Eleven months ago, at this very moment, I was sitting in a room with most of my favorite people just taking in the day. We had just finished the wedding rehearsal, and were enjoying our lunches. I wanted to go around and hug everyone, but we had a tight schedule and Melissa and I had to take off to get ready. Several hours later my whole life would change and I'd be happier than I've ever known.
In a month we'll celebrate being married a year. (Not our first anniversary though, that won't happen until 2/29/2012.) We're heading off to Gatlinburg for a week to just get away. This will be the first time ever that we've spent a week together, just the two of us. We got a cabin for half price, so got an incredible deal that worked really well with our budget. It's not a very pretty place in early March, but we're not going there to enjoy the scenery. :)
We're still having a debate about what day to celebrate on. Jason is probably correct in that we should celebrate on the 28th. However, I like to reflect what I was doing a year ago at that time, and on the 28th I went to work and left early to get manis and pedis with Melissa and then we decorated the church. (Really great memories of that day too!) The day after this was the day we got married, so in my head, we celebrate on March 1st. So for now, we're celebrating both days I guess. We're driving down to Gatlinburg on the 28th, so it doesn't really matter.
After I got my pictures last year I worried about my dress choice, about not getting more pictures with Jason, of not getting pictures with friends who helped out, etc. They were gorgeous pictures, don't get me wrong, but I wish I had made a list of what pictures I wanted. (Not Darrin's fault, all mine.) I look through the pictures and wish I had lost more weight, or that I had picked a more simple dress, or something that wasn't strapless, or that I had stood up straight more (yes Mom, I know). I think most women would relate to what I'm saying. But it's too late to have regrets about what happened on that day, and remembering those little things really takes away from the happy memories from that day.
Last night I was splitting our wedding pictures into different frames and albums since the original album I bought (from Target) was falling apart. I found myself loving all the pictures and finally being okay with all of them. We have had so many pictures since then that I'm not missing the pictures we didn't get. There will be many more opportunities for pictures with friends, and with my honey. :)
(Side note - Dad & Claire, I've finally picked out the picture I like for the 8x10, so I'll be printing that soon. For everyone else, if you want some pictures, please let me know soon and I'll put them in the order with the 8x10.)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
random thoughts...
I miss sitting out on the back patio. I miss playing in the dirt and moving plants around. I miss the sunshine and driving around with the sunroof open. I can't believe that after experiencing negative temperatures, I now feel like 28 degrees is warm.
I stress about so many things, I wonder if 10 years from now I'll look back and think how silly I was to worry about them.
One year ago I was stressing about the wedding and Jason had finally moved to Dayton. Two years ago I was stressing about being single and wondering if I should start looking outside the Dayton area.
Why is it easier for me to commit to reading through the New Testament than it is for me to commit to losing weight? Both take the same amount of time and focus... only one allows me to do it while sitting on the couch.
My friends have changed in the past year. I still have the same friends as last year, but I seem to have so many more friends this year. Most of these friends are newlyweds too. (Or soon-to-be-newlyweds.) Most seem to be struggling with finding jobs or some other financial stress like us. Most don't have kids. Most live in smaller houses or apartments. All are happy to have friends who are going through what they're going through and offer encouragement and support. We consider ourselves to be greatly blessed by their presence in our lives.
I love long weekends and I'm procrastinating so I don't have to admit this one is over. Our next long weekend is Memorial Day weekend. This seems so far away, doesn't it? We're taking an anniversary vacation, back to Gatlinburg, for a week. We got an excellent deal on a beautiful cabin, so we'll be staying the full week, instead of the 5 days we were originally planning on. I can't wait... just 6 weeks away!! :)
I stress about so many things, I wonder if 10 years from now I'll look back and think how silly I was to worry about them.
One year ago I was stressing about the wedding and Jason had finally moved to Dayton. Two years ago I was stressing about being single and wondering if I should start looking outside the Dayton area.
Why is it easier for me to commit to reading through the New Testament than it is for me to commit to losing weight? Both take the same amount of time and focus... only one allows me to do it while sitting on the couch.
My friends have changed in the past year. I still have the same friends as last year, but I seem to have so many more friends this year. Most of these friends are newlyweds too. (Or soon-to-be-newlyweds.) Most seem to be struggling with finding jobs or some other financial stress like us. Most don't have kids. Most live in smaller houses or apartments. All are happy to have friends who are going through what they're going through and offer encouragement and support. We consider ourselves to be greatly blessed by their presence in our lives.
