Dear Me,

Every year on NYE, I write a letter to myself,  reflecting on the year, & talking about hopes & dreams for the new year. Thought I'd share:

Dear Me,                                                                                                             Dec. 31, 2012

Happy 3 years to you & Scott!  Wait; does the dating anniversary even count anymore?  This was such a huge year for you.  It started out being so exciting, with the wedding coming up.  Such amazing things were happening.  You were so excited for 2012. 

Things got a little crazy with the wedding planning & student teaching at the same time (what on earth were you thinking you crazy person??), but Scott was there every step of the way, as were your two best friends and your parents.  You are truly blessed with an amazing support group. 

Things got tough financially because of having to work part time while you were student teaching, but you stuck it out, and things got better.  Now you know what it’s like to be dead broke.  Like, ramen noodles every night broke. 

The month of April brought some pretty amazing things for you.  Your in-laws threw you a Bridal Shower, and it was a great time!  May brought even more good times for you, as things were narrowing down to the big wedding day!

May brought college graduation.  That was 6 years in the making.  Two bachelor’s degrees are now under your belt.  Proud doesn’t even begin to describe.  Well done.

June was just amazing.  You had one heck of a bachelorette party (if you even remember it!) and you had the most beautiful wedding.  It was a perfect, warm & sunny day.  Blue skies, and a nice cool breeze.  It was 88 degrees outside.  Not one drop of rain fell.  Your secret surprise getaway car plan for Scott worked out well.  He was brought to tears seeing the old car.  (You done good, girlfriend!)

June 16, 2012.  What an incredible day.  One that you won’t soon forget.  The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was so much fun.  The guests were amazing.  The wedding party was the best of the best.  All your hard work & planning paid off. 

The honeymoon was even more fantastic.  It never rained once.  It was REALLY hot, and the AC in your hotel room stopped working, so you left a day early – but it was still an awesome week on the beach.  I know you wish time could have stopped that week. 

The summer was a blur.  Summers always go by too quick.  You didn’t really do much of anything though.  You worked a lot.  This was a good thing though… you needed to pick yourself up out of that financial hole that student teaching put you in!

The fall also flew by.  But you re-connected with an old friend, and started up this cute little blog too.  Now you have 2 new amazing friends and an awesome blog.  Double yay.

The winter brought a horrible tragedy.  You were devastated, but grateful at the same time that nobody was hurt in your family.  This tragedy left you feeling empty, but it also opened your eyes to all the good that is in the world.  Not all of the world is bad, you know. 

Only in darkness, can you see the stars.

The end of the year brought good news for both you & Scott.  You are so excited to blog about it and I know it’s hard for you to wait.   But, it’s important to wait until the time is right.

All in all, this was an interesting year.  It was a year of happiness, lots of love, pure joy, overwhelming sadness, and a lot of learning.  You still have more to learn, and more experiences to play out. 

Keep learning, Keep loving, Keep laughing. Keep, living.

Secret Santa Swap reveal!

If you don't follow Mary over @ A Happy Wife in New Orleans, then...well...you should.

She's really fun to follow, & she hosts really fun things like the Secret Santa Swap!

I was randomly paired up with Carissa from Lillies & Silk!

I was SO excited when my package came...

Here is the picture I took of the goodies that were inside:

* A gorgeous red makeup bag! * Burts Bees lip balm * Candy Cane lotion (smells SO good!) * A chocolate covered pretzel (YUM!) * Santa Socks =) * Red Essie nail polish!  =D * 2 pens & a notepad ! * & a cute mini stocking  
  I wore the socks & nail polish & lotion on Christmas Day, the pretzel was gone the same day I opened the package (Scott got a hold of it!) & the Burts Bees lip balm has been a necessity with this winter weather!  
 
Thank you so much Carissa!!  
  & a HUGE thank you to Mary, Anna, Caitlin, & Kem for organizing & hosting this awesome  Secret Santa Swap!  
  =)  
 

Married & Dating

Yes, I am married & still date my husband. It's something that we promised each other on our honeymoon. You know, to date each other at least once a month. We both think it's important.

Things progressed rather quickly for us. We knew we wanted to be together forever very early on. We only dated for 6 months before we were engaged.
I wasn't expecting to be engaged so soon, So I feel like I was jipped out of the dating part!
I think it's so fun to get all dolled up  & go out for a night, once a month.
It helps us to remember the reason why we fell in love. People always told me that the honeymoon stage would end. But, as I keep saying, it's still hangin on! & I think dating each other helps I still get butterflies.

