Things that make me happy right now

• Looking outside and seeing palm trees.
  
  
• Looking around my apartment and knowing that we really, actually, truly are almost done moving in (and yes, I know I promised pictures - and I will post them eventually - I'm just waiting until it's totally done!).
  
  
• Buying my RENT tickets this morning.
  
  
• Seeing how excited my little puppy gets when one (or both) of us comes home to her.
  
  
• Knowing that mi madre will be coming for a visit in less than a week, and that we're going to have heaploads of fun.
  
  
• Having a husband that loves me, takes care of me, and has fun with me (...and puts up with me).
  
  
• Knowing that both Travis and I are happy to just sit around and talk or do silly things together.
  
  
• Knowing that we both enjoy doing the same silly things.
  
  (example: last night we actually took the time to make our own rankings all of the states in the order of which we would want to live, and then compared.
  
  For those that are curious, our top states are: Arizona, Washington, Virginia, Oregon, Ohio, New York, Nevada and Maryland.
  
  Rounding out the bottom are Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota and, of course, Wyoming)
  
  
• Getting pictures like this of Chandler in Korea. This is so cool.

• Eating up Brach's mellowcreme pumpkins that only come out in stores this time of year (this is both a good and bad thing for me).
  
  
• Using sites like this that give me great discounts on just about any online shopping. I can't tell you how much money this has saved me.
  
  
• Being able to still keep in touch with friends from all over even though I'm way far away (and not feeling like things are suddenly drastically different).
  
  
• Sharing a home with my family, and knowing that it's our favorite place to be.

And that's how it is.

My 100 things

I saw someone else do this, and I really enjoyed it. So I decided to do my own. 

This is something I plan on doing every once in a while, just for fun.

So get ready for the random-train-of-thought, free writing experience of one Katy Nye.

Scroll and enjoy!



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1. I was born in Indianapolis
2. But I grew up in Oskaloosa, Iowa
3. Population: 12
4. I don’t really like small towns
5. Really, if I could afford it I’d go live in NYC
6. Maybe we’ll retire there
7. Then I could see a play every single week
8. Yes, I’m obsessed with broadway
9. It’s one of my passions
10. That started in high school
11. Drama was my life
12. I miss that
13. I was also in chamber choir
14. And jazz choir
15. And madrigal choir
16. And I accompanied concert choir
17. I love choir
18. Almost as much as I love theatre
19. Of course, my first love was my piano
20. I miss that too
21. There’s a grand piano waiting at my parents’ house whenever I’ve got the room
22. It might be a while
23. We’re in an apartment in Glendale, Arizona right now
24. We love it here
25. But there’s a chance that in 2 years we may need to move to Ohio
26. For Travis’s rotations
27. But we won’t know for 2 years
28. We’re not sure how we feel about that
29. But that’s a ways off
30. Right now I’m still settling into the apartment
31. Unpacking is a lot of work
32. But I love the design/decorating aspect of it
33. Interior design is another passion of mine
34. I love it
35. I wish I had another house I could work on once I’m done with this one
36. That’s why HGTV is probably my favorite channel
37. Except I don’t have cable
38. Which also means I miss What Not to Wear
39. Which makes me really sad
40. I love Stacy and Clinton
41. And good style
42. I have a serious handbag obsession
43. And shoe obsession
44. And scarf obsession
45. And jewelry obsession
46. You get the picture
47. It makes it tough when you have no money
48. Although I sometimes think that’s a good thing
49. I think my ideal job would be as an interior designer for a chic little theatre in New York
50. Maybe I could do some of their PR too
51. I love writing
52. And the English language
53. And proper grammar
54. And I will correct you
55. Even though I’ll try to resist
56. I can’t help it
57. But that’s what makes me good at my job
58. I do layout too
59. I’ve obviously got a love for the creative arts
60. But weirdly, I’m also stellar at Math
61. It was my favorite subject in school
62. You know, besides my creative classes
63. I hated science
64. And history
65. I just had no interest in them
66. I am interested in finance though
67. I loved accounting
68. And I love crunching numbers
69. And working out a budget
70. And saving money
71. Which fortunately goes well with the whole “poor student” thing
72. That’s why we don’t have cable
73. But we do have movies
74. Lots and lots of movies
75. We love them
76. Then there’s the TV shows on DVD too
77. Like Friends
78. I can quote you just about every line from every episode of Friends
79. And I’m not ashamed of it
80. I’m starting to get there with Scrubs too
81. I love that show
82. But sometimes it scares me
83. Because it reminds me of what our life is going to be like
84. Minus the weird fantasies and serious bromance
85. So sometimes I have to turn it off 
86. Then I just play with my puppy
87. She’s adorable
88. And I truly believe that watching her when she’s hyper is one of the most entertaining things you can do with your time
89. If you spend 5 minutes with her, you’ll think so too
90. She keeps me company while Travis is at school
91. I have no doubt she’s going to get me through the next decade
92. Seriously
93. Everyone needs a little something to help keep them sane
94. Even if it actually makes them seem insane to others
95. Like how I randomly burst out in made-up songs
96. It calms me down
97. So does writing
98. It helps to get my thoughts out
99. Even if it's just silly little random things
100. Like this

Good news weekend

Ah! It's been a weekend of good news here in Glendale. I don't have a lot of time, but I'll give a quick recap:

First, one of Travis's friends from school turned us onto a website that does live video streaming from tons of channels (justin.tv), so now we'll be able to watch all future BYU (and Jazz) games! Very exciting for the two of us.

