New Year's Eve

Well, it's New Year's Eve! We had a big surf and turf dinner of steak and lobster with homemade french fries tonight. I don't like lobster or even steak that much, but I did eat a small piece of steak. Having studied lobsters, I don't think I could get myself to eat one even if I liked the way it tasted.

I have to say the lobsters were pretty cute. I felt bad that we were about to cook them.

But as we dunked them into their steamy demise, I couldn't help but think that what sucks for them, is a yummy dinner for my family.

It's a fitting thought for the New Year I think. With the end of every year, or chapter in our lives, comes a new year and bigger and better things.

I'm certainly looking forward to 2009 and a fresh start! And when I figure out exactly what I'm going to do with that fresh start, I'll be sure to let you know! ;) Until then, I do know that it will definitely include blogging, so keep an eye out for many more posts to come!

Wishing you all a safe and happy New Year! I hope 2009 brings you health, happiness, love, laughter, and good times with good friends!

Oh the joys of car ownership!

We are still at my parents' house enjoying a nice, relaxing vacation. Today, both my parents had to go back to work so we planned on getting our inspection sticker on my car. We left my parents' house around 11:20 am, hoping to get it in before the mechanic went to lunch. We get to the place, wait 20 minutes because someone else's car was in on the machine, only for the guy to tell us that their inspection machine just broke. Great! What a waste of time!

So I call up my dad and ask where else in town we can get a sticker. We head across town and arrive at the second garage at 11:53 am. Unfortunately, they inform us that their mechanic goes to lunch from 12-1 pm. At this point, my hubby is pretty irritated, but there's nothing we can do about it and it's lunch time so I decide maybe my hubby will be a little less grumpy if he gets some lunch in his belly.

We go back to my parents', eat some lunch and arrive back at garage number two right at 1 pm. Now, there are 2 cars in front of us though, so we wait. Finally, the mechanic pulls our car in. Less than a minute later, he informs us that there's a new Massachusetts law and that our license plate is too faded. Since he hadn't started the rest of the inspection, he told us to go to the RMV and turn in our plates to get some new plates and then he wouldn't have to give us a rejection sticker.

At this point the hubby is livid! I'm laughing because I know there's nothing we can do about it. So we head to the RMV, only to pull up to the door and see that apparently it has moved! We drive back across town to the new location and low and behold they are closed for lunch from 1-2 pm! I can now see fire in my hubby's eyes.

At this point it was only 1:20 pm so we drove back to my parents'. I left the hubby at home since he was still such a grump. My father left work and drove with me down to the RMV at 2 (in case they gave me any problems switching the plates) and of course the line was out the door! We wait and wait and finally get the new plates (and at no charge!)!

I screwed in the new plates and headed back across town to the second garage. Now there are 3 cars in front of me. I wait and wait and wait some more. Finally, after what seems like a lifetime, they pull in my car and at this point I'm expecting something else to go wrong. But no, it passed and I got a sticker! It's about time!


I paid and got the Hell out of there!! I arrived back at my parents' house at 3:07 pm, 3 1/2 hours after I left orignially! What a way to spend a day, but I guess it just comes with the responsibilities of owning a car!

Merry Christmas!!

It's a day late but Merry Christmas everyone! Christmas Eve and Christmas are always REALLY busy for us, so I didn't have time to post but I wanted to share a few photos.

We spend Christmas Eve at my Gram's house. There's always a ton of food and we exchange gifts with my mom's side of the family. This year was great because 2 of my cousins have kids now. It's a lot of fun to experience Christmas through a child's eyes again.

No matter how old we get, my parents still go all out at Christmas! Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

Presents that weren't there when we went to bed are piled under the tree when we wake up.

And there's always a huge Christmas dinner, complete with fancy linens, china and all!

After dinner, we exchange gifts at my hubby's mom's house, then we go up to his memere and pepere's house, then we go to to my great great aunt and uncle's house. So it's a very long day!!

But despite the long day, we had a great Christmas this year and are blessed to have the family we have. The best part though was that my soon-to-be brother-in-law who is in the Air Force was able to come home and surprise everyone! It was so nice to wake up Christmas morning and have him there with us :)

Christmas Goodies

I spent all day today baking. I didn't finish and get in the shower until 4:07 pm!! I made 4 different kinds of cookies (sugar, chocolate chip, snowballs and double-chocolate snowquakes) to fill 3 tins as gifts, then I helped my mom make a 5th kind and some homemade chex mix. Usually the best part of baking is enjoying what you made, but since I'm giving all my cookies away I couldn't really do that. I did, however, test each kind. I couldn't give the cookies away without making sure they came out alright now could I?! ;)

They were all pretty yummy if I do say so myself!

