10 Years Ago, I Married My Best Friend

Ten years ago today, I married my best friend, and at least for this year, it doesn't have to be shared with Star Wars.  :o)  The plans for the day are pretty low-key...late breakfast of blueberry muffins made from scratch, fancy dinner tonight at a new-for-us restaurant, and just enjoying each other's company (which has been a precious commodity in our crazy lives lately).   I can't help but say that I have loved every moment of the past 10 years, including all the ups and downs (even when I thought the downs would overwhelm me).  I can't wait to spend another 10 years with him, and see what the future has in store for us.  :o)

 

9 Years Ago...They Got Married

Yep, we got married 9 years ago today.  Funny how times flies, huh?  Sometimes, I can't believe we've been married that long, and other times, it feels like it was just yesterday.  :o)  No lie, we were *young* (like, I was 20), and we've been through the good and the bad, but no way in the world would I ever change a thing.  I love my husband more than anything in this world.  :o)

So, if you were around last year, you got to see what a great time we had for our 8th anniversary.  And if you didn't, you can take a stroll down memory lane by clicking here.  I also put up a post last year that shared how we got engaged, and how our anniversaries all seem to have a theme to them (well, at least 3 of them thus far).  But this year, we did things a little differently....hehehe...  :o)

I don't share much about my love of basketball on my blog, but I do tweet about it on occasion.  And lately, I've been like a crazy, screaming fan at least 3 days a week.  Why?  Because the Grizzlies made it to the NBA Playoffs this year!!!  (What?  Have you been under a rock?)  :o)  Seriously, this year was the best season they've ever had.  Not only did they MAKE IT to the Playoffs, they were also the ones that beat the #1 Seed San-Antonio Spurs.  (Holy cow....people all over my neighborhood probably heard me screaming that day!)

So, with that series in the bag, they moved on to play the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Now, I was a little nervous about this team, and I knew the Grizz would be exhausted going into this series considering they had less than 48 hours to rest between the last game against the Spurs and the first game against the Thunder.  Um, they won.  :o)  The series went on to be 3-2 in favor of the Thunder, which meant that Game 6 would be played in Memphis.  Now, if you haven't been following any of the Playoffs (esp. in this area), the tickets for these games have been selling out in record times.  One of the Spurs games sold out in 30 minutes, I believe.

So, Game 5 is almost over, and hubby (who's been casually following all this sports drama) asks me, "Have you thought about what you want for our anniversary?"  He'd already asked me once, and I seriously didn't have a clue.  All of a sudden, the light bulb went off in my head.  I said, "If we can manage to get tickets, then, I want to go to Game 6 and see the Grizzlies play."  And so, a plan was born.  (Cue the beautiful music.)

No joke, I've never been to a Playoff game.  Hubby had been to one when the Bulls were in their prime in the 90's with Michael Jordan, but this would be my first opportunity.  So, a couple of days later, the tix go on sale at noon, and I'm just praying that we can get in.  Hubby and I are both refreshing our browser pages just waiting for the chance to start hunting for some seats.  Finally, he gets in, and there are two seats in the nosebleeds.  Having only sat in the nosebleeds once at the Forum (where the Grizz play), I knew that it wasn't all that bad up there.  So, I said yes...grab 'em!

And guess what?  We were on the very last row at the absolute top of the Forum.  We didn't know this until we actually got there.  And the other cool thing?  All the seats had t-shirts on them that said "Believe Memphis."  That's kinda been their motto through their whole Playoff journey because nobody thought they'd make it as far as they did.  We got comfy, slipped our new shirt on, and had an absolute blast at the game!  We also got a "Growl Towel" when we walked in the door.  :o)  And guess what else?  The Grizzlies Won!!!!!  It was a thrilling game because they were down by 10 at the half.  But they clawed their way back like they've done so many times, and won by 12 points.  I will never forget being there for such an exciting experience.  :o)  (Unfortunately, they lost the next game which would have sent them to the next round, but that's okay.  They accomplished more as a team this year than they have in any of the previous nine years, and I'm proud to be a fan!)

