A Different Kind of Valentine's Day Celebration

You know, the thing about Valentine's Day is that it changes.

It's always on February 14th. But the shape it takes in a relationship changes. If you've been married, or in a long-term relationship, you probably know what I mean.

I have a core value that is this: If it feels forced, it's probably not what you should be doing.

I could have gotten Michael a card and a bottle of wine. He could have rolled up to Kroger and gotten me roses and chocolate.
But - we didn't.

And you know what? It's totally okay. All we wanted was rest, together. And we got it. I just woke up after sleeping for 12 hours.

Life since last Summer has been one heavy challenge after another. Life has tried to tear our love apart and tear our teamwork down.

But we stand. Strong enough that all we need is a text message to mark the holiday about love. This morning, I looked back through previous Valentine's Day posts and I love each of them. This year, we'll celebrate five years of marriage. And already, you can see our seasons through those posts.

Our rule for Valentine's Day is homemade gifts only. So I guess the wine and chocolate I mentioned above wouldn't have worked anyway. When Michael asked me to marry him, he posed the question, "Will you spend the rest of your life making memories with me?"

My answer: yes.
So - this Valentine's Day, that's what we do. Homemade valentines. We make memories.

Previous V-Day posts:
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007

Thankful.

It has been such a glorious Thanksgiving weekend.

We ate at my sister's. FaceTimed with my brother. Drank mimosas from Brandy's mimosa bar. I snuggled Caplin for HOURS. I put way too much food on Michael's plate. Jimmy made a delicious feast. I love my family, and Thanksgiving Day represented all that is good about living at home.

I spent almost all of Friday, on the couch. I think I watched episodes of Dateline that went back to September. The TiVo literally thanked me. Michael and I ordered pizza and a movie and for the first time in years, I stayed awake for the whole thing.

It was Silver Linings Playbook, and I loved it.

Yesterday, I spent the day decorating this house for the first time for Christmas. I repurposed decorations we've had for years, and I had a lot of fun.

I decided to do the tree in just green and teal and silver and white, so that it didn't clash with the already-established theme of the living/dining area: teal and coral.

I put the red stuff upstairs.

I put lights on the balcony.

And in jars...

It was a blast.

Now, I drink black coffee, and write by the light of the Christmas tree and I kind of don't want the sun to come up, because it's just so beautiful.

Michael is doing so much better. We are pretty much back to our little normal.

And, I'm thankful.

Ready.

Yesterday, I was grocery shopping at Kroger and a lady stocking the yogurt mentioned that Thanksgiving is later than normal this year.

I hadn't even noticed, but I think I like it.

There are two groups of people, you know.
Like Republicans and Democrats.
Calvinists and Armenians.
There are those who are okay with doing Christmasy things before Thanksgiving and those who wait until after Thanksgiving.

I'm on team After Thanksgiving.

Mainly because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love food.

I will admit... I bought a pack of Holiday Blend K-cups.
Yesterday, I had a Peppermint Mocha.

I actually feel the pull towards Christmasy stuff.

This morning, I woke up early. I was going to write, but all I could do was reminisce and read Emily Freeman's archived blog posts about writing.

When I was walking down the steps for 6:00 a.m. snuggles with Michael, I thought about digging out the Christmas decorations.

But, I will wait.
Because I'm off on Thursday and Friday, and I'd rather do it when I can finish it, than start it and have a mess around here for a few days.

I remember this time last year.
Being tired and worn out and war-weary in my post-election fog.
I didn't want to make any big life decisions until I took a month off of work.

So much for that.

I took a phone call at work one day, from a 757 number.
It was some guy named Jim who wanted to talk to me about WAVY and journalism and news philosophy.

The next thing I knew, I was talking to him on the phone again, in the Panera parking lot.
Then, I bought a brown suit and went in for an interview.

The next thing I knew, boxes were piled seven feet high in our apartment on Christmas and I was neck deep in a search for a house built on a slab, with a downstairs bedroom and bathroom with 31 inch door ways.

I decorated our little Northern Virginia apartment for Christmas, one last time.

We moved in January.
So that life could slow down.
No commute.
No travel.

