After the Alter » anniversary

Celebrating Two Wonderful Years With Captain Awesome

Jen — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:44:07 +0000

Our anniversary is June 14th, but since we will be away celebrating in Sarasota Florida, I wanted to take the time to post this before we go so it can give it the attention it deserves.

I sit here in shock and awe as I realize that Captain Awesome and I have been married TWO YEARS! Yes, I know we have been together for 9 years total, and 2 years is small compared to that, but I still can’t believe I have been married to the love of my life, and my best friend for two whole years. How did I ever get so lucky? We have been together since I was 20 years old, and now that I am turning 30 this year I am left to reflect on how much growing up together we’ve done over the past 10 or so years. And looking back I’d say we both did ALOT of growing up. The partying sorority girl, and the partying fraternity guy are now going to be entering their biggest growing up challenge of all….we are going to be parents! See…isn’t it amazing where 2 years can bring you?

Each one of the two years of marriage have been completely different, but no matter what happened I knew I had a partner through it all. I wrote about my first year of marriage last year in my post titled “One Year Down, Many More To Go “. Basically, I felt our first year was pure newlywed bliss. Life wasn’t much different than before we got married, but we really spent alot of time enjoying each other’s company.

Our second year of marriage started off on an amazing note and quickly turned for the worse. We spent our anniversary in Newport Rhode Island, and there the two of us held the secret that I was carrying our first child. It was an amazing anniversary. But soon after we found out that we were going to lose the baby, and that really began the journey that was our second year of marriage. I hate to define the second year as the year of the miscarriage, but it was such a huge part of our lives for so long that unfortunately it is what it is. What I can say, is that this journey showed me even more of the man that I had married. In the better’s and worses of marriage…we were forced to see some of the worse. But it reminded me how much I truly need Captain Awesome in my corner. We held strong together through it all, and I took comfort in knowing that he was my rock. He was there for me through the sadness and tears of that time. Don’t get me wrong, we had good times too, but the fact that we were just as far away at becoming parents as we were the year before just brought down our spirits. Together we faced 7 months of Trying to Conceive, and I gotta tell you, if you don’t know what that’s like, it’s extremely trying, and certainly not as fun as it may sound. But as each negative home pregnancy test came out, and my spirits dropped, my husband was always there to lift my spirits. Most of the time offering food (like a Friendly’s Cyclone it’s amazing I’m not HUGE right now).

I think it’s in the harder times that we really see people’s true character. And I saw in my husband the most caring, comforting, strong and loving man. I am truly blessed to wake up next to my best friend every morning, share my life with him throughout the day, and fall asleep next to him every night. He takes care of me and for that I am truly thankful.

So as we begin year 3 of our marriage we again have so much to celebrate. Little Pooh Bear is on the way, and together we get to have many new adventures. I can’t wait to share them with my man. Happy Two Year Anniversary Captain Awesome! I love you more than words can say!

I know I always post this but check out this fun video of our wedding!

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9 Years and Lots of Beer! Happy St. Patricks Day!

Jen — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:54:14 +0000

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Today is the day that everyone WISHES that they were Irish! Ya I said it…it’s the day where everyone drinks lots of beer and wears green. It is also the day 9 years ago that The Captain and I started our relationship. St. Patrick’s Day is our original anniversary!

So picture 20 year old Jen, and 19 year old Captain Awesome on St. Patrick’s Day in college…we were seeing each other for a little while, but had yet to be labeled “boyfriend and girlfriend”. Can you imagine the romantic encounter that ensued? HA! Ya right! It was really just two drunk people rambling about how we should be together. I mean who else but us? (if you know us you know that it fits) I laugh sometimes when I think of our romantic journey. Alot of our early moments happened at a bar….we met at a bar, had our first kiss at a bar and even began dating at a bar! But thinking about it makes me smile because it really fit us perfectly. (sad but true!)

I am really lucky that every year for the past nine years we took the time to recognize this day. And that hasn’t stopped since we got married. I think The Captain thought that it would, but he was mistaken! I am a firm believer in celebrating the good things…and this is a great thing! So why not?

So Happy St Patrick’s Day to all of you honorary Irishman (if you were wondering I am Irish! OK, well 1/2 Irish) Wear your green proud and be sure to slug a beer and think of me! Today I will forgo the martooni’s and support my heritage instead. Slainte!!!

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Celebrating The Good Things In Life

Jen — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:27:44 +0000

Life is always full of it’s ups and downs. It’s just the way it is. Some days you are living large and feeling like no one else in the world can be as happy as you are right now…and then in an instant your world can crash and you wonder if you’ve ever felt so sad. That is why I feel that it is so important to focus on the good things. There is enough bad stuff going on in the world that if we don’t try to see the good…the silver lining….then you are missing out. Like one of my favorite sayings go…Life is too short to be anything but happy.

This past week my husband and I paid off the final amount on our credit card debt. In the scheme of world events it is not a huge occasion, but in our world it was an amazing accomplishment. That day I bought a bottle of champagne and put it in the fridge so it could get nice and cold. My husband and I went out for a casual dinner..nothing fancy just good food and some time to enjoy each other’s company. When we got home, we popped the champagne using the toasting flutes from our wedding…toasted to us…and proceeded to enjoy our evening. It wasn’t anything fancy, but I was happy that we took the time to celebrate.

