Sunday Night Rambles

Hi fraans! It's Sunday night and I should be meal prepping and getting ready for the week but I decided that blogging sounded more fun. And because I'm the responsible adult that I am, I scratched my to-do list and meal prepping and all the things I should be doing, for the thing I would rather to do...blog. It's a wonder why I can never get anything done that I need to.

So anyway, I've come to this place a couple times between my last post and now but I had a weird span of like, a week and a half where I was in one of those moods where everything annoyed me. Do you ever have those moods? Like, Nate keeps clearing his throat too much...so annoying. I dropped my Q-tips on the ground and now have to pick them up and throw them away and reach for new ones; literally, so annoying. I started writing a blog post and I was like Rissa, this is boring why do you think people want to read this shiz? I annoyed even myself. So at that point I figured I should wait until I was in a better mood to write.

So here I am. I'm in a better mood. Ready to write. Although, I don't really have much to write about so bear (bare?) with me while I ramble on for the next few paragraphs.

First and foremost, I think I had a break-through this week, you guys. Let me tell you that there's this older gentleman at my work that works in a different department so I don't actually work with him, but I see him in the halls all the time...and I smile at him all the time like any normal, polite, friendly person would do, and he never smiles back. And because I have this unreasonably strong desire to have people like me, it actually really bothers me. Like we'll make eye contact and he won't so much as give me a smirk. Like what the hell dude, I am a delight why aren't you acknowledging me when I smile at you?? So, I decided to just stop smiling at him whenever I would pass him in the hall. I wouldn't even look at him. So I was on my way to the restroom last week and I took the corner and he was right on the other side and we almost ran right into each other and guess what? He said, "Oh sorry." HE ACKNOWLEDGED ME, YOU GUYS. Maybe I should just be less friendly in general? Like maybe my friendliness annoys people. Maybe too much enthusiasm freaks people out. Maybe if I tone it down (tone down for what) people will be more receptive to me.

Also side note, I just killed a spider that was crawling on my nightstand. I squished it in a tissue and then opened the tissue to see if it was dead (like you do) but it wasn't dead and it almost crawled out onto my hand but I squished it extra hard before it touched me. That was close.

Ok let's see, what else has been going on...oh, I went to the Dbacks game this weekend with my friend Sarah because duh baseball, but also because it was AJ Pollock bobble head night and I have an affinity for collecting bobble heads.

And because it was AJ Pollock bobble head night, they had a giant get well card for fans to sign since AJ is out for the season with an elbow injury. And like the fan girls that we are, we signed it.

"You're the best." Short but sweet right? Straight and to the point. Quick and dirty (that's what she said).

Oh yeah also, my friend Kailey had a birthday a couple weekends ago now and we celebrated by golfing. I use the term "golfing" loosely because firstly, we went to top golf, secondly, I would hardly call the motion I was doing, a golf swing. It was more like a weird jerk/whiff because half the time I missed the ball completely. But yolo, we drank lots of beer and had fun laughing at each other, so it was a good time.

Kailey brought her husband and Brianna brought her fiance and I brought my husband too, see:

Literally, this is my life. It's fine though, I'm good at being a fifth wheel. You know what I realized this weekend, actually? Nate works graves so he sleeps during the day right? I feel like this is sort of like having a baby. Sarah was gonna meet me at my house this weekend before the game and I had to be like, "Nate's still sleeping, can I actually meet you at your house?" Or if someone's picking me up for something I have to be like, "Text me when you're here, Nate's sleeping and if you knock the dogs will bark and wake him up." When the dogs do bark, unprovoked (like a leaf falling from the tree, for example) I have to feverishly whisper-yell at them to be quiet or else Nate will wake up. It's like, "Shhhh the baby Nathan is sleeping." He's the most sensitive sleeper you'll ever meet so I have to work extra hard at being quiet...which is not an easy feat for me because I'm naturally loud and kind of clumsy and I drop things often and I'm not very gentle with stuff. The struggle is real, you guys.

But anyway, it's now almost 10:00pm and if I don't meal prep at least for tomorrow I'm not gonna have any lunch to eat tomorrow and so then I'll probably make a bad choice and order a grilled cheese from the cafeteria for lunch (because yaaaas, cheese), and then after lunch I'll get hungry again and I'll be like whatever I'm gonna eat a whole bag of Gardetto's because I had grilled cheese for lunch so this day is already shot, and then I won't work out after work because the day is already shot, and then I won't ever lose any weight and I'll be destined for an overweight future and I'll probably have to get one of those sit-down scooters whenever I go to Costco because I ate too many grilled cheeses and can't walk around a Costco warehouse without having knee pain and running out of breath. So yeah, I'm gonna go prep some salad or something. 

Have a happy Monday, fraans!

#7

I told Nate earlier today, "I want to blog something about our anniversary but I don't know what to write what should I say" and he goes, "That F**k. This f**king guy." ...That helps, thanks Nate.

