Three Years!

Three years ago I walked down the beach side lawn at San Diego Hilton Resort on Mission Bay and said "I DO" to my best friend.


It was an amazing day!


And a killer party.


But the entire event almost pales in comparison to the love, joy, and intimacy that we've experienced over the last three years. I can't even imagine how I'll feel in 10 or 30 more years. This year of marriage was definitely the hardest, but we survived and grew closer than ever. And to that I say, "bring on year three!"

Newlywed Survival Kit & Surviving the Portland ER

I'm still working on getting together the wedding recap post from my Brother-in-Law's wedding. But I wanted to share a couple of things first...

1st - The gift!

Thanks for all of your advice on what to add to the Newlywed Survival Kit wedding gif!

I ended up adding a couple of games that I knew they wanted to add a little more fun to gift! I wanted to add a bottle of wine too, but I know she's not a big drinker so I skipped that.

Here's the final contents of the gift:

Cookbook, devotional, Dave Ramsey book, Bar Keeper's Friend, Skip-Bo, Phase 10, and Calphalon dish towel.

And here's how it looked all packaged up in a very functional gift bag (a cleaning bucket!)


I wrote out a explanation of the gift that you can read here. I hope they loved this gift as much as I did.


2nd - My trip to the ER.

As luck would have it, it turned out that a friend of the Mr's from High School was also getting married on the same night in Portland as his brother! Since Brother-in-Law's wedding ended early we had time to visit the other wedding, which was so much fun!

Well, toward the end of the night my feet were really hurting, so I decided to take off my shoes to dance (dumb!). I guess someone had broken a glass and I ended up cutting my foot really bad on the broken glass. It just kept bleeding and bleeding (so gross), so we decided to go to the ER to see if I needed stitches.

So two hours and several hundred dollars later, I left the Downtown Portland ER with seven stitches in my big toe. :(

The worst part was that I didn't get to go skiing on Mt. Hood because my foot hurt too bad and I didn't want to injure it more. Giant bummer!

The moral of the story -- always bring sandals to change into!

Newlyweds Divorcing?

No, we're not getting divorced, silly.

But I did recently find out that the Mr.'s best friend from college is getting a divorce from his wife of 3 years. And this comes on the heals of his best friend from childhood getting a divorce from his wife of 4 years this past spring.

Um, that's enough to make a happily-wed girl feel pretty nervous when I see marriages crumbling all around me. And while I don't know all the reasons these couples split up (dudes tend to be more tight-lipped about these things), I must say I am shocked. We're too young to know divorcees!

How could 20-something, basically "newlyweds" be getting divorced so quickly?

Well, according to a USA Today article the medium duration of first marriage, when first marriage ended in divorce is 8 years. And according to the CDC 43% of first marriages in the U.S. end within 15 years. Wow. Sad.

So I was right, these couples DID get divorced early.

So I googled to try to find out WHY young couples would get divorced. And while I could not find out specifically why newlyweds would get divorced, I found out the top reasons overall for divorce are:
1. Poor communication
2. Financial problems
3. A lack of commitment to the marriage
4. A dramatic change in priorities
5. Infidelity

Yeah that about sums it up.


So, what's MY chance of divorce, I thought to myself? I'm committed, faithful, manage money well, and I like to think I'm a good communicator.

Then I found the "Divorce Calculator" on divorce360.com



It told me people with similar backgrounds to me who are already divorced = 1%
And people with similar backgrounds to me who will be divorced over the next five years= 4%

Ok, we have 96% chance of still being together in five years. That makes me feel a little bit better. But this whole thing was a good reminder to not take my marriage or husband for granted and to work every day at making my marriage just a little bit better.


Do you know 20-something couples who got divorced in the first few years of marriage?

What does the Divorce Calculator say your chance of divorce is?

It's a Love Story: Our Early Letters

In working on a Valentine's Day Present for the Mr. I was digging through our memory boxes -- filled with letters and notes to each other. And although we're not John and Abigail Adams, I thought you might get kick of of a blast from the past - seeing our "love" letters.

A bit of background...
The Mr. and I met and started dating on Greek Row at USC (i.e. we were in a Sorority/ Fraternity). USC Greeks have a tradition called "Monday Night Dinner." Monday Night Dinner is where each Sorority and Fraternity has a formal dinner in their chapter house and during dinner the new members of each house do "deliveries" to the other houses. Which means that you can send a card or cookies or whatever to a guy you like or that you're dating and a girl in your house will deliver it to him a his formal dinner. And he can do the same for you. Because of this time-honored USC tradition we have two years worth of Monday Night Dinner letters and cards to each other. I can't even say how thankful I am to have this treasure!

The Mr's letters usually came on stationary like this:


And mine usually looked like this:


Although there are hundreds of letters, I thought I'd share some of the earliest ones from when we'd first met and started dating, because those show how far we've really come. Who knew I was writing to my future husband?!

The first letter the Mr. ever wrote me:

{Click the image to enlarge and bless you if you can read his handwriting}

My first letter to him:

{Click the image to enlarge and clearly handwriting is not my strong skill either}

We were trying to be "just friends" but clearly that didn't happen!

