This is one of those posts that I am mostly writing for myself. I never really considered a blog to be something I did for myself (rather, we blog for attention) until I was saying how I didn't feel like blogging one day, but I felt like I needed to, for our family and friends. That's when my best friend told me that I shouldn't blog for anyone but MYSELF (and I guess my husband too..) as a way of documenting our lives.
THIS GUY.
So if you haven't guessed already, this is going to be a post about how much I love my husband. It's a post for me to reflect back on when I am feeling like he takes too long to get out of the house when we're leaving, or when he's snoring too loud for me to sleep, or when he acts like a diva because he is hungry. A post where I remember not to take him for granted.
I am not sure where to start so I'll start at the beginning.
I was pretty sure that I was doomed to be with a crappy guy who I would probably end up divorcing. This wasn't really a self esteem issue, it was just based on the women in my family (my mom, my aunt, my grandma) and the men I had dated up until I met Taylor.
This was how I KNEW that Taylor had to be TOO good to be true. There had to be some horrible awful qualities that would definitely ruin my life.
I figured I had better move to Atlanta to be sure.
Moving to Atlanta sucked. I left a lot behind in Utah, including people who loved me. I remember one of the first days of being there I was at Institute at the church and I overheard some girls talking about how weird I was and they were surprised that Taylor was so crazy about ME. It really hurt my feelings, and I would be lying if I said it didn't make me hate them a little bit. Especially because it made me realize that probably a lot of girls felt that way.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? It didn't matter. They were rude and catty. But they were right. I am STILL surprised that Taylor is crazy about ME.
This is the part where I tell you what's so great about him.
BESIDES THAT HE IS SO HANDSOME
He is so sweet (some people call him gay), he gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, he will talk to anyone about anything, he takes SUCH GOOD care of me, he doesn't mind cooking dinner or doing laundry sometimes, he opens doors for me, he goes out of his way to make sure I get GOOD shampoo, he will help anyone, at anytime, no questions asked, he likes to spend time with me, he laughs at my jokes, he doesn't always say the right thing, which I love, because I know he's sincere when he says lovely things, he has never lied to me, I always know he will tell the truth, he gives Lux haircuts, he actually kisses and hugs me TOO MUCH (I would rather have too much, making people gag, than not enough), he likes children, he tells me I'm pretty, he eats what I cook even if it sucks, he lets me be who I am, he doesn't care when I fart on him, he always wakes me up to kiss and hug me goodbye in the morning, he fixes stuff, he likes my friends, he encourages me to do the things I love, and most importantly he cherishes my good qualities instead of focusing on the bad all the time.
There's actually like 1000 more great qualities about Taylor but we would be here for days.
If that made you WAY jealous, and you are single, here are some tips on how to bag a classy gentleman like Tayl Giddens.
1. Be funny and/or charming. 2. Be at least mildly attractive. (i.e. Brush your hair.) 3. Don't be a psycho.
Before I give a little update about the weekend events. I wanted to share some good news!
This may not seem like a big deal to anyone since I haven't really kept people totally informed about how Taylor's job was really going to work. His job was supposed to entail "extensive traveling", which was sad for me, but it was fine, because he had a job. Until I learned that it could mean we would have to live in other places for extended periods of time. This made me sad because all I really want is to have stability, and a place where we call home. So we weren't totally sure if we would get to LIVE in Savannah.
BUT today, we found out that his boss has decided to basically switch Taylor and another guy's job responsibilities so Taylor will mostly work at the office in Savannah! This might sound like a bummer to people who like to travel but this makes me REALLY happy. Especially because this decision was based on the fact that Taylor is married and the other guy is not, so he is more flexible. We are so blessed that Taylor found a job that pays well, has great benefits, and are understanding of family being important.
Anyway, back to our regular scheduled programming...
So Taylor's sister, April got here on Wednesday (she's still here). And then my cousin, Mallorie got here on Friday (she flew home on Monday). It's really great to have some familiar faces around!
