Our one-year wedding anniversary is Monday! It seems crazy. One whole year married. A thousand to go. And I mean that in a good way. Marriage has been more amazing and wonderful than I'd even dreamed it could be. Lots of people say the first year is really hard. If this was hard, I can't wait for the rest of my life!! I think we got lucky. Or maybe it was all our preparation (we've read lootttttssss of relationship books) and determination to succeed. And a good amount of prayer. And taking as much advice as we could get from anyone and anywhere. And openness.
So we haven't spent a single night apart in our first year. That makes me happy. There were two times when it seemed like a possibility. Once, about 2 weeks after we got back from our honeymoon, my mom was having surgery in Augusta and I went home to be with her and my dad. Depending on how things went, I might have had to stay overnight. Luckily all was perfect and I got to come home. At that point it didn't seem that tragic to spend a night apart-- we'd been married such a short time anyway, we weren't really used to always being together! Then about 2 months ago Matt's dad, brothers, and uncles were taking a Man Weekend to go to Florida together and wanted him to go. At that point, we just couldn't bear the thought of spending a weekend apart, so we said no, and I'm glad we did!! It's funny how the more time we spend together...the more time I want us to spend together. I'm addicted!! A lot of people I know really look forward to their "girls getaway weekends" and "guys nights out" and stuff like that...and while I still love spending time with my friends, nothing can compare to being with the ol' husband. I am so incredibly blessed.
So...I didn't actually intend for this to be a long sappy post. Lately I've been lamenting the fact that I'm such a lousy blogger. I would say it's because I'm busy, but then I suppose every blogger is. I don't notice any of my friends just having hours and hours a week to just laze away and write some long, leisurely blogs. A more accurate excuse would be that I am busy, but by the time I have some downtime in the evenings, I (as I may have mentioned before) like to spend my time with Matt, not the computer. But I will try to do better.
This weekend is shaping up to be excellent. Last night we had Supper Club, which is something our church does during the summer. We meet with several other couples/families for dinner and hanging out once every 2 or 3 weeks. It has been so much fun. Last night we played Guesstures after dinner (guys v. girls, of course) and although we ladies didn't have the highest score when all was said and done, we all knew it was not for lack of skill-- it was really just because when guys lose, they're such HORRIBLE losers that the whole night is ruined, so it was better for us to just let them win in hopes of still having a fun night. Because we know we certainly could have won if we really wanted to. Anyway, it was a lot of fun using my non-existent acting skills. Also, I inadvertently cheat, which I really need to work on. I know you're not supposed to make sound effects, and I certainly didn't plan to...but somehow they just leak out of my mouth when I'm caught up in the moment. Oops.
This morning Matt had to work (and I don't work Saturdays anymore, praise the LOORRRRDDDD) so I met up with my friend Sarah at the ripe old hour of 7:45am (hey, I had to be up with Matt anyway, so why not) to get coffee (honeysuckle latte, YUM) and visit our Farmer's Market!! I looove going to the Farmer's Market. If I had more time/energy/desire to blog, you would know all about how Matt and I have turned into amateur hippies/environmentalists and so the opportunity to buy locally and sustainably grown produce is very exciting to me! However, our FM is only open Saturdays from 8-1 and (as I've found out), if you're not there by 8:30, don't expect to get anything! Hippies do their shopping EARLY! So we were there right on time and had the most wonderful assortment of fruits, veggies, coffees, and breads to choose from. I absolutely love talking to the farmer who just picked the carrots the night before. And buying grits from the woman who ground them. And so on and so forth. And, not to mention, paying them a fair price for the work they've done. And it's really extended my cooking/eating tastes...for instance, a few weeks ago I bought kale, which I had no idea what it was or what to do with it. As it turns out, kale is AWESOME and really healthy and tasty and easy to cook...and it was grown right down the street from me. And the farmer said "yeah, come over anytime and you can help out!" and I said...wow. As beautiful and fun and bounteous (okay, not so much) as the potted tomatoes on my porch are...deep in my heart, I wish I were a farmer. :) Or at least had a decent size garden.
