Erg. This one is super hard, so I've been avoiding it. I mean, what's my mood right now? Laid back, but excited to see people and wear heels tonight? What's a song for that? I'm not sure. I've got one song though, that pretty much always matches my mood - or at least my thoughts. "Alright" by Darius Rucker.
Lately I've been super frustrated by our stagnant position in life. I mean, we can't really work towards something more, because I'm the only one that's working and my paycheck sustains us pretty well, but doesn't lend to much else. I'm frustrated that Sean doesn't have a job like I hoped he would this year - even a non-paying one. I'm frustrated because I want to move forward - I've been at my job for almost a year now, and I'm ready to start looking for a home, have kids, pay off loans - all that good stuff. I don't want to say that I'm being held back - I knew all of this was happening going in. But sometimes, I just have one of those moments where I can't help but get frustrated and dejected and feel like nothing will ever change.
But I have to remember - it's alright. I've got a loving husband, a place to sleep at night, and a job that pays the bills - and that's more than a lot of people have. I have to be grateful for what we do have now, rather than just lament on what we can't afford.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Death Folder?
So here's the deal.
Sean and I don't really share passwords. We know several passwords that the other uses for things, but not for the things they use them for. We don't have an issue saying, "hey, what's your password for this?" - and most of our passwords are saved on the sites we use frequently anyway. It's one of those situations where we're so open about it and don't have anything to hide, that we don't share about it.
Well we've been watching HIMYM, and we recently watched the Death Folder episode - each one of them writes a letter to the other with "Instructions for After Death" kinda thing. When Patty died, no one knew anything, or the things to close. Her Facebook is still alive and kicking - but who knows how many messages and game invites she has. I worked for a security company, and too often people would call to cancel an account due to a death, but no one had the password information. I mean, what do people do in that scenario? What would you do? It made me think.
I'm the runner of the household. I don't think bills would get paid if Sean was in charge of them. I have accounts to the internet, the water, the electricity, the bank stuff (plus we each have our own accounts)...he would be at a complete loss as to what to close and when to pay things. Not to mention how to access certain accounts. Just like I would be at a loss on how to close his D&D subscription, his GameFly account, and deal with his student loans.
We've been kind of thinking of a way to get all of our information in one place, but we can't seem to come to terms on an efficient way. Do any of you have "death folders" or something of the like? How do you keep stuff straight? Do you have a plan if your significant other were to die suddenly?
Sean and I don't really share passwords. We know several passwords that the other uses for things, but not for the things they use them for. We don't have an issue saying, "hey, what's your password for this?" - and most of our passwords are saved on the sites we use frequently anyway. It's one of those situations where we're so open about it and don't have anything to hide, that we don't share about it.
Well we've been watching HIMYM, and we recently watched the Death Folder episode - each one of them writes a letter to the other with "Instructions for After Death" kinda thing. When Patty died, no one knew anything, or the things to close. Her Facebook is still alive and kicking - but who knows how many messages and game invites she has. I worked for a security company, and too often people would call to cancel an account due to a death, but no one had the password information. I mean, what do people do in that scenario? What would you do? It made me think.
I'm the runner of the household. I don't think bills would get paid if Sean was in charge of them. I have accounts to the internet, the water, the electricity, the bank stuff (plus we each have our own accounts)...he would be at a complete loss as to what to close and when to pay things. Not to mention how to access certain accounts. Just like I would be at a loss on how to close his D&D subscription, his GameFly account, and deal with his student loans.
We've been kind of thinking of a way to get all of our information in one place, but we can't seem to come to terms on an efficient way. Do any of you have "death folders" or something of the like? How do you keep stuff straight? Do you have a plan if your significant other were to die suddenly?
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Day 7 – Your dream wedding.
I've been really hesitate to post this one. Why? Because I think it says something when a woman says that her wedding wasn't her dream wedding.
But I shouldn't worry about that. It wasn't possible to have my dream wedding. My dream wedding would have family and friends that died years ago, friends that I've long since lost a connection with, and divorced exes of family members. It would have had my 3rd cousins, which I couldn't possible afford to invite (it would have easily added 100+ people). It would've had the cost of a January wedding, with a partly cloudy 70 degree sky, and a two hour long sunset for gorgeous shots. It would have had the priest that knew us, but happened to be on a mission trip in Brazil. And the day would have lasted another 24 hours - because it was such a great day.
My wedding was fabulous. It was all that I could have hoped it to be. It wasn't my dream wedding - because a dream wedding is just that - a fantasy that can't be made real. And that is perfectly okay.
