Our Nashville Favorites

Alyssa Osegard on September 26, 2018

Our Nashville trip last month was full of some really great people, places, and food (of course!). We wanted to share our favorites with you!

Grand Ole Opry

Our Air BnB

We could not have found a more perfect home base for our trip. The location worked out perfectly for us, driving all around Nashville, down to Brentwood and Franklin, and we hardly hit traffic anywhere. This basement in-law apartment had a full kitchen, lots of space to spread out and relax, and even a private garage. Didi even provided a cute snack basket, coffee, and other nice touches that made it feel like home! We will definitely be staying here the next time we are in Nashville!

Food

Bartaco Falafel Taco Bartaco – This place was recommended to us by a friend, and rightfully so. We drove by it multiple times, and every time it was standing room only inside and on the patio. We got the Cauliflower Rice Bowl and the Falafel Tacos. Both of them were amazing! It’s worth noting that the tacos are pretty tiny, but really it just means you can try multiple kinds and still have room for more. The cauliflower bowl was especially delicious and has me wanting roasted cauliflower all the time!

The Pharmacy Orange Dream Float The Pharmacy – I was skeptical of this place because we found it on all the recommended tourist lists. We tend to err on the less-touristy side of things, but we decided to give it a try. The atmosphere was fun, the service was really great, and we loved sitting on the terraced deck outside. We split a burger with sweet potato fries, which ended up being more than enough food. The bean burger was AMAZING, but then again, how could something topped with guac and pico NOT be delicious? We also ended up having a creamsicle ice cream soda which was like a taste of childhood! We definitely recommend it, but aim for off-peak times – we chose mid afternoon and it was nice and quiet!

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams – It’s no secret that the Osegards love ice cream, so when someone recommended Jeni’s, we knew we had to give it a try for it’s unique flavors! Alyssa wanted to try the Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks, but they were all out. We split a three scoop and were not disappointed with the creaminess or the flavor!

Stay Golden Chilaquiles Stay Golden – This is a brand new coffee shop that opened the week we were in Nashville, so without much of a reputation, we almost didn’t even go. I am SO glad we did. First off – it’s is so clean and modern! The service is amazing. You order off of an ipad, which I thought for sure meant we would never see a human, but the service was wonderful too. However, NOTHING can compare to the food. We tried a few drinks and food items, but the chilaquiles were hands down the best food we had in Nashville. Normally, I am a texture person, and when I say that, I mean there are foods I don’t like to eat because I don’t like the texture. This was the first time in my life I loved a food because I LOVED the texture. The flavors were incredible, and I have often dreamed of the chilaquiles since coming home.

FREE Fun:

Jamaica Way Patties Walk around the Farmer’s market – Great local produce right near downtown Nashville, and some awesome food options for lunch as well! We had some delicious Jamaican patties from Jamaica Way.

Nashville Murals with The Osegards

Find cool murals – They are ALL over the place. We found a bunch of them with some quick searches, but they seem to be changing and adding more murals all the time!

Centennial Park – A great place to walk and relax away from the busyness of the city! Plus, a park with a giant replica of a Greek historical building in the middle of Tennessee? Color me intrigued! The Osegards in Centennial Park
Love Circle – A bit of a hike for a tiny patch of grass at the top of the hill, but the views of the city are very good! The Osegards at Love Circle

Entertainment:

Belcourt Taps Nashville Belcourt Taps – By FAR the musical highlight of our trip. We ended up spending 3 out of our 6 nights in Nashville here, listening to some AMAZING local musicians. The service here was exceptional, their beer selection was chock full of local brews, and the food was great too!

The Osegards meeting Dave Ramsey!
Ramsey Solutions – Obviously a highlight of our trip, and worth a stop in! Be sure to check the schedule ahead of time, but Dave is in the studio most weeks M-F from 1-4 and you can stop in to watch live and even say hi during his breaks! The Osegards Debt Free Scream
Downtown Franklin – Tons of cute shops and great food! We particularly liked Heylee B and Frothy Monkey! Coffee at Frothy Monkey
Crosspoint Church – I listen to their podcast every week, and it was such a great experience to see a service live!

Cant miss that sign!