Last night Matt told me that after I got home from shopping with Sarah, I needed to pack. For what? For our surprise anniversary getaway!!!! He made reservations for us at this little B&B I've really wanted to go to. It's in town (maybe 15 minutes from where we live), which means the travel price is just about right, haha. So we get to go over there and check in at 3, and they have this gorgeous pool and gardens and a creek right on the grounds...so I'm really excited!! I didn't know he had had anything planned! Yay! As sacrilegious as this is to say...I hope it doesn't rain (today, God. It can rain tomorrow and all week and all the rest of the summer...just not today!) because I really want to swim and lay by that pool. I've been admiring it from afar for so long...I will be so sad if the one chance I get to swim in it is ruined!! But if it does rain, we'll be okay. The B&B also has cable, which we do not, so that's a pretty huge draw. :) We'd be happy to spend our anniversary vacation watching hour after hour of Mystery Diagnosis and other medical shows. Those things really suck you in. And it's why we don't need cable at our house...we would NEVER talk to each other then!!
Anyway...this post started sappy, then just got long. Sorry. I had to make up for like 2 months of not blogging though. Have a wonnnnderful weekend!!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
spring fever
It's a sad day when you realize that no matter how spring fever-y and "senioritis-y", you feel...there's not gonna be a break. No summer vacation, no graduation to look forward to...and retirement's a bit far off to be a very desirous goal! At any rate, I'm worn out. You get so used to years being school-calendar-driven...work some, have a break, work some, have a break...and now it's just work work work with no break in sight. Being a grown-up isn't all it's cracked up to be, in my opinion.
Anyway, we're doing good...just tired. The warmer weather makes me want to be outside, not in the freezing cold store. Matt and I planted our "garden" (in pots on our porch) last week. We have 2 different types of tomatos, a zucchini plant, a yellow bell pepper plant, and wildflowers. The veggies were all already plants (not seeds), so it's hard for me to tell if they've grown yet, but at least they haven't died!! The wildflowers were seeds, and I am happy to report that there are 6 tiny green shoots now!! I have a mixed track record with plants, so I triumph in any small victory!! My indoor plants tend to die pretty quickly, but I have successfully grown 2 huge tomato plants a few years back, so I'm hoping I have better luck with the outdoor stuff. I have this vision that we'll be saving tons of money by growing our own veggies, but I'm not sure that a few little plants can keep up with my taste for fresh produce! Anyway, every day I look forward to coming home so I can check on our "babies"....in lieu of actual human children or pets, I now have vegetables. Someone call the crazy house.
One great thing about summer is there's a lot more stuff to do, and lots of it is cheap or free. Lately we have been attending a lot of UGA baseball games...it's free to sit on "Kudzu Hill" and it's a lot of fun, so we walk over there whenever there's a home game (and nice weather). We do a lot more walking, period. On Tuesday, like good little hippies, we walked to Earth Fare to do a little grocery shopping. We like to explore the woods and trails behind our house (and pretend we're on Lost). :) Soon enough it will be swimming time, and that will be our passtime of choice until fall!! We don't have TV, and we plan on cancelling our Netflix subscription for summer...there's too much to do outside to sit inside watching movies all the time!!
Well Matt just called to say he's on his way home, so it's time for me to go. I got distracted by writing on this thing and didn't accomplish my original goal of the afternoon: to re-read one of my research papers from college. It occured to me last night that I spent an awful lot of time and effort researching and writing stuff in college, and I need to bust that stuff out and appreciate it from time to time. I don't want my mind to waste away in my post-collegiate days.
And if you want to expand your mind, you should read this: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080423/od_nm/witchcraft_dc;_ylt=ApS4o.FN207JZ56.1yLRth0DW7oF (ps, how do you make a link that doesn't look like THAT??)
Anyway, we're doing good...just tired. The warmer weather makes me want to be outside, not in the freezing cold store. Matt and I planted our "garden" (in pots on our porch) last week. We have 2 different types of tomatos, a zucchini plant, a yellow bell pepper plant, and wildflowers. The veggies were all already plants (not seeds), so it's hard for me to tell if they've grown yet, but at least they haven't died!! The wildflowers were seeds, and I am happy to report that there are 6 tiny green shoots now!! I have a mixed track record with plants, so I triumph in any small victory!! My indoor plants tend to die pretty quickly, but I have successfully grown 2 huge tomato plants a few years back, so I'm hoping I have better luck with the outdoor stuff. I have this vision that we'll be saving tons of money by growing our own veggies, but I'm not sure that a few little plants can keep up with my taste for fresh produce! Anyway, every day I look forward to coming home so I can check on our "babies"....in lieu of actual human children or pets, I now have vegetables. Someone call the crazy house.
