Rock-a-bye Baby!

It's official, world, Keaton and I are having a baby! Perfect timing for Mother's Day!

I can't believe it! I am, of course, thrilled, but I'm still having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around it. It was a bit of a surprise. I mean, we were basically not doing anything to PREVENT having a baby, but we weren't necessarily trying down to the little timing details, either. We were just waiting to see what happened. I can't believe it happened so soon!

We found out on Friday, 23 April. Keat was in class and I was about to leave to pick him up. That was the weekend we were going to Sea World for his birthday. My period was a little late, so I decided to take a test just for the heck of it. I had a few minutes to waste, anyway, so I figured why not? Turns out:

Yep, it was positive. I thought maybe it was wrong (I realize now how silly that was but at the time I just knew it was wrong!) so I took a couple more just to "be sure":

Sure enough, they all came back positive! I was so excited. I remember just running around like an idiot gathering up last minute things with a silly grin on my face. I put together a little "Daddy gift" for Keat so I could tell him. We stopped at McDonalds to grab a bite to eat before we got on the road to Orlando. I was so anxious to tell him! He was pretty excited! It was so cute. I even took a video of it:

Telling Keat about our Baby! from Kara Z  on Vimeo.

I am so glad that he was as thrilled and excited as I was. I can't image if my husband wasn't on board with it! He's going to be such a great Daddy!

We told our families yesterday, for Mother's Day. We started the day at my parent's house, where Mom got a card from Keat and me and then another card saying "Happy Mother's Day Grandma!" and signed Baby Z. She was so cute when she opened it! She just screamed and cried and laughed all at once! It took the rest of my family a minute to figure out why she was acting so crazy!

After lunch we went to see Keat's parents, who we told in the same way. At first, his mom was shocked and couldn't believe we hadn't told them when they were in Florida for Keaton's graduation and commissioning! Then of course, they were both happy for us.

Today we told our Grandmas (the babe's Great-Grandmas) through Mother's Day cards as well, and they all cried, too. It was fun getting to tell everyone! It was kind of exciting to get to spread the news on Mother's Day! Our baby is already so loved!

2 Lt Z

As of Saturday, Keat is officially commissioned into the United States Army! I had never been to a commissioning before, but it was truly one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. I felt so patriotic!

I am honored to be an Army wife and couldn't be prouder of my husband!

Keat with my parents.

Keaton's grandpa was in the Navy for years. Officers receive their first salute from an NCO and Keat asked his grandpa to deliver his first salute. So cool!

Keaton and his sister.

My handsome soldier.

Keaton and the girls: His grandma, my mom, my sister-in-law, me, and Keat's mom.

The whole family.

9 Things

As of yesterday, Keat and I have been married for nine months! It hardly seems possible; time is flying. I don't usually take note of "month" anniversaries, but I thought I would share nine things I have learned about marriage so far.

1). Marriage is one of the most wonderful things a human can experience, but it is a lot of work as well. It's hard work, too, much harder than anyone truly told me before I was married. It definitely is worth it, though!

2). It is okay to not always go to bed at the same time as your spouse. This was something we were adamant about in the beginning, but I quickly realized it is much better for us both that Keat gets to sleep early (he rises early for PT). Since I have a hard time falling asleep, it makes us both cranky when I toss and turn and keep him awake. We've figured out a pattern where we read or watch TV together before bed, then I get up for a bit while Keat goes on to sleep.

3). Marriage is not what you see in the movies. Of course, I knew this, but still, there was a small part of me that hoped I would suddenly wake up every morning with perfect hair and no morning breath, and neither of us would ever feel the call of nature and stink up the bathroom. After the honeymoon, reality sinks in. After reality does sink in, however, you quickly realize that reality is not so bad! In fact, reality is pretty darn good.

4). The best thing Keaton and I decided was to never go to bed angry. That has saved us from excessive hurt on many occasions.

5). Communication is absolutely key. This one was very difficult for me, as I tend to keep my feelings inside, but it is so important to let your spouse into your deepest parts.

6). Assuming you have a good relationship, I don't think you can trust your spouse too much. There is nothing better than the security that no matter what, he or she will be thinking of you in every thing that they do.

7). It is important for each person to stay in contact with your families. Especially for us, being such a young married couple, I think it is vital that we maintain a good relationship with our parents.

8). Once you are married, don't forget the little things you used to do for your spouse. I remember when we were dating long-distance, we were always sending each other cards and emails and texts just to say hi. Things became a little more "business-like" after we were married, texting each other if we needed the other one to pick something up or to say we're on our way home, and never giving each other cards. I realized I really missed this! We've gotten back into our old habits a little bit more, and it's wonderful to get communication just to say hi. I think it makes both of our days a little better.

9). This is probably the most important: I will never learn everything there is to know about marriage - and that's okay! I am looking forward to learning more everyday, though!

Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

Okay, this is just a test post.

I realized a few days ago that my posts, while showing up under my account, are not actually showing up on the blog. I think I discovered the problem (user error, by the way!!). If this post does indeed post correctly on my blog, I will spend some time tomorrow re-posting everything from the past week and a half.

Just a head's up!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

As for me ...

