Locked out

This past weekend we went up to my parents for a few reasons. We wanted to see them of course but also to look into getting another dog and attend a birthday party for the son of some good friends of ours.

The weekend went well. We enjoyed our visits, found a new dog and had a great time at the birthday part.

Meet Raelin, the newest addition to our family.

We were on our way home and stopped to get gas. I was on the phone with my cousin, while Tim got out to pump gas. I hung up and got out of the car and saw Tim react quickly to a "click" from inside the car and try to open the door. One of the dogs stepped on the lock button when I had gotten out of the car.

"Don't you have your keys Tim?'

"No. I left them in the ignition since you were in the car."

"Oh, mine are in my purse."

So blocking a pump, two dogs in the car and our jackets, we called a locksmith (Thank goodness for smart phones) and proceeded to wait about 30 minutes. We tried to get one the dogs excited and to hit the button just right to unlock the car, they got tired of that game really quickly.

After trips inside to warm up and get some hot chocolate, the locksmith finally arrived, though we had to wait on him another ten minutes to do something with paper work. He got out and had us in our car in less than five minutes, only to take another ten minutes to get the payment.

We were then merrily on our way home shortly after that.

Two things I learned from this experience:

1) Always make sure someone has their keys on them, especially when there are dogs in the car.

2) I should become a locksmith so I can charge a $150 for 5 minutes of labor.

Date a Girl Who Reads

By Rosemarie Urquico (Not Robert Pattinson as some people are claiming)

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

The Honeymoon

So I am finally sitting down and writing about the honeymoon…about four months late. Better late than never, right?

Anyways, Tim bought us tickets for a cruise to the Bahamas- first time either of us had been on one. And it was awesome. I love the ocean and I love being out on the water. The day after the wedding we hit the road, for an 8 hour drive to stop at a hotel for the night, and the next morning got up and drove another four hours to Port Canaveral. I was nervously excited when we were going through the line for security and getting our Sea Passes and such. I was about to embark on a large ship and leave the country for the first time.



Once on the ship, I was amazed at how big the ship was and thought it was going to take me awhile to figure everything out. We explored and went to the buffet for some lunch and explored some more. Later on, we laughed at the fact that the ship didn’t seem so small anymore and we pretty much knew where everything was. We went through the security procedures in case something happened to the ship and then we were on our way!

We decided to dress up for the dinners and take part in the formal night as well. The food was amazing at any of the places we ate. One night for dinner we ate at the specialty restaurant called Jade, which we cooked our own food on a hot volcanic rock.

We enjoyed watching different shows throughout the week and just enjoyed being newlyweds and relaxing after a busy couple of weeks.


The excursions we did we enjoyed a good bit. On the second day of the cruise we were at the cruise lines private island, where we prepared to go on a guided nature walk and snorkel. We lathered up in sun screen for the day, and still got rather red but thankfully not majorly burnt.

The third day we arrived at Nassau. We left the boat and were a bit overwhelmed by the people outside trying to get us to go on a taxi or tour and quickly made our way out of the throng of people. We walked towards the public beach area and saw homeless people sleeping and bathing on the beach, which was interesting to see. Next we made our way back towards the straw market and bargained to get some good deals on Christmas presents.


Next we went back to the boat and took a nap. Now you are probably thinking- why take a nap? You’re out traveling. Well considering the fact that we had had a busy two weeks with wedding stuff we were tired, plus it had started to rain a bit. We had only bought one excursions for the area so we weren’t tied to a schedule since it was a museum and could relax. After the nap, we went to explore the museum, then went back for lunch and another nap, and back out to explore the city some more before our dinner reservation. We enjoyed sitting out on an upper deck that night watching and listening to the night life of Nassau.

The next day was our day at sea- we had a very lazy day. Slept in, played card games, went to get food, napped, and other newlywed activities. After dinner we decided to stay out of the room a bit longer and watched another show before going back to the room. We made sure a lot of our stuff was together the night before returning to Port Canaveral so we didn’t have to do it last minute. The next morning had breakfast and finished packing up. Then we stepped back onto US soil and went through customs without much of a problem, got our luggage, and hit the road towards home.


