14. I married my hobby-buddy
Yes. Hip hop! This last weekend, we went to a beginner's street (hip hop) dance class together. Together?? As in he went too? Yes. :) I went because he'd found the class and told me about it, and I love hip hop music and I love dance, so I was excited to go, but I didn't realize he was coming with me until that morning. What an amazing husband. I had the time of my life and he found it less bad than he'd thought and much better than other types of dancing we've tried before. So back again we go this week!
We have looked up some other adventures to try out as well, for getting healthy and out there, and for taking advantage of the incredible access we have to new activities while affiliated with a University. Archery, shooting, horseback riding, sailing, basketball, volleyball, and first aid are all on the list, and we shall see what we end up doing. I like being married to David because he's a great buddy - he encourages me to get out of the house when I'm low and gets us to try new things. A hobby-buddy. That's who I married. And a great one at that!
Wednesday, 21 January 2015
Monday, 7 April 2014
Volunteering
13. Volunteering as a couple is AWESOME.
The first time we've joint-volunteered as a married couple was last night. He was in charge of putting on a youth group night at his placement church, and he asked me weeks in advance to put coming along to help in my diary. I wasn't really in the mood to go (really tired!) but I am so glad I went, because although he was on the frontlines (setting up the heavy and technical stuff, keeping control of the teens even during an all-out Nerf war, doing the talk about the film clip, running games at the end) and I was more in a supporting role (making a very smart sign-in sheets, being at the door when they arrived to get them to sign in, ordering more pizza, cooking the pizza, prepping and serving food and drink, cleaning up, talking to parents, etc.) I really enjoyed being on the same team, serving a church and providing something for the teens. I personally don't feel I'm what you'd stereotypically consider a 'youth leader' type (I prefer the little ones!) but I am keen to help again just because it felt so great to operate as a team to serve others. I'm looking forward to more. :)
The first time we've joint-volunteered as a married couple was last night. He was in charge of putting on a youth group night at his placement church, and he asked me weeks in advance to put coming along to help in my diary. I wasn't really in the mood to go (really tired!) but I am so glad I went, because although he was on the frontlines (setting up the heavy and technical stuff, keeping control of the teens even during an all-out Nerf war, doing the talk about the film clip, running games at the end) and I was more in a supporting role (making a very smart sign-in sheets, being at the door when they arrived to get them to sign in, ordering more pizza, cooking the pizza, prepping and serving food and drink, cleaning up, talking to parents, etc.) I really enjoyed being on the same team, serving a church and providing something for the teens. I personally don't feel I'm what you'd stereotypically consider a 'youth leader' type (I prefer the little ones!) but I am keen to help again just because it felt so great to operate as a team to serve others. I'm looking forward to more. :)
Joint Visiting
12. Going to other people's houses as a couple
This week we have also enjoyed being invited to other people's homes, as a couple, to spend time with friends. It's really fun to spend time with my husband and my friends (and his friends) at the same time. It's been especially relaxing and joyful to spend time with a married couple who are our age and who we really enjoy being around, because we are all on the same page and do not have to worry about saying anything that might make each other feel uncomfortable, or that sounds "too couple-y", etc. We don't feel the need to sit next to each other the whole time or do PDAs, whether with other couples or singles or a mix, but I appreciate when we're spending time with friends that my husband is good at balancing communication of affection with focusing on the interactions at hand.
This week we have also enjoyed being invited to other people's homes, as a couple, to spend time with friends. It's really fun to spend time with my husband and my friends (and his friends) at the same time. It's been especially relaxing and joyful to spend time with a married couple who are our age and who we really enjoy being around, because we are all on the same page and do not have to worry about saying anything that might make each other feel uncomfortable, or that sounds "too couple-y", etc. We don't feel the need to sit next to each other the whole time or do PDAs, whether with other couples or singles or a mix, but I appreciate when we're spending time with friends that my husband is good at balancing communication of affection with focusing on the interactions at hand.