I love long weekends and I'm procrastinating so I don't have to admit this one is over. Our next long weekend is Memorial Day weekend. This seems so far away, doesn't it? We're taking an anniversary vacation, back to Gatlinburg, for a week. We got an excellent deal on a beautiful cabin, so we'll be staying the full week, instead of the 5 days we were originally planning on. I can't wait... just 6 weeks away!! :)
Second hand smoke is back
Friday night, some girl friends and I decided to go line dancing at the Yellow Rose. Lessons started at 8pm, so we met at 7:45... and the place was closed for remodeling. (Though their website didn't say this. I wonder if they just couldn't get the place heated with the cold temps and that was their excuse?)
So we headed to my old hang-out, Julia's to get everyone together and figure out what to do next. As we sat at our table chatting, I noticed one of the people who work at Julia's light up a cigarette. I looked around and quite a few people were smoking. I asked the bar tender and she said that in order to keep up with the larger places that allowed smoking, they had to also. She named off a list of places that allowed smoking inside, most I hadn't heard of, but obviously south of town, it's not uncommon to run into smoking inside the clubs and bars.
At 10pm we decided to go to another local place for karaoke, Down the Pike. Sure enough, lots of smoking there. On the eating side there was little smoke, so we sat on that side, close enough to hear the karaoke DJ. The other side with pool tables was heavy with smoke. I had to walk through that area a couple of times - to put in my song and then to make sure I didn't miss my name being called. We had a great time there and the munchies we ordered were very good. However, we walked out stinking horribly of cigarette smoke. I probably won't go there again for karaoke. The place was packed and in the 2 hours we were there, I only got to sing once.
When I got home, Jason said he could smell me across the room. He was surprised to hear that so many places south of town allowed smoking. I woke up the next morning with a scratchy voice. Now, you may think that it's from singing or having to talk loudly over the music. However, the week before we went to our favorite (non-smoking) tavern and I sang 6 or 7 songs, and also had to talk over the noise. I didn't have the sore throat or scratchy voice the next morning. I also had sinus issues all day Saturday. My body just doesn't do well around cigarette smoke. (Does anyone's?)
The problem is that there is little enforcement so the bars aren't worried about allowing smoking inside. Also, I'd definitely turn in the 2nd place we went to, but not the first place - I have friends who work there and don't want to risk them having to close. So maybe that's another problem, no one is turning in the locations that allow smoking. (What do you think, should I turn in both places and not just the one?)
Bottom line is that the law is the law. It hasn't been changed; smoking is still banned inside businesses for the state of Ohio. I'll continue to hang out at our favorite places that don't allow smoking. The little tavern around the corner from our house, Red Carpet Tavern, is still our first choice and I appreciate it even more now that I know that they could allow smoking, but they don't. And their food is pretty good. :)
So we headed to my old hang-out, Julia's to get everyone together and figure out what to do next. As we sat at our table chatting, I noticed one of the people who work at Julia's light up a cigarette. I looked around and quite a few people were smoking. I asked the bar tender and she said that in order to keep up with the larger places that allowed smoking, they had to also. She named off a list of places that allowed smoking inside, most I hadn't heard of, but obviously south of town, it's not uncommon to run into smoking inside the clubs and bars.
At 10pm we decided to go to another local place for karaoke, Down the Pike. Sure enough, lots of smoking there. On the eating side there was little smoke, so we sat on that side, close enough to hear the karaoke DJ. The other side with pool tables was heavy with smoke. I had to walk through that area a couple of times - to put in my song and then to make sure I didn't miss my name being called. We had a great time there and the munchies we ordered were very good. However, we walked out stinking horribly of cigarette smoke. I probably won't go there again for karaoke. The place was packed and in the 2 hours we were there, I only got to sing once.
When I got home, Jason said he could smell me across the room. He was surprised to hear that so many places south of town allowed smoking. I woke up the next morning with a scratchy voice. Now, you may think that it's from singing or having to talk loudly over the music. However, the week before we went to our favorite (non-smoking) tavern and I sang 6 or 7 songs, and also had to talk over the noise. I didn't have the sore throat or scratchy voice the next morning. I also had sinus issues all day Saturday. My body just doesn't do well around cigarette smoke. (Does anyone's?)
The problem is that there is little enforcement so the bars aren't worried about allowing smoking inside. Also, I'd definitely turn in the 2nd place we went to, but not the first place - I have friends who work there and don't want to risk them having to close. So maybe that's another problem, no one is turning in the locations that allow smoking. (What do you think, should I turn in both places and not just the one?)
Bottom line is that the law is the law. It hasn't been changed; smoking is still banned inside businesses for the state of Ohio. I'll continue to hang out at our favorite places that don't allow smoking. The little tavern around the corner from our house, Red Carpet Tavern, is still our first choice and I appreciate it even more now that I know that they could allow smoking, but they don't. And their food is pretty good. :)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The year in review...