The letter he wrote me asking me out on our first real date at El Cholo, a great Mexican Restaurant in LA:


The letter I wrote to him the week after our date at El Cholo:

{Note: It's funny that I mention Thanksgiving in that letter because he offically asked me to be his girlfriend the day before Thanksgiving, 2003. So clearly, I saw him before Thanksgiving :)}

Hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of young love just in time for Valentine's Day. Hope that your Valentine's Day still feels like the first one together! Xoxo!

Greetings from the Equator: A Guest Post

The following post is by my best friend, maid-of-honor, lifelong-confidant, and de-facto sister Laurel.



We have a lot in common: we grew up in same neighborhood, we went to the same schools, we share same similar interests, and we're both Newlyweds. But we currently could not be leading more different lives.

Me = Corporate raider at Large Consulting Firm traveling the west coast with my business casual attire and laptop bag.
Laurel = Peace Corps Volunteer serving the country of Ecuador.


I thought you’d enjoy a peak into her amazing and different life…

-----------------------------------------------------

Greetings from the equator! I’m Laurel, a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Ecuador. My husband, Daniel, and I have been living here for almost a year and have been graciously asked to share some of our experiences living abroad with the ample community of bloggers who follow the Newlyweds Next Door.

Daniel and I had both considered joining the Peace Corps before we’d met, so it was an easy decision to make once we got married to join together. After a few months of planning, packing, and saying our goodbyes, we left California in February 2009 for a 26 month stint away from US soil.



As Peace Corps assignments go, we are very fortunate. Ecuador is a beautiful and geographically diverse country that boasts long white beaches, is traversed by the incredibly high Andes, shares a slice of the Amazon rainforest, and holds claim to the unparalleled Galápagos Islands.



We live in Tena, a small but tourist-friendly town in the rainforest known for cacao, jungle tours and white-water rafting. Our work supports a group of international development organizations and Ecuadorian governmental organizations interested in environmental and economic sustainability.




Needless to say there are many things I miss from home. On the top of that list have to be:

1. Variety. Cheeses, beers, wines, restaurants. We were so spoiled in the US and didn’t even know it!
2. Mobility. Four hour bus rides? No problem. But 10? Not so much. Daniel dreams about driving.
3. Climate control. Perma-sweat develops when you live in a rainforest without A/C; just a fact of life.
4. Jon Stewart. ::sigh::
5. Our friends and family. Thank goodness for blogs and email!


After almost year away from home, I’ve learned a great deal. Some of the most salient are:

1. Not all Peace Corps Volunteers fit the ‘hippie’ stereotype. I’ve met former architects, nurses, business people and congressional aides. Sure there are a few tokens among us, but most PCVs are just young people seeking altruism and adventure.
2. Time isn’t money in developing countries. Coming from a corporate work experience prior to Peace Corps, it has been difficult to adjust to a society where things unfold at a much much slower pace.
3. No book is too boring or difficult to read when you have plenty of time on your hands. Seriously, you have no idea what you can get through without the distraction of evening television.
4. Monkeys are cool until the steal your things. And bite you when you try to take them back.
5. I married the right guy. Extreme conditions, living and working together 24/7/365, isolation, language barriers – and our marriage is stronger than ever.


(our neighbor, the monkey)

There are just under 15 months left in our service. Some days fly by and others drag on and on, but every day I learn more about the gracious Ecuadorian people, their rich culture, and myself. If you are interested in learning more about our experiences in Ecuador, check out our blog: http://danielandlaurel.blogspot.com

¡Besos!
Laurel

We Were Featured!

I feel so honored!

This week we are the featured Newlyweds on the super fun blog, Newlyweds!

Have you ever wondered how I knew the Mr. was "the one", what I learned about him after we were married, or how we stay connected during everyday stresses of life?

Then head over to http://newlyweds.wordpress.com/2009/09/03/meet-the-newlyweds-next-door/!

First Anniversary Weekend Recap

We had an amazing Anniversary Weekend in San Diego! It was so fun to enjoy our wedding hotel and to celebrate our first year as a couple!

We kicked off the weekend on Friday afternoon by opening gifts at home.

I took some of your "paper anniversary" gift advice and framed our vows with a wedding picture of us (we wrote our own vows). I really like how it turned out!


Here is the Mr. opening it. I wrapped it in newspaper (Get it? The paper?)


The Mr. wrote me a long letter and made a CD that summarizes our first year together with new songs off of iTunes. Then he did a write-up of what each song symbolizes. I loved it!


Then we drove down to San Diego. We checked into our waterfront suite and were greeted with strawberries and champagne! An anniversary present from my parents! So sweet!


On Saturday we went to the beach and went sailing (no pictures, boo).

Then we got ready for night out in the Gaslamp District of Downtown San Diego.

The Mr. on our room's balcony before leaving for dinner. I love this view!


Me at our wedding site, one year later!


At the hotel, on our way to dinner. The Mr. is holding a bottle of 1998 Dom Perignon, which was wedding gift from a friend specifically for our first anniversary. A great idea for a gift!


