brits, a blackout, & hgtv

Quite the weekend for Jared and I - filled to the brim with seeing wonderful friends, new experiences, and quality time. Bryant & Hannah (our friends living in England) got to spend 4 days with us while they came back to film the U.S portion of House Hunters International on HGTV. Not only did we get the fun of just seeing them, they used our house to film in!

So I went on a cleaning binge before their arrival Friday night - gotta present a spick and span house for the people whose job it is to film houses, right?! It was so fun seeing all the behind the scenes stuff that has to take place. The lighting and sound prep was unreal. We had to go as far as to turn the refrigerator off when we were filming in the kitchen because the cameras are so sensitive!

These shots are from when Hannah was doing her 1 on 1 interviews, we did some group filming around the kitchen table eating brunch and drinking coffee. Totally totally staged conversation. I'm looking forward to seeing what footage they end up using. One of the things I found so interesting was HOW much film they took. The portion of the show using this Minnesota footage comes out to about 5 minutes, they said. They were at our house for hours, and then the rest of the day, were filming in St. Paul around Grand Avenue, etc. A full days worth of footage, boiled down to around 5 - 7 minutes. I would not want to be an editor.

We enjoyed our evenings catching up; last night we bundled up inside as we got our biggest snowfall of the season, a whopping 3 inches! Watch out! ;) We ended up losing power, so we sat around with 1 wimpy flashlight, and 2 iphone lights that put my flashlight to shame.

Jared and I were fretting over how we were going to fall asleep with no fan....... seriously, it's a problem for us. A pathetic problem, but one nonetheless. We've gone as far as taking turns "shhhhh-ing" laying in bed so the other one could maybe fall asleep. Don't ask. It didn't work. :) Thankfully we didn't have to worry. We powered up before falling asleep.

This morning we sent our Brits off. It was SO wonderful to see them on what technically was a "surprise" visit. They weren't counting on getting picked for the show, so we had no clue when we would see them next. It was a wonderful time to reconnect and here more in detail what life is like "across the pond". We love you Bryant & Hannah! Cheerio!

all the newness

What a month it has been! All good and wonderful things, but this process of moving and starting a new job has really worn on me. So I'm trying to sleep as much as I can and always take my vitamins! So here's the lowdown....

I started my new job 2 weeks ago at the Institute for Orthopedics and Chiropractic. I do massage therapy referrals 3 days a week, and chiropractic assisting 5 days a week. It has been quite like drinking out of a fire hydrant, with how intense it is. I'm treating high level athletes, Mayo clinic and Tria cases, as well as trying to keep my physical stamina up with doing massages. They have trained me in as a Chiropractic assistant, so I help with soft tissue and manual adjustments with the chiropractor, give ultrasounds (not like baby ones - its a form of deep heat applied to muscle tissue - but the concept/tools are pretty much the same,) and prep patients for adjustments. It's a full time job (so thankful!) so I'm pretty beat when I get home from work. My body is adapting to the routine, but it is taking a bit. I really like what I am doing, and the clinic is one of the most reputable in the state, because it is a combination of Physical Therapy and chiropractic modalities... they do things so much differently than I've ever seen them before! In the two weeks I've been there though, I have seen it work! 


And the house!! Can't even believe that Jared and I are homeowners. Actually now that I think about it - this is the first blog I've posted about the house. Hmm. A bit behind I guess! Well, then, for those of you that didn't know... we bought a house. :) A quite lovely one, I might add. It's in Blaine, about a 12 minute drive for Jared to work, and about a 35 minute one for me (with no traffic), but I'm daytime hours, and he has evenings, so it's right this way.

With Jared and I not getting home until around 7pm each night, the house projects have taken a bit longer than we'd hoped, but I have to be realistic here. We both work full time now, and our evening time is limited. It will take longer, and I am becoming more and more comfortable with that. This is what it looks like right now....

