Two Posts Friday!

            
                                                             Friday Favorites//Five on Friday

I am very excited to be linking up with some great bloggers today for my first Friday Favorites and Five on Friday!

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{1} The book I am reading for book club, "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe," is an amazing book! I am part of a staff/teacher/student book club at my school, and it is one of my favorite clubs to participate in. Beyond the fact that I love reading, I love discussing books. What makes this club even more unique is the fact that teachers, staff members and students all have conversations with each other about the books. I love hearing what the students think about the books, and it is a great way to interact with students outside the classroom. The reason I love this book so much is that it really makes you think about what love really means. Does it just have to be physical? Is it just emotional? Is it mental? Can you resist love? Are there rules in love? Should there be? It is also a great coming of age story that I think many teenagers can relate to.



{2} One of my other favorites this week: my husband. He has been nothing but supportive while I try to figure out this whole blogging thing! While he might not admit it, I also think he has enjoyed reading my blog ;) especially when it comes to our story.



{3} Another one of my favorites this week: my sisters. Although our ages vary greatly, the bond that we have is incredible. We call ourselves the "Fab Five." Although we can drive each other crazy, we are there for each no matter the circumstance. I am so lucky to have them!

{4} For something fun (and to get my mind off of all of the snow), I have been preparing for our honeymoon to Disney World in April. I CANNOT WAIT!! We already booked our resort and planned all of our meals  (thanks to our great travel agent). All we have left to do is book our flight, and get our FastPasses and MagicBands all straightened out! One of the events I am most excited for? The Hoop-De-Doo Review. If you are planning a trip to Disney World, you have to check out this great dinner show! Every time I went to Disney with my family, we went to this show and had a blast! No matter what age you are, I promise you will love it!

{5} And just because I am looking forward to spring, I am pinning some amazing spring outfits! Easy, basic pieces that you can mix and match to make multiple outfits.

                                        

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Happy Friday everyone!

Meeting My Husband

When my husband and I have kids, I plan on telling them how their father and I met. I may not include all of the aspects, but I do want them to know  it was a journey. There were big bumps, and smaller bumps along the way. I endured heartache and heartbreak before I met their father, but that I wouldn’t have wanted it to happen any other way.  It led us to each other.

When my husband and I first starting communicating on eHarmony, I knew it was going to be different. I had different feelings communicating with him than the others. I was nervous, giddy, and excited to get his responses. We first starting talking while my family was on vacation, and I was attached to my phone. We were communicating through eHarmony mail, and I found myself more and more interested in learning about Jim. I wanted to know more than just the basic information. I wanted to know what his dreams were, what his goals in life were, what he had planned for in the future.  I was hoping with every response, that I could see myself fit into his life and his plans. His responses were genuine, personal, and sometimes very humorous (a characteristic that is very important to me!).  After my vacation, we moved on from communicating just through eHarmony, and starting communicating through our personal emails. We would send pages to each other, detailing our past relationships, our favorite moments in life, our relationship pet peeves, and what we found attractive in a partner.  We were truly getting to know each other on a deeper level, and I think is one reason why we became a “success” story. We were honest from the beginning. Nothing was off limits to ask about or discuss, because why not? I like to say that we became friends first, because that is really what happened for us. During our email communication, I got a sense of who he was as a person. I could start to talk to him like he was actually part of my life, instead of just being someone that I was communicating with through eHarmony. I found myself wanting to talk to him each day about what happened during work, and that is when I knew this was a stronger connection than the others. 

Our first date was bowling.  I am starting to blush as I am writing this! I was so nervous. Too nervous. I was also at the point where I was going to take a break from eHarmony if Jim and I didn’t work out. I had talked to quite a few people, and I was starting to feel discouraged.  I was so nervous that Jim wouldn’t like me, and would “break up” with me! I told my mom that I was going to take a break after this date, and she told me to just wait and see.  A mother’s intuition perhaps? Anyway, I spent way too long on my hair, way too long on my make-up, and many hours changing outfits. Once I was ready, my mom wished me luck, and I started to get really nervous. So much was riding on the success of this date!