Fancy Pants

Little miss spy has a nice pair of jeans that she likes to wear. Last week, she mentioned that she thought there was something wrong with them because they zipped and buttoned on the opposite side as all her other pants. I, of course, looked down at my jeans and she was right. Wednesday night was our work holiday party so we all got dressed up. The first time I went to the ladies' room I noticed that my black dress pants zipped on the opposite side too! Little miss spy was in meetings most of the day so I forgot to mention it to her until yesterday when we were leaving. She got all excited and began to explain!

Apparently, she mentioned the situation with her jeans to The Schwarz and he knew why this was! It was such a cool trivia fact to find out, that I just had to share. Apparently, if you go back in time, wealthy women used to have someone else dress them. So the zipper and button was on the opposite side to accommodate a right handed person that was dressing someone else! Fancy women's pants have retained this for some reason, even though women tend to dress themselves today. This also explains why men's pants never have the button and zipper on the opposite side because they always dressed themselves!

I thought it was a pretty cool fact to know, so a big thanks to The Schwarz for sharing his knowledge on fancy pants!

Do you think God gets annoyed?

So there's this person that really annoys me and little miss spy. This person is nice enough really, they just have some really annoying habits. You have to know that little miss spy and I talk about just about everything, it's not that we are gossipy people really. So we IM back and forth about this person's annoying habits occasionally and have a good laugh.

Yesterday, we were having a GOOD laugh at this person's expense. (I promise we really aren't mean people!) So I jokingly commented, "We are both going to Hell." Little miss spy's response was priceless. She said:

I doubt it.
Even God's probably annoyed.

LOL This, of course, made me laugh harder! She then suggested I write a post contemplating whether God gets annoyed. This was all in good fun and we then headed off to our work holiday party. Well, I think God was annoyed at me for that conversation and even thinking about writing this post because the party seemed like some kind of punishment! So here I am writing more of a humorous summary rather than a contemplation. Don't want to get myself in any more trouble with the Big Man! On a more positive note: The food was good last night! So that's always a plus! :)

Snow!

I looked out the window this morning and there was snow on the ground!! Granted it was only a dusting and the rain was pretty quickly turning it to slush, but it was snow! My parents have had snow for a while now (which makes me very happy because that's where we'll be for the holidays and there's nothing like a white Christmas) but we've only had rain so far. Seeing the snow instantly put me in a good mood! I am so ready for Christmas and to spend some time with my family.

Anyway, I got to work and one of my co-workers mentioned that she had to shovel behind her tires! We definitely didn't have that much where I live. I'm also spoiled and have these 2 magic buttons. I aim them out the window, press them at the same time and VOILA! my car starts for me. I let the car warm up for about 10 minutes before I have to leave and all the snow and ice melts right off. It's pretty wonderful if you ask me. :)

socket-deer

My dad is an avid hunter! He loves getting out in the woods and has been on hunting trips all over the place. He's hunted deer, moose, caribou, bear, you name it! Though he loves it, he's not one of those hunters that just hunts for sport. He cuts up and eats everything he shoots. And if he can't eat it all himself, he shares it with his hunting buddies.

Anyway, little miss spy came across these cool antler outlet covers from Nendo!


I thought they were so cute and they totally reminded me of my dad, so I thought I'd share them with you too!

Mental Health Day

When I was little, my dad used to let us have "Mental Health Days" once in a while. Now don't get me wrong, by "once in a while" I don't mean like once a month, they were rare occasions. Once, I remember, he took us skiing. Other times I just stayed home from school "sick" even though I wasn't really sick. As a kid I don't think I always really needed them, but I think the idea behind them was a good life lesson. They taught me that taking care of myself mentally is just as important as taking care of myself physically. And if that means taking a day off every now and then, that's ok.

As I've gotten older, I've found "Mental Health Days" even more necessary in my life. I try not to take advantage of them and take them too often because I do have responsibilities, but they are extremely helpful to "recharge your batteries" as my dad would say. (As a side note, my dad has a whole bunch of sayings. I'm working on collecting them in one place and plan to write an entry on them. Some of them he got from my grandpa, which my dad and uncles lovingly refer to as Dave-isms, but he has plenty of his own. So keep an eye out for an entry on Bruce-isms, hopefully in the near future.)

