Thankful

I am always thankful for my husband and the relationship we have.  He makes me feel loved and appreciated, and I do my best to make him feel the same.  Sometimes I fall short, and then I get a reminder about how lucky I am and I can't help but want to smoother him with my joy and relief that we have what we have together.

Today is one of those days.  Everything about being an adult is hard.  I'm not saying I want to be a kid again, because that had a whole other set of problems I don't miss.  And to be honest, I really like wine and booze.  David makes the best drinks, he's been making us some really lovely cucumber gimlets-to die for.  I digress.  Being an adult is hard.  Sharing every aspect of your life with another person can be hard.  But if you find the right person, it's not as hard, and it's worth the work.  Yes, there is work involved.  No one has the perfect relationship; no one is perfect.  I think it comes down to talking, listening, and not keeping secrets.  I know I can tell David anything, and I mean anything.  And he knows he can do the same.  We don't lie to each other and we don't keep secrets.

I'm not perfect, I freak out sometimes about really dumb stuff.  I get mad at irrational things.  Just because I get a little insane, irrational, and mad doesn't mean I ever stop loving David.  We are different people, we react to things differently.  It's the respect, and the love we have for one another that is our foundation.  We know how to talk through things.  We know how to give each other space and then listen when we come back together and work things out.  I should apologize more.  I should listen better.  I'm not perfect but I know David loves me and will be there for me.

I am so thankful for this relationship.  I know we can get through anything because we have each other.  Thank you David for being my partner in all things.  I'll stop there before I get too mushy.

Currently

I've been wanting to blog, but have been having trouble finding something I can really sit and write about.  I'm still here.  I'm just tired.  It's a crazy time of year in my family.  August and September are two big birthday months, and it just seems like everything is going to happen all at the same time.  Since I'm brain dead I thought I'd do a currently post.  Without further ado...

Doing:  Watching some recorded tv, sipping wine, looking at converse and giggling with my husband about how many pairs of converse we actually need.  (The answer is there there is no set number, we need all the shoes)

Thinking about:  The crazy months ahead.  This month is fully of birthdays, as is next month.  We have gifts bought, and plans made, but there is still this crazy feeling.  It's not a bad thing, being busy helps make the hot time of year go by a little bit faster.

Watching:  One of our favorite summer time programs is So You Think You Can Dance-it it is on its 11th season right now and just as exciting as the first!  We've also been watching some Master Chef, and The Strain.  In between all of that we have been marathoning CSI: Miami.  I had no idea there were 10 seasons of that show.  We are in season 4 now.

Looking forward to:  Wednesday and Sunday.  We get to see my sister and the kids tomorrow!  We also get to give our nephew his birthday gift-I hope he is as excited as we are!  Then Sunday we get to see them again for our niece's birthday!  They are such amazing kids.  Sweet and shy, and I love them to pieces!

Reading:  I just finished re-reading the Cousin's War and the Tudor Series by Philippa Gregory.  I'm currently re-reading the Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris.  Once I get all that out of my system I have some new books to read that I'm looking forward to, like the new Harry Dresden book, Skin Games.

Loving:  My husband, of course.  But also some wine, from Revelry.  We've had the Merlot (yes, I like fucking Merlot-and anyone who has watched Sideways will get that), and the Cabernet Sauvignon and have enjoyed both very much.

I think that's about it for now.  I hope everyone else is doing well and enjoying what is left of the summer!

Puppy and her Toy

I haven't posted any cat pictures for awhile.  I guess I haven't really been taking as many pictures, or I'm just lazy.  What ever the case, these pictures were too cute not to share!

When my friend from Georgia visited, she brought Puppy some presents.  One of them was a catnip cigar.  This is Puppy enjoying her cigar!

Checking it out...seeing if it's worth her notice.

Definitely interested.

Clearly it belongs to her-and if we try to take it we will come away with a bloody stump!

