him & her XVIII: merry & married

H E R

We decided to be a little festive this past Sunday and take some Christmas card pictures. Well my sister Chandler took them. Who knows if we'll actually get around to sending them out...but it was fun to go back to the place we got engaged over a year ago (just south of the Marriott). Curt isn't a huge fan of taking pictures, but I feel like they are necessary! It is our first Christmas as a married couple and I am pumped on it. I know it will probably be more exciting once we have kids, but I am so looking forward to spending this holiday with Curtis. 

H I M

Christmas pictures are something every male has or will have to endure. Not a huge fan, but Hannah likes them and it gives me a reason to dress up, so it is not too bad. Enjoy our pictures. This is my first year where I will be spending Christmas with my in-laws. It is going to be awesome, I love Hannah's family. Merry Christmas everyone. 

him & her XVII: tis the season for exams

H E R


The end of Fall semester is always 10x harder for me to concentrate on school than any other semester, because of Christmas! December starts and all you want to do is celebrate, but all you have time to do is study for your exams and work on group projects. There is nothing more depressing than walking past christmas trees and wreaths on the way to the library for a 3 hour cram session.

All across the country, students are procrastinating and dreading the worst week in school. Finals week brings out the worst in us, and most of us aren't that great with coping with this suddenly overwhelming amount of stress. We eat more, spend more, and sleep WAY less. 


Here are a few tips to keep your finals week as stress free as possible:

• PLAN IT OUT! I can tell you right now that I can tell a HUGE difference between days where I wake up with a plan and days when I try to make my plan in the morning. Like, it’s the difference between me getting 1 thing done and getting 39 things done. 

• Sleeping is probably the most important thing. This whole "I'm gonna pull an all nighter then go to the testing center at 6 am when it opens" thing was never fun and never worked. You end of being so sleep deprived that you fail your exam and hate yourself.

• When you wake up, start working right away. Make the bed and have breakfast! Take a (quick) shower and get dressed. Then start on that to-do list that you made last night. Start working before you even have time to get distracted by anything or before you can even think about how much you don’t want to do! Set a deadline for yourself and work like crazy to meet it! I always, always choose to work high-priority to low priority. Life will happen, so keep in mind that you may not make it to that 6th thing!

• Hide your social media apps on the second screen on your phone, set aside a 20-mintute time limit for social media, and turn off your alerts/push notifications. I always have good intentions of studying at the library, but when I have my phone I am all of the sudden stalking people on Instagram that I had a class with three years ago. It is always better for me if I just put it away. Out of sight, out of mind. 

H I M

I have been graduated for 2 years now and let me tell you... I do not miss finals at all. Hannah brings up a lot of good points and things you can do to make sure you are effective with your time as you take finals. One thing I noticed was that my finals got better the farther along in school I was. What I mean is, as I got into classes that I actually wanted to take, the final projects and tests seemed more bearable because at least I found it interesting. I was also fortunate enough to not have that many tests. Mostly projects or presentations. Needless to say, no one is a fan of finals, but if you do it right then the end of the semester won't be too bad. It might be too late for you to take some of these ideas that Hannah and I share, but you can read this and prepare for the end of next semester.

- One way to ensure an easy end of semester is to make sure you are doing the work as you go. Everyone has dealt with a semester long project, paper or assignment. Do some of it on a weekly basis. By doing that you aren't leaving all of it to the last two weeks when you will already be plenty busy. You will also bring down the stress level by doing it that way too. 

- Good sleep pays off. So many people stay up sooo late and lose sleep over homework and finals. I can tell you that the ones when I actually valued my sleep are the ones when I did good. Not only would I feel better but I would produce better work. Setting aside time to sleep is important. So make time for that and it will pay off

- Take breaks. So many kids just try to crank it all out in one sitting. You will go crazy, you will burn out and you will bug a lot of people because you are cranky. So treat yourself to some breaks. Relax and take it in strides. Finals can be what you make them. Be prepared and they won't smack you across the face like everyone says they will.

him & her XVI: oh what fun

H E R


What better way to celebrate the holidays than to have a Christmas party with all your friends in the middle of finals? I am painfully festive when it comes to Christmas, so I couldn't help it. 

We had a bunch of Christmas treats, hot chocolate, and candy. We dressed for the occasion in Christmas themed attire. And played white elephant. Yes, most of the gifts were purchased at DI and yes someone got a Taco Bell burrito. But it's the thought that counts right?

I love my friends and I love Christmas!