You know the story.
Because I've been stuck in it for the last year. It's all I can seem to write about.

Moving back 'home' hasn't been what I thought it would be, in a lot of ways.
This turned out to be a hard year.

Financial challenges.
Health challenges.
Workaholism rearing its head in a big, ugly way.

I've been learning a lot about myself this year.
That is never fun, but I do encourage it.

I feel ready to decorate for Christmas.
I feel ready to celebrate.
I feel ready to welcome a new year.
I feel ready to share parts of myself with you in a new, fresh way that scares me.

And most of all, I feel ready to move on.

2012 Was Possibly My Favorite Year, So Far

I tend to live in the future.

Not way in the future, just a couple of steps ahead. I can't help it.

Maybe it's the infielder in me, anticipating the ball. Maybe it's the producer in me, anticipating what's two steps ahead, so that my director can be one step ahead, so that my anchors look smart.

I'm not sure. Either way, I don't look back much. Often, I forget to look around during the here and now, but my husband helps me with that.

Today is the start of a new year. I love new beginnings. I'm so caught up in this move, and looking forward to this new job, that our Christmas and New Year have kind of been a fog of boxes, to do lists, unwrapped presents, and deep breaths.

2012 was incredibly good. It really was a year of BIG blessings. Here is how I will remember 2012.

Covering the presidential election. We wrote scripts in hotel lobbies, cabs, rental car shuttles, coffee shops, warehouse floors, and bathrooms. We lugged equipment on planes and campaign buses. I drove a black Suburban (or two) in motorcades, undetected. I got my correspondent a tie to wear for a standup, that belonged to a presidential candidate. We got to know these guys. What an amazing experience not only as a journalist, but as a voter. So grateful for every stop. Freezing in Iowa, chowder in New Hampshire, sweating in Florida, Perkins in Pennsylvania, the rude Starbucks guy in Ohio, and a million Hilton Honors points. Time of my life.

Welcoming my little brother home from Afghanistan. For a year, my mother freaked out every time the phone rang, or a car drove down her street. I don't miss that. So proud of Chris, and his service. I remember that night he came home and we all piled into that hotel room in Syracuse, New York, just looking at each other, and we couldn't stop smiling. And I cried. And Chris made fun of me. So fortunate to have him back, safe and sound.

Embracing ME time. Man, did I fight having to have home health aides come in to help Michael. It's hard for me to understand now, because just like everyone said would happen, I came to love it. Traveling so much to cover the campaign forced me to be okay with it. But the many Monday,Wednesday, Friday mornings when I was in town, and someone would come get Michael up, and help him with his personal care, while I went to work early, or went to the gym, or Starbucks, or Panera were wonderful. It's over, for now. And I'm pretty sad and stressed about it. I'll be back on duty starting tomorrow. This year I learned that I don't have to do it all, and I don't want to either.

Great Falls with Michael. We don't get out all that much, because it's complicated. Hopefully we will do better with that in 2013. But one random Saturday this Spring, we took a spontaneous trip to Great Falls, it's not to far from our house, and it's beautiful. I married an outdoorsy guy who ate this up. I loved experiencing this day with him, having our picnic lunch by the creek, and looking at the falls of the Potomac at the overlook. Wonderful.

Meeting blog readers. 2012 was a very busy year for this blog! It more than doubled in readers, we started a Facebook group, I wrote an e-book (hello! I really should publish that thing), went to a blog conference, so much happened with regard to the blog this year. But my absolute favorite thing was meeting some of our online friends in person. This is us with Heather and Colin at Mount Vernon. We had dinner and lunch and coffee and adventures with many others, as well. I hope to do a lot more of this in 2013.

Arkansas vacation with the Ritters. Michael and I drove from Virginia to Arkansas, which pretty much consists of driving all the way across Tennessee. That is a huge state, let me tell you. We had such a lovely time hanging with his family. The best day was when his entire Ritter side of the family got together. I come from a small family, so I was overwhelmed with all of these Ritters, young and old, getting together. I saw how lucky I am to marry into a huge, loving family.