The amazing guy that he is, Jim met me at a bowling alley close to my house. At the time, we lived about an hour and a half away from each other. This wasn’t uncommon for people on eHarmony; you can select the distance you are willing to travel to meet people. One aspect that does stick out in my mind, is that one of the guys I was first talking to (way in the beginning) also lived about an hour and a half away, and told me that he wasn’t sure he be in a long distance relationship.  Girls—if a guy is not willing to travel for you (at least in the beginning), he probably isn’t interested in dating you. He is looking for something either more convenient or something less serious. The fact that Jim was willing to drive two hours (yes—the bowling place he chose actually was about 30 minutes from my house and therefore an additional distance for him to travel), said a lot about his character, and showed me that he was willing to travel for me. When I arrived at the bowling place, I saw an extremely handsome guy sitting down. I went red. He was so attractive, so good looking in fact that I almost walked out. We introduced ourselves. I could not even tell you what we talked about the first 10 minutes of the date; I was just staring at him! Let me tell you—Jim knows how to plan a perfect date. Bowling was the best choice! Not only was it fun, but it took away many of my nerves. It was a great setting to just talk with each other.  And while I was focused on doing well, it was the conversation that I truly enjoyed. Side note—I lost all of the bowling games. Jim was and still is a champ. We talked about everything and anything. One thing that I noticed right away was Jim’s sarcastic sense of humor. He said/says things so seriously that you never think he is being sarcastic! But then he smiles, and his dimples show up (yes I’m gushing) and you know he is teasing you. Man that smile took my breath away during our first date-it still does J. I do remember asking him at some point, if he ever was serious (the answer is rarely!), and he said that he was, with some hesitation. Well, I can tell you that while he can be serious; his sense of humor and sarcasm is truly a Godsend. I am a very serious person, too serious some would say, and Jim is my perfect balance. He calms me down when I need it, he reassures me when I am stressing, and he can make me laugh to release any tension that I have.   So while on that first date I was a little nervous that he could never be serious, I should have known that he was the person I needed in life.

Bowling was perfection! Was it the end of our first date? Or did I break my two hour date limit? You will just have to wait until tomorrow……………

The Middle of the Road continued....

Hello all! We finally had school today! And while I love having snow days, I always have to remember that we do make them up.....in June.....usually during really nice weather. I hear more snow is headed our way for tomorrow and then again on Monday-- I actually thought we were starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe the tunnel is further away than I previously thought.

Image Courtesy of Supertrooper at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Regardless, this post is about a handful of people that I met on eHarmony and actually met up with in person. There is a difference. For those of you who aren't as familiar with eHarmony (or any of those sites for that matter), it is good to point out that there are multiple ways that you can communicate to your matches. Usually the first way is by sending the person (if you are interested in them as a match), three or so questions. These questions are multiple choice, and it is just a good, very brief way to get to know someone. You might find out about things such as: what their favorite type of date is,  if they are looking for something serious or not,  their general likes or dislikes, those kinds of things. Typically after responding to those questions, your match will send you back either the same questions (to see what your answers are) or three different questions. After that initial communication piece, you can then decide to skip to eHarmony mail (not your personal email yet), or you can have them answer a few open ended questions/short answer questions. eHarmony has a great bank of questions, but you are also free to come up with your own. After that type of communication, if you are still interested, you can exchange eHarmony email with each other, which is protected on the site. Many people have asked me if I was always the one to send questions first, or if I  waited for people to contact me. I would have to say it depended on the person. If I was really interested, I sent the questions first. If I was unsure, I typically left it up to the other person. I got matched and starting talking with A LOT of people-- as I said before, that's the beauty of eHarmony. You never felt as though there weren't enough people on the site. And if I had someone who moved on from me, I wasn't too upset about it, because I always knew I was getting new matches.

Image Courtesy of Feelart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So I suppose I should start writing about my matches. I wish I could tell you about all of them (so many crazy stories), but I will talk about some of them, the ones that stuck out in my mind. They may not be in chronological order either-- I have a hard time remembering when I actually dated all these guys (to be fair-- I knew right away when I met my husband that he was the one-- and so all of the others quickly faded out of my memory). So to keep everything private, each match will have a nickname. And here it goes.....

One of the first guys I was set up with, we will call him "Bull Run" (the name of the restaurant we went to) , I started talking to right after Christmas. "BR" and I had a lot in common, and right away it was so easy for me to talk to him. We had long email exchanges to each other, had similar values, both had successful jobs, and both cared about our families. I really enjoyed talking to him, and I was excited when he asked me to meet up with him at restaurant not too far from where we both lived. When we got there, I was so nervous-- I didn't know what to do. I felt like I knew him, but I had never actually met him before. Do we hug? Shake hands? I actually don't remember what we ended up doing, but I remember that the conversation face-to-face was blah. It wasn't exciting, I kept looking at the clock, and we only got drinks-- diet coke (like really? ugh). When we left, I asked him if he was interested in going on another date (I figured-- maybe he was nervous and that's why he seemed so boring?), and he said he would. He also mentioned to me that he was just kind of "seeing what this whole thing was like," and that it probably prepared him for other dates. Excuse me? I was a practice run? The nerve! You would think that after that I would have kicked him to the non-existent curb. But, no I didn't. Because he sent me a message later on that he wanted to go on another date.  I thought, okay, maybe he was nervous and realized that he came across as arrogant. We did go on another date, bowling to be specific, but again, no spark. Nothing. No excitement, no laughter, just forced. While on paper we were a "perfect" match, face-to-face we were most certainly not. And that was the end of "BR." Nice enough guy, but just not quite the right one for me.

