Woo hoo it's Wednesday!

It's Weekly Update Time!  And today's feature is....our getaway this last weekend to the lovely city of Duluth, MN!  We had a fabulous time - it was a super nice B and B we stayed in.  It's called Cotton Mansion.  It's tucked away in a neighborhood up on the hill and away from the less tourist-y area of Canal Park, I liked that it was a little more secluded.  The food was fantastic, our room was nice, I would totally do it again!  Below are some pictures that highlight our stay.

The bed was comfy, it takes up most of the room and it smelled like lavender

We had a fireplace!  Wish we had one in our own home!

Took a side trip to Gooseberry Falls State Park, aka, one of my favorite places in MN!

Nice self portrait of the two of us!

We visited Gooseberry Falls and we also tried some delicious smoked trout and cheese and ate at Fitgers too.  Couldn't have planned a better getaway.  Seriously awesome.  I would like to try some other B and B's now too.

Now we're into Holy Week which isn't nearly as packed as me as it used to be when we were at IC.  I'm going to the Good Friday service by choice, but that's about it for Holy Week this year.  Sunday we are doing Easter Mass with Praise Project at St. Tim's and then having dinner with my parents and celebrating my mom's birthday.  We'll do Easter with Nate's family the following Sunday on Russian Easter.  I'm glad we're continuing that tradition in his grandpa's honor.

That's the latest and greatest.  Things are kind of quiet besides Easter coming up here and you know what, that is ok with me!!

Time flies in the best of ways

Even 14 years in I can't forget this day. No we don't celebrate it anymore but I can still never forget what happened 14 years ago today. I've spent almost half my life loving this man.

Senior Prom - 2000

Winery trip Fall 2011

Could I possibly love him more?

Yep. Every single day for the last 14 years I've loved him more than the last.

And I always will.

Foodies

Weekly update time! It's very "foodie" today.

Over the weekend Nate tried his hand at using a meat smoker to smoke some meats for us. He did a slab of bacon and a pork shoulder, that we then turned into pulled pork for sandwiches. And OH-EM-GEE it is FANTASTIC!!! I know I brag about his cooking all the time, probably too much, but you guys, this pork? Best pulled pork I've ever had. It puts the Fun Fest pork guys from IC to shame. It puts Famous Daves and other BBQ places to shame. You don't need BBQ sauce, just eat it as is. Eat heaping amounts of it. The bacon turned out rather amazing as well - it's not like it is when it comes right off the stove. You can fry it on a stove if you want, but you can eat it more or less as is right when it comes out of the smoker. So it's a bit fattier/less crispy, which takes some getting used to, but again, the taste is out of this world. I think this new hobby will be a fun one. I just hope we don't gain 70 pounds or something.

While Nate worked on the meat I baked cupcakes again. I made Irish "Carbomb" type cupcakes - there was Irish stout in the batter and Baileys in the frosting. To date, they are the best cupcakes I've made. The cupcake itself was moist and delicious and the frosting? Oh man the frosting. I could sit and eat that by the spoonful. I don't know how many more cupcake recipes I'll make before it gets really warm out, I don't know that I'll make a lot them over the summer, but it's been a fun winter hobby.

Nate enjoyed his time off, looking forward to a little more soon, it's almost our little weekend getaway to Duluth. I am so excited, it'll be nice to get away, even if it is just over a weekend!

That's about it. Rather food heavy update, but that's what we're into right now!

Glass blowing experience

Saturday night we went and did our glass blowing and beer tasting class as a part of Nate's Christmas present this year. It was a blast! It was through Living Social Adventures (one of those Groupon style websites) at the FOCI MN Center for Glass Arts. When this came through my email as an offer, I knew that it was something Nate would be into, not only would we be tasting beer, but we'd get to make our very own pint glass!

We arrived about 20 minutes early and the last class was just wrapping up. We had a chance to walk around the studio, it is a neat place and they have a gallery with various glass pieces on display - pretty awesome stuff.

