2 Years Later

A letter to my husband on our two year anniversary

Mr. A,

Today, we have been married for two years. For two, wonderful, stressful, fun, challenging, and exciting years.

This second year of marriage has been our best, by far. Our first year was wrought with challenges we never anticipated and we struggled to support each other at the same time we were each facing our own difficulties that we didn’t know how to deal with. You were in your first year of law school, in a new city, without knowing anyone, all the while having to deal with me. The girl freaking out over unemployment, then underemployment. You battled some health issues and I tried not to lose my ever loving mind. We didn’t like our new city and we hadn’t made good friends yet. We questioned our decision and wondered “what if?”.

But we made it.

And this year was wonderful. You were more confident in yourself and knew that this is where you were supposed to be. I started grad school and an assistantship that allowed me to teach at the college level. We moved to a much more awesome apartment and we could finally enjoy being married and explored our new, albeit tiny, city. There isn’t a ton to do here, but we’ve been trying to make the best of it.

We became “parents” this year. Our very precious furbaby has been wonderful for us and we have learned that is possible to love something with the whole of our hearts. She may just be a kitten, but she is preparing us for those future real children. I love when she curls up in your lap and you both take a nap. It is just incredibly cute and I get all emotional and imagine you napping with your future kids.

Next year at this time, we will both be graduated and life will be moving at a million miles an hour. You will be done with school, but prepping for the bar. I will be done with my master’s and, hopefully, I will be looking for jobs in wherever our new city is. We will be packing and moving and starting our “grown up” lives. Next year, for our third anniversary, life will be a blur and we will be trying to figure everything out.

So this year is a special one. We can enjoy where we are and look forward to where our life is headed. Soon there will be a house and kids and jobs and while I know we will continue to love and learn from each other, but we will have to work a little harder to relax and find the time to remember how far we have come. I want to make sure to remember these early moments. These moments where we can lounge on the couch and just laugh at silly episodes of shows. I love our impromptu date nights for dinner and ice cream. I love when we grab coffee and wander Lowes, talking about what we would love to have in our future house, picking out appliances and paint colors.

I truly love our life right now. And I love you more than a little letter can express. But I wanted to find a way to tell you how much you mean to me. I know we’re enjoying our winery day and I look forward to many more anniversaries with you. Hopefully we always find time to celebrate this special day, even if it’s just a card left on a pillow or a glass of wine together.

Happy anniversary honey. Cheers to us.

Well then…

Wouldn’t you know. I have all this free time and not much to talk about.

Huh. Funny how that works out.

I guess it’s because I’m on a real summer break. I’ve never had this much time without any responsibilities or work or school. Summer teaching doesn’t start until June 11th and the class I’m taking doesn’t begin until July 9th. So I’ve already had two weeks off, and I still have another week and a half.

So basically, I’ve had a lot of time to sit around and not do much.

I guess this will be a bit of a brain dump. Hopefully once classes start I will have much more to discuss.

– Did I mention I’m on summer break? It’s awesome. I’ve slept in a lot. Far more than an adult should ever admit, but it had been glorious.

– Even better? Mr. A is on break and we’re finally in the same state for the first summer since we’ve been married. So it’s been a lot of not doing anything together. I’m a fan.

– Tomorrow is our two year wedding anniversary. Still can’t believe we’ve been married for two whole years. I remember our wedding day perfectly and even though I can get caught up in other people’s weddings and second guessing choices, I really did love it. It was so much fun and full of the people we love.

– Tomorrow’s game plan: I will go run secret errands in the morning to get Mr. A’s card, pick up the super amazing tiramisu cake I ordered and grab a couple cigars to have with drinks on our deck once we get home. We will then head out to our favorite winery for lunch and sun and lots of wine and relaxation. We could potentially go to a couple wineries since there are roughly 20 around the area, but I bet we just enjoy our favorite and relax for a few hours without needing to rush. We then have dinner reservations at a really nice restaurant that we haven’t been to yet, but the menu looks awesome. Then head home for dessert and drinks and hanging out. Not a fancy anniversary, but I’m certainly looking forward to it.