Choose Your Hard

Alyssa Osegard on September 23, 2018

Choose your hard.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that saying. While it’s become a bit of an overused saying, it is something I come back to frequently in my life when I’m feeling particularly unmotivated. Slowly but surely “choose your hard” is helping me become more disciplined.

Choose your hard – Lifestyle

I first heard the phrase being used in relation to choosing a healthier lifestyle. It was used something like this:

Getting up to do a workout is hard.
Turning down take-out for a cleaner meal is hard.
But you know what else is hard?
Knowing you aren’t at your best and feeling uncomfortable in your skin. Feeling sluggish all the time because you haven’t fueled your body well.

The saying really got into my head. I truly dislike working out. I know that it will be better for me in the long run, but it’s so hard to fit that into my day. However, you know what else I don’t like? I don’t like knowing that I’m not doing my best. Having low energy all the time is uncomfortable. I don’t like feeling uncomfortable in my skin when I know it’s something that I can change. When push comes to shove, I know I would rather choose uncomfortable for 40 minutes a day instead of tired and uncomfortable.

And when I am actively making those healthy choices, hard as they may be, they get easier as they become habit. Eating out all the time and sitting on the couch all day can become second nature. Working out and eating is becoming second nature for me.

I’d only really heard “choose your hard” in the context of a healthy lifestyle versus a sedentary lifestyle, but it dawned on me that the same is also true of our financial journey.

Choose your hard – Finances

You know what’s hard right now? Being four years into marriage and still renting places we like but aren’t OURS. Driving a car that sounds like it could fall a part at any second stinks. Having to turn down trips with friends because we can’t afford to travel as much as we would like is really hard. Saving a significant amount of our income instead of spending it on supposed “lifestyle upgrades” is hard!

Of course, the first few years of marriage were HARD financially too. You know what was hard about our journey? Living paycheck to paycheck was HARD. Owing people (specifically loan providers) money plus interest every month was HARD.

The thing is, paycheck to paycheck living, surviving off of credit cards, and not having enough money saved for retirement has become NORMAL. As a society, we’ve made this hard our normal. It’s become second nature to live paycheck to paycheck and to buy all the nice new stuff all the time because it’s “what everyone does”.

For us, we chose our hard. We fought to get out of debt and start saving and to live on less than we make. Why? Because we knew that when you choose your hard often enough, it gets easier. Now, we live in peace with a hope for our future because we chose the “weird” path as our hard, and we’ve let these habits become second nature to us. We let ourselves become disciplined now.

What’s hard now is setting us up for success later on.

Choose your hard.

Actively combatting Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) at Home!

Alyssa Osegard on September 19, 2018

I have Seasonal Affective Disorder – better known as SAD. Typically people write it off as just getting sick of winter. “Yeah I get sick of being inside too” “Shoveling makes me SAD too” But it’s really so much more than that.

Why So SAD?

Mayo clinic defines SAD as “a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer”.

The fall weather is on it’s way, and while fall is my favorite season, I already am feeling the effects in my body. For me, SAD presents as having low energy, having issues sleeping (not being able to fall asleep and then sleeping too much), having a tough time focusing on anything, and losing interest in things. All of these then usually lead to over-eating, which leads to weight gain, then to feeling more sluggish and gross.

While I can’t just “talk myself out of” feeling the effects of SAD, there are some things that help me avoid the brunt of it. Here is a list of things that help me!

Sticking to a sleep schedule. SAD affects your circadian rhythm, so I work to be proactive with my sleep schedule. I know I function best with 8 hours of sleep, so I do my best to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day to help train my body. I also use a light therapy sunrise alarm clock that mimics being woken up by sunlight.
Moving my body.I truly hate exercising. I hate taking time out of my day to get sweaty and then have to shower etc etc. But YES, I am a fitness coach and I do try to make working out a priority. I know that when I move my body, it releases endorphins in my brain that help combat the negative chemicals. As an added bonus, exercise (especially weight lifting) helps me sleep better!
My happy light. Mine is a used Philips goLITE BLU Light Therapy Device. I got it towards the end of winter last year, and haven’t used it consistently enough yet to notice a difference. I will be giving it a better shot this year (or more likely, purchasing a different light that isn’t blue and stands on it’s own).
Eating well. This one is sooooo tough. I love comfort foods. I love heavycarbs and homemade breads. However, fueling my body with lighter, healthier foods always seem to have a better effect on my body and my mood than heavier foods often associated with winter.

