How to love a girl

He really knows

A Treat for {Him}

Preston has been gone for three days.  He'll be home at 2:00 a.m. and I'm so ready for him to be back.  Since he worked so hard, I thought I'd give him a little treat.  Then I remembered all the junk we already have around the house.  So I opted for something calorie free and a little more memorable.  I got the idea {here}

Here is the text of the message:

You bet it could.

      Apparently, the husband at hand has a smile to melt the heart of any being on the planet, and probably some beyond.  Sources say his heart is made of gold.

     “He holds his wife’s hand in public, which is great, but even sweeter is the way he holds his grandma’s hand,” a spectator stated.  “What I wouldn’t give to have a man like him.”

      Preston Leavitt, the husband in question, is a small town boy but with a mind to fill the universe.  He grew up mingling with people of all walks and as a result gained a compassion and kindness beyond compare.

     “I can’t believe he picked me,” his wife stated.  “But then again, with the ability to see good in anyone, I can believe it.”

     Preston’s three sisters agree.  “You’ve never met a person so sweet,” said Jenny, 32, as Lauren, 24, and Ashley, 30, nodded in agreement.   And it isn’t just females who love the guy.

      “He’s been my friend through thick and thin, and I can’t imagine where I’d be without him,” stated Joe, 26.  Preston opened his heart to Joe as a teenager, and the child who grew up in foster care became the brother Preston never had. 

So what to do with a guy as good as this?  Well, publishing an honorary article in The New York Times is a start.  And after that?  Pay it forward.

  

Penny Manship has been revealing good people through writing for 65 years.  She can be reached at p.manship@crossyourtees.com

Love is in the details, friends.

A Brief on Valentine's Day

I know this is sooooo late, but a girl does what she can.

Since I worked a lunch and dinner shift at the restaurant on Valentine's Day, Preston and I got up extra early to have a breakfast date before he left for work at 8:00.  He didn't roll out of bed and go, but I did.  I get credit for wearing jeans.  We went to the Market Grill, and I felt like I was on vacation.  It's been awhile since I've been there, and it is exactly the kind of place where my family used to stop to eat while on road trips.  I loved every moment.

Later that day, Preston stopped by the restaurant without even seeing me and left this goody as a surprise.  And then he teased me later that night that the whole thing was already gone.  Giving you more to love, Babe.
Oh, and the origami heart is a certificate for a massage.  Mmmm, mmm :)

Happy late Valentine's Day everyone!

~Kelsi

Some Days in Review

THURSDAY
*The highlight of my Valentine's Day differed this year.  I had to work a double shift at the restaurant, so Preston spent the night with ESPN and a pizza.  While at work I received this little message that made me as giddy as a kid on the first day of school:

"I hope that's okay with you"... I promise, Pres, you have my consent.

FRIDAY

*We attended the temple Friday afternoon and afterward met some friends for dinner at Paradise Bakery.  I forget every time how darn good those cookies are.  Man.

*We rushed home to catch the SUU gymnastics meet that night.  Those girls are so tough.

*After the meet, I caught the 9:35 showing of Safe Haven with a girlfriend.  It was a good movie, but mostly I'm obsessed with Julianne Hough's hair.

SATURDAY

*We went snowboarding again.  It was such a beautiful day!

*We shared a lift seat with none other than the president of the Angels.  Like, the MLB Angels.  He was in the billboard business before being called over through an acquaintance for the Angels job.  Guys, anything is possible.

*We ate PB & J sandwiches, Cheetos  and dried mangos at the top of Navajo and watched people biff it off the lift.  We had to stick our heads together to stifle our giggles.  What fun.

SUNDAY

*That night we were both stir crazy, so we relived some old times and played with play dough.

Preston made the purple people eater our first Valentine's day as an engaged couple.
I won't get rid of him. 

MONDAY

*I worked another double shift.

*Preston planned the most awesome FHE.   I got off late, so we didn't get to start until after 9:00, but after a frustrating night it was exactly what I needed.  When I got home I put on my fuzzy Tinkerbell pajama pants and a sweatshirt, curled up on the couch, and then Preston handed me my shoes and said, "Let's go."  Bewildered, I obeyed.  We began at the nearby Maverick where we made some insanely rich and good hot chocolate, and then we drove up Cedar Canyon and listened to Elder Holland's CES fireside from last fall. Looking at the cliff faces, evergreens, and stars, everything just felt so much bigger.  It reminded me to not get worked up over little inconveniences from the day.

Where's Waldo, Carmen, and the Leavitt Family?

Preston leaves early (like 5:00 a.m. early) tomorrow for a business trip, and after being married nearly two years I still hate the times when we're apart.  I don't think I'll ever get tired of being with him.  How do you wives of traveling husbands do it?

We got news from Purdue University today:  Preston is accepted to the MBA program and received a 50% tuition and living expense coverage via an assistantship.  This is great news.

