quote for the week

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

Last year at this time, I was still in a hazy bliss from our wedding. Tomorrow we'll be entering our second (edit: wait, third, right? Second anniversary, entering third. . .) year of marriage and headed into our ninth year together. 


The above quote has been one of my favorites for years. I do believe it to be true. Every relationship, every marriage has it's up's and down's. I'm envious of people who have been together for years and are every day madly, passionately in love. That's something truly special and amazing. But it hasn't always been like that for us. And so that quote has stayed with me. Some days, some years, are harder than others. Sometimes our relationship takes work. But it always circles around, and I always come back feeling more in love than before. 

I know that the good old days weren't always so good. And just because the divorce rate was lower, didn't mean that people were happier. I know that there was abuse, and infidelity and loveless marriages then - just as there are today. And no one, ever should feel they need to stay in those situations. But I wonder if sometimes people end relationships and end marriages too quickly, and sometimes if they stuck it out - they'd fall back in love again?

year in review

A year ago today, I started blogging. I planned for a give-away today to celebrate (ok, I didn't really plan for it or there would be one, but I thought about it!) but in typical Crystal fashion, I didn't get it together in time. I hope to still have one by the end of the month, so keep an eye out!

So a year ago, I opened up blogger and started typing. I didn't know what the heck the blog was for then, and I don't now either. It's still a mix of random-ness from my life, but I've been having fun doing it. It's nice to be able to connect with like-minded people. It's nice to throw some ideas and thoughts out there to bounce around.

In the past year I've made a lot of goals and promises to myself. I've totally failed at most of them:

The Sustainable Challenge - fail.

One Pretty Thing - fail.

Getting involved in Syracuse First - fail.

Recipe of the week - fail.

Household organizer - fail.

Kitchen challenge - total fail.



So, really. Is it a huge surprise that I was unprepared with a give-away?


But, one of my very first posts was on wanting to live more intentionally. And I think I've done well with that. It's ongoing, it probably always will be. But having this blog, and my 365 blog has really, really helped me slow down and pay attention to all the little moments that make up my days. I've made it a point through out the year to come back to that idea, of living with more intention.

In the last year, in addition to all those failures, I've also had some accomplishments!


We moved, into our forever house!

I've made bread, successfully!

I've been learning to make cheese!

I finally canned!


And of course, there were the every day joys: hiking, weekending.

side note: I've added some tabs to the left side pane, I've got to rework my tags, but it should be easier to navigate through older posts now, if your interested


Thank you, for coming along on this journey with me. In the next year I hope to concentrate on actually accomplishing my goals! I'm already well on my way (green living goals and 30 before I'm 30)!

And now, some favorite pictures from the last year (man, I loved going through those old posts and reliving the last year! Some of these are blurry, I don't know if it's because I saved from blogger then re-uploaded?)

April 09 hiking

 May 09

 June 09, fathers day

July 09, Ithaca NY

Summer 09

Summer 09

Summer 09, home

Fall 09 apple picking

August 09, 10 dollar beers.

Halloween 09

Fall 09, Albany

December 09

December 09, first Christmas home.

February '10

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.  ~From the television show The Wonder Years


Looking forward to another year of rambling on about nonsense, learning, growing, living and learning - with you!

 

Eight Years.

I wish I had better pictures, but our files are scattered after our computer died a couple weeks ago, and some of these are pre-digital cameras for us, so they are pictures of pictures! 


It's been eight years since I tagged along to visit a friend together. Eight years since the phone call back. Eight years since I glided right into love. Didn't fall - wasn't swept away by - just settled right on in to love. 

We grown together - older, wiser, bigger (ahem!)

 We've learned to cook good food - real food. We grew food. We've learned how to make wine and beer. We've adjusted priorities. Saved money, spent a lot of money. Traveled. Bought a car, got rid of a car. Fought and made up. And then fought and made up again (and again and again). 

 

  

We've made babies. Raised babies into children.Gone to soccer games and baseball games and orchestra recitals. Paced floors with sick children, slept on floors alongside very awake children. We've moved, and moved and moved and moved again. We've gone from our very young twenties into our thirties.

 

We watched friends get married. We got married.

It's been eight years, today. And I know that it's still only the beginning.

 

 

And every single step of the way - on the hardest days and on the easiest and best - I've always been so glad that our journey has been together.