The Lolo Chronicles

It’s a lazy Saturday morning and here I am after months of blogging. We celebrated our first year anniversary this week–I don’t know where time has gone, and I wish I could re-live every second of our wedding day, but truthfully, it’s been a great year. A lot has happened since we said ‘I do’, and I’m thankful for each day.

Before we got married, I used to think– what’s the difference? We’ve been together for 7 years, we know everything about each other, spend all our time together…what could possibly change? And now, after a year being a Mrs. I know. I’m proud to be his wife. Proud to have “our family”. It’s a huge emotion that overcomes you when you realize that endlessly, you two are together. That thought makes me feel safe. Makes me hopeful for our future. And no, you don’t know everything about each other. Everyday is a learning experience different from the one before. You are never the same person. You area always growing, changing…

Let’s be honest, our families aren’t the best representation of successful marriages. Sad, but true. For whatever reason, they didn’t work out. Did we turn out okay? Yes. Do we still love each and every one of our parents? (That’s a lot, by the way…) Just come by on Christmas or Mother’s Day brunch and see for yourself. But the fact is–history does not have to repeat itself. We can still find love, make mistakes, get married (or not), have a family, etc., and our families will always be there to support us. I’ve never once looked back and said, “My parents didn’t make it, neither can we”.  I’ve always had faith in my relationship with Greg, regardless of hardships, and continue to believe in the virtue of marriage–even if we do face the odds.

My sister and brother-in-law just celebrated 12 years of marriage. Were all those 12 years bliss? Of course not. But, as my sister and I whole-heartedly believe, “Amor Vincit Omnia“. Love conquers all. What it comes down to is love, encouragement, trust… and when times get tough, you don’t turn your back, you push on through. Read about my sister’s journey here.

So, here we go. Facing the world. Facing the odds. But, we will grow, change, adapt… and we will push on through.

I borrowed this from my friend Jenna.

Amazing. Beautiful. True.

Paul Newman’s letter to his wife on their wedding day…

“Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the Art of Marriage, the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say ‘I love you’ at least once a day. It is never going to sleep angry. It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon; it should continue through all the years. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. It is standing together facing the world. It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways. It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have the wings of an angel. It is not looking for perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. It is finding rooms for things of the spirit. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and obligation is reciprocal. It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.”

Photo Credit: Photoladylove

I’m not sure what convinced me to do this. I haven’t been eating healthy (helllooooo pasta galore!) and our wine drinking habits have increased greatly. Well, I shouldn’t bring Greg into this… But I just haven’t felt “myself” lately, and as we’re coming up on our year anniversary from our wedding (holy cow!) sometimes I think about slipping into my gorgeous, but ruined, wedding dress just to reminisce. But alas, that thing probably wouldn’t fit!

Either way, I signed myself up to do a 3-day cleanse by Pressed Juicery. No caffeine. No alcohol. No meat. No solid food. For 3 days. I could have done 5 days, but knowing my will-power, I settled for the shorter time period. My breakfast, lunch and dinner would be an array of cold-pressed, 100% juices with ingredients such as cucumber, parsley, kale, lemon, carrot, ginger, apple, pineapple, coconut water, almond milk, aloe vera and chlorophyll…the list goes on. Yes, you might say I’m crazy. Right now, it’s the end of DAY II and I might have just lost my mind. And I’ve cheated– I’ve had to eat raw cucumbers and carrots in between just to hold me over. But I don’t know what my body is craving more: coffee, food, or wine. How I have gotten this far without punching someone in the face is beyond me.

I’m proud of myself for making it through. Tomorrow is my last day, and to be honest, I’m already imagining what my break-cleanse meal might be. Don’t get me wrong, though. The first day was absolutely horrible, and today I do feel energized and have been able to manage my hunger for most of the day. The juice is good the first time around, but I’m ready for some sustenance already. And a nice glass of Chardonnay… Cheers to that!

