Simple pleasures and the COYF challenge

We've been married for almost 3 months now, and next month marks the one year anniversary of our engagement. Crazy how quickly time flies and how much can happen in a span of one year. Three months isn't a super long time, but it already feels like we've been married for years. We're starting to adjust and get a hang of our daily routine. The more I adjust, the more I grow to appreciate and really enjoy the God-given joys of wifehood and homemaking. It really is a glorious calling to "make"  a home that your husband can lead -- and though the sanctifying process is painful at times, it always proves to be rewarding and pretty gloriously sweet.

Some simple pleasures I've been appreciating these days...

The convenience of eating leftovers for dinner

... and the power of Sriracha to make it taste completely different

..packages in the mail

.. the excitement of starting a new book

.. discovering a good chinese cookbook {finally!}

.. An inviting pile of warm laundry fresh out of the dryer

.. Costco coupons in the mail

.. and the excuse it gives to buy every single home-related need.

I love new things!

Eating home-made lunches with Eugene

and feta cheese... yum :)

.cute, fresh strawberries and the many dessert opportunities they bring!

Eugene and I have finally begun bugeting as a married couple. During marriage counseling, pastor aaron suggested a computer program called YouNeedABudget (YNAB) to help us manage our finances. We gave ourselves a break for the first few months but as we prepare for Eugene to go back to school this year, we had to start taking it serious. January has been our first official month of "budgeting" with YNAB and I love it and hate it at the same time. 

I hate it because..

1) It's strenuous-- Having to save receipts and record all your spendings is so much work!

2) It's time consuming-- it takes hours to set up, and large chunks of time every week 

3) It's rebuking-- It's surprising and embarrassing to see how much money you spend without even realizing it!

I love it because..

1) It's helpful -- in making us mindful of the fact that we're stewards of everything God gives to us and we need to be intentional and discerning with how we spend our money.

2) It's cool -- it makes me feel like a real life adult!!!!

3) It's rebuking -- the healthy, sanctifying, very-necessary kind of rebuke.

YNAB also proved to me that I spend too much money on groceries. It's really inconvenient that I enjoy grocery shopping so much.. but I need to calm down. Here's this month's report on groceries:

Eugene scolded me because I went grocery shopping THREE times today. Yes, you read it right-- THREE. I don't know how it happens but everytime I go in to the grocery store to buy 1-2 things, I leave with at least 3-4 bags full of stuff. (Is it just me?!) Eugene said I can't go grocery shopping until the end of next month, so we are initiating something called COYF (pronounced "ko eef") which stands for CLEAN OUT YOUR FRIDGE. Frequent grocery shopping = Overstocked fridge = Massive amounts of food thrown out and wasted. But, I will waste no more! I accept the challenge.

Until the end of February I can't buy any groceries except

- 2 types of produce once a week (since fresh fruits/veggies go bad pretty quickly)

- 1 type of meat (sigh..)

I'm kind of sad but excited at the same time. I'm excited to clean out my fridge of all the frozen meat and veggies I stock in there, and excited to have my cooking mind stretched and challenged. Time to start being creative! :o)

Here is my signature to seal the deal:

Keep me accountable!

Give thanks: free days with Eugene, cute strawberries, sweet times of solitude

Third time's a charm!

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Since Eugene & I have been engaged, we've gone through three different blogs -- a tumblr, a wordpress, and now we have gained ourselves a blogspot. Due to some technical issues, I've been having a hard time maintaining my wordpress account {which explains my infrequent postings as of late}. With the many special gadgets and gizmos Wordpress offers, it became too complicated to manage for me.. hence, I needed to go back to the simple, beautiful goodies of blogspot. Hoping this is the last move ever.. third time's a charm, they say!

Since I've last posted, a few things happened.

1) Eugene got into Pharmacy school. Praising God, inside and out!

2) We picked up our marriage license {FINALLY} and I changed my last name. It's official. I am a Korean girl with a very Chinese last name.. and I like it!

3) We {kind of} started juicing.

To some, this may be considered cheating. Tis true, we used a citrus juicer. Tis true, we only used oranges. Baby steps, people.. baby steps. :)

4) and the most exciting news of all-- we got a roommate!

Meet Katherine:

She's actually better looking in person. She's funny, considerate, sweet, helpful around the house and is enthusiastic about everything I make her for lunch. She enjoys Thai Spice, 85c Coffee and grocery shopping.. just as much as I do {which means more frequent trips for me} So sweet!

My cute sisters Audrey and Katherine :)

Katherine is actually my baby sister. People usually freak out about the fact that she (a perfectly normal and decent child) would choose to live with me and Eugene (a quite boring-to-live-with newly wedded couple). People are weirded out for a number of reasons, but we think it's quite lovely. She's very helpful too; she helps with dishes and vacuums on days I work my night shifts so our home doesn't look like a victim of a hurricaine. 

Sometimes it kind of feels like she's our {practice} child: we make her breakfast, pack her lunch, take her to school, pick her up from school, etc. It's a different kind of adjustment, but there's definitely a sweetness she brings to our home and our new family. We always prayed that our home would be used to build up the church and serve God and His people-- so how awesome it is that God provided such an opportunity!

This year will be another year of changes for Eugene and I. We'll keep you posted! {....hopefully on a more frequent basis!} 

Give thanks; gloomy days to sleep in, vitamins and oranges, going back to work after a flu season, strength to rejoice, strength to run this race with endurance, fellowship, 85c green milk tea, the abundance of recipe ideas i find on pinterest