COPPER ANNIVERSARY

Today is my seventh wedding anniversary.

Yes, I got married on 2.4.6.

I should take the time to reflect on the past year and remember all the good times we had together. However, we're in the midst of a c-ray-zee time here. For those of you in the know, we have a huge decision to make this week. I'm not sleeping; not getting anything done; not thinking about much else.

I'm grateful that we have seven years behind us. I'm grateful that D is a good listener; is supportive of me; is willing to think about change.

Happy Anniversary to us. We had a great wedding seven years ago. We've had a great seven years of marriage. We have a monumental decision to make this week that will likely change the next seven years of our marriage.

Heaven help us!

FUN, FUN, FUN

We've decided we're going to fill this summer with a lot of family fun. There are SO many things to do in the DC area - from museums to zoos to parks to swimming pools; and everything in between. Our Saturday goal each week is to get out and do something. Prior to this past weekend we've been strawberry picking, shopping at the farmer's market, to a local park with a carousel, and firefly catching.

This weekend we drove out to a wonderful nature preserve in Fairfax County.

We also made our way down to Yards Park.

We went for a walk along the river, ate a picnic dinner, and played in the water. Best.evening.ever.

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS CARD PICTURE

One would think taking a Christmas card picture would be easy and fun -- the whole family together, enjoying some special place in the city/neighborhood, and a wonderful selection of snacks (read: bribes) prepared by mom. We even had my mom on hand to provide entertainment and encouragement during this year's photo shoot. I assumed we'd get a great picture the first time around and would be done with it. Instead it took us two trips over two weekends to two different locations to get a half decent shot of us.

Oh.for.goodness.sake.

Our first attempt at getting a picture started out wonderfully with our three year old angel being ever so cooperative and adorable.

But then she got an attitude.

 

And then she made her way into the bushes only to get covered in little hitchhikers.

We took about 100 pictures after this. None of which are worth sharing. 

After we were all tired and grumpy. And one of us (a stubborn not-to-be-named three year old) had to use the bathroom, but refused. We ended our first attempt at getting a Christmas card picture with some fun daddy-daughter time. 

And, sadly, made plans to go out the following weekend to get a family picture - this time at a different location at a different time of day. 

Thankfully we were successful in getting a decent family shot the second time around. Specifically, we were able to get a shot where C's eyes are open, K is not crying, and D and I look half-way normal and not completely sleep deprived.

I bet you cannot wait to get our card this year...

DANCE PARTY

D was delighted to learn that DJ Shadow's new album is being featured on the NPR web site. We listened to it this morning. This is a glimpse of K enjoying the music while eating lunch at the kitchen counter and helping to make applesauce. My baby easily found the beat.



Untitled from becky d on Vimeo.

I especially love D's closing comment: It's hip hop with a great sense of humor and a great sense of history.

Obviously.

4th OF JULY

We spent this past weekend in Pittsburgh visiting my parents and enjoying the simple things in life. Such things included sleeping past 6am, enjoying an evening out without a toddler, playing in the water, making cookies, making new friends, and spending time with family.

Our weekend began with a few days at my parents house where K baked with United States Grandma.

And then she ran through the sprinkler with Grandpa.

We went for a walk/bike ride on Sunday morning. Our time ended with more water play (thank you, Hyatt Regency Hotel for your wonderful waterfall).

We spent more time in the water on Monday. This time taking in the waterslides at the pool by Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We ended our day on Monday at a petting zoo where K fell in love with some little piggies and goats.

It was a wonderful and restful weekend for all of us.

We left with our hearts full and smiles on our faces.

FATHER'S DAY

MY BABY GIRL

Yesterday was wonderful - complete with tulips, a framed picture, and an afternoon out with my two favorite people. Looking at this picture, I see that my baby really isn't a baby anymore. *sniff, sniff*

SEVENTH ANNUAL

Last Sunday we celebrated Easter with our seventh annual seafood Easter dinner.