Anyway, I needed a "Mental Health Day" yesterday and I set some rules for myself. I didn't think about money, losing my job next week, my hubby trying to find a new job, or anything that's been causing me stress lately. I hugged and kissed and talked with my husband. We cleaned up a little bit around the apartment, watched some tv and I knitted like crazy on the baby blanket that I still haven't finished! It was exactly what I needed.

I find that I'm so busy and tired during the week, that weekends are even busier doing all the personal things I wish I could accomplish during the week. To have a day to decompress and relax was just what I needed to feel a little bit more positive again. So now it's Friday! I feel much better and it will soon be the weekend. My parents are coming to visit so that will be nice. Although I think we're going to the mall so that will probably bring my stress level right back up!

Hope you all have a nice weekend!

Rain, rain go away...

This is what the weather is like outside today. And coincidentally, I feel like I have my own personal cloud hanging out over me.

7 more work days and hopefully the sun will start to come out for me.

This season's sock collection!

Little miss spy requested that I write about this season's sock collection. I thought it was just funny enough a request to maybe make me smile today, so here goes...

Everyone loves a nice warm pair of socks in the winter! Old Navy has these comfy looking fuzzy socks. I love these kind for around the house in the winter, but they are just too thick and warm to wear with shoes in my opinion. I tend to lose circulation in my toes if I do, so my feet end up simultaneously freezing and soaked with sweat!

The green with red trim are especially festive for the season!

American Eagle seems to have a lot of striped socks on their website. These were my favorite:

Although, they seem really tall! You have to have long, skinny calves and loose jeans for those socks!

Target even has socks for your iPod if you want!

And now for the best socks I found so far...Walmart has these if you happen to love Christmas and...poodles?!

And if these socks weren't great enough just for the Christmas poodles, they even have separated toes!

Hopefully you enjoyed my favorite socks of the season! I hope you all have nice warm tootsies! :)

I have a serious case of the Mondays...

It was a pretty relaxing weekend for me! I was completely content to sit on my couch, in my sweatpants and do almost nothing. I didn't even shower yesterday, and it was wonderful!

I did finish the little bit of Christmas shopping I had left on Saturday though. :) I am a very happy camper about that. I just have to wrap it all and bake a few dozen cookies.

I barely slept last night. I get myself thinking about things I have to get done and things going on and I get all worked up. I know I shouldn't think about it once I get in bed, but sometimes I can't help myself. What is it about advice that we can all dish it out with ease, but when it comes to taking it we're completely oblivious!

Needless to say, after a nice relaxing weekend and not much sleep last night, I was not too happy when the alarm went off this morning and I had to come to work.

What would you do if you won the lottery??

I read something recently that posed the question, "What would you spend the money on if you won the lottery?" First of all, I'm too cheap to play the lottery, so me winning is highly unlikely! However, I thought it was interesting to think about.

I think the first thing you have to do is assume we're talking about a large amount of money. I mean, I think we're talking millions. Because you can technically win the lottery by winning $5 on a scratch ticket and no one would really be interested in what you did with $5.

So, somehow, miraculously, I won the lottery by not playing because I'm too cheap to waste my money! *hahaha* YESSSSS!! This is what I think I would do with it.

• First, because I'm anal about money, I would probably figure out how much I would have to pay in taxes on the total I won. I would put that much in an account so I wouldn't have to worry about spending too much and having that money when the time comes to pay Uncle Sam.
• Second, I would pay off all of our student loans! And my sister's too!
  
• THEN I WOULD BUY A HOUSE!

Those 3 things instantly came to my mind. After that, I had a more difficult time. I would definitely donate some to charity, but I would probably do a lot of research first to decide which one. I would probably take my parents on a nice vacation because they have done SO MUCH for us over the years and have taken us on so many vacations! But I think the majority of what was left would probably go in the bank. *hahaha* Boring, I know! But I'm a saver! Nothing makes me happier than a little financial security. (Which by the way, happens to be a good thing considering our current situation! You never know when you might need it!)

So, if you won the lottery big, what would you do with it?

I'm so hungry!

As I mentioned before, I ate WAY TOO MUCH good food while I was home for 5 days over Thanksgiving. Ever since I've been back, I've tried to get back on my normal food schedule, but I'm hungry ALL THE TIME! I think my stomach stretched out from all the pie and carbs and general goodness I ate.