Hospitality
11. Having friends over to our house
More than I thought, having a home space together that we can use to invite others into and enjoy friendships is really awesome. This week we have enjoyed inviting five people into our home to spend time together with us. Luckily, we both like to keep the small flat clean, so having people over is not a stressful things in terms of preparation. Instead, we enjoy preparing a simple (in my case) or gourmet (in his case) meal, with our new free-from-family-second-hand white china and small but growing fancy drinks collection, complete with dessert, hot drinks, and chat and game. Even at just three months of marriage, we really delight in having time that's not just us, but where we can spend time together, with others invited in. I really appreciate that when people who are 'more my friends' come over, my husband is always more than willing to take on the cleaning duty so that I can spend absolutely as much time with them as possible (and vice versa, when they are 'more his friends' I'm happy to do the same).
And the two white rocking chairs have been a big hit! When people come in the house, they notice them straight away and almost everyone goes to sit right down in them. I think (and hope!) that they make people feel relaxed and at home.
One friend recently told us that he felt very warm and blessed by our hospitality, and sent a message afterward to my husband to reiterate the fact. This is what I hope for! For our marriage to be a way to love others and make people feel at home and welcomed in. May we learn increasingly ways to do this, and may we be granted the grace to do it.
More than I thought, having a home space together that we can use to invite others into and enjoy friendships is really awesome. This week we have enjoyed inviting five people into our home to spend time together with us. Luckily, we both like to keep the small flat clean, so having people over is not a stressful things in terms of preparation. Instead, we enjoy preparing a simple (in my case) or gourmet (in his case) meal, with our new free-from-family-second-hand white china and small but growing fancy drinks collection, complete with dessert, hot drinks, and chat and game. Even at just three months of marriage, we really delight in having time that's not just us, but where we can spend time together, with others invited in. I really appreciate that when people who are 'more my friends' come over, my husband is always more than willing to take on the cleaning duty so that I can spend absolutely as much time with them as possible (and vice versa, when they are 'more his friends' I'm happy to do the same).
And the two white rocking chairs have been a big hit! When people come in the house, they notice them straight away and almost everyone goes to sit right down in them. I think (and hope!) that they make people feel relaxed and at home.
One friend recently told us that he felt very warm and blessed by our hospitality, and sent a message afterward to my husband to reiterate the fact. This is what I hope for! For our marriage to be a way to love others and make people feel at home and welcomed in. May we learn increasingly ways to do this, and may we be granted the grace to do it.
Sunday, 16 March 2014
Weddings and Birthdays
10. An automatic wedding date and super-buddy for birthday celebration
This weekend included Mr.'s birthday and the wedding of our friends. It was really fun to go to the wedding together as married 'dates' and to enjoy seeing the joy of our friends, and enjoying being so happy for them, knowing all the amazing things they would be experiencing over the next few weeks. I enjoyed, as usual, saying that I was his wife and he my husband, when we met new people, and relaxing into socializing jointly as well as on our own. We got to play jenga and twister, rather spontaneously, when a little kid sitting outside next to us started construction on a jenga tower and David started talking to him about what he was building. David asked if he was going to play, and the kid said no, but he somehow saw through it, and said, 'do you want us to play with you?' and the kid lit up and said 'yes!'. :) So we started and a couple kids joined in, and it was really fun, not only being able to play, but to enjoy playing with kids with David. He doesn't necessarily know it, but he's really good with kids and they like him. I hope we can someday volunteer on the same project, with kiddos. Lots to look forward to in this married life.
We celebrated his birthday in fits and starts - Lego movie on Wednesday evening; dinner, Tres Leches Birthday cake and Modern Family at home Friday night (with 'El Toro' wine); Brazilian brunch and presents on Saturday morning; cocktails made out of the presents, and cake and Modern Family Saturday night; our friend coming over this afternoon to have cake outside with us; and a half-day not-sure-what-yet adventure tomorrow. We spread it out since we had our friends' wedding yesterday, but I think he's had a good time and felt celebrating. Being married is fun when there's a birthday because you get to shown them lots of love and celebrate together. Plus, this one was memorable because it's our first birthday as a family. :) David suggested we start a 'Birthday Book', since we're a family now, where we do a page per birthday, with photos or mementos and details of the celebrations, which will include us for now, and will include kiddos later. How creative and fun is this guy? Answer: very. I'm really happy to be married to my ideal wedding date and birthday buddy. :) Lucky me!
