Iowa

Hello friends! Now that I have firmly established myself as a terrible blogger (how has there been a year and a half since my last post?!) I'm going to give it another try. Here goes.

I'm not in Iowa anymore! I had a fantastic year and a half in Des Moines. I'm not sure how to put that length of time into one blog post, so here are a few pics to sum it up:

This place! I couldn't have asked for a better place to work during my time in Des Moines or a better crew to work with. These girls (and the couple of guys who were brave enough to work with us) became my Iowa family, and I miss them all tremendously. Stay tuned for more on working at Caribou in an upcoming post. 

Around April I finally put an end to my extensive research and bought a bike. I love it! In the couple of months that I had my bike in Des Moines I feel like I got to know the city far better than I did when I drove or walked everywhere. It's a great city for cycling.

Such freaking awesome bike trails! It's sad I discovered them such a short time before we left.

I LOVED grocery shopping in Des Moines. This picture is of my favorite HyVee (which was across the street from Aldi), but I also shopped often at the Dahl's across the street from our apartment. I have never shopped anywhere where the employees for the most part seem to genuinely want to be there. I also had more random awesome conversations with strangers than in Des Moines grocery stores. Oh the Midwest.

By FAR the best part of living in Iowa was finally being married to this guy! Des Moines will always have a special place in my heart as the site of our first home together. Leaving our apartment was bittersweet. I was very ready to get out of the place where, among other things, the laundry facilities were terrible and the landlord was in complete denial (see below), but we'll never have another first apartment. I definitely teared up a bit closing the door on Apt 121 for the last time.

(I did not write this passive agressive note, just documented it. But it's true. The dryer sucked, even when set on "high" as suggested.)

And finally, the weather. Who doesn't love a random May snowstorm followed the next week by high temps in the 90s? Of all the places I've lived or spent time, Iowa takes the cake for crazy weather. Crazy.

For most of my life Iowa was one of those random middle-of-nowhere states that you referenced when you wanted to mention somewhere indefinitely far away. Never, ever did I imagine I would spend any length of time there. While it was a bit farther from... well, everything, than I preferred, I'm so glad I had the chance to discover the fantastic city that is Des Moines. Iowa, you will never be that random state in the middle of nowhere to me again.

Traffic Laws: A Comparison

Kentucky:

Speed Limit 55 mph
Translation: Drive 65-70 mph

Yellow Light
Translation: Speed up

Just-Turned-Red Light
Translation: SPEED UP YOU CAN STILL MAKE IT!!!!

Right of Way
Translation: The driver with the biggest vehicle goes first.

Stop Sign
Translation: Wait... we have those?

Left Turn Signal On
Translation: I accidentally hit that mysterious stick on my steering wheel while swatting at that fly 20 miles back.

Right Turn Signal On
Translation: I accidentally hit that mysterious stick on my steering wheel while rolling up my window when it started to rain 10 minutes ago.

No Turn Signal 
Translation: Turning right and left, whenever I want to. Probably at the same time.

What Your GPS Says
Turn left at the second fork past the black barn. Continue "straight" for 12 miles. Turn right past the third horse farm with the stone wall. Make a U-turn. You are off the road. Turn around. Turn around now! NOW!

Iowa:

Speed Limit 60 mph
Translation: Drive 60 mph

Yellow Light
Translation: Clear the intersection

Just-Turned-Red-Light
Translation: Stop

Right of Way
Translation: "Hi neighbor! Why don't you go first?" "No, you first." "No, really, I insist. You first." "I'm quite enjoying sitting here at this intersection, so please, go ahead." "Oh. Well, okay. Thank you, neighbor!"

Stop Sign
Translation: Stop. Look. Go.

Left Turn Signal On
Translation: I'm turning left soon.

Right Turn Signal On
Translation: I'm turning right soon.

No Turn Signal
Translation: I'm not turning.