On the way to dinner we stopped off at Lemon Grove Bakery where I picked up a mini re-creation of the top tier of our wedding cake (in flavor and color), since we did not save our top tier.

Lemon Grove Bakery is where my Mom had my birthday cake made almost every year of my life, so when I got engaged I knew they had to do our wedding cake too! They are the cutest family-run business.

I loved seeing all their fun wedding cake displays again! Our cake was similar to the shells ones they have displayed.


For our Anniversary Dinner we had a five course meal at one of my favorite San Diego restaurants, Blue Point. We were eating and drinking for almost three hours! It was ah-mazing!


Here is our little cake!


The flavor was raspberry and white chocolate mousse with butter cream frosting. SO delicious!


After dinner we walked around Downtown San Diego people watching and window shopping.

On Sunday we played tennis, ate brunch, set "goals" of things we want to accomplish in the next year, and then drove back to LA to watch our Wedding DVD. I hadn't watched it since we got it, so that was a lot of fun to see!

It was basically a perfect anniversary weekend to cap off a wonderful first year together! Here's to at least 49 more!

One Year Anniversary - Off to Celebrate in San Diego!

This Sunday is our ONE YEAR Anniversary! I cannot believe it has been one year.

We'll be celebrating in my home town, San Diego, CA, which was also our Wedding Location. I love San Diego. And even though I hope that maybe we'll move back there some day, for now San Diego is my favorite vacation spot!

We'll be staying at our wedding hotel, the San Diego Hilton Resort on Mission Bay.




And visit our ceremony site where we got married.


We'll definitely be doing some sailing and hanging out at the beach.


And of course, tennis.



We'll have a romantic dinner for two at a restauarant in the Historic Gaslamp Quarter.
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And pop the Dom Perignon that we got as a wedding gift!


Thank you for all of your advice about anniversary gifts! I definitely took some of the advice I got and I think I got a really great present!

I'll be back Monday with the gift revealing as well as pictures from our weekend!

DMV Fail

I wrote before about my apprehension about changing my name at the DMV because of all of the horror stories I've heard from Los Angeles area DMVs. So I went in with low expectations, and low and behold, my expectations were met.

The DMV would NOT let me change my name to First Name, Maiden Name, New Last Name -- my two choices were First Name, Middle Name, New Last Name or First Name, Middle Name Maiden Name, New Last Name. I argued that at Social Security I was able to change my middle name, but they lady actually said "They have different rules. We don't change middle names here." I was upset, but there was really nothing I could do. So now I have FOUR names and my Drivers License reads First Name, Middle Name Maiden Name, New Last Name. I essentially I have two middle names now. But the kicker is my Social Security Card only has First Name, Maiden Name, New Last Name.

Why the DMV can't just accommodate a reasonable request? I don't know. Very frustrating.

I'm going to try to get the middle name dropped on a future date -- the good news I that now I have my New Last Name on there.

And I got a pretty good picture on my license. Check out the comparison of my picture at age 21 and age (almost) 26.


I definitely look a lot older. Like I always tell my younger co-workers, "working has drastically aged me." Ha!

Honeymoon Memories: Part Two

I shared a little bit about our honeymoon yesterday, but since it's a dreary day here in LA, I thought I'd do a bit more reminiscing about being in love in paradise.

We Honeymooned at the Grand Wailea in Maui, Hawaii.



I'm a Hilton Diamond Member from all of my work travel so we paid for all of our accommodations with Hilton Points (in case you're wondering that's 480,000 points). We also got upgraded to a top floor Ocean-View room. Beautiful!


The resort is amazing! We spent a good amount of time just hanging out there in the beautiful pools, watersides, rivers, and jacuzzis. We also took advantage of the world famous spa at the spa with massages and Roman/Japanese baths. We also did the some snorkeling at the beach and saw some awesome fish including sea turtles, morey eels, and what I thought was a sea snake but turns out it was almost certainly another eel. (Hint: buy cat food at the grocery store and bring a plastic bag of it out to snorkel and feed the fish. They go CRAZY!)

We had dinner at the Grand Wailea's floating restaurant, Humu, which was spectacular.


We also had amazing Dinners at Ruth Chis and Mama's Fish House:


We did the bike trip down Haleakala volcano and as part of the bike trip got to taste wine at Maui's only winery. Like everything on Maui the wine was super sweet, like Boone's Farm sweet. It was definitely not Napa, but cool to do anyway.


We went on the Road to Hana and some some great views and rainforest. This picture is funny because we were in the rainforest and the Mr. wanted to take my picture but right before he snapped the shot I started getting attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes and started running. He took the picture anyway. Hilarious!


We finished off the trip with a Sunset Dinner & Booze Cruise. All you can eat Hawaiian BBQ and tropical drinks while cruising the West side of Maui. Amazing.



Ahhh paradise.

Sadly we can't go back for our Anniversary this year. However, we are planning Carribean Cruise this winter and/or a trip to Italy and Greece next Summer. More on those later...