newlywed recap// 3 months

So, I'm a little late on this post. Ive been sitting on the idea of writing this for a few weeks because i kinda didn't know how to go about it. I wanted it to be real but real for me equals being frank and over sharing and i know Geoff wouldn't appreciate that. But i didn't want to be fake and say its all sunshine and giggles either. So i think Ive managed to draw that fine line between being honest and still respecting the privacy of our marriage and the intimate stuff.

Some days I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that him and i are a team for forever. And let me say, we are a kick ass team together. We are now at the point where we just both start working without having to say anything and we get stuff done. I'm still learning that he is a grown man and doesn't need my direction on everything. Crazy concept for me to grasp. Ive just never really seen a self sufficient man before at home. My mom always did everything to take care of my brother and step dads.

Ive always wanted to be married since i can remember. I though that it would be awesome to live with the guy you trust with everything, your best friend, love, companion and that all my insecurities would disappear, and God would just be the center of it all. But it doesn't actually happen that way. Ive realized that yes, it is amazing and fun to live with my husband and play house, but, my insecurities haven't gone away. They've more shape shifted into different ones. Not that he doesn't do a good job of making me feel loved and safe, its just that I'm a human and sometimes my brain goes to worse-case-scenario on auto and i cant seem to flip that switch to off. I also didn't realize that you have to actually work at keeping God at the center of the marriage. At least for us. I love hanging out with Geoff and if hes home i usually just want to be in the same room as him (remember its only been 3 months) still. So finding that time, alone, when i can just talk and hang out with God has been challenging for me. Before we were married i had my mornings, evenings, and late nights to myself and would be able to talk with God. Before we were married i thought that when we did get married things wouldn't change so much because of the fact that we are always together. But, now, in retrospect, i can see we weren't together nearly as much as we are now and i have to discipline myself to leave and take that "me" time. It benefits us both. Luckily (sorta), Geoff has only been home from touring about a month and a half worth of time since we've been married. So Ive been able to get lots of alone time when hes gone.

Its gotten even harder when he leaves now. Before we were married it didn't hurt when he left and i was totally fine and cool with it. I missed him, ya, but not like it is now. I think its a combo of living in a new, unfamiliar area, no friends right up the street or coming over for visits and the fact that this is now our home and its not home without him. I get excited for him when he leaves for tour because its for ministry and they are always showing people Christ's love who have a serious misconception of what that looks like. But I'm also so bummed because I'm sleeping alone, coming home to a empty house and for the first few days all i want to do is bum it at home on the couch till hes back! BUT, when he does leave i tend to eat way healthier and exercise more. I bought a few of the Biggest Loser Workout DVDs and since the first time i caught Geoff trying to video tape me working out... he cant be trusted. Plus, the guy has a metabolism every girl dreams of  and he can eat whatever he wants without worry of getting fat. Meanwhile I have a metabolism of a old old woman. I've started eating as much raw foods as possible (with the exception of grilled chicken) and have lost weight and my stomach has never felt better!

Other things I've realized since marrying Geoff:
-I will never be able to have a son named Beau (Bo). Because really, who wants to do that to a child- Beau Brouillette? and i really liked that name...
-My childhood dream of a shorter last name will never happen. Its ONE LETTER LONGERR. Oh well, at least its at the top of the alphabet.
-I still feel like a perv buying condoms. Not that i was buying them before, but this one time, it was a few days before our wedding and we were at the pharmacy and i was at the counter picking up my birth control pills. Geoff comes walking up and slams down this Costco size box of condoms! And the pharmacy technician is this guy i went to high school with but we aren't really friends, more acquaintances, and Ive been getting my birth control from this guy since we were like eighteen and i always thought, this guy probably things I'm a slut because i use birth control. So when Geoff, lost in the thrill of being able to buy condoms, slams down that box, i turn bright red. I explained to my high school acquaintance-friend that we are getting married in a few days and he laughs and tells me hes getting hitched in may and we all start chatting it up and condoms are just building friendships!
A few days ago we finally ran out (heyooo) and i had to get some more before Geoff came home. 3 months married and i still feel like a perv buying them.
-Watching Geoff play video games has become increasingly less interesting...
-Toothpaste cleans a diamond ring better than ring cleaner. So in the morning when i brush my teeth, i brush the ring.