One great thing about summer is there's a lot more stuff to do, and lots of it is cheap or free. Lately we have been attending a lot of UGA baseball games...it's free to sit on "Kudzu Hill" and it's a lot of fun, so we walk over there whenever there's a home game (and nice weather). We do a lot more walking, period. On Tuesday, like good little hippies, we walked to Earth Fare to do a little grocery shopping. We like to explore the woods and trails behind our house (and pretend we're on Lost). :) Soon enough it will be swimming time, and that will be our passtime of choice until fall!! We don't have TV, and we plan on cancelling our Netflix subscription for summer...there's too much to do outside to sit inside watching movies all the time!!
Well Matt just called to say he's on his way home, so it's time for me to go. I got distracted by writing on this thing and didn't accomplish my original goal of the afternoon: to re-read one of my research papers from college. It occured to me last night that I spent an awful lot of time and effort researching and writing stuff in college, and I need to bust that stuff out and appreciate it from time to time. I don't want my mind to waste away in my post-collegiate days.
And if you want to expand your mind, you should read this: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080423/od_nm/witchcraft_dc;_ylt=ApS4o.FN207JZ56.1yLRth0DW7oF (ps, how do you make a link that doesn't look like THAT??)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
sunshiney day
It seems rather strange that today is so beautiful, warm, and spring-like. Yesterday was the polar opposite-- mean-looking clouds, tornados in the area, lots of rain and lightning. No fun. But today is making up for it. We ate lunch at Cali-n-Tito's, a Mexi-Cuban restaurant where you eat outside, and I got a slight sunburn on my arms...yay!! That could indicate the official Beginning of Summer for me. First Sun. Monumental.
I've been super busy lately. The sale of our store finally became "final"...it's been in the works since September and I feel like we have been "almost finished" since like...October. The fact that the closing actually happened on March 7th hasn't really sunk in yet. Brian (the former owner, *tear*) will still be around as we train John (the new owner/boss) so it doesn't seem too weird yet...but it will be sad once I don't see Brian every day! I'm excited about some changes though-- for one, I get business cards that identify me as "General Manager"! Also, I get my own Sam's membership and a business Discover card--wahoo!! And...more money. So all in all, things are looking good. Basically, I'm getting the title and pay for what I've already been doing for the last 8 months, so there aren't actually that many changes.
It's weird being a grown-up though-- as all the kids at work (98% high schoolers and UGA students) went on Spring Break this week...I didn't. And I won't. Sad story. It's weird not really knowing when your next significant break will be-- I guess whenever I have a kid and quit working! Ha! We actually do have a few fun trips and mini-trips coming up in the next few months though, so that makes me happy. I really like having things to look forward to. Otherwise life is this long monotonous pattern of work and...work. Work, one-day-weekends, and work. (Side note-- also, in the next month or so, I will be phasing out the Saturday working though, so YAAAAY!)
Next weekend (Fri-Sun)- Augusta for Easter with my family
Mar 28-30- Charlotte, NC: staying with Kristina and James, celebrating Kari with Matt's family
April 5- not sure what we're doing, but it's Matt's bday so I'm not working!
May 9-11- Statesboro, GA for my brother's college graduation & partyin with my fam
June 1-8-- Cocoa Beach, FL for vacay with my family-- yippppeeeee!
That's all so far, but that seems like a lot!! I feel like we haven't left Athens in ages, so I'm really looking forward to some fun. We hope to do some camping also, both by ourselves and with friends-- our homegroup has mentioned trying to go together, so that sounds like a lot of fun!
Anyway...I smell outdoorsy-- that combination of sun and sweat and I'm not sure what, but it's not necessarily a good smell! We went to play frisbee at the intramural fields, then went walking for awhile. It was great to be outside. Matt is pining for a dog the way some girls I know are pining for babies!! Every time we'd pass one he would whimper and whine and I'd have to drag him away. If our landlords weren't punks, we'd get one, but alas...they're punks. And that's all I have to say about it. Goodbye!!
