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Hey There, Chelsie

Salt Lake City based Life & Style Blog - Pursuing a Vibrant Life

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Thoughts on 4 Years of Marriage

Insights and Lessons from 4 years of marriage | marriage advice, marriage goals, marriage struggles, marriage young // Hey There, Chelsie

Dustin and I celebrated 4 years of marriage in April, but because we had just bought a house, gotten back from a wedding, brought home a new puppy AND had gone through a scary emergency surgery all within the two weeks before, I didn’t have a chance to sit down and write anything about it. At first, I figured that I would just wait until next year since the time had passed, but I then realized that I shouldn’t have to wait for our official anniversary to write about our love.

So today, I’m pulling out all the photos from the day we got married (I don’t think I’ve ever shared them on here before) and wanted to open up a little bit about what 4 years of marriage has looked for us.

Photos by Jen Perkes Photography.

Insights into 4 Years of Marriage - relationship advice and things to learn when married // Hey There, Chelsie - Jen Perks Photography

Insights on Year Four:

One – I wouldn’t say that the newlywed stage has “worn off” but now that we are four years into our marriage, we definitely feel the weight of making adult decisions more and more. In year four, we decided to change jobs twice (which resulted in two cross-country moves) and to buy a house. Those are really big adult things that we didn’t have to deal with when we were still in college, living in a little apartment. As big as those decisions were, I don’t think they have ruined marriage for us – we’re even more in love now than we were in those early months. Going through those challenges evolved our love and made it deeper than ever before, mainly because we’ve allowed them to. I think it’s easy to let stressful situations (like job changes and moves) put a wedge between you, but we’ve vowed to always let them strengthen us. How? We make it a point to always talk about how we’re feeling and being open to making changes to help each other through those times.

[Read more…] about Thoughts on 4 Years of Marriage

Our 5 Marriage Goals for 2017

Opening up about why we haven't had kids yet and the 5 goals we've set for 2017 as a married couple! Wearing physical reminders of our big goal to spend more time together unplugged is one of our goals, and that's why I'm grateful JORD sent us beautiful watches to wear // Hey There, Chelsie

Dustin and I are approaching 4 years of marriage in March and 7 years of being together in May. It’s absolutely insane to me that we’ve been together for that long – I mean, I can’t imagine my life without him, but 7 years is a long time! Our marriage has been filled with ups and downs, some really hard things, and some really beautiful things, too.

We get asked a lot (especially living in Utah) when we’re going to start having kids. While I strongly believe that this isn’t anyone’s business but ours, I wanted to talk about it for just a second to make sure that we’re all on the same page. One of the reasons why we haven’t even started planning for kids is because I’ve got a myriad of health issues/complications that are lingering from chemo that will make pregnancy a bit more complex. We’ve been moving around so much over the last two years and I wouldn’t have been able to find a doctor to stick with who could help monitor some of those health concerns. Another reason? We’re just not in a huge rush! We just wanted to really enjoy our time together as a married couple, really figure our relationship out, become financially stable and take the time to find career paths that made us happy. While I’m not saying (or judging) anyone who has done things differently, this is what has made us happy and has worked for us.

All of that being said, now that we’re finally settling down in one place for a while, Dustin and I are certainly getting closer to wanting to start our family. Not anytime in the immediate future – but we both feel like we’re getting closer to wanting it. At the beginning of the year, we sat down and chatted about some goals we had as a married couple for 2017 – goals that we both felt like it was important for us to achieve before we decided to have a family. So, instead of a monthly goals post, I’m going to open up and share some of those today.

*Please know that this is not me giving you marriage advice – but simply opening up about the things that work for my marriage!*

Opening up about why we haven't had kids yet and the 5 goals we've set for 2017 as a married couple! Wearing physical reminders of our big goal to spend more time together unplugged is one of our goals, and that's why I'm grateful JORD sent us beautiful watches to wear // Hey There, Chelsie  [Read more…] about Our 5 Marriage Goals for 2017

4 Things We Do Together to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Breathe Right® Nasal Strips. All opinions are mine alone. #TomorrowStartsTonight #CollectiveBias

4 Things we do Together to get a Good Night's Sleep // Hey There, Chelsie

Dustin and I did not live together before we got married, so moving in together and learning how to cohabitate (on top of figuring out how to be married) was quite the adventure. We had to figure out who was responsible for doing the dishes, who was in charge of the trash duty and the balance between spending time doing our individual hobbies and doing things together. I don’t think I’d say that the first year of marriage was the hardest for us, but it was a challenge in a different way compared to other years of our marriage.