Others began to trickle in and we met another couple who were there for the same reason - the wife bought this as a Christmas gift for the husband. They were very nice people, about 10 years older than us and ironically, the husband used to live down the street from Nate's parents.

The Living Social people then introduced the instructors and explained the itinerary for the evening. Then we watched a demonstration and were broken into groups of four to work with an instructor to make our pint glasses. It was definitely hands on, though the instructors did do some of the work as there are steps involved that are very difficult for beginners. But we got to gather the glass on our rod, we got to work on shaping it, and we got to help blow the glass to help it expand into a larger size to make the pint glass.

Here is a picture of me helping to blow the glass - it expands almost like a hot, fragile balloon.

This is me twirling the glass to keep it from settling. Our instructor was going to get another piece of hot metal to help create the opening.

Here is Nate opening up the inside of the glass. Even for very advanced glass blowers this is a two person operation.

A little earlier in the process, here is Nate shaping the glass, you use very thick wet newspaper, almost like sandpaper, it protects your hand and you're able to give it a round shape.

It was really informative. The entire process for each person took a half hour to 45 minutes. But it was fun to watch others even when it wasn't your turn. Also, we got to pick two colors to melt into the glass and make it unique too. I chose blue and pink and Nate chose green and yellow. The final step was blow torching the bottom of the glass and stamping it with our initials.

Then they put it in a special kind of oven that cools the glass down at a slower temperature, to prevent breakage. Because of this we had to wait until Monday to go pick the glasses up.

After we finished, Great Waters Brewing Co. from St. Paul had a little informal beer tasting with four of their brews. They also gave away 8 growlers to be filled at their brewpub - we each won a growler! Not that we ever lack beer in our house, but it's still cool that we won!

We had a lot of fun and would be interested in even taking a beginner glass blowing class someday!

Here is the final result:

Mine is on the left and Nate's is on the right. Pretty neat huh? They're good sized and are completely safe to use for drinking out of.

I tell you though, I keep setting the bar higher and higher each year, I don't know what I will come up with to top this for his Christmas gift next year!

Whirlwind weekend

Whew. What a wonderful long holiday weekend I just had! I don't want to brag, but it was pretty freaking awesome. Now that it's over I feel like it flew by, but really, I enjoyed every moment and felt very present in each moment, so I feel pretty good about that.

So I mentioned previously that I saw The Muppets twice. In addition to that, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Nate's side of the family and it was nice to see all of them. We went to the gun range on Friday morning to do a little recreational shooting. I still can't believe I can do this now, I have come so far. It helps that I have outstanding hearing protection. Anyway, we had some fun there and had lunch out at my favorite deli (Nelson's Cheese Shop in Spring Lake Park). Friday was one of the days we saw the movie then in the afternoon and after that we had dinner at Punch Pizza with my parents and Nate's parents. Then we met up with Ali back at my parents house and had dessert and opened presents.

Saturday we were a little bit lazier but that was ok because the weather was totally crappy. We did venture out in the afternoon to find a beer store we've been hearing about and it's like total Nate and Beth's ultimate candy store - The Four Firkins in St. Louis Park. Holy beer Batman! I have never seen such a huge selection of craft brews. And they do "create your own six pack." Total win. The store is organized so well too as to the different types of beers. I'm mildly embarrassed to admit we spent close to an hour in there. After that we picked up Five Guys burgers and brought them home and settled in with some movies.

Sunday I got down to business and after breakfast finally set about getting my Christmas decorations up. I had done a little bit of it on Saturday, but hadn't gotten the tree up and all that jazz. Nate was even teasing me that I was "running behind" on that, but with all the birthday hoopla, just hadn't had the time to work on it until Sunday. I got all the lights strung on the tree and discovered that one whole set was burned out. Crud. So I planned a trip to Target and Nate said he'd go with because he needed a birthday card for his dad. And somehow said trip to Target involved a slight detour to the Verizon store so I could buy myself an iPhone. No big.