We took some time to stop in Daytona Beach, and I was able to show Tim a couple places I had lived there, the school I went to, and we ate at one of my favorite seafood restaurant. After lunch, we hit the road and stopped in Macon, Georgia for the night.


We made it home on Saturday around 1:30pm, after leaving the previous Sunday, happy to be home, despite the mess in the apartment from not having time to go through things from the wedding. We were tired, but had enjoyed our honeymoon getaway. And I definitely want to cruise again sometime!!

Breaking In

I had planned on my next post to be about the honeymoon cruise, but after yesterdays events I just had to write about them.

This past Friday my grandma (Mimi) had full hip replacement. We had made plans for me to come up on Monday to stay at the house, whether or not she was released home. I left Huntsville after some errands and made my way to Carthage, TN. I made some phone calls and discovered that she was supposedly going to go home at some point.

Once I got into town, I went to the hospital to sit with Mimi a bit. While there she told me about her sleepless night and how she was ready to go home. She also had me start gathering her stuff together, because once her gauze was changed she would be able to start the process of going home. So while gathering things, the nurse came in to change the gauze and said that the orders were in for her to go home and whenever she was ready she could. Mimi had me call Pop-pop and I told him she was ready and that I was taking a load of stuff out to the house and would be leaving the hospital soon.

Somewhere on the road I passed him. I got to the house and got an arm load- only to discover that the door was locked. Pop-pop had said he would leave the door unlocked since my key wouldn't work anymore. I figured on his way out he went with habit and locked the doors.

No problem I thought, they shouldn't be to long. So I pulled out my computer and sat on the patio working on some different personal projects. After close to an hour, I was chilled from the cool wind and rain, hungry from no lunch yet, and had to go to the bathroom. So I walked around the house checking window. To my luck, the small window close to the backdoor was the only one unlocked. This window is also almost 5 feet off the ground too. So I figured I could try to get in this way. I pulled out my pocket knife and used it to pry the screen up and lifted the window.



Then my brain started churning....how I was to get into the window. I had an idea and went for the metal garbage can [Thankfully it was empty] and brought it over to the window. Then I climbed up onto the trashcan and put my left leg through.



Now I am not a small person....so I had to really think about getting myself through the window. I leaned forwarded and pushed myself in at an angle. My leg was dangling on the inside and I lightly perched the on the small shelf right inside the door. Somehow I managed to get myself inside. I do have to say that I am glad no one was around to see my first time breaking into a house.
And of course, not 15 minutes later my grandparents pulled up. When I walked out the door, I got to explain how I got in with Pop-pop apologizing for going through the habit of locking the door.

It has still been interesting, but currently nothing tops that. Mimi is stubborn (Mama gets that from her) and so it has been kinda funny around here, because she wants to be independent but needs the help of me, Pop-pop and the walker. But she is on the road to recovery. I might have another story to tell tomorrow after the physical therapist comes in.

The Wedding Daze

Now that the wedding daze (and days) is over, I am finally able to sit down and reflect on that very special time in my life. Now I know I am about three months behind on this, but I have been busy adjusting to everything. First I want to say that I enjoyed the day very much- but wow was it tiring.

The week of the wedding was hectic. Last minute thing had to get down. I had to finish packing up my apartment in Cookeville, then three days before the wedding with a rainy morning, the U-Haul with my stuff was loaded thanks to the help of awesome friends. Then the three hour drive to Huntsville and more rain. Glad to have the friends I did to help and for someone to drive my car down. The U-Haul didn't finish getting unloading until Tim got home from work. The next day, started to get stuff unpacked from boxes, and get things printed off for the wedding as well.

Once Tim got off work, we headed back to Tennessee to my parents for a cookout with my side of the family that was in town already, and what turned into a shoot out. Sarah and Megan got to shoot off a gun for the first time. Sarah shot off every single gun there (probably a dozen or so, ranging from pistols to shotguns).

The day before the wedding, Tim and I went to get our marriage license papers filled out. My apartment got cleaned and the key turned in. Then he went off with the groomsmen while decoration for the rehearsal dinner commenced. Then last minute food shopping for the reception and some girl time with bridesmaids.

