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5 things I learned in 5 months of marriage

Published on October 1, 2018 by Jamie Shugart1 Comment

Will and I just recently celebrated five months of being married! We’re basically experts on the topic now.

Joking.

We were blessed to go through very little long distance time during dating and a lot of one on one time to get to know one another. We asked each other a lot of hard questions, ranging from politics and religion, to hopes and dreams. We were very intentional from the beginning about getting to know one another in a safe and healthy way, and to see if this could be the real thing.

Obviously, we got married, so we feel pretty strongly about one another. We still continue to learn and grow in our relationship, and we’re not here to offer advice. This is just us sharing us, and the five things we have learned in our five months of marriage.

I am not a morning person!

I do not want to see or hear another human being in the morning. If I have to speak, it’s even worse. Text? Heck to the no. Give me a shower in peace. Let me get ready without interrupting my train of thought. Give me coffee and back away slowly.

I gave Will fair warning on this one. We even asked some advice from a couple of our good friends who are also opposites in this area. The husband is the morning person while the wife is not. He said that it took him a long time to realize that it was nothing personal—that they were just different and it wasn’t a bad thing. They even get ready in different bathrooms in the morning!

Let’s be honest, we aren’t always on our best behavior, and our spouse sees that side more than others. This will probably be a constant area of growth for us as a couple, and for me especially once we have kids. I would love to love the morning time so if you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them!

PooPourri is no joke.

I thought it was, but boy was I wrong. In amongst all of our wedding gifts, we came across a bottle of “PooPourri” in a lavender scent. I laughed, “Haha! What a great gift! Newlyweds can’t poop around each other. In fact, women don’t poop at all!”

If you don’t know, PooPourri comes in multiple scents, in a little spray bottle that you are supposed to spray into a toilet before… well, you know. It uses essential oils to trap odors.

I set the gift aside and it became an anecdote that I shared with friends and family during wedding week. I secretly thought it would be great in a guest bathroom, just in case.

Friends, you don’t need details, but let’s just say that after a bad experience with Mexican food and a very long night to follow, PooPourri will be a staple in our household. In every bathroom. Until the end of time.

He might want to order his own fries.

“Joey doesn’t share food!”

From a guy who had never seen Friends before we started dating, Will took to this quote like a fat kid on cake. I’m ashamed to say that the first time Will insisted I order my own fries, I got a little hurt.

Okay, maybe more than just a little. I sat and sulked through the entire meal and continued to bring it up even weeks afterwards.

Just because we expect things to go one way, doesn’t mean that they will. I realized that my parents always share their french fries. They order a bigger size to share and I’ve always found it super adorable. Will, on the other hand, didn’t find me wanting to eat his french fries all that endearing.

Some issues in relationships can arise from unmet expectations. If I find myself getting upset, I try to evaluate where it’s coming from, and if I realize I had an expectation that isn’t being met, I know where the emotion is coming from. I also find it important to communicate with Will when that happens.

“I can’t eat a small thing of french fries by myself most of the time,” I explained. “So I feel like I’m wasting money for just a couple fries.”

We’ve decided that springing for a large to share is a good idea for us.

Laundry becomes a huge thing.

Like… there’s only two of us. How can washing clothes, drying clothes, and folding clothes become so much of an exponentially larger chore than it was for just one person? We don’t even have kids or pets!

Also, I have never owned my own washer and dryer. I have been trespassing on the hospitality of my family since I moved out in 2012. Now that Will and I have been at a hotel for the past three months, I have been using the hotel’s (very inexpensive and stubborn) washer and dryer that work about half of the time. I often have an explosion of clothing hanging up to dry in our bedroom. And because it takes about three or four hours to dry three loads of laundry, folding everything gets put on the back-burner and… you get the idea.

Sleeping in the same bed is my favorite thing ever.

Also, not having to say goodbye at the end of the day is fantastic.

Will and I did not live together before we got married. He never slept over at my apartment. Not even once. And because I lived alone and there was no built-in accountability roommate, we avoided ever being in my bedroom together like the plague.

Our number one, very favorite thing about being married is getting to sleep in the same bed. It’s kind of like having a sleepover with your best friend every single night.

So, for any newlyweds or engaged couples, I guess the only advice I would dare to give at this point is that if you can swing going to bed at the same time as one another, you should absolutely do it. The pillow talk is great and it is a super special time for just the two of you. It also gets you on the same sleeping schedule, and that has been helpful for me and Will out here in Arizona.

Like I said, I feel like I need to have been married for about a decade before I can give solid marriage advice, so I’m not about that life on this blog just yet. I think marriage advice from me would be the same as me trying to give a mom parenting advice—just bad news. But I AM here to share our lives and experiences.

If you dig it, give this post a like! Have any advice for us, other newlyweds, or engaged couples? Leave it in the comments below! Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and join our family.

Until next time,
Jamie out.

Chiricahua National Monument

Published on August 30, 2018 by Jamie Shugart3 Comments

Part two in our exploration of Arizona’s National Parks.