So, tonight, we will be going on our usual once-a-month date.
Although, this date is a little bit different. We are celebrating an anniversary.
Our "dating" anniversary is on New Years Eve. It will be 3 years since we first started dating. But since restaurants are PACKED & PRICEY on NYE, we have decided to go out tonight to celebrate!
Which brings me to my question... Do people even still celebrate their "dating" anniversary once their married?
I don't know. But we are!
I have a hair appointment & everything. We're going all out. The hair extensions are going in. I'm getting dressed all fancy. Heck, I may even put on lipstick.
The best part of it is, we don't even know where we will be eating yet.
Spontaneity at it's finest.

=)

December Cara Box!

So, I know a lot of bloggers have heard of the Cara Box exchange, but if you haven't, please do go to Kaitlyn's blog over @ Wifessionals & check it out!
I had never heard of it until just recently, so this was my first time doing it  & I'm so excited to blog about it!
It's basically really awesome because you sign up each month, & you are paired with 2 other bloggers.
One blogger that you send a package to, and one blogger that sends you a package. You make friends with both people, and you get a fun little package too!  
Plus- It's so much fun to shop for someone after stalking their blog & reading about their interests. I had SO much fun with this.
SO- My Cara Box came from Jessica who blogs over @ Southern Ramblings. Please do go check her out. She is one of the sweetest girls ever, & she's almost @ 100 followers. DO IT!
Anyway, this months Cara Box theme was "Holiday Sparkle" so it was important to get sparkly things! I opened my box from Jessica, and saw this:

Look at that holiday blanket!  SO COMFY! I love it!!!!

A little sparkle for my beauty routine !

A sparkly santa ornament!  He's so cute!!

OMG... this snowman spoon sits on the edge of the mug...it's the cutest! 

Ummm.. hot cocoa & mini smore's!!! YES PLEASE!

Needless to say, I made out pretty well. I was a very happy girl.
& Then... a few days later, I am looking through my mail, & I found a letter from Jessica.
The note said that she had been trying to find something encouraging to say to me (as we are asked to do as part of the Cara Box exchange) and after Jessica had read my posts about the tragedy in my hometown, she gave me some very encouraging words. I was tearing up reading, "God's plans are always greater than ours" So true.
& Not only did she do that, but she also gave me $30 to donate. By then, tears became full blown hysterics, because people are just amazing.
Jessica is amazing.
I have hope. I really do.
I have hope that this world really is filled with more good than evil. The SHS Support Fund is already well above 5 million dollars. That is just unbelievable.
So to Jessica, thank you.
You are an incredible woman & I have enjoyed getting to know you. Thank you so much for going above & beyond.
And seriously people, check out her blog.
=)

Hey! It's OK!

It's Thursday. Time for my Favorite Link Up Ever.

It's OK that Scott, My Brother in Law, his girlfriend, and I all drove in a blizzard last night, because the BIL is an awesome driver, and has a Subaru, and we are all safe!
It's OK that our apartment is an absolute pig sty because Christmas just blew up all over it. There is literally tinsel, ribbon, wrapping paper, tissue paper, and bags...EVERYWHERE.
& It's definitely OK that it will probably stay like that until this weekend.
It's OK that I've gained 94582lbs in the past 4 days..
It's OK that I've been deciding what I'm going to wear to NYC on Sunday, since Nicole & I started planning the trip about a month ago...
It's OK that I still have no idea what I'm going to wear.
It's OK that I've been a horrible blogger & have not been commenting as much on blogs,  because life has gotten crazy.  But once things slow down, I promise, I'll be doing more commenting!
It's OK that I keep thinking that today is Friday.
Wait,    no...
that's definitely not OK.

Friday can't come soon enough! 
Am I right?
=)

Well, That Was Fast

Christmas Day just blew right by. Now it's back to work. Seems unfair!
I'm kind of doing a Christmas Show & Tell of sorts today. So bear with me.
Scott & I made out like bandits yesterday! We are so blessed with such wonderful family & friends. We had a very nice first Christmas as a married couple.

Scott got his beard beanie, and wore it proudly for most of the day!

26 luminaries on Christmas Eve.

Scott wearing his beard beanie, 6am xmas morning!

Everyone at Gramma's

So thankful for this little boy.

Scott done good this year folks... beautiful drusy quartz ring!

Cheeeeeeesin.

Can't get enough of that hat.

SANTA CAME!

My brother & his Jet's snuggy

Ornament with the church we were married at on it!

Holy Cannoli!!

YUMMY chocolate crinkles!

My apologies for the photo dumping.
Hope everyone's Christmas was Merry, & didn't fly by like mine did!

Instagramazing Weekend Link Up!

*If you’d like to link up, please do so and share your Instagram’s with us!!

