What We've Been Up To

I'm sure everyone is wondering what happened with the Cold Tuesday Morning. Its riveting, I know... Our last entry was posted on Christmas Eve. I really don't like that its been over 3 months since we've written anything, but it couldn't have been helped. Since then, we've experienced several changes and we've spent the past few weeks adjusting to these changes. Lets just start from the beginning.

1. I got a new job working at the University of Memphis. I am an Occupational Safety Coordinator and I started the beginning of January. Many people are very confused about what I actually do as an Environmental Health and Safety employee, and I'm not going to go into a long tangent in this post, but basically EHS people work for your company (in my case the university) for two basic reasons. The first is to keep all employees as safe as possible by eliminating hazards that could cause injuries or illnesses. The second is the save the company money through lower workers compensation costs AND avoiding OSHA fines. As I'm writing this, I've come to the realization that I'm going to write an more in-detail post explaining things an EHS person might do at work. 

2. Because of the new job, we moved closer to UofM, obviously. We found a perfect townhouse that has a wood-burning fireplace, huge bedrooms, and plenty of room for Koba and Yuki to chase each other around. And, its an easy commute to work. Although we have visited Memphis often, moving here has been different, to say the least, moving from a fairly rural area to the 23rd largest city in the United States! We've enjoyed trying new restaurants, doing Memphis things, and meeting new people at church and work.

3. Nathan and my dad went the the NHL All-Star skills competition and game on January 30-31. This weekend had been building up for almost a year since Nashville won the bid on the NHL All-Star festivities. When this season started, we decided to go in with my parents and buy half-season tickets to qualify to buy All-Star tickets. Well, basically we only got to use half of our game tickets before we moved and had to sell the rest, but we made the trip back to my parents house to enjoy a hockey-filled weekend. Nathan and dad loved getting to experience such as once-in-a-lifetime event (for Nashville) and my mom and I enjoyed watching it live on TV also.

4. Yuki turned 1. She's just so darn cute, still. Yuki Koehler was born on February 12, 2015. She enjoys eating, playing with Koba, getting belly rubs, and howling at the moon (literally, she howls like a little dog). Happy Birthday Yuki!

5. Nathan passed the CCNA test, so he is now a Cisco Certified Network Associate. Yay! This is us celebrating:

6. We celebrated Resurrection Sunday. It was a beautiful day to celebrate Jesus rising from the dead! We enjoyed the weekend with Nathan's parents and an Easter lunch complete with steak and pecan pie. Oh. Also, I joined the choir at church, so it was pretty exciting to get to perform during the celebration service.

As far as the next post on Cold Tuesday Morning goes.... I'm not sure when that will happen. We are going to try and post something at least once a month, but it isn't going to be near the amount of content as it was before we moved.

This Christmas!

As you know, we created a 2015 Christmas Bucket List. Well, there's only a few days left before Christmas, so I figured that I would post an update before this get super hectic. Here's a link to our Christmas Bucket List.

Kiss Under the Mistletoe. I'm so happy and blessed to have Nathan to spend my Christmases with. 

Look at the Lights at the Opryland Hotel. I have been to the Opryland Hotel before, and have even been there around Christmas (The first time I'd been there at all was with Nathan, if you can believe that), but I'd never walked around and looked at the outside lights. This year, we wanted to do this together.

Make Christmas Candy. Last year, I made Christmas cookies and candy for our Christmas Party, but this year, when we realized we were not going to be able to host a Christmas Party, I just decided to randomly make the goodies. 

Go See the Dancing Lights. Last year, we discovered the Dancing Lights of Christmas at Jellystone Park in Nashville. The ad recommends bringing your pets, so last year, we brought Koba, and he actually seemed to like it. This year, we were brave and brought both Koba and Yuki. Well, they really enjoyed the light show put to music by staring at the car floor the entire time....

Sleep Under the Tree.... Well, we never slept under the Christmas Tree. Honestly, we wouldn't have fit under this year's 2-footer, but I just wanted to show a picture of our tree ;)

Have a Christmas Movie Marathon. I collect Christmas movies and so every year, I try to watch as many as I can until I get annoyed with the cheesiness. This year, I didn't get far into my marathon. We did watch a few, and we also went to see "How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical." It was enjoyable.

Undocumented Items...

• Go Black Friday Shopping
• Drink Hot Chocolate

Our Christmas Bucket List Failures....

• Watch a Christmas Parade
• Host a Christmas Party
• Sleep Under the Tree

More Mistletoe Photos

Merry Christmas!