It will get there. :) There were too many pictures of the house to put all on the blog, so I have created a link to the facebook album by clicking HERE.
The link will work, and you can click through the pictures even if you don't have a facebook, or are not friends with me.  I'll keep updating as we make more progress! I am SO enjoying nesting and making it feel like Jared and I. It's been a whole new experience for us - with repairs, hanging blinds/window treatments, problem solving those "welcome to home-ownership" messes, (we didn't have hot water until yesterday!) but we are doing so well. 


We have so much to be thankful for, both working at full time jobs IN our respective fields, buying a house, getting settled, being back in Minnesota.... the list goes on. We give HIM all the praise! Have a great Saturday everyone!

aubrey + emma | 1 year old

It seems like only a few short months ago that we saw them in the hospital... and if I feel that way, I can't imagine how it feels for our friends (and their mom & dad) Ryan and Mindy. Goodness these girls are sweet.

My first photoshoot, and I think it went very well. I'm so glad it was with these guys!

I'm so glad Jared and I have been able to be around these two little ones as they grow (with the exception of those 3 months... :). I like seeing their smiles at remembering us, the maturing of their cute little personalities, and their expanding interests in the world around them.... they're getting so big.

*this was the best part of their day I believe.....

I can't wait to watch you get even bigger miss Aubrey and Emma. You are very dear to us. Happy birthday!

First day

I'll probably get a "huuuuun!" for this, but I wanted you to see hubs on his first day of grad school (yesterday)! It did end up feeling a bit "kindergartenerish" with me snapping pics.... but eh, I just don't care. I am so proud of him

No matter where this road ends up, I am proud of his desire, his comittment, and hard work ethic. He's pretty much a stud. :)

Dinner's in the oven, about ready to sound the alarm at me that its done, and Jared should be home in 10! I think we have some skype dates tonight with the fam... all in all a good evening. Maybe throw in an episode or two of "Glee." It'll be a great evening then!

Love from west virginia....

A peek into our home

Ok, maybe more like an open house. ;) Sorry for the delay... long story of internet troubles. We seem to attract it like a magnet. That being done, here is our home! I am proud to say that we totally moved in in about 5 days. I think that is an all time record. :) My favorite room is our bedroom....

It's about twice the size of our old one, with 2 big windows. I love that. Even after 2 weeks, it is a retreat for us. Being in there brings so much peacefullness! Now let's start from the beginning...

That's our door on the left. I don't really like looking at our shoes. But with no closets.... k sera sera.

View as you walk in the front door. We LOVE the fireplace.

Somehow, knowing we will be moving 3 times in 3 years, we have managed to not have to buy a couch yet! Thanks for the nice hand-me-down Dave & Chris! Jared was wonderful hanging all our pictures last Saturday. Talk about mind over matter. Thanks sweetie!!

Standing at the front door. We really like the semi-open floor plan!! Still have get bar stools.

Living room, front door, and patio. Again, our lack of storage meant the kitchen had to spill over to the living room a bit.

The dining room is my second favorite. :)

The kitchen is small, but I still love it! It's fun being in there, and I've had lots and lots of time to cook while I'm still looking for a job.

I like having a kitchen view into the living room, as well as a bar counter. The laundry room is against the left wall. You saw the door in a previous picture.

The "hallway" to the bathroom (right) and bedroom (left).

We installed a curved shower rod which we are drooling over. Best. choice. ever. The bathroom is smaller than our previous, but we are making do. :)

Peeking into our bedroom!

AND... the only closet in our entire apartment. I'm getting over it. :) It  is so nice though to have all our stuff in one place!

Hope you enjoyed the tour. :) One of these nights when Jared and I head out to the pool again, I'll take some pictures of the outdoor "scenery." As for tonight.... I made peach crisp so I'm sure that will pre-occupy us.

Love from Barboursville!

We are... Marshall

Well, here's a shorter version of our tour of Marshall! This campus was beatiful! There is so much tradition and history wrapped into this town. You can see it in the old buildings, and even the new ones. Eastern USA architecture has already gotten it's hooks into me.