We have discovered not only that there are a plethora of parks in Arizona, but that a good amount of them are perfect for day trips. National Parks are incredible preservations of nature, often highlighting a significant aspect of American culture and encouraging people to explore natural rock formations, caves, mountains, lakes, and forests.

The National Parks of Arizona have yet to let us down. We last visited the Coronado National Memorial where we learned about the Spanish and Mexican influence in our culture and explored a 600 foot deep cave. This time, we grabbed our passports and our friends and drove a few hours away to see some pretty spectacular rock formations.

Chiricahua National Monument

The monument was created in 1924. The Chiricahua Mountains are an inactive volcanic range surrounded by desert grasslands. The monument is in a particularly exquisite area that once experienced quite violent volcanic activity. The ash formed into rocks and through the passing of time, incredible rock formations, forests, and wildlife have created an ecosystem that is worth venturing out to see.

Our first stop was in the Visitor Center to stamp our passports. All of the National Parks should have a stamp station, and additionally should have passports on sale if you don’t have one already! Our friends J and M picked one up! The stamps always have the name of the park and the date you visit so it’s an awesome way to keep track of where you’ve been and have a memento that lasts a lifetime.

We spent a little time in the Visitor Center perusing their prickly pear jam selection, as well as learning about the local plant and animal life. Apparently the rocks of the Chiricahuas are called “rhyolite” and the monument was created to protect them.

We planned a three mile hike so that we could see many of the rock formations, which sometimes tower hundreds of feet into the air.

Echo Canyon Loop Trail

There is an iconic rock formation known as “Pinnacle Balanced Rock” that is probably the most photographed feature of the park. Unfortunately, it is over a seven mile hike to see it and this girl had not brought enough snacks (or let’s face it, leg muscles) to brave that trek.

However, the incredible and totally reasonable Echo Canyon Loop Trail worked perfectly with our 1:30pm arrival time and promised to show off the features of the park spectacularly well.

Beyond the rock formations, there are plenty of faults, lava flows, and other caves to explore along the route. Our friend J got extremely excited about the prospect of bouldering and quickly talked everyone into climbing on basically everything. Let’s just say, it took us a little over three hours to go three miles.

None of us could get over the rock formations. Everywhere you turned there was a valley of spires, balancing boulders, or tumbling caves and formations with jagged pieces. It was red and brown and orange. It was just stunning. I couldn’t put my camera away.

According to the National Parks website, the “Apaches called this place ‘The Land of Standing-Up Rocks,’” and one can see why.

This crevice was super cool! As we hiked down into a valley, we felt an incredible wind whipping through this formation. It was great to stand right in the opening and feel a fierce cold wind on a hot summer day in the desert.

This park is such a treasure.

We found some water! The summer monsoons have greened up the countryside and left their evidence in a little bit of running water through the mountains. We also spotted a snake at the bottom of this little creek.

We’re not sure what this plant was, but it was growing out of some kind of cactus and grew super tall. They lined one part of the trail.

Guys, I seriously suggest that you check out a National Park close to you. There are some seriously cool things in nature that are worth the time and effort it takes to see and experience them.

If you liked this post, let us know down below with a like or a comment and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already!

Until next time,
Jamie out.

#everydaymoments

Published on August 27, 2018 by Jamie Shugart3 Comments

Are you living in your everyday, or are you living for the weekends?

It is our daily lives that make up who we are, and our everyday moments that make this life worth living. Find the beauty in your ordinary. Take some photos and build some memories. We remember the big things, but the little things are everything.

Friday//

My camera bag that Will got me for my birthday. It’s the perfect adventure accessory, and necessary when you need your camera for #everydaymoments blog day.
Where I sit and work and blog and read every day out here in Arizona! Curtains wide open with some coffee/water/tea, my computer, my phone, and the world wide open to me.
That planner life! I’m using a Happy Planner this year, and use it to time block out my work life, schedule photography jobs, make sure I have time to work out, etc. It keeps me on track! I also write down personal life stuff so it also functions as a sort of diary.
Lunch time. I’m trying to be good—eat a lot of veggies and make sure I eat carbs and protein before I work out.
William came home for lunch! He’s my favorite, and he even loves me when I’ve been all alone and introvert-y all day and it takes me a while to become interested in talking to someone again.
I work out almost every afternoon so I don’t wear a lot of makeup these days.
Our little hotel bathroom with our little hotel hair dryer and our hotel towels and our hotel soaps.
Work out time! I’m going through 80 Day Obsession (a Beachbody program) right now. This day was Total Body Core which uses weights and strength slides in phase two. This workout was legit.
I always track which weights I use and compare with the last time I did the workout to make sure that I’m pushing myself to improve every time.
Chocolate milk. Not only is it delicious, but it’s a good post-workout recovery drink. I’m down.
Will got home from work a little early. We ordered some pizza and then got a little cute (AKA I put some makeup on) for a chill and relaxed date night.
Going to the movies to see the new Mission Impossible!
Our favorite candies for movie viewing. Do you guys get candy and/or popcorn when you go to the movie theater?

