Emily and Matt

Per Aunt Claire’s request, I give you the crunchy onion chicken recipe from Joan.

1 c Frank’s French Fried Onions
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg, or egg substitute

Crush onions in a plastic bag. Dip chicken into egg, then cook in onion crumbs. Bank 20 minutes at 350 degrees until cooked through.

*Note: Cover baking sheet with foil, spray foil with Pam, then place chicken on to bake.

I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds yummy!

As I was getting my hair cut Wednesday night, an unknown number called my phone. Checking the voicemail while chatting with Jen, who does my hair, I thought I heard “fraud alert.” Not wanting to panic, I tried my best to forget about it and handle it after I was done. I was with Matt when I finally got cell service. Needless to say, both of us were really nervous when I called the number.

I entered my access code and the automated guy spoke as I nervously bit my lower lip.

“There has been a fraud alert put on your credit card. The activity was from Oct. 14.”

My heart was racing and Matt and I gripped hands and took a deep breath.

“A total of $7.49 was charged to your account.”

Wait, what?

“The purchase was in the category of fast food. If you did not make this purchase, please contact us immediately.”

All fear dissipated into sheer laughter. Sure, I had been busted for bad eating habits by my credit card, but really, I just had a burrito from a local chain burrito store. (It was actually a Hawaiian burrito, very interesting.) Maybe it was getting the “regular” sized fountain soda instead of the small that triggered the alert. They were right that these purchases fall out of my normal realm of spending. So, thank you, credit card company, for your innovative plan to scare people with alerts to keep them from consuming french fries and the like.

And no, I’m not talking about the oven. I added a jewel in my domestic goddess crown as I made dinner last night–and the only thing frozen was the chicken! Again I take a crack at foodie photography:

Hopefully it’s not too “in your face food.” Matt laughed at me for taking pictures of food again and again refused to be pictured eating it. Party pooper!

Thanks to Matt’s cousin Alisha for the recipe, and to my aunt Claire for helping me start a recipe collection at my bridal shower! Bit by bit this life as a wife stuff is becoming more normal.

On a hot Saturday in September, my friend Jillian sealed the deal with Shawn. Jillian and I have known each other since the sixth grade, when everyone was meeting the kids from the other elementary schools. A group of girls grabbed me by the arm saying, “Emily! Emily! We found someone skinnier than you!” Jillian and I compared wrists, the true skinny test, and we were kindred. Having a love for musicals and trendy magazines, we were instant friends. Her love of everything classic radiated in her wedding and I loved every second of it.

The ceremony was held at Joaquin Miller Park. I’ve always loved this venue, with the cascades and the fountains. The reception was held at a golf course in Alameda, I can’t remember the name.

What a classic and beautiful bride! I love the subtle pattern to her dress. Maybe she could trim off the bottom and make it a cocktail dress!

At the reception we were surprised to find Sandy and Dan there, with baby Ethan Andrew in tow. That little dude was only five days old at the time!

I love this shot of Ethan. He’s already a big personality!

With proud dad, Dan:

One of the favorite parts of the night was getting caught up with some old friends, Sandy and her mom, Shannon and her parents. Back in fourth grade, we three sang “I’ve Got the Horse Right Here” from Guys and Dolls:

It was a reunion at the wedding, but once Ethan is a little bigger, maybe we’ll get a reprise.

Several times during the night, I thought to myself “how did we all get to this point?” Regardless, I am glad we’re still friends and am happy for all that we have accomplished in our lives.

Today is the one-year anniversary of the death of Papa, my grandpa. In this year there have been three family weddings, all of which were a time of fun and celebration for our family. Yet, there was still something missing in those weddings, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc.

It has been challenging to have the family cope with the loss of a man who we all admired and deeply loved. Family gatherings and life itself hasn’t been the same, but we are all thankful for the family we still have and the legacy he left for us to look up to as we navigate life.

I wrote the following on my personal blog last year and it doesn’t seem like I posted it here. I’m posting it here today to remember and reflect.