One of the biggest challenges we faced? Learning how to share a bed together.

I love my husband with all of my heart, but Dustin is a very loud sleeper. When we first got married, he was a sleep talker and thrasher. At first, it was adorable because he would wake me up in the middle of the night (he was still dreaming/asleep) and would ask “Chelsie! Chelsie! Are you okay?!” and every night I would tell him sleepily “Yes, I’m just sleeping!” It was cute that he was dreaming and concerned for my safety until it was happening every night. Dustin’s sleep talking habits slowly evolved as he started working for a car rental agency, and before I knew it, he was trying to rent me cars in his sleep. And then, one night I woke up to finding him sitting straight up in the bed, moving the sheets around as if he was looking for something. When I asked if he was okay he asked me: “Do we have a pet spider?! Because if we do, I think it wriggled out of its leash and is now in the bed.” It took me a few minutes to get him to wake up and realize that he was having a dream and that there was not a pet spider loose in our sheets.

My sweet husband also happens to be a really loud mouth breather when he’s sleeping, and over this last year, it’s gotten to be really hard for me to sleep soundly next to him. If I’m not asleep before he falls asleep, I usually have to get earplugs so I can block out his sleep sounds.  

Guys, I work from home, and as some of you know, I struggle with my stamina/endurance levels. If I don’t get a solid night of sleep, I will waste my day away napping and not get anything done. I would get really grumpy with Dustin (even though he couldn’t control it) because of how terribly I was sleeping. Turns out, sleeping on the couch was just not healthy for our marriage or for me. We realized we needed to find some solutions and figure out how to make sure we both got a good night of rest without having to give up the comfort of our memory foam mattress.

Now, I don’t share these things about my husband to dog on him or make him sound terrible. I share these struggles because I know that I’m not alone and want to share our nighttime routine to anyone who may be in the same boat as us.

[Read more…] about 4 Things We Do Together to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

5 Must-Have Apps For Married Couples

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #DataAndAMovie #CollectiveBias

Making sure you are on the same page as your spouse can be tricky, but these must-have 5 apps for married couples help make communication easier! Everyone who is married needs to have these apps! // Hey There, Chelsie

I really loved our home in Arizona, I loved the weather and I loved being within a 15-minute drive of five of my favorite makeup stores. I loved that we were only 5 hours from Vegas (where some of our best friends live) and that we were only 2 miles away from Rosie’s favorite place to go hiking.

I loved that Dustin’s work schedule was predictable and that he went to work in the morning and came home in the evening and we had dinner together and watched our favorite tv shows. I loved that I could plan on running all my errands with him on the weekends because he didn’t have to work on Saturdays. I loved that we could rely on a paycheck to be deposited into our bank account every two weeks to pay for our rent and food and cell phone bill. I loved our new friends in Arizona and the fact that we could have BBQS with them every weekend in March because of the weather.

So, the idea of turning our backs on a stable job with amazing benefits and on the Arizona sunshine for a completely new job, lifestyle and state scared me senseless. But, here’s the thing: my husband was miserable. His job could have been done by someone in high school and he wasn’t getting paid enough for us to live in the most expensive city in Arizona. He came home every night defeated and discouraged, wondering why his college degree landed him with a job in which he answered the phones for 8 hours a day and helped old people reset their passwords.

So, I said we could go. I agreed to uproot our lives once again for a new adventure. Dustin has always been supportive of me and my crazy blogging dreams, and since we don’t have kids yet, this was the best time for us to take this risk. I know that Dustin would do anything to put a roof over our heads, so even though I was scared to leave our security in Arizona for the unknown deep South, I knew that supporting my husband in this choice was the most important thing I could do.

on making your spouse's dreams your own // Life with Rosie

Adjusting to our New Lifestyle

Dustin now works as an advertising director for a big security system company and our lifestyle has completely changed. Dustin now works from 12:30-8:00, but depending on the area he’s in, he could be as far as an hour outside of our home. He also has appointments run late, so he sometimes is out until 9:30 or 10:00 before heading back home.

