My Life As A Youkstetter - Year 1

Well here we are. I have officially been a Youkstetter for one year now.

The first few months we were married life seemed to move along at a snail's pace. As soon as we were out of the parent's basement - and off to Boise - life has been a whirlwind since.

Seth & I celebrated our anniversary LAST Sunday (the 21st). Actually, I shouldn't say celebrated that day. We both worked. My MS bike tour happened to be the same weekend as our anniversary. Crappy timing. However at 7:00 am when Seth walked up to my starting line (he was there to serve as one of my medics) I ran (well crept initially) and jumped into his arms. We spent the rest of the day out on my bike route but did manage to get one Anniversary picture of us in.

Once bike was over I had to head back to Boise. Which was a bummer considering that all of the Youkstetters were in McCall for family vacation. But alas, I had a supply truck to unload, deposits to make, follow up emails to send, etc.

On my way out of town I did stop by and say hi to the family. Seth surprised me with a small box.

Jewelry!?

Oh yes yes yes!

I was elated to open the box to find the most precious wedding band ever.

When Seth & I got married we paid for the majority of our wedding - well I did - Seth wasn't working. Seth was finishing PA school and didn't have money for a wedding band. We talked about getting one at our 1 year anniversary - so he did.

I was so happy! For Seth's gift I surprised him with this really dark, cool print he loved from Comic-Con. I had it matted and framed. It's a dark Alice In Wonderland and it is pretty damn awesome.

On my way home to Boise I thought how odd it was to not even be sleeping in the same bed as Seth on our anniversary. We plan on celebrating officially later this fall. Maybe a trip to Paris or something!

That was our anniversary in a nutshell. No cards, no fancy dinners, no traditions (except we did have a bite of our wedding cake a week later).

After being married for a year to Seth, here are a few things I have learned:

1. No matter how relaxing of a day Seth has had, he will ALWAYS sigh and grunt loudly when getting into bed. Then he'll get excited and kick his feet under the covers.

2. Seth will always turn on the shower at least 3-4 minutes before he intends on getting into the shower.

3. My OCD cleaning means I will make the bed every morning, pick up the socks he pulled off right before climing into bed (and groaning), and straighten the pile next to the bed.

4. We have the ability to pull each other out of deep work funks. Trust me, we have both had rough times adjusting to the new jobs. I realize I don't work at a prison, so he definitely has more to complain about.

5. We have, as anticipated, each gained some of the "newly wed" weight. We just can't resist the Pac-Out burger joint across the streeet.

6. We will always fight over the last pickle in the pickle jar and even will fight over who gets to drink the pickle juice.

7. No matter what dinner I make, Seth will have a "suggestion" on how I could make a better meal. He doesn't mean it in a rude way, but I don't always take it the best.

8. It is possible to live life like you are in a musical. We make up songs about everything - and tend to sing them in a rock ballad type of way. "Becky is super grumpy, she doesn't want to do the dishes - today." or "You always wake me up when getting ready for work - today". for some odd reason "today" has to make an appearance in every song we sing.

9. It is possible, and more comfortable to sleep in a full body spoon than I realized. I have a hard time sleeping without Seth in bed.

10. We will argue at least once a day about the temperature in the house. I want it colder, Seth inevitably wants it warmer.

11. We are both oddly comforted by Harry Potter. It's true. If Seth is having a bad day, I will read to him before he goes to sleep. It helps take his mind off things. If I am stressed, we will turn on Harry Potter and fall asleep watching it. It's awesome.

12. If Seth is around while I am getting ready in the morning he will always tell me what I am doing wrong. Example: "Don't wear makeup. You are so beautiful you don't need it." or "Why do you part your hair? You shouldn't part your hair!" This frustrates me as well. Should make me feel better right? It doesn't. It just frustrates me.

13. I may very well allow us to own a cat in the future. I'm sorry but if you got to hear Seth's Fritas voice you would be willing to have one too.

14. Seth is obsessed with shopping online. He will think of something that he wants to purchase and will spend hours researching the best item, and will work hard to find the cheapest item. I am an impulse shopper and will see something I want, and buy it.

15. An outing to Costco is very exciting. We love Costco, the food samples, the cheap electronics, the books, etc. We excitedly plan evenings around Costco jaunts. Oh and 52 inch TV is simply WAY too big for Seth. We then downgrande to a 45 inch and then I hear over and over "This is just too small. We should have kept the 52 inch"

16. We have learned that you don't always need groups of friends to keep you entertained. We have learned while living in Boise that we are the best of friends. We love golfing, running, biking together. We also love curling up on the couch to indulge in Watch Instantly Netflix. We enjoy going to dinner and acting like total food snobs. We love exploring in Boise. We miss our friends but we have learned that the two of us can be all we need most of the time.

17. Nothing is funnier than the male body. Seth makes a point to pose or dance in a goofy way when he gets out of the shower. Every time he gets out of the shower. I am not exagerrating.

18. No matter how chubby or unattractive I feel Seth will always tell me I look beautiful. I am trying to learn to believe him.

19. Seth makes me laugh every day. He thinks he doesn't but he does. I try to make him laugh too.

20. I love the guy. I am so glad we took the leap of faith and got married a year ago. I love being a Youkstetter and can't wait to see what our future holds.