You see, the women in my family are "feeders." This is a term I have developed on my own, so please allow me to explain. Essentially, anything can be a reason to pressure you to eat something loaded with butter, sugar, salt and anything else that may cause an early death from clogged arteries. For example, some of these reasons include:

You're getting too skinny, eat something!

or

Don't worry. Have something to eat and you'll feel better!

or

We're celebrating something, so we eat.

or

We're sad about something, so we eat.

or

It's been 2 hours since we ate something, let's eat.

or one of my favorite guilt trips

That's all you're having?! Don't you like the dinner I made??

or if you just stop by to say hi

What can I get you to eat? You can't leave without having something!

I think you get my point. Don't get me wrong, the food is GOOD! But everything in our family revolves around eating.

This got me thinking about foods I always have in our pantry/refrigerator/freezer, and how everyone has different staples that they always have on hand. The 6 things we always have are:

• eggs
• cereal
• American cheese
• chicken in the freezer
  
• a couple boxes of pasta
  
• and my hubby always has ice cream in the freezer

It looks like a sad little list, but in a pinch pasta, a fried egg or cereal makes a great, quick dinner!

So, what's ALWAYS in your pantry/refrigerator/freezer?

Wedding Invitations

My sister and I finally got her wedding invitations finished and out in the mail yesterday! I still have a pretty long list of things to accomplish, but it's nice to cross a significant item off the list! I am pretty proud of them so I took a few photos to share with you.

'Tis the season

Thanksgiving is over, so for me (and most people) that means getting out the Christmas decorations! Although I have to point out that the house next door to us has had their Christmas lights on their house since before Halloween! Anyway, I love decorating the Christmas tree. For me it isn't a Christmas tree unless it's a real tree too! Growing up we always had a real tree and there is no comparison to those weird artificial ones that people store in their attic. I love walking through the field to find just the right one. I love dragging it to the car and strapping it to the roof. I love walking into my house and having the smell of the tree meet me at the door.

We found a really nice tree at Whitney's Farm this year! They were all pre-cut so we didn't cut it down ourselves, but it was just the right height and perfectly symmetrical. My hubby thinks it's the best tree we've ever picked. I have to agree. Besides a very small hole that we oriented towards the wall, it's a near perfect tree.

Everyone has their own style when decorating their tree. Some people like white lights and some like colored. Some people like ornaments that all look the same, some like a random collection, and some even put bows. Personally, I like all white lights and lots of random ornaments, with a little silver tinsel put on last. Most people put their star or angel on the top last, but I like to put it on first. I like to start at the top and work my way down. Every year my hubby fights me about this, telling me that my way is wrong. But every year I put the star on first! :) As promised, here are some photos of our decorated tree and some of my favorite ornaments:

Back to the grind...

Well, we're back to reality. We had a wonderful but very busy few days in our hometown. I was enjoying myself and the company of family and friends so much, that I didn't take one photo the whole time I was home, so you'll have to settle for a brief description.

• I ate WAY TOO MUCH good food on Thanksgiving.
  
• Despite the throngs of people, I got most of my Christmas shopping done on Friday.
• Saturday, we had a blast and danced up a storm at the second wedding reception for our friends John and Katie. It was really nice to see a bunch of our friends and be able to celebrate with them because we couldn't make it to their wedding! :)
• And if that long day of shopping and all that dancing wasn't tiring enough, we helped my brother-in-law and his wife move from 10am to 8:30pm on Sunday, in the sleet and snow!
  
• And just as our luck would have it, yesterday was sunny and almost 60 degrees! Of course we wouldn't have that nice day to move them in! We slept in a little bit because both my hubby and I were pretty sore from the moving, but we went and picked out a Christmas tree before we drove back. We set it up last night, but I haven't taken any photos yet, so I will post those tonight. (Or maybe tomorrow, we'll have to see how tired I am.)