Ever since we got married, Taylor has had a hard time letting go of the fact that we do not participate in Young Single Adult activities at church. So when he found out his sister was going to be in town during the big YSA Homecoming Dance in Birmingham (UK, not Alabama) he was ALLLL over that. So Taylor dragged us all up there on Friday night.
It was a little awkward being married at a YSA dance, but meh. We all had fun.
On Saturday morning we headed over to Salisbury to see Stonehenge. It was basically everything I expected it to be. BUT it was really cool to be able to say that we saw Stonehenge. Also, the weather wasn't ideal, but we had to pay money to look at rocks, so we were gonna make it count.
this picture makes me LOL.
After Stonehenge we stopped at restaurant called Little Chef. From what I gather, the restaurant is similar to Waffle House, but obviously not the same. When I ordered pancakes with a side of eggs the waitress thought it was weird, and I in turn, thought she was weird. Mallorie and Taylor got some delicious posh hot chocolate.
THEN we headed off to Oxford to explore the Castle. Which in all honesty, was pretty lame. Especially because we didn't even get to go to into the crypt like they normally let you. But they said we could come back for free, so at least that.
the view from the top of the tower was gorgeous though.
On Sunday after Church, we decided to take a drive through a couple of the Cotswold villages.
that is a SLUG. GROSS.
And then we even stepped into a church for an Evensong service. SO MUCH CHURCH IN ONE DAY!
After Evensong we headed home so that I could make dinner.
I don't really want to talk about dinner because it was a huge embarrassing failure. I tried to make this: Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce
But because of a tiny mistake, it changed the entire course of the dinner outcome. and I ended up making what I now call Accidental Apricot Chicken Pastry.
Everyone claims to have enjoyed it, but I think they were being nice. It was edible but not delicious. But oh well, no one starved.
I WILL REDEEM MYSELF AND MAKE THE RECIPE THE RIGHT WAY THOUGH.
Some of you only read this blog because you know Taylor, some of you read this blog cause you want to hear about our adventures in England, and some of you read this blog cause you know both of us but you haven't known me very long. Whatever the case, a thing about me is that September 19th is a significant day for me.
September 19th, 2003 is the exact date that my mom died in a car accident.
For those of you who don't like math, that's 8 years. For 8 years now, I have been dealing with something I thought I wouldn't have to deal with until I was really old. But, such is life. I'm not perfect, but I never turned to a life of crime or drugs to deal with the loss of my mother, so I think I did okay. I'm not crazy, and not always bitter. I don't even pity myself really. I know there are people with worse problems, and I also know that I am not the only person who's mom has died earlier than they would have liked.
Every year, until actually, this year, I have dreaded September, and particularly this day. But this year has been different. I have finally been able to accept that September is not bad luck, and September did not kill my mom. It's just a month, and even though it forces me to remember something painful, SO WHAT. It happened. I can't change it and I am tired of trudging though September crying and wishing it was over. So, I've decided that I am not going to anymore. I am choosing to be happy. And this year, instead of sadness, we are going to do happiness. We are going to be happy that we got to know her at all. So, I wrote an "essay" about my mom so that those who didn't know her, can get a little taste of what they missed, and those who did, can remember things about her and be happy:
I’ve often found that when a person dies, people feel the need to talk about what a great person they were, and focus only on the positive. Because, after all, death always makes people have brief revelations about what is really important in life. While I think this is all fine and dandy and good and great, I’ve noticed that sometimes, a certain dead person’s greatness is exaggerated. Someone who never laughed at anything suddenly had a great sense of humor or the guy who only cared about money and working died and became the kind of guy who knew what was really important and had his priorities in order.