This week I definitely did NOT forget to give my husband his Valentine's Day card. That must have been the same person who also forgot to give him his Christmas card - certainly not me. And if it were me, there'd be no way I still have NOT given it to him!

While Keat was gone for training this week, there is absolutely NO way I played "Words with Friends" with myself using both of our iTouches. Nope. I'm NOT too embarrassed in my skill -- err, lack thereof -- to play with a random person or with anyone else I know.

And my all time favorite thing I did NOT do this week ... Oh, boy. I needed to pick up some floss threaders while shopping this week (little blue plastic things that thread floss through my retainer so I can floss those teeth, too). While comparing prices, I figured it was better to pay the same price and buy Super Floss, which comes with the floss attached to a threader, rather than buy just the threaders and then have to purchase floss in addition. You know, the 50 cents for floss (after coupon) was just too much. I ended up saving $.50. The Super Floss definitely was NOT a lot thicker than regular floss. There is NO WAY that while flossing with said "Super" Floss my retainer came un-bonded on one side!! (For those of you who haven't had braces, it basically came unglued on one side.) This is something I had to get fixed; who wants a loose piece of metal poking into their tongue all day? Plus there was the risk of completely breaking the retainer if it wasn't repaired soon. There is NO way I called every single orthodontist and about ten regular dentists in the phone book and only one had an opening for the week. I did take the appointment, but there is NO WAY it cost $80.00 to get the retainer fixed! It would totally NOT be worth the saved $.50 to have to repair a retainer, so that definitely did NOT happen this week!

What did you NOT do this week?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Part I

I have been thinking a lot about respect lately and what it means to give and receive respect. I think it has a different significance to everyone.

According to Webster’s dictionary, respect means “esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability; proper acceptance or courtesy; the condition of being esteemed or honored“, but the things I perceive as respectful may be different to someone else.

My husband and I were talking about this the other day. I have been trying really hard to talk about my feelings with him (something that is very difficult for me) and not keep things inside like I’m used to. I had just spent the entire day cleaning the apartment from top to bottom. When I got to “his” room – no, we don’t sleep in separate rooms; it’s just our spare bedroom where he keeps all his Army stuff and game systems and does homework; he calls it the Man Cave – I couldn’t do any cleaning in it whatsoever. It was a mess. There was stuff everywhere. Granted, it’s all stuff that he uses on a weekly, if not daily, basis, but it was still interfering with my ability to do my job. I was kind of upset about it, but couldn’t figure out why. Later, when we were talking about it, it finally hit me: I felt disrespected when he didn’t keep this room picked up.

Keat had been having a hard time understanding why I was so upset just because there was some stuff out in a room I hardly even enter. But as soon as I said the word respect, he completely got me. It totally clicked. I went on to give him some lengthy explanation about how, because I feel called as a homemaker, I work extremely hard to keep the rest of our home clean, orderly, and comfortable. Because I strive to keep things in order, that one room disrupts everything and I feel like the rest of my work was all for nothing. (That may just be my OCD coming out!) I explained all this to him, but I could have stopped at the word respect. That was all he needed to understand how important this was to me.

Men crave respect. That should be a well-known fact. Men need respect. Ephesians 5:33 says “… the wife must respect her husband”. We are commanded to respect our husbands.

I think that men and women both need respect; however, I think men and women have entirely different ideas of what that means. My husband appreciates when I transparently show respect to him as the head of our household. When I submit to his will in any area of our marriage, that shows Keaton respect. When I take his advice on something, when I request him to pray for something, when I rely on him, even when I ask him to do something for me, he takes that as a sign of respect and shows that I see him as the leader in our relationship.

Respect is also important to me, but I see completely different things as respectful. To me, I feel that Keat respects me when he keeps the Man Cave clean. I feel respected when he listens to my ramblings at night even though they don’t interest him just because he knows it’s important to me that he listens. I feel respected when he prays for me without me asking him to.

Okay, wow, I just took a break to read over what I wrote and remind myself exactly where I was headed. Completely unplanned, look at how I described what Keat and I each see as respectful. Unintentionally, I used the word “show” when describing what Keaton appreciates and “feel” when saying what I appreciate. That right there may be the difference in respect for men and woman.

As a woman, I want to feel appreciated; that is what makes me feel respected. As a man, Keaton wants my actions to show him respect. That makes complete sense. Men are (typically) not very in touch with their feelings, so they probably didn’t even know whether or not they “feel” respected. It is important that men are shown respect. It is important that women feel respected. Without even knowing it, when I didn’t feel appreciated by Keaton, I in turn felt disrespected.

I used to claim to be “different” from every other girl (I’m really not an emotional person, things like holidays and anniversaries are not important to me, and I really am bad at talking about my feelings) but now I am learning to embrace the fact that I am very much a woman. Being emotional and “feeling” things like respect is not a bad thing!

I think it’s awesome how men and women were created to balance each other out. If both people needed to see respect to know it’s there, no one would ever be respected! And if both people wanted to feel respect no one would be respected.

It’s the perfect equation!

Thirteen on Thursday Plus One

14). My mom told me tonight that she reads my blog. That makes me happy!