– I need to get back into a gym schedule. I just….meh. Not feeling motivated, even though I should. I just…eh. I’’ll figure something out. But any positive words of encouragement are welcome.

– Mr. A and I only have one more year here! WOO. We each will be done with classes in December. Mr. A will do a semester away (only 2 hours and will be staying at my mom’s) and I will be finishing my thesis in the spring, so I am pretty excited and can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Remind me of this when I’m freaking out at the end of the fall semester since I will be taking a class with our department chair and another in an area I have NO background in. Eeeep.

– Scout…is…Scout. She seems to be in a bit of a terrible toddler phase. I am not a fan. Also, any ideas on hoe to get her to quit biting?! It’s driving me nuts and I don’t like when she does it to play with guests. She’s just a little bratty, and I’m assuming she will grow out of it, and she still has moments of sweetness, but man she is feisty. SOOOO not ready for kids. At all.

– I have been a cooking machine. I made baked tomato halves stuffed with mozzarella and topped with fresh parmesan. SO DELICIOUS. Also, made homemade meatballs. And awesome sugar cookies. And Mexican chicken bake. And I have a bunch more recipes to try. Any new recipes you’ve tried and would recommend? Especially baked goods because my favorite thing is to bake. Found a recipe for white Russian cupcakes that I will have to try soon. 

– I need to get onto summer lesson planning. Might be the plan for Thursday. Or early next week. It will get done, but I have just wanted to enjoy my time off without worrying about school. Silly responsibilities.

– What is new with you? What should I know? And please, don’t go to Miami since apparently there are face eating cannibals wandering around there. Creepy.

Accessorize Me!

I am not the most stylish person ever. I know this.

I don’t think I typically am the worst dressed, but I really have a hard time accessorizing outfits. I can find a dress or an outfit that is cute and looks good, but I never know how to put jewelry or shoes with it.

As some of you might know, Mr. A’s best friend is getting married next month. He was the best man in our wedding and is like a brother to me.

A couple weeks ago, we met up with him for dinner and of course, the wedding came up. His family has quite a bit of money and I know that his older sister’s wedding was black tie and a VERY formal affair. I asked about the wedding and it turns out that they wanted to put “black tie” on the invitations, but her parents didn’t think that was a good idea. (Why, I have no idea since this is going to be a big and very nice wedding.)

As soon as he said that, I knew I needed a dress. I had one that I thought I would wear, but it just didn’t seem nice enough. I originally went shopping with the intent of finding a long dress, but all of them looked like prom dresses or entirely too casual maxi dresses. So instead I went with a nice shorter dress that falls right below my knees.

It looks really nice on and I thought with the right accessories, I could make it fancy enough.

This is the top of it. I love the ruffles around the neck and think it adds a fun detail.

So, this is where all of YOU come in!

I need some help. Remember, a fancy wedding at night. Also, Mr. A will be in a tux, so I need to look okay next to him.

I have some nice black peep-toe heels that I think I am going to wear. (I’d show a picture, but I left them at my mom’s so will need to pick them up from her.) I wore them when I was in a wedding as a bridesmaid and I think they will be perfect with the dress.

But I don’t know what to do for jewelry. I am considering hair styles along these lines:

  OR OR one of these

 

Unless, you think this concept wouldn’t look good with the dress? I thought since it is all ruffly around the neck, it would be good to have the hair up and I really like the low and to the side pinned buns. Also, I am getting my hair done at 11am. Wedding isn’t until 5pm and reception at 7pm. I need the hair to last ALL DAY on a hot June day. I have pretty thick hair and I know having it curled and down just won’t last more than an hour.

So that’s the hair question.

Now, for jewelry.

It is kind of low, but it isn’t ridiculous and the ruffles hide some of it.

I was thinking, with the hair style in mind, of doing big dangly earrings, skipping a necklace, but then doing a bracelet.

Yes? No?

And if so, what should the earrings/bracelet look like? Sparkly? Pearls? Black?

SEE?? I am helpless when it comes to this type of stuff. Not a clue.

So please. Help me.

And if my ideas suck, tell me, but then give me other ideas. And if you find pictures, feel free to e-mail them to me at newteacherwife@gmail.com because I need some serious help here! I can’t show up looking ridiculous when my husband will be looking sharp in a tux!

So Much Fur

As you know, I have a little furbaby named Scout.

If only she was still that small. That was the day after we brought her home when she was just under four months old.

This is her now:

Super annoyed her mom won’t just let her nap in her favorite chair in the sun. As you can see, she has liked sleep her entire life. Or, more likely, when she is sleeping is about the only time I can get a decent picture that isn’t a blurred half picture of her back.

She’s fast and has little patience for pictures. Diva.

Told ya, Diva.

Well for the last two days, I’ve been the guest mom for two cats and a dog. Their mom, K, is out of town, so I had the honor of pet sitting.

I sent this to her today since they miss her very much.

The dog is Diesel and he is such a sweetheart. He has A LOT of energy, so yesterday I took him to campus and we walked/ran roughly 3 miles. Today, I let him run around the pond on her property for over an hour. He was in doggie heaven, playing in the water and mud biting at fish. He inadvertently caught one and then promptly dropped it and kept shaking his head since he had no idea what to do with it.

I then had to give him a bath since he was all muddy. It was fine, but strangely, he didn’t like the hose even though he has just been playing in water for the last hour. I forgot a towel to dry him off, so I ran in side to grab one. In that amount of time, he went and rolled in the dirt, which turned into mud.

So Diesel got two baths today. Poor pup.

Riley, the cat on the top is such a flirt. He will paw at you and nuzzle you until you pet him. The picture doesn’t show, but his snout is rather long for a cat and he has little wisps on top of his ears, so he looks like a lynx. He’s pretty handsome.

Now Sid and I have a special bond. He is the white one on the bottom, obviously. He takes a while to warm up to new people, but since I’ve been over to the house a lot, he finally trusts me. But not only likes me, he REALLY needs attention. I don’t think it’s a dominance, “LOOK AT ME” thing. He seemed sincerely sad to not have his mom and needed someone to show him some love. So I would make sure to treat him to lots of snuggles and ear scratching. He would just crawl into my lap and purr the entire time. I really just want to take him home with me and he’s so sweet that I think he and Scout would get along just perfectly.

I want him, but since I’m fairly certain K is attached to him at this point, so I won’t kitty-nap him. At least not yet.

That being said, I have been in a constant state of covered in fur. Every time I would come home, Scout could obviously smell them, so even after I showered or changed clothes, she would make sure to crawl in my lap and cuddle on my chest for an hour. Pet hair has been my constant.

And since I’m headed to my MIL’s tomorrow, the trend will continue since her two dogs shed a lot as well.

I should invest in 3M since I’m fairly certain with the number of lint rollers I have bought, I might be single handedly keeping them afloat.

Breatheeee

I feel awful since this is now roughly the THIRD time I’ve had to take a blogging break.

I guess I feel bad because I really do love this hobby and have met some amazing people, but this last semester has kicked my ass.

I simply didn’t have time.

Yes, I had time to sit and watch tv. But when that rare opportunity occurred, the thought of having to type anything else out just wasn’t appealing, even though I missed all of you so very much.

BUT.

In case you don’t follow me on Twitter, I’m finished with my first year of grad school!!!!!

I am so freaking excited about this fact. I mean, a year ago I was working retail in a job I hated, which in turn, made me hate myself even though I was doing the “adult” thing by working to support my family.

A year later, I’ve finished my first year of grad school with (hoping!!) all A’s. (Waiting on the last grade to come in…I’ve checked it about a million times since Wednesday). I’m done with my first year of teaching college students, and while I sure had a rocky road, I’ve learned so so so much and I love where I am right now with my career.

And yes, it’s my career.

I’ve always wanted to teach at the college level. Always. I just thought that i would have to teach high school for a while first. But God had different plans and I’ve never been happier.

Yes, this year, specifically this semester, was hard.