 

 Scoreboard: 95-83

 

Me and Hubby after the game

Also, while we were downtown, we stopped to look at the Mississippi River.  In all the years I've lived in this area, I've never seen anything like the flooding that the river has caused this year.  It is seriously heartbreaking.  Two years in row now, and almost to the day, there has been widespread flooding all over our county.  Last year, it was from an abundance of rain that fell in just a matter of days.  This year, it's been from all the rain and snowmelt that's flowed into the river north of us, and caused the river to get to an extremely high level.  Last year, my parents almost lost their home because of it.  This year, they've been out of danger...thank God.  I cannot imagine what some of these people must be feeling...to know that you have to abandon your home and stay at a shelter.  That has got to be one of the hardest choices to make.  All I can say is that I'm thankful that the area I live in was spared.  We're fortunate that we don't live close to one of the smaller rivers that flows into the Mississippi.  All of those rivers backed up at some point, as well.  It's going to be a long road back to normalcy in some areas of town, but we'll make it.  We did last year.

Overlooking Riverside Drive - Part of this street had been underwater before this picture was taken.

These two pictures are at Tom Lee Park.  Where those posts are sticking up is where a walkway is usually at.  There's also a stairway that's out a little further in the river that's almost completely underwater.

I Survived Another Star Wars Anniversary!

Well, I survived my evening with Star Wars...oh, and with the hubby, too. :o) In all honesty, we both really had a great time. And with even more honesty, this is probably one anniversary that I'll always remember...even it did revolve around Star Wars. The concert far exceeded my expectations, but I have to admit that I really love the music from all the movies anyway.

Alex was convinced that it would be okay to take a camera to the show, even though they're normally not allowed at arena events. As soon as we got in the lobby, there were tons of people already there looking at the exhibits that were set up for everyone. And to our great surprise as well, we even got our tickets bumped up. Our seats were originally much higher up, and when we were on our way up to that level, they had the area blocked off. Then, they switched out our tickets which was awesome because we ended up on the first row of a different section! I don't know about you but I absolutely hate sitting behind someone, especially if they can't sit still!

Oh, and one other really cool thing.... Anthony Daniels, the guy who played C-3PO in the movies narrated the entire concert. He would provide a small introduction to each song, and once he even broke out in character as C-3PO. Too cool!

No lie, the whole night was awesome. If this ever comes around to your city, and you've got a die-hard Star Wars family member or friend, you'd be their best friend for life if you suggested this event. Even for someone like me that is not a fan....I had a great time! :o)

Pretty good view, huh? :o)

Alex and Yoda

Alex and Darth Vader

Alex and me with Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and an X-wing pilot (at least, I think that's who he is)

Me next to the costumes for Queen Amidala

Alex and a Storm Trooper (?) - he said later that he used the Force to steal his weapon...crazy hubby of mine!

The Love of My Life and Star Wars

Wow...I cannot believe that 8 years ago today, I married the love of my life! It is unbelievable how time really does fly. I will not lie to you...there have been some really rocky roads that we've had to travel during our time together, but there have also been so many special moments that I would not trade for anything in this world. Today, I want to share some of my memories with you guys.

This first picture was taken the day after Alex proposed. We had to take a trip to Portland, Oregon for his best friend's wedding, and oh, what a trip it was. Our flights all day long from Nashville to Portland were delayed, and when we arrived, we knew we'd only get to spend that evening with his friend and future bride. Well, what a night we had. The plan was to spend some time in downtown Portland just hanging out, and not really doing anything in particular. As soon as we get down there and park the car, Chris (the groom) locks his keys in his car. Jackie (his bride-to-be) did not have her keys on her at all, either....yep, they were locked in the car as well. So, we spent a lovely hour waiting for a locksmith. (Don't forget now, that this same night was the night that I got a proposal.)