David's book tour. My partner in crime at work, David Brody, wrote his first book called "The Teavangelicals," and it came out this Summer. Seemingly out of nowhere, I was hired to do his PR. We traveled to New York and Dallas and did LOTS of media for the book, and it was such a fun/crazy time, on top of all of the campaign coverage. It was a huge blessing for me to have this opportunity to learn something new, to earn some side income, and see the inside of the book business up close and personal. Oh, and get Mr. Softee with David on a NYC street corner, eat the most amazing brunch buffet at the Omni, and collect lots of extra Crabtree and Evelyn travel-sized hotel shampoos.

My hair. I had a good hair year. I learned how to do my hair this year, thanks to Kate over at The Small Things Blog. That may sound like a trivial, vain thing - to look back on a year and remember your hair, but if you have ever had that light bulb moment when you know how to make your hair look good, you know what I mean. Good hair changes your life. It gives you a unique confidence. I'm thankful for those You Tube curling iron tutorials, and Aquage Uplifting Foam.

My 24 hours in Annapolis, by myself. Some of my friends and family thought this was radical. Other women in my situation completely got it. I was so tired of everything, I took a break and got away by myself for 24 hours. I drove about an hour away, went to a "beach," went to the mall, went to dinner alone and got an appetizer and dessert. Bought myself a new pair of earrings, and walked around a waterfront, alone. I also wrote the best piece of writing I've ever written. It's amazing what a little margin can do. I encourage each and every one of you to do this, this year. Take a Sabbath, for yourself.

Michael surfing. Do I need to say anything more? I grew up at the beach, and I always wanted to date a surfer. The Life Rolls On Foundation "They Will Surf Again" event in Virginia Beach was amazing. It wasn't easy for my man to catch that one wave he caught, but what a thrill to see him ride it in. And I just love the smiles of all of the volunteers, too. It was such a picture of community, and people working together. It was beautiful. I made some awesome friends that day, too. Can't wait for LRO '13!

*This picture is at the height of my weight gain, which is NOT a highlight of 2012, but oh well. The van. On our way home from that long trip to Arkansas, we started talking about wanting to get a van that is modified for Michael's wheelchair. About a week later, I was in my hotel room in Salt Lake City, and Derek and Krystina called me and told me they wanted to give their van to us! A few months later, they got their new van and gave us the Silver Bullet! I am not kidding, this has been a life-changer! I don't know what I was thinking that I thought it would be okay to lift a grown man in and out of an SUV every single day. I've learned so much. This van makes our life so much easier, and so much more fun! Looking forward to lots of adventures in the Silver Bullet in 2013!

The Joni and Friends Wounded Warrior Getaway. We spent 5 days in Maryland volunteering with Joni and Friends. If I had to pick one highlight of the entire year, this would be it. My heart was so full. I love wounded warriors, I love Joni and Friends, and I love serving side by side with my husband. This picture is from when Michael went parasailing. It was awesome! I went first, and I told him, "you can totally do this!" The beauty was he trusted me, and up he went! When we got back on the ground after parasailing and the boat ride, I was all amped up, pretty much yelling, "WASN'T THAT AWESOME!?!?!!" To which M replied, "Yeah, it was pretty cool." Oh, my calm/cool/collected husband who never gets too excited/too upset about anything, I love you.

Jorden and Kyndall's wedding. I watched my nephew become a husband. I'm so proud of the man that he is, I adore his wife, and I was so happy to see this beautiful day unfold for my sister. She danced with her little boy, and my brother cried. I love my family. We aren't perfect, but we know how to have fun, and how to love. And how to have beautiful beach weddings. :)

Allume. I was so inspired by attending the Allume Social Conference this year. It was amazing to be in a room full of 400 Christian women bloggers, to make new friends, and to learn the lesson that "There is room in God's kingdom for all of us to do something awesome." I can't wait to see where He leads us in 2013.

There is a lot of "new" to go with this new year. New Year's Day 2012 I never could have imagined all of these experiences that we had. What an amazing, super-blessed year! Looking forward to another one.

Cheers.

Simple Christmas Decorations

Happy Sunday morning.
This post is brought to you by a girl who is sitting in between the light of a Christmas tree, and a snoring Puggle who is snuggled in between two holiday toss pillows.