Our Easter began a little later than normal (read: K was up at 6:40ish; not her usual 6:05am). We got ready and rushed off to church for brunch. I stress the rushed part of the morning. We did get out of bed later than usual on Sunday. Top that off with me not having any clothes that fit - maternity clothes are too big; regular clothes too small. I hate the awkward stage of pregnancy. I ended up wearing a too small black skirt that nearly bruised my expanding belly. K, on the other hand, had a beautiful and perfectly fitting little Easter dress to wear. Unfortunately, the sleeves hurt her armpits. She cried from the moment we put the dress on until we took it off and dressed her in another dress. The real bummer is D took the tags off the dress before we realized K wouldn't wear it. Maybe our second baby will also be a girl and she'll like the dress...

We arrived at church half an hour late for the brunch. On the flip-side, we were 45 minutes early for church. All in all it was a successful morning.

After church K napped and D and I scrambled to get ready for our dinner.

K woke up and opened her Easter basket from United States Grandma and Grandpa. The sunglasses and stickers inside were a big hit; as were the cashews.

Our guests - all NINE of them (not including the three of us) - arrived around 4:30. We snacked on deviled eggs and more cashews. Around 5:30 we sat down to a feast that included:


1. baked salmon wrapped in puffed pastry and spinach;
2. baked shrimp encrusted with cornmeal - this was by far K's favorite dish of the night;
3. sauteed brussel sprouts with carmalized onions;
4. spinach salad with black beans and blue cheese;
5. homemade bread; and
6. ice-cream cones and bunny cookies for dessert.

I took very few pictures during the day. My major fail was not getting a picture of K in either one of her Easter dresses. I did successful take pictures of our appetizer, the cookies and K's casual afternoon outfit.

FAVORITE THINGS: part III

We are definitely a less is more type of family.

We truly enjoyed the Christmas season and take great pleasure in giving gifts, making gifts and receiving them. For K, we wanted to make Christmas special, but also wanted to keep the focus on the birth of Christ. We tried to do three gifts - just like the gifts from the three wise men. In that spirit, she received some foam letters/numbers and a storage submarine for the bathtub; new crocs, underwear and legwarmers (key items to promote potty training); and a bike.

The bike was definitely a favorite.

She also received EleFun from her friends, E & R. As you can see, it is a lot of fun!

THE CHRISTMAS CARD

I love Christmas cards.

My parents made us take a picture each Christmas every year. There were times when I hated posing for the annual shot. There are some Christmas card pictures that I love and others (especially those during my awkward middle school days) that I'd like to forget. But I love the tradition. I love that I have a little photo album of just Christmas card photos from my childhood. I love looking back and seeing how my brother and I grew and changed from year to year. I love reflecting on what we were doing in the pictures --- there was the soccer year where we wore our soccer uniforms, the year with our dog Bandit, the years of swimming where we wore our Hampton Dolphins uniforms, and the unfortunate years where we tried to pose in our Sunday best. Our family Christmas cards tell the story of us as a family. And I love them.

So it is important to me that each year we take the time to design and send out Christmas cards to friends and family.

This year getting a family Christmas card together was a little bit harder than it has been in the past for several reasons. First, getting a quality family picture with a two year old is challenging - to say the least. And second, my camera was stolen when our house was robbed last month and we did lose some pictures from the computer that was stolen.

I have been feeling a little stressed about getting our card designed and the cards printed in time for the holidays.

Plus there are so many choices when it comes to designing and printing your Christmas cards. This year I decided to use Shutterfly for our Christmas cards. We've been using Shutterfly for several years now as our online photo album and I've always liked their services and products. Their Christmas card designs this year were fantastic (we spent considerable time deciding which one we liked best out of five or six choices) and I really like that the cards can be printed on cardstock. Shutterfly's prices were also reasonable and their holiday savings coupons and deals were unbeatable.

We have coupons for a free photo calendar if we spend $50 or more AND I am also participating in a promotion where you post a blog entry about your shutterfly card and you get 50 cards for free.

SWEET!!

Shutterfly is also offering 30 percent off all cards ordered before December 1st. And free shipping.