Dustin also works from 9:00-4:00 on Saturdays and it’s been a huge adjustment to have him work six days a week and to not be able to spend lazy Saturdays with him.

I’m not going to lie, it’s been a little rough to adjust to a new life where I have to eat dinner by myself and save the leftovers for Dustin to heat up when he gets in. The first couple weeks, I stayed home in my pajamas and just watched Grey’s Anatomy all day long, waiting for Dustin to come home. It was hard for me to feel motivated to do anything, even blog! I just felt lonely and stuck and bored.

Walmart Family Plus mobile plan

Thankfully, though, I’ve been slowly getting into a new routine and adjusting to our new lifestyle here. Dustin and I try to get up by 7 every morning to take Rosie out for a walk and hit the gym. We then spend time doing some chores, eating breakfast and catching up on a show before getting ready for the day. I’ve been trying to fill my afternoon with adventures with my new friends here, with phone calls to my mentees, walks with Rosie and trips to the makeup store!

Staying In Touch with my Spouse with Walmart Family Mobile Plus

Walmart Family Mobile PLUS plan

When we pulled into Louisiana a few weeks ago, we immediately noticed that Dustin wasn’t getting a reliable service signal on his cell phone. Since he travels around the central part of the state for his work and uses his cell phone to make appointments and stay in touch with his office, having a reliable cell signal is of the utmost importance.

Dustin and I went from living a typical 9-5 work day life to living a life that’s so different and unpredictable and definitely way busier. I feel like our lives are way more busy this summer with this new job and being able to rely on our cell phones so we can stay in touch through the work days has become so vital!

After struggling with his phone for the first couple days, we knew we needed to find a solution. We headed to Walmart to see if there were any affordable options that would provide a healthy data allotment, along with text and minutes. Dustin uses a couple apps for work and we use a handful of apps to stay connected, so we knew we had to find a plan that gave us LTE coverage so that he could be productive on the job without having his cell speed slowing him down.

family mobile plan at walmart

So, we were pleasantly surprised when we discovered that Walmart has it’s own Family Mobile PLUS plan, which means that it has unlimited Talk, Text & Data up to 10GB of 4G LTE coverage (and a free movie on VUDU ($7 dollar value) a month!) The plan is just $49.88 a month. Um, WHAT? When we did the math, this plan would save us over 60 dollars on our current cell phone plan!

Not only was the plan super affordable, but we picked up a smartphone called the Cool Pad Rouge (which runs on the Android platform) which was on rollback from $39.83 to a whopping $19.88. Yes, that’s right. We bought a SMARTPHONE for under $20.00. Mind. Blown. The last thing we needed to pick up was the Starter Kit, which allows you to program the phone and start up the service. We were told that the Starter Kits are cheaper than before and now on rollback for just 19.88 (from $25.00.) The offer lasts until July 7th. Insert our bewildered faces at realizing that we would be paying under $40.00 to buy and activate a new smartphone!

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/3edbl or your local Walmart for current pricing.

So, you can bet your bottom dollar we snatched up a phone and starter kit right then and there for Dustin to use. It was a huge relief to know that we could now stay in touch during this busy season of our lives!

 5 Apps We Use to Stay Connected & Organized

Since we don’t have to worry about going over our data limits anymore, we can now use all of our favorite apps to stay connected while adjusting to Dustin’s new work schedule. Since Dustin and I spend a lot of time apart, I’m so grateful for the technology of smartphones so that I can still stay in touch with him throughout his work day. And, since we don’t get as much time talking face to face, these apps also help us communicate about day-to-day activities and make sure that we’re on the same page.

Walmart family Mobile Plus Plan

Snapchat – Since Dustin often is working when I take Rosie out for adventures, we use Snapchat so I can send Dustin photos and video clips quickly of any shenanigans Roo might be up to. That helps him feel like he’s not missing out on any of her funny little quirks or adventures!

