No Question

I had a spur of the moment lunch with a group of coworkers yesterday at Miss Shirley's in Baltimore. It was uhhhhh-mazing. With my wedding just a mere 4 months away, we chatted about the planning, etc. One of my coworkers offered up three pieces of advice for a 'perfect' wedding day. Marry the right man, look pretty, have someone take a picture of you looking pretty.

On my drive home from work I thought about those three simple points. While it's my goal to look pretty and have someone take a picture of me looking pretty, I can't tell you with a 100% certainty that's going to happen. I can tell you with a 100% certainty that I'm marrying the right man.

The boy and I have dated for almost half of our lives. We started going to school together in the 6th grade and by the 7th grade our names were synonymous with one another. Almost every person that finds this out questions our decision of marriage after having dated so few people. I always laugh. Our relationship has not exactly been a walk in the park. We've split up more than once, dated other people, played games with one another's feelings, hated one another, and loved one another. We started dating as kids and had to learn how to 'date' as adults. And not only did we have to learn to grow as individuals, we had to learn to grow with one another.

In 2007 when we split for what felt like the billionth time, I packed up and moved on with life. It was hard. Harder than I ever imagined, but I was managing. And one tiny event resulted in life changing decisions. I ran out of ink. That is the simplest way to say it. My printer ran out of ink. It just so happened to run out of ink the night (well at 2am) before a 30 page final paper was due. I picked up the phone and instinctively called him. Not the dude I was dating at the time, not the roommates 5 feet down the hall, but him. Without even thinking about it. When he answered the phone I was dumbstruck. I apologized for calling so late, explained that I hadn't meant to call him, that I was having an issue with my printer, and that I'd figure it out. He told me to put a coat on, he'd go with me to the 24 hour CVS to get some ink.

A dialogue continued between us for the next week or so. I knew I was wasting time with the guy I was dating, both his and mine, and broke it off . I didn't break up with dude because of the boy, I broke up with dude because I knew it wasn't going anywhere and it wasn't fair to either of us, in all honesty I had been toying with it for awhile. The boy and I developed a friendship during the coming months, a genuine friendship. If you ask him now, he claims he was "wooing" me. Everything was easy. There was no fighting, no arguing, no complaining. It was just two people hanging out having a good time. Eventually the boy got tired of the gray that was our relationship. He wanted something more. And so began the start of a new, old relationship.

Don't get me wrong, we still fight, we still argue, we still complain. But this time it's different. Maybe there's a level of respect and understanding now that wasn't there before. Maybe absence did make the heart grow fonder. Or maybe we're both in the right place for the first time. But whatever it is, there is no doubt in my mind I will grow old with him.

Snow Already

For the past month the weather forecasters have predicted various of amounts of snow and I'm convinced there is a direct correlation between the amount of snow predicted and distance away of the storm. For example, a week before the snow storm the weatherman has my house 5 feet under snow and is warning me to take stock in Wonderbread for the next 3 months. A day before the storm I'm told I'll be lucky to see a dusting in the morning. Get it right weather dude. I'm tired of being disappointed.

Not that I want a barrel of snow again this year, but I would like a day or so off, and not just to lay on the couch, unshowered, stuffing my face with junk. I'd reorganize, clean, and get things back to the way they were pre-Christmas.

Meanwhile, the new year resolutions are going well. I've not reunited with the gym yet but I haven't had a soda since January 1 and I'm doing pretty well at cutting out the junk. I've spoken with one of my brother's pretty regularly and have called the other a couple of times.

I'm hoping to be able to post pictures of this looming snow storm in the next couple of days, but I'm not holding my breath.

Resolutions Galore

2011 is going to be a pretty big year for the boy and I. We're getting married after all. But 2010 was just as big. We grew individually, we grew as a couple, and we expanded--into our very own home. I strengthened some relationships, let go of others, and made a few new friends along the way. Even though 2010 started out rough (someone did steal my wallet 3 days in) it was a good year.