We hope to have our cards ordered in the next 24 hours and mailed to friends and family before December 20th. This also poses a huge challenge because my dissertation defense is scheduled for December 20th. We also need to bake and deliver more than 15 plates of Christmas cookies to neighbors and friends. And do some Christmas shopping.

Here's to getting into the Christmas spirit, checking everything off of my to-do list, and celebrating the creation of a wonderful Christmas card...

"Will you marry M?"

Wedding flipflops created by Becky L.

Five years ago TODAY D asked me to marry him.

We dated for nine months before getting engaged.

We each have a specific "Ah-ha" moment, in which we knew the other was the one.

For D the moment he knew I was the one came after a long and stressful week of work. We had made plans to spend Friday evening together, but he was exhausted and in need of some downtime. Knowing that an evening of activities was out of the question, I suggested that we order pizza, drink a beer, and watch TV or a movie together (at the time I was living in a Capitol Hill apartment with FREE cable - a total luxury for both of us). D was excited about my plans. More importantly he felt like I understood what he needed after a long week of work, and he was appreciative of my willingness to just be and relax with him.

For me the moment I knew he was the one came about two months after we started dating in March 2005. I mentioned to D that I was thinking about running a marathon. He quickly responded with, "then let's train and run the Marine Corps Marathon together in October." I was thrilled that he thought we'd be together some seven months later and that he wanted to do something crazy like run a marathon together.

In September 2005 we traveled to South Carolina to spend a long weekend at the beach with my parents and aunt and uncle. On Sunday morning we headed out of a medium-long run on the beach. It was a hot morning and about 1/2 hour into the run we were both hot and tired and in need of some rest. We started to walk. D went ahead and told me not to look until he said so. When instructed I walked over to where he was and there written in the sand was the message:

Will you marry M?

M? Who the heck is M?

D quickly moved in and changed M to ME.

In the heat of the moment he made a grave spelling error. I quickly answered yes to his proposal. He quickly slipped a blinkie ring - costing $0.50 at the Capitol Hill Safeway - on my finger. My actual engagement ring did not ship in time for D to get it before we left for South Carolina. I, however, was thrilled to be engaged and was in love with my blinkie ring. It blinks, for goodness sake.

We spent nearly an hour just enjoying our engagement by ourselves. We then went back to our beach house to share the news with my parents. My father knew about D's plans, as D had talked to him earlier in the week. My mother, however, was totally caught off guard. She quickly switched modes and began planning and baking cookies with much joy.

The night of our engagement, my aunt and uncle prepared a wonderful meal for us - complete with pecan-encrusted salmon. We shared champagne and wedding/marriage stories/advice with each other. The evening ended with my uncle putting on a wonderful fireworks display for us on the beach.

Five months after our engagement, we were married...

SCHEDULING

My life is basically one big schedule. We schedule pretty much everything around here. From meals to naps to grocery store trips to playdates with friends. Bedtime, bathtime, dinner-time, wake up times are all all scheduled. And when we're marathon training, all runs are scheduled.

Case and point: yesterday we were scheduled to run 16 miles. The plan was simple... I'd get up early and get out the door before 7am. This would get me home by 10 and D could run in the later afternoon. This schedule has worked for us in the past.

K woke up 11 minutes before my alarm went off. To some this might sound upsetting, but she slept from 8:30-5:45. This is a HUGE success for us. I woke up feeling rested. She joined me for some breakfast and several glasses of water. We then went upstairs together. I passed her off to D and headed out for my run.

I was ON SCHEDULE.

My run took me through Rock Creek Park and down towards The Mall. As I approached mile 5 the path along RCP got really crowded. It was full of college students. At 7:30 IN THE MORNING.

What the heck?

As I passed them and asked each group to walk single-file (they were monopolizing the path and really making me and the other runners/bikers mad), I remember thinking to myself wow Georgetown is serious about orientation events. They have their freshman out here with box lunches before 8am on their first Saturday of college.

What a crazy thought!

