Baby Bro is 20!!

It is hard to believe that my little brother is no longer a teenager!  Even worse, one of my first memories ever is visiting him at the hospital right after he was born, and being able to say that I remember something that happened 20 years ago is crazy!!

Anyway, my parents came down for the weekend to celebrate his birthday!

On Friday evening, we went out to dinner at Wings U.  His best friend Jon Allen, who has become my adopted little brother since he just lives right upstairs, came with us.

Josh and Jon Allen enjoying wings, pizza, and sports…they were in heaven!

Brother Bear and I…he’s all grown up now *sniff sniff*

The whole crew 

Josh with his cake back at the apartment

Once we got back to the house, it was time to open presents! 

He got 2 pairs of shoes, an Alabama Cutter & Buck rain jacket, polo dress shirt, a new skillet, a Cutter & Buck Alabama polo and a new dry-fit Alabama hat.

I think he had an excellent 20th birthday! :)

Celebrating a different kind of anniversary…

I know I’m still behind, but I was in the mood to write a “from the heart” post.  Sorry for its lengthiness, but again, I wanted to get this down on paper…even if it is virtual ;)  and I did throw some pictures in there just to help with the wordiness ;)__________________________________________________________

Last week Alex and I hit a milestone in our relationship, somewhat of a bittersweet one….last week Alex and I “celebrated” one year of us being “long-distance”

source

I know you’re probably thinking I’m absolutely insane for saying it was bittersweet because you’d think there was nothing sweet about it, but let me explain.  As much as I absolutely abhor the situation, I honestly think it has been good for our relationship.  That whole adage “what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger” has rang so true for us…I think this situation has definitely made us, and our relationship stronger.

When you’ve dated/been with/been married to someone for over 6 years, you tend to sometimes take that other person for granted…especially when that one person has literally been minutes away since you met 8 years ago.  Alex and I have never really had any major relationship problems, but I definitely took our relationship for granted.  Although we weren’t necessarily attached at the hip, I knew that he would be there if I needed him (within reason of course…he was definitely not a whipped boyfriend and I wouldn’t have it any other way)

Since Alex has been gone, we definitely have learned to cherish the moments we have together and honestly, just appreciate what the other has to offer.  Yes, I knew I would miss the regular couple stuff, but I also missed the little things like if I needed something fixed, he’d head right over, or our lazy Sunday’s complete with a starbucks run, shopping, and watching movies all day…those are the things I miss the most.  As much as I am saying “I miss this” and “I miss that”, I know that there are lots of things he misses out on too.

Needless to say, this has definitely been an experience for both of us and we have learned a lot that I think will be very helpful for our relationship in the future.  As we “celebrated” our one year, I started thinking about how much we’ve learned (or at least I have) and I decided it would be smart to document them to reflect on WHEN (yep, trying to stay positive) are back together in the same state :)  So here are my lessons learned:

• Communication is Key – Alex and I have never been a couple that talks a lot on the phone….we’ve always relied more on our visits with each other.  Unfortunately now that we have almost 7 hours between us, that is not always possible so phone and skype calls have replaced the time that used to be spent together.  So, now we talk AT LEAST 3 times a day (lunch, when Alex gets off work or when I’m headed to class, and then before we go to bed) and I think it is safe to say that both of us love having that time to chat because it is the only way we can stay connected  into the daily happenings of what is going on in each other’s lives.

• Tell it like it is – Although communication is great, the problem is, things get lost over the phone because I can’t see that little smirk Alex has when he’s being sarcastic or he can’t tell that I’m hiding being upset about something.  So we have learned, that we not only have to communicate, but we have to tell each other how we feel about everything…if I’m upset, I have to tell him.  If he’s getting annoyed with me, he has to tell me because if we don’t, the other doesn’t know and it could lead to a big fight.

• Long distance relationships are not for the faint of heart, or in that case weak relationships – I think I mentioned before that I was in a long distance relationship Freshman year of college and it was a complete disaster.  When we started this journey, Alex assured me that we were in a completely different place than my Freshman bf and I were at the time, and he was so right.  Long distance relationships are hard, and any one that tells you it gets better is crazy, because it doesn’t….at least not completely.  I guess in a sense, it has gotten a little better, but I still cry occasionally and I miss him ALL the time.  I think it is safe to say that if it gets to the point where you don’t have days you cry and you don’t miss your significant other, there is a problem.  