Mint – This is our budgeting app that allows us to plug all of our banking and credit card information in. It not only allows us to track our spending, but it also helps us stay accountable to the budgets we set up for ourselves.

Open Table – Dustin and I have made it a huge effort to make sure Saturday nights are date nights, no matter what! Since it’s the only night we really get during the week to go out, we take full advantage of it! Open Table allows us to make reservations at some of our favorite restaurants around town so that we don’t have to wait in a line when we get there!

Our Grocery – I can’t tell you how many times Dustin will yell to me across our apartment “We’re out of paper towels” and expect for me to remember to get them the next time I’m at the store. Enter “Our Grocery” which allows us to sync our grocery lists on our phones! Dustin can add whatever he wants to the app and it will appear on my phone so I can make sure to pick up everything up when I go to the store. Since I run all the errands by myself on Saturdays now, this is a great way to ensure that I get everything he wants/needs.

LokLok – This is a super cute app that allows us to turn our lock screens into little message boards for each other! I can write Dustin a motivational quote or just say I Love You and it will appear on his lock screen and vise versa!

Date Nights with our Vudu Movie

Like I mentioned before, the Walmart Family Mobile PLUS plan comes with a free VUDU movie every month. It’s a super fun perk of having the plan and Dustin and I enjoyed getting to pick out our first movie to watch this last weekend on our TV! After being apart all week, sometimes it’s necessary to just snuggle on the couch and watch a movie and be close! And, we always unplug during our movie night. No cell phones, computers or anything so we can actually watch the movie and be together!

5 Apps for Married Couples to use to stay in touch, especially when they are on the go! I'm also sharing the super affordable mobile plan you can use them on! // #ad #DataAndAMovie

Guys, this move has been hard and Dustin’s new job has changed everything, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It has already paid off in so many ways for us to take this risk and make these changes and we’re going to be able to finally achieve some big goals, financially. And now that we have a solid cell phone plan, we can still stay connected during this crazy busy summer and have fun date nights!

Tell me, what apps do you use to stay connected with your significant other? What do you like about the Family Moble Plus Plan?

 

How to Deal with a Long Distance Relationship

I’m so, so excited to have one of my best blogging buds, Amanda from Blissful Gal, guest posting today. Amanda and I team up every month for our Blog Boss series, and her blog is full of amazing posts about college, relationships, and health. Amanda is a part of my closest blogging tribe and it’s an honor to have her guest posting today about long distance relationships! Dustin and I were in a long distance relationship for 1 month before his mission and then 2 years while he was on his mission and recently did the whole married long distance last summer for 5 weeks! Make sure you read about the cool site she mentions in her post about watching tv shows together online!

How to deal with a Long Distance Relationship // Hey There Chelsie

Imagine this: You have been dating your boyfriend for some time now and all of a sudden one of you has to make a geographic change that the other can’t work out.

Relationships can be challenging at times, but adding distance between two people seems to make things ten times harder. I wouldn’t change my boyfriend, Cory, for anything nor will I take back the time that we had to do the whole “long distance” thing. It truly brought us closer together and made us a stronger couple.

As an engineering student, I have to complete several co-op/internship rotations throughout my time at school. Depending where the jobs are, you might be required to live in another city or state (like me) for a semester. Last semester, I had the opportunity to work at a company that is top in my industry and I knew I had to take the opportunity. Although I would be living about four hours away from home for over three months, Cory encouraged me to take the co-op position because it would be a great experience.

Although it was challenging at times, here are some things that made my long distance relationship easier:

[Read more…] about How to Deal with a Long Distance Relationship

To my Husband who let me follow my Blog Dreams

To My Husband who let me follow my Blog Dreams // Life with Rosie

I know it’s been quiet around here for the last week and I appreciate you being patient with me (if you love reading LWR, that is). These last couple weeks of the year have been filled with spending time with friends and family, making big plans for this space in the new year and unplugging and reconnecting with my husband. Today, I want to dedicate this post to him and his support of this little blog of mine.