Sometimes, naturally, my mom totally embarrassed me. One day in particular, I was walking to meet her at work after school in 6th grade. Normally I took the bus home, so this was not my regular routine. As I was walking there were some boys from school following me. throughout my school years, I was fortunate enough to deal with minimal bullying but for whatever reason these boys were throwing rocks at me (SO CLICHE). They weren’t necessarily trying to hit me with rocks but more just trying to tease me. One of the rocks ended up hitting me right in the forehead. It hurt SO bad. But I didn’t want them to see me cry so I think I turned and yelled something obscene at them and they stopped as I turned the corner. When I finally met my mom at the post office, I was crying and had a giant bump where the rock hit me. After she was able to calm me down, she made me tell her what happened. SHE WAS FURIOUS! “NO ONE IS GOING TO HURT MY DAUGHTER AND GET AWAY WITH IT!” I did not want to disclose names because I feared for their safety. But she finally got me to give her one name, and show her where he lived. I begged her not to do anything, but she assured me that she was just going to talk to his mom and make him apologize. When we pulled up to his house I was sick to my stomach, this was too much humiliation for one day. She let me stay in the car as she walked up the front door. To my relief, no one answered. When she got back in the car, she didn’t immediately drive away. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Let’s go mom...” I said. “I’m gonna leave his mom a note. That little dickhead is not going to get away with this..” As she wrote the note, I knew I was going to get crap for it at school. But I also knew there was no stopping her, they had thrown rocks at the wrong woman’s daughter and there’s was nothing that could be done to save them now. I don’t remember exactly what the note said, but the next day at school the boys made fun of me and my “goose egg” as my mom called it in the note. However, I did find out that the one boys mom called the other boys moms and they all got grounded. And they all ended up apologizing without prompting my from their mother. Even though it was briefly humiliating, they never bothered me again. I think most people who loved my mom have FUN memories with her. Most of the stories people tell me are about how much fun they had with her. This was not any different for me. Besides when she would make me do the dishes, or when I was being a brat and getting grounded (give me a break, I was going through puberty.) One memory in particular was when we were alone for the weekend. It was a rainy Saturday morning and I was about 8. My mom put on some music and I started helping her clean the house a little bit. It wasn’t long before Depeche Mode started playing and mom rushed to pause it. “WAIT! Come with me.” She said. I was confused but I followed her to her room where she put a flannel shirt on over her shirt and handed me one to do the same. I asked her what we were doing but she just said “You’ll see” we walked back into the kitchen where she showed me some dance moves and then pressed play. We danced like idiots in the kitchen to Depeche Mode in flannel shirts for about 30 minutes. And so that’s what I think of when ever I hear this song:
Unfortunately, I only got to have my mom around for 15 years of my life. But I am so grateful for the time I did get with her, and I am so grateful that she is the kind of person that everyone loved. She is the kind of person that no one just forgot about. I am so proud to have her DNA, and I take my job of carrying out her legacy very seriously.
The first time we went to the movie theater, I was pretty sure my English movie experience was doomed forever. We went to the Odeon in Oxford and it was gross. The popcorn was gross, and I don't even like popcorn. They only had Pepsi. No ice. The place smelled like pee and the theaters were small and the seats were crappy.
I never wanted to go back there, and I didn't think going to the movies was going to be something that we did while we were here. Which was kind of disappointing, because I really love going to the movies.
One Saturday, we went to the adjacent town, Didcot, for Taylor to get his haircut. It was here we would accidentally discover our town favorite local things, and (also not to ever get Taylor's haircut at a place called "The Cutting Bar" ever again.)
Cineworld and Prezzo.
Cineworld is a movie theater (cinema) that is closely modeled from American movie theaters. The popcorn is good, the place is clean, they have ice, the seats are comfy, and even better, they have bargain Tuesdays. And so that's how Tuesday's became date night.
Consequently, right around the corner from Cineworld, is Prezzo. A delicious little Italian restaurant chain. (I've found that the places we've eaten the most, have been Italian. Strange.) Prezzo has this amazing dish that just changed our lives, Penne Con Salmone. It's uH mAze ING. Loaded with slices of chile peppers, broccoli, oakwood smoked salmon, and FLAVOR. Sorry I am like drooling just talking about it. Oh, the life of a fat girl.
Anyway, so we have decided that our new tradition is TUESDAY DATE NIGHT: go to the movies for bargain Tuesdays and have dinner at Prezzo, where we will become regulars.
TODAY (WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 14th) Taylor's sister, April is coming to visit us for three weeks!! So she gets to come with us to Tuesday date night. PARTY!
