Back Again!

It has no doubt been too long since my last entry. My first year of married life is coming to a close and I think I speak for both of us when I say....we are ready for the next stage! Newlywed life is extremely overrated in my opinion. It was fairly rocky and definitely not the over-hyped-year of unlimited bliss. I do feel confident in our decision to wed and have no regrets, it just isn't easy as everyone says. (If you pry and ask enough, I believe "everyone" would agree that the first year is possibly the hardest. I haven't been married long enough to know anything different, but it seems to be getting better all the time.)
The source of some of our stress has been surrounded by our multiple jobs and obligations. Michael has been torn between his last year of studies, taking night classes, and working full time and I have been between multiple full time and part time jobs. We were fortunate enough to have been RAs at the apartment complex where we lived, which in turn paid our rent. March 1st we moved into our new house in Saratoga Springs, Utah. (It's silly, but I love that we live in Saratoga Springs simply because of the name. It's not a typical "Utah-Book-Of-Mormony town name" and it reminds me of Saratoga Springs, NY. My heart still pangs for the East Coast and it is a stupidly simply thing that I enjoy.) Everyday Michael and I look at each other and ask, "I wonder if there will ever be a day that we look around our new house and NOT be amazed." Hopefully that day never happens.
We both feel very fortunate to be able to afford what we have. The truth is that Michael and I both are very frugal (mostly Michael). We still joke about our third date when he took me out to the Olive Garden. He only took girls to nice restaurants if he saw a future in it, so I was positively elated. I ordered a $13 piece of lasagna and Michael almost choked on the bill. Granted, it was a huge portion, I had some leftover to take home, and he tried it and agreed it was excellent..still...$13 for lasagna?!? Yepp.
Much of our free time on the weekends these days consists of slaving away in our yard, removing the weeds and unending amount of rocks, attempting to till the ground, and transferring dirt all by hand. Our plan is to landscape our yard ourselves (again, saving money) and in so doing, get a tan, work up a sweat, and get some quality time together. We both laugh and agree that, if we were still living at home and our parents made us do this work, we would curse and rebel, but we get a strange satisfaction in it. It feels completely different when it is YOUR lawn your manicuring. Year one in our new house includes starting a compost (finally!) and getting the lawn in. Year two will consist of really pulling together my garden, and year three will include installing a fence.
Settling down in Utah has given me hosts of mixed emotions. Overall I am overjoyed with our location and house and the incredible deal it was. The cost of living, including my passion of eating the freshest, best food around is much easier here (closer to Mexico and California, more sunshine, local Farmer's Markets), the mountains have grown on me, but nothing can replace the lack of trees and green. The dullest thing (in my opinion) about Utah is the color: bleak browns, greys, and puke yellows. My eyes have not adjusted to the lack of greens, but I have grown to love the vast amount sky blues!
Our breath taking view from our house of Utah Lake and Mount Timpanogos are chipping away at my hard shell of anti-Utah and I can feel myself adapting to my surroundings. I will never refer to myself as a "Utahn" but I do have a sense of pride to represent the mountain west.