Thirteen on Thursday

First 13 random thoughts to come into my head:

1). I was working on a post about respect, but I'm not finished with it yet. I want to think on it a bit more before posting so I decided to do this instead!

2). There are only two of us, but it seems like I'm always doing laundry! Actually, I only do it once a week but it just feels like a lot. It's probably because I have to do lots of loads due to all of Keat's PTs and ACUs. Man, they stink.

3). I can't wait to watch "16 and Pregnant" tonight! Is that bad? I missed the premier Tuesday so I'm getting caught up. Forty more minutes. Watching Olympic coverage and blogging until then.

4). I think my "status" on Facebook was the name of my aunt. For like four days. I was trying to look up her profile to see if her phone number was on there by using my iTouch. Instead of searching I guess I posted her name! Whoops!

5). It was so fun to watch Shaun White last night. Keat is a huge snowboarding fan, so he was rooting for him even before the Olympics started. His anticipation got me a little excited, too, so I felt a little invested in his runs. That trick thingie at the end was amazing. I don't know how they do that on snowboards.

6). My email is STILL not working. I can't get any messages to download onto my Mac. I'm STILL frustrated. I have someone I'm going to email for advice. If that doesn't work, I wonder if I can take it into the Geek Squad or something. Can they do stuff like that?

7). I made myself a huge To-Do list for this weekend. Keat is gone for training, so I figured I should get some stuff done. I've already done almost 1/3 of my tasks! Whoo-hoo! Now if only I hadn't done all the easy stuff first ....

8). Before leaving for the weekend Keaton took me to breakfast this morning. It was lovely. We should do that more often.

9). I just read an amazing article in Women's Health magazine. It's about abuse; the kind of abuse where women do not always know they are being abused because it's not physical. It really, really hit home. Not for me. For a dear, dear friend of mine who is in a damaging, abusive relationship but she can't see it. I cried when I read it. I still cry almost every day for her. Too bad crying doesn't fix things or she would have free a long, long time ago!

10). Wow, I shouldn't have thought about that. Now I'm sad again. God is in control. I recognize that. I know that beyond the shadow of a doubt. It's still hard though, so I'm moving on now.

11). It is so true what they say about gaining weight when you get married. I need to get in shape. I'm not sure I've actually gained pounds, because I can't remember the last time I weighed myself but I'm sure I have. I don't feel as good about myself as I used to.

12). Yes, I know there is an easy fix to this. Either change what I eat, how much I exercise, or both. I actually do pretty well on the days I work (I babysit Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday). I keep a log of what I eat and exercise while the baby is napping. For some reason it's just so much harder on the days I'm off. I should just get up and do something but most days I just don't want to. I'm stubborn.

13). Okay okay, fine. Before finishing my post about respect and watching my show, I'm gonna do some push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, squats, and lunges. Okay, actually not pull-ups. I need Keat to hold my feet for those and he's not here. I'll do everything else though.

I promise. :)

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

As for me ...

This week, there is NO WAY I stayed up until 3 am baking kale chips and making meatballs and sliders to freeze. I always plan ahead and get things done at a reasonable time, not the wee hours of the morning.

It also was NOT me who, while cleaning out the glove box in my husband's car, found the Christmas card I had bought for him for this past Christmas and apparently forgot to give to him. I would never do that, certainly not on our first Christmas together! And even if, for some reason, that had happened to me, I would NEVER quickly consider whether I could just keep it and give it to him next Christmas ... at least until realizing I had written "The first 6 months of our marriage have been fabulous!", at which point I would decide to just present hubby with said found card almost 6 weeks after Christmas. Who would do something like that?

It could be the same person who forgot to thaw out dinner not one, but TWO days this week. This person wouldn't be me, remember, because I do NOT forget things like that on my busy mornings.

There is NOT A CHANCE that there are still empty photo frames sitting around our house because I haven't ordered pictures yet. Considering we moved in here nearly 8 months ago, you can bet I have everything in its place, including all of our picture frames filled. Nobody, I repeat nobody is lazy enough to display empty frames for eight months. Especially NOT ME!

What have you NOT done this week?

Valentine's Day Extravaganza Day 8

Here it is, for the last day of the extravaganza: Ten Things You Love About Your Love.

1). I love his blue, blue eyes.

2). I love the way he never calls me "Kara" unless he's mad at me. I like this for two reasons. First, he uses cute little names instead like love or babe. Second, I can always tell when he's upset about something (which is hard to do with any man, but especially military men!) because he'll use my name.

3). I love that he is going to be in the Army and that he can't wait to deploy.

4). I love that he is never too "manly" to help with things like laundry or cleaning.

5). I love that he supports me 100% in whatever I might be doing, even it means being apart (like with all the travel I did for work for the first few months of our marriage).

6). I love that he's goofy. I laugh every day just because he's being silly and having a good time.

7). I love that he likes the way I cook. I'm still experimenting with new things and flavors and he will patiently try everything. I told him he has to be honest so I don't make something he doesn't like again, but there have only been 1 or 2 times he's said that. He generally likes everything I make.

8). I love that he always looks up what the weather is going to be the next day and tells me because he knows I never know. Since I babysit and like to take the little boy on walks, he lets me know how much I need to bundle up.

