Happy Birthday Bryan

Since today is Bryan's birthday and because his wife isn't around to do anything for him, I decided that I would take it upon myself to make this day special for him.  So, last night when I realized that I didn't have cake mix or frosting (and because I don't have the home-making or culinary skills necessary to make them in a reasonable amount of time), I made a quick trip to Walmart to get everything I needed.

Also, since it was Bryan's special day, I decided that I wouldn't wake him up, but rather let him sleep as long as he needed to.  The only problem with that plan was that he didn't wake up until 9:15 this morning and church started at 9:00.  Luckily for me, he choose to stick around for the next ward's sacrament meeting after getting to church half an hour late, which gave me more time in the kitchen to get things ready for him.  Nothing quite like a surprise birthday cake on your birthday.

So, after slaving in the kitchen (yes, it is slavery for me to add water, oil and eggs to a box cake mix, bake it, let it cool and then frost it), I had a wonderful birthday cake for Bryan. (Unfortunately, I couldn't find the candles at Walmart last night, plus there is a state wide burn ban in Oklahoma, so I wasn't sure it was legal and I didn't want Bryan to see that many candles and realize how old he is getting.  Everything considered, I thought it was pretty thoughtful of me to not include the candles.)

  

 He seemed pretty excited for the cake, even though he gave me that obnoxious smile of his, feigning that he was more excited than he really was.  I told him he wouldn't want that picture on the blog and that he needed to sit up straight, so he gave me a more decent picture.  (I also told him that he needed to shave, but his response was "It's my birthday!", so I let it go.)

  

 With the fear of offending all those loved ones who sent Bryan a birthday card, I've included a picture of his favorite.  (He didn't tell me if it was his favorite because it was from his wife or because it has his dry sort of humor or some combination of the two.)

  

Since his wife wasn't around to give her permission to post pictures of the rest of the card, I haven't included those.

So, as strange as it may sound coming from me, I just wanted to let Bryan know that even though he is far from loved ones that doesn't mean he is far from being loved.

Happy Birthday Bryan!

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Goodbye For Now

Due to the comments from 50% of the readership of our blog (my mom), I've included pictures of Sarah and me in front of our new apartment.  Please disregard the blue at the bottom of the first picture - that is from our car, which was nice enough to hold the camera for us.

  

 On a more somber note, I took Sarah to the airport on Wednesday so she could go back to Provo to finish up her research.  We're not sure how long this is going to take - it could be six weeks, it could be a few months.  All I know is that it's going to be hard not having her around.  I've been trying to keep myself busy so I don't have to think about the fact that she's not here.  I'm hoping that strategy will work and that the time will fly by.  If the time doesn't fly by that probably means there is something we both need to learn from this that will strengthen our character and our relationship.  Writing about it makes me a little sad and lonely, so I'll end on a happy note.

Here's Sarah at the airport: 

 

 Here's Sarah at the airport after I told her that she didn't want that sad picture on our blog:

 

So, despite the difficulty of being separated, I'm sure that we'll be able to find that happy silver lining.

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Home Improvements

On Tuesday, our new kitchen table and chairs arrived at our front door.  Sarah tried to get the box into the apartment, but unfortunately either the large shape of the box or the fact that it weight over 140 pounds precluded her from getting it inside.  (In case my dad is reading this and thinking Why didn't she use that new hand truck you just bought?, the answer is that she did try but some combination of the size and weight yielded her efforts fruitless.)  After texting back and forth, we concluded that Sarah would go outside and periodically check to make sure no one had stolen it until I got home.

Luckily for us, the thieves were also unable to move the box because of its size and weight, so it was waiting for me when I got home from school.  Then the building process began.  First we put the table together and then I started on the chairs.  The reviews online had complained about the difficulty of assembling the chairs, so I was expected vague instructions and hours of assembly.  As it turns out, it wasn't nearly as bad as I was anticipating and I think the whole process was done in an hour or so (it's kind of hard to keep track of time when you are doing manly things and you get really into it - ask Einstein, it's the whole theory of relativity thing).  

I think we were both pleased with the end result.  (I know that I definitely prefer eating at a table compared to eating on the floor or sitting on a folding chair and have my plate on my lap.  As for Sarah, I can't speak for her, but I think she enjoyed her two meals on the table.)

  

  

  

 

 Since the new table and chairs weren't enough, we decided to add more to our apartment.  The next day, we had our new stackable washer/dryer delivered.  (To be clear, it's not "new" - we bought it from an appliance repair shop that sells appliances they have fixed.)  I know what you're thinking, which is the exact same thing the lady at the appliance repair shop said when we talked to her: Why would you want a stackable washer/dryer when you have the space for a full-size?  The answer:  The space for the washer/dryer in our apartment only has a 220v outlet, and Sarah wasn't too keen on the idea of an extension cord running along the floor to the washer.  Plus, the cost of the washer/dryer was about the same as renting one for a year, and we can keep it longer than that, or sell it on Craig's list and more than break even.

So, without further ado, here are a few pictures of our washer/dryer:

  

 

 This last picture is to give you an idea as to where the washer/dryer is in our apartment - next to the shower in the other bathroom.  (It is on the other side of the wall with the clock, wedding picture, and mirror on it in the last picture of our new table.)

