Identity Crisis

I am having an identity crisis.

Here's the thing-  I am still not used to my new last name Devenney.  I love it, but I'm not used to it.  I mean, who wouldn't want to just LATCH on to this guy's last name??

I pee a little when I look at this.  This, this is what life is made of. THIS IS THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN.  But anyway.. 

AS I WAS SAYING...

I was at the dry-cleaners just the other day and the lady asked for my last name.  I paused because I wasn't really sure what to say!  Do I say Killpack or do I say Devenney??  It's like I don't identify with either of them right now. What do I do??

I was sitting with my friend the other day and I asked her to text me something and I saw that she put in Emily D. and my first thought was Who is that??  

When my sister-in-law, Tory, and I go to the temple they ask for our last names and she says Killpack while I say Devenney and I get so confused because she is saying my last name and I am saying some other name I'd never heard of before I married into it!  Now if that just isn't the longest run-on sentence in the world... 

I keep asking Cory, "Now, HOW do you say our last name again?" I'm still not entirely sure. :)  When I look at the spelling of it I don't see it how it sounds and so it confuses me.  It's pronounced DaVinny/DaVenney.  Although, I still don't know because Corny won't give me a straight answer.  He thinks those two things are the same.  So imagine me walking around with a last name that I'm still not quite sure how to pronounce! I'm such a linguistic learner and the fact that it is not spelled the way that sounds messes with my head. 

This is a serious matter, I tell you.  I asked Corny how he would feel if he all-of-the-sudden was Cory Killpack.  It's a total adjustment! I laugh when I think of him taking my last name.  Corny Killpack kind of has a ring to it, wouldn't you say?? 

I think I'll just go last name-less like Brandy or Cher.  Life seems easier that way and it always keeps people guessing.  Such mystery! 

Point of the story is that I am somewhere in-between Killpack and Devenney.  Luckily, I get to keep both families.

I love my people. 

But, somebody please tell me it gets easier!!!!!

M

I've Heard it Said...

I've heard it said that money doesn't buy happiness, but I am quite certain that it helps. A lot.

Just the other day we were at the mall supposedly shopping for raffle prizes.  Did we HAVE to take a detour into J Crew? Yes.  And although Cory was hungry when I asked if I could buy these two things, he acquiesced.  Like he really had a choice. (Wink, wink! :))

I won't lie-  I felt extra happy spending that money!  The only downside is now I want to go spend more. It's such a vicious cycle. Uh oh.

Here are some pictures of my purchases.

First off, these Pixie pants.  They just suck it all in!  I wish I would've had Cory take a picture of my butt because it has the cutest zipper in the back that sometimes makes it difficult to go potty, but it's totally worth it!  I wish the fact that they are dry-clean only would've stopped me, but I wouldn't allow it. They are like leggings only 100 times BETTER!  The best part about them is that you can easily dress them up or dress them down.  Today I went for a simple look with my favorite black flats from my wedding.

And I hate that my roots match my pants.  The price of blonde hair is outrageous, but that's a whole other rant. 

Now this is kind of off topic, but notice how my heel is popped up so daintily? Well, it's been like that since last night. I worked out my calves on Saturday and I was fine yesterday, but for some reason my right one seized up last night (after my one and a half hour bath) and now I am gimping around and CANNOT straighten my right leg.  I will be watching Netflix and crocheting the rest of the day due to my injury.  Just FYI.  You're all invited to my pity party. :)

Back to buying my own happiness...

My second purchase was this lovely tee that was, of course, ON SALE for less than $20!  That's how I convinced Corny to let me get it.  Something under a gazillion dollars at J Crew?!  What a steal!

If you judge me for this selfie I won't judge you.  But sometimes you just have to take one because you're by yourself all day.

And this is real life- messy floor and all.

We spent the weekend watching rainstorms and hanging out with friends. 

Saturday night we spent at Cheesecake Factory and Barnes and Noble where we stayed for an hour because we were all enthralled with this book on serial killers.  We're all slightly morbid.  Following that, we had everyone over to watch "The Zodiac"  (FREAKY!) and then we spent all hours of the night telling scary stories.