This weekend included Mr.'s birthday and the wedding of our friends. It was really fun to go to the wedding together as married 'dates' and to enjoy seeing the joy of our friends, and enjoying being so happy for them, knowing all the amazing things they would be experiencing over the next few weeks. I enjoyed, as usual, saying that I was his wife and he my husband, when we met new people, and relaxing into socializing jointly as well as on our own. We got to play jenga and twister, rather spontaneously, when a little kid sitting outside next to us started construction on a jenga tower and David started talking to him about what he was building. David asked if he was going to play, and the kid said no, but he somehow saw through it, and said, 'do you want us to play with you?' and the kid lit up and said 'yes!'. :) So we started and a couple kids joined in, and it was really fun, not only being able to play, but to enjoy playing with kids with David. He doesn't necessarily know it, but he's really good with kids and they like him. I hope we can someday volunteer on the same project, with kiddos. Lots to look forward to in this married life.
We celebrated his birthday in fits and starts - Lego movie on Wednesday evening; dinner, Tres Leches Birthday cake and Modern Family at home Friday night (with 'El Toro' wine); Brazilian brunch and presents on Saturday morning; cocktails made out of the presents, and cake and Modern Family Saturday night; our friend coming over this afternoon to have cake outside with us; and a half-day not-sure-what-yet adventure tomorrow. We spread it out since we had our friends' wedding yesterday, but I think he's had a good time and felt celebrating. Being married is fun when there's a birthday because you get to shown them lots of love and celebrate together. Plus, this one was memorable because it's our first birthday as a family. :) David suggested we start a 'Birthday Book', since we're a family now, where we do a page per birthday, with photos or mementos and details of the celebrations, which will include us for now, and will include kiddos later. How creative and fun is this guy? Answer: very. I'm really happy to be married to my ideal wedding date and birthday buddy. :) Lucky me!
Sunday, 9 March 2014
Fancy Dates and Free Dates
9. This weekend - 8 and 9 March 2014
This weekend has been one of the best weekends of my life to date, especially with regard to days I've spent with the hubby. I got on a train at 8:07am to get back home as soon as possible from a week away, and by 11:30 I was knocking on the window to get in. It was so good to be home (and to realize that when I say home now, the home I have with him is really what I mean). I'd missed the guy! To celebrate us being back together, he booked a table for lunch at this cool Brazilian place we'd seen before, and we got all dressed up and took a walk around the park for a half hour to talk and enjoy the sunshine before we went in. We got asked by the host and the waitress whether we were celebrating something special (I think because of the tweed and the makeup!). I told the waitress we'd been married for two months and were celebrating being back together after being apart a week. She loved it! We ordered fancy champagne drinks and whatever caught our eye from the menu, and even a dessert. She brought us a second round of delicious champagne drinks to celebrate, which was really special. Yay for love! After lunch we walked in the sunshine to go charity shopping. I bought some advance-gifts for some friends, the wedding present for our friends getting married this weekend, and a professional skirt (I have never before found one that fits so this was exciting!). He looked up a recipe for Brazilian breakfast tacos and we bought the ingredients, and then he bought the third and forth seasons of our new favorite show (Modern Family! See #8), which we promptly started watching when we got home. We got good sleep, though not much because we had to wake up for church - I loved being back home with him, and appreciated having him next to me. I felt right. :)
Today, we were happy to see each other when I finally got up. He had to go to church an hour and a half earlier, since he's on placement, so I stayed behind to tidy up and get ready and enjoy some sunshiney morning time. He texted me toward the end of church to ask if I wanted to have a picnic in the park after church because it felt like Spring, and we used to do that every Sunday in the Spring and Summer. MASSIVE YES!!! So we went to the farmer's market to buy some local vegetables (also becoming a Sunday tradition) and then got bread, hummus, lettuce and juice to take to the park. He'd even packed a picnic blanket! It was so nice to just spend time relaxing and sharing, and not worrying about anything. What a blessed day. After the picnic, we went to a store where he'd signed us up for free cake/coffee each month (and for which we were given some vouchers for our wedding), and we enjoyed Victoria Sponge overlooking the city, and had a heart to heart about the sermon (Ephesians 5&6) which made me love him even more than I already did. (I keep thinking that's not possible, and then it happens - I have no doubt this will keep happening throughout our lives). Then we had a little look around the store, and walked home hand in hand. I wrapped the present and wrote out our friends' wedding card for this weekend, and had only good things to say, only blessings to give, because I know how good marriage can be, and I'm excited for them to experience it.
I'm just so lucky. And I love this married life.