Oh back up a bit here....I GOT AN IPHONE! Yes I am excited. So that was pretty big news for yesterday. We did go get the lights and stuff too. Returned home and I finished up the tree, we met up with my in-laws for a short walk in the cold air, came home and made shepherd's pie and tried to unwind a bit more before getting ready to face the week and come back to reality.

All in all a great weekend. I have no complaints!!

Friday finish

So it's Friday! This week flew by. Seriously flew by. Probably due to the craziness I blogged about yesterday!

Anyway, just a few end of the week thoughts today.

Nate's foot is healing nicely, thank goodness he didn't injure himself worse when he fell on Monday. All of his lab results are in from his doctor's appointment as well and he's healthy, so that's good and we're happy about that!

We made a homemade shepherd's pie last night. It turned out pretty good for a first time attempt! Of course, we really give credit to Alton Brown because we followed his recipe, but at any rate, we did it and it was good. Nate has a few ideas to make it even better if we were to make it again.

It occurred to me yesterday that the rest of November may start to fly by due to things coming up. I am trying very, very hard not to let it fly. I love this time of year and I want to savor every moment.

On my fashion blog that I debuted here earlier this week, I participate in a weekly "fashion friend" Friday - a group of bloggers post about a specific topic and link to each other to share and learn and what not. Today's topic was about makeup and we were challenged to post a picture of ourselves without it. It was hard for me, but I did it. I have been enjoying reading the other posts on the topic as it is actually really thought provoking. Check it out if you're so inclined.

And with that, I bid you all a great weekend and a happy 11/11/11 and a happy Veteran's Day to all the vets out there.

Just another Manic Monday

Whew. I have had an interesting day so far.

Nate had a physical scheduled for this morning - routine, we're at that age you know and I wanted him to get a flu shot and tetanus shot - so he got up at his normal time, but was leaving the house after me. I shouted downstairs as I have done other mornings to tell him I was leaving, but he hadn't heard me real well and got up super fast from his computer. Turns out he was sitting in a way that his left leg had kind of fallen asleep and he ended up stumbling and tripping over some junk in his office and injuring the toes on his right foot.

So, I helped him out into the main room of the basement and we looked at his foot, fortunately they weren't swollen but they were sore. And he had fasted in preparation for his appointment so he started getting a bit light headed. I managed to help him not completely pass out and pointed out the bright side "at least you have a doctor's appointment already!"

I called into work stating I'd be late and then I drove him to the appointment and it went very well actually - other than crushed toes he's healthy and the doctor said that he didn't think they were broken, but to tape them together and go easy on them for a few days just in case. Fun for him I guess since it's his driving foot and drumming foot, but hopefully they will heal fast!

Just never a dull moment in our world I guess!

In other news, I am officially launching/debuting a brand new blog here. Actually it's not brand new, but it's brand new to all of you. Back in June, for the fun of it, I decided to start a fashion blog after getting inspired by others. I wanted to and still want to keep it separate from this blog so I wasn't going to "go public with it" - especially when I'm sure you all think I have blogger ADD with all the blogs I start and don't keep up with (hello Nate and Beth Eat Stuff...). Even my closest friends reading right now are probably scratching their heads going - "I had no idea you were doing this" or "why didn't you tell us?" Honestly I didn't know how far I'd go with this and also, I take my picture daily and didn't want to come off as too vein or anything! But I'm five months in and going strong and it's turning out to be a lot of fun, so I'm ready to share now!

I have met other fashion bloggers as well and it's been kind of fun to connect with a different sort of online community. So if it's your thing, check it out - http://fashionableadventuresboo.blogspot.com If it is not your thing, no big deal! I am going to continue to write that blog in a more "anonymous" fashion - you'll even notice I don't call Nate by name, I call him the Pants Monkey in honor of our bar.

Of course, nothing will change here at this blog - this is still my number one blog, the source for all things Beth and Nate and my first priority - but I just wanted to share this other little adventure I have embarked on.