How to: WEENY WREATH

Ingredients

• Mini Sausages
• Refrigerated Crescent Dough Rolls
• Red Bell Pepper
• 1/3 cup Butter
• 1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
• 1/2 cup Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to the temperature specified on the package of Refrigerated Crescent Dough Rolls. Drain the liquid off of the mini sausages.
2. Unroll the crescent dough and separate at the perforations to create 4 rectangles. Press together the remaining perforation in each rectangle. With a knife or pizza cutter, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 8 strips making a total of 32 strips.
3. Wrap one strip of dough around each mini sausage. Lay out the crescent-wrapped sausages with their sides touching on an ungreased cookie sheet in a circle forming a wreath shape.
4. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown. Melt 1/3 cup of butter and brush the butter on top of the crescent-wrapped sausages. Sprinkle the rosemary on top of the butter.
5. Cut a red bell pepper into a bow shape for garnish. Combine the BBQ sauce and cranberry sauce in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until heated through. Serve with wreath for dipping.

H I M

Hannah and her friends threw a little Christmas party. It was fun to get together with everyone, enjoy some treats, exchange white elephant gifts, dance, socialize and celebrate the holiday season. You can always count on the white elephant gift exchange to spread some christmas cheer. We decided before hand to keep the gift funny, small and most likely from the Dollar store. Hannah and I found an old picture frame for 8x10 sized pictures. We put very unflattering pictures of each of us in the frame. It was a hit. Some of the other notable gifts were: live beta fish, an enema kit, taco bell, half used candles, red silk undies that said "naughty list" on the butt and a bunch of other funny gifts. We had a blast with our friends and loved celebrating with everyone. I am sure my wife and her friends are already planning next year's party. 

him & her XV: the christmas craze

H E R 

If you are completely obsessed with the holidays like I am, there are certain things you know to be true. It doesn't matter if you are the only 20-something in line to see Santa at the mall, or you have 10 different Christmas pandora stations. If you are the kind of person that knows every line from the first two Home Alones (not the third one, we all know that was crap), keep reading. 

Here are 8 things Christmas obsessed crazies can relate to:

1. You start watching Christmas movies after Halloween.

Who cares if you skipped over Thanksgiving. There are no good Thanksgiving movies anyway. 

2. Your Christmas tree is a work of art.

Whether it's a fake 3 ft tree from DI (like ours) or a real life 7 footer, you decorate that tree so beautifully that it would make your mom cry. 

3. Holiday shopping is your cardio. 

You live for the rush of holiday errands and the challenge of finding that perfect gift.

4. Your wrapping paper game is on point.

Let's be real the wrapping of the present is almost more important than the actual present.

5. You have three---Okay, ten---Christmas themed pinterest boards that you update daily.

You never know when you are going to need the perfect candy cane cookie recipe, even if it's March. 

6. Holiday parties are your jam.

Ugly sweaters, hot chocolate, and Christmas music are your favorite things.

7. You are always down to carol.

Maybe not going door to door to spread Christmas cheer, but randomly when you're at dinner with friends.

8. And in the end, you know the Holidays aren't about gifts.

They are about the people you share them with (and pie).

H I M

The Christmas Craze has been in full swing for like the last month in the Spear Home. I have always enjoyed Christmas, but marrying Hannah has opened my eyes to the world of white girls loving Christmas. 

For me the holidays have always been a symbol of being with family, celebrating the life of Jesus and of course good food, presents, and more. But this year I feel like married an Elf from the North Pole. Don't get me wrong, it is cute, but I haven't experienced someone so into Christmas in a long time, and its only the first week of December. As crazy as it seems, it is fun to get into the Christmas Spirit. Decorating the tree, making treats and Christmas songs bring back so many memories from my childhood.

I remember one year when I was like 6 or 7, Santa came to visit our house. Oh boy, was I stoked. I couldn't believe it. He said he was friends with my dad and I couldn't believe that my dad was friends with Santa! Well he came, he talked with us, asked us what we wanted and was on his way. After he left, NO JOKE, I ran to the window to look up in the sky and what did I see? A blinking red light in the sky! IT WAS RUDOLPH. ( Really just an airplane) But I remember thinking, no way, did I actually just see that? It was so cool. 

I also remember maybe the next year, my older brother telling me Santa was fake. I couldn't believe him. A few years later, I started to really wonder. When I was in like 5th grade, I was pretty sure I knew who Santa really was, so I tried taking our ghetto family video camera and setting it up by our Christmas tree. Needless to say, the battery died and I never got the footage. With time and age, my realizations came true, but it never changed my excitement and memories for the Christmas season.

Some of my favorite things about Christmas:

Family Time: Nothing is better than being with family and loved ones. Especially when your siblings finally have cute little kids.

Gospel: We think about our beliefs all year, but Christmas is a time to really sit there and appreciate it. I am so thankful for the knowledge and testimony I have of God and his son, Jesus. He is the Reason for the Season afterall.

Traditions: We do not have a lot of Christmas traditions, but I love the simple things we do as a family every year to celebrate.

Christmas Lights: I love driving around every year and seeing all the cool Christmas lights. In my family, we also go out one night the week of Christmas and enjoy the lights. And we yell, " PRETTY CHRISTMASSSS LIGHTSSSS" (My siblings and parents know the exact tone in which it is sung.) 

Christmas is a great time of the year. It reminds me of family, happiness and love. I hope you all get to enjoy it with those you love this year. Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!