Bonus Tips

Other things less backed by science that seem to help me:

My bonfire-scented candle. Since we can’t always get fresh air inside, this helps me feel a bit less “enclosed”!
Planning something exciting. Something to look forward to around the end of winter (late January and February have always been my hardest months. I think it’s because in March we start to get a little more sunlight).
Taking a warm bath. Grab a book and a glass of wine, and call it a win!
Getting out of the house. This one is especially tough this year because I work from home AND I hate driving in the snow. Often Cody and I will go walk around the mall (yes, I know. Totally touristy. But we can easily walk like three miles!)
Music. I’m building up a HAPPY playlist on Spotify so send me your favorite songs!

You’re not alone!

I know that I’m not the only person who feels the effects of SAD each year, and you’re not alone either! What are some things that you find helpful?

Preparing for a Move (Without completely losing your mind)

Alyssa Osegard on September 12, 2018

Cody and I have done a combined six moves in just over three years. We’ve been married four years and lived three different cities. Our record is not great for being content where we are, which is why we signed a nice, long lease on our current place. Oops. All that to say, we are darn good at organizing for a move.

What we used

Spreadsheets

If you’ve been around me (Alyssa) any length of time, you know that spreadsheets are my friend. It should come as no surprise that I made spreadsheets for the move.

Sticky Notes

Sticky notes come in a million colors and are just the right size for writing the contents of the box. I’m not an advocate for writing EVERY SINGLE THING that goes into the box, but enough to give you a good idea. Again, the goal is to NOT completely lose your mind! “Kitchen” is too vague, but “6 blue plates, one corkscrew, that whisk that no one likes, and 3 wine glasses” is too specific. Using sticky notes helps you pack smart AND be able to unpack smart. “Dinner plates and kitchen tools” is clear enough!

Why sticky notes instead of just writing it on the box you ask? Well…I’m a fan of. . .

Color coding boxes

It sounds like a pain, but I promise you that on move-in day it will make everything so much easier. That’s where the different colored sticky notes come in to play! The key that most people forget is that you want to label it based on your NEW house, not your current house. When you pack up the office/guest room now (and label it as such) it is no help to you when at the new place the office and guest room are two separate places! It does take a little extra time up front to do this, but when your friends are helping you unload boxes and no one has to ask “where does this one go?” or open the box to find out what’s inside, it’s a HUGE time saver!

Lots of Tape

However much tape you think you need to pack up your boxes – double it. Or triple it. Whatever. The fact is with every move we never buy enough tape and it slows down the process! For packing tape, the one with the fancy dispenser is 100% worth the investment. We also found that having some masking tape on hand to keep the sticky notes in place throughout the move was essential!

Boxes

Boxes can be expensive! Some places have buy-back programs for boxes you don’t use, but even so, I struggle to pay a high price for a bunch of cardboard! To avoid the extra costs, I check local listings on Facebook and Craigslist for boxes. Often times you can get boxes for cheap (or even free!) that have only been used once! Another place to check for boxes are local liquor stores. Again, you can get boxes, often for free, that are heavy duty! We LOVE these boxes for our cups, bottles, and even toiletries. You can also cut down on the boxes that you need by packing into things you already own such as suitcases, backpacks, coolers, and any other bins you have laying around.

Now you have your supplies, it’s time to pack –

First things first

The first things to pack are things that don’t need to get used before the move. Typically, the most popular season in real estate is summer! Based on that, you can probably pack up your holiday decorations, winter clothing, and any other winter items you have.

Next up

The next thing you will want to do is go through your house and PURGE. It’s time to sell stuff and give stuff away. My general rule of thumb is that if it is not sentimental and hasn’t been used in the last six months (excluding seasonal items that are only used once annually), it’s time to say goodbye.

Everything else

It’s time to pack everything else, remembering to pack based on where you want it in the new house! Pack from least used to most used items to keep things that you need accessible. Depending on what vehicles you are using to move, you may even want to set the most essential things in a different area. If you have movers coming, have these essentials loaded last if possible, so they are the first thing off the truck. If you’re using your own vehicles, pack these in the car you plan to drive to the new place first!