Finally, after the long and cold wait on the curb in downtown Portland, we decide against spending time downtown, and they suggest we check out the Rose Gardens. We all agreed on the new plan, and head on over there. I kid you not, I have never seen so many beautiful flowers in all my life, and every last one of them some different kind of rose. Ahhh....it was gorgeous. We spend a good 20 minutes or so looking around, and I say I need to find a restroom. Fortunately, there was one available right there at the garden. As I'm walking over to the restroom, I turn back and see that Alex is grabbing something out of Chris's trunk. When he sees that I'm watching, he stuffs his hands so far down in his pockets that I knew something was up. So, I finish up quickly in the restroom, and Alex is waiting outside for me when I come out. There was this little bench overlooking the entire garden, and he asked me to sit down with him for a minute. We talk about some inconsequential things for a little bit (cannot for the life of me remember any of that part of the conversation). All of a sudden, he tells me I have something on my back, so I lean up while I "think" he's taking care of whatever it is...I think I thought it was a bug. But no, he used that little diversion (sneaky man I married, I'm tellin' ya) to pull out the ring from his pocket, and say, "I was just wondering if you would want to marry me?" Probably the only time in my life that I have ever been that speechless....seriously. I could not have imagined a more perfect proposal....beautiful night, surrounded by a garden of roses. Oh, and obviously, I said yes. :o)

Nine months later, we got married. I tell ya, I shoulda thought about what I was getting myself into. See, my dear hubby is a Star Wars fanatic, and we're not talking about just a huge fan of the movies. We're talking about a collector. That man has got more figurines of the characters (he's probably got at least 10 different Darth Vaders...shoot, there's probably more than that) than I've ever seen in my life. So, it's been a little interesting through the years when various Star Wars happenings occur around the same time as our anniversary.

First, there was the year we got married--2002. Two days before the wedding, Episode 2 was released in the theatres. Here I am, breaking my back trying to get the church ready when he comes and asks me, "Hon, do you mind if I go see Episode 2?" Wanting to be an agreeable bride and future wife, I say, "Sure, go ahead." That should've been my clue for the rest of my life. On our honeymoon, we had to go see it again (which was mostly to satisfy him that I had gotten the opportunity to watch it, too).

Then, 3 years later--2005. Episode 3 is out, and guess what.....right around our anniversary again. I'm a little sketchy on the details of this one, but I want to say that we went to a midnight showing of this....and yep, still went to work the next morning at the crack of dawn.

So, now, we're at 2010. No more movies to go see, right? Wrong...well, sorta. Guess where we'll be going tonight? To see "Star Wars, In Concert." Yep, I really must love my husband.

I have a Cricut on the Way! Yay!

I guess it's time for my sweet-talking skills to go on vacation because I've got the best anniversary present on it's way to me very soon! I've been working on hubby for the longest time to get one of these, and he finally relented last night. Hopefully, it'll arrive at my doorstep just in time for our 8-year anniversary on May 18. :o)

So, what's the big gift, you ask? Well, I happened upon this crafty infomercial several weeks ago, and I just could not pull myself away from the tv. The big item they were selling..... a Cricut Expression! After watching just 30 minutes of all the awesome things it can do, I literally had drool running down my chin, and my wishing genes were on overdrive.

The things this little machine can do are amazing!! Of course, it helps just a little, teeny, tiny bit if you've got some creative skills already. The big selling point that they have is that this a great tool for scrapbookers. Well, scrapbooking is my least favorite craft right now, but I imagine that by the time hubby and I have a bun in the oven, I'll be rethinking my love of it. This machine can cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric, and almost anything else you can think of that's not too thick....oh, I can't wait to start using it!!!

Hopefully, it'll arrive a little quicker than what I'm expecting. As soon as it comes in, I think hubby will have to drag me out of my craft room...I have no doubt this thing will be very addictive! Stay tuned now, y'all....I'll be sure to post my first project on here very soon!