9). I love that he's a provider for our family. I think he takes pride in being the head of the household, and I admire and respect that.

10). I love that he wants to have children someday. There are so many of his qualities that I would love to see passed on to our kids, and I can't wait to see him as a father.

"I Wanna Be A Hippie!" Sunday

As I mentioned in this post, I am in the process of educating myself on "natural" living. I'm not sure yet how I personally am going to define that for myself and my family, hence why I am doing research.

What I learned this week.

For the month of February, I've been concentrating on researching organic food and the benefits of eating organic. I've been reading some books on the subject (I'll share which ones I think are most helpful later) and researching online.

Something I've found extremely useful are two lists: The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen. Several sources produce similar lists, so there are a few foods that vary depending on whose list you look at, but this is what I like the most (combined from all lists):

THE DIRTY DOZEN

These are food items you should purchase organic whenever possible.

1). Peaches

2). Apples

3). Strawberries

4). Pears

5). Grapes

6). Raspberries

7). Spinach

8). Bell peppers

9). Tomatoes

10). Celery

11). Potatoes

12). Cherries

THE CLEAN FIFTEEN

These items are typically OK to purchase conventionally.

1). Asparagus

2). Avocados

3). Frozen corn

4). Blueberries

5). Frozen peas

6). Cabbage

7). Garlic

8). Kiwi

9). Mango

10). Onion

11). Pineapple

12). Bananas

13) Broccoli

14). Watermelon

15). Papaya

I hope that helps as you do your grocery shopping! I carry the two lists with me when shopping.

How I was a hippie this week.

Keat might have made fun of me this week for doing these things, but I felt good about them.

I used an avocado masque for the first time this week. My skin felt so good and so soft afterwards! It's really simple:

Mash 1/2 avocado with 2 tablespoons olive oil

Apply to face and rinse once dry. You can also use it on your hair. Apply, then wrap hair in a hot towel and rinse after 20 minutes.

Make sure that you use an avocado that is room temperature. I used my avocado straight from the fridge, so at first it wouldn't blend very well on my face. Once it started to warm up it went a lot smoother. If avocados weren't so expensive I would do this a lot more often! (They were on sale last week.)

I also made kale chips last week! They were SO DELICIOUS!!! If you like kale and you've never had these, you must stop everything and make them immediately. They are awesome!

Just tear your kale into pieces (I just used bagged organic kale greens), then spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with olive oil and fresh ground sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until crisp.

Keat doesn't eat kale, so the batch lasted me several days as I was the only one eating on it. The chips started getting a little soggy after a couple of days, so next time I make them I will probably do it fresh every couple of days.

That's it for this week! The next two weeks I'll talk more about organic food. Then in March I am going to talk about natural health products that I use!

Please post any information you'd like to share about your experiences with organic food!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza Day 7

For today's post: Share Your Favorite Photo Together. Well, that's impossible because I like a ton of photos! So I just randomly picked three (hehe):

This is one of our engagement photos:

This isn't technically a photo of us taken together, our photographer just put them together, but I still like it!

This one is pretty old, but it still made the cut!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza Day 6

Time for Day 6! This week is flying by! Today's theme is simply answering the following questions:

1. What is the one thing your love does for you that you can't live without?

While Keat does tons of things for me that I absolutely love, probably the thing that he does consistently that I can't imagine living without is making decisions. Makes me sound like a child, I know, but I hate to make little, trivial decisions. When it comes to where we are going to eat or what movie we are going to watch or who is going to drive, I loathe having to decide, so I definitely appreciate him doing this.

2. When did you know your love was "the one"?

Wow, I really don't know the answer to this! Does that make me a bad wife? Hmm, I guess it would have to be when we were "broken up". We broke up a few times during our relationship (for different circumstances, but we always remained friends) and it was during these times that I realized how much I needed his friendship and how much I loved him. I don't think it was one defining moment, but rather just the way our relationship developed over the years.

3. Does your love have a special ringtone on your cell?

No. I don't know how to do this. Plus my phone is usually on vibrate only.

4. What are you attracted to most in your special someone?

Let me think. Physically, the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles. Non-physically, the way he methodically thinks things through before he does anything. Yes, this is the exact same quality that drives me absolutely crazy most of the time, but it also means that he is a careful, smart man and I can trust him. I think that's a good quality.

5. Did you know when/where he/she was going to pop the big question?

No! I had absolutely no idea when/where/how/anything! I was glad, though, because I love surprises. I didn't even know he was thinking about proposing anytime soon! I kinda thought he would propose St Patrick's Day 2009, but he actually asked the November before, so he fooled me. I was so surprised that I forgot to answer for a few minutes after he asked! I'm glad I finally regained my composure enough to say yes!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza Day 5

The topic for Day 5: Tell the Story of Your Love's Biggest Romantic Screw-Up.

Really, I can't think of any big screw-ups on either of our parts, although I know there have to have been some! I guess the best I can come up with is our dancing!

I tend to do these random things with Keat throughout the day; for example, I often just grab his hands and start dancing with him. He's usually pretty good about it and plays along.