Does anyone else love watching movies about serial killers??

M

The Dishwasher

Well hello Saturday, so glad you could come around again.  Today I will be blogging about my favorite appliance. 

The dishwasher. My dishwasher.  It has a really weird ability to make me feel good about myself. 

Here is why:

I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but I made the best dinner last night!  I found the recipe on Pinterest (where else?) and it was seriously the best thing ever!  They are called Cream Cheese Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Peppers.   I love cream cheese and I love peppers so to say I was obsessed would be an understatement.  I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for the life of me.  I even invited friends over so they could tell me what a good cook I was. Sue me. 

Granted, mine didn't look quite as nice as the ones on Pinterest, but they sure tasted good!

Mine vs. Pinterest

Why is there one green one you ask??  Well the other red one I bought was moldy inside.  Not cool Kroger.  Not cool. 

I will admit, I am no expert in the kitchen, and even though these took me about 2 hours to prepare and cook, I sort of felt like an expert because it required me to do so many things at once. A true one-man band! :)

The kitchen was in complete shambles.  We don't have very many things out here in Ohio so I'd have to use a pan, then wash it to use it for something else, and so on and so forth.  That's probably why this took me so long.  But I'm telling you IT WAS SO WORTH IT!  

When we finally cleaned up and cozied down so we could watch "White Collar" I felt a true sense of accomplishment.  Do you want to know why? 

Meet my dishwasher. 

Because every time I hear the dishwasher running at the end of the night I know I did my part that day.  It's just the downright coziest sound of accomplishment in the world. 

Can I get an AMEN??

That's all. 

M

Idioms

You'll get a kick out of this. 

I just hope I don't get the cold shoulder for posting this.  Or put in the doghouse. 

My husband doesn't understand idioms. The cat is out of the bag.  Would you ever suspect it??

For instance:

When we were first dating I got a little bit scared.  I didn't have cold feet,  I just needed a little elbow room!  I really liked him a lot, but I didn't want to jump the gun!  I remember sitting with him in the hot tub at his parent's house and we started talking about serious things.  You know, kind of like a DTR (Define the relationship.  Something I always hated!)?  Anyway, I was trying to let him know as kindly as I could that I still wanted to have the freedom to date other people.  So I said, "I just want you to know that I am not ready to put all of my eggs in one basket."

Does everyone understand what that phrase means?? I thought it was a no-brainer!

I thought wrong.

Cory, being the sweetest guy that he is, didn't say anything, but he just politely nodded and I thought Wow! That was easy!

Little did I know, months down the road he would tell me he had NO IDEA what that meant and he had thought Oh! I guess we're exclusive!  Luckily, for the both of us, we never dated anyone else after that so it didn't matter.  But how adorable, right??

And it doesn't end there.

Since we've been married I've tried throwing little idioms in here and there.  For example, just a couple weeks ago I was pestering him about getting something done and I said, "You know, babe, the squeaky wheel gets the grease?!"  He looked at me like What the heck?  Then I had to explain.

In his defense, once I explain it he always gets it. 

When pigs fly my husband will understand idioms.

But I love him and our marriage is JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED! :)

And to top it off, I married my very own body guard.  Now THAT is just the icing on the cake. 

How I'll ever love him more is BEYOND me! It's a good thing he's smart in most other areas. :) 

I'm sure this post will be way over his head. 

M

Project Palmyra

Our weekend shenanigans consisted of a road trip up to Palmyra, New York with my brother Alex, his wife Tory, and our friends Colton and Chase to learn about the prophet Joseph Smith and the restoration of the church.  It was truly amazing! 

We left early Saturday morning so we could have enough time to visit Niagara Falls and still make it to the Hill Cumorah pageant in Palmyra that night.  