RULES:

1. Follow the host, Karla @ Forever Newly Wedded and the co-host, Nicole @ Grub n Marriage.

2. Put the link up button somewhere in your post or on your blog so that it links back to both of us, and don't forget to add your link when your done!!

3. Make sure to go and visit other blogs that link up!

4.  Have Fun!! This is about showcasing your weekend, good, bad, or ugly!

Here are some of my pictures from my Instagramazing Weekend!!

Went home to Newtown this weekend.

Much needed Friday night cocktail!

I drove past all the SHS memorials in Sandy Hook.  Unbelievable.

A dear friend of mine got me this ornament... to remember the victims of SHS.  

We had Christmas with our nephew last night!  He's such a ham!

& Now….

The tree is up.

Our halls are decked.

My whole home is sparkling.

...Literally if homes could bleed,

mine would be bleeding sparkles & sequin

... & glitter.

Lots of glitter.

Presents are wrapped.

Cookies are ready to be baked.

My holiday socks are on

& so are my festive earrings.

Michael Buble's Christmas CD is on full blast,

& Lady Antebellum & Blake Shelton join him

in singing screaming Christmas carols in my home.

Wine/Champagne is purchased

& ready for immediate consumption.

I'll even leave some for the big man.

You know that's what he wants.

Let's be real here,

who wants a glass of milk when you could have Moscato?

There's plenty of gas in the car

for our extravaganza's.

We're ready.

Bring it ON Christmas!

& Have a good one everybody,

cause' come Wednesday,

you'll be waiting in those dreadfully long return lines...

so LIVE IT UP!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

=D

The Only Thing My Husband Asked For, For Christmas.

Men are hard to shop for.
There. I said it.
They just are. Especially when you are married to a man who:
A: Doesn't watch sports. B: Doesn't even have a favorite team for ANY sport. C: Only has 2 hobbys... cars and playing darts. D: Thinks that a 6 pack of beer is a great Christmas gift.

I'm not one to just slap a bow on a 6 pack of Bud Light & throw it under the tree for my husband. & I know nothing about darts... or what he may want in that category... & I have tried and failed with buying him car related gifts.

So, when I asked him what he really wanted for Christmas, he actually mentioned 2 things this year. This is HUGE for me, because he usually just says, "Nothing".
He really wanted Mario Kart, for our Wii system, so I bought that- it came early... and the 25 year old couldn't wait... so he's played it already.
BUT... the second gift that was delivered to the house, I was able to catch in time,  & wrap.
This, my friends...  is what Scott wanted for Christmas.

I wore it, so you could all see it's awesomeness.

A beard beanie.

So, a beard beanie, is what he's getting. Gotta love him.
Remember to get your instagrams ready for the Instagramazing Weekend Link - Up tomorrow!! 

How To Host a Successful Cookie Swap

A few days ago,  I had the opportunity to host a cookie swap. It was SO much fun, so I thought I'd share:
How to Host a Successful Cookie Swap:
1.  Invite 3 of your old college roommates, for guaranteed fun. But make sure to take a group picture... because I forgot.

This is an oldie, from our college days!

2.  Bake WAY too many cookies.

At least I remember to snap a picture of the cookies!

3.  Drink wine.

YUM.

 4.  Watch ELF... & quote it word for word.

How many etch-a-sketche's Buddy?   Uhhh.... eighty-five?

5.  Get really bloated, and change into a huge sweatshirt.

These chocolate truffles did me in.

 And that, folks,

is how you host

a successful 

cookie swap.

The End.

CHECK BACK MONDAY FOR NICOLE & I's

INSTAGRAMAZING WEEKEND LINK-UP!

VLOG TIME!

Linking up today for my absolute favorite linkup....The Girl Behind the Blog!

Something else people can do for SHS

I've been in communication with people in my hometown, trying to figure out what I & others can do to help.
First it was teddy bears, then it was cards, then it was money.
Money would still be great, I'm assuming.   The amount of online donations has already hit, $100,000. It's crazy.

That said, I just got word that Sandy Hook is in need of "winter decorations" for their new school.
The students will be going to Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe, CT. And well, I guess the walls are pretty bare.
If you are a teacher, or have children,  make snowflakes, paper chains, snowmen... & send them to me.
If you are interested, leave a comment and I will give you my personal mailing address so that you can send them to me and I can get them where they need to go.
If you are a no-reply blogger... simply email me,  forevernewlywedded@yahoo.com

& as part of my It's OK Thursday link up... I only have one.

It's OK...  to smile again.

Thank you for all your uplifting comments yesterday. I truly appreciate it.