BPP #13

K + D Forever. Two weekends ago, Dustin Tysver and (then) Kaitlin Chiaventone got married! I was given the opportunity to not only be a bridesmaid, but also help out on the invitations and programs. I have to say, it was such an honor to serve and celebrate with Kaitlin and Dustin! Congratulations, you two! Also, note this was our 4th wedding (and I think last) for 2015.

USA Forever. Our biggest event for 4th of July weekend was attending the USA vs. Guatemala Soccer Game. Neither of us had ever been to a soccer game, and really did not know what exactly to expect. I'd have to say, overall, it was pretty fun and extraordinarily patriotic. For more, click here.

Weird Al Forever...? When Nathan said he wanted to go see Weird Al Yankovic in concert, I was a bit skeptical. For one, I don't know many of his songs, and secondly....well.....he's weird. Long story short it ended up being a fun concert, and an interesting night, to say the least. For more, click here.

K + Y Forever. CAT PHOTOSHOOT. No explanation needed. Leave a comment on which photo is your favorite!

Koba:

Yuki:

Koba & Yuki:

Top 5 in Year 1

How do you summarize a year of your life? I'm intensely trying to resist making a "Rent" reference right now..... Anyway.... seriously, how can you sum up the first year of marriage? We have had so many memories, created new family traditions, and discovered interesting things about ourselves and each other!

So, to avoid writing you a narrative novel about everything fun we did this year, we decided to pick 5 categories and we would each pick our favorite thing in each category. Thus, Top 5 in Year 1.

Our Honeymoon plus other Traveling Adventures - Our honeymoon was fantastic and we got to experience several other new places together as well. We went to Charleston, SC; St. Louis, MO; Gulf Shores, AL; The Smoky Mountains, TN during our first year!

Ashley: My favorite thing we did on a vacation was go on a walking tour in Charleston. It was really interesting to learn about the history of the city and the people who lived there. Although, it was a hot day, we both enjoyed this adventure on our honeymoon! A close second, for me, is when we went on the Fort Sumter Boat ride in Charleston.

Nathan: My favorite thing that we did on vacation was also the walking tour. If I've been on one before, I've pushed it from my mind, but this tour was awesome! That being said, all of our vacations have had their great moments.


Koba and Yuki - This year, not only did we get one cat (which I thought would never happen), but we got two! Koba and Yuki are great entertainers and can almost always provide a laugh. We have so many stories about them, so it is a bit hard to narrow it down to one!

Ashley: My best memory of our cats is when they are snuggly. Although I think its funny when they play, its so sweet to watch them nuzzle up next to each other and sleep together.

Nathan: My favorite memory with both of them would have to be when I took them upstairs to their room and I had one under each arm. I (gently) bumped their heads together and Koba took great offense to it, and turned around and smacked Yuki! I guess he thought she had done it on purpose.


Exciting New Dates - We've had several really fun dates this year!

Ashley: My favorite date was when we went to see Miranda Sings live. I've been watching Colleen Ballinger (and her alter-ego, Miranda) on YouTube for years now, so I was so excited when she announced she would be coming to Nashville! Nathan was such a trooper to go and watch her with me ;)

Nathan: One of my favorite things we did was the last Predators game we went to see. The Preds were playing the Blackhawks in the playoffs...I saw several in-person firsts: first playoff win, first hat trick, first time a fan pulled a knife on another fan (that part was scary) but it was awesome!


Holidays - What a special time it has been this year to be able to spend all of the holidays with the one you love! This year we combined our family traditions, as well as created some of our own!

Ashley: My favorite thing we did on a holiday was around Christmas-time when we went to see the "Dancing Lights of Christmas." It was so awesome to drive through the park with the lights blinking to the Christmas Carols! We took Koba with us, and he seemed to love it too! It was a fun night.

Nathan: Taking Koba to the dancing lights was a lot of fun! I also enjoyed getting to go to Patti's at Christmas with my side of the family. 


A Year Together - There are so many wonderful things about being married! God has blessed us with each other and we are honored to love and respect each other. 

Ashley: The top moment of our lives during this year together is really several moments rolled into one. My favorite times are when we are having deep conversations, as well as being weird together. Both of these situations show vulnerability. I'm grateful to have someone who I can be vulnerable with and who feels the freedom to be vulnerable with me!

