Happy Anniversary, My Love

I Love You

by Roy Croft

I Love You,
Not only for what you are,
but for what I am when I am with you,
not only for what you have made of yourself,
but for what you are making of me.
I love you for the part of me that you bring out.
I love you for putting your hand into my overflowing heart
and passing over all the foolish, weak things that can't help,
dimly seeing there, and for drawing out into the light all the
beautiful belongings that no one else had looked quite far enough to find.
I love you because you are helping me to make of the dreams of my life
not a thought but a reality,
Out of the works of my every day not a reproach but a song...
Yes, a Love song.

Seven years ago today....

Crack is whack

I am being held hostage by the World Cup.

Okay, well maybe not me, but at the very least, our TV is on constant black-and-white ball surveillance duty. All day Saturday, all day Sunday, and for at least two hours every evening, for the last two weeks - with weeks more to go.

So of course it's on in the background the other night as I'm getting dinner ready. The vuvuzelas are out in full force. Like a swarm of annoying flies. That never, ever stops. For ninety minutes. Seriously, I am all for rooting on your team. I'll scream my lungs out at a Vol football game. You know, at the exciting parts - a first down, a touchdown, a really spectacular stop. But not for an entire game without ever stopping. These South Africans must have a ridiculous lung capacity.

But then again, if they waited around to only blow when something interesting happened in a game of soccer, I guess they'd be a sad, sorry, quiet bunch....HA!

So I'm doing my best to make dinner while resisting the urge to swat at imaginary gnats that seem to be swarming literally in my ears, when:

Nate: You know you can buy vuvuzelas on the internet.

Sara: And your point would be?

Nate: You should get me one.

Sara: I'm thinking, no.

Nate: Why not?

Sara: Are you smoking crack? Have you met yourself? You're like a 12-year-old trapped in a 29-year-old body. If you had one of those things, you'd never stop blowing it, probably right in my face.

Nate: I know. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Sara: Yeah. Awesome. That's exactly the word that comes to mind.

She shoots, She scores!!

Every year Nate and I compete in a little March Madness Bracket competition. Most years, of course, one or both of us is competing other places too (school, work, Facebook, wherever) but the ultimate competition is always the one we're waging against each other at home.

Now I know little to nothing about college basketball. I might watch a Volunteer game or two, possibly the Duke v. UNC matches, but that is about the extent of it. My strategy for filling out my bracket goes something like this:

1. Duke - always wins.
2. Tennessee - will make it one round further than they made it last year.
3. Gonzaga - It has a 'Z' in it. Must be a winner.
4. Syracuse - I think that's in New York. I like New York. Must be a winner.
5. Kentucky - Their color is blue. I look good in blue. Must be a winner.
6. Butler - Their mascot is a bulldog. I have two dogs. Must be a winner.

And so on and so forth.

I choose my winners mostly at random. I know enough to know not all #1 seeds will go all the way and that there will be three or so upsets per section (branch? division? whatever), but the rest of it's just blind guessing on my part.

So it really burns Nate up that I beat him by 10 points this year! My method, or lack thereof, actually chose several of the early round upsets and put me out to an early lead that he could never overcome.

I couldn't care less who actually won the tourney, just so long as I won the war at home!

You know you're married to a chemist when...

...you drink your coffee out of a mug that celebrates the wonder that is Hydrogen gas.

Hello, Old Friend

Look what I found this weekend!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Best Sweatshirt of All Time. Or as Nate likes to call it - The Green Monster.

I've had this sweatshirt for a gazillion years. Seriously, I can't even remember how long it's been - my mom bought it for me somewhere in the high school years. All though the time frame is hazy, I remember the event distinctly because ordering from the Victoria's Secret catalog was a very big deal in our house. Back then (OMG, I sounded old just now!) we didn't have a lot of money, so Victoria's Secret was a super special treat. My sister and I spent hours looking at the catalog choosing our matching sweaters and flannel boxer shorts - blue for Katie, green for me, pink for mom.

Aside from the sentimentality, this thing is seriously the most comfortable thing I have ever worn. Soft cotton inside, brushed cotton outside and about two sizes too big so I can wear it over anything.