Niagara Falls was stunningly beautiful! You have Niagara Falls, Canada on one side and Niagara Falls, NY on the other.  Meaning we are standing in NY in this picture, but you can see Canada.  How cool is that? :) 

In order to see it straight on you had to pay, therefore.... we didn't see it straight on.  The lines were horrendous and we didn't have a ton of time, so... we settled for a side view.  It was still amazing though!  And WET!!!  Who knew?? 

Ps. I know that I look amazing and like I just graduated from 6th grade- sweater tied around my waist and all.  And Corny might have a teensie bit of RT...

We found our way to the falls by following the mist.  You could seriously see it from a mile away!  

It started raining pretty hard as we were leaving and about 20 minutes outside of Niagara Falls we hit THE biggest rainstorm I've ever seen.  It was literally coming down in sheets!  Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am the most nervous passenger in the car.  I hate driving.  Every time Cory and I get in a car I'm am a ball of nerves.  I hate myself for it.  But I blame the several accidents I've been in.  I am a magnet for accidents!  ANYWAY,  as you can imagine, I was nearly in tears.  Our windshield wipers just weren't fast enough.  We could barely see a thing.  Semis were whizzing past us at the speed of light.  I was barely biting back sobs and saying a hundred prayers in my head that the rain would stop.  And guess what, it did.  Hallelujah! I'm a firm believer in the power of prayer.  (Later Cory told me that he could feel a cold sore coming on because he was so stressed out driving. Gimme a break dude! I think I have an ulcer!) What I'm trying to say is east coast storms are death scary.  The end. 

We pulled into our motel made for kings (aka The Budget Inn) that evening and were greeted by the lovely smell of grandmas and curry with a floral bedspread to boot.  Luckily, we didn't have to spend much time there.  It was NAY-ASTY!  I like to refer to it as the "Fuss Budget Inn" because that is what it was.  

Our whole reason for going up to Palmyra in the first place was to see the Hill Cumorah pageant on Saturday night.  It was the last showing of the summer and it was a blast!  There were so many people there and it was so fun to have so many church members around us.  We even ran into a friend from our single's ward.  Small world!  A nice young boy gave us some garbage bags to keep ourselves dry since it was raining and we were super unprepared.  He saved us!  Thankfully the rain let up just in time for the pageant to begin.  I was so grateful!  

As a side note, I doubt we'll have brown-eyed babies.  Just saying. 

Please notice all the fun going on in this picture.  

The pageant was the story of the Book of Mormon.  It was so wonderful and had the coolest stage and special effects!  

 This is probably the only normal picture we got of ourselves.  Oh... hello Tory.

 And Colton.  And Chase. :)

Sunday morning, after a glorious night's sleep in the Fuss Budget, we set out to see some more church history sites.  First, was the place where the first 5,000 Books of Mormon were printed.  It was such a neat experience.  I didn't realize how much work went into printing books in the 1800s.  It took them 7 months of working 12 hours a day for 6 days a week to finish the first 5,000 copies.  They even have one of the original ones there that was donated by a local.  He wasn't even a member, but found it in the attic of his mother's home.  Crazy!  

You might be wondering why we are wearing the exact same outfit.  Well, both of us brought it without knowing the other one did and by Sunday morning they were the only clean clothes we had.  Great minds think alike, I guess.  I think he wore it better.  

ANYWAY! 

After the publication site we went to the Palmyra temple and it was BEAUTIFUL!  

Everything is SO green on the east coast.  I am obsessed!  

Is this not the most awkward kissing picture you've ever seen in your whole life??  I laugh out loud when I look at it.  Cory's hand looks so awkward just floating.  The matching shirts.  It's just plain precious.  I had to crop out my child-bearing hips because I married a pencil man and look like a hippo.  #bigbuttdon'tcare 

The temple is only like 1/4 mile away from the Sacred Grove.  So we drove there next and it was unlike anything I've ever seen.  I kept thinking  If I were Joseph this is where I would've come to pray too!  The feeling is so reverent and peaceful.  

It was really cool to see the houses that the Smith's lived in, too.  To think that we were walking in the same paths that they did was so amazing!  

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful!??