The rehearsal dinner went well. We had fun going through the rehearsal and then thoroughly enjoyed our BBQ feast. The bridesmaid loved their gifts(personalized purses/bags) and the groomsmen liked theirs(engraved pocket knifes). After dinner, we went to decorate the venue for the wedding. Then the ladies separated from the guys and went to our respective hotels.

I got more sleep the night before the wedding than I was told I would. I think I passed out around 1 A.M and woke up around 7 A.M. I got to snuggle with my little sister, who kept sweetly informing me that I was getting married today. After awhile of snuggling with Mag and Mama joining the party, Mag, Victoria, and I went to get some breakfast in the hotel. After that the whirlwind began.

Pack up the hotel room. Make sure we have the dress. Head out to get hair done. Get dressed. Do makeup. Then our awesome photographer, Melissa (of MSA Photography in Cookeville, TN), came and it was time for bridal portraits, then bridesmaid portraits. Check to make sure Tim wasn’t around. And now I had some time to breathe. Mama picked some chicken sandwiches, so the girls and I ate those while we took a little breather. After the groom, groomsmen, and Myers family portraits were taken, it was time for the Wood family portraits. So dress back on and take more pictures.

We had about 20 minutes left until the wedding and took one last break from the whirlwind. This is when my nerves hit. The ‘Whoa! In 20 minutes I am going to be married.’ type of nerves. And yes they were good nerves. At about five till one the bridesmaids and I headed downstairs for the ceremony.

Next thing I knew, Dad was walking me down the aisle (I love my daddy!), and was giving me away. The look on Tim’s face as I came down the aisle is one I will never forget. Full of love and happiness. This was the first time we had seen each other since the night before, and the first time he had ever seen me in my wedding dress. I did with the tears until it was time for me to say the vows. Now we were both supposed to do these from memory…well that didn’t work for me so well. The tear gates opened and so I ended up repeating them until the last line. When I started to cry- it opened the gates for several others. Then it was all smiles as we were announced “Husband and Wife”.

The reception was wonderful. We felt so blessed to have the people who came to our wedding there to celebrate with us. One of the best parts was our Nerf battle to begin the reception. That was rather spectacular. Then there was dancing, cake, bouquet/garter toss, toasts, and the car being jacked up when it was time to leave. No, Tim and I did not notice right away. It was not until Tim pressed on the gas and the car wouldn’t move.

Yes there are a few things I would have liked to happen differently, but over all we are happy with the way things went, even with a few hiccups in the plan. And we are enjoying married life.

My Daddy

The following is something I believe from my experiences:

There is a saying that I believe hold a lot of truth-

"Any man can become a Father, but it takes a special man to be a Dad."

There is a difference between nature and nurture. By nature a man can become a father- you know the process I don't have to explain. But by nurturing their child through being there for them, supporting them in all ways, and always being a part of their life- that is how a man becomes a dad.

It is also my believe that if a man has become a father-he has to try and be there for their child(ren) to even become a dad in their child's eye- especially when the child is older. A dad will admit to and take responsibility for mistakes they have made when it comes to there children.

Many of you may not know this about me, but the man I call Daddy, Don Wood, (yes I'm 22 and am proud to call him Daddy), is not my biological father. He may not have been in the hospital when I was born or a part of my life until I was the age of 8, but he is my dad. Granted, he and I may have had some rough points in our relationship, but what child doesn't have that with their dad? He taught me important life lessons and has been there for me whenever I have needed him. I am thankful for everything in my relationship with Daddy, even the bad parts, because I believe we both learned from them. I have the greatest respect for my dad and any man who is a dad like him.

In closing I would like to say-

Blood does not matter when it comes to family- it is the bond you have with them that makes them family.

My Little Sister

My little sister's birthday is tomorrow...I can't believe that she is turning 5 years old! The time sure has flown by, but I wouldn't trade her for anything. I love being able to spend the weekend with her, even when she does get cranky. I can't wait till she is a bit older when she and I can do a bit more stuff together where she really enjoys it.

I love you, Maggie!