And I did wear it over anything - nearly every night of college and the entire first winter Nate and I were married. Nate hates this old, ugly, shapeless thing so much he christened it The Green Monster. It's like the clothing version of 'Honey, I've got a headache'. Being the good wife that I am, I've relegated it to only the coldest of nights or when I'm sick and just need to cuddle up.

So it was with great elation that I pulled it out of storage this weekend, snuggled into it and proudly wore it downstairs where Nate rolled his eyes, groaned and said, "That thing's still alive?".

Yes, my dear, yes it is.

Now that's amore

{image via fogodechao.com}

Tonight we are going out to a new Brazilian restaurant in downtown Indy. They cook meat on these huge skewers and then bring the entire thing to your table and cut the meat directly off the skewer onto your plate. Sounds romantic, huh? Or not. But our neighbors have been raving about how fabulous it is for months and Nate is dying to give it a try.

Me? Not so much. You see, the last time we went to a Brazilian restaurant was in the Mayan Riviera on our honeymoon six years ago. The food was delicious - until it came back up later that night. Over and over and over again. I got major food poisoning from that place. On my honeymoon. The night before we were supposed to go on our $300 'adventure' outing.

So I don't exactly have fond memories of Brazilian restaurants. But I do have fond memories of my husband and his utter delight and ecstasy at an all-you-can-eat buffet. So I will enjoy their salad bar to the fullest and try not to vomit in my mouth at the sight of every meat skewer that comes by.

Here's hoping tonight goes a little better than the last time.

Yesterday was our six year wedding anniversary. Crazy stuff, right? I shake my head in amazement every time I think about it. No way am I old enough to have been married that long already! Our wedding day seems like yesterday and forever ago all at the same time.

A long time ago I promised you guys our engagement story, so here it is. Be warned: It's kinda long. (But well worth the read!)

It was November of our senior year in college. We were having a winter semi-formal for the first time in many years and I was on the planning committee. The Monday before the dance, I got a letter in my mailbox from a secret society (like a sorority or fraternity, except co-ed and well, secret). I thought this was a little odd, being that I was not a member of one and you generally joined long before your senior year. But I was an active leader on campus so maybe it had to do with my society or some other group I was part of. Anyway, of course, I mentioned my invitation to Nate. A darned if he hadn't gotten one too! Convenient, right?

The night of the dance came and everything went off without a hitch. Great turn out, good DJ, decorations were awesome, fun time had by all. As it's approaching midnight and time for us to leave, Nate is getting more and more antsy to go. But I am a hostess of this shindig, so I have to make sure I've done my part, right? I am running around doing a million little things while he continues to hurry me along. Then a great slow song comes on and I want to dance. Then I want to change my clothes before we go. When we finally leave, we are over 20 minutes late.

On the way there, I am crabbing at him because he wouldn't let me change my clothes. Hello?! It is 28 degrees outside and I am wearing a sequin top and open toed shoes under my winter coat. So not weather appropriate (but super cute, of course!). But he argued that he didn't have anything to change into, the invitation didn't say we could change, we don't have time, just stay dressed like you are.

The invitation directed us to take a little walk through the woods near campus. As we climb out of the car, my camera falls out of my pocket and Nate nearly has a heart attack. What are you doing with a camera? Why did you bring that? Did someone tell you to bring your camera? He totally thought I was on to him. But I bring my camera everywhere with me, so I just kind of looked at him like, 'Dude, what's your deal?' and kept walking.

Nate was in charge of bringing the flashlight for our little woodland adventure, so as we entered the woods, I asked him to turn it on. Click. Nothing. Dead. No batteries. Seriously? That was your only job and you didn't check the batteries? First you don't let me change my clothes and now I have to venture through the woods IN HEELS, IN THE DARK.

We forge ahead, flashlight-less, and Nate grabs my hand and points out the full moon and how romantic this walk is without a flashlight. Uh-huh. Right. I'm too busy watching my feet to look at any stupid moon. Poor guy, I was not making this easy!

We get to a little ditch with a piece of plywood laying over it. Nate starts to walk across it and I'm like, 'Don't walk on that! You don't know how long it's been there. You could fall and break your ankle and then I'll have to carry you out of here!'. Of course, not knowing that he'd put it there just that day so that I didn't have to jump the ditch in my heels. Which I totally did anyway.