She actually really likes it.  Unfortunately, catnip makes Puppy mean.  She doesn't get it very often, but when she does she's really cute with it.  We just have to wait for her to be completely done with it.  Then she removes herself from the toy and we are able to put it away without incident.  Whatever her mood, she's always entertaining and we are crazy about her.  I am a crazy cat lady.

My Thoughts on Marriage, And Why Ours Is Awesome!

I love my husband, and I love the relationship we have.  It is not always perfect, but it is real and most importantly it is ours.  I've had friends tell me our cuteness makes then want to vomit.  Yes.  We are a couple that is that sweet to one another.  No, it is not a show we put on for others-that is just how we are together.  No, we will not stop.  I've had people jokingly tell me I should write about our secret to success.  There is no secret, we are just crazy about one another!  Okay, so maybe there is more than just that.

Relationships are not easy.  We have put a lot of work into what we have today.  I'm not saying it has been hard, it is easy for me to love my husband.  What I'm saying is it has not always been easy.  You can't just expect everything to be perfect all the time.  People have moods, interpret things differently, and do not always communicate well.  I'm not always the most open person, for example, if I get too overwhelmed I shut down.  Despite any obstacles we have encountered we have worked through them together.  We are both fully invested in us and making our marriage work.  Every day it pays off.  I have complete trust in my husband, and I know no matter what he is going to be there for me.  Here are what I think are our keys to success:

Strong Foundation (Trust, Respect)
David and I were friends for over a year before we actually ever met face to face.  It was the kind of friendship where we weren't trying to impress one another, and I feel like we were pretty open and honest with each other from the start.  We knew each other's backgrounds, interests etc.  When we actually met, things proceeded pretty fast.  We were engaged and lived (yes, in sin) together for a year before the wedding.  During this time, all kinds of crazy stuff happened.  I had some family drama going on, we drove (and he moved) from the east coast to the west coast, we house sat in California, we moved to Oregon, I graduated from college, David changed jobs, our nephew was born, we got married, and bought a house (we were waiting to hear we got the house during our honeymoon).  That was just in our first year together.  It was a lot of change for both of us and I think he handled it better than I did, but he was always there for me when I needed him.

Along with sticking through tough things together we make sure we are honest with one another.  From the start, David's one main request was that I be truthful with him even if I didn't think he'd want to hear it.  We don't lie to one another, or keep things (except the occasional fun surprise) from one another.  Knowing that, trust and respect just sort of fall into place and we have this really solid foundation for our relationship.

Relationship Rules (No Bites)
This was another thing we established pretty early on.  Along with the not lying, we also agreed not to call each other names, or be physically violent with one another.  When we have the occasional fall out/argument we refrain from name calling, or any kind of hitting/swatting/angry touching.  I will admit, I can shriek like a howler monkey and sob like a crazy lady, but I don't call my husband names-we stick to those rules.  At the end of a fight, the only regrets we have is that the other was hurt/misunderstood and things escalated.  No hurtful things are said that can't be taken back.

It may seem silly, but it is really important not to hold grudges or let things add up against one another.  I'm not saying we don't get mad at one another, we just don't hold on to things to use against each other later.  We work it out and then let it go.  There is no upper hand in our marriage.  We also don't play the "you got that so I get this" game.  We make sure we have everything we need, and things we want.  It's never a competition.

Talk to Each Other, Be Interested In Each Other (Be a Package Deal)
Seems easy enough, right?  When I say talk to each other I mean talking about EVERYTHING.  We talk about our work day, we talk about silly stuff we saw on the internet, we talk about things we are working/want to be working on.  We giggle together, and are silly together, and drink wine while looking at the ocean together.  We talk, even if it's just for a minute, at lunch time just to say hi.  We text if it is a rough day and need a friendly word.  When he is out of town for work I send him silly pictures, he sends some back.  We are never out of touch, we just are not together as much as we would like to be.  We do not take separate vacations.  We are a package deal.