The other day, during one of our spontaneous dancing sessions, he tried to be sweet and dip me. What he didn't realize is the door was a little closer than he thought and - bam! - he dipped my head right into the door! Ow!

It's the thought that counts, right??

Valentine's Day Extravaganza Day 4

Day four already! Today's topic: Share Your Favorite Memory of Your Wedding Day.

This is kind of a hard one, because I loved every moment of that day! I think the moment I have to go with is not one that actually has to do with Keat, though. (Is that cheating, since this is for Valentine's Day??)

One of the things that sticks out most to me is the time my Dad and I had in the lobby of the church before he walked me down the aisle. It was just he and I there, in the hallway around the corner. Everyone else in the wedding party was taking their places inside and Daddy and I had a few minutes to ourselves.

That was such a special time to me. I'll never forget the way he looked at me. It was the sweetest thing ever and I can't describe how I felt. He told me he was very proud of me and very happy for me. I told him when we got inside before he passed me off to Keat, I wanted to kiss his cheek. He got a little teary-eyed and I told him I loved him and gave him a big hug.

I was always a Daddy's girl growing up and like to think I still am. That is definitely one of my favorite moments from my wedding day.

Valentine's Day Extravaganza Day 3

Today's topic: Share Your Engagement Story.

I was completely and totally surprised when Keaton proposed! I had absolutely no idea it was coming. I mean, we had talked about marriage (poor guy, the first time he brought it up I really freaked! I didn't even tell him I loved him the first time he said he loved me ... but that's another story) but I didn't have a clue what his plans were.

Keaton was in town from Tallahassee for Thanksgiving 2008 because his sister was getting married the Friday after. He arrived in Oklahoma on Tuesday evening. I was working that night, but we met my family at McDonalds after I got off. (My family has a tradition of meeting at McDonalds to drink Diet Coke and play Spades! It's so fun!)

Without me knowing, Keaton had gone to see my parents at their house Tuesday night while I was at work to ask their permission to propose. I didn't know he did this, but looking back now I remember thinking everyone's reactions when they got to McDonalds were kind of weird. My parents and brother and Keat weren't acting like they hadn't seen each other for 4 months - now I know it's because they were together while I was working!

Keat had asked if he could take me to lunch and a movie in Bricktown (downtown Oklahoma City) on Wednesday. When we got to Bricktown he kept insisting that we park at the Bass Pro Shop. I kept telling him that it didn't make sense and there was free parking closer to the theatre but he was insistent.

On our way from the car to the theatre we passed the baseball stadium where the Redhawks play (the AAA affiliate of the Texas Rangers - the closest thing we have to pro baseball in Oklahoma). He suddenly stopped in front of the stadium and turned to face him, looking all serious. He told me he loved me and all that. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so shocked I kind of forgot to answer! I remember cars honking as they were driving by because they could see Keat down on one knee!

Seeing as how I'm a big baseball fan, this all makes sense. I thought it was really sweet! I love how my husband proposed. When we had our engagement pictures taken, we did one where the engagement took place!

Share your engagement story today, too! And link on at Mama M's blog!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza Day 2

Time for Day 2 of the Valentine's Day Extravaganza! Today's topic: Share Your Favorite Date Story.

Keaton is actually pretty good at planning dates, from the simple "dinner and movie" ones to huge surprises. He keeps me on my toes, so it's hard to pick one ... I guess one of my favorite dates he planned was a trip to see the Red Sox play in Dallas.

I have been a Red Sox fan since

birth (my grandpa played for them) but I had never seen them play live. A couple of years ago, while Keat was back in Oklahoma for the summer, he managed to get tickets to a weekend game against the Rangers at Arlington.

He made all the arrangements with my mom, so I didn't know anything! She picked out my outfit for me (so I would be wearing my Veritek jersey!) and we jumped in the car and went. It took me a little bit to realize where we were headed, as we just kept going further and further south! When I figured it out I was so excited. To this day it's one of my favorite memories!

Share your own date story! Don't forget to link up at Mama M's website!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

As for me ...

This week, while babysitting, I certainly did NOT fail to correct the man on our walk who waved to and chatted with the little boy and his "Mommy", just to see what it felt like to actually be someone's mom. That would be like stealing someone else's kid, so you can bet I didn't do that!

Oh, and I definitely did NOT wear the clothes I had on all day Thursday to bed Thursday night ... and all day Friday! That is disgusting and I always change my clothes at the proper times!

I also did NOT go to the Target website and randomly look at bridal registries just because I thought it was fun. I never waste time doing trivial things like that, so it couldn't have been me!

Something else I didn't do ... On the way to work one morning, I DID eat yogurt on my drive with one of our flatware spoons, but absolutely did NOT leave the spoon in my truck for three days before seeing it under the seat and finally bringing it in to wash it! Eww!

That's what I did NOT do this week!

Valentine's Day Extravaganza Day 1

I found this over at Mama M's blog and thought I'd join in the Valentine's Day fun! Click here to read her post for today's topic: "Tell How You Met Your Love".