As I passed the Watergate Hotel, traffic along the sidewalks really increased. There were individuals walking around with crazy big cameras and press passes.

What the heck?

That's when I realized that there was a protest/rally going on. There was no orientation event. It was the big event on The Mall.

Freaking Glenn Beck.

I proudly ran AGAINST the flow of participants across the Memorial Bridge. And I kindly gave directions to a father and son hopelessly lost along the Mt Vernon Trial. I then had to detour my run because running along The Mall was out of the question. I back-tracked near the site of the MLK Jr Museum and the FDR Memorial. And then I headed home.

As I was running home, I realized that not only do I need to create and adhere to my own schedules, but in DC I need to be aware of what is going on when because these types of big events can mess with my scheduled running routes.

AH... one more thing to consider each week while scheduling everything.

I'm freaking exhausted. Time to schedule a nap.

10 YEARS

Ten years ago TOMORROW I graduated from college.


TEN YEARS.

In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we were tooling around Meadville stressing out about what we were going to do over the weekend and if we'd finish our comps. Those were the days...

In other ways, college seems like a lifetime ago. Its hard to remember to remember what day-to-day life in our ugly brown house (fondly known as Idaho) was like or how we dreaded waking up at 5am to get to the pool for morning practice.

In honor of our 10 year anniversary of graduating from college, I have put together two top 10 lists. Today I will share my top 10 highlights since college. Tomorrow, I'll share my top 10 favorite memories from college.

Without further ado...

MY TOP 10 LIFE-HIGHLIGHTS SINCE GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE (in random order):

1. Keeping in touch with my college roommates and watching them get terrific jobs, marry wonderful and caring men, and raise beautiful babies. It is hard work keeping up with these ladies since we live miles apart and don't see each other on a daily basis. Blogging has been a great way to stay connected. We also had a ladies weekend last fall together that I hope we keep a tradition.

2. Marrying D.

3. Having K. This accomplishment is two-fold: first, actually giving birth to her is an accomplishment in its own right. Being a mother to her is an accomplishment unto itself.

4. Finishing my masters.

5. Getting into and working towards my PhD. A sub-highlight was passing my comprehensive exams less than three months after having K.

6. Traveling. Since college I've been to: Paris, London, Taiwan, Costa Rica, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Alaska (twice!!), Mexico (cruise), Boston, NYC (too many times to count), Colorado, the Grand Canyon, and New Orleans, to name a few places. I'm traveled with wonderful people, eaten some exceptional food (post on the best meal of the past 10 years should and will be written), and made memories to last a lifetime.

7. Moving to two different cities ON MY OWN. Right after college I moved to Atlanta for two years and then to DC. Moving to a new city without friends or a support network is hard. It is humbling, scary, exciting, and life-changing. Although it wasn't always easy, I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do it twice.

8. Settling down in DC. This process began when I befriended three terrific ladies - Ang, Ace, and Becky. They became my DC family and my reason for staying here. D and I are more settled now that we own a home and are raising our baby here.

9. Completing an Olympic distance triathlon, three marathons, one 1/2 marathon, and two 10-mile races. Not bad for a girl who during college thought anything over a 100 yard swim was too long of a distance to race!

10. Growing up. I've come a long way these past ten years. I look back at the girl I was with my new VW ten years ago and I think she didn't have a clue! Sure, I was driven and I was poised to do great things, but I had a lot to learn. I had no idea that the road would have take me to some really high mountain tops and also to some low valleys. I had no idea that the path would be so winding. But I wouldn't change a thing.

Its been an amazing ten years.

10 YEARS.

A GOOD DAY

It was a good day for running. After getting up at 4am, running a 1/2 marathon, and then driving home, I am freaking exhausted. A full report from the weekend, complete with pictures, is forthcoming. For now...

Weekend stats:

1/2 Marathon: 1:57:20. Official time was 1:58. I had to use the bathroom three miles into the race and lost a minute. It was a good decision to use the portapotty.

Finished the race with David.

Finished with a smile on my face.

Received my finishers medal from a friend from high school.

Got less sleep this weekend than I thought I would.