We take interest in what the other is interested in even if it is not something we are into.  David has gone sewing/stamping shopping with me more times than I can count, and I go wood/workshop shopping with him any time he needs supplies.  If it is important to him, it is important to me.  He does the same thing.

Don't Give Up
When things get tough don't just give up.  You relationship is something you have to nurture-both of you.  If you just give up or ignore things you don't want to deal with they don't go away.  You have to learn to work through disagreements and hard topics like expenses and what to do for date night or you are always going to struggle and the same issues will keep cropping up.  How else will you learn how to be there for one another during the hard times?  If you do not feel comfortable talking about everything with your spouse, how will you survive the things that are really hard to talk about like loss of a job, or a family member?  Those are times when you need someone to hold you and tell you it will get better.  I know without a doubt I have that with David.

How I Look at Marriage
I married David because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.  I want to do everything with him by my side, and I want to be by his.  Our marriage is a partnership, where we are both equal contributors to the partnership.  Sure, we have our ups and downs, and misunderstandings and disagreements.  But ultimately we love and respect one another.  David is without a doubt my best friend, and I consider myself to be one very lucky lady to have him as my husband.

A Girl and Her (Writing) Goals

My personal New Year's resolution this year (other than continue operation get healthy with David) was to quit lamenting and whining about wanting to write and just do it.  For me this means overcoming my hang-ups and insecurities and unlocking my mental block.  What kind of hangups am I dealing with?  Since I'm feeling less than creative (the sci-fi monsters and mythical creatures allude me), the things I have to draw from to write about are all from my life.  Seems easy enough, right?  Wrong.  I get so hung up in having to have things factually accurate, or that something I write is going to hurt someone's feelings.  So instead of writing, even just for my self, I haven't been.

Love to our Feathered Friends

We have so many lovely little feathered friends...we've been enjoying feeding them over the last year. We have all kinds of parakeet/finches, starlings, chickadees, a coopers hawk, humming birds and crows that visit us.  We've added more suet cages and humming bird feeders, and I don't think we are close to done.  The newest thing we've been doing is feeding our crows peanuts (and yes, I do kind of feel like they are our crows-mostly David's-because they watch for us (him)).  The crows are L-O-V-I-N-G the peanuts.  I snapped some pictures of a couple in a tree in our yard, watching David toss out peanuts for them.  Just had to share!

(This one is my favorite, and if I didn't already have a tattoo on my back I'd have something like this on my whole back)

13 Years Ago My Life Began...

13 years ago today I married my best friend.  Best friend, soul mate, kindred spirit... all of those are appropriate, but don't even begin to encompass how I feel about David.  Yeah, this post might get all sappy.  Still being madly in love with the man I married 13 years ago entitles me to make sappy posts.  (sorry sweetie) 

I am indeed barefoot, dragging my dress through the sand and surf.

It was a really lovely day.  It started out overcast-which was fine.  But then after the ceremony, we had perfect pictures on the beach weather.  So much of the day is a blur.  I remember getting ready, I remember regretting some of the choices I had made regarding some of the people present for said getting ready, but even then said people didn't ruin my day.  Once that dress was on, and I was permitted to scuttle (really, it's hard to do anything but scuttle when you are hurrying in a really heavy dress) into the church so David and I could see each other and do pictures before the ceremony.  I remember David seeing me in my big poofy dress for the first time.  I remember standing in the same place for a really long time as people are paraded around me and my huge dress for an assortment of pictures (which I treasure now-even if my smile is tired in a a few of them). 

Aren't we cute?

I remember it being time to walk down the isle, and I remember looking at David through all the talking during the ceremony.  I remember the friends and family that came, because there had been so much other stuff going on (another wedding, a birth, a death) that I was surprised anyone came at all.  But through all of that, and some of the sadness that loomed, my David was ever steady.  

Yes, those are stained glass birds attacking us, but we don't care!

