Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Our Wedding Tree: The Chinese Plum

When I moved to Florida, one of the first things I remember being REALLY different were the fruit trees.  I've never lived somewhere that had so many fruit trees just everywhere.  One day, Lamar and I were driving somewhere and he pulled the car over and started picking fruit from this tree on the side of the road.  He got back in the car while rubbing the little fruits on his shirt and started eating them.  I was like, "What is that?! You didn't plant that! Is it safe! What if you're allergic! AHHHH!!!" That was my introduction to Chinese plums or Loquats.  I tried one when we got home (with benadryl close by should the need arise!) They were delicious and I'm not allergic ^.^

Fast forward to March 13th of this year, I planted a Chinese plum seed from my in-laws' tree.  For the first 2 and a half months, it looked like nothing was going to come of it and it even got some sort of mold in the soil.  So I partially chalked it up as a loss, but kept watering it just in case.

Some time in May I came out to see that it had sprouted ^.^  I was super excited about it and showed Lamar.  He was like "YES! Now in 10 years we can have our own Chinese plum tree and get fruit from it!"  He also remarked that since I planted it within our first year of marriage, it can be our 'wedding tree'.  Isn't that sweet!



So here is our Chinese plum wedding tree now.  It's quite a strong little plant and it always makes me happy to see.  Plus I just think its really really cool that I ate the fruit, planted the seed, and then grew this plant!  It's the circle of liiiife!!!

18 Things for 18 Months

Yesterday, Lamar and I reached our 18 month wedding milestone. Hurray! I bought him a cinnabun and put 1.5 candles on it... cuz I'm cute like that ^.^



I also thought it would be cute and fitting to do an 18 things list.  So without further ado, here are 18 things I love about my husband!

1. His dedication:  Lamar has been leading the young adult choir at church for the last few years and even though the turnout is always way less than it should be, he has never quit on it.  (Despite my thoughts that he should, lol)

2. His musical talent
:  I love that he sings and plays the piano.  I think it's really cool how he can pick up songs and separate out the voice parts and teach the choir.

3. The way he supports me:  He is always there to listen to whatever idea I've come up with and always has faith in me completing those goals.

4. His ideas:  Every so often we'll be riding in the car and he comes up with a whole play or book idea, and they're really good.  Now he just needs to sit down and make it happen!

5. His desire to learn:  He loves learning new things and that's awesome in itself.

6. His sweet-tooth:  Because it gives me an excuse to donuts and ice cream ^.^

7. The way he mixes desserts:  When we first started dated, he use to make this "malted milk, ice cream, chocolate drizzled, floating island of happiness" dessert.  I can't even remember what all was in it, but it was ridiculously good!

8. How cute he is with kids:  I love seeing him interact with little kids.  It's adorable.

9. His way of being motivational:  He wants everyone to succeed at whatever they are doing, whether they are his students, friends, or family.  He always has uplifting words to give the kick in the pants needed.

10. His imagination:  This goes along with the ideas, plays, and books he makes up.  I love that his imagination is still active and he hasn't grown out of it.

11. His even keel attitude:  This is something I'm still trying to learn from him.  He has the ability to stay calm in so many situations while I'm freaking out about something that hasn't even happened yet.

12. How he goes along with my photo ideas:  Last year he wore a crochet elf hat in our Christmas pictures... this year he work reindeer antlers... all without complaint.  Well he did wear a shirt that said "please don't make me do stuff" under his sweater... lol

13. He's so encouraging:  I love when he tells me how he interacts with students.  He has a way of encouraging them when they're doing poorly and it endears him to them and they try harder because they know he honestly cares.

14. He's optimistic:  This goes along with the even keel attitude.  He has a way of looking at the bright side almost all the time and you can't help but smile about it.

15. He's forgiving:  This needs no explanation.

16. He's committed
:  He says once he says he's going to do something that's it.  Whether it's our relationship, his work at school, or his work at church.  That is a very admirable trait.

17. He never gets mad at me for having a down swing:  He tries to lift me out of them or get me to see what's actually wrong.  If there's nothing he can do, he just stays nearby.  He never makes me feel bad about it.  And I appreciate that more than words can say.

18. He's so loving: What else can I say? This man is such a blessing!

A bit ago, I was going through some old blog posts from my xanga.com days and I found a list of traits I wanted my husband to have.  It was amazing to see that Lamar possessed nearly all of them.  It just made me even more grateful to God for moving us in such a way to meet. 

Happy 18 Month-TA-versary Love!!!

Friday, December 4, 2015

November 2015: Month in Review

11/1: Fall back... bye bye daylight savings!

11/3: I got a bunch of free 4x4 prints from photobucket!  WIN!!!

11/8: Half way through making 'Calli's Christmas Afghan' (click -here- for progress shots)


11/9: I read the graphic novel "Page by Paige" in one sitting.  It was great!  Awesome artwork too.

11/11: Date Day with Lamar at the Orlando Eye. (blog post -here-)

11/14: We went to Lamar's school to see the Beauty & the Beast musical.

11/21: Received my shutterfly free 4x6 order

11/23: Had a nice date night walking through lit up downtown Winter Garden.

11/26: Thanksgiving! We had a great evening with family and friends.



Throughout the Month

1. Did quite a bit of scrapbooking.
2. During the week of the 15th-21st, I watched Rent (totally and in part) 4 times thanks to the fact that my dear husband kept falling asleep.
3. Got a LOT of reading done! 6 books! Most of them were shorter graphic novels, but a book is a book!  I'm 5 away from my goal!

November Goals Review
1. 2 weeks no soda - DONE!
2. Yoga - Nope... I just need to stop putting this on the list. -___-
3. Finish 3 books - DONE!
4. Control and maintain laundry - Done-ish... I got all the laundry done, but when I was putting it away I ran outta space :( So now I'm a bit backed up again.  *shrug* I tried.
5. Photostory: Photo an hour - DONE! I'll share it soon.

December Goals
1. Complete December Daily
2. Complete Capture December Photo a day
3. At least 2 date nights with Lamar
4. Finish 3 books
5. Celebrate Kwanzaa with friends