Happy Anniversary to us!

Johnny and I just celebrated 10 years together and 5 years of marriage. :) 

Ten years seems like a long time...but it doesn't feel like a long time. I mean...we've experienced so much together and we've shared so many moments over the years...but it just seems like the time has gone by so fast. 

I love our relationship though. It just comes so easily. I know you generally have to work to make a relationship work...but I feel like we've put in that work and now it just feels effortless. 

Had Johnny and I stayed together the first time we dated, we actually would have celebrated 17 years together this year. But...so much happened in our lives in those seven years we were apart. I think we both grew and became the people who could make such a successful life together now. I've always believed that everything happens for a reason...and I think that's especially true of all the things that had to happen for us to end up working at the same place at the same time, meet and fall in love, fall apart and then come back together...to end up happily ever after. 

We've both had very volatile relationships in the past. Speaking for myself, I know that I have had a history of being VERY stubborn, saying everything I think (often complaints or criticism), and honestly just focused on a lot of the wrong things. But...I was with guys who were the very same way. Like with XH...both of us were very stubborn, fought constantly, and always focused on what the other person was or wasn't doing...and the way we wanted things to be. It was never a partnership where we worked together. There was a lot of, "well if you're not going to do X then I'm not going to do Z." There was too much resentment and no appreciation from either of us. 

Even in the 6-year relationship I had right before Johnny and I got back together...it was a very different kind of relationship. The first four months of the relationship we were truly dating...but after that it was far more of a long-term "friends with benefits" arrangement than an *actually* relationship. We enjoyed each other's company and I stayed at his house when my kids were with their dad...but I had my own place and we weren't planning any sort of exclusive future together. So it became a situation where...if one of us got pissed off, I just went home. We'd either get over it...or not. It was pretty inconsequential. Don't get me wrong...we loved each other and care about each other very much...but it was in a much different way. I just understood him more than most people and I let him be who he is without trying to change him...and he appreciated that. But we were still two very strong-willed and mouthy personalities who clashed often.  

But things are totally different with Johnny. I'm definitely not as stubborn, I've learned that silence really is golden, and we focus on appreciating each other instead of criticizing each other. Johnny and I are just *nice* to each other. We say nice things and even use cutesy pet names. We say please and thank you. We say "I love you" every time one of us leaves...whether it's just leaving the room or leaving the house. We also do nice things for each other...even when it's just little things like making a favorite snack or doing a chore around the house so the other doesn't have to. That's not to say everything is perfect 100% of the time. We're human and sometimes we get annoyed or cranky or just have a bad day...but those moments are few and far between. Johnny and I are also a lot alike in a lot of ways...from our thoughts on religion and politics to the things we like to see and do. 

But even the things that are different about us...we still complement each other in a way that works so well. For example, Johnny is good cop and I'm bad cop. I have no problem telling the kids no...while he's usually the "nicer" one who is more lenient. We're like that in so many ways. 

Ultimately we're in it together, forever. I really enjoy our life together. :) 

Here's to 10 years...and a lifetime of many more! :) 

August already?!

I can't believe school starts this week! It's hard to believe that Ashlyn will be a SENIOR this year! She met with her guidance counselor last week to make some adjustments to her schedule. She actually only has to go to her classes during first semester to graduate (as long as she passes all of her classes). She'll still be able to go to prom and graduate in May with her class...she just won't have to attend classes during the spring semester. Hopefully she will have a great senior year! 

Aubry started her first day of college yesterday! I talked to her off and on throughout the day and it was nice to hear her enjoying it so much. Despite Johnny and I telling her that it's so much different than high school, I think she thought we were just telling her that to try to convince her to go...but she found out that it actually *is* different than high school. ;) She liked the instructors and the fact that the courses she's taking are hybrid...meaning partially online as well as in-person coursework. The sheet metal program she is taking is just one semester long and she'll earn a technical certificate that she can use to get a job in that field. :) I'm so proud of her for taking this step and I'm so glad that she's excited about it and enjoying the experience so far. 

I've still been working on editing photos. I just have two photos left to finish the first "batch" of pictures my mom is going to order. I've also been focusing a lot on my Etsy shop. I have a set of school designs that I finished and uploaded to my store. I added them later than planned but I'm pleased with how they turned out. And they're not specifically "first day of school" designs so that helps a bit. I also decided to create a bundle for these designs since there are 9 similar designs all together. Since Etsy limits the number of files and the size of the files that can be uploaded, I am actually utilizing Google Drive for the bundle. I still have so many ideas I want to make happen for CandiMaker and I'm excited for the future of my little business. :) After I finish this batch of photos, I'm going to spend some time really focusing on my Etsy shop for a week or two and then get back to editing more pictures. There's a lot of pictures to get through! 

In other news...we had to take Bozley to the vet on Friday. Thursday morning he didn't eat much of his breakfast and he didn't want to eat any of his dinner at all. He's a horribly picky eater...and sometimes he's less inclined to eat than others. But he kept eating grass and throwing it up. He was still drinking water and urinating fine so I just watched him overnight. Friday morning was much the same. We got some ground turkey, turkey breast, pasta, and pumpkin...and he didn't want any of that either. He wasn't even interested in his favorite duck treats...which is when I decided to take him to the vet. At first they thought he might have an obstruction...but 4 different vets pressing on his belly and looking at the x-ray...and they couldn't definitively say if it was really an obstruction or not. They wanted to keep him overnight but not only is it expensive, but I don't like our pets staying overnight at the vet unless absolutely necessary. They aren't staffed overnight plus Bozley has anxiety so much as it is...I wouldn't want his stress to cause even more/other issues. So I asked the vet if there was anything that we could do at home for him. He suggested omeprazole and keeping him hydrated. He kinda moped around throughout the evening. The pups were laying on the couch with Johnny and I while we were watching movies. Johnny went to bed and I stayed up a little longer to work. I grabbed the container with the cooked ground turkey to see if Bozley would eat anything...and he snatched a piece right out of my hand! I got him a bowl of turkey, pasta, and some pumpkin and he ate it all! He didn't throw up anymore after taking the omeprazole, either. And that night before we went to bed he finally had a bowel movement...so we were happy about that as well. Luckily, it seems that Bozley was just constipated instead of obstructed. We fed him the easily-digestible ground turkey, pasta, and pumpkin through the weekend and yesterday we started gradually adding his regular food in as well. Now he's all back to normal. :) 

I really like our animal hospital here in town. There are multiple vets that work in the office and most of them are really great. I do have a favorite, though. He goes by Dr. Q and he's always so great with the animals. He's seen our dogs as well as our cats and he is always caring and knowledgeable. We saw him on Friday and he said that he was going to be worried about Bozley and he wanted me to call back on Saturday to let him know how Bozley is doing. And then Dr. Q even called me yesterday to ask how Bozley was doing after the weekend. I just really appreciate such personable care. 

Well...I better get back to work!