How Long Will I Love You?

How long will I love you?

As long as stars are above you, and longer if I can.
 

 

How long will I need you?

As long as the seasons need to follow their plan.
 

 

How long will I be with you?

As long as the sea is bound to wash upon the sand.

 

 

How long will I want you?

As long as you want me to, and longer by far.

 

 

How long will I hold you?

As long as your father told you, as long as you can.

 

 

How long will I give to you?

As long as I live through you, however long you say.

 

 

How long will I love you?

As long as stars are above you, and longer if I may.

It's (Almost) Halloween Month!

In September...

 

We started off the month celebrating an entire year of home ownership, reminiscing about moving into our condo last Labor Day weekend, and celebrating the day off work with some sloppy joes and some Gardening Mom, Hat Dad and Sister Singer company!

 

Handsome Husband and I had fun catching up with some old friends (we're talking 7th grade connections here, people!) at a BBQ.

 

I had not one, but two fabulous lunches with Best Friend Cute Apartment over the weekends of September!

 

I decided to get involved in my community, and joined the Board of Directors for my neighborhoods Homeowner's Association!  (I'm the youngest person there by about 10 years...)

 

We spent a weekend getting a lot of puppy love from Cute Apartment's doggies while we pet sat for them.  Let's just say, they're cute, but I like my house puppy free for now!

 

HH's alma mater started off their soccer season, and we were happy to head up to Dominguez Hills to watch them play!  (We would have been even happier to watch them win, but a tie ain't nothing!)

 

I had another doctor's appointment with an ultrasound, so we got to get another little peak at our baby girl!  The farther along in the pregnancy I get, the more detailed and awesome the ultrasounds and photos are!  It is so fun to see the shape of her profile, with her little nose and chin and everything showing so clearly!

 

I hosted Ms. Art Teacher for a little dinner and a movie, and was sufficiently freaked out by the movie, Side Effects.

 

 

HH and I spent the evening at a Breastfeeding Class, and learned a few things!

 

Baby Girl got another musical treat when we attended the Panic! at the Disco and Fall Out Boy concert as a family.  I think the music soothed her, cause she wasn't moving nearly as much as I thought she would be.  Maybe she won't be a little dancer after all! 

 

Grandma Beach Bum and Grandpa Backgammon came over to our house for dinner to celebrate a belated birthday for Grandma BB!  We have some yummy chuck roast, veggies, and salad and topped it off with some brownies!

 

Just a few days later, we celebrated another family birthday - Aunt Fancy Chef!  This time with tacos and a pretty fabulous chocolate crossaint bread pudding, made with love by Grandma BB!

 

We had a fun mid-week dinner with Twin Beauty School and The Bouncer at our local deep-dish pizza place.

 

We got all fancied up for a black-tie event at HH's old company to celebrate a big milestone for the group.  It was fun to get all dressed up, and especially fun to see my handsome man in a tux!  This was one event where I was wishing I could indulge in a few cocktails though!

 

 

And the month ended with a big night of TV - the series finale of Breaking Bad (I can't believe it's over!) and the season premier of Homeland!  Luckily we had Cute Apartment and Number Cruncher over to provide us with some commerical commentary throughout the intense shows!

 

In October? I have to do that yucky glucose test for pregnancy, HH and I are planning to hit up some more soccer games, I've got a fun shopping event, my first baby shower!!!, and of course - Halloween!







Now That I've Found You

I've got everything, my dear.

 



 

 

I could watch this music video on repeat for hours.

 

1. These two look so in love, and who doesn't love love?

2. Makes me think of my sweet Handsome Husband.



Monthly Recap: Yes, I'm Still Doing Them

November and December flew by almost entirely un-recapped!  Tune in next week when I reminisce over the whole past year.

In November...

 

We hosted our Housewarming Party - it was so wonderful to see our friends and family come and celebrate our accomplishment in buying this home.  Our Journey to Homeownership really felt like a war, and it felt good to celebrate our victory.