Both Jared and I are already anticipating a game day here. :) When everyone breathes green, and if your'e not out tailgating, well...... that means you have no friends. Because they're all tailgating. :) I've already picked out the dry fit shirt I want Jared to get me.

Jared found out the sports that he will be working with this first year! According to him, his load is a lot more "balanced" than some of the other GA's. By no means less work... but that the coaches of his teams are all reasonable to work with, and only one requires travel. He's being such a good sport about getting all women's teams, though. He has Women's golf, women's soccer, and women's basketball. Women's soccer and basketball are pretty big deal's at Marshall, so he definitely will have his hands full! He'll also be spending a lot of time here....

I might have to deal with the bleacher butt of this thing we call WOMENS basketball and just go watch. I'll just lovingly watch my hubby instead of what's going on on the court. It'd probably be more interesting. (low blow, I know. But thankfully we've all laughed about my strong dislike for it.) I'll try. Open mind.

One of the most noted parts of this campus is the Memorial fountain they have in the center of campus honoring the victims of the 1970 football team plane crash. Every pinnacle on the fountain represents one of the 75 people who died. Players, coaches, staff, supporters, etc. It gets turned off every year on the day and time of the crash. It's a very somber but yet peaceful courtyard.

As I said, this courtyard area is right in the heart of the campus. And how beautiful it is. It was so great touring a new campus and knowing I didn't have to go back to school. ;)

That's John Marshall, Chief of Justice of the United States from 1801-1835. Yes, the school has been around for awhile. It was unreal seeing pictures of athletes on the Hall of Fame wall from like 1901. Glad we don't wear that small of uniforms anymore...

I'm so excited and proud of Jared for taking this opportunity. I'm happy he is taking on a job he loves, even though his task of balancing A LOT of work, travel, our marriage, the Lord (first and foremost), and getting his masters will not be easy. Again, we so appreciate your prayers. Here's to a new adventure on the East coast!!!

I'll be back in a day or two with pictures of our finished apartment! We have been worker bees this weekend, and it's all done! I just hate clutter.... :)

Take me home... country roads

So this might be old news to most of you.... but I will share the details none the less of Jared and I taking a leap of faith, stepping out and moving to West Virginia! Huntington, to be exact, home of Marshall University and the "thundering herd." After a few long years of waiting, it is finally the right time for us to move.

Jared will be going to work for Marshall Unviersity in their athletic department as a Graduate Assistant. This means that he will be a full time staff doing everything media related for 1 or 2 sports a season. Media guides, website design and updating, press releases, game day program design, etc. The difference however, is that he will also be getting his masters through the university in sports administration. This is his form of salary. It's a pretty ingenious set up, actually. In the collegiate sports world, having your masters as well as having experience at a credible location is vital. So this is a really great step for us!

God's fingerprints were all over this move. As some of you know, prior to Marshall (and by prior I mean like all of this happened in a span of 3 weeks) we had accepted a position in Georgia. Through a long stream of events, we went down there to look at apartments, God moved in our hearts and we decided it wasn't the place for us. Happening at the same time, Marshall U called Jared. One door closed, another opened. That's the short version. ;)

Once we accepted this position at Marshall, we still ran into some hiccups, but as ALWAYS, God's faithfullness abounded. Because we were doing all of this online, and choosing not to visit, our apartment search was interesting. We found 3 wonderful, nice, apartments from the staff at Marshall's recommendations. About a week ago, we found out one didn't have avaliability (our fave), one had given us mis-information and really didn't have an apartment for us (our backup), and one we realistically couldn't swing price wise. Talk about taking the wind out of us. So we prayed, and we trusted.

We had decided we were going to have to take a 3 bedroom at our favorite place and just bite the money until we could move down to a 1 bedroom... it was the ONLY apartment we could even find avaliable! The Lord worked. He got us a 2 bedroom there. Great! Even cheaper! But of course, us in our unbelieving/stressed ways, were worried about moving twice, changing our address twice, etc. Oh, us of little faith.