Had a wonderful time.

More stories and photos to come, but for now...

To quote my daughter, "Night, night!"

EASTER DINNER

Tomorrow we will be hosting our 5th Annual Seafood Easter Dinner.

Our first Easter dinner was celebrated in my Capitol Hill apartment in the spring of 2005. D and I had been dating for about three months and we thought it would be fun to celebrate the Resurrection with our friends and over good food. It was a good time, but looking back I see that we've come a L-O-N-G way.

For our first Easter dinner, we served all the food buffet style and in one course. We ate on couches with plates in our laps. D made enough food to feed three or four-times the number of people we invited. I think I ate pasta with mussels for a week afterward. Our second Easter dinner was held in our first apartment. Again, we ate on the couches or tile floor (we didn't have enough seating for everyone). That year, we did the get the proportions right. Our third Easter dinner was in our new house. We sat down at our wonderful dining room table. Everyone had a seat! We had a four course meal and enjoyed the company of all of our guests. We also announced my pregnancy that day. Last year, we again had enough seating for everyone, including two little ones. We ate a wonderful meal and enjoyed the company of all of our guests.

Tomorrow we'll have a full house - eight adults and two kids. Everyone will have a seat at the table. We also plan to break out Bunny Bowling - a wonderful little game D picked up at some over-crowded furniture store for $1.

For dinner we will be having a five course meal:

1. cheese and crackers

2. carrot-cashew soup with ginger

3. salad - romaine, heart of palm, artichoke hearts and blue cheese with a vinegarette dressing

4. salmon baked in puff pastry with a vegan curry-cheese sauce and spinach. Served with broccoli and roasted mini-red potatoes with fresh rosemary.

5. pound cake with fresh strawberries and blueberries.

MADE ME SMILE

D gave me this card this evening...

It made me smile.

He makes me smile.

I do hope the best is yet to be!

IN HONOR OF VALENTINE'S DAY

We had meatloaf for dinner last night.

Vegetarian meatloaf, that is.

And wine. A white bubbly.

The meatloaf would have paired better with a deep red wine, but we finished that bottle the night before while enjoying a curry dish with tofu, red bell peppers, and scallions over rice.

It was a quiet night at home.

Quiet all around... no screaming baby (in fact, she slept peacefully for 10 hours), no water dripping - not from the windows or ceiling, quiet neighbors, no wind blowing, very few sirens.

It was delightful.

We even baked a loaf a bread and enjoyed the wonderful, irreplaceable smell of fresh bread throughout our house for the evening.

It was your run-of-the-mill night at home, but a night that I hope to not forget.

(And for those of you who don't remember... T.L.A stands for "true love always", duh)




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make your own Valentine's Day conversation heart!

Or use the Goth Mode and make an anti-Valentine's Day heart.

Preview of what's to come on the blog:

1. dissertation: take 2
2. leaking ceilings/ice-dam
3. virtual Ironman
4. list of three things I want to accomplish before I die

"Passing on your left"

This past weekend D and I went out on an 8 mile TOGETHER.

We haven't been out on a run together since July. My mom is to thank for allowing us to get out together. She came to visit this past weekend and she loves spending time with K. And K loves spending time with her. And I love, love, love the company and the help. While my mom was in town I was able to: go for a mid-day run instead of a 6am run on Friday, go out to dinner with friends and my husband (stayed out until midnight!), and go for an 8 mile run with D. It was lovely.

Running with D is one of my favorite things to do. And it has been since early on in our relationship.

Soon after we started dating, I realized that I *really* liked D. We had a lot in common, shared a lot of the same values and beliefs, and had a lot of fun together on our early dates. But I did have two concerns. First, I was worried that he wasn't athletically-stimulating. A couple of months before starting to date D, I had finished my first triathlon and my competitive/determined drive was in full force. I was ready to take on a marathon and more triathlons. I didn't want, nor could I, date a lazy bum. What if D didn't like to exercise? Or worse, what if he wasn't supportive of my crazy disciplined life that includes morning runs, summer swimming, running errands (and truly running)? My second concern was a little more superficial... I was worried that my calf muscles would be bigger than his. In college I dated a tall skinny guy and while walking up a hill with the sun behind us one afternoon I realized how much bigger my calf muscles were than his. Years of pull-jumps, flip turns and swimming produced some big calf muscles. And this guy had skinny legs. I didn't like how our legs looked together and so I vowed never to date a guy with skinner legs than me.