A truly amazing experience.  I would recommend it to anyone! It was such a testimony strengthener for me.  To know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in this very grove was a powerful experience.  I want to go back! 

Our last stop was at the Hill Cumorah again.  We wanted to go see the statue Moroni at the top.  It was about 1,000 degrees so we only stayed for a second, but it was glorious! 

I kissed Cory and said, "Now we've kissed on the Hill Cumorah!"  (Please nobody take me seriously. Even though I really did say that.)

And after that we turned around and came home.  Yes we did about 16 hours of driving in 36 hours, but it was SO worth it!  

Do you want to know why??  BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS TRUE PEOPLE!!!  If you don't know it yet, then figure it out because it'll change your life. 

I know.  I live it.  I love it. 

M

Alternative Last Names

Have any of you ever seen "Father of the Bride: Part 2?"  Well it is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE movies! George Banks, Fronk, the whole nine yards.  I die laughing every time (while my dad bawls :))!  Here, watch the trailer: 

Anyway, there is a part in it where the families are arguing about who's last name the new baby will have- whether it will be Banks or McKenzie.  So Annie and her husband tell their parents that they've started coming up with alternative last names for the baby by using the letters of their own last names.  The ones they come up with are Zinman, Zankman, and Manis.   George Banks then says, "Are you telling me I'm going to have a grand-daughter named Sophie Zankman??"  In the end they name the baby George McKenzie to appease him. It's one of the funniest things EVER and I'm not doing it justice!  Point of the story is that one time in church Cory and I started coming up with alternative last names for our kids (as a joke, doy!) using the letters of Killpack and Devenney (pronounced DaVinny!).  Here is what we came up with.  Take your vote and try not to DIE laughing like I did:

Pendicky

Linkpenny

Ackley

Planvick

Dickvanpeny

Dickvankell

Neckillpany

Ledpennivey

and last, but certainly not least: 

VANKINKY!!!!!  

Yes, Dave Killpack, I am telling you that you are going to have a grand-daughter named Sophie Vankinky!!! So, what are you going to do about it??  

And hopefully she doesn't look like this mixture of her parents.

(THIS IS NOT A PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT!) 

On a side note, I will be blogging about our wonderful weekend in Palmyra so stay tuned! :)

M 

To the Guy Who Taught Me How to Pick My Nose...

Happy Birthday to my big brother Adam!!!

He is the kindest person I know.  He calls me sometimes multiple times a day just to chat and I LOVE it!  He has a way of making me cry and teasing me like nobody else, but he also has a way of allowing me to cry.  I can remember several occasions where I was trying not to cry and I'd walk in his room and he'd say, "You need to cry,"  which of course unleashed the beast.  But he is safety to me and I feel like I can share anything with him.  He is one of my best friends! 

I honestly do not know what I would do without him.  He has been there with me through it all and understands me better than almost anyone.  We've grown up together! Check out some of these pictures.  I'm actually crying with laughter as I look at them: 

Do you die?? 

That hair. I want a red-headed child SO bad!!!

I'm certain this was his first haircut, but what do I know? I wasn't born yet. Dad looks tired. Mom is a babe. 

We had young parents together.  Which we can't say for the rest of the siblings.  I mean, did we really have parents that were our ages?  Stop. 

We sat on Santa's lap together.  I'm sure this was right about the time he taught me how to pick my nose in the back of our blue minivan.  He showed me his finger and then said, "Look!  You just stick it up!"  I've been hooked ever since. :) And is that a purple mustache I see? 

Whitey-tighties. Shut the front door.  We slept in this room together all the time. In our car beds.  He also played the card game War with me every Sunday afternoon in this room.  Oh, and it's also where he used to torment me by saying I was sleep-talking about the neighbor boy and confessing my love.  I hated that. 

I've been surrounded by redheads my whole life.  I've cried MERCY so many times!  But they look downright angelic in this picture. You'd never know.   Please notice all the fun going on.  First and foremost that Alex is standing in first position while holding a Care Bear.  And his outfit is hysterical!  Adam is eating a ten-foot long piece of licorice and all the while I am ROCKING the purple Birkenstocks and washed bleach shorts.  These were truly the days... 

