Two Years In Review

Tomorrow will mark our second wedding anniversary.  Here is a glimpse of what's been going on in our lives since we've said, "I do."


We've Only Just Begun
As we approach our second wedding anniversary the Carpenters song, We've Only Just Begun, perfectly describes my sentiments. Allow me to sing to you for a moment, please think of Cameron Diaz in My Best Friends wedding when she is forced to do karaoke, and that will give you an idea of my tone-deafness as I sing a few of my favorite verses aloud.


            "We've only just begun to live,
              white lace and promises,
              a kiss for luck and we're on our way."


             "So many roads to choose,
              we start off walking and learn to run,
              and, yes we've just begun!"


             "And when the evening comes,
             we smile so much of life ahead,
             we'll find a place where theres room to grow,
             and, yes we've just begun."


It's amazing how after two years we've accomplished so much, yet so little if you take a different look. I will start off with the obvious, since I probably get asked this question at least twice a week, "When are y'all gonna start a family?" Such a complicated question, you have no idea. I will say, Todd and I have talked more seriously about starting a family this past month then we have in our entire relationship, and yet, we are no closer to hearing the pitter-patter of little feet (sorry Mom). Well, see, children go with the other things we still have yet to cross off our to-do list, find a place to settle down (permanently) and buy a house. Not to mention, have you seen the cost of daycare lately? I am not sure if we are ready for that monthly "treat." Or maybe I am not ready to grow-up just yet. Stay tuned, we've only just begun. :)


I am not kidding when I tell you that my husband looks at homes on the Internet every day. Sometimes for hours and we still are no closer to buying a house then we were the day we got married. I am beginning to think it's a fun hobby for him to look at properties, and that maybe he has missed his calling in becoming a realtor. But the most frustrating part of his screen-sucking hobby is that he will get super excited about a property, become very proud of himself because he has found "a deal," and call me over to look at it (making me drop whatever I am currently doing), and I immediately hate it! He then becomes extremely agitated with me thinking I am some prima Donna, house snob. No, I just hate the 1960s, dilapidated Brady-bunch-style foreclosures he always shows me. I am sure our first home will be the ugliest on the block, Todd seems to have a soft spot in his heart for those houses. Stay tuned, we've only just begun.


I feel like every other month we are faced with making decisions regarding Todd's career. Practices for sale, office transitions, possibility of going back to school.  "So many roads to choose" it's exciting at times and completely frustrating at other times. I must confess, I am working on releasing my controlling ways and letting God take care of the rest, but it's not easy. I know these next few years may bring many changes regarding life choices, and I am not good with change. I am the girl that cried every school year for the first two weeks of school because I had all new classes, and I would have to start over with new teachers and classmates (all the way up until my freshman year of college). So you can understand that this ambiguity brings a lot of anxiety within my life. Stay tuned, we've only just begun.






Adjustments That Have Been Made

I have many annoying habits that exasperate Todd to no end. I kick my shoes off and leave them strewn about the house for him to trip over, I never floss my teeth, I leave refrigerated items out (sometimes overnight to completely spoil), I will leave wet clothes in the washer for days (resulting in re-washing of the load because they reek of mildew), I will have mountains of clean/dirty clothes piled high in our bedroom for weeks, I will drive through any nearby McDonald's (sometimes multiple times a day) and order a $1 diet coke and charge it to our debit card (having multiple $1.08 purchases over the course of a week). BUT, if I had to identify the one thing that annoys Todd the most it's my baths. 


Hi, my name is Charlene and I am a bathaholic. I LOVE BATHS! Yes, I am a certified bath junkie (but I never shop at that store because it's overpriced). My baths are really more like very long soaks and I take at least one bath a night.  Almost immediately after dinner I hustle up to the bathroom to begin my pruning-of-the-skin process, thus leaving Todd alone with the dog for what he over dramatizes as, "the rest of the evening." I have tried to adjust my bath schedule around more convenient times, like if he falls asleep early on the couch or if there is a big game on TV, I will quietly recede to the bathroom to begin my ritual. I am not quite sure what it is about my bath time that I love so much. It might be the solitude after a chaotic day, or the smell of relaxing bath products, or the warm water, or the time to decompress and reorganize my thoughts, but whatever the reason may be it's gonna be a hard habit to break, and I wish him the best of luck! :)






Laughter
For those that have had the unfortunate experience of hearing my hyena cackle, as my family lovingly has named my laugh, know that I love to laugh and I laugh loudly! When Todd and I first started dating, I didn't quite get his humor and I was very worried that he wasn't a jokester, like myself. However, over the years I have learned that he has a very dry sense of  humor and it's completely hysterical to me today. One of my favorite things about Todd is he makes me laugh every day; it's good for my soul.  Here are some of the funny moments that have taken place over the past two years (some of them were too inappropriate to put in a blog, but none-the-less hysterical).

Todd has a sick love for cracking backs, toes, or any other crackable bone he can get his hands on. One particular night we were on the couch watching, yet another, sporting game and Todd decided to crack my toes (which is completely painful most of the time). After he was done being a chiropractor for the evening he then took my toes and did the Vulcan salute (with my toes, did I mention that) and said, "Live long and prosper."

When we moved into our new apartment, Todd petitioned to have the master bedroom dedicated to a home gym complete with pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger, in which I reluctantly conceded. Ironically, our home gym is something we rarely use, but it makes us feel good that it's there if the mood strikes us to work out. In the meantime, Todd is constantly looking for new equipment to add to our workout collection and loves hitting up the athletic superstores and dreaming of his next big purchase. One particular day, we had decided to go to Dick's Sporting Goods; the entire car ride to Dick's he was quoting lines from Rocky to himself, "Big deal, you wanna fight the fight? Yeah I'll fight the big fight. I'm gonna go and fight that big fight and you know what's going to happen to me? I'm gonna get that!" As he air punches a pretend boxing bag, "I'm gonna get that!" The kicker, he didn't even workout that day. Ha!