Thankful Thursday - week 1

Well it's that time of year again - November - the month of the little holiday that could, Thanksgiving. I've talked at length in the past about how I feel for poor Thanksgiving and how it gets so overshadowed by the beast that is Christmas (and this is coming from a girl who loves, loves, LOVES Christmas). So when I saw my friend S posted about Thankful Thursday today, I decided I would join in as well, because really, I think it is important to reflect on the things you have and should be grateful for. Because they can overlap/be somewhat similar, I am going to stop Fabulous Friday through the month of November and instead do Thankful Thursdays.

So what I am thankful for this week? Here's my list.

1. Nine lives - you know how they say cats have nine lives? I have to wonder if that is true for our old family cat Cleo - she is 18 years old and lately was starting to have some issues again, my mom brought her to vet and we started preparing for the chance that this could be the end to only find out that they can still quite easily maintain the small issues that have popped up and that she's actually doing well otherwise. We'll take whatever time we can get with her, and I'm thankful that we should have another year or even two.

2. A glorious fall - after we had snow on the ground just about this time last year and never really saw the grass again until April, I'm very thankful for the beautiful fall weather. I'm also thankful that it's getting colder at night now at least so that it's hopefully killing the allergens I know some people suffer from. But otherwise, I'm just so amazed to look outside and still see beautiful colors and have it be nice enough to go outside and enjoy the scenery. We deserve this extended fall after last year's brutal winter.

3. Wonderful friends - I had a hard time last week on a couple of days but some very good friends helped me more than they'll know by listening to me and cheering me up. They know who they are and I just want them to know how much I appreciate them.

4. Nate - I am always thankful for my husband, but I'm thankful especially right now that he's still toughing out a less than ideal situation with work and while he still has some really not good days right now, he's doing the best he can and he isn't giving up. I am so proud of him and he is my hero. I love him more than words could say and I am just so thankful for everything about him.

There you go! What are you thankful for today?

Just Write - Lazy day, best day

Saturday was a long, full, rather exhausting day.

Sunday we had plans of getting up, going out and doing stuff. I was calling it our "day of fun".

When Sunday dawned, we slept as late as our bodies would let us and realized, we're just feeling too lazy to go out and do anything. But looking back, it was the best day ever.

Breakfast in. Coffee. Prairie Home Companion on in the background.

Long, hot showers.

A trip to the video store, first time setting foot in an actual video store in years and discovering it is cheap, fun and a way to relive our dating years in a sense.

Coming home with two movies, making popcorn, settling in with blankets, dimmed lights and enjoying an in-home movie theatre experience.

Making tea, sitting out on the deck when it was discovered it wasn't raining as predicted.

Getting take out italian food from a favorite restaurant. A bottle of red wine and another movie. Rounding out with a couple of favorite shows from the week. A warm relaxing bubble bath. Falling into bed and actually falling asleep quickly, rare for Sunday nights.

It was a day of fun. We were together. We rested. We needed it.

It's more than ok to be lazy.

Linking up to "Just Write" today as I have been doing on Tuesdays. Visit Heather of the EO to read other Just Write posts or to add your own.

Fabulous Friday - 10/14/11

Oh friends. I am so giddy and bouncy right now it is difficult to focus! This weekend will be legen - wait for it - dary. (How I Met Your Mother reference if you don't know that one). Anyway, here is the best I can do for a Fabulous Friday post today!

What I find fabulous this week:

1. Oktoberfest - our big event of the year, the chance to showcase Nate's homebrew and a chance to see our friends and family. I just can't think of a better way to spend what should be a fantastic fall evening tomorrow.

2. Generous Friends - I don't think we'll be going hungry tomorrow, so many wonderful people have stepped forward to contribute something, I think that will go a long way in helping to feed the potentially 30 guests we'll have in our home!

3. Being less one fish tank - Nate's fish died long ago but we haven't taken apart and put away the darn tank yet. And it's been an ugly eye sore. Right now he has too many other hobbies/interests that there is just no time to deal with a fish tank. So I told him before this weekend it had to go. And as of last night - it is GONE. Hasta la vista fish tank (I have never been crazy about it if you can't tell!)

