One- John is one fucking lucky ass man. Why you ask? Aside from being married to me (why must I restate the obvious), I am sitting here waiting for him to come home from work sprawled on the couch with a wine colored three quarter length shirt, a pair of his old plaid (green and red if you must know) boxers, a pink sock, a black sock and a messy side pony tail. I put all his porn sluts to shame. At least my legs are shaved. Go me!!

(obviously I'm not leaving the house any time soon...if I do...I might be persuaded to put pants on, then again I've been persuaded to leave them off too. It could go either way, really.)

Two- Today a girl said, "Take you hair out of your ponytail, your hair's so pretty when it's down". So I did as commanded (because I'm vain and I like my hair too); while do so I did the obligatory hair shake. Immediately, Hot For Teacher came into my head and I realized I had just done a hair flip worthy of Tawny Kittain on a car kind of move...I immediately put my hair back up before there was a Dateline feature about me and said, "It's too hot to have it down" and went back to babbling about how important it is to articulate your words.

(Please note, I'm nothing but proper at work, not a MaryKay LeTourneaux thought in my mind EVER...but it was just a funny second there).

Don't worry, it's not that kind of letter.

Dear John,
We will have been married for a year in two days. How can that be?? Some days I feel like I've known you forever! You have become my very best friend and I love every minute that I get to spend with you. I learn more and more about you every day and I love celebrating the small triumphs of this first year--home renovations (you've done some really impressive things!), both of us getting recognized at our respective jobs for doing well and simply meshing our separate lives together. The best part of my day is lying next to you, being spooned and held tightly as we both drift off to sleep. Never in my life have I loved this deeply, this happily and I thank you for that.

My favorite memories of our first year together:
1. Our trip to Vegas was soo much fun. Of course, it's a fond memory because that's where we got married but also because it was our first vacation together. I loved sipping pina coladas in the pool with you, watching you win with a single dollar on the slot machine, and seeing all the sights.

2. Our reception at home. It was everything I ever wanted. I had the man I loved by my side, a lovely dress, the best song list ever created (Oh how much we worked on that thing! It was completely worth it!) and every friend and family member who we bewildered with our shockingly quick engagement/plans to marry that I could've possibly wanted. Again, I would've never change a second of it. I'm glad that we didn't waste time with a long engagement. I fell in love with you quickly and I was amazed (and blessed) that you caught on to the plan and fell in love with me too. I look at my ring and see the inscription and smile...because I love spending every day of my life with you.

3. All of our random nights in our basement, particularly the first couple of months after you moved in. It was so fun, getting tipsy (and/or drunk) and singing all of our favorite songs together at the top of our lungs. In the basement we've talked about everything: music, books we've been reading, our pasts, and our future together. We snuggle up with the dog and love her up and of course, our clothes usually end up together in a heap on the carpet. You know I love that!

4. The night you tied me up. I don't really need to go into graphic detail but it was three hours where you focused almost entirely on me. Three hours! I still get chills when I think about that night.

5. This might sound strange but even our fights have been good. I say this because we've never really managed to stay mad at each other for very long and we've always been pretty respectful and apologetic towards each other. Each of us owning up to what we've done wrong and each of us remaining communicative and responsive as to how to fix whatever it was that started the disagreement in the first place. I think this is one of our greatest strengths and it will serve us well for a long time in the future.

6. Your birthday, which we spent in NYC. A weekend getaway which was too short because it was wonderful. I loved traipsing around the city with you, staring up at the tall buildings, giving each other roses, popping in and out of shops, and braving the icy cold winds and our freezing cold ears. Having the opportunity to go to a quiet restaurant for your birthday where I had you all to myself...unlike the previous night where you had me cracking up when you celebrated with our friends and your mom.

7. My surprise birthday party. Only a man who loved me would call all my friends and get everyone to dress like pirates. Whenever I see your sailor picture, I smile a little more. You are absolutely adoreable.

8. Any time I get to spend with you is my favorite time. You always have me laughing, smiling and feeling lucky that I married such an interesting, smart and caring man. Thank you. And I love you to pieces.

Love Always,
Me

John, what are some of your favorite memories of this year???