The next guy, "Awww B" (because my sister Jocelyn loved this guy-- keep in mind she never actually met him), was a mid-west transfer living in New England. He was trying to meet people and make friends in the area, and happened to stumble upon eHarmony. Again, such a nice guy, thoughtful, attentive, and had a great sense of humor. He would email me regularly, and always let me know that he was thinking about me. We went on our first date, and I felt so comfortable! I really enjoyed myself, and I had a great time with him. We went on two more dates, and on the third date, he told me that he wanted to be exclusive. I froze. I didn't know what to say. In this instance, my head and my heart were actually at the same place. I wasn't ready. I enjoyed the dating aspect, getting to meet new people, getting to go on dates again, but I was in no way ready for a relationship. I didn't want to lead "Awww B" on, and even though I did sign up for eHarmony to find someone with whom I could be in a committed relationship with and potentially love, I couldn't deny my feelings that I wasn't quite at the same place he was. He told me he understood, but that he would have to move on because he didn't want to just keep going on dates. He wanted a relationship. Of course I understood, but that was a really difficult decision for me. For his sake, I truly hope he has found someone special, because he is such a great guy.

There were a lot of one date wonders in there as well. I won't give them nicknames, because well, they didn't last long! One of my dates, showed up to our date one hour early just to make sure that we got a spot at a local coffee shop (what the what?!!). Earlier that day, I was going through his pictures on eHarmony (probably with my mom and my sisters) trying to figure out if I found him attractive. I remember thinking "oh he looks good there," "ohhhhh not so good," "oh not bad," "wow...okay...not what I thought he looked like." The kid had like twenty pictures and he looked different in every single one of them! Now I am not saying that I am that shallow (well....I hope I'm not), but if you are on eHarmony-- put up honest pictures of yourself! If someone likes you enough, they are going to want to meet you, and if you don't look  like your pictures, that is just not a good thing! Trust me! It kind of freaks us out if we can't match you to any picture that you have posted on your profile. Well, when I got to the coffee shop, he met me at the door, and let's just say, I was taller than him. I am 5 ft 1......so ya that wasn't a very good start. One un-named rule I gave myself was to always give the date a chance. I usually would set aside about 2 hours for the date, just so I would feel as though I tried. I hardly lasted 1 hour with that guy. He was a little out there. Then there was a date at Starbucks, that I thought went well, but I never heard from him again! Nothing! Which you should know is not uncommon. Not every person you meet up with has to formally "break up" with you. Such a weird concept. Then there was a guy who road the Pan Mass Challenge every year, who was too into himself during that date to notice I was there. He asked me zero questions, and I don't even think I was given the chance to talk. And then he messaged me later in the week asking if I wanted to see him again---- ahh no thanks. I like to talk. Sorry. Then there was the guy I met up with at a very cool coffee shop, who I think was either in love with his roommate or still in love with his girlfriend. But was definitely not interested. And yes, you will get those kind of guys too. The last one date wonder was an engineer. I typically don't like to stereotype, but in this case, when you think of an engineer, his head should pop up. It wasn't that he was "boring," but he had a difficult time talking to me. I know it sounds weird, but I don't think he was nervous, as much as worried that he would have to talk to me. In this case, I did want someone to share the conversation with. I was actually interested in hearing what he had to say, but he had such a difficult time, that I just moved on after that date. Again, he tried to contact me, but I was thinking to myself-- "He thought it went well? He needs to re-think that."

Image courtesy of SweetCrisis at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

At the same time I got matched with my now husband, I got matched with a guy whom we shall call "Mini Coop." He was smart, a little nerdy, very responsive, and very much into video games. Our first date was to dinner, and I really enjoyed his company. He had a dry sense of humor, which I definitely have, and many of the shows and movies I like, he also liked. I didn't feel like I "needed" to look at my phone or the clock, and the conversation was pleasant. He asked about my job and family, and he was very open about his family. The end of the date, I was actually interested in seeing him again. Our second date was at the movies, which is so non-threatening. After the movie, I actually had to get home and pack for my vacation, so it didn't leave us much time to talk. We did talk over my vacation, but at the same time, I started talking to someone named Jim (my future husband). I was the first to initiate conversation with Jim, and I thought he was so handsome, too handsome, to respond to me. When he did, I was so nervous! I didn't want to send anything wrong, or make a fool of myself. More so than any other match, I actually waited for his responses. Every day on vacation, I would check my phone to see if he had sent me a message in the morning (he always did), and I would quickly send a response back. I would then see if he responded to me in the afternoon, and he always did. I got giddy thinking about him, and I think my family could sense a change in my demeanor. All of the other matches were great, but this was the first one that I actually cared about. After about two weeks of communication through emails, we finally decided to go on a date.

