What I'm Thankful For

I've been out of the trailer park for three months now. It's amazing how time flies! It's also amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time. The juxtaposition of living in the trailer park and living in a new apartment (and being married of course!) really gives me a lot to be thankful for. So here are my biggest "thanks" in no particular order:

HEAT
Ok, so maybe there is a particular order because this one is a biggie for me. I go to bed and wake up knowing that I will stay warm and toasty throughout the night. In the morning, I'm not shivering so actually taking my pajamas off to put on work clothes isn't torture. I hardly ever cry when I get out of bed anymore. If I do cry, it's because we have a Tempurpedic, and I'm leaving it.

WATER
Running water. Hot water. Water that doesn't freeze your skin on contact. Basically, water at a temperature that allows me to wash my hands, face, and body without whimpering. It's a blessing. And my personal hygiene is much improved. So, you're welcome.

BATHTUB/SHOWER
These days, I don't have to take a combination bath-shower, also known as a bower. I get to choose. And there's enough glorious hot water for either. If I take a bath - which, I must add, is in a GARDEN TUB THAT MY BODY FITS IN - I still have enough hot water to then shower off. It's heaven in a GARDEN TUB. Did I mention how big my bathtub was? It's human-sized. Major upgrade.

ROSS
Of course my husband is a blessing to me. We went from seeing each other once a week to EVERY DAY! We can't get enough of each other, but then again, we have about 50 years to try. It's great coming home to someone and sharing life, responsibilities, cleaning duties, pets, Netflix, DVR space, etc. with a person. A person who's great and loves me. He's seriously the best.

SPACE
Another great thing is being able to be by myself. I can get away from Ross/pets/everything and just go watch a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Side note: This one is the BEST:

Anyway, if I don't feel like being around people, I can go into my room and be alone. In the RV, it was a struggle to get away from my cat.

TV
It has been years since I had cable/satellite TV. I couldn't afford it in my old apartment, and Shady Grove's cable offerings left much to be desired. I survived off of a mobile hotspot and Netflix. On weekends, I got to go to Ross's house and catch up on shows, but during the week, it was me, Milo, my cat, and Gossip Girl (Chuck + Blair For Eva!).  Now, we have movie channels and Netflix. I always have something to watch! The first month we were here, I did nothing but watch TV. Some may call that lazy, pathetic, or even sad. I call it living the dream.

DECORATIONS
Who knew getting to personalize your space would mean so much? Since I was borrowing the RV from my in-laws (who rock by the way), and because the walls were made of questionable material, I didn't get to decorate at all. Granted, I had so little room that my stuff was over flowing onto the furniture so I always felt at home, but still I couldn't really claim anything as mine. Now, my walls are full of pictures and fun stuff. I am actually writing this from my desk (yay, space!) which is bordered by 2 walls on which I have my calendar, two canvases, a portrait collage, the letter R, a shelf of kick knacks, and a 6 opening picture frame. That's one small corner. I have a lot of stuff. And now I get to show it off.
As a side bar to this "thanks," I must add that I love candles. I was too afraid to burn any in the RV, given the lack of space or viable exits, but I have two burning right now, and my house smells like Christmas. Ahhhhhh....

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
Now that I don't live in the middle of nowhere, I am minutes away from fun, food, and people! Our apartment is in a great location and accessible to major highways. There are three grocery stores by us, countless restaurants, two pharmacies, several car washers/oil changers/tire fixers, a comic book store, an arcade, and even a movie theater. The theater kind of sucks, but hey, it's super close! Once I get home from work, I have options for what to do next. That's pretty nice. At the RV, once I was home, I was home. It was too far to drive somewhere else after driving an hour+ home from work. The city is where I want to be!

Well friends, since it is Thanksgiving, I need to get cooking. I'm in charge of a food item for the first time ever! These are going to be the best deviled eggs anyone has ever had! I just have to make them first...
Wishing you a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. Go Cowboys!