I'm back at work today and not so happy about it. But I only have a 4 day week so I should be grateful for that! Tonight, my sister and I have to finish assembling her wedding invitations so they can go out in the mail. Photos to follow soon! Happy Tuesday everyone :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since today is Thanksgiving, I thought it was appropriate to reflect on the blessings in my life and all that I am grateful for. Similar to the Love List assignment, Operation Nice recently had an assignment to Make a Gratitude List. So here goes:

I am grateful for my husband. Marriage is not easy and I'm no piece of cake to live with, but he loves me just the way I am. I am grateful that he tells me how much he loves me every single day. I am grateful for my parents' unconditional love and support. Though it is not easy for me to accept help, they constantly go above and beyond to make sure that I am happy and healthy. I am grateful that they love my husband as if he were their own son. I am grateful for my sister and the closer relationship we have developed as we have entered adulthood. I am grateful that she has allowed me to be such a big part of her wedding and all the events and planning that go along with it. I am grateful that she is happy and has a man that loves her. I'm grateful that her fiance, who is in the Air Force, is safe here in the United States. I am grateful for all of my family, including my in-laws. As crazy as they all can be, they are mine and it is an amazing feeling to know that there are so many people that would be there for you in an instant if you needed them. I am grateful for a handful of friends that I can call true, life-long friends. I am grateful that very soon I will get to meet my first niece.

I am grateful for the comfortable life we live, food on the table and clothes to wear, despite the few difficult months that are coming. I am grateful for the country I live in and all the men and women who risk their lives for my freedoms. I am grateful for the internet. I'm grateful for my health and the health of my family. I am grateful to live in New England and be able to experience all 4 seasons. I am grateful that for the past year and a half, I have been able to work side-by-side with my best friend. I am grateful for my camera and the opportunity to capture special moments and memories in my life. I'm grateful for a 5 1/2 day weekend. I am grateful for the time I have to spend with my family this holiday season.

I live such a blessed life that I could go on and on, but I think I'll leave it at that. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Need a calendar for 2009?

Check this one out that little miss spy found from Fitzsu!! WICKED COOL!

**********************************************************

I have another busy few days ahead of me. We're driving 3 hours to my parents' house this afternoon for the 3rd time in 12 days! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we'll be at my parents' house, then my mother-in-law's, then my hubby's grandparents. Friday, you can consider me clinically insane because I'll be shopping all day with my mom, sister and gram. Saturday we'll be going to a local wedding reception for a friend of ours who got married in Utah. Sunday we'll be helping my hubby's brother and his wife move. Monday there may be some more moving in the morning, then we want to get a Christmas tree and we'll drive back home. So we're still really busy. I'm looking forward to next weekend where I might just be able to sit and relax! But something will probably come up!

I hope you all have safe trips if you're traveling! Happy Thanksgiving!! :)

Rain, rain go away...

It's a dark, rainy day here in Boston. I wish it was snow. I was spoiled this weekend while I was at my parents and they got a beautiful, white dusting. It made me ready for winter. But the day reminded me of a website a co-worker of mine shared with me last week.

http://www.jacksonpollock.org

Go there and have a little fun on this dreary day!

Busy, busy, busy

Another busy weekend has passed without much rest. I was home for a baby shower which basically took up all of Saturday and we got back last night. A few hours after we got home, my sister-in-law and her boyfriend came to visit and stay the night. Tonight I'm hoping to finish the last of the printing for my sister's wedding invitations. Tomorrow my dad might be staying with us while working on a bid in Boston. Wednesday we head home AGAIN for Thanksgiving.

I just. need. time. to. breathe.

TGIF

Remember when that meant a bunch of shows you'd watch on tv on Friday night? I loved Full House, Family Matters and Step by Step. Now that I'm in the real world, those 4 letters mean oh so much more!

I made it through a week from HELL. Little miss spy got on IM this morning from her vacation to see how I was doing. She asked if I was ok and my response was,"That entirely depends on your definition of ok. I'm still alive."

I have a 3 hour drive back to my hometown again tonight for weekend 2 of 3 in a row. I'm exhausted. I got in bed at 7:30 pm last night. No, that's not a typo, I said 7:30! When I make it to January 1st I'm going to sleep for a week straight.

When I get up, I'm hoping this last year and a half will just seem like a bad dream and I'll have the energy and positive attitude to start the next chapter in this crazy life of mine.

Vacations

Little miss spy is on vacation in Florida this week. Since she didn't pack me in her suitcase, it's been a rough week without her here at work. Time is going by soooooo slowly, but I've seemed to make it to Thursday, so I guess I'll survive. Thinking about her off having fun in the sun has gotten me thinking about my favorite vacations.