Ah. Yes.
I finally decorated for Christmas.

It's definitely scaled back this year.
That pumpkin on my porch? It's still there.
We're not doing the lights outside or the lights on top of the cabinet, or all of the little nik naks.

We're keeping it simple.
I didn't even put all of the ornaments on the tree.

It's low key.
And beautiful.

I drank wine and had the tree up, lights on, ornaments on, and living room swept in about an hour and a half.

Michael was super sweet and compliant. He flew low on the radar, stoking the electronic fire.

And when I was finished, he said it was beautiful.
Ah, that's a good man.

He didn't point out the non-perfect stringing of the lights, or the places on the tree where there was an ornament hole.

And you know what? We got the tree up without an argument, for the first time, ever. I believe.

A Christmas miracle.

Christmas really is simple in and of itself, you know. It's about a baby being born, a Savior, who gives us all hope.
It's not stressful and crazy and full of pressure and credit cards.
We did all of that to Christmas.

It's simple.
Beautiful.
And so important.

Sitting by the light of this imperfect tree this Sunday morning, I'm thinking about my Savior. And I'm so thankful for Him.

Christmas Clutter Funk

Our living room, last Christmas.

It's nice and quiet in here this Sunday morning.
The sun is slowly seeping through my sliding glass door, noticeably later than usual, and our home is clean.

Pretty much.
I know about the dust and grime and grit that is underneath things and behind things and way on top of things.
And all of that drives me crazy.
But not crazy enough to get on my hands and knees, or on top of a ladder to do anything about it.

Oh well.

It looks clean and smells clean in here, and that is wonderful.

I'm not sure why, but I'm just not feeling Christmasy yet.
I feel like I lost Fall.
My Fall was spent on the campaign trail, covering the Presidential debates. And that was fun, and exciting, but it stole my Fall.

So.
There's a pumpkin on my porch, still, this December 2nd.
And I thought maybe yesterday I would feel like getting the Christmas stuff down, but I didn't.
And I'm thinking about it again today.
But I'm also thinking it's going to be like 60 degrees here today and I might need to get Mr. Wonderful out of the house to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.

And a trip to Ikea may be in order.
So, maybe after that I will decorate for Christmas.
Maybe.

I'm not a Grinch. I promise.
I've already been to one Holiday Party.
I've already bought a few Christmas presents.
And made magic bars.

I'm just not ready for the Christmas clutter.
Quick, someone please tell me I'm not alone here.

I think I need another vacation. And by another, I mean the 10 day vacation I just wrapped up about a week ago was apparently not enough. I can tell. My mind and body are still so tightly wound.

I wish I had a "relax" button.

Today is My Michael's Birthday

Election night Skype. Skype is great, but I'm glad I get to say good night and good morning every day, in person now.

Today is Michael's birthday.
It's pretty much a national holiday.

And listen to this throw-down celebration we've been having here...

Brokaw woke me up at 5:00am, and I couldn't fall back asleep, so I went ahead and got up, took care of the pets, cleaned the entire apartment, unpacked the suitcase I brought home on, ahem, Wednesday, folded four loads of laundry, and made four lists.

And Michael slept in.

Then I saw an arm move in the bedroom.
The Birthday Boy was awake!

So, we snuggled and talked about General Petraeus and President Obama.
Because we are political geek heads.

Then, I made crescent roll calzones, at the Birthday Boy's request.
He's sitting up in the bed, responding to Birthday messages on Facebook, and taking calls.

At some point, I'll get him up, then head to the store.
I'm making him meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and a Boston Cream cake.

It's going to be 70 degrees in DC today!
I'm pretty sure that's God's birthday gift to Michael.

This may not sound like a grand birthday celebration, but after two years of tons of travel, I don't think there's anything we'd rather do that just this. Just live our life. Our normal, boring Saturdays are back.

We are so happy.
Here's to a great year!

Side note: Several people think Michael is a year younger than he actually is today. I have strongly advised him to go with that!

