Honeymoon Stage.....No Such Thing

Rob and I have been married for over 2 years now, and the other day I told someone that, and they were like "oh, so you guys are still in the honeymoon stage." That kind of got me thinking... Why should any couple ever leave the "honeymoon stage"? If the honeymoon stage is characterized by googly eyes for each other, lovey dovey acts to one another, and an attitude of doing anything to make the other happy.....why should that ever end? I don't think it should be called the "honeymoon stage" I think it should be called "a loving marriage." By thinking about this I think that my eyes have been opened and that I have become more intentional on making sure that Rob and I never leave the so called "honeymoon stage." We love being in love, and don't ever want to be ashamed of it, or stop doing the things we do to show each other how much we love each other.

I think it is also important for our future kids to see us love each other...it brings them so much security knowing that they don't have to worry about mom and dad ever splitting up. I know I found security in knowing my parents love each other...I still do, and I want our kids to get the same.

I talked to this man a few days ago who told me that he had been married for 15 years to a woman, then they got a divorce. This totally blows my mind. I don't understand how a person could share 15 years of their life with another person, and then decide that they no longer love them anymore and can't even tolerate them enough to work things out. I know that it's not normally an overnight decision; I heard that on average, couples have marriage problems for 7 years before actually splitting up. That is so sad! I can't imagine not being happy for 7 whole years. I think it is so important for couples to get professional help right away when tension is consistent for a long amount of time....aka more than just a small argument that is concluded and forgotten. As humans, we are so prideful and do not want to admit that we need help, but that pride can ultimately ruin our lives and keep us from being happy.

I am looking forward to a long and happy life married to Rob. No matter what happens in our lives, I know that God will always get us through and that our love for each other will overcome all adversity, no matter how hard things get. I will never stop having googly eyes for my husband, or stop holding his hand, or giving him random hugs constantly throughout the day.... I love him.... that's what love is. Couples who have "moved on" past that stage are missing out.

Northern Lights

So, lately I've been missing life as a northern. I have no desire to move back to where I grew up because I know that's not where God wants me. I don't miss the demographics, I miss the people. Even though moving from northern MN to VA isn't a move to a new country, it is definitely a move to a different culture. Both places speak English, although the north says "pop" and the south says "soda." Both places have beautiful scenery, although the north is flat with gorgeous lakes, and the south is mountainous. Both places have their "favorites", although the north's is venison and lefse, and the south's is Chick-fil-A and fried chicken. Both places have worship centers, although the north's is the hockey arena, and the south's is the trillions of churches that take up every corner in the Bible belt. Yes... culture is so different. I truly enjoy the culture of both the north and the south.

I must admit that I have learned a lot since moving to the south. I now know how important AC is for survival, or at least sleep. I learned what "cutting up", "talking", and "wingnut" mean. I have learned that "bless your heart" is NOT a compliment. I have learned that when passing someone in the hall or on the street, it's normal to say hi, even if you don't know them, but if they say "how are you?"... it's just a greeting like "hi" - they don't expect (or want) an answer (although I've been here for 4 years, and still answer every time and get weird looks). I have learned that Koreans are the happiest and most care free people in the world. I have learned that girls with strong southern accents are not as dumb as northerns think. I have learned that pier fishing is just as fun as ice fishing. I've learned a lot!

What I miss from the north is the people.... from my experience, northerners are much more "real" than southerners. Southern people are hard to read sometimes...whereas with northerners, things are just set on the table up front. I like that. I miss the sarcasm that is normal and acceptable with northerners...."you make fun of me, I make fun of you, we both laugh our heads off, and our friendship grows." Not in the south. I miss sarcasm....I still use it, it's who I am, but I have to be careful about who I use it around. I'm not sure why, but lately I've been missing northern humor and fun. One of my favorite summer memories while living in MN is playing pranks on friends and scaring the fire out of them... it was so much fun. There just isn't that kind of fun down here... well, unless you want to lose all your friends. I'm thankful for the south, and I like it here, but I do miss the north, especially during the summer. It's not a big deal, but it's fun to think about the old days....

Littles Joys in Life

Small things that bring a great amount of joy to me:

-time with Rob
-cherries
-sweet tea
-double dates with good friends
-the poof
-taking walks
-girl time
-good conversations
-good sarcasm
-a new recipe
-art projects
-finding a good bargain
-getting a good grade on something I worked hard on
-roadtrips (even small ones)
-cuddling
-zumba class (and watching the ppl who have no rhythm)
-Michael Jackson songs/videos
-my bamboo plant
-sunglasses
-getting "real" mail
-learning a new word
-koreans
-teapots
-talking to old friends after not talking to them for a long time
-thunder storms
-diamonds (guess those aren't so small, oh well)
-ALF (HA)
-inside jokes
-keith green songs
-smiles
-modern art
-tanning

There are more..... but the hubby wants to go to bed! Yay! I love him!

Catch Up

So... for a quick catch up of the past couple of weeks:

We went to Reading, PA for Joel and Nikki's wedding. It was a great trip!! We had sooo much fun with old (and some new) friends! Rob and I had so much fun together. On the way back home we spend the 4th of July in DC, which was fun but exhausting. We walked a ton, saw huge fireworks, fought through thousands of people, watched thousands of people (which is fun cuz I love to people watch), watch drunk people make fools of themselves on the train, and saw a bunch of other crazy stuff.... it was fun! We were sad that the long weekend went by so fastly and that as soon as we knew it, we were home and it was Monday again.

Since then, with the exception of boring homework, my summer has been great! I've had a lot of time to do things I've been wanting to do. I've hung out with lots of friends, old and new ones. I've had time to call people that I've been meaning to call for a long time but haven't. It's been a nice and fun break before I start my new job in August along with more classes. I got some bamboo plants, and they haven't died yet. I've had a lot of fun being able to spend more time with Rob too. We still have homework, but not as much as we do during the school year.

At the end of the month, we're planning a trip to NC for some BBQ, grandparents, beach, and fishing! It will be perfect!

I love my poof! I think everyone should have them! I want more of them! haha.

Yesterday, while consignment shopping with Michelle, I bought a old picture frame. Today I sanded it and stained it, and am gonna put a fabric panel in it...the stain turned out just like I wanted it, so I'm excited to go buy the fabric I already picked out and see how it looks with the frame.

Well, I really don't have any other exciting things to report... life has been normal aka amazing!

Too bad it's nearly midnight... I just got a sudden craving for a white chocolate raspberry mocha from Starbucks. I'm glad tomorrow is Friday. :)