Well, as I explained in this post, Keaton and I are high school sweethearts. Here's our story:

We went to high school together all four years. We had English 3 together junior year, but we didn't talk much. Well, to be accurate, he didn't talk much! I would always say hi to him (and other people who I sat around, too) but he was pretty shy I guess and never said much back. To be honest, I kind of forgot about him.

During the first week of our senior year, this guy who had a parking space near mine started talking to me everyday, but I could not place who he was or how I knew him. I finally put the pieces together after looking at my yearbook and realized it was Keaton from junior year English. We kept talking and hanging out, and even went on a few dates that fall.

Then, around October, I got really sick with a virus. Whatever this sickness was ended up getting in my bloodstream and actually made it's way into my brain, causing amnesia. It was pretty weird. Keat was one of the few people I actually remembered (Go figure! I didn't even remember my grandparents!) but it was still a period of chaos in my life. We decided to put things on hold since I had an entire lifetime to "relearn".

We stayed friends and stayed in touch. We "officially" got back together right before our senior prom. By that time, we had already made college decisions. I was planning on going to a local university, and Keat was headed to Florida State in Tallahassee. We decided to stay together and maintained a long-distance relationship for about three years, even halfway across the country. (Okay, to be perfectly honest, 6 months of it wasn't that long of a distance. I spent one semester working for Disney World, so we were only 4 hours apart for one semester!)

In November 2008, Keat was back in Oklahoma for his sister's wedding. While he was there, he took the opportunity to propose! We were engaged for about six months before marrying in June. I can't believe how young we are - he was 21 when we married and I was 20; we're both now 21 - but somehow we knew it was right. I suppose the real irony is the fact that I never wanted to get married! Growing up, I always said I would settle for being an aunt, thank you very much, and had no desire to have a husband. Somehow God changed my heart and I ended up becoming a very young bride.

So there you have it! That's our story!

Write your own post on how you and your love met, and don't forget to link it up to Mama M's website!

"I Wanna Be a Hippie!" Sunday

Keaton calls me a hippie.

Not a "free love", joint-smoking type of hippie. Just a natural, healthy, organic hippie.

We are not at a financial state where the ONLY items I purchase for our home are organic. Plus, I don't think organic is always necessary. But when I have the choice and it seems logical, affordable, and reasonable, I do try to make choices that I think are more healthy. Thankfully, living in Florida where produce is very fresh (and we have Publix and New Leaf Market!) it is easy to obtain natural or organic items.

At first I had a tough time convincing Keat that it was okay for him to eat organic things, use natural products, or try homeopathic remedies instead of prescriptions. He used to laugh at me when I brought home organic milk (or, as he says, "hippie milk"), but now he actually prefers it! He says it's very creamy. He actually admits he likes a lot of the food he used to make fun of. He's coming around. He even asked me for echinacea the other day!

On my blog, I'll be writing about "natural" things as I figure them out. Not just food things, but all kinds of things - cleaning, personal care, gardening, homeopathy. My hope in writing it all down is two-fold. First, it will help keep me on track! I tend to be very forgetful, so if I have all my research and ideas in one place it will be much easier for me to remember everything I've learned. Second, it would be great if I could help other "new hippies" out there - people like me who are not experts, just normal people trying to live a healthy life.

Now let me offer a warning: I do not have it all figured out. I'm sure that all of the natural things I will be sharing are kind of "duh" tidbits for people who have been living the organic life for awhile. This is a new journey for me, though, so every miniscule little thing I learn and every new product I find useful are going to be amazing to me! If you'd rather read from people who have "been there, done that" for a lot longer, try going here, or here.

For the rest of you, who are still in the process of learning what it means to live "naturally", please come along on my ride! We'll have some fun, and hopefully help each other learn some things along the way.

If (according to Keat) living naturally is being a hippie, and everything I've learned so far about natural living is true, then sign me up! I wanna be a hippie!

Not Afraid to Talk About It

I know this is an extremely controversial topic, especially in churches, but I'm not afraid to talk about it.

Birth control.

There are a ton of articles and opinions out there, and if you are trying to make a decision for yourself, I encourage you to do as much research as you possibly can. Understand I am not trying to tell anyone what they should do, and I do not think I have it all figured out, but I will share what Keaton and I decided worked for us. It is not the route everyone will choose, but it is something we feel comfortable with and we feel okay about.

My husband and I are Christians and yet, when we first got married, we did not feel as though we were ready for children at that stage in our lives. We are not against having children, and are actually looking forward to it soon, but we felt we needed to grow closer and more financially stable first. We maintained a long-distance relationship from the time we started dating until we wed, and my job required me to travel a TON during the first 6 months of our marriage. We enjoyed the first 7 months together, getting to know each other and developing a stronger marriage relationship. We used the Pill when we were first married.

We believe that God comes first in order of importance, then your spouse, then children. For us, in our unique relationship, we did not want to face temptation to put our relationship with our children above the relationship with each other before we were equipped; therefore, we chose to grow our own relationship first.

According to a lot of people, it can be argued that Keat and I were selfish in this regard. I do not fault anyone for feeling this way. Keaton and I did a ton of research right after we got married to see if using birth control goes against the Bible. We looked up sites like this and this, and many others, as well as studying the Bible.