Pumpkins on the Mountain

Autumn is bittersweet around here. Neither Dana or I are fans of the cooler weather because it means socks and layers which are not conducive to our lifestyle. No, thank you. But there are some nice things to look forward to: leaves turning, open-air sleeping, cooking, and harvest! Living in the 'burbs, it is nice to get out to the country for the old fashioned fall goodies.

With Kelly & Josh Stockstill, 2010

Two years ago we went to Cox Farms (http://www.coxfarms.com) with some friends and had a wonderful time. We bought pumpkins and apple butter, took a tractor ride, and enjoyed the farm atmosphere. Last year we stayed more local, opting for a nearby nursery with a festival. My current wheelchair was still fairly new and we had our SUV. We were two strikes down already when we got there because of chair malfunctions and other *stuff. When the wheels wouldn't cooperate we were fed up! A bad day :-(

This year we were looking forward to our rebound. After all, as our faithful readers know, this has been such a great year after the previous year's frustrations. Saturday Dana was eager to go out to Hollin Farms (http://www.hollinfarms.com/) in Delaplane. She has been talking about this for weeks. Every night it's "pumpkin"-this and "pumpkin"-that. We even ate pumpkin waffles (DELICIOUS, by the way) and pumpkin creamer in our coffee. It was like Superbowl Sunday anticipation.

The drive was BEAUTIFUL. Tom Kierein said this weekend was peak, and the trees didn't disappoint. The colorful mountains with aged farmhouses and roaming livestock were idyllic. We even brought our puggle Brokaw along to roam around. All of us were eager to go sniffing around the farm.

Somewhere on the drive up the winding gravel road Dana and I each had a, "oh, crap" moment. This wasn't typical farm land. We've been to the country and gotten around pretty good. This was different. The pumpkins were literally growing on the side of a mountain.

Okay, it's not Everest, but the field was steep and rocky. Even turned up, my wheels couldn't keep up. So, Dana had to push me over the obstacles. We parked and she and Brokaw did find a fine pumpkin, but then came the descent. It was one thing after another, and a reminder that we're not like the other couples. We can't do the cool things they do.

After this we checked out and loaded up. It just wasn't fun anymore, and that's the reason we went all that way in the first place. Everybody else had fun (except one cranky lady who was driving her poor teenage kids nuts). We just wanted to blend in and have fun too.

On the trip home we were quiet. It really was a disappointment, more so for Dana than me, but a disappointment still. I tried to get some perspective. Okay, that trek was crappy. Leaving early was crappy. These feelings were crappy. But I looked at the trees and countryside. I noticed the streams that converged toward the river. I commented on the puggle asleep under my wheelchair.

This is how I deal with disappointment. But I was reminded of my senior class trip to Georgia. That was in the mountains too. My mom was along as a sponsor and my caregiver. There were sad times then because I wasn't rooming with my classmates, because I couldn't do some activities, and because I was different. Back then I determined I wouldn't make a big deal about missing out. It only hit me every now and then. Usually, either my friends included me or I just got along.

I realized driving down that winding gravel road that Dana's life is impacted like nobody else's has been or will be. We are a team. For better or worse. Where I had grown calloused or flexible I see again the hurt. I feel the hurt. It's really sad to be disappointed like that. I just didn't realize how low my expectations had become.

Somewhere along the way home I shared with Dana my perspective, that the trees were beautiful, that Brokaw was content, and other bright spots. Maybe it's my own form of denial. But I was so sorry for my wife who had looked forward to this for so long.

I didn't know they grew pumpkins on the mountain. I thought a farm was flat. But I'm not giving up. We will have a fun pumpkin experience darn it! Might be next year, but we'll get out there and enjoy pickin' out pumpkins and apples and potatoes together with our fun-loving puggle running around.

Saturday Morning Post: My Birthday

Good morning everyone!
I am waking up older today.
I'm 33.

Whoa.
That happened when I wasn't looking!
Ouch.
33 feels kind of older, like really an adult age.
Maybe because Jesus lived to be 33.

Isn't that interesting? Jesus died on the cross and rose again when He was 33.
Maybe something big will happen this year.