Sign up for our newsletter to get a FREE checklist for packing (including the necessities you haven’t thought of for your first day in the new place)! Coming soon! Sign up now, Checklist coming this weekend!

Our Debt Free Scream!

Cody Osegard on August 29, 2018

It’s finally happened – we took our trip to Nashville and were able to do our Debt Free Scream live on The Dave Ramsey Show! We have been looking forward to that chance since we first heard about Dave and the Financial Peace University course. We knew it was a long-shot to actually get on the show, but we are SO excited that we were given the chance. Here’s a little look at what the day was like for us!

Ramsey Solutions

Walking into Financial Peace Plaza is such a cool experience. Right in the front doors, you can see into the studio where Dave records and films for his shows. The wall is covered with hand-written notes from past guests who have paid off their debts. We were greeted and welcomed in true Tennessee fashion, “Y’all”s and everything! We got checked in, snagged some complimentary lattes and cookies at the cafe… Sidenote- if you want to become the Osegard’s new best friends: coffee is the answer. We were there nice and early, so we had plenty of time to chat with our wrangler, Kat, and the video host George Kamel. Everyone we talked to was so kind, caring, funny, and so genuinely excited for us to be there! They made us feel like the celebrities.

Show Time!

When it was almost time for us to join Dave on the air, Kat got us our headset and we were officially tethered to the wall. Like a well-oiled machine, they clear the furniture in the lobby to the sides, and gather all of the visitors towards the entrance. They have a camera on the visitors, and this gives us a clear line-of-sight to Dave in his chair in the studio. We have a sound check with Kelly, and give a wave to the camera to set up the shot. And we were LIVE!

As soon as we start talking with Dave, any nerves we had just kind of disappeared. There’s just something about him that calms you down, I don’t know how else to explain it. He asks a few questions, we tell our story, and before you know it almost 8 minutes have passed. He starts to set up for our scream, and I’m getting excited. Alyssa grabs my hand, so I know she’s ready to YELL! “Count it down, let’s hear a Debt Free Scream!”

We’re Debt Free!

“3,2,1… WE’RE DEBT FREE!!!” We scream it out and the lobby fills with our yell, clapping, and music. What a surreal experience! I just kept grinning like a fool, and leaned down to give Alyssa a nice, awkward don’t-smack-the-microphone-on-your-face hug. We did it – we were out of debt, we made our trip out to Nashville, and we yelled at Dave Ramsey. I’d call that a successful trip!

We couldn’t be more happy for so many reasons. The people we met at Ramsey Solutions were all so incredible, and we can’t wait to work with many of them again! Alyssa and I have led Financial Peace classes 4 times already, and we have no plans to stop. It has given us so much in such a short time, and we want other people to see the same success with money. What would our world be like if even half of us were debt free and able to GIVE without concern for our families or futures? We want to see a world like that!

ps. You can check out our Debt Free Scream on Youtube!

Top 5 Reasons We Love Wartburg College

Cody Osegard on August 22, 2018

Wartburg’s campus is beautiful year-round. But don’t worry: we love our skywalks in the winter!

For those of you who may not have heard, Alyssa and I met during our college years at Wartburg College. But for us, Wartburg is not just our alma mater – it was our home for four years! But what makes Wartburg the Finest in the East or West? Let’s count it down…

#5 – Location

Added bonus- the Nestle plant makes the whole town smell like cocoa in the winter!

Wartburg is smack dab in the middle of the small, yet large enough, town of Waverly Iowa. With around 10,000 people, it felt small at first for a Twin Cities suburbanite like me (Cody), but it quickly grew on me. Located on the Cedar River, Waverly has some amazing parks, bike trails, and more. But, they still have enough shopping, restaurants, and things to do to keep two college kids like us occupied! For me, it was 3 hours from the Twin Cities (although my parents moved an extra 2.5 hours away when I left for college, more on that later). For Alyssa, it was about 1:20 to her hometown. And more importantly: only 20 minutes to a Target!

