A little of this, a little of that....

1,460 days ago...

Four years ago today, a single, nervous girl met a single, nervous boy for lunch. After almost five weeks of emailing via eHarmony, they decided to meet in person. They had lunch, then went to Cosi. They had a lot of fun, laughing and getting to know each other. The next weekend, they went out on dates on Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night. Turns out, they really liked each other.

Turns out, they got married. And had a cute little girl. 

OK. I'm done talking in the third person. 

Jim and I don't usually celebrate Valentines Day that much, but we celebrate the anniversary of our first date instead.

We've already cashed in our babysitters for a couple of upcoming birthday festivities for Jim, so we took Finley out to dinner with us tonight. The past three years we've gone back to the original restaurant where we met (Claddagh in the Brewery District), but last year I vowed that was the last year we would pay for horrible food. We still kept the Irish theme though and tried The Pub at the Polaris Mall. 

After dinner, we walked around the mall and let Finley run loose where there wasn't a lot of people. We call her our little Mallrat. She thinks she's big time, walking around the mall. She LOVES it. She just wants to keep walking and walking and walking.

Then we got cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory to go.

Now we're waiting on Finley to go to bed so we can eat said cheesecake. :)

1,095 days ago...

1,095 days ago, Jim and I had our first date. We commemorated the occasion with a dinner date to the spot where it all happened- Claddagh in the Brewery District. Jim's Mom and Dad babysat so we could have our date night.

We were a little more sentimental this year, because now we have Finley. We feel so lucky.

Happy 1st Anniversary!

While we were on vacation in the Outer Banks, Jim and I celebrated our one year anniversary. Traditionally, you're supposed to eat the top layer of your wedding cake that's been frozen for the past year, but since we really couldn't save any of our cake from Maui, I found a bakery in Duck, NC and ordered a small cake.We planned on eating the cake on the beach just like in Maui, but it was too hot and humid and we didn't want sand blowing in the cake.

The shells on top of the cake were made out of white chocolate. It was an almond cake with whipped buttercream frosting and a whipped vanilla icing in between the layers (it was a three layer cake). It came from Tullio's Bakery and was good- not too sweet (typical of Italian bakeries). The only problem was Jim had three pieces of cake the first day- two pieces before dinner and then one after dinner and it was an overload. He didn't even want to talk about the cake the next day. I ordered the smallest cake they had- an 8" cake, but it was still waaay too much cake for the two of us.

Also just like in Maui, we had sparkling juice...

I can't believe how much has happened in the past year. It's been such a wonderful year and I really feel so lucky. I love you Jim!

50 First Dates: Completed!

Back in April, I started a little project- I was going to scrapbook Jim and I's first fifty dates.  Within a couple of weeks, I'd not only gotten up to our fiftieth date, but all the way to date #75. I had extra pages in the album and a well-documented planner, so I kept on goin'. I had a stack of saved movie stubs, business cards and memorabilia I collected just for this project.

I lost momentum after a couple of weeks and the project came to a screeching halt. Soon after that, I packed up my scrapbook room and moved to Jim's.

I recently got everything back out again and made up my mind I was going to finish this album! I was able to finish it within a day (geesh- why didn't I just push myself to complete it back in April!?!).  I finished it last week just in time for our 2yr. anniversary (of when we first met). Jim didn't want to look at it until I was completely done, so we sat on the couch and looked through the album. It was fun to reminisce about all of our early dates. The album goes through date #1 through date #82, all in a six month time frame. We saw each other on an average of every 2.2 days!

 

I used a Scrapworks 6x8 album, but during the move, something gouged the side of the album :( 

Now, on to another project!

730 days...

Tuesday, February 23rd marked the 730th day since Jim and I first met. Jim had flowers for me when he came home from work...

We had a date (on a school-night!) for dinner at Claddagh Irish Pub in the Brewery District.

We had a great dinner and exchanged cards. Jim wrote a bunch of sappy stuff in my card and I got teary-eyed. Jim then proceeded to do the 'pull-down' fist like he just won.

365 days...

I took my camera to the reenactment of our first date.  I wish I would have had pictures from our first date, but then again, I mean, who really pulls out a camera on a first date?  I think if I would've it would have been our first AND last date.  I don't think guys really want to have 'our first picture of us as a couple' within minutes of meeting for the first time. 