I think one of my FAVORITE vacations was definitely my honeymoon in Jamaica! After all the planning, stress and excitement, it was wonderful to decompress, relax and just enjoy my new hubby! We went to Sandals Negril which I HIGHLY recommend! The all-inclusive was great for us. We didn't have to carry cash around with us, everything we could have needed or wanted was all on the resort, and SCUBA diving didn't have any extra fees! For us, it was perfect: sun, sand, ocean, drinks and a gorgeous suite all to ourselves! For your viewing pleasure (and because I'm wishing I was there right now):




Growing up we often took cruises as our family vacations. They are a lot fo fun and there is so much good food! Plus, it's great that there's something for everyone all on the same ship. But I think my favorite family vacations growing up were our camping trips to Lake George, New York every summer. My grandparents have a trailer and we have been going every summer since I can remember. When we were little, my dad used to wake my sister and I up early. We would drive to McDonald's and get a hash brown and orange juice, then we would watch the sun rise over the lake. We would sit around the campfire at night and roast marshmallows. And now that we're older, we go out on the boat tubing.

Not everyone is into the "family fun" thing. My family is certainly far from perfect! But they're mine and I love them and camping is still one of my favorite vacations. Here's some photos from this summer:



What was your favorite vacation or favorite vacation growing up?

Winter's on the way!

It was a whole 19 degrees when I left for the train station this morning! This was the first morning that it was clear that winter is on it's way. I was bundled up in my long wool coat, scarf and gloves and I was still shivering! As I was waiting for the train though, I noticed a man wearing shorts and a t-shirt!! Yes, I said shorts and a t-shirt! And he didn't even look cold! Brrrrrrrrrrrr....it makes me cold just thinking about him.

I love the cold and change of seasons though. It's a constant reminder of the cycles in our lives. When my hubby and I lived in South Carolina, I was miserable. They have 2 temperatures there: hot and warm. It just wasn't for me. I love the summer sun on my face, the sand in my toes and swimming in the ocean. I love the foliage and colors of fall, the smell of chimney smoke in the air and Sundays on the couch, in my big comfy sweats, watching football with my hubby. Though the short, dark days of winter can sometimes be depressing, I love the first snow, snuggling by a fire, hot cocoa and a white Christmas. Spring brings new life: flowers, sun showers, rainbows and soon the approach of summer again.

So, it may be cold now and it may get dark at 4:30 (!) but I'm looking forward to the holidays at home with my family. The warmth and love of my family is enough to keep me warm. And without the cold and dark of winter, the new life and beauty of spring wouldn't be right around the corner.

I'm in love...

...with Google Reader!! *hahaha* I don't know why I waited so long to set it up, but the last 2 weeks have been heaven for me!! Long gone are the gazillion bookmarks!! It is soooo much easier to keep up with my ever growing list of favorite blogs now! All you do is add the urls of your favorite blogs and they show up in one list for you! It's wonderful, so go sign up now! :)

Love is love

My last post got me thinking about Proposition 8 that was just passed in California. Sometimes when I feel strongly about something, it is hard for me to find the words to really describe the passion behind what I feel. To me, love is love. Whether you are black, white, purple, man and woman, woman and woman or man and man. LOVE IS LOVE. There is separation of church and state for a reason. You have every right to believe what you believe. You do not, however, have a right to impose those beliefs on other people. Keith Olbermann has expressed what I am feeling so eloquently that I couldn't resist sharing:

Marriage

Marriage is not easy. Right after we got married, everyone always asked me if it was any different being married. We had lived together for a few years before we got married and had been together 6 1/2 years, so it was pretty much the same. My robotic reply became, "It's just a piece of paper that came with a big party!" There is a lot of truth to that. Our day to day life remained the same. We knew each others' habits and already had joint finances. However, it's not entirely true.

With that piece of paper comes a lot of responsibility to each other. It is not that we didn't feel we had that responsibility to each other before, but that little piece of paper does mean something. We made a commitment in front of all of our family and friends, and in front of God. This marriage is not something I entered into lightly. My hubby knows that (as I often tell him) "he's stuck with me!" As I sit here typing, I find it hard to come up with the words that accurately describe this shift in our relationship after the wedding. Despite that, it is clear in my mind that there was one. It's a sense of seriousness, or a maturity I guess. We are bound together now: legally bound, and bound in our love for each other. I feel a responsibility to be the best "me" not only for myself anymore, but for him as well.

A marriage takes constant work, no matter how much you love each other. You have to work to keep that *spark* alive. Not just because you're worried it will fade away, but because your spouse deserves to have the best of you and vice versa. It is too easy to fall into routines and become complacent.