Although, I still think Al takes the cake on this one. I laugh every time I look at him.  So innocent with his Flintstone feet. 

And I saved the best for last.  How many people can say that Bart Simpson is their older brother??  

Probably just me. 

I just love this guy!  

And by this picture you might never know what beautiful kids he produced.  Check them out: 

Lincoln and Rosie. The loves of my life. 

Oh, and did I mention he married the coolest cat out there??  Heidi, you are the best thing that ever happened to him.  Besides me, of course. Jk. Sort of. 

I hope you have a wonderful day, Addy Bear!  You're the funniest person I know, the best dad and brother around, and I just love you!  

M

An Ode to Reggae Knudson

Sorry I stole your profile pic. 

Rachael is a woman of many nicknames.  Rachie, Rache, Ray, Rabies, Reggae, Reggagle bagel, and the list goes on.... 

Our woman of many names is having a birthday today and I just wanted to give her a baby shoutout because she is my best cousin/friend and we have grown up doing everything together. Em and Ray.  Lloyd and Harry. The spinsters. Chocolate and vanilla. 

  Our mom's are identical twins (Heidi and Holly who both married David Ks on the same day) and have told us our whole lives that because their genes are identical then that means that we aren't just cousins, but half sisters.  You might never guess because we look so much alike (not) but we really do have half the same genetics.  That's why we are both so awesome! :) Thanks moms.  

Rache and I grew up together in every sense.  We even went to the same high school and shared the same friends.  We grew up having sleepovers constantly and her mom would always dress us in matching outfits.  I was surrounded by all brothers at this point and I LOVED going over to their house so that I could wear their clothes.  I used to wait for them to clean out their closets so that I could have all the hand-me-downs.  

Rache and I played Polly Pockets and orphanage for hours on end.  We wrote letters to Mary Kate and Ashley and would stay up all night brushing our hair so it wouldn't be tangled in the morning while we sang along to Mary Kate and Ashley's "Our First Video."   We even got lice together, although that is a secret we'll never tell.  I don't think we've ever even fought! Every time we would have a sleepover and we didn't know what to do she would say in her kindest voice, "You decide!  You're the guest!"  

You might never guess that she sleeps Indian style folded in half laying on her back or that she has the entire movie Dumb and Dumber memorized.  Mock, yeah, ING, yeah... 

Do you notice any similarities?  Same colors. Same side of the couch.  Always chocolate, always vanilla. 

Anyway, Ray is one of the kindest people I know.  Every time I am around her I feel like a comedian because she always laughs at everything I say.  All we do when we are together is laugh!  One time we got in trouble in the temple because we had a laughing attack (we were 12). She is hilarious! She has the biggest smile and an even bigger heart!  She's always taken care of me.  

She is the ultimate boy magnet and is a pro at friend-zoning anyone she isn't interested in.  Even when I beg her not to. :)  So watch out boys! 

Rache is secretly strong-willed.  She graduated from BYU AND she just graduated from the U of U with her Master's in Architecture.  She is super intelligent and the ultimate catch.  Seriously, people, this one won't be on the market much longer.  So if you want her, you better come and get her.    

She has an innocence that is unmatched by anyone I've ever met.  She is one-hundred percent without guile!  I mean look at that face.  She is wearing a frog hat and she is pleased as punch. 

 One time Savannah (the one in the middle at the bottom) called me in hysterics and said that Gracie (their dog) had died.  But I really thought she said Rachie and I swear my whole life flashed before my eyes because I couldn't imagine what life would be like without her. 

I owe it to her that I even met my husband Cory.  Had she not chosen to move in with our grandma, attend a single's ward there, AND invite me to go with her I probably never would've met the man I married.  I owe her big time! 

Reggagle bagel is really one of a kind and she is beautiful.  I don't know what I would do without her. Someone snatch her up now while supplies last so that we can have our babies together!  HURRY GO!