You may also like: 5 Ways to Reconnect with Your Spouse

A little backstory:

Dustin and I met at college, the summer semester I decided to stay instead of going home to New Hampshire and Dustin’s first semester out there (our school operated on a three-semester system to accommodate more students and you could apply to stay year round.) It had been about a year since my last serious relationship, which had ended pretty ugly and took me a long while to put myself back together from. It’s safe to say I was NOT looking for any kind of relationship at the time.

I had signed up to take a handful of electives to get them out of the way while I worked at my new on-campus job. The first day of my MWF classes, I wore a blue bow in my hair, walked into a lecture room and grabbed a seat in the back corner. The class went by uneventfully. The next day of classes (which were all different classes because they were on the TTH schedule) I decided to wear the same blue bow in my hair because I thought it was cute and didn’t think anyone would notice. Except one person did notice the blue bow.

“The girl with the blue bow from my class the day before was now sitting in another class wearing the same bow and I thought to myself: ‘Yes, there is a God!'” (Dustin’s words, not mine).

And on the third day, I walked into class and saw a very cute guy sitting next to the seat I had sat in. The second I sat down, he immediate said: “Hey, we have another class together!” and when the teacher started his lecture, this really cute guy started passing me notes. By the end of the lecture, he had secured my phone number and asked if I wanted to go work on an assignment for the class with him later. A few weeks later, I knew I was falling in love with him.

To My Husband who let me follow my blog dreams // Life with Rosie

Dustin and I dated for the rest of the year before he left to serve a two year mission for the LDS church. We went from spending all of our time together to only being able to write letters for two years. No emails. No phone calls. Just weekly letters. And, to make the situation even trickier, he had been assigned to serve his mission in New England (where I’m from). We weren’t allowed to see each other, because the church has very strict rules for it’s missionaries, but Dustin did meet my parents at a huge church meeting while I was in China. That was crazy.

When Dustin came home from his mission two years later, two years filled with pages and pages of letters, we knew we were done waiting. Dustin proposed to me two weeks after getting home and we were married in the Boston Temple of the LDS church 3.5 months later.

Fast Forward to 2 Years of Marriage (January of 2015)

I’ve shared this part of my blogging journey before, but after I got my degree in English Education, I went through a bit of a crisis realizing that I didn’t want to pursue a career in it. I settled for a part time job managing the front desk of a motorsports dealer and literally felt like I had no purpose in my life. I kept trying new hobbies, hoping to find some kind of passion in them (crocheting, sewing, Mary Kay) and they all ended in failure and discouragement.

I was so nervous to tell Dustin that I wanted to pursue blogging seriously, especially since it meant that I would need a bit of cash from our tight college-student budget to start it all up. I’d need to buy hosting, a theme and a domain and wanted to invest in some new photography equipment and after failing in so many other avenues, I was terrified. Dustin, being the entrepeneur that he is, made me pitch my blog to him a la Shark Tank (I had to have a presentation and everything) but in the end, he graciously allowed me to start my blogging adventure.

To the Husband who let me follow my blog dream:

I’m so grateful for you and your faith in me. There have been so many times that I’ve been discouraged or felt down about my blog. There have been times when I would sit all day comparing my space to someone elses and just want to throw in the towel because I would never get to where they were. You lifted me up, you motivated me, you encouraged me and you told me to keep going. When I started blogging more about clothes and makeup, you learned the controls of my DSLR and how to shoot in manual mode (no easy feat.) You follow me around and take my photos and when I feel insecure about posting them, you build me up.

You may also like: Making Your Spouse’s Dreams Your Own

Last month, I made 900 dollars off of my blog. That’s way more than I ever made at my part time job. And because of that, I am so glad I was able to afford (all by myself) your new Xbox One for Christmas. I know you’ve wanted it for so long but we just never could swing that much money at once, so I’m so excited that I finally could buy it for you on my own.

Dustin, I’ve never been so motivated, so passionate or so driven in my life. I feel like I have a purpose again: to write, to share stories, to connect with others and, through my blog, to overcome my many struggles with my past. I’ve made incredible friends through blogging who keep me company while you work. I’ve become more confident in my skin, with my scars and have started to make peace with my body. I’m happier then I’ve ever been, being married to you, being a fur mama to Roo and being a full time blogger.