#4 – Academics

This may seem like a lame thing to include in a list like this, but hear me out. Wartburg isn’t like a lot of other schools of its size for a number of academic reasons. For me, I was drawn to a combination of courses that would let me explore and choose a major over my first year or two. I didn’t know which of my many-varied interests would become a career path. With a liberal arts college, the path to your individual major will look different for every student, and the electives you choose can be much more unique than at a typical state school. Wartburg’s course layout in 4-4-1 format (four classes each semester, then one May term class) gave me flexibility to try things out.

The quality of their academics in also impressive! For instance, Wartburg consistently has placement rates into med schools and graduate programs of between 90% and 100%!

#3 – Service

Our Wartburg service trip to downtown Atlanta.

For us, this has been a big part of shaping who we are and how we serve today. There are not just opportunities to get involved and serve others, which many schools have. Wartburg fosters a community that is focused on serving others first in a way I haven’t seen anywhere else. It’s ingrained into how the college was built, the courses, the faculty, the mission statement, and so much more. Wartburg focuses on building servant leaders, and I am so grateful for the passion and dedication to that mission that I saw. From service trips to Dance Marathon, training service dogs for veterans or singing Christmas carols at the nursing home. So many memories that are not only happy, but actually fuel who I am becoming as a person.

#2 – Travel

Spoiler alert – the Osegards LOVE to travel. Both Alyssa and I had so many different and unique chances to travel in college, and to not be touristy. That’s the best part about travelling in my opinion. We both toured regionally each year for choirs, and internationally (two times a piece!). Plus, more than half that time we were staying with local families in their home, as opposed to just bouncing from hotel to hotel. I spent a month abroad in Costa Rica, worked at an immigrant service center in Denver, CO for a month, and spent a week serving in Atlanta. All told, Alyssa and I spent time (separately or together) in: Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Hungary, Turkey, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Costa Rica, plus Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee. Pretty darn good for four years, if I do say so myself!

#1 – People

By far, this was the best part about college for Alyssa and I. Cliché, I know. But stick with me here! I for one am terrible at keeping in touch with people. I fail to reach out to people, and time and distance make the relationship a little bit weaker. But every time we are with friends, acquaintances, professors, faculty or staff, there is just a sense of closeness. Even if I haven’t talked to them for 6 years, we can pick up right where we left off. Plus, I did get a pretty darn amazing wife out of my time there… If that doesn’t say something about the quality of the people and relationships fostered there, I don’t know what does!! Our Wartburg Wedding Party

3 Ideas for a Simple, Healthy Breakfast

Alyssa Osegard on August 15, 2018

You’ve heard it before – breakfast is the most important meal of the day! While I’m not sure you can really rank meals, it is certainly important to properly fuel your body in the morning so that you are prepared for the day! We love a good, healthy breakfast. Here are some of our favorites:

Pico Breakfast Bowls

Serves: 1

Ingredients:
¼ cup corn
¼ cup black beans
1 cup homemade pico
2 eggs

Directions:
In a pan over medium heat, warm up corn and beans.
Once corn and beans are heated through, add two eggs, scrambling them in the pan.
Once eggs are cook through, add them to a bowl and top with pico.

Why we love it: The protein in the eggs and beans will help keep you full til lunch time. The carbs are just enough to give you some energy, but not enough for your body to crash. We especially love the addition of vegetables that help you mentally prepare yourself for a day of healthy eating!

Pro tip: At the start of the week, put measured out pico in a mason jar. Top with ¼ cup corn and ¼ cup black beans. You can create a mason jar for each day and grab and go!

Bell Pepper Breakfast Tacos

Serves: 1

Ingredients:
½ bell pepper, sliced
¼ cup onion, sliced
2 corn tortillas
One egg
2 slices of turkey bacon (or regular bacon)
Optional: Hot sauce. We love the Mango Habanero Hot Sauce we found at Aldi!

Directions:
-Cook 2 slices of bacon in a pan. Set aside.
-Saute onion and peppers in a pan.
-In a small bowl, scramble an egg. Add to pan and cook through.
-Optional: add a splash of hot sauce

To Serve:
Warm corn tortillas in microwave for 15-30 seconds.
Top each tortilla with one slice of bacon, then top with half the egg mixture. Repeat with the second tortilla. Serve immediately.