I've been super busy lately. The sale of our store finally became "final"...it's been in the works since September and I feel like we have been "almost finished" since like...October. The fact that the closing actually happened on March 7th hasn't really sunk in yet. Brian (the former owner, *tear*) will still be around as we train John (the new owner/boss) so it doesn't seem too weird yet...but it will be sad once I don't see Brian every day! I'm excited about some changes though-- for one, I get business cards that identify me as "General Manager"! Also, I get my own Sam's membership and a business Discover card--wahoo!! And...more money. So all in all, things are looking good. Basically, I'm getting the title and pay for what I've already been doing for the last 8 months, so there aren't actually that many changes.
It's weird being a grown-up though-- as all the kids at work (98% high schoolers and UGA students) went on Spring Break this week...I didn't. And I won't. Sad story. It's weird not really knowing when your next significant break will be-- I guess whenever I have a kid and quit working! Ha! We actually do have a few fun trips and mini-trips coming up in the next few months though, so that makes me happy. I really like having things to look forward to. Otherwise life is this long monotonous pattern of work and...work. Work, one-day-weekends, and work. (Side note-- also, in the next month or so, I will be phasing out the Saturday working though, so YAAAAY!)
Next weekend (Fri-Sun)- Augusta for Easter with my family
Mar 28-30- Charlotte, NC: staying with Kristina and James, celebrating Kari with Matt's family
April 5- not sure what we're doing, but it's Matt's bday so I'm not working!
May 9-11- Statesboro, GA for my brother's college graduation & partyin with my fam
June 1-8-- Cocoa Beach, FL for vacay with my family-- yippppeeeee!
That's all so far, but that seems like a lot!! I feel like we haven't left Athens in ages, so I'm really looking forward to some fun. We hope to do some camping also, both by ourselves and with friends-- our homegroup has mentioned trying to go together, so that sounds like a lot of fun!
Anyway...I smell outdoorsy-- that combination of sun and sweat and I'm not sure what, but it's not necessarily a good smell! We went to play frisbee at the intramural fields, then went walking for awhile. It was great to be outside. Matt is pining for a dog the way some girls I know are pining for babies!! Every time we'd pass one he would whimper and whine and I'd have to drag him away. If our landlords weren't punks, we'd get one, but alas...they're punks. And that's all I have to say about it. Goodbye!!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
paradox
Apparently I am having some age/identity issues, my husband tells me. Most of the time I feel like a really old person-- like maybe 65 or so. We go to bed early-- 10 at the latest, usually. We sleep 8 or 9 hours, then get up for work. Since I eat breakfast early, I'm hungry for lunch really early-- 11 or so. Since I eat lunch at 11, I'm starving again by like 4. I usually eat a snack, since Matt's not even home by 4...but I am always starving for dinner by 5 or so. When we go out to restaurants, the only other people there that early are elderly people. That's okay with me-- less crowds!! So most of my day makes me feel like I'm practicing for retirement already.
But then there's the part of me that is 5 years old. Last night, as we went to the restaurant at 5:30 for dinner, I insisted on wearing my rain boots and made Matt walk 20 feet away from me because I really wanted to splash in all the puddles in the parking lot. For the past few days I've had this insane craving for 2nd-grade-style decorated cookies. You know-- sugar cookies in shapes, frosting, candy on top? Oh yeah. So after dinner we had to go to the grocery store so that I could make all my decorating cookie dreams come true. Man it was good. Matt says he doesn't know whether he's married to someone very old or very young. It's tricky. I'm sure he'll get over it.
Anyway...now that I have the vanilla frosting I've found a much quicker way to get the frosting-with-candy fix. As it turns out you can skip the cookie all together! I'm taking Hot Tamales (the cinnamon candy kind, not the Mexican lunch kind) and dipping those bad boys straight in the frosting-- amazing! It's awesome to be a grown up and not have parents telling you how to eat your food and not to double-dip your candy in the frosting. I think frosting-dipped candy is a PERFECT after-work snack, and no one can convince me otherwise!!