4. New recipes - Testing out some new recipes for tomorrow with the help of my momma and if they turn out well, I'll post them here - but I'll leave you with this - pumpkin tiramasu. Yeah, my mouth is watering too.

5. My awesome husband - who has helped me immensely in getting ready for this big event. He has cleaned up the yard, worked hard to make sure the beer is just right and I just could not put this together without him! And while I'm excited for the party, I'm excited for the next day too - it has become our tradition to treat ourselves to breakfast out the day after Oktoberfest so we'll definitely be doing that this year too!

Well you can see where my mind is today! I hope you all have fabulous Fridays and a wonderful weekend too!

Just Write - Him

He is bold and fearless.  His personality is larger than life.  He never apologizes for who he is but he doesn't have to.  He is intellegent, confident and amazing.

He has had a hard time as of late though.  The light in his eyes has been a bit dimmer.  He's somewhere in there, but I can't always see him.

I tell him I want to make it better, I'd do anything, give anything.  He tells me it's not up to me to be the fixer.  He just wants me to be me.  That's enough.  So I back down a bit.

We have found some simple solutions to make things better.  Suddenly things have turned around.  I can see him again.  He's there.  He is himself again.  The light is back.

I am so proud of him, the man he has become in the five years we've been married.  He is my all and my everything and I am so very blessed.  And most of all, he is my hero.

Linking up today to Just Write an exercise in free writing and no editing.  Go visit Heather of the EO to read other Just Write posts or to add your own.

One moment at a time

As I've been mentioning here occasionally, we've been in a season of craziness in our house.  And I don't know how to say it without it seeming negative because it isn't - but Nate and I really needed some time to focus on each other and spend some time just the two of us for a bit.  So again, this is no offense to any of our friends, family or fellow Praise Project members, but I am so glad he and I finally had some much needed couple time this weekend.  And I hope that we can continue to make sure we're fitting that in because while all those other things are certainly very important to us too, we have a tendency to get into a pattern where we are neglecting each other and that's not good or healthy either.  Again it's all about balance and we're working on a better balance.  Looking ahead to this week - well it's not quite balanced right but it should be the last week like that for awhile fortunately.

So anyway, back to our couple time this weekend, you may ask, what did we do with our time together?  On Saturday we had dinner out at a restaurant we haven't been in a very long time, Clauddaugh in Maple Grove.  It was wonderful, we both really enjoyed our meals and it was quite relaxing.  We went home and played some backgammon and then watched some TV shows.

Sunday we slept in - wow did that feel good!  Nate made us some wonderful breakfast and we took our time eating and enjoying each other's company.  Then we decided to head off to the Como Zoo.  We haven't been there for awhile and it's always had a special place in my heart because that is where we got engaged.  I was worried when we first got to the Como Park area because the parking lots were full and there was some walk going on, but then we found out that they have free shuttle service on the weekends from the Saints baseball stadium.  Hardly anyone was using that service either so we were able to park with no problem and take a little ride on a bus back up to the zoo.

Some highlights from our zoo visit:

Baby Orangutan and it's mother

Under the "date" tree in the Conservatory

The Japanese Garden - so peaceful and serene

Me in the Japanese Garden

I'm so glad we took some time to spend out there.  We got to see the visiting Brown Bears from the Minot, North Dakota zoo as well, they weren't terribly photogenic however.

After our zoo trip we went home to veg for a bit before heading over to my in-laws for dinner, we had yummy ribs and potatoes with them.  Went back home and Nate was a nice guy and helped me move our Elliptical machine up into the spare bedroom.  Right now our running/walking program is kind of on hold, so I need a form of exercise and was tired of working out in the dungeon that is my laundry room, so we're going to try it upstairs for awhile.  We will see how it goes, it is taking up more room that I'd like, but it was nice this morning when I was using it, so hopefully it'll last.

And now we're into a crazy week, but I'm choosing to go one moment at a time and I think we'll get through it all!

Whoops

Well, we learned a good lesson in homebrewing on Thursday night.  A nylon sock does not make a good substitute for an actual grain sock.