We passed a little boy scout hut and turned down a side path and even in the dark you could kind of feel that you had entered a little clearing. The woods fell away and the path opened up on both sides. Then suddenly thousands of Christmas lights were twinkling all around us in the bushes and trees. Yes, literally, thousands (2500 to be exact!). It was like a wonderland.

And I still totally thought it was the secret society thing.

That is, until I saw the rose petals on the ground and the table with a spotlight and what looked suspiciously like a ring box. Who felt like a total heel then? This clearly took days of work and planning and I had been *ahem* difficult, to say the least, since the minute we left the dance. I was lucky he hadn't walked me to a different clearing and left me there instead!

So we walked hand in hand down the little aisle of rose petals and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was so busy reminding myself to remember what he said (for the scrapbook later, duh!) that I completely missed the first two sentences! But I got the gist of it!

The whole thing was without a doubt the most romantic thing he has ever done for me. It took days to string up all the lights, then they blew a fuse, had to hi-jack electricity from the boy scout hut, and he was covered in poison ivy to boot! Poor guy. But it was worth every minute of it for the memories we have and the joy I get in telling the story over and over again. I love it!

Melt(ing) my Heart

Guess whose fabulous husband just called to surprise her with dinner reservations at The Melting Pot tonight?


Good thing all I've eaten so far today is a cup of coffee and some Pop-tart crumbs.

I think I'll stick to marathon shopping

It was a big weekend around Wang Manor. We had friends visit for the weekend, Nate ran his first half marathon and I finally found a local dealer Starbucks to supply my crack rock espresso brownie obsession.

This weekend was Indy's big 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. It's the largest half marathon in the US with something like 35,000 runners. Who knew there were that many people that think it's actually fun to get up at the crack of dawn and run 13.1 miles?

Our friends Caleb and Lisa came up to hang out for the weekend and run the Mini. We were up bright and early at 5:00am to make sure we had everyone to their corrals by 7:30. True to form, we seriously over-estimated and were actually there by 6:30.


So what's a girl to do with four long hours on her hands? Fortunately for me, my favorite place is one of the few places open at such an ungodly Saturday morning hour. I kicked back at Starbucks with a caramel machiatto and a new book. The ten-block walk was totally worth it when I discovered espresso brownies in their pastry case! Like any good addict, I bought two.

It was perfect weather for the run (50's and cloudy) and I think all three of them had a good time.


I was very proud of Nate for running his first Mini!

The (Short) Story of Us

The lovely Cole from All the Small Stuff has bestowed upon me the Honest Scrap Award. Thanks, girl!

I must list 10 honest things about myself. But I talk about myself a lot here already, so in honor of the ninth anniversary of our first date (!), I am going to let you in on 10 honest things about my love and I.

1. No, I am not that girl. You know, the one who remembers and celebrates every.single.tiny anniversary. (We've been together 9 years. We barely celebrate the actual anniversary. ) It's more like I have a lot of time on my hands and was looking through old scrapbooks while I was organizing. Made me a little nostalgic.

2. We met at an assembly on my first day at college. I vividly recall every detail of that day. He'd been there two weeks already which might explain why he has absolutely no memory of meeting me that day.

3. We had a class together that first semester but I didn't start crushing on him until around Thanksgiving. He broke my heart when he came back from Christmas break with a girlfriend.

4. While he was dating said girlfriend and I was secretly pining away for him, he tried to set me up with his best friend. This did not go over well.

5. I basically begged him to go on our first date. He asked me to the Spring Fling at 2:00am the morning of the dance. Desperate much? (For the record, I had never behaved that way over a boy in my life.)

6. I managed to fall asleep in the car on the way home from the much longed for first date. He kissed me goodnight anyway.

7. The proposal two years later involved another school dance, a Secret Society, poison ivy, a midnight walk in the winter woods and 2,000 twinkling Christmas lights.

8. We took our vows very seriously. Especially that little 'in sickness or health' bit. Nate got sick at the wedding reception and I got food poisoning on the honeymoon. Love me, love my stomach ailments.

9. Nate has a habit of bestowing nicknames on his nearest and dearest. I got mine second semester of college. Nine years later, it still gives me a little thrill to hear him say it.

