Russell and Ashley's Adventures: Warning: This Post is Not Meant for The Weak of Stomach

So...I know I'm posting about Russell a lot lately. Yes, this is true, but hey...we're newlyweds (in my book)...so I'm allowed to. (Plus, this blog is supposed to be half his anyway.)

The title was just a warning, this story isn't horribly gross but it is still somewhat disgusting:
*Disclaimer: He's approved this post, he knows how immaturely he's portrayed in it*
So last night...we're having this argument about math (don't ask), and I win (as always!). He knows that I've won, he just hasn't admitted it...so he turns to me and says, "Okay, but I won't think that's true unless you eat this booger." Obviously, at this point, he proceeds to stick a booger in my face (I didn't eat it, in case anyone's wondering).

All I have to say: Isn't he awesome?!?!? I'm not particularly amused that he likes boogers, but the point of it is I'm very uptight. I've come to realize this in the last few years, but especially with him. He's not uptight. And it helps me sooo much that he's not, because it shows me that it's okay not to be perfect. It's okay that I'd rather have a tickle fight with him than vacuum the carpet. I'm a perfectionist, which has its pros and cons, but is definitely a hindrance most of the time. I'm working on it, though, with a lot of help. Yet another reason I strongly believe in marriage.

Okay, I'm done with my preaching for the day.

Latest news!!! This also happened last night. We made an offer on a house! We looked at it a couple of weeks ago, then got to go inside (with our realtor) on Sunday, and we met with the realtor again last night to sign all of the paperwork making our offer official. It's not really that big of a deal until we get an answer, but I'm excited nonetheless. Right now I feel like we've been looking at houses forever. We've gotten our hopes up a couple times, but then the house sold (before we even made an offer), so it's been a difficult and disappointing process. I don't want to get my hopes up for this one, but (obviously) I can't help it. I'm excited, and have reason to be: this is a great house, for a killer price.

Leyla's birthday is this Thursday, and I'll probably forget to post before then, so Happy Birthday, Leyla! She'll be three, I really wish she could come here or we could go there.

One of the coolest things about Arizona is that almost every time it rains, there's opporunities for shots like this:

Given, I'm not into basketball, but doesn't it look awesome?? So what I was talking about that's exemplified in this picture is the fact that when it rains in Phoenix, probably 90% of the time, the sun is still shining (yes, I KNOW the sun is always shining, but in most places you can't see the sun while it's raining). This means that after (or often during) the rain, you get views like this. It's dark and cloudy all around the object, and yet the sun's still shining on it. I find it amazing, like God's got a spotlight on you...very cool.

I'm gonna try not to go crazy on these rain/cloudy shots, although they're definitely my favorite, but I just wanted to post this one as well:

This is my rear view mirror on my old truck (the first vehicle I ever owned, and I sold it *tear*), and I really like everything about it. First of all, I was driving (not at a stoplight) while I took this...stupid, yes, but I was 18, gimme a break! Second of all, it took several tries to get a picture without me or my phone reflections in the mirror (I took this on my cell phone). Notice how it's bright (not completely clear-skied, but not overcast) ahead of me, while behind me it's dark and ominous. Once again, I love love love the contrast.

Here's another one I took at that same time, I was trying to just get the mirror, which I did a pretty good job on for this one, but turns out I actually like the first one (with a view of what's behind the mirror) a lot better. This one does show everything behind me in more detail, though:

Another one where I was playing with the camera effects (these "effects" pix are from my friend's cell phone camera...sadly, mine doesn't have those effects). I think this effect is called "negative." The same one as I used on the Blue's Clue's picture: