Ring in the New Year

A new year always feels like getting a fresh start at things. Just as many of you, I have my own list of resolutions and goals to make me a better person and get more out of life this upcoming year. But if you're anything like me, you can understand how I can already be struggling with keeping them even though it is only the 6th of January.

One thing I've found to help me with sticking to my resolutions is not only writing them down but also writing down a plan on how to achieve them. Making a plan to achieve a goal may seem like common sense, but the idea dawned on me about a year and a half ago as I was reading "Basic Black" by Cathie Black. If any of you are interested in the media world, or just want a good career advice book, I'd recommend reading this one. It was given to me by my mom and it has been my go-to book whenever I get frustrated with what I am doing career wise.

Maybe this afternoon, I'll sit down and write out my plans to get me on track before the year gets away from me...

Bergen and I are looking forward to this new year. We have some things we'd like to do and ideas of other things that haven't fully come together as what we should do. But we'll be sure to keep you posted.

I hope you all had a good holiday season. Ours was filled with family time, good surprises and a little too much good food. That is what I believe the holidays are for. Here are some pictures from our Christmas celebrations. Wishing you all the best in this new year!

Our First Tree

Christmas Morning

Opening Stockings

Bergen in the Aftermath

Birthday Celebrations

Bergen and I both have birthdays that fall in December. That makes it quite a busy month once you add our birthdays to the holiday celebrations.

I had Bergen's birthday off so while he was at work, I was able to make his birthday preparations. His two birthday requests were a night in and that I make him my version of Noodles and Company's Wisconsin Mac and Cheese. I made him mac and cheese (as the side dish) and also made pork chops suffed with spinach, gouda cheese, and bacon. I found the recipe in Costco's cookbook they give away on Black Friday and it's definitely a new favorite.

Bergen, well both of us actually, loves going to the market so the next morning we got up and drove into downtown Seattle to visit Pike Place. We had a great time looking at all it had to offer and getting into the Christmas spirit with all its decorations.

Sunday we went over to Bergen's parents for dinner. Karen had made pork tenderloin (one of Bergen's favorites) and then he opened presents and sliced up one of Costco's famous chocolate cakes.

My birthday was this past weekend and boy did I feel spoiled! Friday night I got a message from my mom that Pier One was holding a present for me to go pick up the following morning. My parents had gotten me the cutest measuring cups and spoons. They're so cute I can't bear to put them away in a drawer. Later that afternoon Bergen and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. We hadn't been to a movie in a while so that was a nice treat. Afterwards we got a Chicago style pizza for dinner.

All Saturday Bergen kept asking me when I wanted to open his present to me. I told him I could wait till my birthday but I caved and opened it Saturday night. His gifts were sweet. He got me a colorful scarf, a charm necklace and a bottle of bubble bath that smells like warm vanilla.

Sunday we went over to his parents house for dinner. Karen had made beef stroganoff for me. I've had that for my birthday for as long as I can remember! The presents Bergen's family gave me made me feel so spoiled and I love everyone of them! I feel very blessed to have married into such a great family.

One of my favorite things about my birthday was spending time with family-- whether it was in person or on the phone. It's a rare occurrence that I get to hear everyone's voice all in the same day.

WIth both of us turning another year older, I've got a feeling that this upcoming year has a lot of good things in store.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I have always loved the month of December. In my opinion, it is the best month out of the year. Once you take a step back from all of stress and chaos of holiday preparations you can find that this time of year has a very different feeling about it. Maybe it is just what people call the "Christmas Spirit". Maybe it's all of the excitement in the air. Maybe it's people going out of their way to be kind to others. Maybe it is all the bright and cheery decor. But whatever it is, I like to stop and recognize it when I feel it. Today, I had one of those Christmas moments.

Today Bergen and I went down to Pike Place Market to do a little Christmas shopping. We thought it would be a fun to start the tradition of getting each other a gift from the market each year. Pike Place is one of our top favorite places to visit in Seattle. There are so many unique things to look at and you always learn something new when talking with the artists and vendors.

Before meeting Bergen, I had only ever visited Seattle during the summertime so I had never seen the market all decked out for Christmas. As we pulled up we could see Christmas trees for sale, lights strung, pigs on the roof dressed as reindeer, and even the Pike Place signage looked as if it was part of the Christmas decor. Outside farmers and vendors were selling fresh wreaths and people were bustling in and out of shops to and from the market with all of their gifts in tow.

We split up and once we found what we wanted met back up. Bergen met me with a colorful bouquet of flowers which have now found a home in a vase in our kitchen. I bought a bouquet of flowers with sprigs of evergreen tree and red berries which I thought looked very Christmasy to surprise my grandma with.

It is amazing to me how even the chilly, gray days we have had here can be warmed and brightened with a bit of Christmas cheer. I hope you all are enjoying this Christmas season. Wishing you a merry Christmas.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Also, happy 6 month anniversary to Caitlyn and I.  I have to say sorry for all those that may still be waiting on our thank you cards to be sent out. We have them all made, addressed and waiting to be sent but they are sitting in a box stored away until Caitlyn and I get settled in. I feel bad that we don't have those out yet. So don't worry they are on their way.

Caitlyn and I had a great Halloween and 6 month anniversary. It is a tradition in the Knutzen family to have dinner at my grandparents, take pictures, go trick or treating and come back to have dessert. This year we were lucky to have two parties to go to. Caitlyn's Aunt and Uncle go all out in passing out candy to kids and having family over for mexican food. Yes, we did eat twice and paid dearly for it later.