Why we love it: Tacos. Enough said. Also, the protein in this is amazing. We LOVE to SPICE up our breakfast with this flavorful dish!

Pro tip: Cook bacon in a pan at the beginning of the week AND saute your onions and peppers ahead of time. That way, all you have to do is reheat and add eggs in the morning!

Dessert for Breakfast

Serves: 1

Ingredients:
4 oz water
1-2 cups of ice
1 banana
1 tbsp peanut butter (no sugar added)
0.5-1 cup spinach
1 scoop of your favorite flavor of Shakeology (don’t know what that is? Contact us and we will hook you up!)

Directions: Add all ingredients together and blend. Drink immediately or freeze for 1-2 hours until it has a more frozen-yogurt type consistency.

Why we love it: It tastes like ice cream for breakfast, but is actually a crazy-good-for-you, healthy breakfast, and will keep you full and satisfied. This breakfast is also makes for a great grab-and-go option!

Pro tip: A mason jar fits on a normal blender AND works as a cup!

Final Thoughts!

I’ve always loved to eat breakfast because I usually wake up famished, but I’ve found that a healthy breakfast makes all the difference. Having a few simple, healthy breakfast ideas in my back pocket makes the morning run smoothly. Plus, I can even make these pre-coffee!

My Career Story – Part 4

Alyssa Osegard on August 8, 2018

If you haven’t caught up yet – check out part 1, part 2, and part 3!

The Story Continues

Amber did offer me the position as her Executive Assistant! It was a little tricky to work out – I would be in school for the mornings/early afternoon and then come spend four or so hours working with her. It made for very busy weeks, but it was worth it.

I fell even more in love with the new job – the team, the culture, the positive attitudes of everyone there. I also loved what I got to do on a daily basis – day to day organization, helping with emails, social media management. It let me use skills that I didn’t use as much in my teaching job, and I loved having a different outlet.

The biggest bonus in my mind was that it didn’t drain me in the way teaching did! I LOVE teaching, but as an introvert, it can be exhausting. I loved working for four hours and not feeling the least bit tired from working! It was amazing!

Now to Decide…

That left me with a difficult decision – pursue my new gig full-time, or stick with teaching. I loved being at the school I was at, and could picture myself there until I retired, but I also saw potential in this new opportunity. I talked it over with some of the most trusted people in my life and prayed constantly over what the best decision would be.

In the end, I announced to my coworkers that I would not be returning to teach in the 2018-2019 school year. It was so tough to leave the community! These were the people who had been my closest friends as a transitioned from Iowa to Minnesota, from college to the real world, and from single life to married life. However, I knew God was leading me to take a risk and try this new path.

Looking Forward

I know that working from home is going to be so great for me. I know my mental health will be better (and likely my physical health as well – thanks to those germy preschoolers! 🙂 ). This job offers different opportunities than teaching offered me.

I know you may be thinking, “but Alyssa! You told us that teaching is in your blood!”. And it is. I’m not leaving all aspects of teaching. I will still be subbing on occasion, and I still get to teach at church as well!

I am so excited for this new job and I can’t wait to let you know how life changes from here!

Join the journey here!

My Career Story Part 3

Alyssa Osegard on August 3, 2018

We left off in Part 2 talking mostly about LuLaRoe, but to understand what happens next, I need to tell you about my friend, Amber.

Amber is a blogger over at mommysmetime.com. She’s got four kiddos (that she birthed in under three years. Is she insane or is she wonder woman? I would argue both). I had taught three of her kids at school, but hadn’t really met her before. One day, Amber came over after picking up her kids from to school to shop my LuLaRoe. I loved watching her rock it as a momma of four tiny humans. I could tell she was pretty much super-mom at this point. Even so, life with four kids five and under is a little crazy.

She seemed cool and her kids were precious, so I casually offered that if she needed any help during the summer, I’d be happy to bring coffee to the park to be extra hands. We parted ways after that, and I hoped that she would take me up on it, but also figured she probably wouldn’t.

Fast forward a few weeks.

Cody and I were at a reception for a family wedding and I got a Facebook message from Amber. I figured that maybe she needed to exchange a shirt or something, so I quick opened it to see what she needed. You guys, it was like a novel. They were in a bind and their childcare for a trip that was two days away had essentially fallen through. She wondered if maybe we would watch their 4 kids for five days/four nights?

