FIRE!!!!!......Plus lessons learned in the first month together

So I (Jason) was thinking about how our blog might develop, it may either turn into a weekly summary of what we have done (which may be quite boring since we are poor and are frozen in Provo), or a place where we talk about movies we like, a blog about nothing (brownie points to anyone who can name that reference...post in the comment section below), or we might draw from our vast experience as a married couple and pass that information on to the true Newlywed amateurs.  I think as time goes on it will merge into all these ideas and with time there might be recipes that I force Michelle to try because she thinks, and I quote "It's funny that you get so excited about food.  I like good food but not as much as you." So, I need to be the one now to have Michelle try something new, and hopefully we can share a new recipe with the blogging world each week.

So why fire? Well as many of my old roommates might know I have a tendency to warm up a kitchen, well, with some flames and smoke.  The problem is, and this is the truth, the instructions for making garlic bread from Smith's or Fresh Market are very flawed.  So what happens is when you put garlic bread under the gas broiler (I've only cooked with electric ovens, so gas ovens are new to me) the ends of the torn bag get really close to the flames of the broiler.  So when I checked our garlic bread for our FHE (Family Home Evening) meal the bag that the garlic bread came in was, in fact, on FIRE.  So I had to warn Michelle and Brian (my brother) that there was a fire.  It was quickly put out and the garlic bread was saved.

-I love Garlic bread, I could eat it for every meal
-yeah but you'd get fat
-why's that?
-bread makes you fat
-BREAD MAKES YOU FAT!!!!!!

Anyway, enough movie quotes.

So as some may know, I enjoy pain and school, which is why my future plans involve med school.  This semester I just enrolled in an intensive MCAT prep class with Altius.  And if I were to be a perfect Altius student and a perfect BYU student that means that I should be spending about 94 hours a week studying.  Now since I don't want to study on the Sabbath (Sunday, see Acts 20:7 and Exodus 20:8-11), that leaves 6 days of work (144 hrs total) that leaves just 50 hours a week for free time.  If I were to only devote that time to sleeping then I would get the recommend sleep of 8 hours a night.  So basically I will be spending more time with my MCAT books than with Michelle.  Needless to say I will not be winning the "Newlywed Husband of the Year" award.

So for a new segment of the blog, Things we have learned after being married for a month. (Presented in no particular order, but you might be able to tell who has learned what)

-Tree Branches and side view mirrors are not friends...this was very evident when our car had an accident with one, but duct tape works great to hold it up until it gets fixed...Update: it hasn't gotten fixed.

- There are better ways to cook Garlic Bread
-MCAT studying and Med-school means I need to learn how to make Michelle a very important priority in life
- It is perfectly fine to have a couch that you got for free on KSL
- It is best not to be starving when you go shopping (I thought I had learned this lesson when I was young...NOT!)
- When shopping at Costco, it's best to buy in bulk when it isn't perishable.  I think we go through a roll of toilet paper a week, so the 36 or 48 pack we got should last a good while
- When shopping, in general, it is good to know what utensils you have at home.  Our first night at our apartment we ended up eating hot dogs, because we didn't have plates, or utensils.  Another night we were going to open a can of beans for tacos, but realized that we didn't have a can opener, ergo no beans for tacos.  Another time we were going to eat some carrots, but we didn't have a peeler.  So it's good to know what you have.  Thankfully once we started opening up presents we found a set of plates, flatware, and a microwave to help us out.
-It's important to smile and be positive.  We don't have a perfect place but it is nice for us and we are fortunate to have a warm place to sleep at night.
-Be grateful for all that you have.  Michelle and I are in awe because of the kindness and generosity that our friends have shown us, in helping us settle in.  We have been given so much, we are truly grateful.
-Be more grateful. I don't think I have ever mentioned in a prayer that I grateful for hot water, but it is a blessing that we have it.
-Don't let your circumstances determine your happiness, you can be sad and complain about your situation or you can embrace it.  Gratitude and a good sense of humor can turn a low ceiling (which we have in our hallway) into a good joke and a conversation piece.
-Cuddling is fun :-)
-Being married to someone who shares your same opinions about early mornings makes getting up that much harder.
-Being married to someone who knows grammar better than you makes writing a paper that much easier. (Michelle grammar checks my blog posts :-) )
-It's amazing how something so common to you could be the most odd thing to your spouse.  I like to put a paper towel over my food when it goes into the microwave, Michelle says "why don't you just put a glass plate over it???" I say "because I don't have to clean the plate after and i can just throw away a paper towel after using it"  Michelle also saves our plastic lunch bags, which means it is going to take more time to go through the 500 or so we bought at Costco.
-It's important not to get into too much of a routine, you have to do something different every so often to make life interesting.
-Living on a small budget is tough but it is good for us. Thankfully our apartment is at a good price for us and we only pay for the electric and internet bill; our landlord picks up the gas, water, and cable bills.
-Friendships with our single friends are just as important as our new ones with married friends. Who says you can't call or text a good friend even if they are still single?  It's good to stay in touch and be aware of others needs.
-Marriage is an adventure and so it is good to be with someone who loves and supports you and has great faith that all will work out.
-Be humble enough to ask for advice from in-laws and siblings about life; it helps understand your spouse's point of view.
-When you read a book together, if you get a text saying "Can I read chapter 6? :-)" it's best just to say "Yes, and you can read 7 & 8"
-It's fun to watch Ron Paul make fun of Rick Santorum.
-It's fun to watch debates with Ron Paulites.  Ron Paulilans? Ron Paugans? Ronnies? People who support the old guy?
-In the relationship or in personal life, don't let the Savior take 2nd place in anything that you do, make sure he is your number one priority (this is odd to say because you'd think your spouse should be number one, but it doesn't really work out that way).
- Writing a Blog is fun and therapeutic, and it is nice to share a little more than what twitter or facebook allows in one post.

Have a good day, and the next time you buy a new refrigerator, make sure you know the dimensions of the door and of the refrigerator, or else it is even harder to move :-)...This goes out to DAVE Andelin; it was fun helping you and your family move into your new home. P.S. I think we still have a piece of it after taking it apart.