I like to take time and recap the year - and what a year it has been!!
January - Jason moved to Dayton (moved in with a friend of ours) and his two year-old cats moved in with me. He started his first job in Dayton, which required him to work 2nd and 3rd shifts. We also started attending the Dayton campus on North Main. (We haven't been at a full service at the Beavercreek campus since.) Of course there was the wedding planning. I had my personal shower (shopping at the Dayton mall) and bachelorette party (karaoke), which was more fun than I could ever imagine!
February - Jason and I had a wedding shower at his church back in Olive Hill, KY and then one with work friends. The following weekend Jason had his bachelor party at Dave & Busters. (Where the imfamous "Hairy Parrot" drink was created.) While preparing for the wedding at the end of the month, I had crazy stuff going on at work. We were getting ready to launch our new software and I was catching a lot of grief from those who didn't want to change software. Like I needed more stress. The last day of the month was the best... our wedding day. :)
March - We headed on our honeymoon to Gatlinburg, TN. Of course it wasn't the most beautiful time to go, but we loved our little cabin with a hot tub and fireplace. It was a short (4 day) honeymoon, but it was great to destress for awhile. Then back to reality and jobs in transition. We spent Easter in Kentucky with Jason's family.
April - I went on a women's retreat with our church and met some great ladies that I've gotten to be great friends with. We also attended a totally gnarly 80's party hosted by friends from church. Jason quit his job (gave 2 weeks notice) and within a week he had a new job. This was such a leap of faith (we both agreed he needed to get out of there) and an answer to prayer with getting his new job - a M-F, 8-4:30 job. My job got a lot more stressful with the official launch of our new software. I loved the new software and the procedure changes, while most everyone else resisted it and fought with me every step of the way.
May - We finally got settled into a regular routine. Both of our jobs got a lot easier and we were gearing up for Honduras. By the middle of May we had 3/4 of the money we needed. We wandered around downtown Dayton for Urban Nights and got the city experience. (As much as Dayton can offer.) Memorial Day weekend we stayed at the cabin in Kentucky. One evening we went to a drive-in (saw the Indiana Jones movie) and I experience movie-theater seating in our car! (The rows of cars were at different levels - you can do that when you have hills in the area.)
June - We got a hot tub! Well, technically it's called a spa. We got my dad's old hot tub. It's about 17 years old, but the heater and other parts are much newer. We absolutely loved hanging out in the hot tub. No phones, no TV's, no interruptions. Just sitting and relaxing and remembering how good life is. We had some cook-outs, went to a dance recital, and Jason got on stage with Sarah Kelly! (Because he loves his wife more than any other guy that was there!)
July - Middle of summer and the best adventures so far! We went camping (in the rain) for the 4th of July weekend. Our first of several camping trips. We also went to see Jimmy Buffet a few days before my birthday. I am now a parrothead like my husband. :) We also attended the Celtic Festival in Dayton.
August - Went on a riverboat cruise with my law firm. I love riverboat rides. And a week later we were in Honduras!! Our first trip together my 3rd time going and definitely the best trip - yet. Labor day weekend we went camping with friends and this time had much better weather.
September - the first time a hurricane hit Ohio! Hurricane Ike joined with a weather system from the plains and wiped out electricity in most of the area. Like most of our neighbors, we were without power for 6 days. Thankfully we have a gas water heater and gas stove. We lost everything in the fridge, but it probably needed to be thrown out anyway. We got into a habit of popping corn (the old fashioned way), lighting candles watching movies on my laptop in bed. We've tried to continue doing this every week or two. We also discovered Friday night karaoke at the tavern around the corner from our house. (We've been back at least once a month to liven up the place.)
October - Jason got a promotion at work. I took Eme (Melissa's daughter) to see the Philhar-monster and we both had a great time! I decorated my pumpkin to look like a Cinderella pumpkin. Jason and I did the 50's thing for the church's Funfest. I did face painting for the first time and wasn't too bad, and Jason worked on the grill for several hours. And after seeing Turnadot at the Schuster, 3 of the principal opera singers joined us for karaoke.
January - Jason moved to Dayton (moved in with a friend of ours) and his two year-old cats moved in with me. He started his first job in Dayton, which required him to work 2nd and 3rd shifts. We also started attending the Dayton campus on North Main. (We haven't been at a full service at the Beavercreek campus since.) Of course there was the wedding planning. I had my personal shower (shopping at the Dayton mall) and bachelorette party (karaoke), which was more fun than I could ever imagine!