We didn't say anything to the waitress, but she sat us in the exact same seat as on our first date!

 

 

 

RINGing in the new year...

First, I'm so excited and happy to announce that as of 11:56pm on New Year's Eve, I'm engaged!  Jim popped the question right before midnight!  We planned a really low-key NYE... Jersey Mike's subs, cherry vodka and 7-ups, and the big plan of all- trying to stay awake until midnight.  I was getting sleepy and tired, but managed to stay awake.  At 11:56pm, Jim turned the TV volume way down.  Of which, I crankily replied "I can't hear it!".  He then got down on the floor in front of me and pulled the ring out from under the couch (he hid it there earlier that afternoon).  I cried.  I said yes.  I cried some more.  I feel so lucky that we finally found each other.  I can't wait to see what 2009 brings for us.  I am so happy and excited about our future together.  We both feel that we've wasted so many years being single and alone.  But I think all of those years taught us to be more appreciative, more mature, more respectful, more giving, more affectionate, more grown-up.  Maybe we need those years to be ready for when we did find each other.

OK, enough sappy stuff I guess!  We're (OK, not really WE, but I...) have already been googling and researching online and we're planning on going to Hawaii in September to get married.  There's still lots of researching to do.  There are probably four million websites and wedding package options for getting married in Hawaii.  We found sites with photos of just married couples in Hawaii posing with the officiant wearing a wolf t-shirt.  Also, photos of a just married couple where a parrot was eating a cheerio out of the bride's mouth.  What the...?  Then of course, there's the opposite side of the spectrum for Hawaiian weddings that are $$$$, including the resort where "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was filmed at.  So if you or anyone you know has been to Hawaii, or has been married in Hawaii, please send your recommendations/tips/warnings my way!

Now, on to more updates...
1.  Happy Birthday Granny!  Granny turned 77 years young this past Friday! Have a great year Granny- I love you!

2.  We had our annual Christmas get-together with the girls (my OU girls).  This year, we included the boys and the kids.  Our group of 11 had lunch at Cafe Creekside in Gahanna.  Great little place and tasty food.  They're only open until 3pm, but great for breakfast, brunch and lunch.  I was excited to see everyone and also to share Jim and I's big news!  I wasn't sure how to announce it, but as if on cue, when everyone came in, Lisa said "Amy, let me see your left hand..."  Perfect!  Announcement made!  It was a good feeling to share our happiness with my best friends.  I've known these gals for almost fifteen years and they're part of my family.  I know they're really happy for me.

3.  Going back to New Year's Eve... two words- Dick Clark.  I almost can't watch him... it's not the same Dick Clark.  But, if he insists on still being a part of the tradition, then kudos for him for not giving up.

4.  Also, in regards to New Year's Eve... I thought Ryan Seacrest's face looked puffy.  I made a comment to Jim too about that puffy black winter coat he had on and that it didn't look very good on him.  After the next round of commercials, Ryan had on a different coat.  But still, puffy face.  Don't get me wrong- I love Ryan Seacrest... that bitch is fierce.

5.  I finally got things organized enough to post pictures of my scrapbook room and my new wire shelving...

 

See, I told you it sort of looks like a store... but I don't care-  I LOVE IT!!! And yes of course TMee.. there is some ROY G BIVing going on!

The reason...

So some of you have yelled at me for not updating my blog recently.  Shout out to Alison (which, by the way sent me an awesome email recently.  It was a short email with only four words... 'update your f*ing' blog'.  It made me crack up). Well, the reason why I haven't been updating my blog is because I've been busy spending time with my new man.  Jim and I first went out on February 23rd, but had emailed (via eHarmony) for about four weeks prior to that.  It was a great first date that turned into many dates.  Here's a picture of me and my man.  We're at Leslie's Mom and Dad's house last Sunday, April 6th for an afternoon cookout- they invited the bridal party and the families over and then Leslie and Dustin opened their wedding gifts.   If you can't tell from the pic, Jim's really tall.

And, just for record- Jim, if by chance you finally are able to find my blog (I haven't given him my blog address yet and he's been googling trying to find it), you are awesome.  I'm so glad I met you.