Semi Newlyweds trying to figure out this whole marriage thing. Learning how to cook, decorate, and find our own style. Wanna be DIYers and design on a budget.
Can we extend that Newlywed phase a little bit longer?
We eased into marriage pretty easily. After already living together for a couple years, we just now shared a last name, bank accounts, and had a little extra bling. This past year has been incredible. Something about being married just made everything a little bit better. I'm not trying to gloat or say we have the perfect life, but just the little things...Saturday mornings clearing off our weekly shows from the DVR, dressing up and going out for no reason, getting comfortable and staying in more often than not. Everything just had a new glow to it. Is that the newlywed glow? If so, I don't want to ever lose that!!!
Now for some gratuitous wedding pictures to reminisce what we were doing 365 days ago...
Getting ready...
Walking down the aisle to my man...
Saying our vows....
Seal it with a kiss...
Pose for some pictures...
And dancing the night away....
Happy Anniversary Hubs!!!!! I love you and can't wait to spend a million more years with you.
So husband just went to bed and I can finally start DWTS. I'm just going to do my best to discuss each performance. I am in no way a dancing expert, but I know what I like. Also interested to see how Brooke Burke does. Here we go....
Oooooh did you just see Gia from The Bachelor in the audience???
First up, my clear favorite, Ocho Cinco and Cheryl Burke, a strong couple. Good footwork, it doesn't look like Cheryl is doing ALL the work, but I think he definitely needs a bit more confidence and he will be cheesin' it up and shakin his booty. I can see him really turning up the heat in a couple of weeks. The judges were kind with their critique but a little low on the scores, we'll see how that works out. (Judges score - 18)
Shannen Doherty and Mark Ballas - He is going to be a good teacher for her, I like him. Good first dance for them. She looked SO nervous. There were some awkward moments, but I think those will smooth out over time. Pretty much agree with Carrie Ann and Bruno, she has potential. (Judges score - 18)
Erin Andrews and Maxsim Chmerkovskiy - He is a strong partner, he will bring some edge to their routines. Their routine seemed a bit simple, but it being week 1, understandable. I think they could be the SEXY couple, work it!!!! I'm expecting a lot out of these two. She is going to be able to work the charisma, but is really going to have to work on technique when we get deeper into the season. (Judges score - 21)
Jake Pavelka and Chelsie Hightower - Chelsea is good with those awkward guys (Ty and Louie anyone???) she is gonna make him look good. (He brought a rose? cheese ball) Not exactly graceful or elegant, but he can loosen up. At times he looked like he was flinging his arm across the room. He can be in the running for Most Improved. (Judges score - 20)
Niecy Nash and Louis Van Amstel - I think she is going to get by on her showmanship and personality. She's got rhythm and once she gets her feet under her, she'll be really fun to watch. (Judges score - 18)
Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya - Olympians always do well, he's got that advantage already. He looked great. Graceful and elegant. But looked like he was trying too hard to incorporate skating. His feet did seem to get mixed up a couple of times. Regardless, I think I will really enjoy watching him, he's gonna be good. Bruno said exactly what I was thinking, this guy is TALL! (Judges score - 23, well deserved I think)
Buzz Aldrin and Ashly Costa - She's got her work cut out for her. She looks very nervous to be working with him. I like his astronaut t-shirt though. Ashly has done a good job working with what she's got. Didn't make it too difficult for him to remember. He'll be around longer than he should because of his charm (age), much like Tom Delay. He's cute, congrats to him for taking a stab at the show! (Judges score - 14)
Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough - I think these two are going to be a strong couple. She's got he music and at least stage presence to her advantage. She'll work her sex appeal and will get by at least on that until her dancing catches up. I think she is this season's Mya. She looked great. She and Derek really seemed to be in sync with each other. Best Viennese waltz so far. (Judges score - 25)
Aiden Turner and Edyta Sliwinska - I hope he goes far for pure eye candy! He looks a little stiff, maybe with a couple weeks experience he'll be comfortable and able to move a bit more smoothly. I thought he might be this season's Giles, but he is going to have to work it a bit more to keep the ladies' votes. (Judges score - 15)
Kate Gosselin and Tony Dovolani – I don’t suspect that she’ll be around for too long. A pretty safe routine, looked pretty nervous. Agree with Len, if she can’t get over that, she is going to fall flat on her face. It’s almost like she is trying too hard to fit in with Hollywood. (Judges score – 16)
Pam Anderson and Damian Whitewood – I’m looking forward to this new guy. I think he has a lot of potential and will be good for her. She has the confidence, but not the skill quite yet. I think she is going to try and wear as little clothes as possible and see how far they get. She is taking the seducing the judges a little far during their comments. (Judges score – 21)
Overall, this is going to be a tough season. There is a lot of potential out there. We’ll see if the judges continue to favor the same stars next week. There were some awfully generous scores. Ocho Cinco was robbed.
