As I was reading Emily Freeman’s blog post on what she has learned this month, I thought it would be fun to do one of my own. This is my first full month of marriage, and I love the idea of documenting real life this way. So here goes…
1. I actually like black coffee.
I have always drank coffee with cream and sugar, but I have considerably cut back on the amount of sugar I put in my cup to the point that, at times, I would just throw in some cream and go with it. I usually only drink one cup a day, but lately I just couldn’t seem to get a good coffee:cream:sugar ratio going. So I tried it black, and surprisingly it wasn’t so bad.
2. Podcasts are amazing!
I listened to podcasts a few years ago, but got out of the habit. I bought an iPod in July and have really started listening to podcasts this month. I listen to them while I’m cleaning, when I’m in the car, and just about any other time I can. I love Sorta Awesome, How They Blog, Become a Problogger, and StartUp. I’ve listened to several podcasts where hosts have talked about their favorite podcasts and have many others queued up. I don’t think this habit is ending any time soon.
3. Segways are so fun!
My dear husband planned our honeymoon as a total surprise to me. He planned a three-city adventure as we traveled from where we were married in Tennessee to our new home in Virginia. One of our activities was a Segway tour of Greenville, SC. I’ll admit I was skeptical, but I couldn’t believe how much fun it was. We zoomed around the downtown area for nearly two hours. I definitely had a need for speed!
4. Greenville, SC, is an incredible city.
Also, I couldn’t believe how amazing Greenville is. I’ve been there twice before for Allume conferences, but didn’t have time to explore the city, and I don’t like to go out and explore unfamiliar areas by myself. I’m a bit of a chicken 🙂 We went to an outdoor bluegrass concert at the Peace Center, had dinner overlooking the city, and took the aforementioned Segway tour. I loved it. I told Mark that, of all the places I’ve been, I think Greenville is the place I would most like to live.
5. Wayfair.com might get me in trouble.
Our house is only new to me. Mark had the house built ten years ago, but it was used only as a vacation home as it is located on a lake. He has always loved it but had little time to spend there. We decided to live here full-time and use the money from the sale of Mark’s previous home to pay off this one. Also, he has tried to sale the lake house in the past without any luck due to the economy. It’s never been decorated so all the walls are white with almost no pictures. It’s also a hodge-podge of furniture. I’m excited about making it into “our” home, but it’s also a daunting task, and I don’t want to break the bank either. Thanks to many HGTV commercials, I’ve recently discovered Wayfair.com. Though I haven’t actually ordered anything yet, I have already picked out rugs for the dining room and foyer, and we are going to order a greenhouse to make a sunroom on the back of the house. More to come on those soon!
6. Living in the country requires lots of planning.
I have always lived in town – convenient to everything I needed. After getting married, I’m now living 30 minutes from the nearest Walmart or grocery store and an hour from any real shopping. As I have settled into our new home this month, I quickly learned that forgetting items at the grocery store or leaving items at home costs a lot of time and gas/money, and there is no such thing as fast food if it takes 30 minutes to get there. I can see that grocery lists and meal plans are going to be a necessity, and we are looking at buying a stand-up freezer to expand our limited freezer space which will allow more days between grocery trips.
7. We have so many birds around.
We added a bird feeder and hummingbird feeder to the back deck, and it has become bird central. It is almost always busy, and I could spend hours watching the interactions. I’m going to have to learn more about birds before I can identify them, but there are at least 10 different types of birds out there on a regular basis…and lots of squirrels. Though we bought the “squirrel-proof” feeder, those creatures are crafty…and hilarious.
8. I cannot tolerate mess.
Our house has been driving me crazy. Mark’s previous house sold quickly while he was in the middle of developing his business. Everything was dumped into the lake house, which already had stuff in it – furniture, kitchen items, linens. Not good stuff, but stuff. Add to that all of our stuff, and all of the wedding gifts, and I was ready to scream. So I picked up the book everybody has been talking about – The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It’s been very motivational. There is still so much to do, but I’ve already taken two truckloads to Goodwill.
9. Combining two lives is tough.
Good, but tough. Marriage requires a lot of sacrifice and a lot of grace. I can be rather strong-willed, but it would not be fair or right for me to demand that my way is the only way to do things. Our first month of marriage has been a lesson in learning to communicate better and to be considerate of everyone’s needs.
10. Combining four lives is even tougher.
I married a widower with two children. Though I have been a part of the kids’ lives for several years, it was still an adjustment for everyone. It certainly hasn’t been easy, but it has been better than expected. We had a rough few months leading up to the wedding. We learned that Mark’s son has a red-dye sensitivity that causes emotional outbursts, and when added to some already overwhelming circumstances, it was too much for an 11-year-old. Now that we’re aware of this, things have improved but we are all still adjusting and working towards the new “normal.”
That’s it for me. I’d love to hear what things you have learned this month!