But what about "Mini Coop?" Well, since Jim and I hadn't formally met face to face, I was still communicating with "Mini Coop." The final straw happened before our last date. We were supposed to go to a local AAA baseball game (and I loved that date idea), but the day before the date, "Mini Coop" send me a message saying that his actual mini cooper was in the shop. He didn't have a car, and asked if I would mind picking him up at his house. First of all, I hate driving. What I hate even more, is driving other people. And I barely knew him!?!! That was it for me-- I was so annoyed. And at the same time that I was feeling frustrated and annoyed, I was realizing that I really liked Jim. Really liked him. I now had a perfectly good reason to stop seeing "Mini Coop." Since I felt as though he deserved ONE more chance, I picked up "Mini Coop", and we went to the game. After the game he asked if I wanted to get a drink or food with him, and I said no. I dropped him back at his place (which was a townhouse that looked like it belonged in a community for people 55+), and that was that. He did email me a few days later asking what I wanted our next date to be-- I thought I was clear that I wasn't interested but I digress-- and I had to formally break up with him.

So what about Jim? What was our first date like? What was our relationship like starting out?

Guess you will just have to keep reading ;)

The Middle of the Road

Another day off from school due to Juno (blizzard), and this morning consisted of lesson planning and scheduling, and setting up the crock pot for dinner tonight (thanks mixandmatchmama for the AMAZING crock pot recipes!!). I am starting to feel more comfortable in the kitchen, and who knows-- maybe I will be creating my own recipes soon?? ;) (wishful thinking!).

Anyway, as promised, here is more of my journey towards true love. We left off with my first glimpse at my future husband on eHarmony. As I had stated before, I had been on the site for about seven months at that point, and I had met A LOT of guys through the site. Some, I knew right away from reading their profiles, they were not the ones for me. Anyone who is thinking about joining eHarmony (or any other dating site), I HIGHLY recommend it if you are in your mid-twenties or older. It is such a great way to meet people, especially if you are working a full time job and feel as though you have no time to meet people. I would also recommend this if you have explored all of your "known" options. You know what I mean-- you have met every single person that everyone in your life knows and has tried to set you up with. I am not saying that people don't meet the "one" that way; I am just saying that while people have the best intentions, sometimes the only thing you have in common with the people that you are set up with is the fact that you are both single! I was set-up on a date by my cousin with someone that her husband worked with (this was before eHarmony). To be honest, I don't remember his name, but he was nice-- a theme you will see pop up a lot on my journey. Too nice? No, not really, but I just didn't "feel" it. On the first date. And I was done- that quick! First impressions (I unfortunately found out) are extremely meaningful to me! I just had a feeling that he wasn't it, and I didn't want to waste my time or his. I did feel bad, but neither of us had any real investment in it yet, and I figured, why not just end it before it starts. My cousin then (almost immediately) set me up with another nice guy-- a fellow teacher, who was extremely nice. We had a great conversation at one of my favorite places, Barnes and Nobles. He also was a coach, and seemed so devoted to his school and his students-- I was really impressed. Was I interested? No-- again, I felt bad about it. He tried to keep in contact, but I had to be honest with him, and tell him that I didn't think it was going anywhere. Around that same time, I also became somewhat interested in someone at my church. He was lector and my family and I always thought he was cute. I, embarrassingly, introduced myself after church one day and "pretended" that I wanted to become a lector, and asked him how to go about doing that. Hindsight-- honesty is best, and was I honestly trying to become a lector? No-- not at all. I should have just walked away at that point. After our "forced" meeting, we starting texting each other. It was fun, and I loved the attention. Our first (and only) date, we met up at another one of my favorite coffee places: Starbucks! We started talking, and it was so easy to talk to him. I found myself smiling, genuinely smiling and having a good time. I thought to myself-- could it be? Could I have found someone that I actually could date? And then, came the STORY-- for privacy for that person, and because I don't want to be extremely mean, I am only going to give you the highlights. He had been in the army, and there was a breakdown of some sorts. And then I started to get a little freaked out-- he was so vulnerable, and I feel so bad because I know he was just trying to be honest. However, I got the feeling as though he wasn't quite ready/stable? :( to be in a relationship at that time. After our date, I knew I wasn't going to see him in a dating setting again. He did contact me after the date, but again, I had to be honest, and I told him I wasn't interested. It was SO difficult-- and yes I still see him when I'm at church (as I slowly, slide down towards the edge of the pew). Super mature Kaitlin.