A pretty amazing day has turned into a pretty amazing 13 years.  We have been through a lot, and have weathered it all.  I can't imagine life without him.  Thank you, David, for putting up with all of me.  I'm not the easiest person to live with sometimes.  I really do fall in love with you all over again every day!  Bring on the next 13 (and more) years!

Off we go!

Hard to be Back

Jeep at Pilot Butte

I had the best intentions of trying to blog while we were in Bend, but it was just so lovely there...and I didn't even have the slightest itch to pull out my laptop.  So I didn't.  We had a lovely time, and did take some pictures.  I'll try to work on getting some of those up in the next few days.  I think right now I'm just missing it too much.  Did I mention we had a really lovely time?

It's Been a Year Since This Happened....

My nose piercing!

I get excited about really silly things, I'm easily amused.  I can't believe a whole year has gone by since this event occurred!  I still love it.  Thank you to my husband who puts up with my weird needs, and thank you to the Crimson Cohort for accompanying me on the adventure last year.  

New Addition!

Well, it was really a new addition last month...now it is an official part of the family!  Meet Jeep:

Pretty sexy huh?

David has wanted a Jeep for, well, a really long time.  It was nice to be able to get him into is dream vehicle, especially since thanks to him I've been driving mine for almost 2 years now.  The sad side to this whole deal was we said good by to Truck.  Truck has gone many places with us and there are many fond, and traumatic (what happened on that crazy drive to Nebraska with the worst storm EVER stays with Truck) memories associated with our time together (and to be clear most of the memories are fond).  Truck:

Gone, but not forgotten.  Thanks for all the great memories! 

Now we get to make new fun memories and go on fun adventures with Jeep.  I'm looking forward to many adventures!

Updates to Goals Post

I thought I should post and update to my previous post, Goals.  It's been a few weeks and David and I have been hard at work making changes.  We have been walking every day (except for currently because we are sick and I don't want to leave a snot trail around the neighborhood) and eating better.  It's when I look back that I can see that some good things are happening.

We are both dropping some weight.  I can see things fitting David more loosely (whether he believes me or not).  I know I'm fitting into some stuff that I couldn't wear back when I made the Goals post.  I'm sleeping a little better (when I'm not sick that is).  And now that I have changed my walking shoes I think my back is going to start feeling better as well.  The best thing is having a little more energy (again, when I'm not sick).  I feel more inclined to do things like go to the store with David after work, and make salad fixings for the next day the night before.  I'm not as content being lazy on the couch staring at the TV.  This is a big deal!  Granted it's not getting my cross stitching done, but I feel like I'm getting more things done that I need to be getting done and it makes me feel more accomplished.  

Right now my main goal is to get rid of this cold.  I like the positive changes that have been taking place so I want to get back to work.  Eating right isn't enough for me, I need to be walking.  It's taken me a long time, but I finally understand that.  There has to be that balance between eating enough, but not too much, and being active enough to burn the calories.  There has to be that balance.  I'm down with the diet changes we have made.  Sure, there are things I miss.  But it's just food.  And just because I'm staying away from it now, doesn't mean I can't have some (moderation) down the road.  Right now I'm so motivated to meet my goals that I really do think about things more, like yeah I might really want that frappachino, but I'd really like to get some of the fat clothes out of my closet more.  

So, despite being sick and still having a lot to figure out, I think David and I are doing great!  I'm really proud of all the changes he has made, and how he is taking his own health into his hands.  He is setting an excellent example for me and makes it easier for me to do the same, which I hope in turn helps him keep up his good work.  I should have taken some before pictures, so I could post random progress.  I'll just have to settle for us being more willing to be in pictures and I'll share those. :)

~Emily

Progress!

We took last Thursday and Friday off to make a long weekend, and we spent said long weekend doing something insane.  We purged.

Now don't let your mind go to some dark place where you see us vomiting, or going to a really dark place and doing some sort of cleanse you don't talk about in polite company.  We rented a trash bin and we cleared out the last 10 years-worth of stuff we had been holding on to but were not using.