You have to work at communicating too. We are all different and communicate in different ways. My hubby and I are complete opposites in just about every way. I love to talk about everything and he'd just assume let things blow over and forget about it. So, it takes effort from both of us. Sometimes I have to accept that he doesn't want to talk and talking would just make the situation worse for him, and sometimes he has to talk when he'd rather not because that's what I need. It's all a balancing act.

Finances are also a common problem couples face. Again, my hubby and I are complete opposites. I'm a saver. I like to save as many pennies as possible because you never know when you might need it. When I buy things, I feel guilty. Yes, I know I shouldn't feel guilty buying things for myself once in awhile, but it is just how I am. The things I want are BIG, like a house and a retirement fund and security, so saving helps me get closer to those things. I also pay all the bills and handle all the finances, so I see the numbers every day. My hubby on the other is a spender. Don't get me wrong, he works VERY hard and deserves to buy things for himself. But he does not see the numbers every day and he doesn't think about the big things like I do. The things he wants, he wants them now! I would say that finances are the source of the majority of our arguments. This won't ever change because this is how we are, but we have learned to compromise. He has learned at times to back off the spending to allow me to save towards the things I want, and I have tried to accept that it is ok if he buys things for himself. We deserve to be happy now too, not just in the future.

I could go on and on about our differences and the work it takes every single day. This sounds like such a drag, doesn't it?! Definitely doesn't sound like the fairy tale every little girl dreams of. But it's not a drag at all! So it takes some work, so what?? Every second is worth it. It is my fairy tale. This man loves me with every ounce of his being. I see it in his eyes when he smiles at me. I feel it when he holds me tight and dances with me in the kitchen. I don't love him in spite of our differences, I love him because he is so different than me. I love that he balances my extremes and vice versa. I love that he loves me exactly the way I am. Other people may think I'm crazy. I'm very particular, some may even say anal, some say I nag. He loves me. Every marriage is sacred. No one knows how you interact and how the dynamic works between the two of you but you two. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. Our love goes beyond all these things. So it takes a little work. It's not easy, but it's more than worth it. Marriage isn't just about the wedding. Too many people think that. They think it should be that stereotypical fairy tale, the big fancy wedding and happily ever after. It's not. Nothing worthwhile comes easy. It takes work. When you figure that out and throw the fairy tale out the window, it isn't a chore to do that work. It is what marriage is. Plain and simple. You do what you have to to make that person you love so much happy. And you build your own, real life, happily ever after...

I'm so tired...

Going to work just sucks the life out of me lately. I don't feel productive. I don't feel creative. I don't feel intelligent. I know I am all of these things, but by the time I get home, I don't have the energy to believe that I am. It is such a condescending environment. For over a year, I have been put down. I have fought to prove that I am intelligent, that I have great ideas and that I'm a hard worker. Everyone around me sees it except the one person that should acknowledge it. It doesn't do any good. And now I'm tired, exhausted really. I have 5 weeks left and nothing left to give. I can't wait to escape and get myself back, to believe these things about myself again. I can't wait to have any energy back and the desire to do anything but crash on the couch.

A silver lining

I have been trying very hard to stay positive about our employment/finance issues. Some days are definitely easier than others, but I find that the more positive I am, the better I tend to feel about the situation. I also find that even if I have to fake a positive attitude, it eventually helps if I keep it up for long enough.

Last night, I was doing the dishes and thinking about the list of about a gazillion things I need to do. That got me thinking about chores and how the apartment needs to be cleaned, and the chores I HATE to do. I don't mind doing dishes, and I don't mind doing laundry, but I detest ironing. *ugh* Just the thought of ironing makes me exhausted with boredom.


Then I started thinking that since my hubby got laid off early, I haven't had to iron! I usually only have to iron his work clothes and since he's not working, there's no ironing! It instantly made me smile :) And golf season doesn't start back up until almost April, so I won't have to do any regular ironing until then! woooohoooo!

I made lemonade out of lemons and didn't even have to fake it ;)

Do you hate ironing as much as I do? If not, what's your least favorite chore?

As a side note, little miss spy once told me that she loves ironing, it's relaxing for her and that she does it while watching tv. As a result, I tried ironing while watching tv and ended up swiping the edge of the iron right on my stomach, which led to a huge blister and now a nice scar! *hahaha* Where do you do your ironing and do you have any tips on how to make it less torturous for me?