But I shouldn't worry about that. It wasn't possible to have my dream wedding. My dream wedding would have family and friends that died years ago, friends that I've long since lost a connection with, and divorced exes of family members. It would have had my 3rd cousins, which I couldn't possible afford to invite (it would have easily added 100+ people). It would've had the cost of a January wedding, with a partly cloudy 70 degree sky, and a two hour long sunset for gorgeous shots. It would have had the priest that knew us, but happened to be on a mission trip in Brazil. And the day would have lasted another 24 hours - because it was such a great day.
My wedding was fabulous. It was all that I could have hoped it to be. It wasn't my dream wedding - because a dream wedding is just that - a fantasy that can't be made real. And that is perfectly okay.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
#71. Newlywed Map
I just realized that I never blogged about this totally awesome map Sean and I made.
I found a sweet, slightly distressed frame at Hobby Lobby for $8, and got it half off that because the glass was broken (which I didn't need anyway!). It was an awkward lightish darkish brown, so I painted with leftovers from the bathroom. I ordered both the map and map tacks from Mapcenter.com. I couldn't find the right size foam board though, so I bought one of those tri-folds that we used to use for science fair projects and cut the two flaps off. I already had spray adhesive too - other glues don't work because the map will wrinkle!
(Our pretty European tacks!)
(fun fact: that Atlanta pin? Happened the winter of 2003...yup, we traveled together with our high school band NINE years ago! We're still counting it though)
I love this map. It makes want to travel more, and it's fun to document where we've been together. We even made Sean's dad one for Christmas!! It's classy too, so we have no qualms about it hanging in our living room. :)
Monday, January 9, 2012
365 Photo Project.
Yesterday, I started the 365 photo project.
Basically, every day for an entire year, I will take a photo. It can be anything - even if it's just as simple as my breakfast. Our first year of marriage was so crazy and hectic, and I missed a lot of little, simple things. I want to find those again.
I don't want to bombard people on any of my social media networks (someone once did that to me on blogger, and I about killed them!), so I created a Flickr account.
I'm excited for it. My phone uploads directly to Flickr, so I have no excuse to miss days. Hopefully it turns out just as fun as I hope it will!!
Basically, every day for an entire year, I will take a photo. It can be anything - even if it's just as simple as my breakfast. Our first year of marriage was so crazy and hectic, and I missed a lot of little, simple things. I want to find those again.
I don't want to bombard people on any of my social media networks (someone once did that to me on blogger, and I about killed them!), so I created a Flickr account.
I'm excited for it. My phone uploads directly to Flickr, so I have no excuse to miss days. Hopefully it turns out just as fun as I hope it will!!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
I'll have my cake (and eat it too!)
A year ago, my wedding cake looked like this:
We had a delicious four tier cake, from Wedding Wonderland Cakes. The large, bottom tier was yellow cake with strawberry filling. The next tier was spice cake with Bavarian creme. The next was Lemon cake with fudge filling. And the top tier? It was red velvet and cream cheese. It was seriously the best cake I've ever eaten in my life.
Anyway. We never tried the top tier, because we saved it. We followed this tutorial, wrapping the cake in seran wrap and foil, putting in its box, and wrapping again. We figured that if any cake was going to be decent after a year, ours would be the one!
Surprisingly, it doesn't taste half bad. It actually kinda tasted like store-bought cake, as opposed to delicious bakery cake.
Cake freezing adventure? Success.
Anyway. We never tried the top tier, because we saved it. We followed this tutorial, wrapping the cake in seran wrap and foil, putting in its box, and wrapping again. We figured that if any cake was going to be decent after a year, ours would be the one!
Surprisingly, it doesn't taste half bad. It actually kinda tasted like store-bought cake, as opposed to delicious bakery cake.
A Year of New Beginnings.
One year ago today, I walked down the aisle and said "I do" to my favorite guy. I became a wife. Sean became a husband. And we started (our official) life together.
First off, I can't believe it's been a year. An entire year. I don't feel like I've been married a year, but other times, I can hardly remember not being married. It's a comfortable state of life - it's like we've always been this way. Or destined for this.
Second, so much has changed this year!! Sean has completed 3 semesters of law school, and still enjoys it. I got a new job - one that pays just enough for us to live a comfortable life (though not lavish) - and it's probably been the single biggest factor in the last year. I'm also only known as a married woman at work, and it's strange how much that changes work relationship dynamics. We moved into a little house - the two bedroom home is perfectly sized for us, and we really feel like it's our home.
