Marriage.

My darling sister, Mallory, informed me that my last blog post was titled, "Summer is here"... and it's now January.  

The creative bug in me (and that jealous bug that sees such cool blogs out there and wants to be like their authors) has been itching to write for some time now.  But how do you pick up and get started again when so much has happened??  

I guess I will write about the major, most life-altering event that has happened since my last post:  I got married!  

My photos were taken by Josh Morris.

Since I got married and then left the country right after the honeymoon, I didn't see anyone after the wedding until our trip to Florida for Christmas break.  So this December, Daniel and I got to see friends and family pretty much for the first time as a married couple.   Everyone asked us one (or more) of these three questions: 

a)  "So, how's married life?"

b)  "What's the most surprising thing you've experienced about marriage?"

c)  "What do you guys eat?"

Sometimes I didn't know what to answer... but as more and more people asked the same questions, it got my brain in gear.  here are some answers to those common questions: 

a) Married life is absolutely wonderful; completely comfortable; totally strange; sacred; perfect; messed-up; scary; easy; and hard... all wrapped into one.  At least that's how it seems to me today, in my pensive mood.  Ask me when I'm frustrated or sick of things not being done the way I've gotten used to them and I might choose one of the more negative adjectives.  Or ask me after a cozy, wake-up-slow Saturday morning and I'll probably pick "wonderful".   But over all, my love for Daniel is growing every day (which is such a cliché, I know, but it's true...)  and it is a pleasant surprise every time that sudden realization hits me--"Oh my gosh! I'm actually married!"

b) I think the most surprising thing to me about marriage is how hard it is to budget and manage money.  I think I expected money stuff to be easier with two incomes, but it's not.  Also... when your money becomes "our" money... how are you really expected to buy gifts for one another without them knowing??  Any advice on that would be appreciated! 

c)I'm a vegetarian (well, a pescatarian...) and he eats meat.   That part has not been an difficult as so many people seem to think.  Sometimes I cook, sometimes he cooks.  Some things I make are: fish tacos; a layered "mexican lasagna" with beans, cheese, etc;  Soups; pastas ; omelets ; salad ; curried lentils/chickpeas over rice ; pizza ; and so on.  Daniel makes Honduran stuff, like baleadas (tortillas with refried beans, eggs, avocado, cheese, cream, etc. inside), or plato tipico (basically all the stuff in a baleada, just out on your plate instead of in a tortilla). He also makes some delicious pancakes :)  

So, that's that for now.  Next time maybe I'll post about something else that's been happening in my life, like my amazing group of students this year, our plans to move back to the States, our travels, or whatever strikes my fancy.