February - Jason and I had a wedding shower at his church back in Olive Hill, KY and then one with work friends. The following weekend Jason had his bachelor party at Dave & Busters. (Where the imfamous "Hairy Parrot" drink was created.) While preparing for the wedding at the end of the month, I had crazy stuff going on at work. We were getting ready to launch our new software and I was catching a lot of grief from those who didn't want to change software. Like I needed more stress. The last day of the month was the best... our wedding day. :)
March - We headed on our honeymoon to Gatlinburg, TN. Of course it wasn't the most beautiful time to go, but we loved our little cabin with a hot tub and fireplace. It was a short (4 day) honeymoon, but it was great to destress for awhile. Then back to reality and jobs in transition. We spent Easter in Kentucky with Jason's family.
April - I went on a women's retreat with our church and met some great ladies that I've gotten to be great friends with. We also attended a totally gnarly 80's party hosted by friends from church. Jason quit his job (gave 2 weeks notice) and within a week he had a new job. This was such a leap of faith (we both agreed he needed to get out of there) and an answer to prayer with getting his new job - a M-F, 8-4:30 job. My job got a lot more stressful with the official launch of our new software. I loved the new software and the procedure changes, while most everyone else resisted it and fought with me every step of the way.
May - We finally got settled into a regular routine. Both of our jobs got a lot easier and we were gearing up for Honduras. By the middle of May we had 3/4 of the money we needed. We wandered around downtown Dayton for Urban Nights and got the city experience. (As much as Dayton can offer.) Memorial Day weekend we stayed at the cabin in Kentucky. One evening we went to a drive-in (saw the Indiana Jones movie) and I experience movie-theater seating in our car! (The rows of cars were at different levels - you can do that when you have hills in the area.)
June - We got a hot tub! Well, technically it's called a spa. We got my dad's old hot tub. It's about 17 years old, but the heater and other parts are much newer. We absolutely loved hanging out in the hot tub. No phones, no TV's, no interruptions. Just sitting and relaxing and remembering how good life is. We had some cook-outs, went to a dance recital, and Jason got on stage with Sarah Kelly! (Because he loves his wife more than any other guy that was there!)
July - Middle of summer and the best adventures so far! We went camping (in the rain) for the 4th of July weekend. Our first of several camping trips. We also went to see Jimmy Buffet a few days before my birthday. I am now a parrothead like my husband. :) We also attended the Celtic Festival in Dayton.
August - Went on a riverboat cruise with my law firm. I love riverboat rides. And a week later we were in Honduras!! Our first trip together my 3rd time going and definitely the best trip - yet. Labor day weekend we went camping with friends and this time had much better weather.
September - the first time a hurricane hit Ohio! Hurricane Ike joined with a weather system from the plains and wiped out electricity in most of the area. Like most of our neighbors, we were without power for 6 days. Thankfully we have a gas water heater and gas stove. We lost everything in the fridge, but it probably needed to be thrown out anyway. We got into a habit of popping corn (the old fashioned way), lighting candles watching movies on my laptop in bed. We've tried to continue doing this every week or two. We also discovered Friday night karaoke at the tavern around the corner from our house. (We've been back at least once a month to liven up the place.)
October - Jason got a promotion at work. I took Eme (Melissa's daughter) to see the Philhar-monster and we both had a great time! I decorated my pumpkin to look like a Cinderella pumpkin. Jason and I did the 50's thing for the church's Funfest. I did face painting for the first time and wasn't too bad, and Jason worked on the grill for several hours. And after seeing Turnadot at the Schuster, 3 of the principal opera singers joined us for karaoke.
November - At the beginning of the month, we had visitors from New Orleans, Osman & Sarah Velasquez. Osman is the son of Pastor Roberto from Honduras. The weekend before Thanksgiving we celebrated with Jason's family in Kentucky. We then flew to Florida to do Thanksgiving with Mom and Gary.
December - This month was filled with Christmas parties with new and old friends. We went to see the Nutcracker at the Schuster (next time we're getting box seats). And then we got to serve at the big Christmas party downtown the weekend before Christmas. I did face painting again (I'm getting better at it) and Jason served food to several tables. I sang for the first time on the worship team at the Dayton campus (and will continue once a month). And then we had our first (married) Christmas together. We went to Dad and Claire's house Christmas day and then to Jason's parent's house the day after Christmas.
What an incredible year full of so many changes. Oddly enough, things we were expecting to happen in 2008, didn't. (Selling Jason's cabin, getting pregnant) And yet there were so many exciting unexpected things that did happen. We're starting off 2009 with few expectations and ready for just about anything.
What an incredible year full of so many changes. Oddly enough, things we were expecting to happen in 2008, didn't. (Selling Jason's cabin, getting pregnant) And yet there were so many exciting unexpected things that did happen. We're starting off 2009 with few expectations and ready for just about anything.
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