I also read this book that teaches women how to monitor "fertile" and "non-fertile" days by using signals from your body. Of course, when you are on birth control, you are not supposed to ovulate, but part of the argument against birth control is that the Pill can lead to an accidental ovulation. The Pill also provides "back-up" precautions to prevent an ovulated and fertilized egg from being able to attach and grow, thus leading to a "self-imposed abortion".

This is what Keat and I decided to do: I did take the birth control Pill. I also continuously monitored my body using the information from "Taking Control of Your Fertility". I never showed the signs of this, but I was looking out for the signs of ovulation. Had I ended up accidently ovulating while on birth control, we would have ... well, you know ... refrained.

Anyway, to each his own, but this is what worked for us!

Happy Valentine's Day to Us!

Our Valentine's Day gifts to each other just arrived via UPS! I can't wait for Keat to get home from Crossfit so we can open them! (Early, yes, but I don't care!)

I had the bright idea this year that we should really treat ourselves. I don't know why. I don't even know where the idea came from. I tend to do that a lot, though, get an inclination in my head and just go with it instead of thinking things through. That's what my husband is for, however! I get the creative spark, and he figures out the logic to make it actually happen.

I thought this year we should get each other iPod touches for Love Day. A bit extravagant, maybe, but something I thought would be fun. Of course, technology-loving Keat jumped on the idea. As soon as the words "Hey, we should get iTouches (yes, I call them the wrong thing) this year!" left my mouth, I followed with "Actually, maybe not ... or maybe just you should get one, because I think they're kind of expensive". That's me, getting all excited but then realizing maybe we shouldn't do something because it (gasp!) costs money!! I am such a tightwad.

Anyway, Keaton thought it was a pretty good idea and, knowing I don't like to spend money, came up with a compromise. We would sell our regular old iPods online and use the money to put towards our purchase! Brilliant idea! Keat's pretty good at selling stuff online, so I'm pretty sure they sold the same day he listed them. He cleared everything off of our iPods and I took them the post office today. I hope their new owners are happy with them!

Selling our iPods gave us the right amount of money so we could each get an iTouch and still stay on track financially! These little babies are so cool and I can't wait to get started. No matter what I need (read: want) I'm sure there will be "an app for that"!

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

Thirteen on Thursday

This is something I started doing back on my old blog before I kinda stopped writing. It's an easy thing to do when you're not sure what to write about. Basically, just share 13 completely random thoughts - the first thirteen things to pop into your head!

1). I love my vehicle! I've driven it ever since I turned 16 (thanks Daddy!), so I've had it for almost 5 years now. It's a black 1998 Ford F-150. It may cost a ton to fill up, but it's definitely worth it.

2). Keat is cleaning our guns right now. I'm so glad he is going to take care of that. Sounds absolutely rude, but I just want to reap the benefits of shooting without the responsibility of taking care of the guns! Cut me some slack, though, it's really no different than Keaton enjoying a clean house and clean clothes without ever having to do housework or laundry. Right? Right? Well, that's what I'm telling myself.

3). I can't wait for the Superbowl! I love watching football. Usually just college, but I'll make an exception for this! I'll probably be sore, though. Keat and I are continuing my family's tradition of doing pushups for every yard of every penalty during the game. Otherwise we'd sit around doing nothing for hours during football season!

4). I still don't think I have it all figured out, but I'm slowly getting better at Twitter, I think. I don't know. I may still be doing it wrong. Never mind.

5). My mail is not working on my Mac. I'm getting all my messages on my phone, but they're not downloading into my Inbox. It's annoying me.

6). After doing so much traveling the last few months for my job, I keep feeling like I need to be watching for a good deal on a flight or packing a suitcase. It's such a relief to know I don't have to do that for a long time!

7). I would like to start reading my Bible daily again. Yes, I am admitting that I don't. I used to, and then life got busy and I let it slide. I think it's time to start up daily devotions again.

8). We've been going to church at Element 3. Very cool church. I like it there!

9). I'm supposed to be working out right now. But I'm not.

10). Our neighbors above us (we live in an apartment) are super noisy. Some days I think they strap cement blocks to their feet and run relay races around their kitchen! I think it's kinda funny, but it makes Keat so annoyed!

11). I love salmon! It is yummy, and good for you. We had some the other day. I like to make it the way my Dad always does. He puts different spices on it (not sure what he uses, so I just smelled a bunch of things to see what smelled like it should go on fish!) and squeezes on tons of lemon juice! Then he puts really thin slices of lemon on top of the fish, wraps it loosely in foil, and cooks it in a 400 degree oven. So delicious!

12). My parents and brother are about to leave for a ski trip. Wish I were going with them! I haven't been skiing/snowboarding in so long! I have done both, but I'm much better at skiing. The first time I boarded I actually broke my ribs! I usually stick with skis. Keaton, by the way, is a superb snow boarder!

13). My favorite tortilla chips ever are the Archer Farms organic blue corn chips. They taste excellent. Think I'll go have some now with my Newman's Own Black Bean and Corn salsa!

Kara Z ... Gunner??

Last Friday, I shot a gun for the first time in my life. And I absolutely loved it!