Long story short - everything should be included in the beer kit you purchase, including the "grain sock" which is what you put the grains in to then steep in your boiling hot water (think of it like a giant tea bag).  And when we opened our kit on Thursday night, everything was there but the grain sock.  We could have gone to get one, but that would have majorly delayed things and so Nate being a quick thinker said "hey, maybe we could use one of your nylons as long as we clean it and such, it should work about the same."  And it seemed like it would at first - until after the 1/2 hour of steeping it started to smell of burned plastic.  Bye bye brew.

So you're probably wondering, what do you do now, you wasted the grains, can you still brew it?  The short answer is yes.  We were able to go back and just purchase the grains that were in the kit (and a grain sock!)

We ended up running to the homebrew store to pick up those items before we left town on Friday.  Now it's a matter of finding time to brew it again.  We were going to do it yesterday when we got home, and we were home in plenty of time, but the weather was not cooperating.  So now it might be happening tonight.  We'll see how things go.  Sure would like to have this beer on tap for our party, but if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.

So there's your beer lesson for the day.

You know that feeling...

...that you get when you are going on a little trip, even when it is just a couple of days worth and you have a list a mile long of things to do including packing, cleaning up your house a bit for the person caring for your cats, running errands, making corn bread to take with you to eat with your dad's chili, and brewing up a batch of beer because if you don't by tonight it won't be ready for the Oktoberfest party you're having in a few weeks and you want to have a packed bar so you really need to do it?

Yep.  That.

(P.S. I decided to take the afternoon off.)

A good weekend

Now that I'm done remembering 9/11 I'm back to your regularly schedule ramblin' gal!

And today I thought I'd ramble a bit about the weekend.  We had a good weekend full of good things!  It was a bit warmer out at times than I like, but otherwise I really enjoyed the things we did.

Saturday I indulged myself a little bit in having my own Stella and Dot party.  I will be able to get a few pretty new things that will help me totally rock 30 in a couple of months. I made a couple of new appetizers that turned out really well too and that was awesome!

Saturday night found me stepping out of my shell just a little - I went to a women's homebrewing group.  Yep.  I thought I'd give it a try.  Long story short, there's another women's beer group I found on Facebook that just got started here in the Twin Cities called Barley's Angels.  It's a group that meets monthly at various bars to do beer tastings and educate women on beer - and help them foster an appreciation for it.  I've been meaning to go to one of their meetings, but I just haven't had the time yet when they've had them, but I still "liked" their Facebook page so I could keep up just in case.  Another woman who is in that group then contacted me when she noticed that we homebrew - she has a group called Bitches Brew Crew and they brew beer monthly at her house in New Brighton - not far from us at all.  I decided to give it a try, figuring it was close to home if I hated it but otherwise, would be interesting to see what other homebrewers do.  It ended up being pretty neat - about three other women came, and the option is there to purchase a share of what is brewed, so it's divided up by about four of us.  We brewed a Pumpkin Ale and I'm excited to give it a try when it's done.  I don't know how many of their events I'll be able to make it to with our busy schedule, but I'm kind of proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and trying this out.  Nate's excited too because the woman in charge of this group does all grain brewing with her husband and we might get to learn about that sometime (we currently do what is called "Extract brewing").  I was home early enough to still unwind with Nate for a bit on Saturday night too, so you can't beat that!

Sunday we slept in and that felt really good.  Then we got up and tried the brunch at our favorite restaurant Brasa in NE Minneapolis.  I had a feeling we'd end up loving it as we have everything else we have tried there and I was correct.  It was amazing.  I had french toast, Nate had a ham and egg hash and we shared these prawn cheese grits.  Yummmm.....

Then we went home and both just vegged for awhile - I honestly don't know the last time we were able to just do that on a Sunday afternoon.  Nate played video games while I took a nap!  I loved that!  Ha!  Then we decided to be crazy and take our afternoon walk by going up to Cub to pick up things for dinner - man was it HOT.  We kind of regretted that decision later, but hey, we got our exercise for the day, that's for sure!  Then my in-laws came over and enjoyed chili dogs with us and then we wrapped up the weekend with a couple of TV shows.