Here's us getting ready to walk out the door this picture is creepy of me but Tayl looks good:
Also a new game we played in the car, make up potentially obscene lyrics to instrumental songs. Inspired by this song:
this really has nothing to do with married life. so if you only read this blog to lust over glam and glitz of married life, turn back now.
dear american friends,
as you may or may not know, September is greasy hair awareness month*. This is an issue that is very dear to me as I have battled an oily scalp for my entire post-pubescent life. In fact, my very best friend in the world, Jen, her earliest memories of me are my greasy hair in middle school. It wasn't that I didn't shower, it was that greasiness could not be tamed. Within about 12 hours of washing my hair, my hair became greasy. Eventually the severity lessened, but the emotional scars did not.
Fast forward 15 years, I am introduced to a product that will change my life:
DRY SHAMPOO.
I don't like to wash my hair everyday, it's not good for it and it makes me feel obligated to blow dry and style it. But on day two of a wash, when my hair has it's own oily plans, I can stamp out greasy hair forever. The first brand I ever fell in love with was Batiste. I tried the BigSexyDryShampoo and the Kenra dry shampoo, but neither compared to Batiste. THEN I DISCOVERED something even better, Batiste DRY SHAMPOO FOR BRUNETTES! I didn't have to tirelessly brush the white powder of my hair ANYMORE!
I loved Batiste, but it was next to impossible to find in the states. So I had to order it online. Then, I came to England and Batiste is everywhere! I literally shouted with joy in the middle of the store and Taylor had to stop me from buying 12 cans.
There are quite a few different brands, but as I have tried a few, Batiste not only smells the best, it is the best, and it's inexpensive. If you haven't tried, I suggest you head on down to your local beauty supply and/or drug store and pick some up. If they don't have it, you should tell them to get it. I DREAM OF A DAY WHEN BATISTE IS AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE IN AMERICA! Together, we can put a stop to greasy hair forever.
Thank you for listening.
-KYNSLIE
*Greasy Hair Awareness month is not actually a real thing.
Sometimes I like to frame questions to Kynslie so I can get a specific response like, "Compared to everything you've ever eaten in your life how were those crepes?" looking for the answer "better" because it avoids the use of the superlative "best" which is harder to get someone to say, or like when she complains about her feet hurting while we're supposed to be walking around having fun I ask, "How many of your feet hurt?" knowing that the answer will be both and it will immediately conjure up spirit-lifting images of nicole337 singing one of her originals, "Both of My Feet Hurt".
i love to spend time with Taylor. i love it. when i'm not with him, i miss him.
the only time this does not apply, is during GROCERY SHOPPING.
Grocery shopping is something that I prefer to do ALONE. I don't like grocery shopping with friends (sometimes friends are ok), children, or husband. For me, grocery shopping is not the same as just "going to the store". When I am grocery shopping, I have made a list, I follow that list carefully, and I might get some other items that aren't on the list at my discretion. This makes it so I don't get frustrated, and I don't end up in the store for hours and overall have a normal, pleasant shopping experience.
When Taylor comes with me, he does not adhere to my list. He might make it SEEM like he is going to adhere to the list because he pushes the cart and stays put while I load up the cart with items on the list. This doesn't last long. Before I know it he has wandered off into the cereal and/or bacon aisle and the cart is filled with stuff that looks like a small child picked out. Between tracking him down and keeping him from being distracted by treats and meats, I get frustrated rather easily.
Let me elaborate. This evening, while shopping at the local Waitrose, things were going really well. Taylor was pushing the cart/buggy/trolley through the fresh produce section while I loaded up with fruits and vegetables. (OMG Strawberries and Raspberries here are FANTASTIC BTW) We finished up, rounded the corner and I was picking out a salmon fillet when Taylor abandoned his cart pushing duties and was distracted by bacon. I went over to him and he had picked out some kind of bacon he had never tried. I allowed it. But then he tried to load up with several other kinds of bacon, I had to put my foot down. I am trying to eat healthier. I don't need 400 bacons in the house.