My resolutions in the past have been fairly successful so this year I'm challenging myself, I've decided this year I need to tap into my spiritual side. I'm not defining spirituality, not right now anyway, so we'll see how it goes.

I have a couple other goals to achieve for 2011 like becoming friends with the gym again, at least twice a week, staying in better contact with my brothers, and the renovation of our house. All very attainable, just a little determination needed. I have a feeling 2011 is going to be just as good as 2010.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas Shenanigans

Last night as the boy and I were climbing into bed I reminded him to enjoy his slumber a little extra because the next three days are going to be insane for us. Tonight we trek two hours south to celebrate Festivus with a group of our high school friends. Tomorrow will be split amongst our two families, with multiple stops to his parents, my grandmother's, church, and finally my Mom's. I have a large extended family so my grandmother's will be packed with peeps, young and not so young. My Mom's house will be filled with tiny footsteps, it's Christmas tradition my brother and his family spend Christmas Eve at Mom's.

Christmas day we have a full line up as well. The gift giving will commence as soon as the little one's open their eyes, followed by a HUGE breakfast at the boy's aunts house (hello sausage pinwheels!!), and then dinner at the boy's parents house. The pending snow might derail our Sunday plans to spend Christmas with my Dad in Virginia but I guess we'll play that by ear Saturday night. As much as I love SoMar, I would much rather be snowed in at my own house.

The boy and I already exchanged gifts (we do Christmas early every year) and I must have been extra good this year...or maybe extra naughty...because he definitely outdid himself. He replaced my stolen Tiffany's ring and I'm the owner of a brand new Flip camera. I scored a signed Redskins helmet for him and a couple other small things.

I hope your Holiday travels are less stressful than ours!! Merry Christmas!

First Snow

Our first snow fall started this morning around 11am. We didn't get a ton but the one or two inches we did get makes the the trees look very christmasy. It also created chaos on the commute home, a 12 mile trip took almost an hour and a half. And I wasn't even in rush hour.

I'm getting a little more into the Christmas spirit. I finished up the boy's gift today and have just a few more things to pick up before I can say I'm done for this year. My Christmas work party is tomorrow and I still have to pick up a gift for the chinese gift exchange. Looks like I'm going out on my lunch break tomorrow.

Saturday I'm headed to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The boy and I are going ice skating at the Mall and then to the White House (along with everyone else and their Mom) to check out the Christmas decorations. Good times.

And now to curl up on the couch with a white fluffy dog to enjoy the Big Bang Theory.

She's 1

A year ago yesterday I was pacing back in forth in a hospital room, complaining about terrible cafeteria food, and arguing with my brother about who was getting the last piece of the only edible food in the room; an orange. My sister-in-law was laying in a hospital bed scowling at us both because the only thing she was allowed to "eat" was ice chips. A couple hours later a dark haired, very tiny baby, was born. She was rushed away before we could hold her. She was born with Down's Syndrome and inherited the usual complications of a Downs baby. Tubes were hooked up and nurses and doctors swarmed her little incubator. We were allowed to touch only her hands and feet before they flew her to a hospital with a more established NICU.

A year later, we have a happy, mostly healthy, thriving baby. She laughs (especially at her Daddy), coos, can roll from front to back and back to front, loves to play with toys, and looks super cute with with her hair in a pony tail. Happy 1st Birthday Alexis! We love you more than you could possibly imagine.

A whole year old!!

7 months old

3 months old

A day or so old

Holiday Unspirited

This is our first Christmas in our new house. I envisioned lots of decorations, fresh baked cookies and a huge tree...ya know, all things that most people cringe over. The time came to christmasify our house and I was totally lackluster about it. Our tree is nice but it's not huge. It's in our basement because it doesn't fit in our living room and the boy and I bickered pretty much the whole time putting it up. We have a few decorations stuck here and there though there's no real flow to them. The boy refuses to put lights outside which is a total bummer, even though his reasoning makes sense.

It's just definitely not how I pictured our first Christmas in our house.

Oh another note, I'm hoping to escape down to Florida for a few warm days, if my budget allows, after Christmas to spend some time with a girlfriend.