I'm Pretty! And This Is a Gun!

So one weekend we were going to go to a local gun and knife show.


But we were too late.

(The boys are supposed to look sad here. Mari accidentally made Wayne smile)

So we had a gun show at Wayne's house instead!

This is the picture that inspired the title.


Art and Wayne look pretty Bad A, don't they?


Mari......doesn't exactly look Bad A.


A couple of weeks later, we had an early Thanksgiving with Wayne's grandparents. The guys and I did some target practice on a couple of innocent pumpkins.







Yup, that's me. Shooting a gun. I hit the target. :) Then I stopped.

This is definitely a first for me. I guess it's a little redneck, huh?

Meme: 2008 At A Glance

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
I got married. I moved to a another country. I went hiking. I tried sushi. I deadlifted 115% of my body weight. I played a World War II board game. I watched a UFC fight. I made dinner. I shot a gun. (Pictures to come)

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I remember that I made a resolution last year, but I don't remember what it was. I also learned that it's easier to keep a resolution if you start it at a different point during the year. There's so much pressure with starting a resolution on New Years, and that makes it harder to stick to it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Define "close". I know several people who gave birth, because we attended the same church.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope, but a friend of mine very recently lost his mother. I hurt for him and his family.

5. What countries did you visit?
Canada and the US. I've never been off the continent. I need to do that one of these days.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A car? I didn't need one until I moved, but so far we're surviving without a second vehicle. Honestly, we're not lacking for anything. We might have little, but we don't lack.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory?
March 15 (when the company I worked for declared bankruptcy) and July 19 (our wedding).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Planning a wedding.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not exercising.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I have bronchitis (but it's almost gone!)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A bed. It's SOOOOOOOOOOOOO comfy.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Sarah Palin. Now there's a good politician if ever one existed. Fighting corruption, even within her own party? Unheard of. She's got good, old-fashioned values, she isn't afraid of having unpopular opinions, and she handles everything with class.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The leaders of the political parties that lost in the Canadian election. Seriously you guys. Grow up. Just because you're unhappy with the way things turned out doesn't give you the right to try and overthrow the Prime Minister. Okay, I'm done.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Half went to the wedding. The other half went to living expenses once I moved.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I think we've established the fact that getting married trumps all other events of this past year. I'm trying to think of something else I got excited about too. Seeing Mount Rainier up close was pretty exciting/breathtaking. Having my mom and sister and niece here was tons of fun too.

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2008?
Unfortunately, Disturbia by Rihanna. Art and Wayne will never get tired of singing, "Bum bum be-dum, bum bum bee da dum" in the most annoying voice they can muster. Most of the time, a little dance goes along with it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier/sadder, thinner/heavier, richer/poorer?
Happier, heavier (by four pounds) and poorer (financially). But I feel rich. And I'm not just being cheesy. I love my husband more everyday, I have the best in-laws, amazing friends, and a wonderful church.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Being thankful.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying and stressing.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Having our friends and Art's siblings over. Lots of food, and a Secret Santa gift exchange. I think we'll also attend Mass with Art's parents on Christmas Eve (they're Catholic).

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Before I got married: Art. After I got married: Mom.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Every day. :D

23. *There used to be a question here, but it was so stupid, I removed it.*

24. What was your favorite TV program?
I've never been much of a TV person, but I like watching What Not To Wear.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Those market research people who keep calling for Joe, even though I've told them MANY times that he doesn't live here anymore, and would they please remove our number from their listings.

26. What was the best book(s) you read?
At first I wasn't sure I'd be able to answer this question, because I've read several, and they were all great. But I'm going to have to go with the book of Daniel, from the Bible. I did a Bible Study on it with my church, and WOW. It is JAM PACKED with amazing and powerful lessons and revelations. I still haven't blogged about it, because it's way too much for even a few posts. But I want to try and tell you some of the things I learned. Someday.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Do you mean that I started listening to an artist I've never listened to before and now I love them? I guess Muse. Art introduced me to Muse, and now I like them.

28. What did you want and get?
A perfect wedding. And a spousal visa.

29. What did you want and not get?
A greencard. We were misinformed about what my visa would allow me to do. We thought it meant that I could work. But we were wrong.

30. What were your favorite films of this year?
I saw both Batman movies this year, and they were amazing. I also saw 27 Dresses, and I loved it so much, I bought it!

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 23, and I had to look back on my blog to see what I did. I know I was at Youth Group on my actual birthday. But the day after, we had a small party at home. We had dinner and watched the movie Fracture.

32. What's one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Well, it would have been nice to be able to work and contribute to our income, but I don't want to be ungrateful. God has been so good to us this year, it would be "shame on me" for complaining about anything. He always knows what's up ahead, and He's always taking care of us.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Before the bankruptcy, I was always dressed in office-appropriate attire. Once my job there was done, it was jeans and t-shirts and sweaters. Casual, sometimes even schlumpy.

