another marriage survey.

bringing this over from facebook...

1. When was your "engagement" anniversary:
March 18, 2006...Flagstaff Mtn. Boulder, CO

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary:
September 16, 2006

3. How long have you known your spouse:
almost 7 years.

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged:
2 months (don't gasp, we had known each other for 4 years and danced around dating the whole time)

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time:
Siloam Springs Aquatic Center. My 18th birthday (8/24/2002). He helped two boys I knew from high school (Aron and Aric) throw me in a pool.

7. Do you have any children yet:
Gustopher! the mini schnauzer.

8. How many:
none as of today. we would like to have 4. and we would like for them to take after me and be well behaved.

9. Do you have any house pets:
see #7.

10. Do you own a house or rent:
we rent a townhouse. trying to decide whether to buy soon or wait to see if we stay in nash for a while longer.

11. Do you live in the country or town/city:
Nashville, TN pop. 619,626 I'm from Siloam Springs, AR pop. 9,000

12. What is one of your favorite activities together:
We love to go to shows together and to have a pint at McCreary's Irish Pub (come visit and i will take you there, i promise). We also love to play with our puppy and go on country drives.

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot:
Our fantastic honeymoon was in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and that will always be a favorite spot. We also love Savannah, GA, the Smoky Mountains and anywhere in Colorado.

14. How many siblings (including in-laws):
Andie--sister
Kevin--soon to be brother-in-love
Stacey--sister
Scott--brother-in-love
Nathan--brother-in-love
Marisa--sister-in-love

15. What church do you attend:
We are still finding our niche. We love Fellowship Bible Church, Central Baptist in Hendersonville, and Midtown. Still looking for somewhere close to our place that is the best of all three.

16. Is this the church you were married in:
No, we were married in Ft. Smith, AR at St. Paul United Methodist Church...gorgeous.

17. What town is your current address:
Nash-vegas!

18. Do you work or stay at home:
I work. I am the store manager of the lovely Starbucks #8338 (Franklin Rd). I would love to stay at home at some point and raise/care for our children/dog.

19. Where did you honeymoon:
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico--b.e.a.utiful!

20: Leave a piece of marriage advice:
Your spouse, like you, is always growing and changing as a person. Make an effort to continually find and know who they are, or you will wake up one day and not know them at all.




we said yes.


ohhh mexico.


on our first anniversary...about to see damien rice.


2nd anniversary


vacationing in savannah.


guinness mustaches at McCreary's

homebody.

in high school and (the beginning of) college i was an extrovert...to the point of annoyance.

i had to know EVERYONE. i had to be known. i was the center of my own universe.

i lived in a tiny town and had a lot of friends. i went to a tiny college and had a lot of friends.

when i got married and moved to nashvegas that kinda changed.

now i live in a large city and have very few friends. however, i don't altogether mind this. the friends that i have here, are true friends. i see them and truly connect with them but they don't define who i am.

my favorite way to spend my time is at home. preferably with my feet in my husband's lap and my dog within my reach. i don't know...i'm just not into the bar hopping scene or the dancing all night scene.

i think the fact that i interact all day long with the human race kinda turns me off from socializing in the evenings. i'm going to try to work on it...because my husby likes to socialize and get out of the house. but for now, i'm going to enjoy going to bed and reading with the pups curled up at my feet.

it was the worst of times....

today was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day...

i did not sleep well last night. worrying about money and work and life. i had strange, exhausting dreams. then i woke up early and began a long long day.

once i got to work it was as if i had entered the twilight zone. i felt like every customer was either confused or mad at me.
the icing on the cake, and by that i mean the thing that made me cry, was the customer who looked me in the eye and said,

"i hope your company goes out of business and you lose your job."

ARE.YOU.KIDDING.ME!

over coffee. i am always interested in what my "angry" customers do when something actually goes wrong in their lives or they are dealing with a crisis. because, seriously....wishing me unemployment because there was no decaf coffee? wow.

please hug a barista today.

the puppyhead boy.

oh gus. seriously, this dog is such a mess. he is actually pretty well behaved for a puppy. ryan's dad, the schnauzer whisperer, deemed him a good dog and we believe his word. but sometimes i wonder...



this is gus' favorite toy...his bed, RIP. the only time he ever slept in it was from sheer exhaustion after dragging it down the stairs and around the house. he loved it so much that he chewed a hole in the middle so he could wear it like an elizabethan collar.



too bad he decided to eat the bed for an evening snack, it was pretty fun watching him get stuck...



love this dog, a lot.

a bit of a love story...

