes on top of all the amazing benefits of apple cider vinegar.
Trust me on this.

3. The perfect after workout snack. I get muscle cramps.
Bananas help.

4. Bubble baaaaaaath!
Usually a good idea.
Almost always ends up like this.

.
.
.
.
.
It's good to be back.
.
.
.
Oh and I am on the market for brand new black capri length
yoga pants. I live breath and die for black capri length yoga pants.
I have only found one perfect pair in my life and sadly they don't cut it anymore.
Heeeelp! I need a new perfect pair!
Suggestions?

She can't live without: 2 things

2011-10-03T19:43:00.001-04:00

Well.

I found it.

The heavens opened up to me at the Walgreens

down the street from my work. I went in on my lunch break

looking for anything I could find for 5 dollars. Sometimes don't you just

get the urge to spend 5 dollars? And always don't you feel this way at Walgreens?

Well the heavens really told me that I needed to spend it on this life changing lip balm.

Aquaphor has always had my heart, but guys! Aquaphor lip repair and I are totally dating.

We are in a full on committed relationship.

I love it so much I want to marry it.

I am bringing that saying back.

My co-worker Lily just got back from

visiting Moscow Russia where she was born and raised.

A few weeks before her trip I was telling her about my wedding ring rash

that has been ongoing for the last year. She told me that she knew just the trick but

that I would have to wait until she got back from Russia to help.

Well, a few weeks passed and she finally came back from Russia with

a small tube of cream that she so graciously gave to me!

This cream is seriously manna from heaven.

It is an herbal cream that I kid you not

CAN CURE ANYTHING!

Burns, cuts, acne, bug bites, and.....

RASHES!!!

I don't even like explanation points guys!

But I am using them!

I love Lily, and I love Boro Cream!

Oh but the cream smells like my grandmas bedroom

and I accidentally got some in my mouth last night.

Ruh roh.