Post-Wedding Fall Goals

because I love lists.

unplug from unnecessary technology (was SO relaxing to not have phone on for ENTIRE honeymoon. no texts, calls, facebook, twitter, even blogs...)

nest. make my little home well, homey-er.  (should be easy with so many lovely wedding gifts!)

turn off the tv. read, write, go outside.

cook more. and healthier. (because I'm a wife now).

because I'm PMS & getting married next month

(i need to remember that) I'm Grateful for...

good music (specifically sara barielles station on pandora)

a fun new android phone purchased by fiance

tyler working days again and not nights

crossing a bunch off of my to-do list

good weather

the sweetest puppy-girl in the world

the promise of relief in a few days - hah

...

all i really want is my bed

and my dog

and pad thai

and peppermint tea

and tyler

and season 4 of the office

I believe..

...in walking at your graduation. Because it's something you've earned.

... that everyone gets to decide exactly how they feel. 

... that not all grown-ups are grown up.

...in lattes, hot tea with lemon, and animal crackers. And that they solve problems.

... in true friendships. And that you need to put a lot of effort into them.

... in babies. And children. And the ups & downs. And that you can be the EXACT kind of mother you want to be.

... in marriage. Not that it's easy, but I believe in it. 

... in second chances

... in soulmates

....in reading. Reading is SO important.

... in the future & the unknown.

...in asking for a raise. Whether you believe you'll get one or not.

... in going after something you think is impossible.

...in having important conversations however they feel the most genuine. Online, on the phone, in bed, in the bathroom. Whatever.

...

This is a test. Can I wake up earlier?

This has been on every goal list, wish list, to do list, new years resolution. I WANT TO WAKE UP EARLIER & HAVE A MORNING. I am going to try & wake up, walk my dog, cook & eat a hot breakfast WITH coffee, shower, dry my hair... etc. Maybe even throw in a workout. I want to be the kind of person who can do that. On the rare occasion that I have, I have had AMAZING, PRODUCTIVE days where I was less stressed, easy to get along with, and happy. I'm doing some research & trying to come up with a game plan so I can get this done.

http://www.howtowakeupearly.com/

1. No snooze
2. Set an alarm for bed time (or "get ready for bed" time)
3. It takes 3 weeks to make a habit
4. Do not rationalize
5. Reward yourself

ok - #1? Dangerous, but might work. I snooze A LOT. Like, I set my alarm for weird times because I factor in the snooze. Maybe just forcing myself to wake up to ONE alarm without giving an option for snooze will get me out of my bed...

#2 - this is a good idea in theory, but it might stress me out. I can just see 10pm coming with an alarm and feeling like I HAVE to get to bed and i HAVE to fall asleep RIGHT NOW... which sounds like it would actually keep me up.

#3 - I will give this project 3 weeks to see if I can actually make this a habit and not just a novelty "ok I will wake up today, but next Monday will be too rough & I will snooze." 3 weeks. Till end of March.

#4 - Hah - this is sooo me. "My hair is fine, I can wear it in a bun today, so I can sleep 15 more minutes..." "I'm not hungry, 10 more minutes & no breakfast..." "I can sleep in & snooze 20 more minutes because..."

#5 - With breakfast - yummy turkey bacon, eggs, english muffin. Special creamer. A new scarf. New earrings. New playlist on ipod.


A Typical Morning (Now)
Alarm. 7am. Snooze. Alarm. 7:05am. Snooze.  Alarm. 7:10am. Snooze. Alarm. 7:15am. Snooze.Alarm. 7:20am. Snooze. Alarm. 7:25am. Snooze.Alarm. 7:30am. Snooze. Alarm. 7:35am. Wakeup. Oh crap, snoozed too long. Grab outfit that isn't the cutest, put on just the basics makeup quickly, pretend my hair looks stylishly messy, yell at the dog to hurry up & pee outside, grab keys, phone, yogurt, coffee, brush teeth, out the door. 8:12am. Whew.

A Typical Morning (In Three Weeks)
Alarm. 6:15am. Open eyes. Get out of bed, make bed. Turn on TV to morning shows. Throw on sneakers & sweatshirt. Brisk walk with dog outside. Come back in, jump in shower. Wash hair, shave legs. Come out of shower, make & eat breakfast (mmm turkey bacon). Drink coffee while watching morning show. Get dressed, do makeup, blow dry hair. Brush teeth. Grab lunch, big lemon water, keys. Out the door at 8:05am. Sigh. Smile.

Things I am Looking Forward To This Fall (updated)

Update on my list. Dana says I need a new post. I have been slacking. I swear I will be creative soon.