Another thing that's changed? We live life slower now. Not in the we-don't-go-out-and-party way (we actually do this more than the first year we lived together!), but in the planning way. Before, we were making plans about when we'd have kids and buy a house and do this and do that. Now? We live life as it comes. We know we don't want kids yet, but we don't know when we're going to have them. And that's perfect for us right now. There's no stress for us to meet life goals at certain times. We're living in a moment, and when Sean is done with school/gets a job, we'll focus on the next step of life. But not before then.
So what's the plan for us on our anniversary?
-Last night, we went to J Gilbert's - it's a fancy steakhouse. We probably spent waaay more than we should have, but it was the best steak and crab cake that I've ever had in my life. Plus, I got to try an Argentinian wine, which was delicious, but a bit too dry for my tastes.
-Last week, I found a $75 gift card to Macy's that we got for the wedding. We hadn't used any of it! We're probably going to go there, and maybe get a rug for the office, or maybe some pillows.
-There's pulled pork in the crock pot for dinner. I bought some hoagie rolls, so it'll be a delicious bbq night.
-We're actually going to eat the top tier of our wedding cake. Or at least try it. We wrapped and foiled and froze the top right after our wedding, and we're really hoping it turns out pretty well. I've been slowly defrosting it since Thursday...if it doesn't taste good, you can bet I'll be baking a red velvet cake tonight.
You guys, it's been a fabulous year. And here's to many more to come!
First off, I can't believe it's been a year. An entire year. I don't feel like I've been married a year, but other times, I can hardly remember not being married. It's a comfortable state of life - it's like we've always been this way. Or destined for this.
Second, so much has changed this year!! Sean has completed 3 semesters of law school, and still enjoys it. I got a new job - one that pays just enough for us to live a comfortable life (though not lavish) - and it's probably been the single biggest factor in the last year. I'm also only known as a married woman at work, and it's strange how much that changes work relationship dynamics. We moved into a little house - the two bedroom home is perfectly sized for us, and we really feel like it's our home.
Another thing that's changed? We live life slower now. Not in the we-don't-go-out-and-party way (we actually do this more than the first year we lived together!), but in the planning way. Before, we were making plans about when we'd have kids and buy a house and do this and do that. Now? We live life as it comes. We know we don't want kids yet, but we don't know when we're going to have them. And that's perfect for us right now. There's no stress for us to meet life goals at certain times. We're living in a moment, and when Sean is done with school/gets a job, we'll focus on the next step of life. But not before then.
So what's the plan for us on our anniversary?
-Last night, we went to J Gilbert's - it's a fancy steakhouse. We probably spent waaay more than we should have, but it was the best steak and crab cake that I've ever had in my life. Plus, I got to try an Argentinian wine, which was delicious, but a bit too dry for my tastes.
-Last week, I found a $75 gift card to Macy's that we got for the wedding. We hadn't used any of it! We're probably going to go there, and maybe get a rug for the office, or maybe some pillows.
-There's pulled pork in the crock pot for dinner. I bought some hoagie rolls, so it'll be a delicious bbq night.
-We're actually going to eat the top tier of our wedding cake. Or at least try it. We wrapped and foiled and froze the top right after our wedding, and we're really hoping it turns out pretty well. I've been slowly defrosting it since Thursday...if it doesn't taste good, you can bet I'll be baking a red velvet cake tonight.
You guys, it's been a fabulous year. And here's to many more to come!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Peace Out 2011...and howdy do Twenty Twelve!
Last night we rang in the new year with some great friends. We all had our glasses of champagne, we counted down the seconds...Okay, we missed the ball drop. Why? Because we were using the atomic clock online, and the computer froze. Yaaaa know. But we counted 12 around 8 times, shouted hooray, raised our glasses, kissed our loved ones, and took tons of pictures. The year 2011 brought a lot of changes into our lives - some bad, but mostly good. It was a crazy busy year, and I'll be honest, I'm excited to welcome in 2012. Keep moving forward in the game of life, right? Anyway, here's the obligatory year-in-review post for the blogger world!
January
-We rang in the new year by...wait for it...GETTING MARRIED!! After 5 1/2 years of being together, we finally tied the knot.
-Sean started his 2nd semester of law school, getting him one step closer to his JD.
February
-I started being a training assistant at my job, which I loved. I discovered that I really like to teach people things, and it's something I'm going to work towards in my career from now on. In other work news, I turned down a promotion at my job, because I wanted two days off in a row (which amazed me in solidifying the fact that family > money in my book)
-We refinanced my car, which gave us enough spare money to buy me a new a Macbook Pro. Love.