Image Courtesy of: Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There was, at one point, in between all of these set-ups when I actually reached out to my ex (BAD, TERRIBLE, STUPID, did I say BAD idea). There is a reason they are called an ex by the way-- as I learned from a great book  He's Just Not That Into You  (side bar-- amazing book! Everyone should read it!) given to me by my cousin during my "difficult" time. We met up, and I thought we could be friends again-- until he mentioned his new girlfriend (run, girl, run!). And then I realized, we couldn't be friends. We weren't in high school or college anymore. We were adults, and just like that old adage "People come into your life for a reason, season, or lifetime," I came to the understanding that he was not meant to be in my life for a lifetime; he taught me a valuable lesson about self-worth, unrequited love (me not him), and letting go. I know everyone is different, and has their own way of getting through a breakup, but talking to your ex (in my opinion) is never a good idea. It only brings up hurt and frustration. You can't go "back" to the way you two were-- it just doesn't work like that. And in some cases, I know people do get back together and it works out amazingly, but in many cases, both people try to get it back to the way it was. And that can be a very challenging thing to do.

Image Courtesy of fotographic1980 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The setting up/dating people you know aside, if you are not quite the type to go to bars, or you are hesitant to get involved with LivingSocial events that include only single people, or you really don't want to date someone that you work with, then online dating may be perfect for you! It is a great way to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time. One of my favorite parts of online dating was getting to make the decision to either talk to people or move on! I had the power! I got to reject those that I didn't want to date (keep in mind-- I kind of always felt stifled in my previous relationship), and although I did feel bad at times, it was also mutually understood that because I was looking for love and commitment, I didn't want to waste my time. So, therefore, I rejected a lot of guys! The nice part of eHarmony, is that you can talk to many people at one time. There are always new matches, and therefore, you never feel as though the pond is too small. When I tried the bar scene, I always felt as though there weren't enough options, online dating is definitely the opposite. Some of the first people I met that I liked, I became attached to very quickly (try not to do this, okay?). I didn't quite understand the concept that there were always going to be new matches, so when someone I liked, didn't respond back to me, I was genuinely hurt. But, I also had to remember that I was doing the same thing! Trust me, it just takes time to adjust to the newness of it all!

Fast forward to my first date with my husband, and we had gone bowling (so fun for a first date! I would definitely recommend doing something fun for the first date!) and then we realized we still wanted to talk and hang out with each other (a pretty good sign). So, we ended up going to "UNOs" so we could get to know each other better. When we sat down at the bar, one of the first questions he asked me was "So how many dates like this have you gone on so far?" and I had to think about it for a moment. How many people had I gone on dates with from the site? I wanted to be honest! It took me a minute, but I told him-- "Oh, I don't know about 10? Maybe 11? How about you? How many dates have you gone on?" His response:" Oh, you're my first." Cue blushing, my insides freaking out, and a smile on his face. I didn't know what to say! And I guess before you learn more about my husband, and our first date, I should probably tell you about the others.......the other 10......or so.....but you will just have to wait for that until tomorrow!

The Road to Mrs.-- From the Beginning....

So I promised a few weeks ago that I would detail my road to marriage, starting from the beginning. Well, for me, in order to truly understand the journey, we have to go back to my high school years. I am certifiably a nerd at heart-- in high school, there were really only three things that occupied my time: my family, sports (cheerleading or softball depending on the season), and school. School was huge for me-- I cared so much about my grades, about doing well, and about making my parents and teachers proud of me. I didn't have time to date-- or so I thought-- I also wasn't "allowed" to date until I was 16, so I just pushed dating to the way-side for most of high school. Sure I was interested in boys, and I had crushes (embarrassing interactions with crushes), but I didn't actually "date" or have a boyfriend until senior year of high school. We started dating in October of my senior year, the typical football player and cheerleader story, but I wasn't really feeling a strong connection at the time-- looking back, I was definitely reading too much into the relationship! I blame The Bachelor ;) (I think the first season was around the time I was in high school). We broke up, only to get back together during the summer before starting college. I was happy that summer-- we got along so well, I absolutely adored his family, and we were actually going to be attending the same college in the fall. Fast forward to the first weekend in college, and I again, broke up with him. I just wasn't having the same strong feelings that he was having. We became friends again, and for about a year, we probably became the best of friends-- and that's where we should have stayed. Again, I absolutely loved his family, and I did feel so comfortable with him, but sometimes if something doesn't work out (after two or three tries), it probably isn't meant to be. I can say this now, but I know the 20 year old me didn't quite understand that concept yet.