10. I love to watch Nate play soccer. I spent many Saturday afternoons cheering him on in college and watching him play now always brings back good memories. It doesn't hurt that he looks damn sexy in soccer shorts. I swoon.

Butt Hole....or why I just don't understand men

After five years of marriage, I have learned that there are many fundamental differences in the way men and women think:

1. No matter how old they get, men will always think burping, farting and other bodily noises are hilarious.
2. His idea of helping with dinner involves moving the take out from a plastic wrapper to an actual plate.
3. A man will never learn how to load the dishwasher, no matter how many times you show him.
4. A man will never understand why you do not consider it fun to play video games with him. You will never get 'better at it' so long as he continues to shoot you in the back as you are running away unarmed.

These few things I know. This is the thing that continues to baffle and amaze me:

I walked into the bedroom the other night to see a fist-size hole in the back of Nate's boxer shorts. He is actually wearing them around the bedroom like this.

_______________________________________________

Me: You putting on a little peepshow for me?

Him: What are you talking about?

Me: There is a hole the size of the Grand Canyon in your boxer shorts.

Him: Oh.

He continues to get ready for bed as if the whole conversation never happened...

Me: Um, aren't you going to change?

Him: Why?

Me: You can't possibly wear those to bed.

Him: Why not?

Me: Hello? Your entire left cheek is hanging out!

Him: Who cares?

Me: Seriously? You're going to keep wearing those?

Him: (staring at me blankly like I have lost my mind)

Me: No. I can't sleep knowing you're wearing those. Please throw them away.

He heads towards the closet and I head to the shower. Five minutes later, I emerge, noting happily that he has indeed changed shorts and I am victorious....for about 30 seconds, until I spy the nasty, ratty, hole-y shorts on the top of the dirty clothes pile.

Me: Oh, no you didn't.

Him (all innocent): What?

_______________________________________________

What is it with men and their complete inability to judge when clothes are no longer appropriate to wear? Socks with holes, underwear with holes, t-shirts with holes. It's not as though you can't buy them 5 for $10 at Wal-mart. Heck, he doesn't even have to buy them! All he has to say is, "Honey, I need new boxer shorts." and they magically appear in his drawer by the weekend. What's so freaking hard about that?

I just don't understand. Men.

Let the celebrating commence....

Nate kicked off my birthday celebration a few hours early by bringing home these beautiful flowers and offering a trip to Starbucks after dinner.

Both gifts were a wonderful surprise...but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Starbucks trip was more about cruising in his new ride than celebrating the birth of his darling wife....

Let me upgrade ya....

Look at me, busting out the song lyrics for two posts in a row! Perhaps I should consider a new career path as a lounge singer?

I digress.

We had a major upgrade at our house today. This one has been a long time coming and I couldn't be happier about it. We got a new baby!

No, not that kind of baby.

This kind....


Doesn't he look handsome? And the guy in the brown jacket's not half bad, either....

That's right, we finally took the plunge and bought Nate a new car. For as long as we've been married, he's been drooling over the Ford Mustang. First we were waiting for him to finish grad school, then we moved twice, then we bought the house. There was always some reason to keep putting it off. Meanwhile he was driving this....



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is duct tape holding up the window. Any good Southerner knows that duct tape is the solution for everything.

Nate had mentioned a couple of times how much he was digging the Dodge Challenger but I never in a million years imagined him with anything other than a black Mustang. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he rolled up from his test drive in a fire-engine-red Challenger.


The grin on his face said he was already a goner. So we got our stuff in order and headed back to the dealership to do the deed.


Five hours later we were cruising back home with the sunroof open and the bass thumping. Men were breaking their necks to get a look at this baby on the road. And Nate was loving every minute of it. I was afraid I wasn't going to fit in the car with Nate and the big fat smile on his handsome face.


I hope you enjoy every minute of it, baby. You deserve it.

Because he's smooth like that....

Last weekend on the way to the airport, I told Nate he wouldn't have to bring me a souvenir from his trip if he'd just bring me a Starbucks espresso brownie from the airport. I am crazy for those things and they can only be found in airport Starbucks. I am only slightly ashamed to admit that I will take great pains to fly through Atlanta or Chicago just because I know I can my grubby little paws on one (or half a dozen, but who's counting?).