Like most couples, we have pet names for each other. However, Todd has taken it a step further and has unconsciously given me a pet name for different situations or my many mood changes. Here are just a few of the pet names I can recall off the top of my head: Bebe (uses this pet name when being affectionate), Bubbee (uses this pet name when he wants something), Bubs (when he wants to tell me something very matter-of-fact), Buzzbee (this is the name he uses when I am in a bad mood and he is letting me know he picks up on my bad mood), ChumBob Millionaire (uses this name when he is joking around with me), Chum (uses this name when he is trying to correct my thinking/rationalization to align with his way of thinking/rationalization). Below is an example of how Todd has used each pet name in conversation:


"I love a Bebe."


"Bubbee, will you make brownies tonight?"


"Bubs, I am watching the game."


"Ok, calm down Buzzbee, I can see you're starting to get fired up over nothing."


"Look who it is, it's ChumBob Millionaire!"


"Chum you have 100 pairs of shoes already. You don't need anymore shoes!" (which I don't but that's what he thinks)





When Sinners Say, "I Do"
Shortly after we were first married, Todd and I started attending the church that we were married in. After several months, we weren't making a connection, we weren't actively engaged with Christ as a newly married couple and it bothered me.  We would find excuses not to go, or go several weeks without attending and never felt like we were missing out on anything when we would miss church (I feel really bad admitting that).


Have you ever gone on multiple dates with someone, and there is nothing overtly wrong with them, you enjoy the presence of their company, yet there aren't any sparks between the two of you? And finally one day you can't take it anymore and decide to move past the awkward pleasantries to admit, "sorry, it's not me it's you." :) That's how I felt about attending our holy matrimony church, very nice people, but something wasn't clicking. I was yearning for spiritual guidance, and quite honestly, I knew God was not an active participant in our new marriage. So, we had to move on.


Being the gregarious individual that I am, I was looking for something more in touch with our age group and interests. In January we starting attending Watermark Community Church, we absolutely adore our church home, and welcome anyone to join us. I give the individuals that we have met at Watermark credit for encouraging and rekindling our walk with Christ, it's not only the best wedding gift we've received, but the best gift of life. Please do not read this the wrong way, we are by no means perfect, and our marriage is not all sunshine and roses, but when we have our moments of discontentment with each other we now turn to God for guidance, answers, and peace, which is something we had never done before. One of my favorite parts of having a God-centered marriage is our time of prayer, it's the most intimate part of our marriage.


I can't speak highly enough about the importance of finding a church home, and other Christian individuals, that will help lead, encourage, and support your family and vows of marriage. Life is too short for awkward pleasantries.






Tula

About six months into our newlywed marriage, I started begging Todd for a dog. Within weeks, I had made a new pen pal with the breeder, abrading her with questions and comments about Tula's litter. Todd pleaded with me not to get a dog, and was down right against the idea of getting a dog. I refused to listen to him and put a deposit on Tula days after she was born. We both agree it was the best decision I have made!

She can be the most stubborn animal. She completely disobeys and does what she wants to do. She will annoy you non-stop with her whining and crying until you give in. Without any shame, she will jump up on the kitchen table and help herself to table scraps. When she is angry with us she will potty on our bed just to let us know we've pissed her off (pun intended). We find ourselves completely restructuring our schedules to accommodate the dog. Yet, with all that being said, she truly has brought so much joy to our lives, and our marriage, we can't imagine life without her.






I Hate Chores

I must be honest, I am not the Betty Crocker wife. I really do not find fun in organization, cooking, or cleaning. In fact, after two years of marriage I am beginning to think I might have an extremely large lazy streak when it comes to chores.

My sisters and I use to watch Sleeping Beauty, we watched it ALL the time, and were completely enamored with the Disney movie. I remember always thinking how cool it was that the three good fairies, that raised Aurora in the woods, had magic wands and could make anything happen instantaneously. If I had a magic wand, like Flora, Fauna, or Merryweather, I would use it everyday for cleaning!

I can't stand wrinkles! I have been known to not wear an article of clothing because it's hanging in my closet wrinkled. Therefore, before any clothes can be put away they must be wrinkle free, this means I have a ton of dreaded ironing every week.

I also hate cleaning the kitchen, but more specifically doing the dishes. Every time I cook a meal, I curse myself. Apparently, I have a knack for using every dish in the house to make the most basic of meals, such as mac and cheese. Not to mention, our dishwasher is always full and needs to unloaded before it can be reloaded.

Laundry hamper, have one, don't use it. Instead, my floor has become my permanent laundry hamper. Why use a hamper, when your clothes will end up crinkled at the bottom of a hamper? You never know when you may want to wear those jeans again, or when that particular sweater may come in handy. Better to have them strewn across the floor for easy access.

Love my dog, hate walking her (three to four times a day). She thinks our walks are a time for exploration, and she feels compelled to sniff every leaf and every tree along the way. Totally frustrating, especially when it's freezing cold outside or scorching hot. Definitely need a backyard.

He loves his live-in maid. :)

***These pictures were taken by my good friend Amanda. She always supports my harebrained ideas. ;)



Here's to the beginning!! Looking forward to more adventures over the years!! Happy anniversary to us!! Cheers!!