We started dating again, and dated for about 5 years, until we broke up in the fall (what is it and the fall?!). My younger sister Elizabeth, had gotten engaged the summer of that year, and whether he admits it or not, it probably freaked out my ex. I thought that he and I were at that place of marriage-- we had been together for almost 5 years, we had both finished graduate school at that point, we both had secured jobs (I was about to start my first teaching job), and I just assumed that we were on the track for marriage. To be honest, when my sister got engaged, my heart sank, for some reason, I had a feeling that that was the beginning of the end of my relationship. To say I was shocked when he decided he couldn't marry or stay with me would be a lie. Truthfully, I knew it was coming, and as much as it hurt, I knew it was the right thing to do. People always say that if someone wants to be with you, they will find a way, no matter what, and I honestly believe that. I also believe that he knew it was the end of the road for us, as hard as it is to admit.

Image Courtesy of: Evgeni Dinev at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Regardless if it was shocking, the breakup was devastating. It happened the second week of school, and I had to put on the bravest of faces. I didn't want to let my personal feelings get in the way of my teaching, but boy was that hard. For the next few months, I couldn't eat, sleep, or stop crying. Even though my family kept telling me that it was for the best, I felt as though that was my only chance to get married. He was all I knew-- I hadn't dated anyone else, and I was convinced that I wouldn't find anyone to love, never mind marry me. When I found out he was dating someone less than two months after us breaking up, I moved from grief to fury. How could he do that so quickly? I was still picking up the pieces. It was terrible-- I was not a joy to be around, and I know that it was hard for Elizabeth to enjoy her engagement, when I was going through such a tough time (I love you Elizabeth!). It was also hard for my younger sisters, who didn't quite know what I was going through, and tried their hardest to make me feel better. I couldn't enjoy the fall (my favorite season), Thanksgiving was a blur, and by the time Christmas came around, I was still just going through the motions. Thankfully, my family was EXTREMELY supportive and understanding, my school friends were AMAZING and knew how to make me feel better, and my old friends were always there for a talk. It truly is during the worst times, that you find out how many people truly enhance your life and are there for you when you need them.

My sister Elizabeth and I that Christmas

Christmas Eve came around, and my father had decided that it was enough. I needed to get back out there . I had been set up on dates here or there by my friends and family (do people really meet the love of their life that way anymore???), but nothing became serious. My dad basically forced me to sign up for eHarmony-- I was initially hesitant. I was 24, and I was slightly embarrassed about signing up for that site. Two hours later, on Christmas Eve, I had officially finished answering the questions, and I was officially on eHarmony. Longest quiz ever!!!!!!!!!! (sorry eHarmony). It was surreal; I was excited and nervous at the same time. I started getting messages right away, and I found myself enjoying the communication. I would talk with a few guys, meet a few, realize we weren't at the same place, or we had no connection, or we just didn't fit. I did meet a nice guy, we will call him B, and we did go on a few dates early in the new year, and he did want to start being exclusive, but I had to make the tough decision to tell him I wasn't at the point yet. I felt like a horrible and terrible person! Here was a nice guy, ready to date me exclusively, and I just wasn't ready! This point was really a set back for me, and I actually slowed down on the site for a while. I was "ready" to date, but I wasn't quite "ready" for an exclusive relationship yet.

I would message people occasionally, meet up with them, but they were always missing something. I don't know what-- it was just missing. Then, in the summer, just as I was starting to feel frustrated that I wasn't finding anyone that I wanted to seriously date, I saw a picture and profile on my match page that honestly stopped me in my tracks, and actually made me blush. He was handsome, his profile was personable, funny, and he seemed like an all around amazing guy-- the only flaw-- I made the first move! I waited days to see if he would message me, and nothing!!!!! I then, got up the nerve, to send him a message. I figured, why not? I was just about to go on a family vacation to the Cape, and I had nothing to lose. To my excitement and surprise-- he responded! Little did I know that this guy, this amazing guy, would become my husband (well I did wish that when I first met him-- but we will get to that part of the story next)..............

Image Courtesy of Mister GC at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Snowy Saturday and Must Haves!

Happy Saturday to you all! Up in Northern Massachusetts we are getting some beautiful, light snow! I wish we had this snow during Christmas, instead of rainy 50 degree weather, but I digress. Why does snow make me think back to Christmas?! I am still sad that the season is over. I love love love summer and fall, but I REALLY love winter. Spring isn't my favorite-- if you live in New England, you know that we have "spring" but it is usually either rainy and gloomy, still too cold, or way too hot way too early. I absolutely love winter and the snow and cold that comes with it. It is a good thing I don't mind it- in New England, this could last us anywhere from November til the end of March. I can't believe we have to wait another year for all of the garland (which is still on my mantle), Christmas trees, decorations, cocoa, Christmas music, and amazing food.

