Thankful - Day Three

Day Three

 Today I am thankful for my husband.  For his strength - both physical and emotional.  For his ability to make me laugh and smile, even when life brings me down.  For his patience, understanding, and compassion.   We have grown together beyond what I could have imagined in the last 8 years and this man just "gets" me.   See back to Number 1 for the crazy place I met him - my St. Patrick's Day lover ;)

When people tell me how lucky I am to have Kevin, I try to remember to say thank you instead of "I know".  I do know that I am lucky to have him, but I also think that it was necessary that I have Kevin.  See, when I picture myself going through the trials, devastation, and sadness of the last 4 years without him - I see myself literally crying on the floor.   I won't say that there has not been some on the floor crying, but having Kevin by my side to pick me up and dry my tears; that is what gets me through each day. 

Thank you Kevin, for every day and every moment with you.  Thank you for putting up with "in sickness and in health" more than I ever thought we would experience.  Thank you for being both my rock and testing my patience all the same.  Thank you for putting the pieces back together when I never thought I would be whole again.  Thank you for forgiving me when I spend our Eating Out budget on candy and toys for Boy Wonder.  Thank you for making dinner, cleaning the house, and paying the bills on days when I just can't do anything more than sit.  Thank you for loving me better than I ever knew I deserved. 

Update, Life, Yada

To those of you that know me in real life, and even those of you that don't, thanks for sticking around.  If you're reading this because you actually visited my page, you are some kind of wonderful.  If you're reading this just because I popped up in your Google Reader, even better for not just hitting "Mark All As Read". 

No one wants to hear the constant whining of "I hate my job", I miss my brother, I wish my mom was here, life is stressful, blah, blah, blah.  And right now - those are 99% of the thoughts that run through my head.  I'm working really hard to find something positive every day - and maybe that will lead this blog somewhere, and maybe it will lead me to Total Wine. Who knows? 

I have incredible hope that 2013 will be "our year" for Kevin and I, but we're already on the 100th day of this year, and it's not "our year" quite yet. After the heart breaking, gut wrenching, sadness live we've never known before - somehow we made it through 2011 and 2012 and I am still standing, breathing, and loving. So while I know this is asking a lot, could you keep your fingers crossed for me pretty please? There are so few things I really, truly, want to happen this year - so here's my short list.  If you're prayer inclined, send 'em my way.  If you're not, maybe you'll think of us when you see a soldier, here, safe at home. 

My Wishes for 2013 - Our Year
1. Find closure with the loss of Mom.  If that means a tattoo, a weekly appt with a professional, or a whole lot of wine - find my own healing. This is the most difficult for me to write down, and I fear, the most difficult to bring to actuality.

2. Bring Christopher home safe and happy.  The happy is the only thing I have any control over - the safe thing is the one that worries me the most. Silly boxes from the Dollar Tree help make my big sister heart happy, and bringing a little of the six-one-oh to Afghanistan is all I can do to support him right now. Stick with that, and remind him how much we love him. Oh, and throw one hell of a party when he gets home. 

3. Our own home.  This one has been a long time in the making, and a dream we've been holding onto and working towards since that party in 2005 (even if we didn't know exactly where it would lead us). I owe so much of my survival through the last two years to K, and know that finding a home that is a great fit for both of us is at the top of our list.

4. Friendships - These ever evolving relationships are a challenge, and I know it will take hard work to maintain those I have already and develop new ones this year. Supporting my friends through the changes that are to come this year (some they don't even know are coming yet) will bring us all to new places. 

Love & Hugs

P.S. I actually have another post for tomorrow (crazy, right) with some thank-yous to the people that keep me smiling, in both real life and the internet world. So for real, come back now, ya hear?

Anniversary Trip - New York Fingerlakes

First, let me say that I can't believe we have been married for 3 years.  When the heck did that happen? I really feel like it was not that long ago that I wore that big white dress, couldn't finish a beer without my underage brother swiping it, and filled a venue, a bus, and my hotel with friends and family. 

That being said, Kevin and I took a quick 2 day trip to the New York Fingerlakes for our Anniversary Weekend.  It is a nice feature to have 3 day weekends for most of our anniversaries (Labor Day) and I'm glad we took advantage of that again this year. 

We visited 5 wineries (listed below), and had drinks with my favorite college cousin who is attending Cornell.  A few of the wineries were packed, but it was a gorgeous weekend and we were more than happy to relax outside for a few minutes and wait for some crowds to dissipate.  The beautiful scenery as you drive along Cayuga Lake is just an added bonus, as you can see from a few drive-by pictures that I took. 

Out of the some wineries that are on the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, we chose 5 to visit during our one-day run.  I would probably not suggest visiting more than 5 in one day, unless you pack a hearty lunch, snacks, and have several drivers/drinkers.  The five that Kevin and I enjoyed were: 

1. Cobblestone Winery
2. Goose Watch
3. Knapp
4. Sheldrake Point (any Dirty Dancing fans?)
5. Swedish Hill 

My favorite things about the wine trail were that it was easy to navigate thanks to the map, directions, and most being along the main roads.  The second thing I enjoyed was how inexpensive most of the tastings were.  While $5 does add up eventually, we spent the entire day tasting and only spent $50 (plus the cost of wines we purchased), which was relatively inexpensive all things considered.  

The things I didn't like were that the wineries closed early (5pm for most), even on a busy Saturday.  That was tough, and left us without time to visit two on the end of the lake.  Another item to note is that you will likely need to pack sandwiches/picnic style if you chose to spend a full day.  Only two of the wineries that we saw offered food options, and those were quite limited.  

 I would absolutely go back, and hope to spend some time with my Cornell Cousin this spring and have an opportunity to tour a winery or four with her!