35.

The birthday boy!

This month we celebrated my husband's birthday.  We've spent many a birthday at theme bars, going on trips, and other huge affairs.  This year was a little different!  He wanted to visit a place in Northern California - The Kefiry - that makes "soda" from a 3,000 year old recipe!  I would recommend looking into water kefir if you're into health, gourmet food, etc.

Of course I didn't think to document the trip until well after lunch, but the good news is the town of Sebastapol, where The Kerify is, is adorable!

Zazu, where we ate lunch, had the BEST gfree pizza crust I've ever had!

 All over Sebastapol were these cute sculptures, reflecting the type of businesses they stood in front of.

After The Kefiry we wandered around Sebastapol.  Everywhere we stopped, we were told to check out this new development called Barlow's.  In what is a pretty agricultural area, the Barlow district is a cool, modern area with lots of yummy food, art, and breweries/wineries.

The largest Tibetan mural outside Tibet, being painted right in front of us!

How do you like to celebrate birthdays?

Colorado.

The hubby and I recently went to Colorado to visit his grandfather.  It was a really nice time and I'm so glad we took the opportunity to spend some extra time together.  

Some of the highlights:

There's just something about a boy and his grandpa.  Btw, GO BRONCOS!

Umm, I came across this gem and can't get enough of it!

My first time in a hot spring!  Never thought I'd be in a bathing suit at the top of a snowy mountain in January!

Smell the roses.

Or peonies - whatever it takes!

I am a big believer in New Year’s resolutions.  I think resolutions focus us.  They help us to be accountable.  Especially because the nature of New Year’s resolutions is that they tend to be public, ideas we share with those around us.

In the past, I’ve set several resolutions each year.  Last year, with our wedding coming up mine were a little self-serving; to take the stairs at work and to wash my face every night.  I was really proud of myself for sticking with those two and only saw a minor drop-off after the big day!

This year I’ve set one, simple, but hard to achieve goal.  To simply smell the roses.  We’ve had one whopper - as my dad would say - of a year!  We’ve both had some big successes at work, I got a new car (after 10 lovely years with my first born), our wedding of course, and finally – to our big surprise – we bought our first home!  Any one of those things in a single year alone would be something to celebrate, but all together!?  Well I think it’s time for a nap in 2014!

Bye bye Neon, hello Volvo!

Safe to say, we are so lucky and so grateful, and this year I just want to sit back and enjoy.  Smell the roses, as they say.  I’m pretty ambitious, a symptom of my generation I guess.  Generally, I think that’s a great quality but it can lend itself to the feeling that nothing is good enough.  Nothing feels better than to see your hard work pay off but you’ve just got to stop and enjoy it, right?  My husband and I have taken to saying to each other, “Life is good,” and it sure is.

WWPD?

I have this friend, we’ll call her P.  Her name really does start with P!  She’s my go-to for career advice, etiquette, and general ‘I don’t want to look like a fool in public, what should I do?’ advisor.  Having recognized these qualities in her, I often ask myself whilst in a word-related dilemma, "What would P do?" 

I was reading an article on Real Simple’s website about email etiquette and was struck by the last piece of advice.  “Don’t get too personal,” it says.  “Emails are for facts, not feelings.”  Ah ha!  So true.  How many times have I gotten in trouble for being just a little too real in print?  Something to keep in mind for this here blog, too!

So, the next time you’re debating that sentence to your coworker/mom/frenemy, ask yourself, "What would P do?"

Marriage.

Since my (now) husband and I were together nearly 8 years before we got married, the question I get more than “So, when are you going to have kids?!” is “Do you feel different now that you’re married?”  At first I always said no.  But now, with 6 months under my belt, I do feel it’s different in some ways.

I’m more grounded in our partnership.  My husband had mastered long before I did the art of being a ‘team’ in public while sharing differences privately.  Something about making our vows public magnified for me that we’re partners before anything else.  Sadly, we’ve been having a deep conflict with someone close to us, and as hard as it is, it’s also shined a bright light on how important it is to put each other first, and I’m proud of us for staying on the same page throughout.

The receptionist where I work always says to me, “Kid, you’ve got so much time!” Marriage continues to remind me just how much time we have.  As an ambitious Millennial, I want more - now!  I want my dream job today.  I want our home perfectly furnished this minute.  Generally, I don’t think it would be fair to our relationship to restart the clock on our wedding day, but there is some element to marriage that feels new and fresh.  And knowing that we have the next 50+ years to check off our bucket list brings me a sense of peace and patience I didn’t have before.

We’re better together.  My husband had a long checklist of goals he wanted to achieve before getting married.  I was still in college when we started dating, so marriage wasn’t yet on my radar.  Even after several years, hard as we were each working, things have started to simply fall into place now that we’re married. Sure, it could just be the fruits of our labor finally blooming, but I think two is just better than one.

Did you feel your relationship changed after marriage?