So what if D wasn't athletically stimulating? And what if he had really skinny legs?

My fears were put to rest on our third date... he invited me over to his house for dinner. He cooked a four course meal, complete with salmon and a wonderful ice-cream dessert. When he welcomed me into his apartment, he was in shorts (it was January). And my fear of skinny legs was immediately put to rest. He had nice muscular legs; calves were definitely bigger than mine. Thank God! Before we ate he gave me a quick tour of his place and on his computer table I spotted a picture of him running the National Marathon! Thank you, Jesus. The man runs!

Within a month or so of dating we decided to train for the Marine Corps Marathon together. And so began our love of running together. I've really missed coming home from school and waiting for D to go for a run. Or getting up on Saturday, going for a run, and then cooking a big breakfast together.

Needless to say, our Saturday run together this past week was a highlight of the year for me!

When D met me on our front porch to leave for the run this past Saturday, he was wearing a black running shirt, topped with a white t-shirt, black running shorts, and smurf blue long underwear. He was a site to behold. As we approached the entrance to Rock Creek Park, a small group of runners entered the park with us. They were decked out in all of their cold-weather running gear. D is so anti-gear. He couldn't help but to make a comment about their expensive pants, socks, handwarmers, hats, backpacks full of water. He truly believes its about the running; not the gear. I agree to a point. But I like non-cotton clothing and a cute running skirt never hurts - it's nice to feel cute while you're running 26.2 miles! And a functioning, non-chaffing sports bra is a necessity.

Anyways, D joked about "passing on your left" as we ran past this group of runners with all their gear. The gear definitely does not make you a real runner; nor does it make you faster. The folks we pasted were posers! It was so enjoyable listening to D brag about his blue long-johns. It was also nice to hear him talk about feeling so good while out running. It was so great to be out enjoying the day and the run with him.

As spring approaches, we're hoping to get out more together with K. Our jogging stroller has been sitting in our sunroom collecting dust this past winter. The weather has been too cold. But as soon as spring breaks and it's not too cold for her to be outside with us, be on the look out for us. You'll know us by:

our lack of gear;
the blue long-johns;
and the big smiles on our faces.

BEING A PARENT (aka how a little tough love worked for me)

Being a wife, mom, student, marathoner, etc... is hard work. SERIOUSLY HARD. A few months ago I posted what my daily schedule looks like. It is freaking NON-STOP from sun-up to sun-down. Things have changed - since K stopped nursing, our nanny-share moved to our house, marathon training hasn't officially begun - but my days are still busy. There definitely are not enough hours in the day or night. And when I put my head on the pillow, I want to sleep through the night (even if the night is only a few hours long).

Back in August we went to the beach and K's sleep schedule was rocked. HARD. My little girl who would normally sleep from 10ish to 5:30am was acting like an infant... up every couple of hours, wanting milk in the middle of the night, etc... Some bad habits were built. And we, as parents, were to blame. Her going to bed habits and sleep schedule were all off. We continued to treat her like a baby. I would spend upwards of an hour each night rocking her to sleep. By 9pm I was just getting her to sleep and still needed to do homework, run (if I skipped in the AM), and eat dinner.

K definitely owned me.

And I was miserable. Either I wasn't running or I wasn't getting enough sleep. And I definitely wasn't doing enough homework. I was grumpy. I was mad at myself. I was mad at D - mad that he wasn't doing more and mad that he was doing things that I should be doing (no win situation for him). It was a deadend situation.

SOMETHING needed to change.