We pressed on, Taylor somehow slowed his pace and ended up behind me. At this point I realized I wasn't going to get anything done unless I continued going through my list without worrying about what he was doing. Not only did I not want to be in the store for very long, but they were closing. He was completely out of my sight as I was getting the eggs. I searched for him for a minute when I found him at the bakery putting the little baker girl to work getting him a slice of apple strudel. We had about 4 minutes and I needed baking soda and dijon mustard. So I sent him in one direction for the mustard with the cart and went to find the baking soda. I found what I needed pretty quick so went to go look for him. When I found him he was staring at a bunch of different indian sauces. He hadn't gotten the mustard. So I went to get it myself.
FINALLY we were done. We made our way to check out. BUT NOT BEFORE, my lovely TayTay got distracted by none other than
the wall of candy.
*sigh*
You might ask yourself why I go shopping with him if I prefer to go alone, the answer is that I am not allowed to drive the rental car since I'm not 25. I can walk to the store, but that really only works when I am getting a few things. [Ladies, don't take your independence for granted.]
Anyway, one last thing I wanted to share with you was this yum recipe I made tonight.
By halfway home I don't mean we just got out of prison.
I mean officially, today, we have been here for 44 days, and we have 44 more days to go until we get to go back to the old U.S. of A.
I remember waking up the first morning here alone (after Taylor went to work) thinking WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO? Unlike my dear husband, I resist change and I am a homebody. So this whole moving to the UK for 3 months was WAYY out of my comfort zone.
To be totally honest, I am still really homesick. I miss our puppy, our family, and friends. I miss the sound of hip hop on the radio, spanish moss, and crazy friendly rednecks. But nonetheless, I am still grateful for this experience. Not only have I been given opportunities I normally wouldn't have (like having a free place to stay in Europe), I think that it's really brought Taylor and I closer together. Aside from his 9-5 schedule, we mostly get to focus solely on each other. It's basically like our second honeymoon. We have no outside distractions or obligations. We just get to explore this new place together. In a way it's like we're doing it backwards, seeing a little bit of the world before we have kids, as opposed to after our kids are grown ups.
Anyway, this post is boring. There's no pics and nothing funny. Sorry.
My point is that even though I am homesick I am trying not to countdown until we get home because I want to work on living in the now.
Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you might miss it.
[Pardon my obscene play on words in the title. Inside family joke.]
As I've said in the last few posts, we spent the bank holiday weekend in Dover. You may be familiar with the White Cliffs of Dover via that song on guitar hero. This is that place. I was trying to find somewhere to go near the ocean that was within driving distance so I just randomly picked a place on the map, found a decently priced hotel. and then we were off.
Instead of giving you the play by play of the entire trip, I will just go through some holiday highlights and post some pictures.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Taylor runs into a parked car.
Saw an Indian guy peeing in a bush right in plain view.
The guy in the store on the ferry who sprayed 13 sprays of the cologne tester on his face .
Getting in an argument whilst playing Monopoly on my kindle in front of everyone on the ferry.
Spending 6 hours Touring the Dover Castle. Hunter.
Meeting the Scottish women who loved and mocked Taylor's southern accent. "MA'AM", they said (heavy on the A) and then laughed. Tayl loved this.
Staying up until 3AM watching Barbarella on TV thinking "Wow, this is incredibly entertaining and super easy to follow and so predictable" the entire time.
The scenery.
Going to France for a minute. (This all furthers the evidence of our extremely mediocre life together. We love it.)
I recommend visiting Dover, if you ever are in England with some free time. It's quiet and the white cliffs are beautiful. I dunno, maybe we just tend to like the vacation spots that old people like. Places with more history and less partying. But such is the life of a young Mormon couple living outside of the bubble of Provo.
Here are some pictures. Enjoy.
Our hotel, Best Western.
White Cliff Country
Meadows and whatnot. ("That bird next to the bus must be huge" That's not a bus)
Secret wartime tunnels under Dover Castle. Hitler had Dover Castle on a list of sites not to bomb, so he was unwittingly protecting some of the British headquarters.
Minivan tour of UK
White boy, white cliffs
View from hotel room
Windsurfer!
*sorry that you mostly only ever see my mug on the pictures.
