Lots of Candles

That's how old I am. I am lots of candles old as of yesterday. But enough of that. 9 years ago tomorrow, I said I do to the incomparable, impeccable, inconceivable, irresistable, and heart-throbbingly hunky and handsome Dr. Pop. It was an extremely windy day on the beach near Cancun. I rode in a horse-drawn carriage. We took fun pictures.

Happy anniversary, honey! I love you!

4 Weddings, 3 Trips to Mexico, 1 Trip to Vegas, and 1 Visit to Sea World

I'm TIRED!

2009 has been the year of the wedding and I am totally NOT kidding! The past 10 days were a complete whirlwind as 3 of our 4 weddings were in that time slot. That's right. On a calendar, we had three weddings in eight days.

It has been wonderful to witness our friends and family profess their love and devotion to each other, though. Each ceremony and celebration was unique unto the couple and each was a perfect fit. And in their own ways, each wedding reminded me of my own.

One ceremony was on the beach, one at a hotel, one at city hall (we just went to the restaurant for the reception), and one was a full Catholic Mass. And still, each one was full of the same love and hope and passion that my own held.

Besides the weddings, we have traveled more in 2009 than ever before. I've enjoyed the trips and the family time immensely. Dr Pop and I partied it up in Vegas, relived our own wedding in Cancun, took Boy Pop to the beach with us... TWICE, and got to experience Shamu through the eyes of a 5-year old.

It's been quite a year. Magical, even. And even though I spent a good part of the time stressed out over tiny little nonsensical things, I have loved and held onto each second. For these are the memories I never want to lose.

The past 6-months have been a non-stop ride. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to do so much. But I think I'm ready to be low-key for a while...

Too bad school starts in 15 days...

I Should Have Posted This Yesterday...

We're making the letters "E" and "C" with our hands... As in EC/DC Playa Trip, only the "DC" part of our group did not make it to Mexico with us this year.

Yesterday was the 7th anniversary of our first date. Silly thing to keep track of, I know, but still I do. I remember mentioning it this past weekend, but then yesterday almost slipped by without an acknowledgment! For shame!

SEVEN. YEARS. I know that to quite a few people, that is but a drop in the bucket, but for me, and for us, well, it is significant. Prior to Dr Pop, the longest I'd ever dated someone was 4 years (and that was on and off), and Dr Pop's longest relationship prior to me was 7 years. We are now each other's longest relationship.

That's pretty cool to me...

The Binary Blonde posted a status of her New Year's Resolutions yesterday. Kind of a "state of the year" as it were. I thought it was a good idea and I'm going to steal it!

You can find my 2008 "To-Do" list here.

I had an update on how things were going back in February. At the time, I was definitely making some headway on the list.

• Plan out menus, grocery shop in advance, and prepare and cook healthy dinners for my family more than once or twice per week.

I'm proud to say that I am really rocking on this one. I have been looking up recipes and trying new things. I have room for improvement, of course, but it's going well.

• Plan and execute a mother/daughter weekend with my mother.

Not quite yet.

• Go to the beach.

Done!

• Get back to eating right and working out regularly (i.e. get back my rockin' bod) not just in preparation for said beach vacation (above) but also beyond the vacation and get to the point where I never have to make another "work out/eat right" resolution-type thingy ever again!

I started this off with a bang, and I'm still going to the gym, but I have fallen off the wagon a little bit ever since we got back from Mexico. I need to re-resolve to take better care of myself.

• Drink more water and take a vitamin every day.

I'm totally rocking this one!

• Take my son to the park more.

I'm sort of failing on this one... We are going to the pool just about every day, though. But it is not the same and not part of my resolution, so, big, fat FAIL.

• Go to church more often (since I don't believe I made it at all in 2007, the term "more" technically means "once" but I'm aiming for "more than once or twice" so as not to set myself up for failure automatically with an "every Sunday"-type resolution that would have already been broken).

FAIL.

• Snuggle more with Dr Pop on the couch.
• Kiss Dr Pop more (much more... Hey baby, let's make out!).

I'm very ashamed to say that I'm pretty much failing both of those.

• Actively participate when playing with Boy Pop instead of always being distracted.

Another failure.

• Pay off the store cards.

One down, one to go... This will be completed in August!

• Save more of my income.

Right now, this is a success, but I'm about to deplete my savings, so it's on the verge of failure... But as a family, we are totally saving more than ever.

• Make my home a showplace by finally (after more than four years) decorating it, painting walls, moving furniture, clearing out all the crap, and generally treating it like we are going to be here a long while.

Meh, we're getting there. But it is a long road and there is a lot to do.

• Remember that I have gone through hard times and give to those who are less fortunate than myself.

Big, fat FAIL.

• Continue to teach Boy Pop to give back.

This could be better, but we're not doing too badly on it.

• Treat the environment better than I do (i.e. maybe get a recycling bin or two?).

FAIL.

• Stay on top of laundry and tidying up during the week so that I don't have to spend the weekend playing catch-up for all the stuff I let go.

I am actually doing good with this one!

• Flirt with my husband more. I've forgotten how to flirt, though. Lord, he's going to think I've lost my mind!

I could do better on this...

• Take our tax forms to the accountant before April 10th... Preferably get them to him in January or February.

Success!

• Let go of the grudges that I still hold and make peace with the past so that I can live in the present.

Any day now...

• Do all of my Christmas shopping in November.

It is not November yet...

• Put together Boy Pop's baby book (Yes. He's four. So what?).

FAIL.

• Do more craft projects with Boy Pop. He loves them and so do I!

FAIL.

• Find my balance between work and life and find my niche professionally. I need to be passionate about a job to truly enjoy myself and if I'm spending a third of my week somewhere, I need to at least enjoy myself, otherwise, why exactly aren't I home with my kid?

Pretty much failing at this one, too.

There is definitely a pattern at work here. I can totally kick ass on the impersonal stuff. In fact, I AM totally kicking ass on it. But when it comes down the the personal stuff, the emotional stuff, I'm failing miserably.

I suppose it is ironic that the halfway point of the year came on the same day as my first date with Dr Pop back in 2001. That date was a turning point in my life. That date would serve to save my life.

So today, July 2nd, 2008, I resolve to get back on track with the stuff that really matters. My laundry doesn't matter. Playing Transformers with Boy Pop matters. An organized "house" doesn't matter. Making it a loving and happy "home" is what matters most.

Here's to the second half...

Confession...

So...

"Treat your spouse as if you loved him/her with your last breath Think hard every day about how you can make their life worth living Be the kind of person you would want to love, hug, and come home to..."

Do you agree or disagree with this statement?*

I like this idea about marriage. It make sense. It is honorable. It is selfless.

My confession?

I've been pretty darned focused on MY little issues lately...
Work
Cooking (or rather not cooking that much)
New fever blister on lip
MY exhaustion

I haven't been much of a person to love, hug, and be around...

Sorry sweetie!

*I happen to agree with it and I'm not revealing my source quite yet because I want the "haters" to be stunned when I tell 'em!