This weekend has been one of the best weekends of my life to date, especially with regard to days I've spent with the hubby. I got on a train at 8:07am to get back home as soon as possible from a week away, and by 11:30 I was knocking on the window to get in. It was so good to be home (and to realize that when I say home now, the home I have with him is really what I mean). I'd missed the guy! To celebrate us being back together, he booked a table for lunch at this cool Brazilian place we'd seen before, and we got all dressed up and took a walk around the park for a half hour to talk and enjoy the sunshine before we went in. We got asked by the host and the waitress whether we were celebrating something special (I think because of the tweed and the makeup!). I told the waitress we'd been married for two months and were celebrating being back together after being apart a week. She loved it! We ordered fancy champagne drinks and whatever caught our eye from the menu, and even a dessert. She brought us a second round of delicious champagne drinks to celebrate, which was really special. Yay for love! After lunch we walked in the sunshine to go charity shopping. I bought some advance-gifts for some friends, the wedding present for our friends getting married this weekend, and a professional skirt (I have never before found one that fits so this was exciting!). He looked up a recipe for Brazilian breakfast tacos and we bought the ingredients, and then he bought the third and forth seasons of our new favorite show (Modern Family! See #8), which we promptly started watching when we got home. We got good sleep, though not much because we had to wake up for church - I loved being back home with him, and appreciated having him next to me. I felt right. :)
Today, we were happy to see each other when I finally got up. He had to go to church an hour and a half earlier, since he's on placement, so I stayed behind to tidy up and get ready and enjoy some sunshiney morning time. He texted me toward the end of church to ask if I wanted to have a picnic in the park after church because it felt like Spring, and we used to do that every Sunday in the Spring and Summer. MASSIVE YES!!! So we went to the farmer's market to buy some local vegetables (also becoming a Sunday tradition) and then got bread, hummus, lettuce and juice to take to the park. He'd even packed a picnic blanket! It was so nice to just spend time relaxing and sharing, and not worrying about anything. What a blessed day. After the picnic, we went to a store where he'd signed us up for free cake/coffee each month (and for which we were given some vouchers for our wedding), and we enjoyed Victoria Sponge overlooking the city, and had a heart to heart about the sermon (Ephesians 5&6) which made me love him even more than I already did. (I keep thinking that's not possible, and then it happens - I have no doubt this will keep happening throughout our lives). Then we had a little look around the store, and walked home hand in hand. I wrapped the present and wrote out our friends' wedding card for this weekend, and had only good things to say, only blessings to give, because I know how good marriage can be, and I'm excited for them to experience it.
I'm just so lucky. And I love this married life.
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Modern Family (c)
8. Built-in TV Buddy
I have really enjoyed getting into a TV series called Modern Family. My husband introduced me to it on Netflix, and thought I wouldn't like it because a large part of the comedy is interesting parenting strategies and relationship silliness, but I surprised us both and got hooked. We've been watching an episode (or five) most evenings before bed, and it's so nice to laugh together and pause the show to talk about things happening in the show, and when I was away all last week to help my godmother, we watched a couple episodes a night simultaneously with Skype chat on for commentary, and it helped us to stay positive and spend time 'together' before bed despite distance. We ran out of Netflix seasons and... what do you know? The next day we found the missing seasons in a shop and definitely 100% made an addiction-motivated purchase. Totally worth it. It's a little thing, but it's nice to have these little 'traditions' to build memories with. (Case in point - "The Duggars" last year in an otherwise really difficult time.) I love the little things about this married life.
I have really enjoyed getting into a TV series called Modern Family. My husband introduced me to it on Netflix, and thought I wouldn't like it because a large part of the comedy is interesting parenting strategies and relationship silliness, but I surprised us both and got hooked. We've been watching an episode (or five) most evenings before bed, and it's so nice to laugh together and pause the show to talk about things happening in the show, and when I was away all last week to help my godmother, we watched a couple episodes a night simultaneously with Skype chat on for commentary, and it helped us to stay positive and spend time 'together' before bed despite distance. We ran out of Netflix seasons and... what do you know? The next day we found the missing seasons in a shop and definitely 100% made an addiction-motivated purchase. Totally worth it. It's a little thing, but it's nice to have these little 'traditions' to build memories with. (Case in point - "The Duggars" last year in an otherwise really difficult time.) I love the little things about this married life.
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