What Your GPS Says
Oh wait! I don't even USE my GPS here! That's right, I, the same horrible with directions Christy who previously drove (and frequently got lost) in Ohio and Kentucky, now find my destinations simply by glancing at a map before I leave. In Des Moines, north-south roads are numbered (higher the farther west you go) and there are several east-west roads that go all the way across the main area of the region and are easy to remember. What's that? You want to go to Aldi? Well, my friend, you simply have to hop on I-235 East, get off on 68th Street, go north until you hit Douglas and then take a right. If you don't want to get on the highway, you can take University to 68th instead. Or, if you prefer, you can take 31st St north and turn left on Douglas. (Okay, okay, 31st does shift east and turn into 30th, and then into Euclid. Life is difficult sometimes. Get over it.) How simple is that!? It all just makes so much sense!

All that to say, Kentucky will always, always, always have a special place in my heart... but I like driving in Iowa better.

Lessons From an Old Wise Married Woman

We're hitched!

I've been married a whole five days now. Since with marriage invariably comes infinite wisdom and knowledge, I thought I would pass on some of my new-found sagacity to you, my dear readership. Here we go.

1.  If you have a dryer that dries clothes, DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED! I repent of my previous, ungrateful clothes-drying ways! I have done SO much laundry since getting to Des Moines and have WAY too much still to do. Sadly, the dryers only get things about 75% dry. It looked like snow had fallen in our apartment yesterday because every available piece of furniture had sheets spread over it to dry. Welcome to my laundry life for the next 1.5 years.

2. Tennis balls aren't just for playing tennis! I bought some to put in the dryer with the clothes, since somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered reading that this breaks up the clothes so they dry faster. With the tennis balls, my wash comes out 85%-90% dry! Hooray!

3. Hot chocolate in bed may sound romantic, but it's actually just a recipe for burns, messes, more laundry. Don't do it.

4. Men are like children. To keep them happy, you need to:

4a. Buy them toys:

4b. Give them video games:

4c. Take them to the mall and buy them tacos.

Overall, life is good. Stay tuned for more!

Merry Humason Christmas!

I woke up this morning to the sound of a hair dryer. I live in a house with four other girls, so that's not terribly unusual. I stretched and rolled over... and then realized I had no idea where I was sleeping. Backtrack, backtrack, backtrack... Ah! I'm in Cincinnati. That's right. Sleeping on the futon in what used to be my bedroom. Ok. I closed my eyes again. OH WAIT! It's CHRISTMAS!!! I lay there for a while longer, listening. Mom and Dad were up. No noise from my siblings. Humason Family Tradition Law states that no person may go downstairs on Christmas morning until all parties are showered, dressed, and ready for the day. So instead of going downstairs, I ran into Lisa's room and jumped on her bed. "It'sChristmasIt'sChristmasIt'sChristmasIt'sChristmas!!!!!!" She woke up.

Humason Family Tradition Law has become a little lax in recent years, so Lisa and I came downstairs in our PJs. Other than that, though, our Christmas morning proceeded pretty much like every other Christmas morning I can remember:

Part 1: Stockings

My grandma knitted each of us one of these stockings with our names and birth years on them. Mom's making one for Andrew next year, so he'll officially be part of the family! Once upon a time our stockings were filled with candy and fun little knick knacks, but more recently we've all become practical.

I love that I will use everything in this stocking! No silly stuff that will take up space on a shelf somewhere. 

Part II: Breakfast

After stockings, we light a candle on the Christmas coffee cake (which we ONLY eat on Christmas) and sing happy birthday to Jesus.

Mom never let us eat just the coffee cake, though. We always had to have fruit or yogurt or something with it. Once upon a time I hated that, but now I'll happily take my fruit/Greek yogurt/homemade cinnamon granola parfait.

Part III: Presents

And finally, we open Christmas presents. Lisa and I passed out gifts this year, and then we take turns opening them one by one, from youngest to oldest. It usually takes a couple of hours, and I love every minute of it. (I would post a picture, but the only one I have is sideways and I don't feel like taking the time to figure out how to rotate it. On a different note, I apologize for the terrible photo quality today. I was using my .0000000312 megapixel cell phone camera.) I am blessed to have an incredibly wonderful family, and I love the way we have celebrated Christ's birth by being together every Christmas, not just in physical location, but with quality time together.