I saw this little diddy on a few blogs and wanted to fill it out for v-day!

What are your middle names? Elizabeth & David

How long have you been together? January 21, 2006

How long did you know each other before you started dating? We met on my 18th birthday August 24, 2002, coincidentally enough--the same day that his parents met. We were best friends all through college.

Who asked who out? Interestingly enough, I have no clue. We didn't really date so much as we just decided that we loved each other and should get married.

How old were each of you when you met? I was 18, he was 19.

How old are each of you now? I am 24, he is 25

How long did you date before becoming engaged? We didn't really date. We became a couple in January 2006, but Ryan was here in Nashville and I was in Arkansas. We saw each other a few times and went on "dates" I guess, before we were engaged in March 2006. We were engaged for 6 months and married September 16, 2006.

How tall are each of you? I'm 5'8", Ryan is 6'5"

Whose siblings do you see the most? We really don't see either very much. I guess we usually see mine more since they are only 8 hours away as opposed to 20. But we've seen Ryan's more recently. Haven't seen my family since October.

Do you have any children together? Not yet!

What about pets? the most amazing miniature schnauzer in all the land, Gustofer McGustavson! Or Gus.

Did you go to the same school? Different high schools, same college!

Are you from the same hometown? Nope. I am from Siloam Springs, Arkansas and Ryan is from Broomfield, Colorado. We would probably have never met if it weren't for good ole John Brown University.

Who is the smartest? That's a hard question. I think we are both very smart. We're smart at different things though, Ryan is really artsy and knows a lot about anything in that area. He also loves philosophy and theology, and is way over my head in those areas. I am the English smarty around here, I also have an uncommon amount of medical knowledge in my brain. In school I got better grades, but only because I have a photographic memory and an insane gift of writing papers at midnight the night before they are due.

Who is the most sensitive? Ryan. He has a tender heart. I am more compassionate towards others, but less emotionally sensitive.

Where do you eat out most as a couple? McCreary's Irish Pub for dinner and 5 Guys Burgers & Fries and Chick-Fil-A for lunch as they are both close to my store.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? We went to Mexico on our honeymoon. But I think Seattle is further away than that.

Who does the cooking? Me, I love love love to cook. Ryan is a great helper and a really good cook when I relinquish my hold on the kitchen and give him a chance.

Who is more social? Tough question. We are both very social. I am more of a natural extrovert, but Ryan is an amazing networker. He knows practically everyone in the music biz here in Nashville. I know all of my thousands of customers.

Who is the neat-freak? Ryan, definitely. He tries to teach me, but it just hasn't stuck. I like to be organized, but I don't like making the effort. When I'm not at work, I don't want to be cleaning and organizing.

Who hogs the bed? Me, I am a cover-hog and a space-hog. If I have a chance to sleep later than Ryan I take over the entire bed.

Who wakes up earlier? Usually me. I have to be at work at 5am at least two days a week.

Who has the bigger family? Ryan for sure. His extended family is huge and they all live in Denver. Mine is small.

How do you spend the holidays? Thanks to my job, just to two of us here in Nashville. We have our own traditions and routine. It's nice.

Who is more jealous? I would probably say me...for a long time Ryan was in a band and girls always loved him. I was always more annoyed by that but jealous of his time. I'm still jealous of his time, I like to spend every waking moment together. And that's just not practical if we're going to put food on the table.

Do you have little pet names for each other? A lot. Ryan never calls me by my given name, but baby, love, honeybee, loverface, wifey, etc... I call him husby and loverface. Loverface started out as a joke, but has now stuck. I know it's gag worthy.

How long did it take to get serious? Took about four years to realize we were in love. Once God let us in on it, no time at all.

Who eats more? I am a snacker, so I graze all day but eat tiny meals. Ryan eats huge meals. Probably about the same though.

Who sings better? Ryan, by far. I'm not the musically gifted one in this house.

Who’s older? Ryan by one year and 12 days.

Who does the dishes? Ryan. I cook, he cleans.

Who snores? Most likely, me. I have bad allergies and if I'm stuffed up, you can bet I will be snoring. Ryan snores every once in a while.

Who’s better with the computer? Ryan.

Who drives? Ryan. Since being in the city with the lunatic drivers, I prefer to ride.

Who kissed who first? Ryan kissed me October 25, 2005 while watching Garden State. He timed it to my favorite part of the movie, when Natalie Portman dances in front of the fireplace. I kissed him back.

Who eats more sweets? Me. Constantly, all the time. Ryan gets mad at me for eating dessert before dinner or only dessert.