Dinner in 15!

Working retail isn't the most condusive to a domestic life.  Working 9 hr shifts 5 times a week (plus a 30 minute drive back and forth) doesn't make it easy to have dinner on the table every night.  The other night I got home from work and collapsed on the couch.  Tad came in and said hello and then retreated back into his man cave to give me some time to cool down (good man).  About an hour and a half later Tad send me a text asking about dinner.  I had just worked for 9+ hours dealing with annoying screaming customers and had no patience to slave over the stove for an hour preparing dinner.  Tad said he wanted pasta , I had no intentions on going to the grocery and no pasta sauce in the house (we eat that much that we ran out) so to Google I went.  And success was found!

Creamy Bow Tie Pasta

• 1 c uncooked bow tie pasta
• 1 1/2 tsp butter
• 2 1/4 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
• dash salt
• dash dried basil
• 3 tbsp 2% milk
• 2 tbsp chicken broth
• 1 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp sour cream

1. Cook pasta according to package directions
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in the oil, flour, garlic, and seasonings until blended.  Gradually add the milk, broth and water.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened
3. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese and sour cream.  Drain pasta; toss with sauce

This was seriously soooo good and crazy easy!  By the time the pasta was done cooking the sauce was done.  This recipe is a keeper and I will definitely be making it again!

3 Weeks and Going Strong

June 21st, 2014 was the most magical, beautiful, and perfect day of my entire life.  June 21st, 2014 I married my best friend.  We are young.  I am 22 and he is 23.  We were engaged for two years before we got married, and I was 19 when he asked my father's permission.  We got a lot of rude comments, unsolicited (and unwanted) advice, and wayward warnings.  I can't even begin to tell you how many people asked me if I was pregnant, as if that was the only reasonable explanation as to why we decided to get married so young.  We had our own reasons for getting married so young, and I don't regret it one bit.

I saw countless articles during our time being engaged about the hardships of being married.  And each time I clicked the link to see how to avoid these pitfalls and maintain a strong relationship with my soon-to-be husband.  But each time the items in the lists seems so trivial or common sense; talk about money, think of fun date ideas, have your own hobbies.  None of that seemed like things that would put our marriage at risk because we had been conquering those items for years.  And so far so good.  That is not to say that we don't have our problems, because we do.  But we have learned how to argue with each other, we can read each other's cues when we need space, or cuddles, we take time every day to talk about the important things.  I think my father said it best in his speech at our wedding, "Remember to set aside at least 10 minutes a day to talk about anything other than work, family, the household, or the relationship.  You fell in love without talking about these things; keep that a part of your life."  

We have been married for just over three weeks now and life couldn't be better.  That is not to say we haven't had a single disagreement, or faced some sort of challenge, but we knew what we were getting into when we decided to get married, even if it was at a young age, and we were prepared to face whatever challenge came our way together.

This blog is going to be a place of relief for me.  A place to vent my feelings.  A place to post recipes and crafts that I find and I don't want to lose.  A place for me to offer up any advice that I can to other newlyweds, or even couples that have been married for years.  And a place for me to ask for advice, because I am human, I don't have all the answers either.