Buuuuuuuut, we are in a pinch.

The U of Rochester, which notified Preston of his acceptance a few weeks ago, wants commitment by Friday via a $500 deposit.  The MBA program there offered a 40% tuition scholarship.  So, Preston is leaving town for three days and nights and we have a big decision to make.  And, to top it off, Friday is my mom's birthday.  I'm feeling the burden.  Just kidding.  My mom's birthday is only ever a party.  But the pressure is on as we determine not only what program will be best, but what faculty, community, and living expense will fit our needs and desires.

We are still waiting to hear from Cornell, U of Akron, and U of Minnesota.  U of Tulsa (where we almost ended up last fall) is still an option as well.

According to Google Maps, Indiana looks pretty appealing to me.  Oh those trees!

More Gems and a Tribute

It's time for some Weekly Gems:

*The sweet old lady at the SUU women's locker room who was curling her hair next to me.  We'd both swam laps that morning, and as we prettied ourselves in our own ways she chatted happily about her upcoming breakfast party at Denny's.  She wished me well multiple times, complimenting my youth.  What she couldn't know was how fulfilled I felt by her attitude in old age.

*Two batches of chocolate chip cookies in one week--both my favorite recipes.  Yes, we shared, but Pres and I got to eat our fill, too.

*Daddy-daughter date with Papa Mark last Saturday.  By the end of the evening he had at one point or another all of his daughters join him.  We got delicious food at Don Miguel, watched the SUU men's basketball team seal another win, and topped off the night with delicious frozen yogurt from Krave.  Their Red Velvet was so so good.

(I have to say, I sure enjoy this family!  I'm grateful they've welcomed me with such open arms.  And since we had a night dedicated to my father-in-law, I might as well expand.)

Some of my favorite things about Mr. Mark:

His laugh

His bright smile

The way he says "How we doin'?!"

The way he can cook meat so tender and cut it so thin

The way he calls me Miss Kels

His passion about his family's welfare

His ability to be anyone's friend

His stories, especially the ones about growing up with his brothers

Thanks for being you, Papa Mark!

(There was no picture of me with my eyes open to choose from, ok?)

My Own Lil' Bow Wow

This video is floating around Facebook and other social networks.  I almost passed up watching it.  I'm glad I didn't. For some reason I got really into it.  I won't admit how much.  But watch it and let the energy carry you for days.  So proud of the many missionaries in my life.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865572453/More-than-80-Olympus-High-School-graduates-open-Mormon-mission-calls-in-new-YouTube-video-video.html#ooid=NjeGg1OTr3NnT6oigEe0oacCMfd1jEa5

Something else to stir your thoughts:

"I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument,

while the song I came to sing remains unsung."

--Tagore

Or, as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it,

"Many people die with their music still in them.  Why is this so?

Too often it is because they're always getting ready to live."

I've let my song remain unsung a bit too much lately--or, more accurately, my song has been more of a whine--as I lament each day that goes by without my having a puppy.

Friends, I really, really want a puppy.  Like I spend my nights browsing the Best Friends Animal Society website regularly.

But alas, I don't live in a place that allows a puppy.

Awhile back, Preston tried to stem my heartache with Winston.  I sure love Winston, but cuddle-bear as he is, he doesn't wag his tail.

Can you get enough of  that happy face?  He's alive in there, I swear.

When my laments continued, Preston surprised me one day with a guinea pig.  This guy was a regular rockstar I tell you.  But a rockstar that pooped a lot.  I'll poop-scoop dog poop, but approximately 3,267 guinea pig droppings a day (half of which ended up in my lap) was too much for me.  So we returned Oscar.

Can't find his face?  Neither could we for a few hours.

And finally, in a moment of brilliance, Preston thought of something that "wags" its tail and won't poop in my lap.

People, meet Laverne and Shirley.

I am smitten.

Until I get Fido, that is.

Projects lately

I am trying to hold back on doing anything to our apartment that I get attached to since we'll be moving in a few months, but I can't help but do a few things here and there to make it feel like a home.

Like making a Norman Rockwell wall out of a calendar and an old foam poster board.

We have a bit of a contemporary feel to our bedroom which happened somewhat spontaneously and which took us both by surprise as we lean traditional.  But I've loved the energy I feel from our room, and the stripes and bold colors of the calendar pages only added.

I also wasn't sure about how I'd feel painting the picture frame the exact color of the dresser (using left over paint from the dresser project) but it flows nicely and makes the picture stand out.  *remembering this for the future

My other project I have to admit does not excite me quite as much.  I love the idea of the open frame, but against a white wall the detail of the lace and clothes pins gets lost.  Meh.  I'll mess around with it.  Maybe just one large canvas picture free hanging in the center.  Or a frame within a frame.  In any case, the yellow frame has a lot of potential.  And it was fun to paint.  I think I want to sand it down a bit more to show the white undercoat better.  

Welp, I welcome your thoughts.

~K