Nate does not understand my obsession and tries his best not to encourage my manic Starbucks habit so I had no illusions that I would actually get one.

We hadn't been home five minutes when I was already eyeing the gift bag he'd been carrying. I oh-so-casually asked if he'd brought me anything and could it perhaps be in that bag right there?

To which he grinned slyly and pulled out this...

WTH?

And then it hit me what it was....


Kinder Eggs! The world's (well, at least Germany's) greatest chocolate! When we traveled through Europe in college, I practically lived on Kinder Eggs, Twix and Sprite. The eggs are milk chocolate on the outside, white chocolate on the inside and when you break them open, there's a cute little toy inside. I had totally forgotten about these things, but Nate had remembered how much I loved them. Aw!

It was almost enough to make me forget about the espresso brownie that I didn't get....until he reached into his other bag and....TADA!!! One little square of chocolate and espresso heaven, just for me, all the way from Chicago.


Because he loves me like that....

Perfect Day

As usual, the weekend flew by way too fast and a new work week has arrived. I'd like to say that I'm not complaining because I'm just happy to get a paycheck, but that would be a bald faced lie - I am not at all pleased to see a new work week come, paycheck be damned.

We had an unprecedented Saturday here - neither one of us worked the whole entire day! Woohoo! I am often a Work Widow on Saturday mornings. Nate gets up super early, even on the weekends, and more often than not I wake up to find him gone, getting in a few extra hours in the lab. And my work has taken up more than a weekend or two over the last several weeks. Needless to say our 'To Do' list is a mile long, the house is a disaster and neither of us has been too pleasant to be around. So with Nate's business trip starting on Sunday, we decided to play hooky all day Saturday - no work, no cleaning, no laundry. Just the two of us, doing whatever tickled our fancy.

Numero uno on my list? Sleeping in! Which I did like a champ until 10 o'clock, while Nate went for a seven-mile run at the local park as training for the torture Mini Marathon he's signed up for in May.

We had plans to meet friends for lunch at a place that wasn't too far from the mall - how very convenient (at least for those of us who enjoy malls)! After much cajoling, I finally convinced Nate to head out just a tiny bit early and let me do a little shopping. I have been keeping my shopping in check for the last six weeks, so I was practically salivating at the thought of going to the mall! I managed to be a very good girl and only bought two things, one of which was on clearance. Plus I had a 30% off coupon that was good even on sale stuff. Score! It would have been a crime not to use, right?

I got this super soft yellow tee. I don't own anything this lovely butter yellow. I'm super excited to dress it up for a date night.


As if letting me out of my shopping cage wasn't enough, Nate also went to Starbucks with me after lunch. Yes, seriously! Those of you who know Nate, know this is basically unprecedented behavior. He gives me grief on a daily basis about my, uh, 'habit' and usually refuses to set foot in one as a matter of principle. But someone at work had been raving about the 'Chow tea' and said he should try it. I laughed in his face politely told him it's actually Chai tea and I would be happy to treat him to one with my fancy Gold Card. There are several kinds and I gave him my thoughts on the ones I had tried, trying to steer him towards the Apple Chai, but he wanted Berry, so Berry he got. After one sip he pronounced it 'piss in a cup' and drank less than 1/4 of his Grande cup. But, hey, I've got to give him credit for even going. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and grilled steaks, asparagus and potatoes for dinner, then watched one of Nate's favorite movies, Road Trip.

All in all, a fantastic day and one we need to repeat more often!

Feta makes anything betta'

I have been tagged half a dozen times in Facebook with this '25 Things about Me' thing, so since you are all clearly dying to know more about yours truly, here you go.

1. I put feta cheese on just about anything - hamburgers, spaghetti, Lean Cuisines. It is my firm belief that feta makes anything better.

2. I quit piano lessons after two years. I begged and whined until my parents let me use that money towards extra dance lessons. Yeah, I haven't danced in 15 years and I regret my choice every time I hear someone play the piano. My (future) children will all play instruments and they will thank me when they are older.

3. I hate manicures. I am too Type A to walk around with chips in my nails but I am too lazy to keep them looking nice.

4. I think green Skittles are the best flavor.

5. I always order the exact same drink at Starbucks. The few times I have ventured into other drinks, I have been bitterly disappointed. My motto is 'go with what you know'.

