a decade of memories

today is our 10 year anniversary. yep, mr man and i - married 10 years! in some ways it feels like it's been forever, and in other ways - say what now? 10 years?

and, what wonderful years full of ups and downs they've been. 2012 and parts of 2013 have kicked my ass. and mr man? always - ALWAYS - there to reach down and pick me up. full on carry me along if he has to. if i ever doubted his love was unconditional, i need only to look back and see that he's been my rock solid kick stand, never once complaining, and always with a smile on his face.

we meant what we said - in sickness and in health, in good times and bad. how 'bout we take a walk down memory lane, hmmm?

in 2004, we celebrated our first anniversary in vegas with friends. the girls spent all day at the pool, while the boys slept in to recover from staying up all night gambling. everyone says the first year is the hardest, but i loved our first year. after so many years of 'playing house', we were finally an old married couple!

2005 was a big year. i turned 30, and we celebrated with a dreamy trip to mexico. we bought our first house, celebrating our 2nd anniversary eating off paper plates in the new dining room, and dealt with all the fun that brings with it! our friends started having babies, making us the cool auntie and uncle we always wanted to be. and sadly, will's grandma died, and my parents got divorced after 30 years together. big year, indeed!

in 2006, we celebrated our anniversary with our first trip to portland. the seahawks made the super bowl. and, will turned 30. i wanted it to be one to remember, so we packed up and headed to notre dame for the first of many, many 'football trips'. i might've created a monster, y'all.

2007 took us on a tour of the south for the football trip. we finished up at LSU, where baby sister was starting her freshman year. mr man had to get this beauty for every halloween/new year/costume party. hell, he's been known to sport it on a random tuesday. we spent a whirlwind weekend updating our guest room so our numerous visitors felt right at home and wouldn't want to leave. it didn't work.

in 2008, we took our first wine tasting trip, and decided to make it annual after the first sip. we celebrated our 5th anniversary in san fran. i experienced the joy (not) of being laid off, but luckily got another job quickly. middle sissy got married, and we spent the holidays in NYC and on a cruise to the bahamas.

2009 made us an actual auntie and uncle when sweet p came along. we took a trip to puerto rico, and the football trip became trips. i got to enjoy another layoff, but created rosita designs as a result. and, i joined some gals on the 3-day walk, which is easily the hardest thing i've ever done - for a wonderful cause!

we celebrated 10 years in seattle in 2010. i turned 35 and whooped it up with a rockin' 80s party and a girl's trip with the fam to hilton head. instead of 1 or 2 football trips, we amped it up to 3 or 4. and, tragically, we experienced the sadness that comes with miscarriage.

we gained a nephew and a godson when coogie was born in 2011. baby sister came to visit for a month and whipped me into organization shape. we had friends join us on our annual wine trip, and beg them to come every year now. will's 35th birthday meant a band in the basement. (wife of the year!) will's grandpa passed away, and we experienced the painful loss of baby #2.

2012 - the year of the sucker punch - had so many bright spots, too. we spent the entire year traveling - dallas, grand cayman, LA, boston, NYC for thanksgiving, college station. baby sister got married, and i decided i needed to try pink hair! the football obsession grew to epic proportions - mr man saw 17(!) games live. in a seat. like, not on tv. epic.

this year has had its ups and downs too. we've had visits from my entire family, and mr man's baby sister. we convinced our friends to join us on our wine trip again. but, sadly, we lost my sweet, sweet paw paw in may. it still doesn't seem real. and, football widowdom began last night, and the first trip is next weekend.

wow! what an amazing 10 years it's been. i love that man more today than yesterday, and more today than the day we were married. our wedding was so beautiful, full of love and joy, but our marriage blows the wedding away. i love you mr man. thank you for the last 10 (+6) years. i'm so excited to see what the next 10 years have in store for us.

i think ol' pablo said it best

   I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
   or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
   I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
   in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

   I love you as the plant that never blooms
   but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
   thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
   risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

   I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
   I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
   so I love you because I know no other way

   than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
   so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
   so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Eight is Great

today, mr. man and i celebrate 8 years of wedded bliss. you better believe we made it through year 7 without one single itch! no big thang! since i'd been waiting 6(!) years already, our engagement was a whirlwind. luckily location was a non-issue because my parents had a park for a backyard, complete with pond, pool, and basketball court (the dance floor, of course).

oh man, that weekend was not without drama (big shocker, huh?!). the afternoon before our wedding, a huge summer thunderstorm (totally normal for NM/west TX) rolled through. awesome. it came and left in a hurry, but not before knocking down trees, fences, and blowing tons of leaves all over the yard and pool, ruining all the prep we'd already done. grrrrr.

so, naturally, i became a basket-case worrying whether we should move the wedding indoors, or just leave it as is. what if there's another storm? where would we put people if there is? what do we do? what do we do? that's when a dear friend grabbed me and slapped me made me focus on what the wedding of my dreams looked like. so, i climbed off my crazy train, kept with the original plan and hoped for the best.

after that weekend, i won't ever discount the power of prayer. an angel friend raked leaves during our rehearsal dinner (without us knowing). my family set up tables and chairs before getting ready for the wedding. some friends made sure the tables were decorated, while others scooped leaves out of the pool. and, we prayed and prayed and prayed. and that storm gave us a lovely day of low 70s, after days (and days) in the 90s. the bridesmaids in black dresses and all the boys in monkey suits breathed a sigh of relief!

that outpouring of love was only the beginning of the love we felt on our wedding day. we were surrounded by amazing friends and family who love us and knew us as a couple. and, the compliments we got throughout the day of how much love everyone felt were so humbling.

i couldn't wait for that man to ask me to be his wife (6 years, remember), and i wake up every day thanking God that i get to spend the rest of my life with him. in my sister's toast, she said she hoped that we'd look back on our wedding day as the day we loved each other least, and you know what? we do - i love him more today than yesterday, and i'll love him more tomorrow than today.

happy anniversary, mr. man. i love you. i love you. i love you.

What a Difference a Decade Makes

This weekend, we celebrated 10 years in Seattle. Ten years! A whole decade. Otherwise known as, a LONG time. Yep, 10 years ago, I packed up my belongings, took a 1,000 mile road trip, and moved to the Pacific Northwest. Sight unseen. To follow a boy.

A lot happens in 10 years. I mean, 10 years ago, we didn't really even know what an mp3 was, or that cell phones didn't have to weigh 5 lbs! Not to mention all the medical advancements we've discovered. (not me particularly, but you know what I mean.)

In 10 years, we've:

• lived in Downtown Seattle (in two different apartments)
• gotten married
• bought a house
• turned 30 (and 35!)
• watched parents divorce
• lost grandparents
• changed jobs
• been laid off...twice
• started this here company & blog
• visited Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas & Mexico
• watched sisters graduate high school, college, and get Master's
• been in 1 sister's wedding, and 6 others
• been to over 25 weddings
• become Auntie Rosita & Uncle Will to Sweet P
• helped friends & family welcome over 50 kiddos
• had 5 different computers
• had 8 different cell phones
• had 5 different mp3 players (only one was an iPod!)

To say following that boy was the best thing I've done would be an understatement. We love Seattle. We love our friends here. We love the options we have for food, entertainment, and weekend fun. If I could convince my mom & sisters to move here, I wouldn't ever leave! And, in a year, Seattle will be the place I've lived the longest. I guess we'll have to call this "home" now.

When I was thinking about our 10 year anniversary, I stumbled upon this decade in pictures from the NY Times. Don't take my word that much has happened in 10 years; check this out.

(click on image to view larger)