 

Left: Dr. Groomsman, myself and Best Friend Dodger

Right, from top to bottom: Myself and Soccer Girlfriend (Groomsman Concussion's longtime girlfriend, to be exact), Cuties Cute Apartment and her boyfriend, and my girl Future Dr. Babies and me

 

We got together with Cousin Ronomon and Tutor Girl and their sweet son, Lil C to take some quick photos for our Christmas Card this year - check out the hilarious outtakes HERE.

 

My Best Cousin came for a visit, and we disgracefully did not take a single photo together!  However, it was so nice to catch up with her, and spend some time one-on-one with one of my very favorite people.

 

Election Day came and went, and Handsome Husband and I rejoiced in the our living room over the results.  I don't talk politics much on the blog, but my lady parts were scared there for a minute.

 

Mother-in-Law Red celebrated this big 5-0 and we had a lovely brunch with the fam at Grandma Beach Bum and Grandpa Golfer's place.  You can find the recipe for the Nutella Pastries I made HERE, and the fun gift we gave the MIL Red HERE. 

 

We kicked off the holiday season with another Tree Lighting hosted at an outlet center owned by Gardening Mom and Handsome Husbands' company (yep, they work at the same company!).

 

{Via}

 

Handsome Husband's wonderful boss and her kind husband took us to a LA Galaxy soccer game - a conference final game at that!  And luckily, they won!

 





I finally headed up to LA for a long overdue visit.  While there, I managed to squeeze in a dorm visit and dinner with Sister Swimmer, a night out with Best Friends Fashionista and Swagger, and a wonderful brunch!

 

Loyola Marymount University visit, night out at Laurel Hardware, and brunch at open air dining Faux Pas Bistro

 

Handsome Husband's family got together to celebrate another November birthday - sweet Tutor Girl's!  Chef extraordinaire and Tutor Girl husband, Cousin Ronomon, created the most wonderful Italian dinner we got to enjoy in celebration of TG's special day.

 

Cousin Ronomon and happily pregnant Tutor Girl posing at her birthday dinner

 

Thanksgiving brought a super yummy dinner prepared by Gardening Mom, followed by dessert at Grandma Beach Bum's table.  So much food, so little time.

 

As if I didn't gain enough weight on Thanksgiving, it was Girl's Baking Day the day after Thanksgiving, where we kept the tradition going another year by getting ourselves covered in flour and baking far more than necessary amounts of cookies.

 

The family weekend continued as we took family photos with HH's entire extended family.  The photos turned out beautifully, though the act of taking them wasn't exactly relaxing (strong winds, short dresses, small children and eight women in the family...you do the math).  We were able to let off some steam at the Family Poker Tournament later that night though - I got second place again.  Or First Place Loser, as I like to call myself.

 





 

In December...

Sister Swimmer and I got to attend Jingle Ball (all because of HH's amazing ability to win tickets to just about anything and everything), a local concert hosted by one of the biggest radio stations in our area.  The highlight?  Taylor Swift's amazing show.  The low?  Our terrible seats - get it together, KISS FM!

 

{Via}

 

I hosted my first Girls' Night In, when I had my favorite local ladies over to watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at our home.  Read more and see photos HERE.

 

Handsome Husband made it through his first semester of law school, and to celebrate he (and myself and Cousin Study Buddy) donned ugly Christmas sweaters and hit up the end of the semester/Christmas party hosted by a law school friend.  HH also celebrated the occasion by drinking a few too many beers, and following that up with a shot of hot sauce...straight out of the bottle.  He was in rare form.

 

Aunt Fancy Chef hosted another wonderful Ladies' Holiday Tea - read about it and see some pretty photos HERE.

 

Gardening Mom hosted a wonderful Hanukkah dinner full of latkes, brisket, and some pretty menorah lights.

 

I hosted my first Christmas Eve Dinner, a tradition I hope to continue for years to come.

 

HH and I had our first-ever Christmas morning alone (only took us 5 years), and it was so fun to spend the morning with my love in our quiet little home before we spent the rest of the day shuttling between houses.

 

And next week, we will spend our last night of 2012 singing and dancing the night away at the same place we did last year.  Isn't it funny (and comforting, in a way) how so much changes a year, but at the same time - so much stays the same?





