What is so special about October 25?

Evidently, more than I realized...

October 25, 2008: I married my husband JR.

October 25, 2004: I went on my first date with JR.

October 25, 2003: I met my friend Tanya for the first time in Red Bank, New Jersey.  I also met Kevin Smith, his wife Jen, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran, and several other ViewAskew peeps...

October 25, 2003: Also the day that JR was Man-of-Honor in his friends' wedding (L & D).

I decided to look up any other importance with the day online, and here is a sampling of what I found:

1400 Author Geoffrey Chaucer died in London.

1764 John Adams marries Abigail Smith.

1854 The Charge of the Light Brigade took place at Balaklava during the Crimean War.
 
1881 Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born.
 
1939 Nylon stockings go on sale in U.S. for first time.
 
1962 Author John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.
 
1971 Roy Disney dedicates Walt Disney World.
 
1982 - The first episode of "Newhart" aired on CBS.
 
1990 - The 200th episode of "Cheers" aired on NBC.
 
2001 Microsoft released the Windows XP operating system.
 
2006 - On the Opra Winfrey show, an interview with Madonna aired.

The Passing of Time

Three years ago today (well, tonight, really), I entered a new phase of my life.  My dear (then) boyfriend at the time took me to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants - Aodake Sushi & Hibachi.  I believed we were celebrating the fact that we were meeting some of my family the next day at a half-way point so Mom could hand over her truck to me (I had just purchased it from her).

We had a wonderful dinner, and he was being quite silly...after dinner, we went back to my apartment.  With my roommate out for the night, we were simply watching some television.  At one point, though, and I can't be sure of the details on how this happened, we were both standing in the entry hall.  He was being very shmoopy and loving and letting me know how much he loved me and how happy he was.  It went on for several minutes, maybe an hour, and I was blushing and smiling and crying.  He finally swung me around and asked, "Do you want to surprise your family tomorrow?"  I was very confused, since they KNEW we were meeting them.  He dropped to one knee, pulled out the ring that had been in his pocket throughout dinner, and asked me to be his wife.  I was shocked, amazed, and bursting with love and tears...after a few moments, I looked him in the eye and said, "YES!"

We did surprise my family the next day, and we all celebrated.

Three years ago, JR proposed.  So many things have happened since then, and I am looking forward to what happens next.

Pumpkin Season is Upon Us!

It is September, so I declare the beginning of pumpkin season!

I love pumpkins.  I mean, I really, really love pumpkins.  I am like Bubba with shrimp when I start listing out the pumpkin-related foods I have tried:

pumpkin pie

pumpkin bread

pumpkin muffins

pumpkin pancakes

pumpkin waffles

pumpkin coffee

pumpkin soup

pumpkin cookies

pumpkin cobbler

pumpkin cheesecake

pumpkin ice cream

pumpkin seeds, roasted

pumpkin lasagna

pumpkin spice latte

pumpkin spice hot cocoa

I also love decorating with pumpkins and other fall decor...our wedding had an autumn theme.  For the ceremony, the bride's maids wore rich copper dresses, and their bouquets were deep autumn colors.  The groom's men had coordinating vests/ties.  My dress was ivory with champagne accents, and JR wore a champagne vest and tie.  The flower girls (Autumn Fairies) scattered silk fall leaves instead of flower petals.  The unity candle holder and taper holders had pumpkins in and around them. 

At the reception, we had mini pumpkins and gourds on the tables with silk fall leaves scattered all over.  The table numbers were cut-outs of fall leaves in rich autumn colors, and the bud vases that held the numbers were filled with tiny acrylic pumpkins.  The place card holders were mini pumpkins.  The only thing that was NOT pumpkin- or fall-related was the cake "topper."  We had Superman and Wonder Woman figures for that.  ;-)

This year I vow to try even more pumpkin-flavored treats...and I vow to remember why it is I love pumpkin so much - my husband and I share a love of pumpkin, a love of autumn, and a love of a lifetime.