Even more exciting, when we did get to watch the BYU game on Saturday, we played fabulously. For those who don't know, BYU stomped Tulane 54-3. Yes! We're excited to watch them play Florida State next week.

Then, completely out of the blue, we get to sell our scooter in a matter of about 4 hours. That was a totally amazing blessing. Check out my other blog if you want to hear about that story.

And finally, I got tickets for four broadway shows coming into town throughout the next season (and no, that doesn't even include RENT, because I'll be seeing that in Iowa and tickets aren't on sale for another week yet *sigh*). It does include, however, Phantom (so excited to being seeing this for the fourth time), Mary Poppins (fun!), Jesus Christ Superstar (I've seen this one, but Travis hasn't), and In the Heights (won itself some Tony's last year). So I'm making some progress on getting back my theatre. Hooray!

Here's hoping the good news trend continues into this next week! Everyone can use a few wins now and then.

And that's how it is.

I miss theatre...

*sigh*

As I've been unpacking my belongings and setting up my Broadway room (yes, I have one. Be jealous.), I started feeling again just how much I miss theatre. It was such a huge part of my life...wait, let's not lie...it was my life, through the end of high school and into my first couple years of college. And then things started happening like crazy (getting married, moving across the country...you know, all those silly little things), and theatre got put in the backseat. Which is understandable, considering what was going on.

But I miss it. I miss it so much. I miss the thrill and the work and the art of being on stage, of rehearsing, of working lights and walking around on the catwalk. And I miss being in the audience of a live play, or even better, a musical that takes my breath away and literally pumps energy and heart and life into my veins. I miss it and I want it back.

...along the same train of thought but on a slightly happier note, I just found out that I get to buy my RENT tickets in 12 days (if I were a stupid member of the Civic Center I could buy them in five days, but NO. All I gotta say is there better freakin' be tickets left or heads are gonna roll)!! I cannot believe that I'm going to be seeing Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal reprise their roles. This is amazing. And yes, I'll be driving 1500 miles to see it, but I was going there anyway. I'm just going to be driving extra fast to make it in time. =]

This is the sort of thing I used to live for. I love it. And quite frankly, I need it.

So I've got to find a way to get it back.

And that's how it is.

Home update

So, we're making serious progress on the apartment now! The chaotic tornado wreckage that had been our home for the last two weeks is clearing up and, lo and behold, it actually looks like a home now (gasp!)...and I have to laugh because now the living room almost looks empty without all the boxes... ... ... I'll get used to it.

But being me, of course, I've now decided that half of the study needs to be repainted, because the color's just not right. *sigh* Sometimes I wish that I wasn't so particular about these things. But then I remember that I like this stuff, and I like making our home. So it's worth it. =]

I'll post pictures when everything's completely in place. Probably not till this weekend, since our new sleeper sofa doesn't get delivered till Friday (yes, now we have a way to house visitors, so by all means, come on down!).

And that's how it is.

Clarity

I had one of those moments last night. You know the kind...the ones that remind you of why you're doing what you're doing; the ones that reignite your determination, your resolve...

For those who don't know (which is probably most), when we moved down to Phoenix in the middle of July we were still in the process of trying to buy a house. The one that we thought we were going to buy wasn't working out, and neither was trying to house hunt from Iowa (go figure). So we came out to Phoenix a few weeks early to start the process all over again.

We really thought we'd found the house for us, but again, it just wasn't happening for us. After six weeks in the hotel and multiple freak outs from yours truly, we decided that we needed to get out of the hotel...meaning we needed to start looking for apartments. Our original thought was to only stay for a couple months while we continued the home search...

We found an apartment near school and moved in two days later. After being in the apartment for just a night or so, both of us began feeling that this is really where we're supposed to stay (for longer than our current three month lease). After talking it out and praying, we decided for sure that this apartment is our new home for the indefinite future.

Is it disappointing to not have a house? In a way, yes. But we know that we're following the path that we're being led to. If you told me two weeks ago that I wouldn't have a house, I would've been devastated. Really. But I'm perfectly happy and content here. We may not have a house right now, but we do have a home.

Anyway, the revelation that we would be here for a while has led to much more painting and decorating and organizing and such. We're finally on the downhill jog of that process now, which brings me back to the whole point of this blog.

I'm working very part time right now from home doing some writing and layout for William Penn, and a small part of me has been wondering what I'll be doing with myself - or more correctly I've been wondering what others will be thinking about what I'm doing with myself - once the home is put together. I won't have nearly as many projects to undertake as I would if we were in a house...but we know that my working like this is the right decision for us, in part because of my volatile health.

But last night something happened to make me realize why I need to be home. We know I'll stay home once we have kids, but this reaffirmed to me that this is right, even before then. It was something small, and yet something I'll choose not to share. It crystallized to me, though, just how much work Travis is undertaking right now (yes, I was aware that he was going to be crazy busy, but sometimes things just finally click, you know?). He's in school from 8-5 basically, and then he comes home and does three hours of homework. It's intense. And unfortunately, I know it's only going to get worse. And yes, that does scare me a bit.

My point is that his focus obviously needs to be on his schoolwork now, and for the next several years as well. And if I hope to have any real time with him, the other things in our life need to already be taken care of. Things like taking care of the house, doing the shopping, paying the bills, making dinner and cleaning up...

One of us in this relationship needs to have our wits about us, and for the next several years, it's my turn to pull the weight. And in order to be here for him and take care of those things, in order to keep our relationship strong, I need to just be at home.

When I got that new perspective last night, it made me feel so much better about our decision. I know this is right. And I'm really looking forward to serving Travis during this time. He's done so much for me during our first year and a half of marriage; now it's my turn.

And that's how it is.