I'm not going to deny it, I have pack-rat tendencies (I even named the trash bin, Bluey).  I come by it naturally; I think my father's side of the family tend to hold on to things.  So between just holding on to things, and then just having the things you just never got around to tossing (broken chairs, you get the idea) we had some stuff to get rid of.  We've been talking about doing this for awhile so when we finally committed to doing it we came up with our game plan for what absolutely needed to go in that bin first and worked from there.  I'm proud to say thanks to David's hoisting and our ability to work together we got all the stuff out of the house we wanted to get rid of.  There are, or course, still things to toss but now it's more of an as we are reorganizing rooms we toss things.  Very manageable, and very therapeutic to de-clutter.

I think it's really part of the new leaf we are turning over.  You saw my list of goals, where I am listing little things to keep me motivated to get healthy and take better care of myself.  It seems the desire to get healthy and make changes includes the house.  It make sense.  If I'm trying to make smarter, healthier choices for myself I would want to surround myself with smarter, healthier things to make my (our) goals easier.  

It feels good.  It feels right.  I'm tired of feeling squishy and frumpy.  This weekend and our success in operation de-clutter encourage me to continue doing what I need to do.  Now, I'm looking forward to going through each room and making it more like the people we are now rather than the people we were 10 years ago.  

Friday, YAY!

I am sitting here on my nice cozy couch with my warm lap top on my lap.  I just consumed a cup of earl gray (or is it grey?) tea and some shortbread.  Men in Black is on and David is all cute and snoozey on his couch.  All those lovely things mean today is Friday.  I'm looking forward to a weekend of hopefully getting some projects finished around the house that I have been wanting to do for a while and watching movies.  I don't want to use my brain if I don't have to.  Happy weekend to the two people who actually read this blog!  :)

~Emily

Daily Squee

When I'm feeling down, and I'm in need of one of those "awwww" moments, this is the website I go to (when I remember):  Daily Squee

This site is full of animal cute.  Check it out.  Go! ;)

~Emily

Accomplished

After a bit of a snarky morning (I can be quite the cranky pants in the morning) much was accomplished today.  Sorry for being snarky sweetie. :(

We got up and walked.  It is amazing the amount of poop we encounter on our walks.  This morning was not as bad as previous excursions.  Our neighborhood association is really strict about some things (like where we can keep our garbage cans) but others they don't seem to care about.  It seems like feces strewn about where children play would be something they would discourage.  It's like they think "We don't want to see where you put your trash, keep the garbage bins out of view.  But please, by all means, share your pet poo with everyone!"  

We had a little yard work we wanted to get done today.  There was a shrub that needed to come out in our front yard.  I had hacked off what branches I could, and this morning it was time to tear the rest of it out.  I still have some things I want to do in the back yard, like tear out some lawn and put in a garden.  There is always tomorrow.   Ha ha!

Today was also the day I entered the world of  Hulu.  Hulu seems pretty cool.   It was nice to watch some shows I had been interested in.  The only thing I didn't like, was I was not able to get all the episodes.  Instead of being able to watch season 1 episode 1 I had to start on season 1 episode 4.  I was able to catch on quick, so it wasn't an issue after I watched my first episode.  I look forward to catching more things on Hulu.

And as if today wasn't full enough of fun, David took me to a driving range so I could try out my birthday present!  I was actually able to hit the ball, and I think I was hitting it better than when I was on my high school golf team.  That's actually kind of sad... but anyway, it was nice to have the club in my hand and balls to swing at.  I'm looking forward to spending some more time hitting balls and then actually playing a round of golf.  

So, despite my cranky morning, it was a wonderful Friday! :)

~Emily

Fun Weekend

I am fighting a headache this morning, and a good way to do so seemed like blogging.  Let us see if that does the trick.