Currently, I am preparing for second semester classes (we have block scheduling so I teach three full classes in the fall and then three full classes in the spring). It is set-up similar to how college works. We just had finals last week, and I will get a new set of kids on Monday. The feeling is bittersweet-- I so enjoyed the group I had last semester (for the most part), and I will be sad to see them go. However, there is something refreshing with getting a new group, and getting the chance to start fresh! Wish me luck!

The past few days I have been thinking about what my staples are for beauty and home. I know many of you have must have lists, and I think it is so fun to compare. I would love it if you shared some of your must haves in the comments section below! Maybe some will become my own must haves!


1. COFFEE!

As sad as it is to say, I cannot forgo coffee. I absolutely love it! From Dunkin Donuts, to Starbucks, to home brewed, to the Keurig, I need coffee. Yes, I need coffee. It is not just the caffeine, albeit that it an extremely important part, it is the flavor and warmth, especially on snowy days like today.





2. Mascara and Eyelash Curler
                   

       Shiseido Sephora Eyelash Curler               Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket
       Source: Sephora website {1}                            Source: Maybelline Website {2}

Anyone who knows me, knows that my dream job is becoming a make-up artist for weddings and special events. I love doing make-up so much, that I even did make-up for my mom and bridesmaids for my wedding. So many people have asked me if I was stressed about having to do that for all of them-- to be honest, it kept me calm and relaxed! It was so nice to focus on something other than all of the small details the day of my wedding. My basic make-up routine, is a little bit of eye shadow, blush, lipgloss and my two staples: mascara and eye lash curler. I have been known to wear too many sparkles (love you Jim! ;)), but other than that, I keep my beauty routine fairly simple. You will rarely find me without my eyelashes curled (I have a thing about my eyes and how they look without my eyelashes curled), and I have to say that after purchasing many eyelash curlers, I find that this one from Sephora is one of the best! The Rocket Maybelline mascara is also one of my favorites (although I love all of Maybelline's products). It doesn't clump, it goes on my eyelashes smoothly, it isn't heavy, and it is generally easy to remove.

3. UGGs


Classic Short and Pierce
Source: UGG Official website {3}

As my husband likes to point out, UGGS are probably the ugliest shoes on the planet. While I do not necessarily disagree with him, they are without a doubt, the most comfortable shoes I own. And let's face it, comfortable shoes are EXTREMELY important to me. I have been known to wear shoes for decades-- I still have shoes from my high school days that I refuse to throw away. They are comfortable, "clunky", far from being stylish, but match multiple outfits. My family has tried to get me to throw all of those shoes away, but I just can't bring myself to do it! I stand firm on the fact that I am terrible with heels-- breaking the little bones in my foot can support my detest (another story for another day), so I resort to comfort. I am perfectly okay with admitting that I have four pairs of UGGs-- yes four. And I wear all of the them! My husband has been on the UGGs website recently-- trying to pick out manly boots- we will see what he ends up getting. What are your favorite, comfortable shoes? Are you a heels person? Flats person? If I need to be comfortable, but want to attempt being stylish, what shoes should I look into?

4. Yankee Candles:
                    
Harvest Welcome, Home for the Holidays, Clean Cotton
Source: Yankee Candle Website {4, 5, 6}

You can guarantee that right now I have a Yankee candle burning (it may be Home for the Holidays ;)). I LOVE Yankee Candles. My mom always had a candle burning while I was growing up, whether it was a Home Sweet Home,one of the many cinnamon flavors she always bought, or a Christmas flavor during the holidays. While Jim and I were first dating, one of our favorite past-times was going to the Yankee Candle Company store at the Burlington Mall-- well let's be honest, it still is one of our favorite pastimes. We were dating long-distance for most of our relationship, and one of the middle points for us was the Burlington Mall. We could spend hours smelling all of the wonderful scents in that store. Occasionally, if I was lucky enough, Jim would let me buy a candle. By the time we moved into our house, we had probably about 10 candles. Some of my favorites include: Harvest Welcome (a limited edition one), Holiday Plum (limited edition), Home for the Holidays,  and Clean Cotton. What are your favorite scents for Spring? Summer? I mostly have Fall and Christmas scents, but I would love to change it up for the other seasons!



What are some of your favorite and staple products?! Make sure to comment below! 

Being Married: Post 1

Since returning from Christmas break, so many people have asked how the wedding was and how it has been being married so far. We celebrated our one month (well we didn't really celebrate it- so much as to notice the date) anniversary this week, and due to how many people have asked me that question, I figured I would try to explain it on here as best as I can. My hope is that even if no one reads this blog, I will at least be able to look back on these posts in the future and reminisce about the early days of our marriage and how I felt. Since we are also starting to plan our future (to include babies of course!), I think it will be so nice to re-read these posts 5, 10, 15 years from now to see how much has changed in our lives. I will break down the wedding and our marriage in a few consecutive posts, and I may even go backwards a little bit and talk about when we first met. This is our journey, our love story, and I am sorry to say , it is going to be out of order ;)-- but I promise you it will be a fun read. Enjoy and I hope you can follow my tangents!