I'm taking my stocking with me this year, because in 5 days I'm becoming Mrs. Crisologo! Knowing that next Christmas will probably be completely different than the past 24 makes me a bit nostalgic, but I'm so excited to start new traditions with Andrew next year. Stay tuned for a Merry Crisologo Christmas post in 2012!

We're Together!

Together! Aren't we adorable?

T-minus nine days to the wedding! My last day at Asbury was on Friday, and I will cover nearly 3000 miles by air and car before finally landing in my new life in Des Moines.

 Wedding roadmap. Whew!

I'm writing currently from Andrew's parents' house in Alabama where we are spending a few days with his family before I head home for Christmas. We've filled the week so far with lots of wedding errands, including leaving my engagement ring at the jewler.

Shiny.

We're having it fused to my wedding band, so I won't get to wear it until after the wedding. Don't worry, though, Andrew made sure everyone will know he's staked his claim. If you see me in Cincinnati over Christmas, I'll be wearing this beauty:

Not-as-shiny $9 place-holder

Over and out for now. Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve!

Banana "Ice Cream"

I like food. I mentioned in my last post that I love to cook. I read food blogs constantly and copy recipes I like into Journler on my Mac. I LOVE how easy this software makes it for me to keep track of my recipes. I can tag recipes by ingredient, label them with different colors, and search the entire recipe collection for key words.

Gray means I've made it, purple means I should make it again, and red means 'try this next!'

One recipe that hasn't made it into Journler yet (mostly because it's so stinkin' easy you don't need a recipe!) is the banana "ice cream" I first heard this idea from the lovely Kelcie Miller. My banana ice cream-making process usually goes something like this:

Shoot, my bananas are turning brown.

In this case, the bananas are brown because Karissa and I both bought bananas at the same time. We eat lots of bananas at our house, but, I mean, not that many. Even with the banana ice cream, banana bread is probably in order.

But not for this banana. This one will be chopped up,

Sprinkled with cinnamon,

and forked.

Smash, smash.

Squish, squish.

All ready!

After a few hours in the freezer, it will come out niiiiice and ice creamy. Some people will stick the banana in the blender to make it more smooth and 'scoopable' like ice cream, but I usually skip that step. Firstly, that means you have to wait longer to eat it. Secondly, then you have to wash the blender.

It actually tastes like ice cream! And you don't have to feel bad about eating it because it's just a banana! TOTALLY a win!

Here We Are!

I have had this blog for several months. I've started introductory posts, saved them as drafts, and never finished them. I've thought of other things I could post, but felt like I couldn't post them until I had introduced myself, my life, and so on. Well, forget it. I'm going to blog whatever I darn well please. Chances are pretty good that if you're reading this, you already know me. If you don't, this post will serve as a pretty decent introduction.

First of all, this is my fiance, Andrew:

I love him:

I also have fun with the Glow Paint iPad App.

Currently Andrew lives by himself in an apartment in Des Moines, where he is studying at Des Moines University to be a podiatrist.

Feet:

I love to cook. When I go up to Des Moines to visit Andrew, I enjoy stuffing his freezer with food. While I like to know that this means he doesn't have to eat peanut butter sandwiches every day, I also love that it means I get to be in a cooking frenzy for a week or so. Fun!

When I am not in Des Moines--and the freezer stock runs low--Andrew is left to fend for himself. He's creative when it comes to typical bachelor fare, though. Cheese toast, for example, is a staple. That's bread + cheese + (sometimes) garlic powder toasted in a toaster oven until it's nice and melty. The disadvantage of cheese toast is that sometimes the texture leaves something to be desired. Melty= mushy. Not good. But not to worry! This creative mind has a solution.

Chex Mix cheese toast! The key, I'm told, is to put the Chex Mix on when the bread is fresh out of the toaster oven so it gets stuck in all the melted cheese. Yum! *crunch*