Here’s where I say this was 100% a God thing. First off, who asks two basically strangers to move into their house to watch their four kids for a week? Secondly, who AGREES to move into a basically strangers house for a week to watch their four kids (and their dog)? HA! But Cody and I read the message and both of us just had a gut feeling that we NEEDED to say yes.

We went and watched the kids for a week (details on that another time!) and they quickly became our tiny besties.

But it didn’t stop there. . .

A few weeks later, Amber asked if I was interested in potentially helping their family out some during the school year, because her business was blowing up! I was looking for a little side hustle as we were working to get out of debt. Plus, I loved their family, so it was a perfect fit. I became their Family Assistant for a few months. It was the perfect introvert job after a busy day of teaching – doing laundry, dishes, and such in silence!

During this time, I also signed up as a coach on Amber’s health and fitness team – mostly for the discount, but also because I felt a draw to this community that she was building and the health results I was seeing. I knew I needed to be a part of it somehow, but I also knew that with everything else in our life right then – I just wouldn’t feasibly be able to work that business to level I would want to.

Months later, Amber’s organization went through some transitions and she needed a little help. I happened to be on winter break on the time, so I said I’d help her through the transition.

Enter God Again.

I fell in the love with this job immediately. It used so many of my teaching skills AND LuLaRoe skills. It gave me adult interaction but was also a super good introvert fit. I knew that she was hoping to fill the position ASAP, so I didn’t say anything to her about it. My teaching job was a priority through May! I told Cody that I was bummed, however, because it seemed like such a perfect fit for me.

Meanwhile, Amber told her husband that she thought I would be a great fit and maybe they could get me to switch from Family Assistant to Executive Assistant for the school year… Do you see how this is falling into place? Even though it is 100% outside of that PERFECT plan I had for myself growing up? God was doing things in me and around me, and it was about to get even better.

Continue the story with Part 4!

Four Lessons In Four Years

Cody Osegard on July 30, 2018

Four lessons from four years

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been four years since our wedding. Which means it’s been almost half a decade since we got engaged… Crazy! While there have been definite ups and downs over the years, Alyssa and I have set out to condense our knowledge gained to four main points, one for each year of our marriage so far. Without further ado, here are the four most important lessons from our four years of being married!

Be Best Friends

While it may sound cliche, this has been so important for us. Especially being married fresh out of college, we have been (happily) forced to lean into each other. Our friends from growing up and from college are now spread out around the country. To me, being best friends means always being there for each other. When things are bad, I need to be there as a friend not a handyman. When things are good, I get to celebrate with Alyssa! And when things are just middle-of-the-road, we get to work together to make life fun and interesting!

Be Honest

I know, earth-shattering right? But there is some deep wisdom in this. As Alyssa and I have learned how to deal with conflict, this has been huge for us. For us, step one in working through any conflicts we have is to just be honest. If it’s not out in the open, there’s a good chance that it’s being bottled up. There’s definitely a line of what is “worth” fighting about and what is just something small. Without honesty and openness though, we definitely would not be able to find this line! This will always be a work in progress for us, but striving towards this openness is very important. And on the other side of this honesty is the ability to listen and accept what is being said.

Be Present

Especially in our modern technology-filled world, this is SO important. I truly believe that being purposeful about time together makes a huge impact. Even something as “boring” as watching a TV show or playing a card game together can be valuable time. When we put phones away and focus on each other instead, I feel connected to Alyssa. It doesn’t take much to distract and get in the way of this time though – a simple ding from an email or text, or the casual pull to social media. Be intentional about ignoring these prompts and truly spend time together!

Be Goofy

Marriage is not easy, and it takes a ton of work! When things are hard, it can be tough to see the fun in things. Being able to cut loose and just be goofy together is a powerful thing for Alyssa and me! We are definitely not the most serious people, and our connection to each other through sarcasm and humor is one of the things I remember most about our dating years. I think the ability to continue that helps us stay close and stay true to ourselves.

What are your best marriage lessons? Share them with us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to see some of our top memories from our marriage so far!