  Source  Oh so true…

• It’s ok to do things alone – As I mentioned before, Alex and I have never been the type of couple that is attached at the hip, but there were certain things we didn’t do alone (like going to the movies, out to eat, Starbucks, etc).  We’ve definitely had to change that since we don’t always have someone to go with us.  That is definitely something I’ve had to learn to deal with.

source  We haven’t gone this far, but might be a good idea ;)  Kidding of course!

• You find out who your true friends are – In this type of situation (or any type of somewhat negative situation), you really find out who your true friends are.  I unfortunately have had quite a few “friends”, who have either said negative things about the situation, i.e. “So, are you not worried about him cheating on you?” or “I don’t know if your relationship is strong enough to handle this” or just disregarded my feelings about the situation entirely, especially when it comes to putting me in awkward and uncomfortable situations.  Like for example, if you are going to bring your husband and invite another couple to a girl’s night, let me know ahead of time so I can at least have a “stand in” as well.  Anyway, most of my friends, couples or not have been really great about the situations and when I do go out with my good couple friends, they are really good about making sure I feel included and not like the “3rd wheel”.  Alex’s friends have also been really good about filling in for him if I need them (i.e. making sure I make it to my car okay after a night out).  I am so thankful to have such good friends to help me through this situation.
• Cherish every moment you have together – As cheesy as that sounds, it is so true.  Take some time to savor the moments you have together, and I think for the most part we’ve done a pretty good job at that.  I was just telling my dear friend Rebecca that Alex and I seemed to have more pictures together this year than we’ve ever had in a year’s time and she said, “Of course, because you’re making memories” and that really stuck with me because it is so true.  The time we used to spend just sitting around watching TV, we are now making the most of our time together and getting out and doing things and as Rebecca said, making memories.
• Be willing to sacrifice – Sometimes you have to go out of your way to make time for each other, rather it is for visits or just chatting.  For example, Alex and I were just planning our “February schedule” and if you have been reading my blog for long, you know we have A LOT in February (my birthday, his birthday, Valentine’s day, etc) and as much as I would love him here every weekend…it is just not feasible, so I had to sacrifice having him here for the Super Bowl party I wanted to throw, so that I could possibly have him 9 days the following week :)

Anyway, although this has been a tough year, it has been a good one too.  I know now that if we can make it through this, we can make it through just about anything ;)

Thanks to those of you who have left messages, comments, etc checking on me!  I really appreciate it :)

New Year’s “Resolutions”

I meant to post this on or at least around New Year’s Day, but alas, things got crazy and this post sat lonely in my draft section…oops!  Better late than never right? ;)  I’m backdating this so that it is on the date it was meant to be posted :)  Enjoy!

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Happy 1/11/11!! :)  Crazy right?

I know the whole idea of New Year’s resolutions is a bit cliche, but as an extreme OCD planner and list maker, I do like to set goals for myself just to hold myself accountable. 

Although I’m good at making goals, I’m not always good at sticking to them, partly because the goals I usually make are a bit unattainable…for example, I will write down that I want to clean and organize and my entire apartment in a weekend, on top of reading 200 pages of articles for class, grading papers, writing lesson plans, and minor things like sleeping and eating…yeah not going to happen.  Please tell me I am not the only person who does this? ;)

So, I am going to set my goals a little lower for the year so that I won’t get completely overwhelmed and down on myself for not being able to accomplish  them (but not so low that they are a joke..I mean, I have to have some sort of a challenge ;))

So, without further adieu, in honor or 1/11/11 here are my 11 resolutions, or goals if you will, for 2011