The final home improvement to our apartment this week was curtains in the bedrooms.  (We've ordered curtains for the main room - they just haven't gotten here yet.)  I'm not sure how exciting this is, but it was a home improvement nonetheless and hopefully I was able to hang both of them level enough.

 

 

I finally got the set of blinds for our main room in the mail the next week, so I got those put up as well.

 

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Norman Highlights

 Here are a few highlights from our first week or so in Norman:

Highlight #1: Somehow we have managed to go to Walmart almost every day:

Friday: Milk and strawberries

Saturday: Cable modem for internet

Monday: Mustard and salad dressing

Tuesday: Towel rack (apartment didn't have one in bathroom)

Wednesday: Return towel rack (maintenance installed one for us), picture hanging hardware

Friday: Redbox (located inside Walmart)

Saturday: Mop

So, in the ten days we've been in Norman, we've gone to Walmart on 7 of them (and that includes two Sundays).  Lucky for us, Walmart is just around the corner.

As a side note, on one of those Walmart trips, I saw a lady walking in with a hand full of one dollar bills and a smile on her face.  I mentioned to Sarah that if we were in Vegas that lady would either be walking into our out of a casino, but here in Norman when people have a few extra dollars, they run to Walmart with a grin on their face.

Highlight #2: Oklahoma doesn't have a DMV.  

Instead, they have tag agencies (privately owned businesses that you can get vehicle title and registration from) as well as the Department of Public Safety (DPS).  So, on Monday, Sarah and I got to the tag agency before it opened, thinking there would be a huge line like at other DMVs and there was nobody there.  We drove over to the DPS building and there was a huge line, so we decided to head back to the tag agency before anyone saw us and figured out where the shorter lines are.  We got there just before it opened and were the first ones in line.  We registered our car and got our new Oklahoma title per Oklahoma state law (which we got in the mail on Wednesday or Thursday - talk about efficiency).  Since everyone there was so nice, we decided to ask if we needed to get an Oklahoma driver license or if we could wait until our Utah licenses expired.  They said legally we didn't need to change them but that the Norman police are pretty picky and only give you 10 days from when you move to Norman to change your driver license.

With that warning, we decided we would try the DPS early on Thursday morning since I had TA training on Tuesday and Wednesday.  It opened at 7:00am, and when we got there at 6:30 there were about 30 people in front of us in line.  We didn't find this out until hours later (since it isn't posted anywhere in the building), but apparently the first hour (7-8am) is for scheduling driving tests, followed by people who failed the test and wanted to retake (walk-in basis).  Then, once all of those people are scheduled, they start going through everyone who had taken a number.  (Even though there were about thirty people in front of us in line, we were the fourth one to take a number because everyone else just stood in the line to schedule a driving test.)  They finally got through the scheduling at about 9:00am and we were out of there by about 9:30, but it would have been nice to know that we could have grabbed a number at 7 when they opened and come back two hours later.  Thank you, DMV, I mean, DPS.  I guess no matter what you call it, they are always the same.

(I felt really bad for the guy in front of us in line.  He is a gymnast at OU and had to leave at 8:00am to go to practice.  He traded his number with someone when he was leaving so he could come back after practice and hopefully they wouldn't be past that person's number.  I hope it turned out for him.)

We also met a couple other people who had just moved to Norman for school, one of which graduated from BYU and we're having them over for dinner tonight, so I guess the DPS can't be that bad, right?

So, I guess that's another highlight in Norman: You make friends, not enemies at the DMV DPS.  Oh, and in case you're curious, after you get a piece of paper from the DPS, you take that over to the tag agency and then they actually process getting you the new driver license.  All the wait time is just to get your information in the government database before you go get the driver license from the private tag agency.

Highlight #3:  I managed to beat the individual challenge on Blockus

For our Friday night date, we played Blockus.  After playing each other a couple times, we decided to do the individual challenge together (get all of the pieces on the board, following the rules for piece placement).  Sarah gave up after a few attempts, but I wouldn't go to bed until I figured it out.  Once I was victorious, Sarah decided it was blog worthy, so here it is:

  

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New Apartment

Here is our new apartment.  If you want to know our address, call me, email me or do the same with my mom and I'm sure you can get it.  Anyway, we'll start with the outside.  Our's is the door on the right.  The door on the left is an indoor staircase leading up to our neighbors above us.  All the windows on the ground floor are part of our apartment (yes, even the one on the other side of their door).
 

Backing up a little bit, this is half of the building we live in.  There are eight apartments on each side, so it's this same thing on the right as well as on the back.
 

Here are some pictures of when we first moved in:

  

  

  

  

This is what it looked like for our first night:

  

  

  

  

  

 

As you could see in the pictures from our first night, we didn't unpack our pictures for a little while.  This was mostly because we weren't sure what the complex's policy was about hanging pictures because there were zero nail holes in the wall from the previous tenants.  After checking with them, they said it was fine, so we got all of our pictures hung up. 

  

  

  

  

 

If you can't figure out the layout from the pictures and are dying to know, feel free to give us a call and we can give you a personal Skype tour of the place.

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