To my Husband who let me follow my blog dreams // Lifew ith Rosie

2016 is going to hold a lot of big plans and changes, and some of them might not work out, but I know that no matter what, you have my back. At the end of the day, that is all that matters. I love you, Dustin.

Do you love reading about love? Check out some of my favorite bloggers’ love stories that will make you Squee!

Amanda @ Blissful Girl

Shannon @ Shanndelier

Erin @ Very Erin

Do you have someone who supports your blog dreams? How did you meet him or her?

 

 

Date in a Box: Last Minute Gift Idea for your Man

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.#GiftingAMemory #CollectiveBias

Need a last minute gift idea for the man in your life? Here's a fun & easy DIY gift for him: date-in-a-box! Easy to put together, and several date ideas, plus a step by step tutorial on how to make sure it all comes together! // Hey There, Chelsie

At this time last year, Dustin and I were living the picture perfect life of “poor college students.” I was working part time, going through my mid-life crisis about not wanting to pursue a job in my chosen field and Dustin was working 30+hours at a rental car company while taking a full load of classes. We were paying bills, paying students loans and paying off a car, so our Christmas budget was definitely…tight. It was our first year hosting Christmas (my sister and her husband, along with some of our best friends in Idaho all came over for Christmas dinner) and most of our extra money was going towards the food. We decided that our gift budget for each other was 50 dollars and I was at a lost for the longest time on what I could give Dustin on Christmas day that would be useful and thoughtful.

At long last, about two weeks before Christmas, I finally had a thought! Dustin always is in charge of our date nights and often plans really sweet ones, but what if I gifted HIM date nights for Christmas? I went to work brainstorming different date nights that I could put together that would be cheap, affordable and would focus more on creating memories instead of spending money. It wasn’t easy, but at long last, I came up with three different date night ideas! I gathered items that went along with each date night, wrote out an itinerary for each date and wrapped each up in a box. I really loved being able to give him those dates in boxes last year, they weren’t expensive, but I put as much thought and love into each one as I could muster.

Date in a Box - a last minute gift idea for your man. Stumped on what to get your man for the holidays? Put together a date in a box! A full list of date ideas and instructions included #ad #giftingamemory // Life with Rosie

Now that Dustin and I have moved on from that college life to a big boy job and a blog that comfortably provides extra play money every month, our Christmas budget this year has a little more wiggle room. However, because we had so much fun on our dates from last year, I wanted to put together one date-in-a-box for him this year, as well! So, if you are at a loss for what to give your man this year for Christmas, here are 3 easy date nights you can put together. Two are more budget friendly, one is a little more spendy, but they all guarantee a fun night for the two of you to share and create memories.

[Read more…] about Date in a Box: Last Minute Gift Idea for your Man

My Date Night Essentials + 15 Minute Date Night Makeup Tutorial

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BeHealthyForEveryPartofLife #CollectiveBias

Going on a date? Make sure you have the essentials ready to go for a fun and successful date night & get ready fast with this 15 minute makeup tutorial! // Life with Rosie

I mentioned last week how Dustin passed his huge series 7 test to become a licensed investment consultant. It’s been a huge relief to have that test behind us; if Dustin didn’t pass, he wouldn’t have been able to stay at his job and we would have been up a creek! He took his test last Monday and I was an anxious wreck all day. I literally holed up in my bed with my computer, watched a ton of Netflix and tried to nap as I waited for his 6-hour test to be over and to find out if he had passed. I knew that if he did pass, we would go out to celebrate, but if he didn’t I would probably cry, so I didn’t want to get ready for the day until I knew for sure.

When the phone call finally came in the late afternoon and Dustin told me through his excitement that he had passed, I still cried, but from relief and joy. I’ve never seen him work so hard or study so hard for a test and it was a huge accomplishment for him and a huge relief for the both of us to know his job was secure. After calming down, I realized that we had a celebratory date to go on that night and I needed to get ready, fast! So, I grabbed a couple of my date night essentials and sat down at my vanity and went through my 15 minute date night makeup routine! This makeup routine is as simple as it gets; looks polished and fancy for a night out and is fast and easy! Combined with my essentials, I can be ready to go in 20 minutes flat!