STARTS TONIGHT!!!! Can't wait. I'm going to try to live blog the premier tonight, we'll see how it goes. If you'll be watching on your DVR, don't read my spoilers!!!
update (8:15PM): no LIVE blogging. Husband won't change the channel. He is watching "one more period" of the Penguins/Red Wings game. DWTS is recording, I will be on a delay. Ugh. Something about compromise and having to share one tv...blah blah blah OCHO CINCO IS ON(!!!!) why are we still watching HOCKEY? The man has to wake up at like 4AM and usually I can convince him to go to bed by 7:59. Not tonight. The stupid red light on the DVR is taunting me.
I can't believe our one year anniversary is next week. Wow. This year has FLOWN by. So much fun, love, and laughter. I hope every year is as good as this one. I have no doubt that they will be.
So funny that last year looking at the weather 10 days prior to the wedding, it was beautiful the week before, turned cold the week of and was scheduled to rain Wed - Sun (same exact thing this year). I was horrified. Please don't rain. The rain slowly got pushed out. I was cheering for it to get moved to Sunday. Nope. Didn't happen. We had a beautiful day on Friday and then a rainy, drizzly wedding day. Oh well, we got some AMAZING umbrella pictures.
I guess it's time to take that cake out of the freezer to start defrosting. Can't wait to celebrate our first year of marriage next Sunday!!!!
To say my husband is a social butterfly would be an understatement. He is the extrovert of all extroverts. He can talk to anyone about anything at anytime. He could go out every single night of the week to socialize, I am worn out after a couple hours. I honestly can only schedule one big social outing in a weekend, I feel completely drained after one big night out. I am what you would probably classify as a homebody. I like to be in my house, in my comfy clothes, curled up with a good book and the dogs. With packed weekends filling the calendar, I cherish quiet week nights at home. When husband suggests a week night outing, I resist.
With tonight being St. Patty's Day he wants to go out and celebrate our non Irish heritage. I don't mind him going out without me, I encourage it so I can have some peace and quiet at home watching trashy television guilt free, but unfortunately all of his friends like me and give me grief when I don't come out too. When the suggestion came up today I offered a compromise, can we promise to be home by 7 (geez, just writing that I'm seeing exactly how lame I am)? He's the one with the 3AM alarm, but would sacrifice sleep for socializing. We'll see what tonight brings.
Do you and your significant other have different opinions on what a rockin weeknight entails?
We have a lot going on right now, so busy. We have had a couple of weekends free (or only lightly scheduled) and they have been FABULOUS. It looks like our spring/summer calendar is already filling up at a rapid pace, we have more booked weekends through August than open already. This means my lazy Sunday mornings in bed and a weekly deep cleaning of every corner of the house is over. On a brighter note, there is so much coming up in the next couple of weeks to make up for this!!! So here goes my brain dump...
First, Dancing With The Stars starts next week. I'm a recent convert to the show, I just started watching 2 seasons ago. With the line up this season, I know I'm going to be hooked and up well past my bedtime each night to watch. I can't wait to see Chad Ocho Cinco, he is hilarious. I became an 85 lover when we watched the Bengals Training Camp on HBO last summer. I follow him on twitter and he is always good for a laugh each and every day. Kate Gosslin, kinda watching just to see how bad she is going to be. I think she'll be able to get by for 4-5 weeks but when the truly better dancers start rising to the top, she'll get the boot. I'm interested to see Pam Anderson, Niecy Nash, Shannen Doherty and Erin Andrews do. There is usually one who you think will be real good get eliminated weeks 1 or 2 and then one who you had doubts about make it to the end, Kelly Osbourne anyone???? Bachelor Jake? Not enough charisma to last, but Evan Lysacek will be on until the end. I will probably try to Live Blog for this show. So stay tuned if you are a DWTS fan.
Second, we are going to New York for a week at the end of the month. Our one year anniversary is rapidly approaching and we will spend it sightseeing, eating out, and hanging out with our friends in Manhattan. We are taking the train up and then staying with one of my bridesmaids for a couple nights. We'll be staying at The Pierre for our actual anniversary and a dinner at Peter Luger, supposedly the best steak in the world. The rest we're just playing by ear. Where ever Bridesmaid M and her husband want to go by night to show us around and all of the cheesy touristy stuff while they work by day. We will finish the week staying with one of my high school besties and her boyfriend in Hoboken. It's going to be a fun and super relaxing trip. Any suggestions for while we're there?