Don't put a frozen turkey in hot oil,
Ray

Let's Do This

Hey everyone!
I know it's been such a long time since I've written, and for that I apologize.
But what a whirlwind it's been for me!
Ross and I moved into an apartment together (which was when we realized we have way too much stuff); I started a new job (which I love and seriously hope to stay at for a long time); Ross and I got married (woo hoo! It was such a great day. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it was absolutely perfect.), and we went on our honeymoon (to Turks and Caicos which is by far the most beautiful place I've ever been, and probably ever will go)!! So, I've had a lot going on. No excuses though! I know I should've been writing the whole time, and I promise to be better at keeping a posting schedule.
I'm thinking of starting a newlywed blog, though there are so many, I'm not sure how to make mine stand out.
Other than with my impeccable wit and charm, that is...

Totally stolen from SweetOnDean.blogspot.com

So that's on the radar. Perhaps. We'll see.
For now, how about some updates?
So, Ross and I moved in together about a month before we got married. Since moving to DFW from College Station in 2011, we haven't lived closer than 45 minutes from each other. Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining about the long distance. I know a couple that dated and were engaged when they lived several states apart. So I understand, that's not really a long distance. But when we first moved up here after college (that's right folks, I'm an Aggie. WHOOP!), it was really hard adjusting to not seeing him every day. There was a time when we went a couple months without seeing one another. It was really really rough. Like, "is it worth it?" rough. We obviously stuck it out, and made a Friday night date night part of our weekly schedules to make sure we saw each other. Things got much better. Now, we finally live not only in the same town again, but in the same house! We see each other every day! It's awesome.
Oh, and I have hot water, a bath tub that fits human beings, a laundry room with no strangers in it, heat, and a full sized kitchen everything! I'll never take space for granted again.
Ross and I got married! Guys, it was super fun. We wanted it to be a lighthearted celebration, and we nailed it. We had the best officiant ever (thanks, Thomas!). We had two readings and a duet by two practically-family friends that just did AMAZING jobs. One reading was the "Mawwiage" speech from The Princess Bride, which really set the tone.

Taken from DontHateTheGeek.com. Though, you spelled it wrong, so I kinda do...

The wedding party walked in to "Here Comes the Sun" instrumental. Our best friends and siblings were standing up there with us as we said our vows. Ross's brother gave him a Ring Pop instead of my wedding band. In our recessional, this happened:

Watch The Breakfast Club if you're confused.

My dad and I danced to a song he picked, and it was so sweet. Ross and his mom danced to a medley of songs that they love (which was a surprise and awesome). Ross and my first dance was also super sweet. I fell in love with him dancing in College Station, so it's something really special that we share. The music was great; I hardly ever left the dance floor (I'm not a good hostess.). Our cake was the bomb. And I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time. 

The next day we had brunch with the fam and close friends then left for Turks and Caicos. The Turks and Caicos islands is a string of islands on the border of the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans. And it's a screensaver. Check this out: 

I took this at a stop on our kayak tour. 

We kayaked, snorkeled, scuba dove, ate fresh seafood every day, and made cool friends. We stayed on Grace Bay in Providenciales. It's been rated the best beach in the WORLD numerous times. See for yourself.

#nofilter

It was magical.

I started my job 2 weeks before we got married. After being there about a week and a half, the company threw me a wedding shower. Who does that????? I'll tell you who: a company that cares about its employees and truly takes care of them. I'm so blessed to have found this place and been given the opportunity to work for them. After my last two places of employment, I just can't believe this place. It's a dream.

So now, Ross and I are doing our day-to-day being married thing. I gotta say, I really like the guy. ;) Seriously though, I'm loving being married to the man of my dreams who makes me laugh every day. We're friends, and that's special. I know I'm lucky. 

I also know I have more stories of the trailer park to tell! Be on the lookout for the next installments soon. I wish you all the best, and thank you for sticking on this adventure with me.

God Bless Peyton Manning and his 509 touchdown passes,

Ray