Music That Moves You

Is there a song that the moment you hear it, you are immediately in another moment in your past?  It's like the song transports you to prior moments in your life just by hearing the first few lines?

I totally do.

Drive Away

The All-American Rejects

Really their entire debut album, The All-American Rejects, brings me back to the summer before high school when I spent about six weeks in Delaware visiting Aunt Delaware and other family out there.  I distinctly remember being midly obsessed with this song, but really, the whole album had me hooked.  I had the CD, and a portable CD player that I had sitting next to me about 98% percent of the time I was lounging by the pool.  I am pretty sure this was the last summer of my life I actually got a tan, and it was probably only because I was simply content lying out and listening to this album all day.

Get Low
Lil Jon

If you are around my age, you remember this song at high school dances.  If you're much younger, you don't because they stopped encouraging dry humping on the dance floor (wow am I in for some interesting Google search results after that one).  This song completely transports me to prom sophomore year (yeah, I went to prom as a sophomore, what can I say - I was cool) surrounded by sweaty teens on the overly crowded dance floor pointing to opposite directions of the room.  "To the window...to the wall!"

All The Above
Maino

This song was really popular during one of my Handsome Husband's college soccer seasons.  It was on their warm-up playlist that blasted through the stadium before games and played at every single house party we went (hosted is more accurate) to that season.  I hear it, and immediately remember the butterflies I was feeling at the beginning of this new life I was creating in San Diego with someone who would end up being my Husband just a few years later.  Not the most romantic song in the world (and by not the most, I mean not at all), but it makes me remember the giddy beginnings of my life with HH.

Ready To Run
Dixie Chicks

   

My 6th grade teacher had a really bizarre obsession with this song.  (As a sidenote: My 6th grade teacher was actually just a little bizarre in general.  She was a retired Circus Clown and we spent a good two weeks of our school year learning how to juggle and do clown makeup.)  For about half the school year, she would play this song at the beginning of class.  When I hear the first notes of the this song, I'm immediately back in 6th grade, awkward as all hell, and am already at the tender age of eleven one of the only ones in the room digging the country music (it's still the same at 24).

Sunday Morning

Maroon 5

Like the All-American Rejects album, this song is really just a representation of the entire album to me.  Maroon 5's album, Songs About Jane, pretty much nursed me through the first breakup I ever went through.  The summer after my sophomore year of high school, my first ever boyfriend and I broke up and this CD was the only thing that I listened to for the entirety of the season.  I listened to it driving to and from work, and can distinctly remember pulling into the mall parking structure (I was working at the Pottery Barn Kids at the mall at the time) with tears streaming down my face as this song played, still reeling in the fact that my first love didn't end up like a fairytale. 

What songs immediately transport you to a moment from your past?

Country Music, and Why I Was Born in the Wrong Region

I'd like to expand a bit on my Grateful Sundays post from yesterday.

I LOVE country music - like, love it.  I like a lot of different types of music, but there's just something about country.  I love that country artists are unafraid to talk about anything - no matter how raw, real, or politically incorrect.  I love that the music speaks to me, and when there's a song that I can really relate to, I feel like it was written just for me.

When I was younger, where I grew up, country music was not popular.  More often than not, on people's Myspace pages (yes - I was a part of the Myspace generation!) under "Music," it said "anything but country"!  For a long time I was genuinely ashamed of being a country music fan, because it was so different than everyone else.

Well lots of growing up, and a big heaping helping of "not giving a crap" has lead me to be proud to declare my love for the genre!  Carrie Underwood - I adore you!  Rascal Flatts - you speak to me!  Miranda Lambert - total girl crush!  Darius Rucker (aka Hootie) - there are no words!

I firmly believe I was born in the wrong region - I'm truly very certain I was meant to the a Southern Belle. I love the music, the simple kind of life feeling you get from listening to it, I think I would have made a fabulous toddler with a tiara, and often times I start speaking with a southern accent for no explicable reason.

Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if you were born and raised somewhere else?