Sunday, as in 2 days ago, our apartment called. They have a 1 bedroom for us. :) Why do we ever doubt that the Lord will take care of us? He has NEVER failed us yet! And although the road might not always fall perfectly before us as we are ready to step, I believe he is present and attentive, and always has our best interest in mind. Even if that best interest doesn't make itself clear until farther down that road.

So, long story, but I can't keep quiet God's faithfullness. We are very excited about this move, and strongly feel that this is the place he is leading us. Oh, and it is only a 2 year comittment. :) Our desire is to come back to the Twin Cities, but where He leads us, we will follow.

There are a few things we would SO appreciate your prayers  on as we move cross country:

- we are still trying to find the most affordable way to move down. Rental trucks are so expensive. We are looking for a truck and trailer.
- A job for myself (Skyler) as it will be my income we rely on while Jared gets his degree
- Jared will be traveling quite a bit with his team(s): SAFETY for him as well as lonliness not to set in while I am home in a brand new state.
- That we would find a great church family and some great friends!
- That our hearts would remain open to Huntington - not just waiting for the end of 2 years.

We start driving on August 1st! Both of our wonderful parents will be moving us down. Thank you so much for all your prayers, and there will be much more to come!!

ps. just in case you care this much....  if you want to remember more about Marshall's story Click here for info on the plane crash, or click here to view MU's official athletic website (Jared's territory).

And then there were two

Two diplomas, that is! Now when people ask me what I do, I don't stutter into a long sentance about finishing college, starting a second degree in massage therapy (but working at the same time). I'M A REHABILITATIVE MASSAGE THERAPIST. Aah, that's so much easier to say! I did decide to go through the graduation ceremony, and was very blessed to have my whole family there! Dave & Chris, Greg and Lori, Mom & Dad, and my amazing husband! Cheers and thankfullness to you guys for all your support through this process.

I learned so much through this degree.... sometimes I just start talking anatomy to Jared and I end up with my voice two octaves higher, eyes wide, and somehow trying to "win" a point of explaining to him all the concepts and reasons of WHY certain body mechanics hurt him and what he needs to be doing differently to fix it and prevent needing my desperate assistance to fix him. He's so great. He just smiles, waiting for me to be done and realize that he didn't even ask a question.

Aside from all the science, function, and technique I gained, I think that a more important and noteworthy principle I took away from this was even MORE reverence, awe, and thankfullness for how God so intricately wove our physical bodies. My class in 3D anatomy and kinesiology really drove this home to me... remember my clay maniken? I really should have taken an after picture before I pawned it off to mom and dad to store for us. :S  I continue to marvel and apply what I learned about my body into my worship. I am SO THANKFUL for a functioning body and the knowledge I have gained to be grateful for it!

So back to the night. We couldn't celebrate without Cheesecake Factory. Mmmm. I think it's just "the place to be" for celebrating in this family. It's where my parents, Jared and I went the very first time he met them (and hey, that WAS a celebration), it's been known to host our birthdays, anniversaries, and not to forget Greg + Lori's engagement after party! And the cheesy (hehe) picture is a must!

So here's to the end of yet another chapter of life! I definitely am thankful for the accomplishment, the enjoyment, and the lessons I learned about perseverence. Not to mention how much I learned to LOVE anatomy. On to the next! :)

My shameless plug...

Well, upon suggestion from a brilliant man - thank you Jim Jackson :) -  I thought it might not hurt to let you all in on where I've been spending my weekends! I'm in the last term of my rehabilitative massage therapy degree, and that means most of my schooling is spent working on real clients with real problems. Every Saturday morning and afternoon, and a handful of Friday nights as well, I am at school: going through all the processes of learning what it's like to run my own business. I meet with clients, talk about their problems, medical history, filing and documentation and then work on them! It's still quite draining, but the reward I have seen from it is wonderful. I have had lots of encouragement along the way, and for that I am very very thankful! This is where I am!

