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OUR WEDDING STORY, PART 1

December 19, 2018

John and I got married on a cool, sunny Sunday in October. It had been freezing and rainy for the week leading up to October 21, but when I woke up to go for a head-clearing run on the big day, the sun rose without a cloud in sight.

Everything about the day felt surreal. Before seeing John, it felt like time was moving through a thick honey. And then after the ceremony, everything went faster than the snap of a garter. Or finger. Either way.

So many couples get married all over the world every day. This is what I told myself to calm my nerves and quiet my worries about whether our guests would have fun and enjoy the evening we’d planned for 11 months.

5 WAYS TO GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

December 13, 2018

For some reason, Christmastime can sometimes feel heavy. I so enjoy spending time with family and giving gifts (yeah, okay and receiving them, too). I feel so blessed this time of year to even have family to celebrate with, and now I can call my husband’s family mine, which just adds to my overflowing fortune.

Yet, I always have a period, just a couple days or even just hours, where I feel down. There’s no singular reason, but I seem to fall into a funk at some point during the holidays. I think it’s something about this time of year—with the cheer and festivities and gatherings—that reminds us of how things could have been… If my parents hadn’t gotten divorced, we wouldn’t need to coordinate two separate celebrations at their respective houses. If my mom’s dad hadn’t died when she was a kid, I could have known him and spent this time of year soaking up his stories and presence.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR EXTROVERTS

December 6, 2018

photo by Gloria Goode

Extroverts are odd creatures to me. You are telling me you get energy and recharged batteries from being around a bunch of people? Yeah. Right. That’s so not me, however I have a lot of people in my life who are these enigmatic extroverts. And they deserve attention this holiday season, too… I guess.

I kid. I actually quite admire extroverts. While I like being around others and socializing to a certain extent, I am not one to boldly introduce myself to a new person (except for that time I hit on my now-husband five-and-a-half years ago…). I don’t want to organize or attend a bunch of social events every night of the week, and I avoid talking on the phone like the plague. I’m just fine to spend most nights with my cup of Relax tea, a book or Bravo, and little old me. (And John and Piper, of course, but they are equally as no-new-friends mode as I am.)

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR INTROVERTS

November 29, 2018

photo by Gloria Goode

It’s almost that time of year. Stores are adorned with red and green and metallic galore (wait, they’ve had that since August), Christmas music is playing constantly in my office, and pine- and candy-cane-scented candles burn morning ‘til evening, because there’s nothing sadder than holiday scents after Christmas. If you’re like me, you’ve got to burn those babies out before December 25.

We’re also nearing the time of year when I always forget to shop until three days before Christmas. This year, I’m doing things a little differently. (Yeah, sure you could argue I’m doing things differently because now I’m married to an engineer whose middle name could be Planner and we’ve been brainstorming Christmas gifts for our collective list of recipients for more than a month… I guess that would be a valid point. Okay, fine I’ll give him the credit. Thank you, John.)

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