Oh, baby!

I've been thinking a lot about babies since I've been knitting this blanket for my soon-to-be niece. My hubby and I don't have any children yet, so I don't really know what that relationship is like as a parent. But thinking about it made me think of this photo I took of my cousin and her daughter in February, when she was only about a month and a half old.

This is one of my favorite photos that I have ever taken, not because of the quality, or the lighting or anything technical like that, but because of the emotions that filled that room when I snapped it. You could tell that my cousin was so completely IN LOVE with her daughter. It was a very sweet moment.

With a bunch of the people I love starting to have babies, I get excited watching them with their little ones, wondering what it will actually feel like when I get to experience it for myself. It seems like it must be such an amazing feeling that it's almost surreal at first.

But until we're ready, I'm enjoying getting my fill of babies and observing them with their parents, and being able to hand them back to their mom or dad whenever I want!

Recycling just got easier!

I have to admit, when I have to separate everything out, I am a horrible recycler. In fact, to be honest, I don't do it at all. I don't have room in my kitchen for all the different containers to separate it all out and I don't have the time or patience for it. The only things I put aside are the bottles I've paid deposit on. I'm horribly un-green, I know.

But recently the recycling system in my town changed. They mailed us this nifty little pamphlet that tells you exactly what you can and cannot recycle. And even better, there is no separating involved! You can throw it all in together, it's GREAT! So, now I have 1 container in my kitchen, and I tacked the pamphlet up above it. We have become recycling fools!

I certainly wouldn't want the job of the person who has to sort through it all, but it has definitely gotten us to participate.

Knitting

I love to knit. The repetition is soothing. It keeps me busy but I can relax at the same time. Best of all, you can physically see your progress and when you're done there is a finished product to show for all your time and effort.

Knitting also produces great gifts. My sister-in-law is expecting a little girl at the end of January, so I'm currently knitting a baby blanket in pink and purple. (I'm so excited to be an aunt for the first time!) I've been wanting to start this since I found out she was having a girl, but with everything I'm working on for my sister's wedding, I just started last week. Here's my progress so far:

With her baby shower coming up on the 22nd, I have quite a bit to go!! I'm not sure I'll finish on time, so I'm knitting every night like a maniac to try to get it done. I'm hoping I'll finish it for the shower, but if not, I think I'll just take a picture of it for the shower and tell her I'll mail it to her when I'm done!

The Little Things

There is a quote by Samuel Johnson that I just love!

It is by studying little things that we attain the
great art of having as little misery, and as
much happiness as possible.

I'm not very good at this by nature. I am very much a creature of habit. It is very easy for me to get stuck in routines and never waiver from them. I always drive to the supermarket the same way. I have to do the dishes and get my clothes and lunch ready for the next day before I can sit down to relax each evening. If you're familiar with Meyers-Briggs personality types, I am an ISFJ.

I tend to focus on the task at hand, and not the details and little things around me. Everyday, I get off the red line and walk to the office building I work in. I tend to focus on walking and getting to the building quickly.

One day, a few months ago, I got to work and little miss spy said something about a structure that was going up across the street. I had no idea what she was talking about so the next time I went outside, I made it a point to look. This is what I saw:

I walk by this EVERY SINGLE DAY and NEVER noticed it!! *hahahaha*

Since then I have been trying to be conscious of the things around me, little and big. We only have one life and I was going through mine just trying to make a living instead of LIVING MY LIFE! I should know better. Unfortunately, I have been shown too many times in my 25 years so far, that life is short and every moment is precious.

There are so many beautiful things around us, so much to be grateful for, and so many things to make us smile. So as much as my routines make me comfortable, I have been trying to step out of my comfort zone. I try to look around and be grateful for my life and every breath I take. It's amazing the things you notice around you when you take the time to look. And it's amazing how much happier it makes you.

Boston

This past Saturday, my mom, sister, hubby and I went into Boston for the day. We went to the New England Aquarium, Faneuil Hall Market Place, the farmer's market and out to an AMAZING late lunch at Maggiano's.

It was a gorgeous day to walk around and we had a lot of fun. My favorite part of the day was, of course, the aquarium! My hubby had never been there before and I knew he would love it, so it was a lot of fun watching him experience it for the first time too!

I took some pictures, of course! Enjoy :)

This little guy (above) is my favorite! He looks like he's whistling!