Now we're on to a short week, we're cabin bound at the end of this week which I am looking forward to!  Gonna be chilly up north and that's just how I like it!

Fabulous Friday - 9/9/11

Greetings!  We have made it to Friday again!  Hallelujah!  For a short week, this sure felt like a long one at times.  I'm looking forward to the weekend!

So being that it is Friday, it's time for another one of my editions of Fabulous Friday!  Here is what I'm finding fabulous this week:

1. Nate's chili - he made it for the first time ever yesterday and it was absolutely fantastic!  I'm so glad it's the time of year where we can start to enjoy more warm meals like that!

2. Beautiful weather - man, these last few days have been gorgeous and I hear it's extending into the weekend as well.  I know we probably need some rain, but I've been liking the dry weather!  I hear we're going to have some of the most brilliant fall color this year too, the most we've had in the last ten years maybe?  That would be awesome!

3. B Never Too Busy to be Beautiful Shower Gel - from the fabulous folks at LUSH, this is a "honey" based shower gel, which they do have several others that are honey based, this one mellows into a lovely warm scent on my skin and actually sticks with me.  I really am glad I ordered a limited edition bottle of it!

4. Thrift store deals - two thrift stores near me discount items on major holiday like Labor Day - 50% discount that is, so while you're already getting a good deal because you're at a thrift store, it's doubly good on sale days!  I found a shirt on my shopping trip on Monday that still had the tags on!  Wow!

Ok, I didn't get to five today, but at least I had some!  I hope everyone has a great weekend.  On a slightly more serious note, over the next couple of days I have some posts I've written reflecting on the ten year anniversary of 9/11.  The world we live in was forever changed that day and I know I'll never forget it, but felt compelled to write some things about my thoughts during that time - so look for my reflections starting tomorrow.  I don't plan to dwell on it over the weekend, but I will be thinking and remembering just a bit.

Five

And just like that another year has gone by. I find myself wondering how it is possible that not only has another year gone by, but that we've been married five years. FIVE. That is half of a decade.

But these have been the best five years - even in the not so great times when Nate didn't have a job, I have loved every moment of being married to this wonderful man.

Each year that passes I find it harder to remember every detail of the actual day, but thankfully through pictures and a wedding DVD I'm able to remember most of the important stuff.

Things that still stick out to me even five years later:

It was hot. In the 90's. I do not like heat. It made me a mildly cranky bride, though one of my friends still tells me she can't believe how laid back and zen I was. It has never been that warm on this date since by the way.

I remember I wanted to come off like I was not nervous, but when the moment arrived and my dad walked me down the aisle, my flowers were shaking. Though I clearly remember the first face I saw was actually the best man's wife, who gave me the biggest smile ever and it made me relax.

I remember right in the middle of the ceremony, at a quiet reflective moment, the air conditioner in the church quit. And my wedding coordinator walked to the back of the church as quietly as she could in heels to go trudging up the stairs to turn it back on.

After the ceremony, I remember we couldn't find the limo and panicked for a moment, borrowing my hostess's cell phone to track him down to discover, he was just in the parking lot.

In the limo, I remember Nate's cousin bringing a diaper bag, which considering he had a one month old baby wasn't terribly odd except that this diaper bag, contained bottles of beer. We drank the beer and went to the Wild Onion to kill time before the reception and drank horrible free champagne and someone had the brilliant idea that everyone should do a shot. Queue drunk wedding party.

Back in the limo, being a bit tipsy, I remember chatting with the other bridesmaids, who all had serious boyfriends at the time, about who would get married next and then letting the alcohol talk I spilled the beans to my maid of honor that her boyfriend intended to propose and had already sought her father's permission to ask her. Oops!

Arriving at the reception, we were all pretty well, let's still just say "tipsy" and did the procession in and everyone tells me they knew I was in that state because I was "bouncing".

I remember dancing, laughing, celebrating and leaving feeling so blessed and full of joy to have had such a wonderful day shared by so many people.

