Weekend Accomplishments 10/28-10/30

- Finished cleaning entire apartment
- Cooked dinner for friends
- Started handkerchief embroidery
- Found capital alphabet and started digitizing (A-F)
- Mopped kitchen floor
- Cleaned out frig
- Stowed summer clothes
- Did laundry (including purple towels)
- Purchased tickets for Christmas

To do list

Even when I have nothing coming up, I still feel the need for a todo list...

- Hang pictures
- Frame wedding painting
- Make kitchen-wall racks
- Thank you notes (Sullivans, Sarah)
- Finish digitizing alphabet
- Research massage oils
- Organize fabrics and notions

Kinds of Love

One of the most surprising and remarkable things to me, in my relationship with Josh, is the diversity of our relating. Sometimes he is like a lover to me and sometimes he is like a best friend. Those two are generally to be expected. But sometimes also he is like a sibbling, sometimes like a parent, and sometimes like a child. It all seems to depend on what we each need at a given time. I am glad we are able to relate on all these different levels. So many people say you should not mother your husband, but sometimes he needs it, and sometimes I need it too. It is a comfort to not always have to be the strong one, and a joy to provide that same comfort to him. It is a beautiful thing to be all these things for each other yet still come together as equals and as lovers. I would not have thought such a thing possible before. He is an exceptional mixture of all the things I need in my life. I never thought one person could be all that. I am so greatful. I should make it a point of expressing that to him today, and every day.

Week's Accomplishments 10/24-10/28

- Reassembled white jacket (all except a bit of detail work that isn't very important and wont take very long)
- Set up perscription
- Got info about recycling
- Talked to sewing supply warehouse about replacement narrow hemmer foot

Weekend Accomplishments

Oct. 22/23
----
Boxed Fabrics
Cleaned most of Office
Did lotsa laundry (including all towels from both bathrooms)
Made bag for washing delicate underwear
Purchased silverware tray
Washed white jacket lining and edging
Started reassembly of white jacket (cuffs)
Purchased small fonts and started to learn about digitizing
Digitized my own lowercase cursive alphabet
Cleaned desk
Did some shopping
Got patch perscription
Cleaned kitchen
Cleaned most of kitchen table

Marriage as growth

Marriage is not about two people coming together and loving each other just the way they are. Do you know why? It is because people are always changing. Yes, even if they wait until they are 45 years old to get married. Dating is about liking someone just the way he is today; if you don't like him the way he is tomorrow, you can date somebody else. Marriage is about growing together. Growing together is about helping each other to become better people, to make fewer mistakes and wiser decisions.

Is everything just chance or were some things meant to be?

Then let's say...God puts 2 people on earth and they are lucky enough to find one another but one of them gets hit by lightening, well then what? Is that it? Or perchance you meet someone new and marry all over again is that the lady you're supposed to be with or was it the 1st? And if so, when the 2 of them were walking side by side, were they both the one for you and you just happen to be the 1st one 1st or was the 2nd one supposed to be 1st? And is everything just chance or were some things meant to be?

X-mas list

Things I want for Christmas (or to buy for myself earlier so I can use them to make xmas gifts for others).

- Medium hoop ($24.95)

Already purchased for self:
- Small Fonts ($19.97)
- Embroidery Magic 2 ($54.95)
- More bobbins ($2.50)
- Small hoop ($24.95)
- Jumbo hoop ($39.75)
- Hemmer foot ($24.95, Description of the hemmer foot, appears to be the same as 'N' - SA126 Narrow Hemmer Foot for $17.99)

Todays Articles from Marriage Partnership

I enjoyed these articles today.

Avoiding Missteps and Misunderstandings
How to listen before you leap (to the wrong conclusion)
By Les and Leslie Parrott
http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2005/003/8.30.html

The List That Saved My Marriage
What an inventory of my husband's shortcomings taught me
By Becky Zerbe
http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2005/003/7.32.html

A set of 3 Q&A's
- We Feel Like Phonies
- My Guilt Drives Him Crazy
- He Excludes Me from His Career
By Les and Leslie Parrott
http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/2001/004/11.18.html

Don't Bottle Up Your Anger

Try to find healthy ways to express your anger to each other, and do it early and often while you are only a little upset, and hopefully still rational. If you bottle it up too long, it will explode, and that is so much worse.

I found the following passage in a Robert Jordan book, but it rings so very true.

"I will never, ever be angry with you, I sw —" She cut him off with a hand over his mouth.

"Mother says the worst thing Father ever did to her was vow never to be angry with her. It took her a year to force him to take it back, and she says he was hardly fit to live with long before then from holding in. You will be angry with me, Perrin, and I with you. If you want to make me another wedding vow, vow you will not hide it when you are."

Hold hands when you argue

Love doesn't conquer all, but it sure makes things easier. When you argue, keep expressing your love for each other. We don't always agree with our spouses and sometimes we get very angry, but that doesn't mean we stop loving each other.

Express your love by holding hands when you argue. This will remind you both of the love you share.

It's not enough to remember that you should be fair or that you don't want to get divorced--remind yourselves why you both want the best for both of you, not just yourselves, and why you always want to be together.

Form good habits

Whenever we have major life changes, whether it's getting married, or moving in for the first time, or moving to a new home, or starting a new job, we set new routines and have the opportunity to form new habits. Form good habits that you want to keep. Get into the habit of going to sleep at the same time and waking up at the same time. Get into the habit of going on walks together on a regular basis. Get into the habit of being polite to each other. Get into the habit of expressing what's on your mind. Get into the habit of doing the things you both think will improve your marriage.

Married couples often find that they get stuck in the "same old routine." I think many couples are exhausted when they are done with the wedding want a break from being affectionate and romantic (I know we did), the trouble is, that break can stretch into the rest of your lives if you let it become habit and routine. Do everything you can to make your newlywed routine one you wont mind getting stuck in for the rest of your life. This is a very important time for setting habits and routines, especially if you didn't live together before, but even if you did.

An article about Honeymoon Habits from marriage partnership: http://www.christianitytoday.com/mp/9m2/9m2066.html

Keep Preparing for Marriage

These are probably the most important thing I have ever learned about marriage. And I learned them late.

- The only constant in marriage is change.

People change through out their lives, and their marriages must change to keep up. Always be on the lookout for new ways to grow together and new things to do together. Never stop trying to get to know your spouse better. Just when you think you have him all figured out he's likely to change again. Treat these changes as opportunities for growth: personally, as a couple, and in intimacy.

- Preparing for marriage is a lifelong task.

It might have started on your first date, or when he placed the ring on your finger. Or perhaps your preparation started before you even met him, or after you returned from the honeymoon. The important thing to remember now is that preparing for marriage is a lifelong task, largely because there is so much change in marriage. There will always be new challenges and new changes ahead which you want to be ready to meet head on. And in the mean time, there is always room for greater love, more intimacy, and deeper understanding of one another.

Test

The first post in a blog is always a test. Anyone who thinks otherwise is itching for a lost first entry.