CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »
Showing posts with label Marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marriage. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Trip Pics

St. Louis was lots of fun mixed in with lots of relaxation.


We saw the arch.
And rode this pod to the top.

From the top we could see the riverboats that we did not get to ride. Curse springtime flooding. Maybe we should change our anniversary to another date, since something similar happened last year, too. ;)We walked about downtown,


Ate at an outdoor cafe,


And saw a man eating chicken.


We are so dignified.

We went to the best free zoo ever. There were funny creatures there.



We only had 3 days there, so we didn't get everything done we had hoped. We might just have to go back some day.
This has been the best year ever. Everybody likes to scare people and tell them how hard the first year is, but I'm so happy to know that it doesn't have to be that way. Maybe it's just because Jono is so easy to get along with, but I can't remember having a single fight with him since we've been together. He's amazing.
Marriage. It comes highly recommended around here. :)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Hotel: Check!

Last week I officially booked our hotel at our anniversary trip destination. It felt really, really good. Once that was complete it finally sunk in that it was actually coming. So exciting!

We'll scoot outa town Thursday night after work, and it cannot come fast enough.

I hadn't been trying to keep the destination a secret, but when someone desperately wanted to know the details I thought it would be more fun to keep it a secret. I can't resist being difficult. ;)

She said that if she guessed the location correctly that I should have to bring her back a prize of some sort. When I asked what would happen if she was incorrect she said "you can do anything you want to me...within reason."

Hehe.

So, I will be posting picture clues on my blog during/after the trip and the first person to guess correctly will get a souvenir from our destination. I can't promise it will be fantastic, but I can promise it will be... a thing. :)

I will hide the comments so that no cheating can take place (and so that the people who I've already told about the trip can't give it away).

Since I believe I have one international reader I have to add a disclaimer:
I'm not going to ship a prize overseas (e.g. Peru). So if Eden wins, she can give her prize to someone else.

Hehe... you'd almost think I was taking this prize seriously. But you shouldn't. I like to keep standards really, really, really... really low. :)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Thoughts. They are a-whirling.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the amazing women I know. And I know many, many of them. These people have shaped me and impacted me, moved and delighted me, and made me giggle til I almost wet myself.

And these women (while perfectly capable of living happy lives regardless of marital status) are single.

I should back up.

Most "normal" people in the world would say that 22 years old is a very young age at which to get married. But in homeschooled, middle America this is not the case. From 18 on there were comments and questions and oh-so-many "helpful" people looking to set me up. I'm not really complaining about that, though, because it was never a big enough thing to let myself be bothered over. However, I did constantly wonder why everyone in the world assumed that marriage was the only path to happiness. I swore to never be one of those people.

But I'm afraid that being married to the perfect man has changed my views. I know that I was a very happy single person. I thoroughly enjoyed the (perhaps) few years of my single, adult life. But now I am much happier than I ever was or imagined I would be. Therefore, I am an advocate of marriage (should your mate be perfect, that is).

Now, just because these wonderful ladies I know are not married does NOT mean I pester them constantly or even try to talk them into having relationships. I wouldn't dream of it. But I DO happen to know that these particular people want to be married (someday).

So, it makes me wonder. I wonder where all the wonderful guys are to make good on this opportunity? How can these beautiful, intelligent women and their singlehood go unnoticed? It seems slightly absurd. I hope all the respectable men of the world have not suddenly been abducted.


Dear men,
You are missing the best of the best. You're freakin' morons.
Sincerely,
Rachel

Thursday, November 20, 2008

My Guy...

Is working out of town today. He got up early to drive down to the lowest depths of Missouri.

This morning before work I received this text from him:
"Just stopped at our first honeymoon lie!"

Ah, memories. :)

Friday, October 24, 2008

What's To Like?

After reading this post Joanne asked me why I hated my wedding so much. Since I often struggle to come up with things to blog about, I figured I should take the opportunity to respond.

First of all, I hate planning events. Especially parties. I want no part of it. But since it was my wedding, I knew I had to bite the bullet and just do it. The truth was that Jono and I both would have preferred to elope and then have a reception after we got back. Neither of us enjoy events where we are the center of attention, and neither of us enjoy spending money on things that are silly. However, because we love our families dearly, we went ahead with it. They didn't insist we have a wedding or anything, but we knew it would make them happy.

Now, to start, planning a simple wedding is not simple. I would say that compared to the majority of other weddings, ours was very low-key and "inexpensive." (Some of you were there, so you can back me up on this) However, it was still a lot of work and a lot of money. My dad paid for it, and we really didn't want to waste a bunch of his money. Also, my family lives half a country away, so even though they were so, so willing to help, there were many things they just couldn't do.