I doubted myself constantly, thinking that maybe I wasn’t smart/good/talented/worthy enough for this opportunity. I still think that at times, but I’ve learned that I am as good as the other people in my program. I have worked HARD for this position and I will cherish every moment I have.

Do I complain about obnoxious students? Yes. Do I whine about papers and lack of sleep? Yes. And I am trying to work on that since I know I am blessed/lucky beyond belief to have this chance, but I am human and I do take things for granted. That being said, I am constantly in awe of this. Constantly. This whole thing was a fluke, but a fluke that I know was meant for me and I was in the right place at the right time.

Strangely enough, had it not been for the job I hated and happening to pick up an extra shift for a little extra money one day, I would not be here. A girl at work and I were talking about grad school and she is the one that informed me that this school had so many assistantship opportunities.

Funny how things work out…

And for those of you that have been here since then, none of this is new. But I feel like I need to make sure to give credit where it’s due and remind myself how lucky I am. So I do it here.

Mr. A and I are thoroughly enjoying this down time. We both have 4 weeks off until summer classes/teaching start and we plan on regaining our sanity. The last month of the semester was insane. Words can’t even describe it. One week, I had 6 nights in a row that I was in my office until after midnight. Mr. A and I rarely saw each other and we were testy and short with each other. Unfortunately, me more than him.

I had panic attacks and sobbing sessions. I freaked out and considered quitting. But I didn’t and I am so happy I didn’t.

Last week, I sat down with my thesis director so we could “road map” my thesis since I plan on starting it this summer. Strangely enough, I’m way ahead of the game and looks like I will have, roughly, a 120 page thesis that isn’t scaring the crap out of me. I am so incredibly excited about topic and my project that 120 pages seems completely doable, and even more so, enjoyable.

But, enough about school since I know all of us in school in some capacity is ready to avoid the subject for a bit.

Today, we DEEP cleaned the apartment since we both let it get completely out of hand the last month of school. Now, I hate cleaning. I am not domestic and chores might be my least favorite thing. However, having a very clean apartment sure was nice tonight.

Scout, however, hated it.

She doesn’t like change, and the amount of moving things around and loud noises that were happening, she was not happy with us. She spent most of the day hiding under the bed, which she hasn’t done since we first brought her home. However, once Mr. A left to help a friend move and I was just folding laundry, I lured her out with some treats and she napped in her chair.

Bonus of Mr. A helping someone move? The guy is moving to California, so can’t take too much with him, so he offered his awesome entertainment center with tv mount to us. It looks a million times better than the one we had before, especially since we had broken one leg when we, after a few drinks, decided to rearrange our living room. The tv stand was simply set on top of the broken leg, so a bump in the right spot would have sent everything flying. Needless to say, this is a HUGE upgrade. It even fits in the space better. Win win.

Tomorrow, a friend and I are having a late lunch and then getting pedicures. Mr. A leaves on Tuesday to go to Mville to see his mom and dad, and then he and his friends leave on Wednesday for a Vegas bachelor party. They won’t get back until midnight on Sunday, which means Mr. A won’t be home until roughly 4am on Monday. Mr. A is the best man, so this has been all his planning, so I’m happy for him to have a chance to relax and hang out with friends without school hanging over his head. They have bottle service at one of the most exclusive clubs and tickets to an amazing show. I tried to get them to go to Club Rehab on Sunday, but they weren’t sure it was worth the money since they would have to leave early to catch their flight home. Can you tell I’m SUPER jealous? I tried to get them to let me fly out with them, stay in a separate room and just lounge by the pool the whole time. For some reason, Mr. A just wouldn’t agree to that…

No worries thought. My MIL and I are going to have a girl’s weekend involving the restaurants in Mville that I miss, drinks, gossip, and time tanning on the deck. I think I still make it out okay.  ;o)

So that’s where we are as of right now. Did I leave anything out? How are all of YOU??? What do I need to catch up on??

Phone test

Just testing out the WordPress iPhone app to see how this goes. I will be back to blogging now that this inane semester is over.

For reading a test post here is a Scout picture