Third, in preparation for this trip (and to jump start the effort for the 12 days I'll be in Barbados this summer) I'm attempting yet another quick fix diet. Somehow before the wedding I could lose weight with no effort. I stopped working out a month prior and kinda watched what I ate, but the anxiety for the upcoming day took off any additional weight. Apparently AFTER the wedding no such luck. I ate the same as I did before, exercised more, actually putting effort into losing weight and only managed to gain, and I gained a LOT. So now I'm loading up on the fruits and veggies as my main staples to any meal and all of my snacks. Getting my protein and dairy with main meals. This cuts out most of the carbs (I know fruit has some, but oh well) and munching on grapes or apple slices is much better than even granola bars. I was STARVING yesterday, but I'm adjusting already. We'll see if I can keep this up for the 10 more days until we hit the Big Apple.
Fourth, have you heard of Formspring yet? You can ask any question to people on there. Several of the bloggers I follow answer questions every couple of days. You can create an account and label your questions, or just ask anonymously. I'm addicted. Since hubs has been the only one to ask me any questions, I just ask others whatever I can think of and read all of their wacky answers. You can ask me anything here.
I think that about wraps it up for today! I hope everyone is having a good week so far and is looking forward to the SPRING weather that is on it's way!!!
I'm a pretty positive person. I'm usually the optimistic, easy going one. Not too much ruffles my feathers, so why have I been so negative recently? There are times that I lash out and it is so uncharacteristically me that I dwell on it for days or weeks. I have a couple cringe worthy times where I said something so uncalled for that it haunts me.
Sports. I don't even really care about sports. Honestly. It gives me something to do on the weekends and something to check out at work. It's a filler. I really wouldn't mind if I never saw another NFL, NHL, or Nascar game again. (This does not apply to Penn State Football, Penn State is different, that's not sports, that's religion). I pick teams, just so I have a side to stand on. I root against that teams rivals and anyone else that I decide I just won't like. For example, I'm from Washington, I should like the Capitals, but I married a Penguins fan, so I root against the Caps. I stayed up the other night watching (alone) the Caps/Stars game rooting for the Dallas Stars just to see the Caps lose. I don't even really care about the Caps! I just need ammo for the trash talking at the office. This also goes for whoever is playing the Redskins, I always root against the Redskins, why? I have no idea. Football season is my least favorite time of year. I have to separate Steelers Husband from The Man I Married, I can't stand to be around Steelers Husband, he's loud, rude, obnoxious, and downright MEAN. And he's rubbing off on me. Yikes.
Politics. Another one I don't really care about. Yes, I have a degree in Political Science. This just means I actually studied how broken our government is. I don't know what Congress is voting on this week, I can't argue one way or the other in most policy debates. I have the issues I care about and I'll argue those till I'm blue in the face. But for some reason whenever politics comes up, I feel like I have to participate. Things get loud, heated, and uncomfortable. I say things I don't mean and I attack people for no good reason. I hate waking up the next morning and thinking about what was said.
Then there is the petty gossip. I hate that I do this. Hate it. I just get sucked into office gossip and don't hold back my opinions of people. I should. I don't like very many people in my office, so I don't say the nicest things. There are positions available that would mean a promotion for any of my peers that get it. I have absolutely no desire to take this position, but I find myself every day talking to someone about everyone else that would be HORRIBLE for the job. Why? The job doesn't even effect me, why do I care? I go home thinking about conversations that I've had and regret anything I chimed in with.
I'm trying to break the cycle. Last night the Caps game was turned on and I tuned it out, I don't care who wins, I'm not going to watch it just to be spiteful. This morning a coworker was driving me batty and I kept my mouth shut instead of running to my normal confidant to complain for 10 minutes. It's going to be hard. But I'm working on it.
Do you have any bad habits or characteristics that you're trying to break?
note: this has been a really hard one for me to write. Normally I just type and hit "Publish", I've been sitting on this and mulling it over for days trying to pinpoint what's going on.
To myself, I don't really bring anyone else into my ridiculousness.
BUT if it were my birthday and I had that beloved Anthropologie discount there are several things I would LOVE to get....why Anthro, why must you be so wonderful?
I'm ready for summer.
For some margaritas at happy hour, sitting outside of course.
Ready for outdoor events.
Ready for no jackets....
So much to get done in the next 6 months that I had set out to do before officially entering my LATE 20s.
