A Priday "no Moss"

At our wedding luncheon, my dad ended his toast saying that his youngest daughter would be "A Priday no Moss." We all chuckled at this pun on names...but this past week it was no laughing matter.

I finally changed my last name on my driver's license this past week from Priday to Moss. I am ashamed to say that this took me almost five months. This past week, though, I had a day off work to get over to the DMV and check it off my To-Do list. (I'm not totally awful-- my social security card was changed pretty promptly.) 

I admit that in this process, I may have shed a few tears. Pathetic, right?? Here are the reasons that I told myself this emotion was justified:

• I first had to get rid of my Kansas license and receive one from the state of Washington. Was it not enough to lose my beloved last name? There goes the last trace of my home state. 
• the DMV charged me an extra $70 dollars to change to make the above-mentioned process happen...Gross!
• I just really really love my last name. I always have. So many people have called me "Priday" or "KP" throughout my life. I attribute that to this Disney animated character:

Ladies... am I alone in feeling like a name change is a complete identity change? It certainly caught me off guard. 

I also have to point out, though, that it got me really excited. Once I properly mourned the death of my old last name, I could focus on the thrill of a new last name. Reasons I love my new last name:

• No one ever misspells or mispronounces it. 
• I get to hear little kids say "moss! moss!" everyday on nature hikes, and I smile a little bit because it reminds me of my wonderful husband. 
• It means we have officially officially started our lives together, and we are a team. That is so cheesy, I know...but true. 
• I get to hold onto my own family and also become a part of the fabulous Moss clan! How great is that??

That about wraps up my thoughts on the name-changing matter...but I'd love to hear what the process was like for anyone else! 

Valentine's Day Post (that has nothing to do with Valentine's Day)

Well, I thought I'd surprise Kristen this Valentine's Day and do the unthinkable - write my very own blog post. I can't say that I have too much experience in this area; I did have my own blog once, but it was very different from the picture-posting, love-expressing, memory-capturing prose that this blog is used to. Anyway, here it goes...

Things have been moving along as usual the past month, with the exception of Kristen working CRAZY hours. She usually gets up at 4:30am, and doesn't get back until 6:30pm. I don't know how she has time to keep me entertained, let alone be as sweet as she is when she gets home. She's my superhero (superhera?).

Oh, and we got food storage! I know it sounds lame, but I was all excited to go buy it. Something about now actually being a protector, provider, and preside-er just makes me feel good. I just feel like such a man when I buy food storage and put together 72-hr kits and mow the lawn and take out the trash and stuff. Well, maybe minus the mowing the lawn thing since we live in an apartment (I'll have to find someone's lawn to mow).

We LOVE it here. The town of Issaquah has everything we want - it's safe, it's pretty, and it has a Costco. And really, the greater Seattle area has been wonderful as well. We love the trees, the sky, the people, and the clean air. The weather isn't always perfect, but every once in a while we get days like this:  

That's the puget sound. What the heck is a sound you ask?? Well... I had no idea until I moved here (I'm embarrassed to say). But Mr. Webster defines a sound as: "A long surgical probe, typically with a curved, blunt end." Truth be told I still don't get it... 

Then there's the Salsa we made!! Thanks to my cousin Bryana Likes for providing the recipe. I don't have an ethnic bone in my body, but I do love food (and so does Kristen), so we gave it our best shot. And if I can brag for just a moment (let's be real, that's what blogs are for: brag+log=blog), let me just say that it was delicioso considering the combined whiteness of Kristen and me. We even made it two days in a row! The second time around we learned that it is even more tasty when you let it sit in the fridge for a while (and let the juices harmonize?). Needless to say, we'll definitely be making it again. As you can tell from the picture, we were so obsessed with the delicioso-ness that we didn't even think to snap a picture until it was almost too late. 

So there you have it... that's our update. That wasn't as hard as I thought. It might not be as good as Kristen's posts, but hey, I gave it my best shot. Now, if I can just convince Kristen to let us go back to this place:

(I seriously bring it up at least once a day)