Grandma's tree and a neverending book marathon

I'm alone in the house this morning, trying to think of every excuse not to go to the gym before work. The excuses are working, especially since ice on the roads is more than an inch thick. I'm lounging in front of the sheer white curtain over the wintry landscape of our backyard. It makes the cold look fragile. A thin dusting of snow covers every railing, every frozen rose and tip of grass. The curtain even softens the darkest branches to a light grey.

Next to me is Grandma Joy's artificial Christmas tree that we decorated with some of her gold and cream-colored ornaments, along with some of our own decorations, including a pair of moose holding up a sign that says "Lake Tahoe." We bought it almost a year ago on our "honeymoon." Because I grew up 30 minutes from Lake Tahoe, I consider it more of a weekend getaway. Sometimes, I look at the tree and think about it in Dalton's grandma's house, and feel honored that we get to keep it and remember her like she is one beautiful Christmas decoration pointing to the sky. Astonishingly, there are 20-30 gifts under the tree wrapped in a green paper with cardinals, a pattern of snowmen, or plopped in shiny bags. From the look of it, we could actually afford a nice Christmas. I think I've watched almost every classic Christmas movie this past weekend, I even watched The Year Without a Santa Clause last night so I could sing the Heat Miser and Snow Miser songs.

Dalton left for the day an hour ago, and since it's finals week and a work day, I won't see him again until he pulls into the garage just before he's ready to crash into his pillow. Luckily, we have a good habbit of always eating dinner together, even if that isn't until 10 p.m., so we can catch up on what we weren't texting each other about. If anyone ever thought life gets less hectic when you graduate, I'm sorry you were fooled. I guarantee it will stay hectic if you have someone else to care and worry about all day. It is nice, though, to get two mornings a week that I get to catch up on me--whether "me" means doing laundry, dusting, scrubbing the counters or reading. I finally got a Pleasant Grove library card. I have a goal to get through the 100 books to read before you die list in the next 2 years. I've read nearly 20 of them already so I have a head start. The current book I'm reading is Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler.

 

I'm only 60 pages into it, but so far I'm enjoying it. I love any books where the characters are so multi-dimensional, you wonder when the dimensions will ever stop. Their complexity is enough to keep my entertained for hours. Dalton likes books, he just doens't like reading them. That's where I come in. I read about 150 pages on the way to Reno, but I think he got tired of the book and wished Dan Brown was in the car reading ot him. We have very different taste in just about ... everything. He thinks I listen to hipster music, I think he listens to whiny-teenage-boy music. However, there is also a genre or type we can agree on in most topics. That's the best part about us, though, we will always stay independently ourselves, but work so darn well together.

Books at bat are: 1.) The Lazarus Project  2.) Cranford and 3.) Cold Comfort Farm

I suck at blog post titles

One Cougar semester down for Dalton, 99 to go. OK, not really, but it feels that way.
Of course, he pulls A's out of his pockets every time, and that is one of the more selfish reasons why I married him.

So guys, remember how I said we would be taking a little trip the day after Christmas? Well, it turns out Christmas is practically sitting on my lap, which means boarding a plain to Santiago, Chile, is also sitting in my lap. You know, it's summer down there? Does that mean I have to buy/wear a swimsuit? My skin is practically neon underneath indoor lighting, I can only imagine how horrifying it will look on a public beach with dark-skinned people. Bloogablaga. Can't even think about it. Some hippy can punch me later for fake-and-baking, but it's for the Chilean people's well being that I'm doing it.

And did I tell you? My job is way better than yours. Sure, I've completely lost touch with the writer in me, well, almost. I'm sure some people may frown at this, but don't worry, that part of me is making a comeback. Anyway, the perks of my job are as follows: I still get to design things, including fliers and making the monthly newsletter. I get to edit students' resumes, which we all know gets me all fired up to change the world--I might even get to start teaching resume-building, but I don't want to speak too soon. I feel partially like an elementary school teacher because I get to do mild crafting with butcher paper, ribbon and glitter.

To set the record straight, this is a Frankenmummy.

To top it all off, I get massaged regularly--even at my desk when students come to ask questions they'll perform some sort of magic on my traps.

Dalton really likes money, so I guess it's good that he decided to major in finance instead of accounting. He told me he does not want to watch other people spend money and record, HE wants to spend the money. His money-lovin' is also apparent in how much he enjoys working at Security Services Federal Credit Union. It's a long name, but I think it's a cool place because they pay for our gym memberships. Luckily, my father is always available to yack Dalton's ear off about bonds, the S&P 500, buying Gold, shareholders, etc., etc., etc. No offense, Dad.

Perhaps, the most exciting piece of news in the last week was sending our studly brother Cole Jacob Bennett out into the mission field for the LDS church. All I know is he almost decked a "nerdy" kid in the MTC. Sounds like a great beginning. We are so proud of him, seriously. He is such an amazing person--so caring, loyal and creative--he can do so many things and I truly hope he recognizes his potential while in Everett, Washington (Twilight country).

I've definitely had Christmas on the mind 24/7 lately. I have an egg casserole to make for a Christmas brunch, 4 items to find for gift exchange parties, treats to make for neighbors and our Sunday school kids, work parties, family parties and so on. You know how it is. I'm thrilled I get to spend Christmas with Dalton's family. Usually, I'd be upset I wasn't with my own family, but after traveling to Reno for Thanksgiving, I don't want to make the trip again, and frankly, Utah gets way more into the season. While driving from Lindon into Pleasant Grove I am greeted into my little city with huge lights on a roof spelling "Seasons Greetings from Pleasant Grove City." The main streets are lined with trees lit up to look like cotton candy.

And with all of that, I will leave you with the following moment I captured of Dalton, and a warning that I may be writing again sooner than anyone imagined.

Pumpkin ... everything

There is something about the smell and taste of pumpkin that puts me into a fall coma. Since October began I’ve made Sunday morning pumpkin cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese glaze and yesterday used the rest of my pumpkin up, paired with 2 old bananas and some leftover Hershey’s kisses, to create pumpkin-banana muffins. Might sound a bit odd, but they are seriously delicious. It’s a shame I never measure out my concoctions, so I can never really give anyone an accurate recipe. Therefore, I am a domestic blogging failure.

 

But in my opinion, following recipes takes all the fun out of cooking.

We love the fall for more than our pumpkin cravings, though, we live next to a majestic canyon full of yellow aspens that are now canary yellow. We took our camera with us on a drive and I was able to capture the essence of the way I feel toward fall. It’s that period of time when the sun is sinking lower, and I’m shaded by dozens of delicate aspen limbs, fanning me with golden leaves, and then the sun makes them glow as if they are on fire.

 

A week ago we picked out our perfect pumpkins in a local patch, but getting the whole pumpkin-picking experience definitely costs more than digging through the barrel at Walmart. We’ve also been watching really bad horror movies and not thinking about what we are doing for Halloween, because I may have to work. I am so uncool these days, but so OK with it at the same time. We love having a $3 movie theater nearby and love that we can get our all-you-can eat sushi fix a few blocks away. Because we love sushi so much and realize it could be a budgetary issue, we decided we can go twice a month. Is there crack in the tobiko or something?

 

We got drive to Logan, Utah, for the first time since we left the first week of May. We concluded that we were glad we didn’t live there anymore. It felt smaller than we remembered it. We were only up there for a few hours to attend our cousin Megan’s wedding. It was in some sort of pretend castle in the middle of a Hyde Park field. I made favors for her as our gift, and let me tell you how long it takes to assemble 200 truffles, refrigerate them, dip them in melted chocolate, refrigerate them, put them in bags, tie raffia and a fall leaf onto the bags, create labels and stick them on the bag … well, it takes longer than I anticipated. They were a huge hit and were gone within a half hour. If only I had the time to make more.

Dalton’s brother Cole J. received his mission call a few weeks back to Everett, Washington, and we could be happier for him. I am envying the beautiful, thick greenery he will wake up to every day. I hope the rain doesn’t bum him out too much.

Dalton’s dad received his patriarchal blessing yesterday. He and my mother-in-law Gail were sealed in the Bountiful temple just a few months before me and Dalton. Their family is so amazing and has come so far in such a short period of time. I feel so lucky to be a part of their journey. For anyone who doesn’t know what a patriarchal blessing is, LDS church officials stated this:

“Patriarchal blessings are given to worthy members of the Church by ordained patriarchs. Patriarchal blessings include a declaration of a person's lineage in the house of Israel and contain personal counsel from the Lord. As a person studies his or her patriarchal blessing and follows the counsel it contains, it will provide guidance, comfort, and protection.”

Dalton and I used to make fun of the religion classes BYU required its students to take, but the more Dalton shares with me about his Book of Mormon classes, the more excited I am to read the scriptures. Well, Dalton is acing all his class—surprised? Didn’t think so—and he recently got a raise!

The countdown begins now everyone! In only 2 ½ months we will be exploring Santiago, Chile. I just have to remember to not count down day by day or I will go ca-razy.

 

Growing into my skin

Ever since I was 7 years old I've hated my body, which is unfair because God made it specifically to fit me. I remember being in the second grade being conscious of how my legs looked every time I saw a reflection of myself. If you knew me as a 16-17 year old, you know I had a painful last few years of high school--full of self hatred, but it didn't stop after I went and got help before college. I was healthy again physically, but mentally I wasn't ready to let go of my body image problems--I wasn't sure how to. I slipped back into that dark hole off and on. It has been 6 years.

