On Turning Thirty

On September 14th, my sweet husband turned 30 years old. Thirty! This feels surreal, as I distinctly remember being little and watching the episode of Full House where Danny Tanner turned 30 and thinking "whoa. that's old." Now I'm living it. How. Did. This. Happen?

Packers tickets at Lambeau AND dinner at Oceanaire? I'd say 30 is treating my love quite well, so far.

Chad's about 7 months older than me, so I've still got a little bit of time to soak up my twenties. I always joke about how he's so much older than me, because he was born in an entirely different year. As I'm nearing this dreaded change of decade, I can't help but think about what "high school Angie" would have to say about the place of life I'm in. I'm sure she'd start by making a snotty comment about how my Coach handbag collection has seriously dwindled, of course, but I think she'd probably be pretty surprised above all else. She thought I would certainly have been married for many years and would have completed any pregnancies I was going to have by the time I was 29. Little did she know, I wouldn't get married until 28 and would only be thinking about starting a family sometime soon at the dreaded old age of 29. If only I could see the look on her face now! Side note: both of my sisters got married young and had babies young. It's the right thing for a good Christian girl to do...right? Maybe not for everyone... Side side note: the tense confusion in this paragraph is on purpose. This girl knows how to use verbs properly.

I had a total meltdown at 25. 25 seems so young to have had such a meltdown, but here's the thing: I was unemployed, single, and living with my mom & dad. Things were bleak at my turn of a quarter-century. In true Myers-Briggs fashion, my intuitive side (and Satan) told me that I was far past my prime and I should just give up any hope of a husband and children because my fountain of youth had dried up and all was downhill from that point. Interesting chain of thoughts, I know. However, it's where I was. But what I realized that year would change everything.

You see, there's beauty in growing older. With each wrinkle and grey hair, we grow wiser. As every year passes, I learn more and more about this magnificent journey we call life, and aging becomes less and less scary. 26 was easy. 27 was easier. 28 was awesome (I was planning a wedding, hello). 29 saw the middle of my first year of marriage to my very best friend. Because of these last few years, I honestly can't wait to see what 30 brings. While it seems normal to be all up in arms about turning 30, I find myself excited. I find myself looking at all the possibilities that 30 holds and that makes me so hopeful and ready to take on life. I can't say I'll feel the same at 70, but for now I'm holding fast to the motto that "30 is the new 20." :)

If you're in a place where you just don't want to get older- know that God has plans that you can't even fathom for the next year to come. If that's not exciting, I don't know what is!

xo,
Angie

PS. If I write a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad blog on April 19, 2014 (the big 3-0), I fully give each and every reader the authority to throw this blog entry right back into my face. :)

Trouble in Paradise

Chad and I are in trouble. Big trouble. Super-sized trouble, in fact. In the past year, we've thoroughly enjoyed being married. Marital bliss is incredible and is simply something that cannot be explained. It's something that is represented by gourmet dinners, dinner parties with friends, family-size desserts made for just two people, "love" being shown by a fro-yo date (my fav), appetizers and fun snacks... and the list goes on.

My friends, I must share this devastating news with you: we're fat.

Here's the thing. After I got married, I had a kitchen full of new appliances, cute dishes, and gourmet cookbooks. And I love to cook. How could I leave my cute pink Kitchen Aid mixer to just collect dust? It needed to fulfill its destiny by being used to blend all sorts of delectable goodies. To top it off, my sweet husband told me that when I cooked, he'd do the dishes and clean up because I had just slaved over the hot stove (or crock pot). Yep. You heard that right. I got to cook all of this deliciousness and not clean up a single thing. Life has been beautiful. But now my clothes are tight or they just plain don't fit. Chad, of course, has gotten a little bit of pudge, but all his clothes fit him the same way and no one can tell (men! so frustrating!).

So now is the time... Operation: Get Skinny! began nearly four weeks ago and is in full swing. We took a trip to Chicago at the beginning of August for our one year anniversary and allowed ourselves to eat anything and everything our little hearts desired. Giordano's pizza complete with the signature bubblegum cheese. Sprinkles Cupcakes (I'll have two, please). Chick-fil-a, extra pickles and with an extra side of Chick-fil-a Sauce. And the Italian food that my Sicilian self was begging for. It was almost as if we were eating our last meal. In a way, we were. You see, we had made a pact that when we returned from our little vacay that things were seriously going to change. Boy, have they!

A little bit of background knowledge- about 3.5 years ago, I lost 50 lbs doing the Body For Life diet/exercise program. It's an intense, 12 week program of eating a whole lot of protein and veggies and working out 6 days a week. And it works.

So, I pulled my dusty Body For Life book off of our bookshelf and cracked it open. We've been working our butts off for nearly four weeks and things are starting to pay off! The employees at LA Fitness have gotten used to seeing us come through the doors each and every day, I've gotten used to grocery shopping more often (healthy food goes bad much more quickly...), and some of my clothes are certainly starting to feel a little looser. We still have about 8 weeks left of this particular program, but I'm hoping to continue for quite a bit longer. It feels good to be making good choices and working out each day. It's still hard when my colleagues bring in huge pans of tasty bars, brownies, and cakes (my serious weakness), but I feel empowered and a bit stronger each and every time I resist them. We're on our way, folks! I'll update you as we move forward. We can do this!

xo,
Angie

PS! I can NOT believe I forgot to mention the absolute very best part about Body For Life... FREE DAY! Every Sunday, we don't work out and we eat as we please! This has absolutely been my saving grace during this time. If I want Chipotle, I wait till Sunday. We planned our State Fair trip for a Sunday, because you better believe I wasn't going to pass up jalapeño cheese on a stick or Sweet Martha's Cookies! Punch Pizza? Sunday! Not only does this free day keep you sane, it also tricks your body out of getting used to operating on such a low number of calories. It's really the way to do it! :)

PPS! Seriously, how many different foods did I mention in this post? Addict!

Absence

My sweet husband has been in Nashville this past week, leading a group of 20ish teenagers on a mission trip. I miss him so much. It's so weird how, after just 10 months of marriage, I feel so lost without him around. To make matters even more crazy, he'll be leaving again just 2 weeks from now to attend summer camp with a bunch of junior high kids students ("kids" is a no-no when referring to youth...news to me!). I keep jokingly complaining about being a "single wife" while he's gone. I do miss him so much though! I've been keeping myself busy by setting up coffee dates with friends, hanging out with my nieces, having beach days, and enjoying ice cream & a movie in the park...so clearly, I'll make it through.

While Chad's been gone, I can't help but think about my friends whose husbands are in the military. I know couples who have been separated for a year at a time. My good friend from high school just wrote on her blog all about having a Skyped Father's Day with her husband & their girls because he's in the Army and away for five months at training. Five months, and I'm complaining about seven days. Hello, perspective! Furthermore, husbands who are in active duty most times don't even have regular contact with their wives and children. I can't even imagine. I've been talking to Chad multiple times a day and hearing stories about the students serving elderly people at nursing homes and orphaned children at schools. My husband is out loving people and being a light in this world. My friends' husbands are protecting our country and are witnessing horrific displays of violence in incredibly unsafe areas. I'm so thankful for the men and women who risk their lives every single day to protect us.

Today I'm reminded to pray for our military servicemen and women and their spouses, their kids, their marriages. I'm so grateful that I have a husband whose job allows him to be home with me more often than not. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder, and has made me so much more grateful for the life Chad and I have together.

xo,
Angie