Keat's uncle got him a gun for his high school graduation in 2006. Then, for this last Christmas, our present to each other was another gun. (Actually, I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it was a gift for each other ... seeing as how Keat is the one who will actually USE the gun ... I think I got the short end of that stick!)

So we have not one, but two guns. One is a 22 and one is a 45. I'm still trying to learn about guns, so I won't say anymore about them until I have learned more myself because, you know, I don't want to look like an idiot.

The public range here in Tallahassee is in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere. Which is, of course, a good place for a shooting range. When we drove out there I had absolutely no idea what to expect. My family does not own guns, nor do my parents have the desire to ever own guns, so I didn't grow up around weapons of any kind. Seeing as how I married a military guy, I have a lot to learn - fast! Thank goodness Keaton is a good teacher.

After waiting for a lane to open up (is "lane" even the right word? I don't know!), I watched Keat shoot several rounds before I felt comfortable giving it a whirl. I already knew how to fill the magazine, load the gun, and check the safety from a previous "lesson" with my husband, but I still had Keat watch my every move very closely. He kept asking me if I was okay because I looked so serious. Well, hello, honey! Of course I'm serious! This is a gun in my hands! It is such a powerful tool. I am serious because I want to be careful!!

After trying different grips on the gun handle to see which felt the most comfortable, I stepped up to the railing. Double-checking my earplugs and eye protection, I took my stance. Gripped the handle of the 22. Flicked off the safety. Aimed for the target. And squeezed the trigger.

I could not believe the way it felt to shoot! It was a very exhilarating, very humbling experience. To feel the heavy weight of the weapon, the cold metal, the slight kick after the shot ... it's unlike anything I've ever done before. To know that YOU are in control of something that can be deadly ... wow! It's a great responsibility, and very thrilling. Well, not thrilling that it can be deadly, but thrilling to know you can control whether or not it becomes a instrument of destruction.

Not to boast, but I actually ended up being an okay shot! (Of course, upon beginning I had extremely low expectations of myself, so I'm sure that helped.) There were some bottles lying around on the ground near the targets. After a few rounds, Keat told me to aim for one of them. By some miracle, I actually hit the bottle! I was very excited, to say the least!

I also shot Keaton's 45 before we left. There is such a big difference between the two guns. I was not nearly as comfortable with the 45. The kick was too much and it hurt my wimpy little wrists! I think I'll be sticking to the 22 from now on.

Soon we are actually going to a gun class. Keat wants to learn about permits and registering and all that. I'm just going to learn more about the basics and gun safety. I guess I feel as though I'm doing my part as a (soon-to-be-legit) Army wife by showing interest in what my husband does. Plus, if there are going to be guns in our household, you can bet your fanny I'm going to learn how to use them. We are extremely safe with the guns, but I want to be as responsible and educated as possible.

And practice. Of course, I must practice! I can't wait to go to the range again!

It's About Time!

Okay, so I actually set up this blog a long time ago. Before we were married, actually! Considering we've been married almost 8 months (wow, already?), that's a long time! I think we still qualify as "Newlyweds" though, so for now the name of the blog is going to stay.

I suppose it's time I actually WROTE something on here. You know, to document our lives and all that. Let's see, I will just start at the beginning. A little background never hurt anybody.

My name is Kara. I'm 21 years old. My husband is Keaton. I call him Keat for short. He's also 21. That's it. We have a little family for now, just the two of us.

Keat is a senior at Florida State University. He graduates April 30! Then May 1st he commissions with the United States Army. Yup, I'm going to be an Army wife. I can't wait! Keaton is one of the funniest guys I have ever met in my life. He has me rolling constantly! I can't explain why, he just makes these funny faces and I lose it. He also has a very serious side, though. This side seems to do him well when it comes to Army things. He is very passionate about movies and music and has infinite knowledge about each. No, really. Seriously infinite, as in ridiculously infinite! He loves to eat at fancy restaurants and is a big romantic at heart. He is very technologically adept and is my person techie-guy thingie-fixer. He is thoughtful and careful and plans EVERYTHING to a T. He just started Crossfit and loves it!

I am exactly the opposite of Keat in almost every way. Where he tends to be very uptight and focused, I am more laid-back and relaxed. He is very prompt and self-motivated and I can't concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes. (Case in point: even while writing this post, which is taking forever, I keep flipping back and forth to Facebook because it's distracting!) I am very much a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants person and can't remember the last time I planned something intensively (with the exception of work stuff). As Keaton once put it, he won't even drive 4 miles over the speed limit and I tend to not be concerned with rules! I love to read and tend to be very organized, even if it is organized chaos. I've lately realized I'm also a bit of a clean-freak. Hmm. Not sure where that came from, but I didn't notice it until I started cleaning and caring for my own home and family.

Somehow we manage to complement each other in all the right ways. Keaton keeps me grounded. I help him have a little fun every now and then. I guess all that matters is that we're in it together.

We're both originally from Oklahoma. We're high school sweethearts. (All together now, awww!) Now in Tallahassee, Florida (at least for the next few months), we're kind of just waiting to see where we'll end up once Keat's in the Army. Until then, we'll just keep hanging out and holding on!