[Read more…] about My Date Night Essentials + 15 Minute Date Night Makeup Tutorial

Reconnecting over Dinner

*This post has been sponsored by Adproval and it’s client. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own.

Reconnecting over Dinner by unplugging and taking the #billiondinners challenge! #ad // Life with Rosie

One of my main September goals was to reconnect with my husband after being apart from him for 6 weeks. Even before that time apart, we had a bit of a rough summer with constant moving and never having a space that was ours to communicate in, so it’s been at the top of my priority list this month to reconnect, relearn each other and to get back into healthy communication habits.

As we discussed what things we could do to reconnect (minus spending all our money at the arcade) I told Dustin that one thing I really wanted to work this month while we got settled into our new home was having our dinners together. At the dinner table. With the TV off. Before our move, Dustin and I got into the habit of parking ourselves in front of the television during dinner time and watching a show or two while constantly texting friends or scrolling through our Facebook feeds. We would barely talk, except to ask for the salt to be passed. We swore it we would only eat in front of the tv twice a week, but it quickly escalated to an every night thing.

And, now that I blog full time, LWR and all of the social media that goes with it has the potential to take over my life: between being an admin for #passionproject, twitter chats, emails, commenting, snap chatting, my phone is always lighting up with notifications. I know that Dustin sometimes feels like he is taking second place to my phone and my blog, and I don’t want that for our relationship! My blog is my work, but my husband is my life and he should take number one priority!

That’s why we have decided to take the 10 in 2 #billiondinners challenge over these next two weeks. That means we will be having 10 dinners in the next two weeks together, unplugged from all technology and social media! When I first heard about the Billion Dinners movement, I felt like everything Dustin and I had talked about when it came to dinner time was being confirmed. In today’s day and age where technology is taking over, I really feel like we’re losing the ability to create real, authentic connections in every day life. It’s only when I realized I was losing out on creating those connections with my spouse did I realize we needed to make a change. It’s time to start reconnecting over dinner.

Using the Dinner Call app, you can track your family dinners! By logging your family dinners, you will be adding to the goal of a billion family dinners world wide. Don’t know how to have a family dinner unplugged? The Dinner Call app includes conversation prompts that you can use to help carry on a conversation at the dinner table…face to face. And I know, sometimes it can be hard to coordinate schedules and have dinner together all the time; but the point of this movement is to make the effort, to unplug yourself from the technology and to connect over food and love.

These next two weeks, I’ll be on snap chat (cwhit145) sharing the recipes I’ll be using for dinner time, but when Dustin and I sit down to eat dinner, the phones will go off and the tv will go off. We will have a dinner together (with Rosie begging for scraps) and reconnect and communicate. And then (while Dustin is doing dishes) I’ll turn my phone back on and log our dinner, so I know I did my part to build a better world where authentic connections are being made at the dinner table. Logging our dinners not only holds us accountable to follow through with this challenge, but I also hope it will encourage others to join us in igniting a movement that brings people together.

Join me in the Billion Dinners Challenge // Life with RosieWhat’s dinner like at your home? Could you use some motivation to unplug and reconnect over food? I challenge you to join me in the #billiondinners challenge and to become part of a bigger picture of putting the phones down and turning the tv’s off and connecting. To join me (@carrchels) in tracking 10 Family Dinners in 2 weeks, take the #billiondinners challenge today!

 

 

What to do When Your Husband Is Stressed

I had a totally different post planned for today, but, as per usual, life has gotten in the way and as I sat down, this post came out of my fingers instead.

What to do when your husband is stressed: 4 tips and tricks to help him out // Life with Rosie

I’m not going to lie; it’s been a rough week. Dustin and I went to a family reunion up in Northern California this weekend, got home Monday and were faced with the sudden reality that not only were we moving this Sunday, but he had to finish up his massive internship project, write several papers and finish his online class by the time end of the week. Add onto that the fact that we’re trying to sell his motorcycle before we leave and trying to figure out how to pack all our stuff up in our little SUV (we’re not bringing our trailer in this move) and the fact that we’ve been pulling late, late nights at his office to finish up projects, things haven’t been cheerful. Oh, and Dustin got a skin infection in his knee and we spent 3 hours Wednesday night at Urgent Care waiting to see a doctor to get some antibiotics. Oh, and, the air conditioner in the car started making noises…three days before we’re to drive 800 miles to Idaho. When it rains, it pours, right?

