Surprise

As some of you may know my 20th birthday is September 5th, which is less than a week away! Exciting, I know. Mr. Estep & I headed off to TN for the big night race at Bristol Motor Speedway. On the way we had to make a quick stop at our local walmart to pick up a few things, like pop, ect. I checked out & went on to the car but Mr. Estep had something to do. As I waited in the car I heard something coming from behind the car! It was Mr. Estep hiding my gift away in the trunk until he could get it home after the race in a better hiding place. :) So I wouldn't see what kind of box the gift was in to tell what it was he put it in a sock. So its a little box, small enough to fit in Mr. Estep's sock anyways. Its now hiding in the closet far out of my sight. Needless to say I am excited. My Mom & Step Dad also already have my gift bought. I told them I don't know what I want, so surprise me. Usually I just tell them what I want or give them an idea. So its pretty exciting to see what they have for me as well. :)

With that being said Happy Birthday to all the September babies! My little sister's birthday is exactly two weeks away from mine. Shhh, we wont say on here what Mr. Estep & I plan on getting her, because she might read it. ;)

Diabetes, leg cramps, knee pain

That's what my daily life has turned into these past few weeks. It started out with slight barely just noticeable knee pain. It has turned into full on leg cramps along with knee pain, its beginning to take over. Mr. Estep & I went to the first day of the Nascar race for this weekend & had to end our trip short due to my leg pain. It was so bad I was almost in tears. Needless to say tomorrow I am going to take some aleve before we leave for the second day of the race & hope for the best. This time weather or not it hurts I am going to tough it through. :)

There's racing, then there's BRISTOL!

Mr. Estep took me to my first ever Nascar race back in March. It was a blast to say the least. Loud, fast, big crowds, the wave in the crowd, ect ect ect! So now we are going back this weekend, for my first ever night race at Bristol Motor Speed Way!!!! There is a chance of rain though. Pooooo! If it rains & they cannot keep the track dry that means no race & no getting our money back!!!!! & We bought tickets for BOTH Friday & Saturday. So everyone lets hope the rain shies away for all us Nascar fans. Oh & one last thing... GO DALE JR!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

                Photo's from our last trip to Bristol Motor Speedway.

Furniture & Appliances

Mr. Estep & I bought our first washer & dryer during tax season. We put 500 down on them & have been paying them off monthly. With only 110 dollars left to pay we are starting to look into Living room suites! (How exciting!!!!) Our couch came with our apartment & our chair was given to us from Mr. Estep's Dad. They are comfy & go well in our living room. But lets face it, its time for a new suite! The store Mr. Estep & I got our washer & dryer from take down payments & let you pay monthly. It helps build up your credit through them, which is a big plus! We checked out all they had (which is awesome stuff) & we both liked so many different ones! Mr. Estep was a big fan of a really nice rust brown leather suite (it was gorgeous) but I quickly reminded him that with our fur babies this couch could easily be scratched. So we kept looking. I found a really nice green suite but reminded myself that green doesn't always go with everything. We both talked about it & have decided between a suite that is between a tan to a brown color. Here are a few I have in mind. I will update when we make our final choice!

Love, Commitment, Honor

That is what these two rings I wear on my left hand ring finger stand for. And everytime I look at them, I smile. Yes, wedding rings are very beautiful & sparkly. But they are much more than that, the meaning behind the ring is the most beautiful of all. The reason "most" people wear their wedding rings on their left hand ring finger is because of the belief that the main vein in the finger went straight to the heart. In some cultures the woman wears a plain band on her right hand until the day she gets married & then switches it to her left hand. Its really easy to see why a ring can hold so much behind it. Its a circle, which never ends. 

Earthquake In VA

As most of my readers may know Mr. Estep & I live in Virginia. Mr. Estep also works night shift so our hours of sleep are very weird. At 2 pm today while both of us was sleeping a 5.8 Earthquake hit in VA near DC. People just a 25 minute drive from us felt their entire house shake! While we slept through the whole thing (Thank God!) It was tremors that everyone around us felt. But it is still quite scary if you ask me. The news said it also hit our home town, Pike County. Alot of my friends insured me they did in fact feel the shakes, while others felt nothing. My mom didn't feel anything, thankfully. All in all I can defiantly say I am thankful Mr. Estep & I was asleep. From what I have read everyone is okay & damage is minimal.

Recipe time

So I am not a pro cook or anything by any means. But I just recently started making this EASY 5 minute snack that Mr. Estep & I both love. All you need is.

• Rits Crackers (Or cracker of choice.) How many depends on how many you serve.
• Pizza Sauce
• Ham, Pepperoni , Cheese or toppings of choice. 

On any sized pizza pan cover in aluminium foil & spray with cooking spray. Lay the Crackers on the pan & spoon on desired amount of pizza sauce. Add any toppings you like. Mr. Estep & I use ham & Cheese. Place them in the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese melts or in microwave oven for about 1-2 minutes.