Part I: Preparation for the Wedding

Jim and I were married on December 12, 2014-- why no one told me that the date  PROBABLY , DEFINITELY, wasn't the best choice for a wedding I am still not sure (j/k ;)--kinda). All I remember is thinking in the summer how far away the wedding was, and how I just wanted to speed up time. There were three weddings in my family last year: my sister's, my aunt's, and mine. In addition, Jim and I attended two other non-family weddings, and by the time fall came around, we were ready for ours! No matter how many people tell you that the planning really doesn't become intense until the month before the wedding, you still don't believe it until you are in it! Our biggest countdown to the wedding was not actually our wedding day, but Thanksgiving-- we knew once Thanksgiving hit, it was going to be full steam ahead for the wedding. Those two weeks from Thanksgiving to the wedding were a whirl-wind-- I hardly remember what I taught, I hardly remember what we did to prepare. And just like everyone always tells you, everything fell into place. Everything was set to go-place cards, favors (thanks to my family!), table names, memory table pictures, bridesmaids gifts, etc. If I am honest, I did not enjoy planning my wedding. Crazy, right? Isn't everyone supposed to love every minute of planning? Choosing all of the details? Getting all creative? Not me! I just wanted to be married to Jim-- sure I cared that my flowers went well with my dress and my bridesmaids dresses, but the specific flowers? That's why I had a florist! Well-- my uncle did my flowers-- but you get the point. Did I care about what my cake looked like? Not really-- I chose the simplest pattern, and had everyone especially Jim ask me if I was really sure that is what I wanted. Did I care what color the napkins were? No! All I cared about was that on December 12, I would marry my best friend, my partner in life, the guy who always has it all together, the guy that can calm me down when I start getting stressed. I am not saying that the details aren't important, or that if you like planning all of the details than you are missing the "bigger picture," all I am saying is that for me, the best moment of the day would be reaching him and seeing him at the altar.

Back to Normalcy and Unexpected Fun

I don't know about any of you, but there is some sense of getting back into a routine  after the holidays. While I begrudgingly did not want to head back to school yesterday, I craved normalcy, a routine, and getting back to the day to day chores. Let me be perfectly clear-- I absolutely loved the time off from school, but on the other hand, I had a difficult time keeping active during vacation. It wasn't just that it was gray outside, or starting to get cold, or that my husband was also home with me, I just had no desire to keep busy! After rushing around pretty much all fall in preparation for my wedding, then having Thanksgiving, only to have my wedding two weeks later, and then Christmas two weeks after that, I think I was just beyond exhausted! (Although my family will claim that I am always tired haha). I truly think my body needed time to just, well, be at home doing absolutely nothing! And school vacation offered me that time, and I most certainly took advantage of that. However, here we are, start of a new year, a new week, and I am ready for it! (sort of-- remind me of this post in February when I am counting down the days until February break).



While on vacation, my husband and I did visit a very cool brewery in Westminster, MA called Wachusett Brewery. I always have so much fun heading to brewery tours or wine tours/tastings, and I have nothing but good things to say about this local brewery! It was an inexpensive way to spend our last weekend of vacation, and I am always interested in how different breweries brew their beer and what their overall process is.  Wachusett Brewery keeps their beer local, and I love supporting local businesses. What are your favorite brewery and/or winery tours in the New England area? What is your favorite "inexpensive" fun activity to do? Let me know your thoughts!

First Post!

First off, if you are visiting my blog, I want to thank you! It has been a dream of mine to write a blog for about a year and a half, and although I don't have everything figured out yet, I am so excited for the journey. I think it took such a long time for me to create a blog because I didn't know what I wanted the focus to be. I also think that it has taken me so long because I wanted it to be perfect, and for the finished product to be complete. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a perfectionist at heart, and I spend way too much time on any project I have. I also have a problem where once I start something, I want it finished instantaneously (cue house decorating post to come haha).  But, here I am, writing a blog that will certainly not be perfect, and I hope will not be "complete" anytime soon. As part of my New Years resolution, I have vowed to be okay with that.

You may be wondering what the focus of the blog will be about, and to be honest, I don't know exactly. Admittedly I have never really kept a journal; I have started probably four or five journals, and each probably only have a few days written down. The only things I truly document are my lesson plans for school! What I am going to attempt to do with this blog is share my life as a newlywed, recent homeowner, high schoolteacher, my fails and triumphs in the kitchen (I am a terrible cook, but a decent baker), my attempts at decorating and styling my house, and my acceptance of being imperfect, all while "thinking out loud." And so it begins......