We are still in the process of getting our minds to remember that we aren't two lives anymore that its one now. Not that we weren't considerate before but its more an issue with money. Like if i wanted to start a membership here and he wanted to buy something expensive there, we are still getting used to checking in with the other on that. And boy, has money never been so tight as its been these past few months. God's been blessing us with just enough to make ends meet so we are making it but with a lot of superficial/social sacrifices. We cut back on eating out, gas, buying clothes, going to the movies, pretty much buying anything. We've been doing really great at it really. It just sucks sometimes because with our friends, going out and eating is a very social thing and we're not doing that as often as we used to. Geoff was unemployed for 3 weeks so that hit our bank account pretty hard but now hes working for my family 3 days a week in the shop making things with steel and being manly. Let me tell you, my husband looks so sexy working out there. Just sayin'... So hopefully once this tour season is over we will have a second income that will come in more consistently. Thankfully, Geoff made us each save up a lot of money before we could get married and its all come in handy.

Babes. They are still on hold for us for about 4-5 years. Not only are we petrified to have one but i dont think we are mentally or financially ready anytime soon. Only i will say this, seeing our friends with babies does me make excited to have one in the future with him. Ive never felt that before until recently. We joke about what names to name them and how we only want boys. Well that last part isnt a joke.One thing that worries me about having a kid with Geoff is that hes too loving and wont be the disciplinarian. He just wants to be the cool dad and the favorite. I can see that now in how he treats June. Im always the one to enforce rules and while he just wants to let her do whatever. 

Another thing we're realizing how we both argue and fight. He is usually silent and wont talk till he's ready (which is about 20-30 mins). When i get my feelings hurt, i want to talk about it till i feel better which doesn't really work with him so its still a learning process for us. Some space is usually the answer. Then we talk it out.

So, all in all, this time in our marriage is going great. I know I'm learning more and more about him and myself all the time. Marriage isn't as easy as i thought it would be, and i really thought i had over thought it enough and realized what it would be like. I'm still in awe of who i married all the time and how much i love him and he actually loves me. Hes more than i ever expected and knew that i wanted and i thank God endlessly for Geoff.

Here is a video of a conversation between geoff and i.
I was initially just trying to capture him singing while playing CODMW2 buuut it just got better so i kept it recording.
He had no idea the whole time it was taping, i promise! When he finally saw it on my computer last night he died laughing at himself.
so NSFW. a few f-bombs and such.



Be blessed,
Mrs. B.

Something you don't see everyday

...let alone on a company invoice.

Isaiah 58:11 (New International Version)

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

people watching

its just a natural tendency for me. and not because im being negative or judgmental or something like that. im just a curious person i guess. 

last Thursday my mom scored Geoff and i 4 tickets to the angels v. dodgers game so we decided to ask my big-little-brother and his wife to come with us and make it a sibling double date first for us. the seats were amazing! 23 rows up from third base and a healthy mix of fans for both teams. its been almost two years since my mom gave me these seat tickets and last time we had them with had the drunkest 4 people in front of us (check out my bday in 2008 post).

 
Wendell is still the old man in charge of our section. hes seriously the friendliest man and kinda looks like sinatra to me. most people in our area are season ticket holders (thats how we get them) so these people all know each other. Wendell even brought pictures of his daughter and her kids to show the people sitting next to us.






  

arf! arf!

 
This is the old man who was sitting behind me screaming "WHO LET THE DOGS OUT!?" followed by two wimpy barks that a sounded like a squeaky toy.
 <--------






 
 

waiting for the swing

This is the older gentleman is who swooped into the chairs in front of us once the actual ticket holders left to get food. Wendell let it slide because apparently they are buddies.

The original people in front of us were overly friendly. They heard us talking about how good their Ruby's food smelled and the mom offered us their chili cheese fries! Who does that these days?! really kind people, thats who! or child molesters. but i wasnt getting that vibe from them.

mmmmmmm

Geoff was working out in redlands that day and since we got the tickets around noon he asked that i pick up clothes and his shoes to change into at my brother house. well, i forgot. so Geoff had to sport his "dad shoes" in shorts.
hawt stuff. 

show some love this sunday

One of my best friend's good friend's brother died on June 11th. He was a police officer doing his job and was killed in the line of duty leaving behind his wife, two young kids. Natalie is putting on the fund raiser this Sunday @ 7:30 in corona at The Alibi for Tom's family.
The Alibi is not giving a percentage that night, just letting us use their restaurant. There will be a lot of raffles with some really good prizes, Jason from ToDieFor will be DJ-ing, Desserts, and fun fund raising going on all night!   
ALL the money we make is going straight to Tom Coleman's family.
I really hope you can make it out for a bit and show some love to this family! 