Anyway, guess what today is (or tomorrow depending on when this post goes up)? It's Nate and my 7th wedding anniversary. SEVENTH. We've been married for seven years. Holy smokes. I always struggle a little bit because every year I want to write like, an anniversary post but I never really know what to write because like, a mushy sort of lovey dovey post isn't really my style, there's always marriage advice but I feel like that comes off preachy sometimes, there's always a "things I've learned in seven years of marriage" idea but that's not always what other people learn in their marriages so again, maybe a little preachy? So long story short, here I am, blogging without something to blog about. The struggle, I tell ya. So I think what I decided is to maybe do a little bit of all of the above? Because YOLO it's my wedding anniversary and it's my excuse to write whatever the heck I want to celebrate seven years of marriage right?

So, I like the number seven - it's my favorite number because not only is it lucky number seven but Nate's lacrosse number in high school was #7

Good ju-ju for our 7th year of marriage right?! But before we got to seven years of marriage we went through like nine years of dating (I know, basically forever) and those nine years of dating didn't always have the best ju-ju so, here's seven reasons why we've broken up and almost didn't make it to seven years of marriage:

1.) It's not cool to have a girlfriend and be in a relationship when you're starting high school

2.) It's Thursday (Thursday is break-up day)
3.) Carissa doesn't like PDA and it hurts Nate's feelings that she won't kiss him in the hallway when the bell rings

4.) Carissa's tired of fighting

5.) Nate's tired of fighting
6.) Nate's too possessive and it's annoying
7.) Carissa's an asshole and hangs up on Nate all the time so as to avoid fighting and talking about feelings

Life is rough when you're a teenager, you guys. For real.

I'm happy to report that we got all of our fighting out in high school and the couple years shortly thereafter. We've been fortunate enough to both have different life experiences that offer different perspective...perspective enough to realize fighting is exhausting and we just don't have the energy for it. That said, my number one piece of marriage and/or relationship advice I could give to anyone would be to pick your battles. Pick. Your. Battles, people. It's cliche but true. Does Nate have to have his firearm in our Christmas pictures? Christmas pictures? Yeah I guess so. In the long run, does it really matter? No. That's what makes Nate, Nate. Firearms in Christmas pictures and all.

Does it drive me freakin nuts that he leaves lights on in all the rooms he's not dwelling in? Yes. Is it worth a fight? No. Does it take a lot of energy to just turn the light off yourself? No. Problem solved. Does Nate hate it when I go on cleaning sprees and reorganize stuff and he can't find any of his shit anymore? Yes, probably. Does he yell at me for it and pick a fight? No.

PICK YOUR BATTLES.

When Nate enlisted in the Army and eventually was deployed in Iraq I became very aware of time.

He was gone for five months in basic training, then came home for exactly four weeks before his unit deployed to Iraq and just like that he was gone for another 15 months. I remember specifically, when he was home on his two week leave, we were trying to hang out one day and I couldn't get a hold of him, his cell phone kept going to voicemail. I was getting upset and getting mad thinking he just wasn't answering my call. I ended up just going over to his house and it turns out it was the same thing - he tried calling me and it kept going to voicemail; it must've been something with the phone line, neither one of us couldn't get through. I only had two weeks with him, how could I have wasted a whole day just because I couldn't get a hold of him on his cell phone??!! I was mad and I had to say to myself, this isn't Nate's fault, this is the cell phone service - why spend a whole afternoon upset and mad? Snap out of it. You only have two weeks together. 

PICK YOUR BATTLES. 

I feel like marriage sometimes maybe gets a bad wrap (rep?). I hate when people make jokes about the "'ol ball and chain," or the "beginning of the end;" the truth is, marriage is the best. Is it hard? Yeah, sometimes. Is it the hardest thing I've ever done? No. Marriage is actually really fun. It's steady. It's reliable. It's trustworthy. It's comforting. It's bigger than you. 

You always have someone in your corner. Always. 

Junior high school seems like a long time ago, and it's weird to think it's been Nate this whole time, because my time with Nate doesn't feel like that long. The truth is, I don't really remember life before Nate. We went to Sunday School together, junior high and high school together. We grew up together, learned how to be in relationships together, matured together, he enlisted in the military, I graduated college; bought new cars, became adults...all together. 

The past 6 years of marriage have been pretty bad ass. But that's because Nate is pretty bad ass, and he makes me more bad ass. ...I'm lying, I'm not actually a bad ass at all, I just like to think that I am. I try really hard, but I just don't think "bad ass" is in the cards for me.

Nate's told me before that when he was overseas and they'd be conducting a mission, clearing houses and such, kicking down doors, they'd make sure everyone had someone's "6." That is, everyone was watching someone's back...they're 6. They were looking out for what's behind them, anything that might be trying to sneak up on them, attack them from behind when they're not looking, etc. Nate's had my 6 since since the 8th grade.

He's got my 6, I've got his: year 7