34. What kept you sane?
God. And blogs.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I was going to make a reference to teenagers, but I know plenty of adults (my age and older) who obsess over celebrities. I am not one of those adults. Although I love Josh Groban, but that's not isolated to 2008. I will always love him.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
The election. Specifically, all the questionable associations, behaviors, and beliefs of Obama. But I promised I wouldn't speak of it again, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

37. Who did you miss?
My niece, Kiera (who is scooting now! Click on the link and watch the video). Also, my friend Kat. And she's calling on Thursday!

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Oh boy. I met a few of Art's friends and co-workers for the first time. But I would have to say Art's friend Cameron. I met him mere days before the wedding. He's a good one. I'm glad Art has a friend like him.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
I re-learned to trust in God when the future is scary and uncertain. But I suspect that I'll always be learning that lesson.
For instance, not having enough money to buy toilet paper is not the end of the world.
Neither is having your car break down.
Neither is having your brother-in-law's car break down shortly after that.
Neither is losing a job (that happened to both of us this year).

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"In Christ ALONE my hope is found, He is my life, my strength, my song.
This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, and strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all - here in the love of Christ I stand.

Pictures of Our Humble Abode

Are you ready for another all-picture post? Warning: there are lots of pictures. It's hard to capture your living space accurately without a 360 degree camera. But I tried.


So this is our house from the outside, standing in the street. You would think from this picture that we live in the middle of a forest, but trust me: there are houses beside and behind. It's not a particularly pretty neighborhood, but it's quiet.

Those are the lovely rhododendron bushes I had to trim drastically. I'll take pictures of our yard again in spring, when they're in bloom. And that's not our car. And now there's snow on the ground, and that one tree doesn't have leaves, but other than that, it looks the same. Oh, and take note of the "front" door. We don't use that door. We use the door in the carport.

This is what you would see if you were standing in our front door (the door we actually use). I was literally standing in our doorway when I took this picture.

Kitchen is to the left, laundry room is to the right. Kitchen table is shoved in between the washing machine and the wall. Just in case it wasn't obvious, we don't eat at it. We put our mail and laundry stuff on it. Just beyond is our living room.

This is our kitchen from the opposite side.

You can see all our crystal sitting on top of the cupboards. It's up there because we don't use it. Not exactly earthquake-safe, but thankfully, earthquakes only come around once or twice a century.

I had to sit on our washing machine to get this picture. Small house much?

If you zoom in on the wallpaper, you can see the flag pattern. Our house has a slight nautical theme. Sail boat wallpaper trim, flags, and buoys. And blue carpets.



Still sitting on the washing machine. Don't look at the rotten bananas on the counter. I'll make banana muffins one of these days.

And then I had to sit on the counter to capture this one. Behold our laundry room.



This is our living room. Taken from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. It also happens to be our dining room.

That wood stove is our "fake fireplace." It heats so wonderfully, but we're not using it this year. It runs on propane, and propane is EX-PEN-SIVE.


Just another view of the left side of our living room. These pictures were taken at night, but right now, during the day, those blinds are open, and we can see our front yard and the street. As I'm typing this, I'm waiting to see the mail lady pull up in her tiny jeep and put something in our mailbox.

Take note of the Christmas tree. All three feet of it. There are a few more decorations on it now, and a few presents underneath.



Living room from the other side. I am sitting on that couch as we speak.



Living room again, but this time standing by the wood stove. Art spends a lot of time at that desk. He's sitting there right now, actually.



Standing in our bedroom door. The comforter was free, from Art's parents. At least it wasn't the "orange one" I heard about. It actually kind of matches. Not that I care. It's warm, and it was free, and that's all that matters.



Beside the bed, left of the doorway. Night stand, and a closet. That closet has exactly zero items in it that belong to me. In fact, the only thing is this entire room that belongs to me is my pillow. And yes, we have a football nightlight. Is that a problem?



At the foot of the bed. Art's laundry baskets, desk, and bookcase. Things you can't see: all the clothes I threw behind the other side of the bed. We don't own a dresser, so Art is forced to keep some of his clothes in laundry baskets on the floor.



This is what I see from my side of the bed. Cool.

This is our bathroom.

Less nautical theme, more "green" theme. If you could see exactly two centimeters right of the edge of the picture, you would see the open door. That's how tiny our bathroom is.



One cabinet below the sink, and one cabinet above the toilet. Art loves his shaving and facial care products.

At least it's really easy and quick to clean.

If you walk out of the bathroom and turn right, you'll see this: the spare bedroom.


Also known as "my" room.

That's my laundry basket, and everything I own is in the closet that you can't see, just to the right. My room/the spare room is also a storage room. I know it's bad to refer to them as "my room" and "his room", but that's the way it works right now.

And that's the end. That's our house. And it's almost never this clean (but I try).