two years!

now

This morning I woke up to a copy of the adorable Never Mind Your P’s and Q’s: Here’s the Punk Alphabet on my desk along with a lovely card from Dan.  Today is the two-year anniversary of the day that we began dating.  We’ve been through so much that part of me is like “really, just two years?” but then again, being with him makes the time fly by so quickly that part of me is like “really, two years already?”  Soon we’ll be celebrating a different anniversary, but even so these last two years have meant the world to me: an amazing time full of adventure and change, peace and calm.  Everything I said last year still holds true, and then some.  WIN!

then

onscreen and offscreen.

Engagement pictures are posted, thanks to the wonderful Chris Lacroix.  We met at the Byrd on Friday and figured out some of the ceremony details, and Chris was able to eke some nice pictures out of the incredibly lightless room he had to deal with.

Other than that, we did spend a lot of time planning this weekend, as well as moving a multitude of Dan’s lingering things out of his old house.  This afternoon we went to church where I had the very gothy opportunity to read aloud from Revelation to a captive audience, and then at softball the Tidal Waves dealt a crushing defeat to the Richmond Ambulance Authority.  When I got back to the block I ran into my friend Arielle, whom I hadn’t seen in years, and when I brought her inside to show her the house, Dan was reorganizing the hall closet and making me a delicious dinner of vegetable fried rice.  I spent the last few hours uploading pictures, watching Alias with Dan, and undergoing intensive Scrabble training since I’m locked in a battle to the death with Carolyn via Facebook.  Right now there is a cat next to me purring her head off.

I never want amazing weekends to end, but I know that the routine of the workweek is exactly what emphasizes great weekends.

of duels and density.

This is my first day back at work since Friday.  I had a delicious four days off, which I spent mostly working on wedding stuff.  Doing things like making spreadsheets and comparing prices of plastic flatware and making schedules for the day of  are probably only fun to people like me, who love to compulsively organize.

Probably my favorite part of the desk work I’ve done for the wedding has been putting together a list of possible readings.  Right now, Edgar Allan Poe and C.S. Lewis are dueling for podium time at my wedding.  Reading Thomas Jefferson’s love letters has put a smile on my face as well.  Don’t tell him, but he’s probably a shoe-in.

In related news, I love tech-savvy marriage proposals.

Here is a picture of Dan and I collecting old bottles at an antiques store that absolutely murdered my allergies.  It’s a rough break for a girl whose fondest pursuit is being surrounded by crumbly, age-old treasures, to be allergic to dust.  In the photo, Dan is retrieving the bottles from a high shelf which I could not reach, and may not have even notice if he hadn’t pointed it out.

Two couples in my life gave birth this week, and I can’t wait to meet the little ones.

We had a really good time at small group last night. It was fun as always (we died laughing while coming up with some baby names for Erik and Sarah’s forthcoming child), but we also learned a lot.  Hebrews is a dense book to work through, especially since it had a very specifically Jewish audience, so there are a lot of references to Old Testament things that are meant to be understood easily, but for us we have to go back and dig through those old verses and figure out what is being alluded to.  Dense, but rewarding.  I’ve been contemplating what service means to me, and how to serve others out of real love, and not because it’s what I’m “supposed to do.”  It is beginning to feel more natural that I, being loved, should want to pay it forward.  But of course this is one of those things about which you can never say “okay, I’ve got it!  I’m doing it right now!”  Because that’s when  you know you’re doing it wrong.

This morning it snowed.  No matter how hard I try not to get excited, every time I see a flake, my heart soars.  How beautiful the neighborhood is when large, fluffy flakes are descending!  I’ve told myself over and over again, “you know it will not stick” and “don’t even think about sledding,” yet I can’t stop myself.  Of course as soon as I got to work it had turn to slushy rain, so now it’s just wintry mixing again.  Ick.

I’m very excited about Movieland opening up, and I desperately wish I could go to the first show: GWTW and mimosas.  COME ON!  Why do I have to work that day?!

Yesterday was Jonesy’s birthday.  Yesssssssss!

speaking without talking.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all my loved ones.  You guys make me smile every day.  And although I’ve always found it strange that some people need a specific day of the year to show their loved ones that they care, I may as well say it again today.  I love you!  You know who you are.

Of course, I do have one particular soul to send a Valentine’s Day greeting to.   I’m making this guy cinnamon rolls for breakfast today.