Thankfully, I met Dalton who never treated me like I was less of a person because of my challenges, and I am positive that he is the reason I'm now 15 lbs. heavier than I was when we got married. Gaining more weight still scares me, but it's nothing I can't overcome. I have my athleticism back, I'm not ashamed when I look in the mirror, and I have peace in my heart. I feel free.

One day, I will write much more about this, but it is still very tender. One day, I will write to help the thousands of other LDS women who misunderstand perfection and have been spiritually taken by this mental illness.

We vow to never neglect our blog again

Once upon a time I used to enjoy writing. Actually, I enjoyed it so much I spent most of my days feeling that thesauruses and Sylvia Plath were following me around every turn and through every door. And then one day, they disappeared.

I guess it all started when I got married, graduated from Utah State and tried living in the real world. A world that demanded a money-saving plan, a job that was close, enjoyable and gave me health insurance, and finally it demanded that I let go of a reality where I was my main concern. Leaving school also slapped me into the realization that I needed to readdress an issue I have been living with off-and-on since I was 16. These last few months have been very, well, real.

In a few photos, this is what our summer looked like...

Sling-shotting water balloons onto passing cars.

Me, catching my first fish :)

Backyard BBQs for two

And last, but certainly least... yard work.

We actually did a lot this summer and I'm proud of where we've come in the last few months. Man, being married is so much more fun than I could have ever fathomed.

The Daily Herald picked me up as a correspondent a week before graduation and I started a few days after we settled into Pleasant Grove. My experience with the Herald began when my editor told me to go to a Cedar Hills city meeting, you know, just to get a feel for the council, mayor and peanut gallery. They did not intend for me to produce a story that night, but after calling my editor three hours into the meeting to tell her the residents were using expletives mixed with church doctrine she apologetically asked me to go home and crank out a story in 40 minutes about a city I had basically never heard of.

The $25 I earned from that experience, along the intolerable anxiety, prompted me to email my editor back and tell her this wasn't going to work out for me. With a full-time job it just wasn't going to happen. The end result is I am still writing... because I felt I would be losing a piece of my identity if I quit. However, I do not feel fulfilled, and when I am writing for the Herald I mostly want to punch myself in the face and forget about writing for the rest of the week. But I'm done being mad at writing, and here I am scrambling back to it.

So I have an entirely new game plan. Curious? Well, if you aren't I'll lay out the condensed version: I don't have one, I have ten--depending the course my life takes. I can't have my dream job now, because I cannot leave Utah County. I can't keep going to school right now because it's not a smart move financially. And in all truthfulness, I want more than anything to be a mom, and I do not want my kids getting sneezed and coughed on all day at day care. So there you have it. Yes, it's marriage that did this to me--and I am mentally and physically the healthiest I've ever been because of it.

Dalton just LOVES going to school at BYU.
Not.

In fact, he texts me throughout the day to let me know who he is giving the stink eye to, including a girl he saw who looked like the wheelchair guy in The Nightmare Before Christmas. He complains about how many people greet him by asking where he went on his mission. Soon enough, he will tell them he didn't go on one.

In the Bennett family, it's Christmas every day during football season, so Dalton likes to see the Cougs lose and the Aggies win, unless the Cougs are playing the U. So our house has been full of positive energy and I encourage all of Dalton's teams to continue playing well so that I won't be given the stink eye. Luckily, I wasn't downstairs when the Vikings (Dalton's dad's favorite team) beat the Niners (Dalton's favorite team). The only part of the conversation I could make out was Dalton saying, "Well, I don't even care, OK?"

You know that can't be good.

Oh yeah, and Dalton works at a bank. He likes numbers... a lot, so it works. I am an academic adviser at a massage therapy school, so my job requirements include telling people a decade older than me to do their homework. I've worried about a student getting trafficked in Europe, watched students walk away from school thanks to drugs and I've seen what the diversity of Utah County has to offer. I can attest to there being more than Caucasian Mormons in this area. I love my job. There is so much to say about it, but as I get better about this blogging thing it will all come out, I'm sure.

Well, everyone, there is so much more to say, but goodness I'm behind. I'll have to take this slowly to catch my own thoughts up on everything that happened this summer. It's nice to be back.

Ready to Say Goodbye to Cache Valley

Today, we have been married about 3 1/2 months, and it's the first Saturday night we have spent doing our own thing. Honestly, I'm not crazy about it, but there is no way I was driving to all the way to Orem for a mission reunion -- no offense guys. I know there is some wife or girlfriend out there that knows what I mean.

Dalton and I fused our lives together at an interesting time for both of us. Dalton was coming back to his old life while I was ready to leave the life I knew for three years. He has been figuring out what exactly he wants to study, while I've decided and realized I want my career to go somewhere different than I originally thought. Dalton has been talking about actuarial science and accounting, or sports marketing.The latter choice has everything to do with his football fanaticism. I want to be an English professor.