Now for the shameless plug. :) For those of you who are local.... I would LOVE to have you come see me in clinic! For an hour massage (relaxation or rehab - or both!) the cost is $40. However, the school's website is usually always running some sort of promo. For instance, this whole month of January it was $30. It's up to me to book my slots! I've thankfully been filled so far, but it's always fun to see a familiar face. :) Plus, whoever has the most "personal requests" gets a pretty nice prize. (a little competition never hurt anybody) ;) Now for the info. To book with me, all you have to do is call the main number of my school and ask to book student clinic with Skyler Johnson:
CenterPoint Massage Therapy & Shiatsu school and clinic:
http://www.centerpointmn.com/
(952) 562-5200

They will give you all the information regarding when I have openings and what not, but I work every Saturday morning/afternoon, and like I said earlier, some fridays.
The school is located in St. Louis park right off of Hwy 100 and Exelsior Blvd/36th Street. If you see the L.A. fitness, drive there, but all directions can be found on the website or by contacting me :) Thanks for listening to my shameless plug!!
I'd love to see you and help work out your kinks! Hope you had a marvelous January!

My #2 Man

Well, a much needed study break it is. My fingernails are tired of having clay stuck under them and my cuticles don't like being stained terracotta anymore. I've been working hard on this guy for my 3D Anatomy class and I'm almost done! I have about 7 more big muscles to go - which will unfortunately cover up all this fine detail so I'm showing it off now! I built him from the bone up! You wouldn't believe me if I told you all the detail of the muscles in our body. Trust me, after joining each individual vertebrae in our spine by 3 differerent muscles alone... it's detail! Unbelievable to me that some don't see the divine creation we are. Every ounce in me marvels at how the Lord created us! I go through my classes with students and instructors who teach this information and learn this information and then go, "huh... well I'm glad everything worked out when I evolved!"
I am thankful, Lord. Thankful for the intricateness of my body and how I function. All glory to You!

In other news, Jared and I survived the blizzard! :) We stayed on top of shoveling the driveway so once it was all said and done, we only had very sore backs to show for it! But what a beautiful blizzard it was. I love driving around and seeing 2.5 feet of snow framing the sidewalks and the monstrous piles it creates, even on the major highways! The -15 temps we have had have helped it stay too. :) Although, sometimes it's hard to be thankful for -15 temps....

Until next time... stay warm!
Skyler

P.S. And for the sake of my husband... I don't have any other man than you. :) Love you sweetie!

Target Field Tour

On December 3rd I was able to enjoy a tour of Minnesota's own Target Field. Thanks to a social media sweepstakes, myself along with eight others (randomly chosen) were led by a team of Twins employees around several destinations within the new stadium.

Some of the most notable locations were the Budweiser Roof Deck, main offices, suite level with dozens of large wall photos and artwork, the Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett dining areas, clubhouse, press box, and dugout. It was incredibly captivating to see Target Field in the winter with snow, as well as what it looked like on the inside. I assure you it is just as crisp and classy on the inside as it is on the out.

Probably the highlight of the tour was meeting Bill Smith and David St. Peter, who are the Minnesota Twins General Manager and President. Interesting enough, Smith has one wall in his office dedicated to all 30 MLB teams with each individual player under every team, color-coded according to what side of the plate they bat from or what arm they pitch with. The other wall is dedicated to free agents. I asked Bill, "Where do you keep the Japanese free agents?" He chuckled and noted, "That's a pretty short list."

The tour was capped off with my first steps on Target Field. It was quite ironic that my first steps onto the field were not in the summer, but rather when there was six inches of snow and more flurries were falling. Additionally, even though it was not summer and there was not 70 degree weather, I was still incredibly excited!

This activity was certainly a highlight for me, and I felt very fortunate to experience Target Field! Maybe you will be lucky enough to take a tour at some point, but if not, just being able to be in the seats at a game will certainly be sufficient. As always, GO TWINS!

Jared