So much for my bad day…

I had planned all day to write a post about how awful my day was. The commute was terrible (both to work and home), I had issues with a source, I was locked out of my computer at work because the password expired, I lost some work I’d been doing on a project for Liz’s upcoming party…

But I saw this on my way home from work.

Tulips! Spring! Bright colors! Flowers swaying in the wind!

And how can anyone be unhappy when looking at that?

And then I ran almost 6 miles, and walked 1 with Hubs. And that felt great, too.

Then we made this for dinner.

Tuna patties with tomatoes and veggies. Healthy and delightful.

Yum.

Again, no complaints there.

And we went and played volleyball with friends for more than 2 hours. Which provided even more physical relief.

I mean, what’s better than pounding a volleyball over the net to relieve some frustration?

(Ok, maybe some things are better, but it’s pretty good!)

And I was hungry after all that running and volleyball, so Hubs made me scrambled eggs while I was showering.

Again, more and more reasons to be happy.

Even though I was all set out to be grumpy.

And now, I’m going to bed, later than I’d like (5:55 comes so early!), but much happier than I’d expected.

I’d say that’s a pretty good trade off.

 

Wanna take a long walk?

This afternoon I sent Hubs and email that said something like this:

What are you thinking for dinner? Wanna take a long walk tonight?

His response:

Sure. I don’t have anything in mind for dinner.

So I set to work thawing some meat for dinner and got ready to do a quick run before he got home from work so I’d be all ready for our walk.

I’ve finished a run by taking a walk with Hubs after twice now. I think I’ll make it a habit whenever possible.

So I ran a quick 2 miles and met him back at our apartment. We started out walking normally, but as we got going, we eventually got up to about 4 miles an hour. Hubs started to complain a little bit.

“You didn’t warn me this was going to be a vigorous walk.”

“Well, I never said it was going to be a leisurely walk, either.”

The conversation went on from there and we ended up covering about three miles. He didn’t mind too much, I don’t think. Though we were both pretty hungry and thirsty by the end of it. After all, it was about 70 degrees today!

But the ground covered, the miles per hour, and how hungry we were. What matters is the time we spent together.

Even though Hubs says he doesn’t like to go on walks the way I do, I think he understands why they’re important to me, and thus, to us.

We’ve had a lot of serious talks and made a lot of big decisions walking around the neighborhood near our apartment.

Topics include:

How to manage our finances and create a budget.

Where we want to live.

What are our must haves for a house.

Whether we should renew our lease.

What our plan is for buying new cars to replace the old ones we currently drive.

How often to visit our parents and how to divide our time up while we’re there.

Who are real friends are and what they mean to us.

How our family has impacted the way to live and relate to each other.

What our future goals are.

When to start trying to have kids.

How to better control our portions at meals.

What foods we want to eat more of, less of, or try cooking in the future.

How we want to raise our kids and handle parenting issues.

“The bedroom”

How much we can afford to spend each month.

How we can communicate better with each other.

What things make us feel the most connected.

What extra expenses we are willing to splurge on with our “fun money.”

What we’re worried about, excited about or happy about.

I know it might seem silly that we don’t have these discussions as well inside, but there’s just something special, at least for me, about being outside that makes me feel as though my mind works better. Maybe because there’s no ceiling to hold in my imagination or dreams. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but it might not matter, because I’ll probably continue to think that way.

I won’t say it’s made all the difference in our marriage (which is now in it’s 8th month! My how time flies!) but it’s certainly brought us farther along and closer together in this journey together.

What about you? What little habits or traditions make a difference in your relationship? Where’s your favorite place to just be yourself with each other? Or suggestions for topics we should cover on our next walk?

P.S. Sorry there was no “Friday’s Food for Thought last week. I’ll make it up to you, ok?

Is it Sunday? Because I’m feeling salty…

I’m not always the easiest person to be around on Sunday afternoons and evenings. I know, I know, it’s a big shocker that I get moody sometimes…(just kidding.)

Anyway, not that I want to blame it on anything, but I’m going to blame it on something.

On Sunday nights, Wyatt likes to go to bed early to get ready for the work week. That’s fine. I get that. I like going to bed early, too, because I’m usually tired from all the weekend fun and festivities. But he at least has something to do the next morning. I have another whole week of looking for a job to look forward to. Yay!

….not.

And for some reason, I tend to have emotional eating issues in reverse of what normal people have. I don’t like to eat when I’m unhappy (maybe because to me, good food=happiness). And if I don’t want to eat when I’m unhappy, I also don’t want to cook when I’m unhappy. Which can cause some issues when there’s no more leftovers and it’s dinner time.

So on Sunday, after pouting while Hubs relaxed on the couch watching football and boring movies (i.e. “Boy movies,” and not even good ones…) I tried to get my sunshine fix by sitting on our balcony and reading a magazine. But there was no sun on our shady little deck, and my body craved movement. So I laced up my shoes and grabbed a hat to take a long walk. And surprisingly, Wyatt joined me!

I didn’t even have to beg him!

Although he did complain quite a bit as we were walking.

I'm not sure how he can NOT be excited about these colors and great weather!

But while we were out there, I was happy, happy, happy. And despite his complaining, we walked all the way to Hyvee (about a 2.5 mile round trip) and had a pretty good time. (Having things within walking distance is a fun perk of living in the city!)

And then when we came back inside and he immediately turned the TV back on, I immediately got salty again. Dangit.

So I took a long, hot shower. That usually makes me feel better.

And it worked, so I was inspired enough to start dinner: mashed potatoes and my mom’s meatloaf recipe, crescent rolls, and steamed asparagus. Yum.

But when I was peeling the potatoes, I remembered how much I hate peeling potatoes, and I ended up dropping one down the garbage disposal (slippery little buggers!) and getting super frustrated all over again.

Poor Wyatt was at a loss as to what to do. He asked what was wrong, I tried to tell him, but failed on one level and refused on another, because I knew he would be his usual stubborn and sweet self and immediately try to fix the problem, which would solve one problem and create another. Because I respect that he should be able to watch what he wants, but what he wants to watch makes me angry.

So I steamed silently while prepping the meatloaf and potatoes, as the loud violence played on, and when I got the pan into the oven, I set the timer, grabbed my laptop, and headed to the bedroom to escape the movie in the living room.

And like any good newlywed husband, Wyatt soon came in after me.

(insert “aw’s” and happy sighs here)

He said it was crazy for me to be in there, and I explained that I just didn’t want to watch what he was watching, but that it was fine and fair for him to want to watch that…and he, of course, said he would switch to something else, something I would want to watch. Which, if I’m being totally honest, is what I wanted, and not what I wanted.

But we made it through the night, we made it to dinner (it was yummy) and we made it to bed at a reasonable hour and with smiles on our faces.

I guess we’re doing something right…

P.S. Hubs and I were featured on another newlywed blog this week. Check out 
http://www.livesimplylove.com/make-up-monday-adventure/
 and leave some love for another great marriage resource!