33 is an age where you know who you are, what you want, but you still make mistakes. You're old enough to appreciate good intentions, real love, good food, quality clothing, and not having a car payment.  But you're still young enough to buy a pair of boots that you don't technically need, because they're HOT and it's your birthday, and you happen to have a well-exercized justification muscle.

A special thank you to my sister, who answered my frantic, "emergency: should I do this?" text message!

I had a really great birthday yesterday.
It was full of things I love.

Prizes!
Actually, I got to open my gifts a couple of days early, because I'm a brat.
Michael made me wait to open my card, but he gave me a wonderful bag full of goodies that included an iTunes gift card, the new Maroon 5 CD, an adorable shirt with birds on it (he knows me!) and the cushiest slippers in the world!

Before you think I'm an old lady for receiving slippers for a birthday present, and you think he's an old man for giving them to me, remember our floors.  They are linoleum tiles on concrete - great for a wheelchair - not so great for someone who has back problems, and walks on a really hard surface all day! The fact that he thought of this, and found the cushiest slippers on the planet and even asked me, "Does it feel like you're walking on carpet?" made me smile.  This man is so thoughtful.

While I was in New York, Michael texted me that a HUGE box came for me.  I thought my mom was buying me black Uggs for my birthday (um... I took care of that, didn't I, haha!), but inside this really big box was THIS BABY:

This is a large, lightweight, super cool, rolls-all-ways Roxy suitcase, people!! My suitcase is just about dead, and I've been looking for another one, but couldn't find anything I LOVED, and you know - a suitcase is such a commitment, I didn't want to get something I didn't love, and apparently the only luggage I love is Roxy luggage. Because, you know, there are some parts of me that are still 17.  This was a big surprise and I love it soooo much. Thank you Mom!

I didn't work yesterday.  I was going to work from home, but I didn't even do that. I needed a break. Everything and everyone work-related is getting on my nerves. When that happens it means you either need an attitude adjustment, or a break. I had already adjusted my attitude, so I knew I needed a break.

Friday is a bathroom morning for Michael, so his home health aide came, and I went out to run errands.  He had her come at 8:00am, so we slept in a little. I went to Starbucks, where I inquired about my free birthday drink, because I didn't get my coupon in the mail this year (they used to send you a postcard for a free drink for your birthday). I pulled up my Starbucks app on my iPhone, and much to my delight:

Insert annual free birthday Pumpkin Spice Latte here.
And, I was off to Target for a couponing mission!
I stocked up on pet food, trash bags, coffee and body wash, and saved like $43.00. I also cashed in a Target Prescription Rewards 5% off card, and the cashier was impressed with my couponing skills, so she gave me an extra $5.00 off AND used a coupon that printed with my receipt to give me $1.25 back in cash. She said it was my lucky day. I told her it was my birthday, and she gave me a hug!

Then, I dropped some stuff off at Goodwill, then went through the Burger King drive-thru where the guy informed me that I was their last customer for breakfast.  He offered to give me free hash browns, but I declined, because of my current largeness.

Then I went to TJ Maxx, and fell in love with those boots! Score again for the birthday girl!

When I got home, Michael was just about to head out the door to work. He gave me a kiss, and I opened my birthday card from him.  Then, I had the house to myself all day!! That is a gift in and of itself! I continued a cleaning out/organizing project I started last weekend, putting some new bins and drawer organizers in the kitchen, bathed the stinky dogs and changed the slipcovers in the living room.

I did all of this to the scent of my new Fall Yankee Candle.

The mailman, Carl, came and wished me a Happy Birthday and gave me a package of Bath and Body Works goodness from my in-laws! Score again.  Thanks, Buddy and LaDonna. And a card from my Granny Nora, with a picture of her with her neighbor's dog, and her flowers she planted. She is precious, and I miss her so much, it makes me sick. I hate that she lives all the way in California.

I was going to cook dinner in the crockpot - but I got carried away organizing the kitchen cabinets and drawers and my couponing stockpile, so we ended up just eating a bunch of frozen things from Trader Joe's - which is actually a delicious, quick way to do dinner.  After we ate, I snuggled up next to Michael in the chair and we watched TV while he massaged my shoulders and I won't go into details, but the entire evening was GREAT.