When my husband and I first started dating people used to laugh that many times we would celebrate our anniversary monthly. Sometimes it would be with a card and sometimes with a dinner but we would always try to recognize the time we had spent together. As the years went by we would be sure to celebrate our half year anniversaries. People would ask why we would do that, and my answer would be…why not? If anything, its a great excuse to spend a nice and quiet night together. If an anniversary is that excuse then I say go for it! Now that we are married my husband was hoping he’d only have to remember that date from now on…but I still like to celebrate the day of our first date which is Valentines day, which is also the date we got engaged. Every year we go back to the same restaurant that we went on our first date 8 1/2 years ago, it’s where we got engaged and is a special place for us….I also like to celebrate our “dating” anniversary which is March 17th…Saint Patricks day! That date served us well for so many years that I feel it’s still important to celebrate being together on that day too. My husband might feel differently…but at least he doesn’t show it!

There are so many little things in life that should be celebrated, and it doesn’t take much to do so. Light some candles…make a special dinner….go out for dinner…take a little walk….take a nice long bath…..smile and say you know what? This was a good day…

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Anniversary Weekend Getaway!

Jen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:20:35 +0000

This past weekend my husband and I went on a Romantic weekend getaway to Newport Rhode Island for our 1 Year Anniversary! I still can’t believe we’ve been married a year already, but it’s true, and I was very happy to take a little time out with my husband and just enjoy eachothers company. We went to the Dominican Republic in January, so for our anniversary we wanted to take a less expensive trip. We chose Newport Rhode Island because it is with in driving distance and I have heard nothing but good reviews about the place! Friends of ours stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called the Adele Turner Inn a little while back and gave it very high reviews…so we figured this would be our spot!

We made it a three day weekend and went on Friday. We got to Newport and since it was too early to check in we wandered around the town. It was a yucky and gloomy day but luckily no rain. The stores were quaint down by the harbor. After walking around we checked in to our room at the Adele Turner Inn. The Innkeeper was nice and brought us to our room. There, we were surprised with champagne, roses and some chocolates. It was a gift from some friends and it was great to be welcomed to the hotel with such gifts! (Thanks guys!) We stayed in the Benedict Arnold room. It was on the 3rd floor and considered one of their classic rooms. We didn’t upgrade there because we figured we’d be site seeing alot and didn’t need the added amenities.

In the afternoons they have what they call a “high tea” meaning they serve tea in the dining area and offer an aray of treats such as Scones, and cookies and quiche. It was really cute! I don’t love tea all that much, but it was included so we decided to take advantage of it. That night we decided to go down to the marina area to walk around and grab dinner. I was shocked to find that at 7 pm on a Friday night many of the shops were closed! I was bummed about that but we wandered a bit anyway. This evening we decided to eat at the Red Parrot. It was more of a pub, but since the weather wasn’t so great we decided outside dining wasn’t the best idea. The food was great! We were very pleased. After some ice cream we called it an early night. We were just happy to relax!

The next morning we took advantage of the breakfast that was included in our stay. They had a great menu with Pomagranet and pear french toast, banana nut pancakes, and eggs as well as fresh fruit and cereal. It was a nice way to start the day. Everyone we spoke to recommended we do the mansion tour and that is what we did! We decided on two of the most popular mansions and visited Marble house and the Breakers. They were AMAZING! It is a shame they aren’t used for functions today, but we each got a headset and was free to wander the tour at our own pace. They were spectacular! No pictures were allowed inside so I only have outdoor photos. (the first is the back of Marble House and the 2nd two are the Breakers) I can only imagine the events that went on in these houses!

After our long siteseeing day we went back to our room and enjoyed our afternoon tea, and that evening we went down to the marina for dinner. We enjoyed a nice dinner and had another early night.

As for Newport as a whole, we had a great time but it wasn’t what I expected. I had a great time with my husband. We always have the best time when we travel together. Now our 1 year anniversary has come and gone…where did the time go? We finished off the weekend by watching our wedding video at our house. It was great to relive the memories.

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One Year Down….Many More To Go!

Jen — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:39:04 +0000

My husband and I have been together over 8 years. Of those years…2 years were spent in college (well 2 for me 3 for him), 3 years were spent with my husband in law school, 1 year and 5 months were spent planning our wedding, and now this Sunday, June 14th we have reached the ONE YEAR MARK of our marriage! I have no idea where the time went but I can tell you that this year has been amazing!

My husband has been my best friend since we began our relationship. We were friends first and I think that makes all the difference. Over the years we have had our ups and our downs, but through it all I have always known that he was the man I wanted to marry. The story of how we met isn’t a romantic one, or one that we were able to share on our wedding website. I had to tone it down a bit since it certainly wasn’t appropriate for the site. But I figure since this is my blog, that I can be open and honest…so here goes…As I have mentioned we met in college. He was in a fraternity and I was in a sorority. We were introduced by friends at a bar. We said our hello’s and I proceeded to tap the top of his beer bottle. (If you don’t know what that does, if you tap one bottle on top of another bottle that is over half way full with beer the beer starts to foam and spill out over the top making the person holding that beer chug it so it doesn’t get all over them) In doing so, he had to chug his beer, and this added to a night of drinking made him have to leave the bar and get sick. Romantic I know! But at least I made my mark as someone he’d remember. Ahhh the memories.

Here’s some pictures of us in college:

Now we are all grown up! (ya right!) and much more mature, but these pictures remind me of the wonderful history my husband and I share. We’ve been able to experience so many firsts together, and it’s comforting to know that we have so many more firsts to come.

This coming weekend we decided to celebrate our anniversary in Newport Rhode Island at the Adele Turner Inn. It’s a bed and breakfast. I will be sure to post more on that next week when we return. I am looking forward to getting away for a nice romantic weekend with my man. We certainly deserve it!

I asked my dad if he would throw me another wedding this weekend so I could put on my dress and try to match our most wonderful day, but unfortunately he said NO! I guess we will have to make due watching our wedding video on Sunday. It’s a perfect time to reminisce. So for anyone who is interested here is a great dance montage video our videographer put together of our wedding. Watching it makes me smile!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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