Sidenote: Since being married, I've had to become more open-minded than I was. I married into a family that takes it personally when their team loses. And they watch golf. My family makes fun of people who watch golf. So of course, The Bennett's watch the Masters Tournament while eating Easter ham and deviled eggs. In my family, there are absolutley no distractions while enjoying Easter dinner. We must have a pleasant conversation while looking each other in the eye. I don't necessarily have a preference for either tradition. In conclusion, I am beginning to practice my golf swing and know that during the 2012 NFL season I should expect to not talk to Dalton if the 49ers lose.

My birthday is coming up! My parents will be here a few days before to celebrate and come to my graduation ceremony. Once I've walked across the stage in my gap and gown, we will pack our basement apartment -- it has served us well, though it's a sauna with a fake wall -- and then haul everything down to my grandparents' house in Pleasant Grove. They are on a mission, so it's not like we are just crashing at their place until we figure our lives out, though that wouldn't be the worst idea. Dalton starts at BYU in the fall and I am waiting for the final word on a communications internship in Lehi. I could also possibly end up at The Daily Herald. It's all so uncertain, and after each of us having a path paved for us these last few years, we feel like we are wandering in the dark. But the blessing of living in my grandparents' house is huge, especially while we are going through this transitioning period.

In mid-March we made a getaway to Portland!  The first images that pop into my head about that trip include a homeless man who vomited right in front of us and spotting a book called The Sexual Life of Catherine M. I had a good laugh, but was grateful my last name no longer began with "M." In all seriousness, we saw beautiful waterfalls, an amazing mansions, went to almost every quirky theater, saw art, saw science displays and ate delicious food. Overall, the Bennett family's first roadtrip was a win.

Oh, and we seriously LOVE cooking. I don't follow a recipe book, hardly ever. I start with one, but then swap out about half of the ingredients. There haven't been any major failures yet, but Dalton's first go at curry didn't hook him. Don't worry, he'll come around. This summer, I'll start posting my concotions. Maybe someone will actually try them, who knows!

Here is my most recent invention -- a twist on buffalo wings. They only took 40 minutes to prepare and bake-



Well, we are excited to leave and the days are counting down. I can't bevlieve after thousands of hours in The Statesman Office I will be saying goodbye so soon. I will feel liberated to leave, but know I will miss it because I put a piece of my heart into that paper. Dalton seems to be happy that I won't be coming home at 1 a.m. anymore. I can't imagine my life not voming home at 1 a.m.

We love you all!

Chapter One

Truth is, I never understood the get-married-and-start-a-blog trend.
Now, I do.

Suddenly, one person is the center of my life. Instead our telling our mothers when we have irregular bowel movements, we tell each other. Anyway, with this centered way of thinking, I've become somewhat detached to the social world. I don't hit the town on Saturday nights; I stay in with Dalton and watch movies like "Kingergarten Cop" because it's one of the only days of the week we can have a moment without distraction and be together. Therefore, I feel some outlet for family and friends to keep tabs on us might be useful, but this blog will mostly give us a way to keep track of our own experiences.

How rude of me, I didn't introduce us. I'm Catherine, now Catherine Bennett. Dalton Laine Bennett is my husband. He is 22 and I am 21. And those Nevadans who knew me from my childhood say we married too young, but in Utah where we go to school, it's entirely normal. You will understand if you visit. I'll write some inspiring post on our 50th anniversary that will make you reach for the tissue box.

Now, a little about each of us.

Dalton: Studies accounting, aces tests without studying, 6'6" basketball player, San Fransisco 49ers fanatic, enjoys yard work, country music fan, has a slightly convincing British accent, good at following a recipe, overly prepared, assumes starfish position when sleeping, eats ice cream like it's his occupation, big brother, returned missionary from Chile.

Catherine: Studies English and journalism, wants to be an English professor, 5'6" former athlete, editor in chief of Utah State newspaper, acoustic music fan, speaks in tongues in her sleep, likes rainy cities, has a slightly pathetic Indian accent, writes and performs beat poetry, concocts her own recipes, emotional basketcase.


It's true, we are blatant opposites. It works perfectly.

We are catching you right in the action of our lives, too. I'm graduating in two months and will begin searching for a job of some sort. Who knows what will happen. Dalton will be stuck right in the middle of his college career, starting at BYU in the fall. It's that really awkward, uncertain part of life where you cross your fingers and hope some miracle leads you toward fuilfillment. But for now, let's simply focus on the fact that Spring Break is practically on our doorsteps and we are so, totally leaving for Portland on Sunday. I plan to lose my mind -- in a good way -- in Powell's Books and eat some seriously drool-worthy food.

More to come.

D&C