There you have it, your five minute go to snack. For whenever someone drops by unexpected or when you are just hungry for a easy, fast & labor free snack.

Small & Cozy

Usually when you ask someone what kind of house they want it is the exact opposite of small & cozy. But for me I never wanted a big house. When I see a big house I think, that must take a year to clean, the power bill HAS to be outrages & how can they stand to hear themselves echo? hahaha I am not saying I want a one bedroom house (we live in a one bedroom apartment, with NO room to spare!) But I would like something cozy, with extra wiggle room of course. I love houses that look like cottages. Or old & vintage, french even! I have always loved all things vintage. Old houses, jewelry, artifacts, they all have such beauty to them. Mr. Estep & I plan on house hunting within the next two years (once our car is paid off.) So in the mean time we plan to build up our credit & pay our car off. Then when the time comes we wont have a car payment & mortgage payment at the same time, smart thinking I know! haha In the meantime I can dream about our one day small & cozy home.

Our fury Kingdom

Short & Simple, meet the gang!

                                                      Squirrel, our almost three year old cat.

Jax, our two year old cat.

Doe Doe, our one year old cat.

& Last but certainly not least Sophie, our dog. We adopted her recently in April from our local shelter & do not know her age for sure. But she is very active & playful so we suspect young.

& There you have it, our Animal Kingdom. ;)

Our Story

So we introduced ourselves but never told our story. For a little background here it is...

Mr.Estep & I met almost five years ago. I was fifteen & he was seventeen. You can say we grew up together, in many ways. He is my best friend in the entire world & he has been from the very start. When Mr.Estep & I first started dating I had only been diagnosed with diabetes for two years. So it was still very knew to me & my family therefore my Mother pulled me out of public school & I started my high school classes online. Mr.Estep was in public school. But shortly after we started dating he decided to start taking the online classes, as well. So I guess you could say we are online-high school-sweet hearts! hahaha We became very close, very fast. We became, inseparable-And we still are to this very day! Some people may not go through much in their younger days, but Mr.Estep & I have been through alot together. & We always come out stronger in the end. Alot of people don't want to settle down young, because they say they want to be free. I don't understand this notion at all. Mr. Estep never holds me back from anything in life, nor do I him. We push each other to do our best & be our best in life, together as a team. We take on life's challenges together. Do I think its wrong to wait until you are 25, 30 even 40 to get married & settle down? No! Do I think its great if you find that one person you want to be with for the rest of your life at 15? YES! Mr. Estep & I knew at a young age that we wanted to marry each other. We was emotionally ready but not financially. So we enjoyed being young, mini vacations together. Road trips on the weekend. Random ice skating trips. No worries, no regrets. We waited patiently until we could afford our own place to get married. Then in March 2010 we finally got our own apartment & nine months later we got married! With that being said I have alot of people ask me "What is your best relationship advice?" & In return I ALWAYS say "You're fighting a losing battle. Because you are arguing with the one person you are suppose to be working with through life's challenges, together! You have to remember, you are on the same team! Don't let pride take you over. Pride doesn't make you right in the arguement, it only makes you weak as a team. If you really want to win, stop fighting a losing battle no matter who started it & figure out what is going to make it work. Because you can only win if you both make it together, not by figuring out who is wrong or right."

Mr. Estep & I at 15 & 17 --

Introducing The Esteps!

Hello, my name is Mari Estep & My Husbands name is Denny Estep. We got married on December 11th, 2010. We had a small wedding in my Husband's family Church & wouldn't change a thing. My husband is a dispatcher at his job. He tracks all other workers & lets them know where to be & when. He has been there for three years & I am very proud of him. He is a hard worker. He loves Golfing, Nascar,Working out, Cars in general, PS3, ect. I am a home maker or in other words a stay at home wife. I have type 1 diabetes & am working on getting that lined out so my Husband & I can start TTC (Trying to conceive, for those who doesn't know what that means) within the next few years. I plan on starting online career classes within the next year! (Exciting!!!!) I am still trying to figure out between what. But AS.OF.NOW I want to go for Veterinarian Assistant. (Woohoo!!!!) I love Photography, Golfing is very relaxing & alot of fun. I like writing. I have started the same book over 5 times but never finished it. (I will, someday.) Obviously I am a big animal person. My Husband & I have four fur babies of our very own. We rent as of now, but want to buy a house within the next two years! We live in the country & live in a very small town with really nice people. Our families are very important to us. So, that's us & this is our blog. Its going to be about our life in general = Newlywed life, our fur babies, working, taking my career classes, battling diabetes, & much-much more! So stick around for the ride & we hope you enjoy our blog! :)

That's all Folks. ;)