This is my humble attempt at keeping people up to date on the goings-on in my life. I intended to start this thing about a year ago after Ryan and I got engaged. I thought it would be great to keep a written account of that crazy year of wedding planning and long-distance romance. Unfortunately, between manic trips to the gym and working 50 hours a week while keeping up with my amazing and wonderful junior high kids at church, it never got off the ground. Perhaps it's for the better. I'm learning that married life is far more entertaining than the training period leading up to it. With the exception of some insane yoga and spinning instructors, my last year was pretty routine. Here's a quick recap:
I flew to DC every few weeks to see my darling fiance and drag him around town for the requisite wedding-related errands.
Winter came.
It snowed.
It snowed some more.
My car got stuck in the middle of the road on a snow bank and AAA had to come bust it out with an ice pick.
My mother and aunt flew up to help me fight (literally) for my wedding dress at Filene's.
I found my dream dress!
My dress was two sizes too small.
I took up residence at the gym and my dress zipped up a little.
I stopped eating starch and it zipped up a little more.
I stopped eating carbs and nothing changed.
I stopped eating. I don't remember what happened.
I shipped my dress home to end my obsession and I went back to eating healthy food once again.
More flights to DC.
More snow.
Engagement garden party in Ryan's hometown. It rained.
Engagement patio party at my parents' house. It rained.
Engagement pictures in Houston. Yup. Rain.
Bridal portraits. Hurricane hits.
Somewhere along the way I lose a bridesmaid and find a dear, dear friend in my precious sister-in-law Stephanie.
I flew home in August to prepare for the big day.
Miracle of miracles, my dress fit perfectly!
Our perfect day finally arrived. It rained. But at that point, we didn't care. We hardly even noticed!
Honeymoon was perfection. Newlywed bliss all through Paris and Italy...
We made our way to our new home in DC, and I love all 550 sqft of it.
Okay, now everyone is caught up. When I left Boston, I was working as a nanny. I love, love, love working with kids. I absolutely loved being a nanny. But it's time to move on. I've been searching for grad programs in the area where I can finish the Masters I started in Boston and I have finally started to find a couple. Okay, one, but it's a start. In the meantime, I've put in an application to volunteer with Hospice. I'm also looking into joining the youth ministry at the church we've been attending. It was such a huge part of my life in Boston, I can't imagine staying away from it for too long.
Having married the most amazing man ever, I've also had plenty of time to hang out and explore the city. So far, I'm happy with the little routines we've established in our young marriage. I cook almost every night. I bake occasionally. We use the good china. Sometimes for pizza, but at least it's not gathering dust in a box somewhere. And we wake up early to spend time together before he leaves for work in the morning. Usually it's about two hours of drinking coffee and talking or reading. We've started attending a church nearby that has an incredible Sunday School class for young married people. The class is awesome, and half of the couples there - possibly more - have some tie to Texas. Most of them have lived there within the past five years, so that's an interesting connection to make.
A few of our friends have relocated to the area, so our weekends are rarely our own, but it's nice to have a reason to get downtown once in a while. We're trying to resurrect our weekly poker game with some of Ryan's friends from law school, but it's a little slow getting off the ground.
Thanksgiving will find us in South Carolina, and my parents get to have us in Houston for Christmas. In between the two I'm spending a weekend in New York with Ryan's cousin, and we'll be picking up our puppy Gretta on December 3rd.
So there it is: A recap of the past, a snapshot of the present, and a glimpse of the near future.