The Measurement of Success

With less than 24 hours to go before our first big party in our new house, I walked in the door at 6:30pm Friday night to see that I still had a lot of work to do before a party could be had. A. LOT.

I dug in, and by 1:30am, I was ready for bed. After a shower. The great room (with all the boxes still piled up) was completely unpacked, organized, and decorated. The bedrooms were clean. The basement was clean, and the kitchen was getting there...

I woke up Saturday morning at 7:30 and sprayed some weeds to get my blood pumping. After an awesome bad-for-me breakfast supplied by my sweet husband, we started up again...Made the bed, cleaned up the clothes, scrubbed down the kitchen, vacuumed the basement, sanitized the bathrooms, and swept and Swiffer-wet-jetted the floors.

With one hour till the party, JR was finishing up the shopping and I was jumping into the shower...the first guests arrived promptly at 2:00pm while JR was showering.

People came and went all night - lots of great food, great drinks, great conversation, and many compliments on the house. We feel very lucky to have such great friends and family who could come share the fun of a new house with us.

The success of our housewarming party was measured in the smiles on faces, the hugs and laughter, the conversation always moving, and the completely relaxed feeling I have today as I clean up from all the fun...

For TGJ: I DID do it! Thanks for the motivation, as always!

Woot! When can we have another party???

Deadlines

I work with deadlines every day in my job...in my personal life, I tend to let things slide a bit. My husband knows this, and he sets deadlines for me to get things done. He sets these deadlines by planning things which require a specific action by me - usually to do with cleaning, packing, etc.

We have been in the house since the end of February. I still do not have everything unpacked. Two rooms in the house are still utter disasters with unpacked boxes and clutter...it is driving me nuts.

I thought that a scheduled visit from my brother and niece would get it done. Nope.
Then I was sure that a visit from my sister, brother-in-law, and 2 nieces would motivate me to finish. Negative.
Surely a visit from my PARENTS was just what I needed to get it all done. Not even close.

My husband decided on a date for a housewarming party...he is certain we can get the last two rooms done and do a good cleaning on the rest of the house before then. Uh-huh, sure. I hope so, since the party is THIS Saturday!

Keep in mind, he made the decision about a week and a half ago...right before my parents came to visit. So, last weekend was out for getting all the unpacking done because we had a full weekend of plans with the folks.

Monday night, I had a work dinner. We did some more cleaning last night (and got quite a bit done, really), but it is not finished. I am leaving this afternoon for Milwaukee for a meeting...I will not be home until Friday NIGHT. I have until about 1:00pm on Saturday to get the house ready...get some caffeine ready! I will definitely need it!

It's the little things...

Last night I went to a Cubs game with my husband and about 15 other people on a bus from the YMCA...it was a good time, even though the Cubbies broke my husband's heart for the umpteenth time. On the drive back, he sat in the seat behind me. While I was taking a little snooze in my seat, leaned over resting my head on my arm, my husband rubbed the kinks out of my shoulders. For almost the entire ride. I felt so very loved to fall asleep on a bouncy bus while my dearest put away his own tired feelings for me. When we finally made it home and were in bed for the night I returned the favor by gently rubbing his back until he feel asleep. I felt just as loved doing that for him as I did when we was doing it for me.

The little things are the things that keep me going. The private joke. The funny face. The silly note. The touch of a hand on my shoulder. The kiss on the forehead. The cupcakes on a Saturday morning after a bad week. His knowing I am going to start crying as soon as we cross the Tennessee/Kentucky border on our way from from visiting my family, and knowing I won't stop crying until we hit Paducah. Coming up with a new way to tell me goodbye everyone morning (today was "Have a Terrific Tuesday! I love you!). Laughing so hard we cry. Dancing in the aisles of the grocery store. Singing at the top of our lungs in the shower, and the car, and the kitchen, and everywhere. Quoting movies as an entire conversation.

So many little things that we do for each other and together...I love them all.

The little things make my marriage wonderful and fresh everyday. Take time for those little things.