Yes, like everyone else I’m quite saddened by the fact that I have lost an hour of sleep due to Daylight Savings Time. God knows I love my sleepy-time…

However, I’m so ready for these longer days of sunshine and warmer temperatures… (even though we hardly had anything to call a “winter“)

Now is the time to ditch the big coats, the long boots… uncover the Spring wardrobe and get ready for spring grill sessions, long walks outside, and get ready to soak up all that Springtime goodness. Everything about it just puts me in a happy-go-lucky mood.

Oh yes. Hello Spring.

Ok, I’m the worst blogger ever. I’ll blog for a few weeks then go on a hiatus and then come back. Well, here starts the post-hiatus.

Brooklyn is now 5 months old and I cannot express to you how happy Greg and I have been to have her. Not like you could tell by the last post, though right? But honestly, the dog goes everywhere with us, has been on more overnight trips and has traveled more miles than most children, and she’s friggin’ spoiled as all get out. There are many days that I must remind myself: she is a D O G.

But, she brings us pure happiness. She makes me wake up early in the morning, makes me rush home from work to walk her, and I look forward to sunny weekends when Greg and I can have doggy days at the park or “play dates” with our friends’ dogs. Okay, if you don’t have a dog, you just don’t understand. And you know what, I didn’t truly understand this all until we got her either. But, for now… for me and Greg… it’s all about her. If only she responded to the Cesar Millan training that I spend hours learning from the millions of episodes I have recorded on DVR. Whatever. She’s still friggin’ cute.

Finally, she’s arrived…

Pretty much since I’ve known Greg we’ve wanted a dog. We’ve wanted a dog but could never have one. Ugh, stupid renting!

But it’s so much more than that.. and honestly you might laugh when you read this, but the past couple months after we found out that we actually could adopt a dog have been so stressful. We really have been trying to find the perfect addition to our little family– and for a hot minute there I thought I wanted to give up because I felt like I just couldn’t find her. The adoption process was just too difficult (seriously though, it’s almost like adopting a kid, or what I imagine it to be)…

…but then Greg said it would all work out.

And it did. And we found her.

After months of searching pet rescues, I lazily looked online one Saturday morning not thinking anything would be updated. I was surprised to find that a new littler of Rottweiller mix puppies had just been rescued from a group based in DC. OMG OMG OMG OMG.

I immediately emailed the foster parent with the adoption application, practically begging and pleading about this dog, and hoping that they would be at an adoption event the next day. While we were out that night, I received an email from her that they would indeed be at a local adoption event. I told Greg that this was it. We were getting a dog.

The next day we were so ready (and nervous) when we went to the event. When the foster parent came with all the puppies I just about died. If this dog didn’t come home with us, I would have been so depressed. But luckily I had spoken to the foster parent on the phone prior to coming, and she was expecting us. She let us hold her, play with her, and it looked like our chances were really good. When she said we could go inside and buy her a collar… I grabbed Greg. “Omygod! She’s coming home!” We went inside PetsMart and I cried.

A week has gone by and I can’t begin to tell you how much we love this dog. Brooklyn is our baby. I wake up an hour early everyday just to spend time with her. I text Greg throughout the day just to see what she’s doing. Ridiculous? Yes. But she is such a good puppy and we’ve wanted her for so long, and honestly, we’ve never been so happy. It’s amazing how pets can do that…

And..cue the pictures:

Going home

Puppy love

1st visit to the vet. 11 wks 11.7 lbs

HUGE thanks to K-9 Lifesavers Rescue Group for our new family member. We love her so much and we will be forever grateful!

This is long overdue. But definitely deserves a post.

For our anniversary/my birthday gift, Greg and I spent a weekend in the mountains. For weeks we agonized over where we would spend Columbus Day weekend–a rare occasion where both of us had a long weekend off of work– and then finally it came to us– let’s take a bike ride.

And no, I don’t mean a bicycle built for two, I mean a motorcycle ride to the mountains. An hour and a half ride to Shenandoah. It was a perfect weekend, beautiful weather, and it had been years since Greg and I had been on a bike together, but the first time we’d ever actually planned a trip.

This was totally spontaneous. We knew we’d be going to the Shenandoah, we knew we’d be going to stop by and see the Luray Caverns, but we didn’t have a hotel, or know of any places to eat or what else we’d be doing along the way. Perfect.