***Wednesday we're going away for our anniversary so the blog will be a little quiet for the rest of the week! Talk to you all when we get back!!!***

I hate standing next to ER's (John's bro) girlfriend. It's not because I don't like her...because I do. It's because I hate how imperfect I feel standing next to her. Without fail her hair will be perfectly clipped up/barretted, perfectly coiffed and looking sexy. Mine?Oh it's down, or in a ponytail, it really can't be described as anything else. Her makeup-flawless. Mine? Non-existent. Her clothes? Fabulous! Mine? This old thing? And I do mean this incredibly old thing bought at the GAP, probably the year I was going to enter college (which if we are keeping track...it's seven years at this point).

Perfect hair, perfect tan, stunning blue eyes, gorgeous long black hair, and a size two...why would I hate standing next to her?

Probably because after I put ketchup on my hot dog at the Phillies game, it dripped down the front of my shirt.

Well, we all knew that it was going to come sooner or later...the single girls who used to go out on the town, get silly and drunk, meet boys, bring boys home to play, and then have laughs over brunch about it (damn, we sound like the stupid SITC ladies...we're nothing like them!! We dress well, we don't have any stupid fake accents and we don't sit around and make puns all day, I swear)...well, those girls are no more...and to be perfectly honest, I enjoy being retired more than you'd ever guess.

Cr was the first to drop. After a tumultuous relationship with her boyfriend, playing the on again/off again game they decided to stop playing games. They will be married two years, this coming September and all seems to be coming up roses for them.

Then there was me. Who would've ever thought that would happen? Well, I did as soon as I met John...but I'll save that mushy stuff for my anniversary blog. Needless to say, I'm as happy as a clam--that is, if clams get happy.

Now there's Chelle! She hemmed and hawed over this one. It's an age old story, where Chelle is Girl and her new husband is Boy. Girl meets Boy, Boy sleeps with Girl and doesn't call her for some odd reason. Girl decides, "fuck him, I'll find someone else!" and to be honest, she found a couple "elses" (not that there's anything wrong with that). Boy realizes, that he really does like Girl and pursues her like a hunter stalking his prey. Girl gets annoyed first, Girl tells Boy off and then she finally listens to what he has to say. Girl gets flattered; Girl realizes that she had just been putting up her defenses so that Boy wouldn't hurt her again. Boy and Girl date happily until one night Boy pulls out a sparkly ring and tells Girl that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. The End!

So apparently, that's how it goes here in the Cornfield...we meet the right one and we all drop like flies. Now...I'm taking applications for acceptable men for my one friend left...T. I will start the bidding at: she likes to drink, dance, tell funny stories, take stupid pictures of me (ones where I'm trying to eat her head when I'm drunk), sing loudly, laugh more than anything. Ohh and she enjoys having the best friend a person could ever have (me). Any takers?

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. That someone was me. I had night class last night (a really fun class, don't get me wrong) and it sucked the life out of me. Consider after working all day that the last thing I wanted to do was hop in the car, sit in traffic and then sit in a classroom all night listening to some good (mostly bad) short stories and workshopping them all night long. Then I get to hop back in the car and drive home ( at the speed of light...I got home in 26 mins last night--the University is about 40 mins away). I just wanted to spend a little time not thinking--and definitely not thinking about all the work that is pileing up for me to do.

John and I decided to watch a tivoed edition of Blind Date. After watching a particularly cringe-worthy episode, John cupped my face and kissed me, "Isn't it awesome that we don't have to date anymore?"

I didn't feel that way when we went up to bed and he unleashed the single foulest gaseous expansion my nose ever had the misfortune of being near.

However, I was more than happy when--to cure me of my sour morning attitude (after slapping the alarm clock like a pesky misquito, grumbling, moaning and sniping)--John undid my work pants that I hastily slapped on after bitching about the lack of hot water (um...who was supposed to call the hotwater heater guy? Oh that would be me...instead, I just decide to go downstairs on a nightly basis and trip the switch so that it resets rather than call for a new thermometer) and with his lovely hands eased a smile back onto my face.

I thought it would be only fair to return the favor...
as long as he didn't mess up my pink work shirt. I can only imagine the mood I would've been in, had we had just a few more minutes to actually strip down.