-We got hit with Snomageddon, which dumped 16" of snow on us - effectively snowing me into work (but it was the most snow I'd ever seen)
March
-I turned 23.
-My sister in law turned 21, and we celebrated with St. Patty's day parade in St. Louis
-We finally got our wedding photos back - and sent our thank yous out to everyone.
April
-We hosted our first family holiday - Easter for Sean's family. And it was great.
-I joined Pinterest (I was in the Beta)
-I got hired - and had to hand in my first letter of resignation.
May
-I started at my new job, and I still revel in having most weekends off. (also, PEACE OUT call centers!)
-Sean and I celebrated 6 years of fabulousness together
-My apartment flooded, and my quartet got together once again (all in the same week)
-My little brothers graduated!! hooray!
June
-We went to our first (and second) post-our-wedding wedding. And it was awesome.
July
-We finally found a new place to live (which is awesome, because our upstairs neighbors also moved out, and their fleas moved down to our apartment)
August
-We moved into our newfantasticomg rental house. And we still love it.
-We went to EUROPE on our HONEYMOON. It was absolutely perfectly amazing.
-Sean started his second year of law school! He's still rockin it.
-Sean made it to the quarter century mark - aaaand dropped our car insurance.
September
-We celebrated Sean's parents 30th wedding anniversary!
-I went on my first business trip - I'm all grown up!
October
-We went to our THIRD wedding of the year...we are apparently of that age.
-Mizzou celebrated ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF HOMECOMINGS. And it was fabulous.
-The Cardinals won the World Series. It's my kinda year for sports :)
November
-I moved locations for work, from one side of town to another.
-I felt my first earthquake!
-We went to what was quite possibly the last Border War between Mizzou and ku. And we won.
December
-We switched Ella to adult food, and she went on a hunger strike for almost a week.
-We decorated for Christmas, and celebrated a pretty good season.
And that folks, wraps up 2011. Here's to 2012!
January
-We rang in the new year by...wait for it...GETTING MARRIED!! After 5 1/2 years of being together, we finally tied the knot.
-Sean started his 2nd semester of law school, getting him one step closer to his JD.
February
-I started being a training assistant at my job, which I loved. I discovered that I really like to teach people things, and it's something I'm going to work towards in my career from now on. In other work news, I turned down a promotion at my job, because I wanted two days off in a row (which amazed me in solidifying the fact that family > money in my book)
-We refinanced my car, which gave us enough spare money to buy me a new a Macbook Pro. Love.
-We got hit with Snomageddon, which dumped 16" of snow on us - effectively snowing me into work (but it was the most snow I'd ever seen)
March
-I turned 23.
-My sister in law turned 21, and we celebrated with St. Patty's day parade in St. Louis
-We finally got our wedding photos back - and sent our thank yous out to everyone.
April
-We hosted our first family holiday - Easter for Sean's family. And it was great.
-I joined Pinterest (I was in the Beta)
-I got hired - and had to hand in my first letter of resignation.
May
-I started at my new job, and I still revel in having most weekends off. (also, PEACE OUT call centers!)
-Sean and I celebrated 6 years of fabulousness together
-My apartment flooded, and my quartet got together once again (all in the same week)
-My little brothers graduated!! hooray!
June
-We went to our first (and second) post-our-wedding wedding. And it was awesome.
July
-We finally found a new place to live (which is awesome, because our upstairs neighbors also moved out, and their fleas moved down to our apartment)
August
-We moved into our newfantasticomg rental house. And we still love it.
-We went to EUROPE on our HONEYMOON. It was absolutely perfectly amazing.
-Sean started his second year of law school! He's still rockin it.
-Sean made it to the quarter century mark - aaaand dropped our car insurance.
September
-We celebrated Sean's parents 30th wedding anniversary!
-I went on my first business trip - I'm all grown up!
October
-We went to our THIRD wedding of the year...we are apparently of that age.
-Mizzou celebrated ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF HOMECOMINGS. And it was fabulous.
-The Cardinals won the World Series. It's my kinda year for sports :)
November
-I moved locations for work, from one side of town to another.
-I felt my first earthquake!
-We went to what was quite possibly the last Border War between Mizzou and ku. And we won.
December
-We switched Ella to adult food, and she went on a hunger strike for almost a week.
-We decorated for Christmas, and celebrated a pretty good season.
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