A couple of days before Halloween we participated in my parents ward's trunk or treat. We decked out our trunk with spooky decorations and some classic halloween music. It was fun because my parents, sister and her husband lined up their cars next to us. It has been so much fun to participate in the holidays with family again. We are eating it up (sometimes literally with all the food we get fed). At the trunk or treat, Caitlyn dressed up as static cling, as you can see in the picture, and I wore a sign that read "nudist on strike". Next year we are planning on being more prepared and coming as some cliche couples costume. We have talked about mario and princess peaches. We will see.

I have recently discovered Printerest. I am addicted. I love arts and craft ideas so I have had a blast going through all the decorating ideas. I am researching the best ways to refinish or paint old thrift store furniture. I love that stuff. I am getting a lot of ideas. Caitlyn and I have been getting ready to move into our new apartment and we have had to think about how to decorate. It is fun to be able to do it all over again. We bought some nice couches yesterday and we still need a table, chairs and a most importantly a bed. I am sure the perfect ones will come up soon, it always seems to happen like it.

Caitlyn had her first day of work today. I am excited for her as she starts this new job. It is always exciting to learn new things, meet new people and just experience a new routine. I think she is going to like it there. I will have to have her write up a post about her new job and what she is doing. Anyway, thanks to whoever reads our blog. I know we are not perfect at it but it is fun. If you do read make a comment and say hi.

A fun little project

I made this picture today. I want to make one for all of Gordon B Hinckley's "6 B's" I made the "Be Grateful" poster. I think they would look good in different colors and in a cool frame. I guess I needed to do something to remind me of all things I have to be grateful for. It was fun to find little quotes or come up with them on my own. Caitlyn and I do have a lot of be thankful for. After moving to Seattle from Utah our family has been such a big help. My wonderful aunt and uncle have allowed us to stay in an extra room in their home. It has been very comfortable and we have had all the comforts we needed. Our family has also fed us great food and made sure we were well taken care of.

It has been a lot of fun to be home. I have not lived at home for years and I was really missing out on those Sunday dinners my mom makes. I love the weather in Seattle and all the trees that turn colors. There is something very special about fall here. The air is crisp and cool and there always seems have have a slight smell of burning wood. The fall colors are everywhere and when it rains it just brightens the greens, reds, yellows and oranges.

Caitlyn and I wanted to do something different with our pumpkins this year so we made these cute owls we found in a Martha Stewart magazine.

Last year at this time Caitlyn and I just started dating. It is fun to think back on that time when we were still getting to know each other. I am very bless to have married such a wonderful girl. We do so many fun things. I am glad she likes arts and crafts like I do.

Caitlyn found a job! I am going to let her write a post and tell about it.

Hello Seattle!

If you haven't heard already, Bergen and I have moved to the Seattle area. It was a bit of an unexpected and quick move but we are sure glad to be here.

Between looking for and applying to jobs, we've enjoyed spending time with family and with each other. It's been great to be around and be part of family events. Since we've been here we spent time with Bergen's aunts who visited from Norway, been with Kjaersti and Tyler when they found out they're having a boy, watched Kjellden's flag football game, took pictures of Stian before homecoming, and visited with my grandma and aunt. And of course, we've made sure to get our Spuds fill in as well!

Bergen is at a second interview as I write this and I have two interviews tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for their support and prayers. We feel very blessed and are happy to be here!

It's been a while...

First, I am sorry that Caitlyn and I have not written a post for a while. I guess we just got caught up in married life and was having so much fun that we just kind of forgot about this blog. Well, we are back so don't worry. Wow, So much has been going on. Caitlyn and I have kept pretty busy with work. We have been savoring our weekend time with one another.

Some of the fun things we have done together this summer has been decorating our apartment. We have bought all of our furniture from a lady who runs a blog called Shabby2chicdesign. He stuff is awesome and comes at a very affordable price tag. We have had fun putting our home together. Last weekend we went tubing down the Provo River. Caitlyn got a couple nasty buises from falling off her tube and letting the river drag her along the bottom. We also got pretty burnt in the 90 degree weather that day. It was a lot of fun.

I have a new hobby that has been keeping me entertained. Last weekend I bought a beautiful fish tank. It is a 12 gallon tank and it is one of the best tanks on the market. I built a great little fresh water habitat with live plants and plenty of fish. The filter on this tank allows me to do a lot with such a small area. It actually filters 160 gallons of water per hour. That is filtering all the water in the tank 13.33333 times every hour. It's fun and I am learning a lot about fish and plants. Right now I have five very small fish and 4 medium to small fish and 4 or 5 little shrimps. We named the school of 5 the jackson 5 and the other's marco and polo, houdini, and molly. Houdini likes to hide. In a couple weeks I will be able to add another school of five and a bit after that I can add even more.

What is really cool about this tank is when I get tired of doing fresh water the tank will handle salt water perfectly. I am really looking forward to having a small salt water reef some day. I am first concentrating on my fresh water. On a side note we still have our two gold fish (nelly and moe) in a bowl. We have had them since about october. They are going strong.

Now that I have told you a bit about what I have been up to. I need to have caitlyn get on and tell you all about what she has been doing.

Watch this video of my fish in action!