Happy Birthday Rabies!!!  I love you! I hope it's a great day and I know that this will be YOUR YEAR!  I'll be right behind you turning 26!   

M

Temple Newbie

Today we attended an early morning endowment session at the Columbus Ohio Temple. It was a lovely experience, as always. 

The temple here is really beautiful!  It is a different experience driving to the temple in Ohio than it is in Utah, though.  You don't even see it coming because it is tiny and there are so many trees, and then all of a sudden you are practically in the parking lot.  Every time I drive there I'm like WHAT THE? It seriously sneaks up on you.  In Utah a lot of the temples are on higher ground and you can see multiple ones across the Salt Lake valley.  I love that about home. But it is amazing here too. And I love having a temple this close to us.  So blessed!  

This was the first time we've been able to go together since we have been out here in Ohio and it was just the spiritual up-liftment that I needed. 

On a side note, I embarrassed myself for the second session in a row.  I can't say much about what goes on in the temple (not because it's a secret, but because it is sacred), but I can say that I did something wrong and everyone had to wait while I fixed it.  In that moment I hated myself. How could something like this be happening AGAIN??  I was humiliated. Luckily, my cute sister-in-law Tory realized she'd made the same mistake and so I wasn't alone.  But gosh, was I flustered?  My hands were sweating profusely. I was giggling.  I wanted to crawl in a hole.  I felt the need to stick up for myself so I told the worker that I was new. :) And I am. So it's okay. I've lived to die another day. 

Oh, and it was ultra-bright when we got outside to take a picture so it took about five shots to get the top one.  This is why.  

Cory copped out and kissed me so he didn't have to face the sun, but I can't complain.  He's just so lovable. 

By the way, did I mention we will be home in a month from yesterday? But who's counting?...

Your's truly flustered, 

M

Weekend Shenanigans

We had a fantastic weekend!  Weekends here in Columbus are seriously cherished as it is the only night I get to see Cory before 9 pm (or eat dinner before 9 pm for that matter.) 

First off, I wore pigtails for the first time in ages.  Who said adults can't wear pigs?  I think it takes at least 8 years off my face. :) Seriously people, it's no wonder I grew up with my hair like this.  It is an all-hair-off-your-face heavenly experience.  I would recommend it to anyone.  

Secondly, meet my little heater. This is me sitting next to it right now. "In July?" you ask. Yes.  Is that weird?  But, it looks pretty harmless, right?? 

 It's not.  I burned my leg on Friday.  Fun fact about me:  I love heaters.  Even in July when it is scorching hot and freaking humid outside.  I keep our thermostat at 69 degrees just so I can be cold enough to sit by my heater all day long.  It's really not very efficient, but it's totally worth it!  (I also used to sleep with it next to me, but my dad told me a few years ago that I was going to end up in a burn unit and that kinda scared me.) Anyway, imagine me minding my own business on the couch next to my heater and the darn thing just up and tips over right on my leg.  Check it out! It burned a pattern in my leg! 

Third thing we did was something I've been wanting to do for years:  Eat at Red Lobster.  My friend Janessa and I made bucket lists in college about five years ago.  They weren't really bucket lists because we were supposed to finish them in a year, but I don't think either of us did.  Whoops.  But I've always remembered that we had put "Eat at Red Lobster" on there, and I'd never actually gotten around to it until now.  It was delicious!  We all got 4 course meals for $15.99. Such a steal!  My two favorite courses were the clam chowder and the dessert.  Mmmm...  I hope to eat there many more times over the years!  And this picture was taken after we'd eaten, hence the food baby. 

Lastly, when Cory and I have free time sometimes we like to go shoot hoops even though we are terrible.  There is this random, single, half-court hoop behind a United Healthcare building here that nobody knows about.  It's totally quaint!  We decided to go shoot some hoops last night with our friend Colten and Cory took his skateboard as well. This is a video I got: 

Don't you just die?? Such a talent! Did you know he was voted most talented in high school?  I did.  He tells me almost every day! :)

Did you all have a good weekend??  

M