Hoping you had a fantastic weekend and Monday. We’ll see you next time!
Jamie out.

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Next month’s #everydaymoments

Coronado National Memorial

Published on August 23, 2018 by Jamie Shugart5 Comments

A lot of people love going on adventures. Often times they are small—making a run to the gas station for ice cream, only to find that they’re closed and instead of admitting defeat, you run all around town searching for your favorite treat. Sometimes the adventures are quite large—a honeymoon to Maine or an Alaskan cruise.

When it comes to adventures, Will and I really enjoy National Parks.

Will used to work for the Utah Conservation Corps, which means that he lived and worked outdoors while working conservation projects around the state. I say this to impress upon you how much he loves and is accustomed to backpacking, camping, hiking, and the great outdoors. He grew up in a state that has Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Arches, to name only a few.

I grew up in a family that loved camping, albeit most of the time in a tent-trailer. “Glamping,” some might call it. My sister and I begrudgingly joined in on hikes and it wasn’t until after college that I started to love them.

I took a trip with my family to the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina a few years ago and found some National Parks Passports at their visitor center. The passports are like any passport, except that they’re to National Parks, not to other countries. Every National Park has an visitor center and a stamp station for the passports.

Being of limited means, I eyed the passports longingly and then left. A couple years later, I took Will back to the same spot and we each picked up a passport, deciding that our new life goals were going to be filling them up with stamps.

Arizona, we are happily discovering, is FULL of National Parks for us to explore.

The Coronado National Memorial is one beautiful contribution to the National Parks community. Located along the border of Arizona and Mexico, it climbs up from the valley and into the Huachuca Mountains. Conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado conducted the first expedition into the southwest in 1540 and the memorial serves to recognize the ties that bind the United States and Mexico. Check out this website if you want to learn more about the “journey of conquest filled with exploration, wonder—and cruelty” that the europeans and Aztecs experienced.

Interestingly to myself and William, the memorial was established on November 5, 1952. He and I met on November 5, 2016, so it’s always a date that sticks out to us. (If you want to read about how we met, click here)

The Visitor Center

Our first stop was, obviously, to stamp our passports.

The visitor centers has a small exhibit that mostly talks about the blending of cultures, emphasizing food and spices and highlighting the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos). They also have a cute little book store!

God bless the Spanish for brining coffee and cacao beans.

There are no entrance fees for Coronado National Memorial, by the way, so it’s a super easy trip! It’s only half an hour from Sierra Vista and has a couple hiking trails and a lot of picnic tables.

Coronado Cave Trail

Unlike our recent trip to Bisbee, we were smart enough to do a little bit of research before we visited the park. We discovered that there is a cave trail leading to a 600 foot deep cave that hikers are welcome and encouraged to explore. You don’t need a permit, but it is encouraged for explorers to get information at the visitor center.

The trailhead is just a short drive from the visitor center and it’s a half mile hike up the mountain. See—THIS is why I’m working out five days a week. So that I can climb half a mile up a mountain and survive! Haha! (I’m only half joking, by the way.)

Also, more advice—Arizona is HOT. If it’s going to be in the mid to upper 90s, don’t hike after 10am. We were lucky that it was only about 89 degrees that day and therefore we had until about 2pm to get all of our hiking in. Heat stroke is real, people!

The Coronado Cave

600 feet long, about 70 feet wide at most spots, and home to a select few stalactites and stalagmites, this was one of the coolest caves I’ve ever been in (without a tour guide).

Literally. So much fun.

We climbed down the rocks (pictured above) and then took a few minutes to get our flashlights situated before heading in deeper.

It is PITCH BLACK inside of that cave, y’all. Will gave me the head lamp and he used a flashlight. I was surprised at how massive the cave felt, especially with our limited light sources. We climbed all around and explored a lot of side tunnels, but mainly kept to the real deal. It was so much fun! And a lot cooler than outside in the sunshine, that’s for sure.

At one point we turned off all of our lights to just sit in the dark. It was nuts. I couldn’t handle it. I just kept picturing the creatures from the movie The Descent and had to turn my head lamp back on.

After a proper adventure and exploring all of the nooks and crannies, we climbed back out feeling excited and accomplished. The half mile hike back to our car felt like nothing.

After spotting some deer who were crossing the road, we got back in the car and drove the winding road up to the Coronado Peak to sneak some views of the canyon before we had to head home.

The valley is definitely greener than normal because of monsoon season. I’m not complaining, though. Apparently they get to experience all four season at Coronado. I would love to see this place with some snow.

Honestly, we have nothing but good things to say about the Coronado National Memorial. We had a great time! We’re super glad that we looked it up ahead of time, otherwise we would not have been prepared for the cave trail. Ending the trip with a windy drive up the mountain followed by a view of the valley was perfect.

Do you like exploring caves or do you get freaked out by the dark?

Until next time,
Jamie out