—

Oct. 14, 2007

Some days I have to remind myself that life will get better in a few days, just wait. But I’m realizing more and more that in the waiting, it doesn’t seem to lull. I guess that’s what happens when you transition into adulthood.

That wishful thinking was on my mind last week: just wait until the weekend, you’ll have a chance to relax and you’ll get a fresh start on Monday. That kind of thinking is what gets you into trouble. Well, I’m really not that superstitious, but I am becoming a devout believer in When-it-rains-it-pours-ism.

The torrential downpour of a weird day was this: My mom woke me up this morning to the news that my Papa (grandfather) had died in the night. I was waiting to hear “he collapsed, but he’s okay.” But it wasn’t the case this time. I was really close with Papa and hadn’t seen it coming, although his health wasn’t particularly good as of late. In my groggy, distraught state, I realized that this was the day that my brother had long-planned to propose to his girlfriend.

As the day nears its end, I am exhausted from the extreme emotions. In my experience with loss in the family, God has always blessed us. When my great-grandma died, my cousin Joshua was born about a month later. Today, I have a sister-in-law. And very recently, Matt and Megan’s fiance Matthew just joined in as well. It’s not right to say that it offsets the losses, but I count these people as huge blessings for these times.

Papa’s legacy was loving the Lord and loving others. His family reached far beyond our little unit. With the new families that are now starting to be made, I pray that we’ll take Papa’s legacy in stride.

Having rarely dealt with death much, I’ve always been somewhat bothered by the Christian attitude that it’s a time to celebrate, that he/she is home with the Lord. Sometimes I feel people may misunderstand this idea and think we’re not mourning. As I told Matt tonight, I know he’s in heaven, but I have the right to be sad and cry for a while because I miss him down here. And I do feel deeply sad.

Yet, Papa was a man of God. I know he would want us to rejoice because he’s in heaven. All day I still didn’t feel like I was ready for this, but at church we sang a song that is helping me. It is because Jesus died for all of us that we don’t have to be afraid of death. Death has no power over God; it’s a temporary parting. We sang the following song at church tonight and I was able to rejoice in this fact. I wish everyone who has lost a loved one could know this level of comfort that comes from above.

Mighty to Save — Hillsong

Everyone needs compassion
Love that’s never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations

Chorus:
Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever, Author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Bridge:
Shine your light
And let the whole world see
We’re singing
For the glory of the risen King, Jesus

The absence of blinds makes the sun a cruel weekend alarm clock. This morning, however, the sleeping-in plans cut short led to the idea of an awesome breakfast. Typically, we may chow down some cereal or a cereal bar. Instead, this morning our plan was a scramble with pineapple sausage and leftover potato wedges.  It was my first time cooking sausage and I used the opportunity to perfect my pan-flipping skills. The sweet, sizzling sausage practically begged me to sprinkle some brown sugar on top. So I obliged.

(As always, click on the photos to view a larger version.)

We decided my picture of the final product in the pan was too “in your face food.”  I’m still perfecting both my cooking and food picture skills. Thanks for your patience.

Along with homemade bread — my second and moderately successful attempt — it was an awesome way to greet the morning.

And if that weren’t enough, I had a hankering for chocolate chip banana bread. Problem was, I didn’t have two of the ingredients. Thank goodness for Google, as I was able to find substitutes. While I would like to say it was easy, the final product was my second attempt. (Sensing a trend here with my baking projects?) You see, our pantry is right next to our laundry in our kitchen, so it becomes a catch-all. While trying to make the scramble without overcooking the eggs, I wasn’t entirely focused on the banana bread. I went to get the white Costco-sized cooking oil bottle, measured it and poured it on in the mix. Thinking it was thicker than I expected, I double checked the package. Good thing, because I had put laundry detergent in the mix. D’oh! Upon telling Matt this, he asked me what would happened if he died from me poisoning him. Such love. Maybe we should build some bigger shelves above our laundry space. It reminds me of the time my mom accidentally sprayed Scrubbing Bubbles in her hair, thinking it was hairspray. Us Atwoods must be bad at mornings or multi-tasking. Or both.