When you love someone with all of your being, it physically hurts to see them so stressed out and exhausted. And, it’s so unbelievably frustrating because I feel so helpless when it comes to what he’s dealing with. I can’t finish coding his website. I can’t write his capstone paper.

[Read more…] about What to do When Your Husband Is Stressed

Making Your Spouse’s Dreams Your Own

I’m writing from warm and beautiful California and am so excited to be back at my keyboard and on Life with Rosie. Thanks to all of my wonderful blog friends who wrote guest posts this last week and kept my corner of the internet busy and active! Our move went as smoothly as possible, and although our sweet Escape had to work super hard to tow the motorcycle over the Donner pass, we only had one minor incident with the trailer…which happened while we were trying to park it in the driveway at 2 AM (Dustin’s ears took a nap while I was directing him and the taillight might have bumped into the fence). I’ll take it.

Anyway!

 

Making your Spouse's Dream your own // Life with Rosie

Dustin and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary this weekend by taking a quick weekend trip to San Fransisco. We had a great time visiting the zoo, eating fresh fish on the Pier, walking through Chinatown while eating dumplings and walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was great to get away after an overwhelming move and busy semester and reconnect and talk about the last two years of our lives and revisit our plans for the future.

on making your spouse's dreams your own // Life with Rosie

 

San Fransisco Zoo Penguins. Aniniversary Trip and on making your spouse's dreams your own. // Life with Rosie

Fish and Chips from Lou's Fish Shack on Pier 39 in San Fransisco. Definitely a must stop if you want amazing fresh fish. // Life with Rosie

Red Bean Chinese Pastry from Chinatown in San Fransisco. // Life with Rosie

Dustin recently decided that he wanted to try summer sales this summer. It would require him to go to Louisiana for the month of August and changes our plans for the rest of the year a little bit. However, it would give Dustin the opportunity to make a significant amount of money to put towards his ventures in the next year.

Dustin’s dreams have always been big and bold. His ultimate goal is to generate enough passive income through real estate so that he can work a part-time job and be a hands on dad someday. That means that our first “home” purchase would ideally be a rental property (duplex or fourplex) that we could start renting out immediately. The income from that property would eventually be saved up for a down payment on another rental, and so on. While owning our own home is definitely in the plans someday, it’s not on the top of the priority list for him to start on his real estate empire.

It’s been a huge learning experience for me to be married to a man who has big dreams that challenge my traditional view of marriage and family. I always thought I would get married and my husband would find a job and work 8-5 every day and we would buy a home and settle down. But, I didn’t marry that kind of man. I married Dustin Carr, who wants to move around the country to try new jobs that will potentially make him a lot of money so he can buy a rental property and then expand upon that so he can be around while we are raising our future family.

For a while, whenever Dustin talked about his plans, they were always “his” dreams. Because I had different expectations for our future, it was definitely a challenge for me. I was having a hard time accepting them as part of “my” future.

But this is marriage, which is full of compromise and communication and wanting the best for each other. I have learned that while Dustin’s dreams are different; they are beautiful. I have seen him truly flourish while chasing them; I have seen his passion while taking small steps to achieve them and his ultimate goal (to be in control of his work schedule so he can help me with the kids) is the most selfless and loving part of it all. My reluctance of accepting his dreams as my own has made him doubt himself or feel like they aren’t worth chasing and that is not fair of me.

Making Your Spouse's Dream Your Own // Life with Rosie

So, although Dustin is changing our plans and although I might not get my house right away with the money we save up for our first real estate purchase, I don’t mind anymore. Dustin has taught me to dream big and together, I know we will achieve all of our dreams. I have realized, after two years of marriage, that Dustin’s dreams are my dreams. I want him to have everything this life has to offer and I will do everything I can to make sure that happens. Dustin has always supported me in my dreams and it’s about time I get on the train and support his.

What challenges did you face in your marriage/relationship? What have you learned from them? Do you share the same vision as your spouse’s dreams?