Saturday night we had dinner with Michael and Pamela's house.  Ben and Sara were part of the merry party.  This was our first time at their house, and they have a very warm and cozy place.  We met the Sam, the bunny.  He is the softest, cutest bunny I have ever seen!  Dinner was wonderful, as was the strawberry shortcake after.  After dinner we played Catchphrase.  I felt bad because Pamela asked us all if we wanted to play a game, and I think the room went completely quiet.  I don't know what my adversio to games is, I guess I hate being the center of attention at any point for any reason.  I don't think I'm worried about making a fool of myself, I'm pretty good at doing that without the help of a game.  At any rate, we were talked into Catchphrase, and I have to say I'm so glad we did!  For those of you who don't know what Catchphrase is, it is a game where have a phrase you need to get your team to guess, but you can't use any of the words etc.  So we split into two teams (boys vs. girls) and started passing the beeping electronic phrase giver.  That timer ticks fast, and some of the phrases were pretty hard to figure out.  Some of them ended up being pretty hilarious!  There was "Trigger Happy," "Fish or Cut Bait," and "Pull My Finger."  I can't even begin to describe how those were depicted, but you'll have to take my word for it that we were laughing so hard there were tears involved.  David and I had a blast, and are looking forward to the next dinner date!

~Emily

Hancock Makes Me Happy

I know this movie did not get the best reviews, but I really enjoyed it.  There was a story.  There was action.  And, it looks beautiful in HD on our tv.  BEAUTIFUL. :)

~Emily

Monster Cookies on the Horizon!

Assuming I have not scared my sister away with the warning that I am currently a snot monkey. Thankfully, I am over the hump of evil and just dealing with the remains of the end of the vile snot. Can you tell how thrilled I am about being sick?

So it's my lunch break and I'm blogging from work. Usually I don't like to visit personal sites from work, but today I'm making the exception. I even Facebooked a few minutes ago. I am a rebel. Life has been good. I can't complain. I've been busy with work, and fighting off the mutant cold. David and I have been slowly (and sometimes with much frustration) getting back into raiding with our Horde guild on WoW. We did our first serious 10 man last weekend and it was quite the success! I've been playing around with our music collection, and making new and beautiful playlists for my iPhone. I've also been given some great music recommendations from friends on Facebook-I need more, I'm greedy for new music!

David and I are still on our road to a healthier us. We were talking about it (as we often do), and I didn't remember we had started this trip last July. Here is it is almost mid March! I'm very proud of the changes we have made so far. I know we both still have a lot of work to do to meet our personal goals, but we knew that was not going to be easy. For me, I can see big differences in David, and I'm so proud of him! I don't see my changes as well, but I can feel them. I'm finding I want to dress better, and present myself better. I think it's all positive! I know we are both looking forward to the better weather so we can start walking together every morning!

I guess that's about it for now. I'm sure I'll have a lame weather update or something equally boring later :)

~Emily

ha ha!

So in my post from last night I complained about the weather, and now as I look out the window it is a beautiful day!  I have no doubt the cold/wet is coming back, I think I still heard the words  "snow level dropping," but at least we have a day to remind us of what is to come if we survive the wonky weather.

The cat is sitting by my feet looking up at me.  Who knows what she wants.  My guess, my lap.  For two seconds.  *sigh*  Cats are so strange!

~Emily (who is going to do her best to please the demanding cat)

Computer Love *dreamy sigh*

I just have to say I love my Mac.  I love that I can plug things into it, and they just work.  I love that I can take it places with me, and it just works.  I love that I can sit here and play with my blog, while I add my favorite cds to my iTunes collection.  Right now, "The Wall" is happily loading its way into my collection to be reunited with many of my other favorites.  I'm looking forward to making many new beautiful playlists which will keep me humming while working, or will provide me with twirling around the house music (thanks to the super sexy iPod/iPhone dock we purchased with our beyond sexy tv and sound system).  Maybe I'm just happy because the sun is out (but it's not too toasty) and it's Friday and I have a weekend with my David to look forward to. :)

~Emily