On the way there we stopped by the cutest side-of-the-road diner where we had the best BBQ sandwiches and fries.

We set on our way to Luray Caverns to walk almost a mile and a half to see stalactites and stalagmites 100 feet under the earth’s surface. The pictures just don’t do it justice.

After Luray, we Yelped a nearby winery, which happened to be on a family owned farm with just about a million roosters and sheep running free all over the property. I understand chickens, but roosters? What purpose do they serve? Either way, we had a good time tasting wines then enjoyed a glass as we swang and listened to all the critters…

To wrap up the weekend we had dinner at a local eatery (literally right down the street from our hotel, or “downtown” as they would call it…”) and a nice sweet breakfast the next morning. It was so chilly though that we had to wait for it to warm up a few degrees before we headed home–otherwise we would have been icicles on the bike headed down 66.

It really was a perfect weekend and just what we needed. It brought back lots of memories, when we used to ride the bike to the river, or when Greg lived in Cali and we used to ride the bike to La Jolla. Ahhh the memories. Still can’t believe it’s been 7 years. Man oh man…

It’s too bad that the weather definitely started to get colder after that weekend because that was such a great idea to take the motorcycle out. Once Spring comes around, we’re getting on that bike more often! I can’t think of a better way to get out and about with your husband.

This one is for my sister.

October 4th is her birthday.

And she deserves to be celebrated…

If you have a sister, consider yourself lucky. They are your best friends. Your partners in crime. They are there for you in your highest of highs and lowest of lows. And, if you’re like my sister and I, at some point you shared a bedroom with pink walls and pink and white striped bedding (not sure she ever thought that was cool, but I thought I was the lucky one who got to be so close with my big sister).

And that’s just the thing–growing up I was in awe of my sister. I always thought she was amazing. Yes, I spied on her when she had boyfriends over in highschool. Yes, I read her diary. Yes, I stole her crimper and damn near fried my hair off, but that’s because I wanted to be like her. I might have been the annoying kid sister to her, but to me she was high on a pedestal.

And to this day, my sister is still an image of strength and beauty that I aspire to be. I still might be “borrowing” her clothes now and again, but it’s much more than that. It’s sharing and experiencing our lives together. Celebrating life’s amazing moments, and pulling each other out of the tough times.

I love my sister. And I’m so thankful to have her as a part of my life.

Happy Birthday <3

So after a 3-month hiatus here I am.

It’s been a little hectic. Back to school. Back to “reality”.  Busy as ever.

But as things have been rolling on and I’ve realized– holy $#@ I’m about to be 25– I had to call my bff and plan a trip.

NYC it was.

So we booked Bolt Bus tickets. Got a hotel room and off we go… (after waiting for the bus for an hour and 1/2)

It was a quick, but fun trip perfect for our 25th birthdays (London also turned 25 in August).

5 years ago London and I took a “birthday trip” to DC. That was epic in itself with many memories and hilarious stories. We’re a little more “mature” these days but this trip this time around was still amazing, even for these mid-twenty somethings.

Pictures to post soon.

There are times where I wish I was off doing something. Like, really doing something. Ya know, like going on a fabulous vacation like the pictures you see pop up in your Facebook newsfeed. Having my weekends filled with things to do, people to see–not having enough time in the weekend to do it all. What was happening out there seemed much more interesting and exciting than my little life inside here.

But then, it happens. Family happens. Things magically are thrown together in a disoriented, dysfunctional little world and I wouldn’t want to be any other place. The kids, the laughs, the chaos, the waking up early and exerting your energy all day long. That happens. And I love it.

Case and point: 4th of July weekend. Ocean City? No thank you. Va Beach? Maybe next time. This year, it was all about our families being together, and having a great time on the water. It was the kids first time tubing, fishing off the dock, grilling hot dogs, back flips onto the water, and fireworks to celebrate this beautiful country and end an amazing weekend… It was just, perfect.

New traditions have begun, and I’m so excited for the future… for our family, and for all of our families. Because it’s not about what’s going on out there… it’s what’s happening, here.