So We Got Married a Year Ago...

Sunday, August 10, 2014. One year of marriage.

WHOA. 

This past year has flown by, and it has been the most incredible year of my life. Being united to Jacob sacramentally is mindblowingly awesome. In fact, I can't even find all of the words to express just how wondrous marriage is, and how fabulous this year has been. So I'll just keep this simple. 

One year of marriage!!!!!!!

When many people have asked Jacob or myself "how married life" is, we always give the same answer: Peaceful. Marriage is so peaceful--that joyful peace that bubbles up throughout the day consistently, despite all hardships that come along. It's the peace of living out one's vocation day-to-day. I always tell people who are having "discernment problems" that what I've found is wherever you experience the deepest true peace is probably your vocation. After all, our God is the Prince of Peace. I was talking with a religious sister several months back, and she totally understood what I was getting at. She told me that she, too, experiences that deep peace in her life in the convent. No matter what, my husband and I have the peaceful security that we are united to each other, and God is guiding us both closer towards Him. It's so good! Prior to marriage, I thought that being married college students would be insanely crazy. Life was already crazy, and adding marriage to the mix? Whoa...But, I was surprised to find that the peacefulness of living out the vocation and dedicating our days to God caused/still causes our life to be filled with peace. We are so blessed!

I began to learn many things during our engagement, and I've continued to grow in those areas throughout marriage. One of these is perspective. In Europe during our engagement, I learned that, despite how lame it was that we literally had no money in Assisi (irony!), putting things into perspective revealed that it wasn't that big of a deal in the long run and we still had an awesome trip. Even though I open the fridge to make dinner and discover that those 3 lbs of beef were rancid-and thus not able to become our dinner-in the long run, it's not that big of a deal. Despite the fact that becoming car-less is a bit of a rough adjustment and not as much fun as having a car, in the entirety of our marriage, it really won't matter. Jacob is super calm, and always helps me to put things into perspective (since I'm a very passionate sanguine, and will act like rancid beef is the end of the world!). Keeping things into perspective and living in the present moment is vital to marriage, because I've learned that no matter what inconveniences come along, our marriage and relationship with God is the most important! And He will always provide for us! 

Marriage is also extremely fun, joyful, and youthful (I'm pretty sure my husband and I have both gotten younger in this past year), and all-around fabulous! Being a married college student is an amazing, incredible blessing, something which I'll probably blog about some other time.

In the past few months and weeks, many people have asked, "What are you guys planning/what did you do for your anniversary?"

We had decided to have an "anniversary week," and do lots of fun activities throughout the week. Because really, celebrating a whole year of marriage shouldn't just restrict itself to one day (I mean, we basically celebrate marriage every day). Since our car got totaled on Wednesday, we had the huge blessing of Jacob getting some extra time off of work (since he couldn't drive into work) to have adventures!

Examining the map to find a geocache!

The special geocache that Jacob made for me! 

Then, on Friday, we went geocaching, which we had been planning on for about a week. Jacob had found maps for a couple potential caches on campus, though they were pretty old, so we didn't know if we'd find anything. Using our first map, we looked and looked and found a cache! It was pretty small, but finding it and signing the log was super exciting! Two of the other maps we had must have been pretty old, because we didn't find caches. But a fourth map was incredibly thrilling. Following the map, Jacob and I walked over to a path that leads from Assisi Heights to the edge of campus. Jacob and I began searching along the path, and we finally decoded a message that gave a hint, telling us to look along the bottom of a fence. I kept looking and looking, and finally I found it: a plastic container that had a paper labeled "Geocache." I was beyond pumped! Then, I opened up the cache, and found a letter and started reading it. Well this is awkward, some random person left a love note to his or her girlfriend in a geocache? I don't want to read another person's love letter! (did I mention I can be pretty blonde?) Jacob walked over, flipped over the paper, and I saw my name! He had made a completely fake map and coded hint to a geocache that he planted for me! What a great husband! 

STAR WARS!!!

In the midst of outdoor adventures and lots of boardgames, we also had planned a special celebration for Sunday. We had a Star Wars movie and dinner! IT WAS SO AWESOME!!!!!!! We ate food from the movies while watching Episode Five, "The Empire Strikes Back." Can I just say it was extremely epic?

Our feast!!!!
L-R: Storebough rice cracker things (which Leia gives to
the Ewoks), Rootleaf Stew (Yoda makes it in Episode 5), Leia Buns
(giant cinnamon rolls), and Sarlacc Pit Pizza Dip!

Jacob did the detail work on this, and it
looked so awesome!!!

 Only the best from a short green Jedi Master!

 So there's a little sampling of our life right now, I hope you enjoyed reading about it! And if any of you are dying to try Yoda's stew, check out the recipe!

Rootleaf Stew, as created by Chef Craig Claiborne, who was invited to create the recipe during a campaign for the Episode Five radio dramatization.

3 pounds lean lamb or other meat
Salt to taste, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
6 tablespoons oil (light corn, vegetable or other)
6 cups finely chopped parsley
3 cups thinly sliced onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons finely minced ginger root
1 teaspoon finely chopped seeded hot green or red chilies
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 bay leaf
3 pounds fresh spinach, well rinsed, tough stems removed

1) Cut the meat into 1" (one inch) cubes; add salt and pepper to taste.
2) Heat half the oil in a heavy skilet and add the meat until the pieces turn brown on all sides.
3) Heat the remaining oil in a Dutch oven or heavy casserole and add parsley, onions, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are wilted. Add the meat, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger root, chilies, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir.
4) Add water to cover, bring to boil and cover tightly. Let simmer about 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the meat is quite tender. (we had to add water after an hour or so. But I've seen some posts on the internet where people like it with less water, to serve over rice. So it's probably a matter of preference!)
5) Meanwhile, drop the spinach into a kettle of boiling water with salt to taste and let simmer about 5 minutes. Drain well and run under cold water. Drain thoroughly.
6) Squeeze the spinach to remove all excess liquid. Place the spinach on a chopping block and chop coarsely.
7) Add the spinach to the stew and stir. Let simmer together about 5 minutes. Yield: 8 servings.