1. Exercise at least 3 times a week, emphasis on the at least and preferably closer to 5 times a week. – Despite the whole “weight loss" side of it (which I’m getting to in a minute), exercise makes me feel so much better, so this one is a gimme. :)
2. Lose Weight – My best friend is getting married in March, so that leaves me about 2 months to get the rest of my weight off.  During the spring/summer, I did pretty well with this and dropped about 10 pounds and although I haven’t gained but maybe 3 or 4 pounds of that back, I just don’t feel as “in shape” so definitely working on that.  If I can lose about 10-15 more pounds, I will be back at my HS weight and back in my “dancer body”
3. Get a good start on my dissertation – I’m down to my last three classes, 2 of which I’m taking this semester, so if all goes well, I will be starting dissertation hours possibly as early as this summer.  In both classes, we have research assignments and many of my “colleagues” (as in the people I’m either in the program with or ones that just graduated), have suggested I use this time to get a good start on my dissertation.  Unfortunately that means I need to nail down a topic ASAP…no pressure though right? ;)
4. Declutter and simplify – My mom recently bought me a cute door mat that says, “Live Life Simply”, however, that is so far from how I tend to live my life.  In fact, I usually try to make everything more difficult than it should be.  So, in hopes of simplifying my life and all things in it, I am going to do my best to declutter my house and my life so that I can do just that.
5. Cook More – Since I cooked more over the holidays, I have gotten much more comfortable with being in the kitchen.  Not that I was ever that horrible (I honestly have never made anything inedible…except a gallon of kool-aid my freshman year of college, but minor details ;)), but I just am not confident enough in my cooking to do it often.  I would love to say that I want to try a new recipe every week, but with my school/work schedule…I just don’t see that happening so instead I’m just going to shoot for trying out a new recipe when I get the urge to cook so that I can build up my cooking repertoire.
6. Scrapbook – I have gotten so far behind on my scrapbooking…so much that it is a bit overwhelming!  My goal for this year is to start with current events and keep that up, and work on finishing my 2010 album.  We’ll see how well that goes :)
7. Stop stressing so much – I am a worry wart and anyone that knows me is constantly telling me, “Maegan, calm down…it will all be ok”  So I’m going to learn to take a deep breath and “Keep Calm and Carry On” as my new poster tells me
8. Shop smarter – Saying that I won’t shop is difficult, but I am going to try and purchase less memorable pieces so that I can mix and match.  Right now, it is so stressful trying to get ready and in my process of simplifying, I want to simplify that part of my life as well.
9. Make more time for my friends – Last semester was so crazy, that I rarely got to hang out with friends.  I vow to do much better this semester since my class schedule is a little lighter.  This includes going to visit Alex more :)
10. Blog more – I want to make sure I keep my blog up so I don’t have 10 posts to write every time I sit down.  This includes writing other posts besides just the “event recaps”
11. Live in the moment – Sometimes I get so stressed out about the future or the little details that I forget to enjoy the moment.  I’m going to try to do my best to stop, take a deep breath, and soak it all in :)

So there you have it…my 11 resolutions for 2011! :)  We’ll see how well I do with them! ;)

Happy New Year!!

Every year, Alex and I try to come up with some really amazing plan for New Year’s and every year, we end up doing something pretty low key.  This works out fine, but I have decided that when I have a house I am going to be the one to throw the big fancy New Year’s Eve party ;)

Anyway, this year was pretty calm.  Our plans were fairly straight forward – start the night over at some family friends of Alex’s and hang out with his family, and then heading over to his friend Alan’s house to ring in the new year.  Thankfully, everything went as planned (except when it started pouring rain and Alan’s driveway flooded and I had to walk barefoot to the car…yeah, really cute let me tell you ;).  Anyway, here are some pictures from our evening :)

The lovely spread…it was all so yummy!! Thanks Cathy Ann & Dale!

Chatting with Mrs. B and Cathy Ann about school and getting prepped for my very first game of UpWords

My New Year’s Eve date and I (he so desperately needed a haircut ;))

Playing our first game of UpWords…this crew is intense.

Alex contemplating his next move

The ladies (Cathy Ann & Mrs. B) and I with our UpWords board and our “Bible” for the evening – the Scrabble dictionary  Yes, Cathy Ann is wearing shorts…it was like 67 degrees outside!

Alex, myself, and his mommy…don’t they look so much alike?

Alex and I again

This is how the men (well except Alex) spent the entire evening

At about 11:00, we said our goodbyes and headed over to Alex’s friend’s Alex’s house, just in time to toast in the New Year

Counting down…Alex somehow ended up with two glasses…not that he was complaining ;)

Happy New Year!! So thankful to get to ring in the new year with my man ;)

Just as they do every New Year’s, the boys started shooting fireworks…in the rain!

             

Silly boys!

The boys, being themselves, decided that the fireworks weren’t entertaining enough as is, so they decided to tie several of them together…*sigh*

  One last picture before we headed home (and I had to walk to the car barefoot…sorry gotta protect the shoes ;)!  Note:  Look how curly Alex’s hair is!  Poor Alex has hair like mine, the longer it is the curlier it gets…especially when it is raining!

I hope you had a safe and happy New Year’s celebration! :) 

Happy 2011!!