Say Goodbye to the Dress

Today I sold my dress (finally!) I didn't see any point in hanging on to it. Indeed I was surprised to find that people did.  Not that I didn't care about it.  I fell in love with it about a year before when my friend, Carley tried it on for her dress hunt.  I was looking for something along those lines when I went out looking for my own wedding and ended up fitting nicely into that same dress.  Coincidentally, it was also the dress Adam picked out of the magazine for me. The thing is, I try not to hang onto things that I can justify the memory through some other medium (ie. pictures), especially large things.  I did keep my broach (see Christmas post.)  I was a bit surprised to find a small twang in my heart seeing someone else wear it and then run out the door with it as if worried I'd change my mind (they got kinda a really good deal on it.)  Paying in full and selling it after was my projected way of "splitting the costs" with another bride.  Getting the dress I wanted for the price I wanted.  Nonetheless the sale was similar to ripping off a large band-aid.  I guess I'm not immune from being such a girl after all.

So long dress!  Thank you for being so easy to deal with: no wrinkles, no alterations, and coming with that $50 off-coupon when I bought you. Go make some other girl's day awesome.

We Saved 75% or more by switching to Youtube!

We just bought a "new" car to replace our Dodge.  This time around we got a pretty sturdy little Honda Civic, powerless steering, and manual drive which we've come to find means that, less you have automated, the less there is to break.  It has become our experiment car for all of the repairs which we do after watching Youtube tutorials. 

 A few weeks ago we replaced the Radiator (est. $300 act. $60) and this week we replaced the front rotors and brakes (est. $380 act. $65).

 Adam did the right one, I did the left.  

We borrowed the lift jack from my Uncle Gordon so I was able to give Adam the Payson tour and hang with some of the relatives. 

Success! Total savings: ~$700. 

Eleventy-One Years Later

As the year comes to a close, it's tempting to look at all the changes that have happened over the last years.  We have come to believe that the only thing consistent is change (except when dealing with vending machines.) My real amazement comes from our blatant consistency.

In a world of frequent and drastic change...

 "A Childish Quarrel" 1896  

"Charlie Bit My Finger" 2007

...Nothing is new. 

Merry Christmas!

First Married Christmas! 

We got a very cute Charlie Brown 3ft tree a few days before Christmas with all the reject trees and covered  it with all the sparkly stuff we had.  The fun of presents have always been all about the wrapping and unwrapping.  The actual gift part has never been very consequential...mostly because as a sibling, cousin, and roommate tradition, the gifts are typically things we're returning to each other.  

"My headphones!" 

"No, remember you lost those. I got you some new ones just like them."

"I remembering I lent them to you..." 

Getting your stuff back is pretty big deal and it typically happens only on holidays and birthdays.  

Being in a loving marital relationship was a different experience come present time.  He just gave me thoughtful, useful, and fun things.  How strange. 

A special shout out goes to my sister, Stacey, who made sure I didn't go without my family traditions and gave me: my pie pan, a book of awkward photos and one expired coupon. 

("It was still valid when I wrapped it!") 

Crossing traditions.  This was something I was both worried and excited about as I got married.  Adam accepted the open stockings at the end of gifts and bake a bunch of chocolates from my list of fun and we took on an adaptation of his family's ornament tradition.  Each year he would get a special ornament that showed a highlight of the year.  To counter the lameness of all the ornaments that we owned being from his life we decided to start our own.  This year for our first Christmas we made the Christmas star.  We put on some accent chain on it as well as the broach from my wedding dress. 

Meisha

This November, Miesha 

(because in high school, it was cool to name inanimate objects...)

Matilda the Oboe

Vidgronski "Vidski" the Plastic Tree

 Shannon the Canon  Etc. Etc. 

Meisha gave up the ghost. She was my first car and not-so-trusted companion for the last year of college.  In the time that Adam and I have been dating to married we've been in... (feel free to throw in some Jingle Bells tunes)...

One high-speed car chase

One tire flying off

Two ice-spin crashes

And....the final blow, a ball joint and CV joint failed at the same time cause the car to fall on top of its self and inch pathetically to the curb leaving behind a trail of twisted metal shavings and car tears.

Meh. 

So long Miesha, drive down that highway to...heaven?