It was a day full of all of the things I love: saving money, freebies, checks in the mail, organizing, puppy time, hubby time, and all done wearing yoga pants.

This morning, I'm having my coffee. And there is pumpkin butter in my fridge.

And in a bit, I'll get Michael up and dressed and we are going to spend the day at a FARM! Yay! We're going to pick pumpkins and apples and maybe get a couple of mums (I'm torn about that - I want to Fallify our porch, but our Summer flowers are still living!) and we're going to take Brokaw! This farm lets you bring your dog, and they can dig up potatoes and peanuts! I hope he finds some.

33 is off to a rock-solid awesome start.

Valentine's Day 2012 (in pictures)

Since our small group meets at our house on Tuesday nights, we actually went out to dinner on Monday night.  To Chili's. For free, thanks to a gift card. :) Yay. Thank you.

Michael texted me at work Monday to ask if I wanted to go out, because his plan to make dinner at home was not coming together as he had hoped.  I was all for it.

When I got home, I saw that he was all dressed up!  You can't really tell here, but under that fleece pull-over, he's sporting a TIE.

I'm not gonna lie. I was jealous.  I wanted to be all fresh and dressed up too, but oh well. Brokaw looks jealous in this picture, doesn't he? Such a character.

I have no pictures from Chili's.  We did the two for $20 and it was amazingly yummy.

Tuesday morning, the actual Valentine's Day, we had our traditional celebration.

Which, of course, included Red Velvet cupcakes for breakfast.  Notice those hearts on the wall in the background? They were actually Christmas decorations that I left up for Valentine's Day.  Anyone else find it funny that I took my Christmas decorations down on Christmas Day, yet, this Valentine's Day stuff is still up... oops.

Then, we opened our cards. My mom always sends us something sweet.  Looking forward to enjoying a trip to Cold Stone Creamery sometime soon. :)

Our rule for Valentine's Day is that the gift has to be homemade.  Because we know we show love to each other every single day, so we don't have to spend a bunch of money to prove a point.  We keep it simple, and homemade.  So, Michael painted me this water color card with a very sweet letter on the back, just for me.

For my part, I have no pictures, of course.  I decorated his bathroom mirror with stick-on hearts, and left him notes all over the house.  It was a fun little plan! :)

I'm also working on a friendship bracelet for him. His request!

Remember making friendship bracelets? I remember making my mom and dad buy me string every time we went to Roses. Remember Roses? And those little clear plastic boxes we kept our string in, color coded, of course?

I distinctly remember having my own little friendship bracelet making small business in the 5th grade.  And I swear I could crank out a bracelet for a customer while in Math class.

Well. I seem to have lost my skillz.
Because I worked on this for a good hour, and this was all I had to show for it.

Oops.  So, yeah, I had to punt.  I made him a bracelet in a much simpler design.  And, it's actually too big, so I'm probably going to just keep going with it and make it a necklace.

So glad we are already happily in love.  Because by anyone else's Valentine's standards, this stuff would probably be a little lacking. There was no candlelight, expensive dinner on a white table cloth. There were no roses delivered to the office. No jewelry.

But I think we would both agree, it was perfect. And we are perfectly in love with each other.
Now, I need to take this Valentine's Day crap down! Haha.

Cheers to a New Year!

It’s New Year’s Eve.

I’m sitting on a heating pad, writing a blog post.

And my Michael is vaccuming and mopping.  Husband of the year.

His parents get here tomorrow for a visit.

We were going to go to a co-worker’s house for a NYE party, but I strained my back, and I’ve learned (the hard way) not to play when it comes to my back, hence the heating pad.

NYE is a natural time to be sentimental, looking back over the last year.  And, hopeful and excited looking ahead to the next year.

2011 was a good year for us.

It certainly had its challenges (lots of frustration with medical problems and equipment, lots of work travel for me, my brother at war, tight finances).

But, it’s certainly had it’s blessings as well (great opportunities at work, visits with our families, new friends and I got my picture taken with Tom Brokaw).

In many ways, 2011 wasn’t what I really expected it to be.  For me, it was mainly focused on work.  So, time devoted to ministry and friendships was largely swallowed up by that.  