We had 4 months to plan the wedding. If it weren't for extensive help from immediate and extended family, it wouldn't have been possible. But even with that help, I was busy all the time. And my sweet husband-to-be had to work out of town, meaning that his weekends at home were entirely filled with wedding stuff.

For people who hate event planning, this was a very unpleasant time in life. All we wanted was to be married. We didn't want to stand up in front of everyone saying the same lines that have been said in millions of other weddings. We didn't want to worry about who we should invite so that we didn't offend anyone.
We just wanted to be together forever. Why is that so difficult?

The wedding itself wasn't horrible. My grandpa officiated...and took some liberties (he's an ornery booger). But all in all, it was just another wedding. We took a multitude of pictures to remind us of a day we never really want to revisit (mostly to send to relatives), we stood around in uncomfortable shoes all day, we tried to enjoy the fellowship of the wonderful people around us, we got a ton of gifts from people who are more generous than we could ever understand.

And as we pulled away from the church, finally married, I couldn't understand all the feelings inside of me. Part of me was so unbelievably relieved that it was all over. Everything I had been working on for 4 months was done. DONE. On the other hand, we were driving away from a building that held almost everyone we cared about in this world. People came from all over to be there, and we didn't even get to talk to all of them.

Despite all the whining I do about this, there are two things I always remember. One is that we did it for our families, and that is the absolute least we could do for people who have blessed our lives so much. I really believe we have the best family anyone could boast of, and I'm so thankful. The second thing is that I would go through a lot more to get to be with Jono. If you think I'm ever too mushy on this blog you should realize that I'm holding way back for your sakes.

So, that's it. It's over and done with. And that's the best explanation I can give.

And just so you know, I did NOT bother to write this all out while on my short vacation to the east. Ah, I love scheduled posting. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The First Lie

Mountain Dew is weird. I mean, it's greenish/yellowish liquid that reminds you of those terrible days of summer allergies. Ew.
I always tried to explain to Jono why Mountain Dew was so gross and weird, but he never understood. Then one day he found out that I had never actually, officially, you know...tried it. He thought I really need to try it before making a judgment call of that kind, but I didn't agree. For one, it's not good for you. It's got way too much sugar and green, so why bother?

Fast forward to that day in early May. We got married, then spent that night in KC before moving along to the rest of our honeymoon. The next day we hit the road, ready to get outa Kansas and as far away from wedding planning as possible. We were finally together, and it was a good time.

We stopped in Butler, Kansas to get some refreshing drinks. Jono, being the sweet, chivalrous, new husband that he was decided to go in and get the drinks for me. He came out, smiled at me, and said, "Here's your lemonaid" as he handed me a huge, yellow drink. I thought he had a funny look in his eye as I brought the straw to my lips, but I drank anyway. It didn't taste like any lemonaid I'd had before, but it wasn't bad. He looked at me intently and asked, "do you like it?"

That's when I knew something was amiss. "What did you do?" I asked. He smiled and revealed that it was, indeed, Mountain Dew.

Yes, we had not been married for 24 hours before he told me a lie.

And, what's worse... is that everyone who hears this story thinks it's awesome.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Everyone Should Get To Be Themselves

I really believe that. It's the key to real relationships and contentment. Plus, it's just plain fun.

Many people might think that women should be ladies, but I find that this isn't always practical. I've heard of women spending the first months of their marriage jumping out of bed early to brush their teeth and put on makeup. I've heard of them leaving the room whenever certain bodily functions are about to become apparent. And maybe these people are the nice wives, the good wives, the wives that remind their husbands daily why they fell in love with them.

I'll never be one of those wives.

I can't do it. At least, it's very difficult for me. I'm just not a lady.

I burp and, er, "pass gas" without holding back (when it's just the two of us). And if, by some miracle, my dear husband doesn't hear it, I inform him loudly. "Husband! I tooted!" "Husband! I burped! Did you hear my burp?"

You think I'm kidding, don't you? Just ask the man. The poor, dear man.

And growing up with two older brothers did NOT help this situation. My threats seem to come straight out of a jr. high lunchroom. "If you don't stop that, I'll put boogers on you while you sleep!"

Really. I said that.

And I've only worn makeup for about 1/3 of the days we've been married.

I told you I wasn't a lady! But you know what? I'm me. And I happen to like being me. And Jono and I laugh and giggle a lot together. AND he still loves me, because he knows exactly who "me" is.

Life is good.