I hold on to those memories each passing year, but I don't dwell on it either. Everyone has moments of "if I could go back I would change this", but what is more important to me is where we are now. I love the life we've built together thus far. I love all the things we do together and share with friends and family. I love where we are going in this journey called life.

Plain and simple, I love us.

Wordless Wednesday: Five Years in photos

2006

(25th birthday party)

2007

(New Years Eve)


2008
(Bowling night with friends)

2009

(Pedal Pub)

2010

(Oktoberfest)

2011

(Winterfest)

Oddly, you notice I'm almost always on Nate's right except the last picture - I find that kind of funny. These are only SOME of my many favorite moments of the last five years of our marriage, there are so, SO many more, but we'd be here all day as this post would get wayyyyy too long. :)

A letter to my former self

So, this week Nate and I celebrate five years of marriage - this Friday to be specific. Today through Friday I'll bring a series of posts reflecting on this as five feels like a significant number to me! Today's post, a letter to "bride to be" me.

Dear Bride to Be Beth,

In a few short days you will marry the love of your life and all of your dreams will finally come through. You've waited a long time for this day and I promise you it will be everything you ever wanted and more. However, I'm writing you from the future to offer a bit of advice in these final days. You did nothing wrong, but these are things I wish you'd known then that would've helped just a little bit as you prepared to be someone's wife.

First of all, stop stressing out so much about your current job situation. Yes your church job is being cut to part time. Yes you won't have benefits anymore if you stay. And yes, the job you have interviewed for and really, really want is taking their sweet time getting back to you, but guess what, when you get home from your honeymoon, they are going to call and offer you the job - so relax! Stop thinking about it so much and instead revel in the fact that you are a bride!

Second of all, stop stressing out about the purchase of your house. It might take you a few months, but you and Nate will get everything all figured out and worked out and you'll be homeowners by summer's end. You won't be homeless, you won't have to go live in an apartment. That is your house baby, ain't no one will be taking that away from you!

Third, stop and smell the roses. These moments, they will pass you by so fast. You will be amazed at how quickly it is all over and done. And I know you will cherish every last minute, but the above stresses may hinder you just a little bit. So just try your best. You'll have pictures and videos that will allow you to relive the day, but nothing compares to being there. Being present. Try hard to stay in the moment.

Fourth, it's going to be hot on your wedding day. After a spring filled with rainy cool days (that seemed to fall on every single day you had a wedding shower) it will be in the 90's on May 27th and there is nothing you can do about it. Deal with it. Oh and stop being a brat and go take pictures outside with your bridesmaids. Nate and the boys did it and you're going to regret the fact that you didn't.

And fifth, more for your actual marriage, just remember this boy you are marrying is not a boy. He is a man. He is not perfect and neither are you. Your relationship will be different now that you are living together. There will be moments that you frustrate one another or endure difficulties. But honey, it's normal. And for every moment like those, you will have double in moments of joy and excitement. You'll have wonderful and amazing adventures. Five years into your marriage you will find yourself loving Nate more than you ever thought possible and still growing every single day. And that's what it's really all about.

Love,
Happily married five years Beth

Some of what I wrote to myself is a little tongue and cheek and I just want to say here and now I have ZERO major regrets about our wedding day - but many of those things I wrote about are true and if I could change them, I might. But it truly was the happiest day of my life and I look back on it with nothing but joy in my heart.

A guy, a girl and a train

There is still part of me that just can't let this day, March 22nd, go by without acknowledging a very important thing that happened.

A train trip. Many, many hours on a train. Flirting. Talking. Connecting.

Yes it was this day 13 years ago that Nate and I became a couple. We don't celebrate this anniversary any longer as our wedding anniversary is just over two months from now, but again, I can't let this day go by without thinking about it. Remembering. Reflecting. Feeling a wee bit nostalgic. But mostly feeling thankful and blessed.

Thankful and blessed to have had these amazing 13 years and thankful and blessed for all the years to come. There's no one else I want to share the journey of life with.