• Visiting the Yankee Candle store. Tavares, we gotta get going on this! Let's pick a date and go.
• Going apple picking at the Nashoba Valley Winery - another thing I haven't done yet - we DID go to Applefest at Wachusett which was... great for people watching. Haha!
• Carving pumpkins - CHECK! And they came out awesome.
• The Backyard - other than putting our pumpkins out there, I haven't been out there much. WAIT! YES I HAVE! Columbus Day it was 80 degrees out... so I brought Ebony & my laptop outside with a blanket and watched SOA. :-)
• Back to school/housewarming party - Good idea. Haven't done it tho. Maybe its just time to start planning the 2nd annual Denker Christmas party!
• Baking - I have been SO good cooking & baking. Things I have made: crock pot lasagna (gross), slow cooker steak tips (yum), slow cooker cranberry turkey (meh), turkey soup (yum), lemon chicken soup (YUM), apple crisp, roasted pumpkin seeds, grilled lemon chicken, pumpkin pancakes, and hash browns.
• Folliage - Um, is it just me or are the leaves taking a REALLY long time to change??
• Save the date pictures - CHECK!!! SO FUN!!!
• FALL CLOTHES - got lots of fun stuff in Maine w/Meg!
• Our -1 year wedding anniversary, 9-9-11! :-)

Wifey To Be - update (or part two)

Here is an update of this post.

1. Shaving my legs - Ok we will have to ask Tyler how I'm doing on this one. I feel like I should get a B+ for effort. 80% of the time I am smooth as a baby's bum. But c'mon, who shaves in the winter? Right? Right?

2. Speaking kindly - I am TRYING on this one. Speaking kindly is something I want to come naturally and as second-nature to me, but I know that will take a lot of effort. Sometimes, after I am rude, I then say how I should have said it, in a much nicer, calmer tone. Does that count?

3. Clean up after myself - I think I am doing the best on this one. I do laundry and clean the house daily. I don't make the bed, though. That is my next goal!

4. Hm... I don't know how I've done here. I'll have to ask him, I think I sortof forgot about this one.

5.

Things I am looking forward to this fall

Meg, Charlotte & I sat outside last night with the first Sam Oktoberfests of the season and started to get excited for autumn. Here are some things I am excited about.

• Visiting the Yankee Candle store. Meg & I had so much fun here last year (of course we didn't take pictures - MEG! Take note - this year, we bring a camera.) There is so much more than just candles - I plan on doing 75% of all Christmas shopping here. I also am excited to add to our little Christmas Village!
• Going apple picking at the Nashoba Valley Winery - Tyler & I did this one year and brought Ebony, it was so much fun. Here's hoping for the perfect weather when we go!
• Carving pumpkins - we carve pumpkins every year with the Valentin-Tavares clan, and I always do two, because I get so excited but I never have the patience that Meg has to do those stencils... maybe this year!
• The Backyard - I want to make use of our backyard as long as weather permits - I hope we can play some outdoor games, drink some beers, and maybe have a fall picnic before the s-word comes and turns everything white.
• Back to school/housewarming party - haven't thought TOO much about this... but hey... could be fun...
• Baking - I want to make a plan to bake one new thing a week, or maybe to perfect a pie or something. I want the house filled with smells of pumpkin, turkey, apples, etc.
• Folliage - with our big windows overlooking the little forrest behind our house, this should be pretty.
• Save the date pictures - we have to take them this fall! That will be fun to plan.
• FALL CLOTHES - stay tuned for a later post on this.
• Our -1 year wedding anniversary, 9-9-11! Eek! WEDDING PLANNING! Exciting :-)

29 ways...

Summer Bucket List

Eat lobster
Read a book
Eat outside... a lot
Spend a whole day at the pool
Take Ebony on long walks
Have a picnic at Castle Island
Get a mani/pedi
Make cocktails in Ball Jars
Scrapbook the summer
Spend a whole day at the beach
Eat steamers
Go to Ikea
Sail on a boat
Go on a hike
Build a sandcastle
Scan all polaroids onto computer, upload
Start a wedding idea book
Make a dinner entirely from farmers market foods

Wifey To Be - part one.

Thanks to this article, I am going to select 5 things to do for the next month or two, without telling Tyler, and report back to see if he noticed, and to see if it improves our (already lovely) life.

1. Shaving - I often neglect shaving my legs, so sue me. I think Tyler would really appreciate it if I kept up with smooth legs, and hey, it is summertime. So I will have smooth, shaven legs.

2. Speak Kindly -  This is something that is really important to me. Sometimes I take things out on Tyler, and he is the most important person in my life. He deserves the best version of me, so I am going to make a point of ALWAYS speaking kindly. Even when I'm frustrated. Or PMS.

3. Clean Up After Myself - Yup, I am a slob. Like, in the worst sense of the word. I want more than anything to be that girl who has the adorable (and clean!) house, and I am really going to take that seriously when we move next month. I want Tyler to know I take our marriage seriously - and I want to make a great home for us.

4. Make Special Time For Us- I've notice Tyler wakes up at 8am (when he just got home from work at 1am) just so he can see me. I think I can wait up for him a few nights a week.

5. Pay Attention - To sports, to Trader Joes, to Nebraska, to him. Not that I don't, I just think I can do better.