One wonderful, fantastic, blissful year

I can't believe we've been married for a whole year. Sunday was our first anniversary and we marked the occasion with a trip to our favorite candy store, a fancy dinner out, and a drive by the chapel where we were married.

I couldn't let the occasion pass without concluding my impromptu series of posts highlighting what I've learned about being married.

2 months
4 months
6 months
10 months

Looking back over the whole year, here are a few things I've learned.

1. We feel most like ourselves when we are together. This shouldn't come as a surprise - I mean, we married each other for a reason - but I think it's an important thing to note. There is great freedom in being with someone who doesn't ask you to be anything but yourself. We have our differences, our preferences, our quirks, but we accept and cherish those in each other.

2. There is nothing like a spouse to show you a true picture of yourself. This goes hand-in-hand with #1. We love each other for who we are, but that doesn't mean we don't challenge each other to grow. We see each others' flaws more clearly than anyone else - the real challenge is expressing that to each other in a way that is loving and encouraging so we grow as a result.

3. It's really exciting to dream about our future together. The future can be a scary place, but we are so blessed to be going through it together. A wise woman once told me that the world can be a lonely place, so God designed marriage to give us a partner to go through life with. As I think about the months and years ahead, I have to say, God was right on. What a blessing to know that no matter what the future brings our way, we will be in it together.

4. We have a lot to learn from each other. I have learned to lift weights and work out in other ways besides hopping on the elliptical machine. Alex has become a political junkie and is often more up-to-date on the latest news than I am. I have learned to like tomatoes (chopped up, in salads and sauces, but hey, it's a start). And those are just a few examples, and I'm sure there are many, many more to come.

5. We love being married to each other. Sometimes it almost feels too good to be true, but we have memories of an incredible wedding celebration with family and friends, and the pictures and video to prove it :)

And the headline reads...

"Office reaches record temperatures during climax of midwest heat wave"

Okay, that's not seriously a headline from a newspaper, but that is seriously the headline of my Monday. The air conditioning went out at our office Friday evening, so we put a call and email into the landlord and had faith it would be fixed by Monday and not sit baking all weekend as temperatures stuck well above 90.

Well our faith was sadly misplaced, and I came to work to find the office sitting at a cozy 83 degrees. I have now been here for almost 5 hours and it's reached a sweltering 87 degrees. That's 87 degree INSIDE the office. Bummer.

The good news is, Mr. Fix-the-AC is on his way and should be here within the hour. Bad news is I can't leave to work from home until he arrives. Wish me luck :)

Has Jimmy Fallon always been this funny?

I never been a big fan of late night talk shows, but every time I see a clip of something with Jimmy Fallon I think, man, this guy is funny! Check out the two videos below if you haven't see them - History of Rap parts 1 & 2 with Justin Timberlake. A worthy distraction for a Wednesday afternoon :)

History of Rap Part 1

History of Rap Part 2

Camping weekend

This past weekend, Alex and I took a mini-vacation with our church small group to go camping! We headed out to Starved Rock State Park, where we enjoyed the outdoors, ate awesome camp food, and made some fun memories with our group.

Everyone pitched in to bring food, but Alex played grill master, along with our leader Joel. We had hotdogs and hamburgers, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, green beans, and lots of snacks!

We also held a couples corn hole tournament. After an early victory in the first round, Alex and I made it all the way to the finals, only to lose in the championship and take second place. We did pretty well, considering our skills were a little rusty. Here's me with two of the girls, Kristina and Katie:

And of course we got outside for some hiking around the park. We were fortunate to miss this heat wave by a day, and although it was warm, we had a great time in the shade checking out some beautiful canyons and overlooks of the Illinois River.

It was a really great trip, and I could really relax because Alex did most of the work packing for the trip :) But after 3 days of bug spray, sweat, and sleeping on the ground, we were ready to get home for a little air conditioning and long showers!

Hole-In-One!

Although I wasn't there to witness this historic occasion, today Alex shot his first hole-in-one...on a real golf course (if it were me, it would definitely have been mini-golf)!!! He was on #3 at Seven Bridges using a 9-iron. Here's the picture, which I'm told shows the divot where the ball first hit, and of course, the ball in the hole.

Way to go babe - I'm so proud :)

Thanks on the 4th (belated)

Given my line of work, on national holidays like Memorial Day and 4th of July, while everyone else is relaxing, eating a burger and grabbing a beer, I go to work. Mostly, this means corralling a bunch of volunteers around our decked out SUV and marching in parades. That's parades, plural.

This year, I owe my wonderful, dedicated, loving a husband a giant THANK YOU for driving the car in the parade and generally helping me maintain my sanity on this long, hot day. He was a real trooper, smiling and waving to parade goers, passing out t-shirts, and managing our music.

I also want to say a special thank you to our men and women in uniform, serving their country and protecting the freedoms we celebrate on Independence Day. To our family and friends who serve or have served in the military, thank you. We are so grateful for your sacrifice.

Down and out

Last night we had some major storms in the Chicago area, and as a result of 60+ mph winds, lines are down and power is out everywhere, including my office! So today I have the unexpected pleasure of working from the comforts of my couch. The only problem is now I am constantly aware of all the cleaning that needs to be done :)

Thanks to a tornado warning (sirens went off and everything), Alex and I rode out the storm in our guest bathroom, which is the most interior room in our condo and doesn't have any windows. Leonidas managed to stay pretty calm wrapped in his Thundershirt, and we are all safe and sound!