6. I am a Southern gal, who absolutely hates iced tea and grits.

7. I met my husband on the first day of college. I am fairly certain that he doesn't even remember meeting me that day.

8. I overuse the words 'seriously' and 'whatever'.

9. I am dreading the big 3-0. I am still two months away from turning 28.

10. I talk to my dogs like they are human. (I am home all day, every day by myself. You would do it too.)

11. If I could do anything in the world, I would design wrapping paper, tissue paper, ribbons and other gift-wrap items.

12. I hope to become a mother this year.

13. I love cupcake frosting. The best kind is white icing you get at a mass retailer bakery like Wal-mart or Kroger. Food City in Knoxville, TN has the best frosting I have ever tasted. I will gladly trade you the cake part of my cupcake for the frosting part of yours.

14. My middle name is Ryan, my grandmother's maiden name.

15. I had a hideous bowl cut from 1st to 3rd grade. My mother has a thing for bowl cuts. (She did it to three of us! Only Emily survived the mortification of the bowl cut, because Katie and I were old enough to 'save' her from mom! You're welcome, Emily.)

16. I can only read one book at a time. Props to people who have multiple books going on at once.

17. I am more aware of my facial expressions since I noticed lines in my forehead recently. (See also #9).

18. I think Taylor Swift makes an awesome CD but you couldn't pay me to go to her concert. I have never heard a live performance from her that wasn't slightly off key.

19. When I was a kid I wanted to be a lawyer or a fashion buyer.

20. It drives me crazy when people mispronounce 'preferably'.

21. I don't really have a favorite color. It changes all the time.

22. I sometimes wish I was a redhead.

23. I fell asleep on our first date. (And he still asked me out again!)

24. I have vague dreams of becoming a runner but zero self-discipline to make it happen. It sounds like a good idea, in theory...

25. I wish I lived closer to my family.

Now it's your turn to tell us everything we never wanted to know a little bit more about you!

Open Apology....(Or Why My Husband Totally Rocks)

As he reminds me daily I have been totally remiss in not posting about the fabulous Christmas gift Nathan gave me. So please take a few moments to be totally jealous let me brag on my darling, thoughtful husband.

Over Thanksgiving weekend we spent an afternoon shopping in the little downtown area here with Nate's parents. We'd heard there were several great little antique and craft shops and had never taken the opportunity to check them out. Poor Nate and his dad were very patient while his mother and I crawled over this one place in particular. It's an indoor market with dozens of little tiny 'shops' inside with everything from baby clothes to Christmas ornaments to furniture. I could literally spend hours there although I limited myself to just one hour that afternoon.

Anyway, in this market was one shop in particular that had several great pieces of art, beautiful candlesticks and this giant leaning mirror that I fell in love with. I dragged Nate all around, showing him each piece, asking his thoughts (which ran along the lines of nice, fine, great, etc) and explaining where I would put each piece, if I should be so lucky as to ever have them. I was fairly certain that he did not pay a lick of attention to a word that I had said.

Fast forward to Christmas day. We are in North Carolina with family and I am opening a gift that looks suspiciously like a game for my new Wii Fit. I made a big production of saying, 'Ooh, I wonder what this could be?', thinking I am being all funny because everyone can tell this is clearly a video game, right?

WRONG! Well, technically, it was a video game (or at least the case for one) but taped to the front of it was a picture of a mirror! Not my mirror (he couldn't get the camera away from me long enough to get a shot), but as soon as I saw it, I knew what must be waiting for me at home in my basement!! You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was so shocked and excited! Not only did he go back and buy it for me, but he even arranged with the neighbors to borrow their SUV and sneak it into the basement when I wasn't home. To think, it was sitting under the stairs in my very own house for days and I had no idea!

That just goes to show, ladies, that you never really know when he might be paying attention after all.

So here is my beautiful leaning mirror, which is the first piece in the sitting room in our bedroom. Little does he know that he has created a monster. Now that there is a mirror, I need a lamp (so I can use the mirror at night, sweetie!) and the lamp will need a table to sit on (you don't want it on the floor, honey, that's a fire hazard!) and the table I want matches this beautiful armoire (it's a set, sweetheart!)....