So, the next batch turned out much better, although the edges got a bit more crispy than I would like. Since every appliance in our kitchen has the same beep, I have apparently tuned them out and my bread was neglected.

If our house wasn’t filled with enough delectable smells already, I decided to celebrate autumn by lighting a candle. My mom always has these great smelling candles that makes the drastic change in weather somewhat enjoyable. I finally went down to Michael’s and picked up a couple — gingerbread and pumpkin scents — as well as a couple candle holders like so:

We’re still working on home improvements, bit by bit. Matt installed a new front door lock today and yesterday I researched window coverings at a local store. Little by little, we’re getting settled into our new home and life together.

U.S. News and World Report is putting on a video contest called “Why My School Rocks.” While I have mixed emotions thinking back on my college experience, Biola was truly great in offering me several opportunities that have greatly benefited me today and I don’t believe I would have received them elsewhere. So check out the video below so we can win!

And I would like to add a special shout out to the mass communications program there. It was mostly just developing when I attended and my how everything has grown…

After a brief stop at my parents’ house to pick up some Halloween decorations, we made a trip to one of our favorite places: Costco! There was a lot going on there, with a piano roadshow and Christmas decorations already up, not to mention the wall of flat screen TVs luring us inside the store of oversized wonders.

I decided that this time, for maybe the second time in our lives, would be a quick trip through Costco. Armed with my All Out Of checklist, I was a girl in painful shoes on a mission. Matt, on the other hand, wanted to do what I will now call The Warehouse Weave. Where we make sure each item is thoroughly examined. On every aisle.

Don’t believe me? Case in point:

But it’s hard to be mad at those two loveable faces. And I also got a berry sundae at the end.

As previously mentioned, we have moved from our furnished tiny apartment to our very own condo! It was hard to say goodbye to the barrage of fake plants and avocado fridge, but somehow we managed to be torn away. I’ll work on a post about moving, but for now, please take a tour of our new condo! It was staged, so don’t think we somehow got everything looking perfect in a few weeks. You’ll get the “real” photos next post.

(Click on the photos to view them larger.)

Stay tuned for the next installment!

A lack of posts might indicate that newlywed life is busy. In our case, that is definitely the truth. Matt’s club team is about to finish their season, I just finished my brief stint in co-ed Ultimate last weekend, I was at a meeting for work until 10 last night, with another planned for next week. Oh, and then there’s the fact that we bought a condo! Yes, as previously hinted we were blessed to find a new place that’s all our own. Now we’re feeding the closets our stuff and are still cleaning and getting furniture.

However, that’s not what this post is about. It takes time, energy and wireless Internet (ahem, Matt, I’m picky and don’t want to sit at the desk to blog on my laptop) to write a post about a big event such as home ownership. And peppy captions don’t just write themselves. So more on that later!

This post, instead, is going back to the roots of what this blog is about: Matt, me and the warm, fuzzy love we share. And so, while at work, I logged onto an awesome radio site called Pandora.com to help pass the day. The site is smart and plays songs based on artists you like. Well, wouldn’t you know they played one of my favorite artists, playing my (now) favorite song of his:

Anyone recognize this? It was our first dance song, “More Than Anyone” by Gavin DeGraw. Although, we had the DJ take out the part in the beginning where he tries to convince the girl that he loved her a lot, as there was no need for convincing in our situation.  

I got kinda emotional listening to it today, which is strange considering I was way too excited and overjoyed to worry about being a sap when we actually danced to it. It’s not necessarily “our song,” but one that A) we could agree on; and B) was somewhat meaningful to us. It brought us back to the beginning of our relationship as I have been a fan of Gavin DeGraw for a while–my longtime college roommate and I went to see him open for Maroon 5 at the Hollywood House of Blues when he was all new and undiscovered. It was ooey-gooey awesomeness!– and listened to it a lot when I first met Matt. I tell you this to give some background on our wedding details, but also because his music has been featured in some popular shows that I don’t watch, so I just wanted to clear the air that our first dance song was not chosen because of a lame TV show.