p.s.- I have (3) $10 gift certificates for The Alibi i got off restaurant.com so you can spend less to eat there. just let me know if you want one!

messy messy

the clutter in our house is taking over...

office clutter

dirty kitchen

dining table turned into junk yard

i think most of it is all the junk mail we get on the daily...
i think some of it is because geoff and matt were home all day everyday last week waiting for work to come in and to find out if baby green would be born soon enough for the guys to play in KY... so stuff started piling up.
i think it couldve been because geoffs been focusing on the yard when hes got free time...
but ya, its unexceptionable and on friday night i had planned to clean the place up but came down with some sickness and couldnt do anything but lay in bed and watch whale wars. saturday was the same but with dogs 101 instead. i hate being sick. i had to call in sick on a wedding i was working with In The Now for the first time. made me feel worse. but im feeling better today. my nose is just constantly running and my ears are plugged up but its an improvement.

so, i havent told you yet! im sure a few of you are wondering who this "matt" i just wrote about is... Matt is SG's drummer for the rest of this summer and he is from TX and living with us while hes out here. travis was offered a job working for his parent's company and is no longer with SG. luckily, they found matt and he flew out here and is working out and fitting right in with SG. hes a really sweet dude and he got married 4 days before flying out to CA! crazy, i know! ive got to talk to his wife a few times over the web cam and she seems like a doll! hopefully she can come out and stay with us for a while too.
and yes, matt is in "the stinky room" but its not the stinky room any more. thankfully. 
finally, one day geoff and i decided to pull up the carpet and this is what we found:

a 3'x4' oval of june piss.

a lot bigger than it seems

geoff shampoo'd the crap (no pun intended) out of the back side of the carpet and replace the mat underneath and the room's scent instantly improved! it was a ridiculous amount of dog urine and thats what happens when husbands sleep in while the wife is at work and the dogs gotta wizz  :)   
so ya, back to matt, hes a sweet, smart dude and a clean, fuss-free roomie living in the habitable guest room of our house.




note: we are not dirty people. honestly. im a lazy germaphobe and geoffs a neat freak. life happens. also, i cleaned the house on sunday night so its safe to come over for a visit <3

june gloom

june gloom//weather

june gloom//pup

on Thursday Geoff left on a turn around trip to a fest in KY. while hes been gone ive caught a serious sinus infection or something and have been pretty much in bed 24/7. junes had no one to play with or entertain her. so shes been pretty lethargic and chasing light beams has become her new favorite game. its so pathetic and cute at the same time.

yesterday, after being cooped up for 2 days in the house i went to Micheal's to try and re-create a yarn wreath i saw on etsy. $30, 2 dexter episodes and one messy living room later i got this:

this is what im going for:

...i'll let you know how it goes....

any tips on how to make my felt roses look like those?!

junes first beach trip

so, after weeks of begging and talking Geoff into taking June to the beach he finally said "lets do this!". so we did.

head out the window = heaven

we decided to take the Ortega hwy over the mtns to San Clemente since from our house its the most scenic and fastest. i drove us the way there so i could go slow-ish and not get June car sick and im actually more familiar with that road than Geoff (shocker). there were signs posted everywhere saying no dogs allowed on the beach but i didn't care. it was almost 7pm, no one was hardly around, and i just really didn't care. but Geoff was kinda spazzing about it and worried we'd get a ticket. we never did. its so nice down there. i like south orange county beaches over HB, Newport, etc. less people and its prettier looking. but, HB has the only dog friendly beach in the area. i digress...

Her first interaction with the sand was not very pleasant. she went head first into it (which is the norm for her when she has her "gentle leader" on. she tries to remove it that way), sand in her mouth and half her face. so i ran her down to the shore and had the waves wash up to her paws. she freaked. booked it away from the water so fast! i think the loud noise of the waves crashing and the initial shock of water hitting her paws was just too much. i was holding on to her leash (we kept her leashed the whole time. im still not comfortable with her unleashed out in the open like that. espesh if someone else comes around with their dog unleashed) so she pulled me out of the water and back to Geoff. i tried running her back to the waves again but as soon as we got close she planted her legs into the sand and wasn't budging! shes def not a beach dog. bummer. i really wanted to frolic in the water with her. so after walking around for a while we split and Geoff drove us home.

bffs4eva

not that hes a bad driver but she did get sick on his watch haha. about 5 mins from our house i noticed she was moving a lot in the back and then i noticed she started sniffing around. when she does that its a bad sign. i even told Geoff shes going to get sick and to slow down on the turns. as soon as i said that, BAM. BARF. in the back corner of my car. it was orange and watery (dog food + water). June has this look on her face like, im so sorry, i didn't know what to do! and with a cute face like her i just cant get mad at her for it. but i did fold the back seats up trapping the barf and her in the trunk area (its big enough) so that it didn't roll forward and get in the seats. i moved to the back and just pet her to let her know im not mad and to comfort her poor tummy. AND to keep her from eating it. as much as i wanted her to clean up her own mess, that's just wrong. haha.

the aftermath.