As for our marriage, I think we are going into 2012 stronger than we were a year ago, and very much in love, and best of all, on the same page. So, I call that a WIN.

Last New Year’s Day, we went to Starbucks, and sketched out our goals for the year.  We fell short on a lot of them. We tried.  I'm not thinking of this so much a failure, as we are a work in progress.

We did make great strides on the goals that we set TOGETHER.  It was the things we set out to do on our own where we came up short.

Well.

There’s no “I” in TEAM.

Guess we should stick together.

As for 2012 goals – eh, last year’s goals still sound good.  Plus, this year we begin some pretty big steps to our future life that I am mildly STOKEDDDD about. :)

I have been having some very grown up Google searches lately.... things like "minivan wheelchair modification" and "daycare costs in Northern Virginia."  All of this freaks me out, but in a good way.  All of this big stuff is still a way's off.  I think it kind of freaks Michael out that I'm already googling this stuff, but hey - I'm a googler - what can I say? We have to get a new President first. So this will really be a 2013 project, but 2012 will surely have a lot of Google searches. :)

Okay, y'all.

Cheers.

I think I'm going to make that appetizer I was going to take to that NYE party.  I'm getting kind of hungry even though I did have a bowl of black eyed peas while we were watching "Waiting For Superman," and I was crying my eyes out.

Gifts That Speak to My Heart

I'm going to let you in on a little thing I have a hard time with, sometimes.
Feeling like a woman.
Not to go all Shania Twain or anything, but let's face it.  Because my husband is paralyzed, and just isn't able to do somethings, I do them.
Some of these things are things that would traditionally fall on "the man."
Like fixing things, building things, lifting things, reaching things, driving, you get the picture.

I do all of that.

Also, because of our situation - and the fact that every time we go anywhere, I literally have to lift Mr. Wonderful up and put him in our SUV, and lift the wheelchair and put it in, I NEVER wear skirts.  I NEVER wear heels.

Add all of this up, and sometimes, I just don't feel very girly anymore.
Not that I was ever a really, really girly girl, but anyway.
It's not something I dwell on a lot, but it is something that can be aggravating at times.

Enter my Christmas gifts from my husband this year.
A collection of lip glosses.
A collection of perfumes.
And the darling little box pictured above.  A handmade, super girly box to put my wedding rings in.  My rings are hand-me-downs from my Granny, and they've never had a box.  So, at home, they are often just sitting around. Michael just noticed that, and got me this box on Etsy.

#sweetestthingever.

I felt so loved as I was putting my Christmas presents away.
This is how my man sees me.
As a woman.
As a lady.
Who is pretty.
And smells good.
And needs a place to put her shiny diamond rings.

Not as a grubby taxi driver/handyman/maid/nurse.
I needed that gift most of all.
And, he didn't even know that.

The beautiful thing about gifts is that they all speak.  They all say something.
And I loved to hear what these Christmas presents told me.

Our Christmas at Home II

Last year, we started our own little tradition of staying home, our home, just the two of us, on Christmas Day.

I didn't make the giant feast that I did last year. No turkey and all the fixin's.  I can't remember if I wrote about it here or not, but we didn't make it to my sister's house this year for Thanksgiving, so I felt like I had just done the whole turkey, etc.  SO, I made the filet mignon and potatoes au gratin that arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago, courtesy of an Omaha Steaks Groupon. :)

We had a snuggly Christmas Eve...

Read the Christmas story at breakfast...

I thought at breakfast about how cool it is to read a story that's 2011 years old... on an electronic device. Love it. :)

We opened presents...

Pardon the bed head and pile of laundry :)

About 20 minutes after the last present was opened, the Christmas tree CAME DOWN.
A lady who bought our old coffee and end tables off of Craigslist came by and took them, and I started an all-out organization project!

Gotta love a husband who vaccums!  I know I do.

We are making room for some NEW FURNITURE! :)  More on that later. :)
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow, we celebrate with M's family.  Looking forward to that, then more cleaning out/organizing, then getting back on the 2012 campaign trail.