So work is going much better than expected this week. Matt's feeling better, too, so all is looking good here. My boss gave me a gift certificate to one of my favorite restaurants to thank me for the crap I put up with last weekend, so that was really nice-- and allowed us to eat out last night instead of me cooking!! I'm all about a free date night! I got off work early yesterday and, finding myself with a few spare hours on my hands, ended up going to Hobby Lobby for my first time ever. I've been resistant of going there cause I was under the impression it was the same as Michael's, and I really can't stand Michaels. However, many reliable sources assured me it was much, much better than Michael's, so I decided to give it a try. WOW. It was amazing. I wandered and wandered for the longest time. It was like a magical land. Anyway, I did manage to escape without spending a dime-- yaaay! Afterwards I stopped by the beauty school (haha, doesn't that sound like something from the 70s?) where my friend Catherine was getting a PERM (doesn't that sound like something from the 80s?)...it was taking all day and she needed company. After that I noticed a blood drive next door so made the impulse decision to give blood-- that is, save three lives. What a saint I am. Haha. Anyway, so that took awhile and left me crippled-- they even told me that I should not cook or do dishes, my husband should definitely take me out-- so it's a good thing I had that gift certificate!! I spent the rest of the night reminding Matt to "Be Nice to me, I Gave Blood Today!" He needed a lot of reminding. I had lost my sticker.
Now dinner's in the oven (meatloaf) and I'm waiting for the hubster to get home (he worked out of town today). We have homegroup tonight, so I'm pretty excited about that. Lost is tomorrow night which is GREAT-- I've heard that Juliet is going to be highlighted, which is good and bad. She just really stresses me out cause I can't decide whether I think she's good or bad. Most characters I have a gut feeling about, but I just can't figure her out! Like me-- she's a paradox. Mwah ha ha. Peace. :)
But then there's the part of me that is 5 years old. Last night, as we went to the restaurant at 5:30 for dinner, I insisted on wearing my rain boots and made Matt walk 20 feet away from me because I really wanted to splash in all the puddles in the parking lot. For the past few days I've had this insane craving for 2nd-grade-style decorated cookies. You know-- sugar cookies in shapes, frosting, candy on top? Oh yeah. So after dinner we had to go to the grocery store so that I could make all my decorating cookie dreams come true. Man it was good. Matt says he doesn't know whether he's married to someone very old or very young. It's tricky. I'm sure he'll get over it.
Anyway...now that I have the vanilla frosting I've found a much quicker way to get the frosting-with-candy fix. As it turns out you can skip the cookie all together! I'm taking Hot Tamales (the cinnamon candy kind, not the Mexican lunch kind) and dipping those bad boys straight in the frosting-- amazing! It's awesome to be a grown up and not have parents telling you how to eat your food and not to double-dip your candy in the frosting. I think frosting-dipped candy is a PERFECT after-work snack, and no one can convince me otherwise!!
So work is going much better than expected this week. Matt's feeling better, too, so all is looking good here. My boss gave me a gift certificate to one of my favorite restaurants to thank me for the crap I put up with last weekend, so that was really nice-- and allowed us to eat out last night instead of me cooking!! I'm all about a free date night! I got off work early yesterday and, finding myself with a few spare hours on my hands, ended up going to Hobby Lobby for my first time ever. I've been resistant of going there cause I was under the impression it was the same as Michael's, and I really can't stand Michaels. However, many reliable sources assured me it was much, much better than Michael's, so I decided to give it a try. WOW. It was amazing. I wandered and wandered for the longest time. It was like a magical land. Anyway, I did manage to escape without spending a dime-- yaaay! Afterwards I stopped by the beauty school (haha, doesn't that sound like something from the 70s?) where my friend Catherine was getting a PERM (doesn't that sound like something from the 80s?)...it was taking all day and she needed company. After that I noticed a blood drive next door so made the impulse decision to give blood-- that is, save three lives. What a saint I am. Haha. Anyway, so that took awhile and left me crippled-- they even told me that I should not cook or do dishes, my husband should definitely take me out-- so it's a good thing I had that gift certificate!! I spent the rest of the night reminding Matt to "Be Nice to me, I Gave Blood Today!" He needed a lot of reminding. I had lost my sticker.
Now dinner's in the oven (meatloaf) and I'm waiting for the hubster to get home (he worked out of town today). We have homegroup tonight, so I'm pretty excited about that. Lost is tomorrow night which is GREAT-- I've heard that Juliet is going to be highlighted, which is good and bad. She just really stresses me out cause I can't decide whether I think she's good or bad. Most characters I have a gut feeling about, but I just can't figure her out! Like me-- she's a paradox. Mwah ha ha. Peace. :)
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