Nathan: I love being able to tell Ashley anything. There have always been parts of me that I've kept to myself. I share some of my weirdness with everyone, but Ashley gets to see every part of me...probably more weirdness than anything! I know that she is my soulmate and it's fantastic to know that she truly gets me and accepts me, no matter what. Deep conversations, simple dates, just getting to be completely transparent with her are my favorite times. 

Koba Turns 1

Friday was Koba's Birthday! To celebrate, we got him a "cake," some gifts, took lots of pictures, and gave him a birthday survey. The answers to his survey are first, followed by some of the pictures we took.

Name: Koba. Pronounced Ko-BA

Birthday: May 15, 2014. I was adopted on July 27, 2014.

Current Weight: Isn't this a little personal? But if you must know, 10.2 lbs. I'm a fully grown adult cat now.

Name Origin: Koba from "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (2014). He's the villain ape trying to rule over all of the apes. 

Nicknames: Mr. Grumpy Whiskers, Koby

Favorite Color: Green

Biggest Fears: Bath time, Yuki

Current Hobbies: Bird-watching, napping, EATING, playing tag with Yuki, dancing


Now for the pictures!!!

"It's my birthday! HEYO!"

"This tastes like regular food, but it must be different because of the candle..."

"I. Love. Birthday Cake."

Yuki getting ready to steal the rest of Koba's birthday cake with a sneak attack.

Birthday Presents!

Yuki trying to steal Koba's thunder.

A series of terrible selfies.

Right photo: Everyone tired of taking pictures....

Finally a good one, after a short break.

Happy Birthday, Koba!

Brown Paper Packages #9

"I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad..." Ok, I don't feel bad, but its still fun to remember my favorite things.

Two weeks ago, one my friends, Melissa, was in a play at Playhouse In the Park in Murray Kentucky. Additionally, the play was one of my all-time favorite musical soundtracks and movie, Rent. Obviously, this combination required me to attend!!! I was a little skeptical because of my love and knowledge of the show and I tried to prepare myself by lowering my expectations. After all, its just community theatre. 

After the first number, titled "Rent," I knew that this show was going to rise high above my expectations! It was phenomenal!! Every single one of the main characters was perfectly cast. The acting was great, and the singing was ON POINT! Top it off with messages of love and friendship, and you've got yourself a perfect recipe to make you cry...

Anyway, I'm so glad I made the trek to Murray to see my friend play Mimi. She was SO great and it was fun to watch her! Great job Melissa and the rest of the cast and crew!

The weekend following the Rent performance contained other Brown Paper Package moments. I am going to be a bridesmaid for my friend Kaitlin. All of her Bridesmaids are scattered across eastern USA. 1 in Murray, KY; 1 in Paducah, KY, 1 in Southern Illinois, 1 in South Central Kentucky, 1 in Memphis, 1 in Georgia, and 1 in Northern Illinois. Anyway, you get the point....some are pretty far away! 

SO....it was decided that we should try and pack all of Kaitlin's pre-wedding festivities into one weekend so that everyone could come, and so that the BMs wouldn't have to make numerous trips for various parties and showers (click here to read all about Kaitlin's Survivor themed Lingerie Shower). It was so fun reconnecting with friends and meeting and making new ones as well. Additionally, we got to celebrate Kaitlin and Dustin's upcoming marriage in a fun and unique way.

And then there's this....

All About Yuki

Hello! You may or may not have seen pictures or videos of our new kitten, Yuki. This is everything you need to know about our new ball of fuzz. Also, watch this video for some intense cuteness.

Name: Yuki. Pronounced Yoo-KEE

Birth Date: February 12, 2015. She was adopted by us on April 9, 2015. Supposedly, she was 6 weeks old when we adopted her, but the calendar dates don't line up. Plus the vet said she looked younger. Who knows.

Current Size: The same size as a women's 8 1/2 shoe. Small enough to fit inside pockets.
















Cat Breed: Domestic Short Hair, Gray Tabby

(Fully Grown) Size: Small

Name Origin: We have both really been into watching the TV show "Once Upon a Time." Our favorite character's name is Regina. Regina is no name fit for a cat, so we decided against that name. Our second favorite character is Snow White, but we didn't want our kitten to be confused by being named snow and not being white. Nathan happened to know that 'Yuki' means 'Snow' in Japanese. So now, she's not confused by her name, only by her nationality.

Nicknames: Yucky, Poopsy, Mrs. Grumpy Whiskers

Favorite Color: Purple

Current Hobbies: Sleeping, Climbing, Playing, Biting, Ambushing Koba, Cuddling

Here's the video, if you missed it!