I try to refrain from no-holds-barred outpourings of love here too often, but there’s got to be the inevitable overflow sometimes.  Oh, how I love him.  The best part is that he makes things romantic every day, not just on special occasions.  I’m not in a constant state of wonderment, as I have been in previous relationships, as to whether he actually cares about me or not.  He lets me know every day, with both actions and words.  It’s all about the little things.

We’ve gotten to that point where we don’t have to say much; we can just exchange glances and know what the other is thinking.  There’s nothing more romantic than that.  And it’s indispensable for communicating across crowded rooms.  And yet, we can still talk for hours when a good subject presents itself.

So if anyone is wondering if I know how lucky I am, the answer is yes.  And I accept my good fortune with both hands.

<3.

liveable hatred.

It’s amazing how weather isn’t as big of a deal to me as it used to be.  I still like warm weather best, but years ago I used to live in a cocoon of doom during the winter months.  These days, even if several dreary days go by in a row, it doesn’t affect me half as much as it used to.  Today I woke up and even though I have a very long to-do list and it’s doomsday gray outside, I’ve been tripping around the house as happy as a little sparrow.  Wii Fit helps; it’s nice that I don’t have to ditch my workout just because of some rain.  The cats are perplexed by it, though.

Speaking of sparrows, one snuck into my parents’ house last night just as we entered.  Apparently it happened the night before, too.  It’s because the birds love the wreaths that mom painstakingly makes and puts on the front door.  They chill in the wreath having some pomegranate or whatever, and when you open the door, they fly in.  So we armed ourselves with brooms and such, opened up all the windows, and chased the poor thing out.  It’s crazy how reluctant the bird was to just fly out the window.  Didn’t he know that these people holding implements of destruction and waving their arms wildly just wanted what was best for him?

………………………….

Whisperings of love keep popping up lately, and of course we’re not only planning the wedding, but also thinking more about what it means to get married.  I love how much fun Dan and I have together, and I love that he’s always down for adventuring around VA.  But some days, I’m just as happy to put on a DVD and sit next to him on the couch.  Last night while we were watching Metalocalypse I was flipping through Amphigorey and Dan was flipping through a book about amps.  Every once in a while, one of our arms would curl around the other person and pull them close, and we’d smile and sit like that for a minute until it made reading obtrusive.  We win the vomit-worthy cuteness award, for certain.

Last night we watched an episode of Metalocalypse entitled “Deth Wedding,” in which Pickles’ brother gets married and wants the band to play his wedding.  The world leaders who are watching Dethklok bring in a marriage specialist, who says:

“Gentlemen, the American wedding is a dark and fearful sham. The event itself is designed to incite anger and drain loved ones of patience, support and money. Most marriages fail miserably within two years; others end in murder-suicides, and a small percentage of them end with what we like to call ‘liveable hatred.’”

I said “I can’t wait to be locked in liveable hatred with you, darling,” and we cracked up.

But seriously, the reason why this type of commentary from a cartoon is funny is because it’s mostly true.  American weddings do indeed seem to be a giant, Crate and Barrel-fueled conspiracy.  Everybody knows that a lot of people put more effort into “the big day” than they do into the institution itself.  I have a hard time ever having faith in other humans, and it’s with good reason.  But in this case, I’m kind of glad because it gives me the advantage of considering everything from a skeptic’s viewpoint, and maybe being just a little more prepared and less predisposed to big shocks and nervous fits and such.  As a friend remarked to me recently during a conversation about marriage and kids and grown-ups, “the fact that you are even thinking about this stuff tells me that you’ll be okay.”

And in spite of being surrounded at all times by bad examples and human nature and all of those messy things, I’m often reminded that the very trendy, oh-so-modern “all marriage is horrible and will end in carnage” outlook isn’t necessarily the final word on the subject.

• All the stories of successful, loving relationships on Storycorps’ podcast make me weep in appreciation when I hear them.  “That first night I fell in love with her, and I’ve been in love with her ever since.”  “We’ve been married 67 years, and the main happiness we have is our love for each other.”  “And I’ve never once regretted a three-day courtship.”  Their stories are inspiring to say the least.
• And science always has it put in its two cents as well.  Apparently, “true love” is possible.
• And we know from the end of the Metalocalypse episode that Seth at least survives to have his first baby.  Yikes!
• [Edit 1.8.09] This just in: IN TEH FUTURZ, we could make ourselves stay in love.  Amazing!

We start pre-marriage counseling in March, and I’m excited.

I have lots of links, but not enough time to blog them.  There is much hot-gluing to do before the end of the day.

<3