Geoff nearly threw up on the mess as soon as he got out of the car and looked at it, which meant that i had to do the honors. i did what i could but my car is getting detailed as i write this post haha. someone at Lenny D's is getting a good tip today!

hand made things i love

i have some extremely talented friends. case and point:

Nicole: aka knitcole.
She made me these robots for my wedding by hand! she is so talented with many other mediums of art and could crochet you a bike or whatever you little heart desires.

Knitcole even put magnet in their hands

looks like they just got caught making out

Kristin: Fox Hole Jewelry.
Shes has, to me, one of the hardest jobs in the world. A nurse at a children's hospital. But sometimes when shes not saving little kids lives or hanging out with her rockstar bf shes making her own jewelry. Kristin posted this on twitter and im pretty sure thats how Fox Hole Jewelry was born.



Camille: i dont know anyone who hasnt instantly fallen in love with camille, her hubs and her adorable son. she made these sweet pillow cases for geoff and i. she knows of geoffs love for sharks and mine for jelly fish!

Kaelah: ive only recently started following her blog (thanks nicole) but i just love her and her style. she has an english bulldog that needs eye surgery and after losing almost everything in the nashville floods shes started raising money for it on her etsy. like this cloth flower and headbands, hairclips and bows.
not my actual friend in real life, but still, its hand made cuteness that i love.

florida + kristina - REMIXXX

so in a random act of crazy kindness a stranger on youtube found the video i made for florida and kristina and was so moved by them that he decided to remake the video clip with some new music, new editing and some star wars inspired text. i wondered, how did this guy know that florida loves star wars so much? then i remembered fla was wearing a shirt and hoodie that were star wars related haha.
i had initially uploaded it on youtube but because of the song not being my own or something youtube wouldnt allow the music play but i just left it there anyway.
i present to you, "Epic Tear Jerker - Stranger Proposes" by, TimesWatcher

*i did not have anything to do with this. seriously.

the stinky room

creepy hallway picture of the stinky room

to make a long story short: we think something died in the walls of our guest room.

when brett, my little brother, first heard me say that he thought i was talking about a person that was buried in our walls. but let me clarify: we think an animal (rat, mouse, etc) died recently in the walls of our guest room.
the smell started last week just days before my dad + fam were coming in from CO for my bigger little brothers wedding. perfect timing! at first i thought june might have pee'd in it the room while geoff was in the attic setting up our ceiling fan. but he shampooed the carpet in the room the smell just got worse!
ive called exterminators and all they said they could do was rip open the walls but there's no guarantee that they will find anything and ive called 2 home restoration companies and they both have bailed on coming over to our house this week. on monday this one company is going to come over and see what they think the smell is coming from. 
so for now my hobby room has become the new guest room (not complaining) so my step mom and rory didnt have to sleep in the stinky room. but geoff uses the closet in the stinky room and im hoping that smell doesnt stay in his clothes or he goes without them. either way, i win.

so for now the window is always open in that room but the door is always shut and we are hoping that whatever it is will decompose fast, if it is even an animal causing that smell. neither of us know what dead animal smells like. but if you have any advice on what to do or who to call, please let me know!

in other news:

• florida and kristina are engaged in case you missed my last post! so if you get an invitation from a "Andrew Thacker" dont be confused. 
• my brother james and his high school sweetheart, shannon, got married last weekend at a beautiful winery in temecula! so happy for them both! 
• last weekend wouldve been 2 years of dating geoff but now that we're married idk if you count that stuff anymore...?
• started to design the branding of our soon to be film production company: Shutter Films.
• i had 6 kids around me at one time last saturday and ive moved our 5 year plan to 8! yay for babysitting-birthcontrol.
• my life is moving faster than i can keep up with so sorry on the boring posts and lack of them and photos. i didnt even get any of my brothers wedding because we were so busy the whole weekend running around. 3rd wedding we've been in this year.