On New Year's Eve, we went to a wedding. We got home around 2am. K was up at 2:45. I was up with her until after 5am. It was miserable. I was mad at her. I was mad at myself (you see the MAD theme, yes). I finally put her in her crib, told her I loved her, and walked out of the room. She cried. I cried. I woke D. We needed to talk...

I told him how mad I was; how something needed to change. And we came up with a plan.

We started a new bed/nap routine with K that includes some tough love. She gets her milk before both bedtime and naptime, in the evenings we brush her teeth, and we'll rock her or pat her back for a few minutes. Then we are out of there. She is responsible for falling asleep on her own. And she's responsible for sleeping through the night. No milk in the wee hours of morning. No cuddling.

To use K's new favorite string of words: "No, no, no, no, no!"

We've had a few tough nights with a crying baby in the room next door. And she usually fusses when I leave her room at night. Now the middle of the night cries are few and far between and the nighttime fussing is getting shorter. I only had to sleep one night in our basement because of her crying!

And I feel alive again. I'm not mad. I'm getting rest. Both D and I are able to exercise. I have time to do homework. And we're eating dinner before 10pm.

HALLELUJAH!

And things aren't just good for me. K is sleeping longer each night (not waking until 7:30 most mornings). On days I go to school I usually don't see her. This is sad, but I'm able to get ready so much faster, am at school earlier, and so eager to see her in the afternoon.

The discipline has been good for all of us.

CELEBRATION

This past Sunday, my husband celebrated his birthday. And a B-I-G birthday it was (big number, that is). It was a birthday marked by an age that ends with a ZERO. Yes, another decade. Another 10 years. A new 10 years to look forward to... For those of you who don't know D that well (or don't know that there is a little bit of an age difference between us), you'll probably be surprised to learn that my husband turned 40 on Sunday.

He doesn't look a day over 30 and can still eat (and not gain a pound) like a 16 year old boy.










In honor of D's 40th birthday, I thought I'd share 40 things I love about my husband:

1. he's a really good listener
2. he's a fantastic, fun-loving father
3. he makes me laugh
4. he committed to running a marathon with me to show me he was interested in pursuing me hard
5. we have several inside jokes between us that never seem to get old
6. he's really good at his job and his clients love him
7. he has a really great group of friends
8. he likes to travel
9. he's run two marathons with me
10. he was my biggest fan at last year's NYC marathon
11. he encouraged me to quit my job and enter a PhD program
12. he listens (without complaining) to me go on and on about statistics and never complains
13. he always drives when we go on a road trip
14. we accomplished two of his life goals together on our honeymoon: surfing and hang-gliding
15. he is a fabulous cook
16. he pays all of our bills/manages our money
17. he introduced me to iGoogle
18. he cooks 99.99 percent of our meals
19. he cleans up the kitchen after cooking all of those meals
20. he cleans all of the dirty diapers in the evening
21. he encourages me to sleep in on the weekends when K gets up early
22. he loves eating a meal slowly, having good conversation, and enjoying some nice wine
23. watching him enjoy every moment of our dinner at Per Se brought me so much joy
24. his shrimp/dill salad is to die for
25. other "to die for" items D cooks: eggplant with carmelized onions, bulgar wheat pancakes (with almond powder), pumpkin pancakes, seared sea scallops, vegetarian meatloaf with butternut squash
26. he laughed when I locked us out of our hotel room on our honeymoon
27. he's took care of me when I burst my eardrum, got a concussion, and had the flu
28. he has completed numerous triathlons in the past two years and wants to do more
29. he's content staying home, ordering pizza, and splitting a beer with me (on a Friday night)
30. he held my hand during my c-section as I was throwing up continuously and didn't let go (even though I yelled at him mercilessly during labor)
31. he forgives me again and again and again
32. he enjoys cooking dinner for me and my girlfriends
33. he likes to snuggle
34. he went out with me and two of my friends to a high school basketball game as part of our first date
35. he bought me two engagement rings
36. he married me twice
37. he laughs at and with me (when appropriate)
38. he is honest
39. he is kind
40. he's the best friend I've ever known

Happy birthday, D. Love you.