Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts

Friday, June 17, 2016

Our Second Wedding Anniversary!

This past Wednesday was Lamar and my second wedding anniversary!!! Yay!  We spent the day at Wet & Wild getting on all the water rides and having a good ol' time ^.^


Anywho, I have been thinking about what to write for this anniversary post all week.  I thought maybe I'll do a list of songs that remind me of Lamar or another questionnaire.  Or maybe I'll just show photos from the day.  After quite a bit of thinking, I've decided to write about a girl we saw at the park.

She was in line in front of me on two rides and I noticed her tattoos.  The first was a constellation and the other was a semicolon. 
"A semicolon is used when the author could've ended a sentence, but chose not to.  You are the author and the sentence is your life."  [click -here- for more info about Project Semicolon]
Then I noticed her scars.

Seeing this girl made me reflect on my own mental health struggles and triumphs.  It also made me think about how blessed I am to have someone as caring and compassionate as Lamar.  In our years together, he has always tried to understand what I'm feeling when my moods swing.  He always asks questions to prompt me to try and explain what anxiety feels like... what the downswings feel like.  He will even drag me out of the bed if need be, lol. 

Seeing her made me remember my scars.  My burns.  My dark days.  My promise to keep up the fight.

Seeing her with her boyfriend made me think about how we are not islands.  We are not ever truly alone in whatever our individual struggles are.  We are never too broken to be loved.  There are times I think back to the poem I was reciting right before Lamar proposed and I remember the very real worries I had and sometimes still have, "Will you still love me depressed?  Will you throw me a life line?  Will you count out reasons to smile? Will you remind me of the good in life?  Will you still love me?"  And every time these worries come up, I see his goofy smile or something that reassures me...

Of course, I will.  What kind of a silly question is that?!


 

I love you Lamar.  Thank you for being my buoy when the waters get rough.  :~)

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

December Date Nights

Lamar and I use to be really good about keeping to our Wednesday date night 'schedule' but we've gotten away from it in the busy-ness of work life.  So to remedy this, I set the December have at least 2 date nights.

Since I was planning to do December Daily, I knew I would want to do photographable things for our dates.  Enter the Downtown Apopka Christmas lights installation!  We had his & hers hot chocolates (mint for him and oatmeal cookie for me) and we went to walk through the park.


December Date Nights Apartment 203 Apopka Florida Christmas Lights Photography Date Night Love Married


It was so much fun!  We took lots of pictures, including a few long exposures... because we're photo nerds after all ^.^  We even recorded ourselves singing carols and sent the video to my parents (who got quite a kick out of our silliness).

December Date Nights Apartment 203 Apopka Florida Christmas Lights Long ExposurePhotography Date Night Love Married

December Date Nights Apartment 203 Apopka Florida Christmas Lights Long ExposurePhotography Date Night Love Married

I love having simple dates like this, where we go out, while still spending one-on-one time together.  Lamar said that's something he loves about me is that I come up with these simple little ideas that turn out to be so much fun.

The next 2 date nights were stay at home movie nights.  One night we watched Insurgent and the other we watched Jurassic World.  Both movies were really good.  Movie nights are always a great goto ideas because you don't really have to plan anything.  Just pick a movie, grab some snacks and get cozy!

December Date Nights Apartment 203 Movie Night Insurgent Divergent Trilogy Tris Four Jurassic World Dinosaurs Raptor Jurassic Park Married Love

The last "date night" we had wasn't an intentional "date night."  Lamar's dad left his Chinese checkers game set after Thanksgiving and one evening I asked Lamar if he wanted to play.  We played two games, both of which I lost... evidently I'm terrible at strategy games! Just terrible!!  Anyway, it was fun to take a spontaneous moment for us to hang out together.

December Date Nights Apartment 203 Game Night Chinese Checkers Board Games Simple dates Married Love

I'm glad I set that date night goal for us.  It definitely stayed in the front of my mind throughout the month.  Now I just need to get on the ball this month as we're more than halfway in and haven't had a date night yet.  Lemme get on this!

What are your goto date night ideas??

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, November 20, 2015

Calamari Dates: I-Drive 360 Experience

A couple weeks ago was Veteran's Day and since Lamar had the day off we were able to have a date day! Huzzah!

We went to I-Drive 360.  That's the area where the Orlando Eye, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and the Orlando Sea Life Aquarium are located.  It's actually quite a cool setup with all three attractions being housed in one building.  Plus free parking ^.^

First, we went to Madame Tussauds.  We took a picture with President Obama and MLK.  I put my foot next to Shaq's and I'm pretty sure his foot is the same length as my whole shin!  Lamar's hands are the same size as Serena Williams' o.O and he danced with Michael Jackson and I'm a hair taller than Beyonce' lol.  Being in there was a little creepy mainly because I kept expecting them to move. Ugh... that thought gives me chills!


Madame Tussauds Wax Museum Orlando Florida President Obama Martin Luther King Jr. Michael Jackson Beyonce

Next we went to the Sea Life Aquarium.  I felt like a little kid squealing about the tiy jellyfish and itty bitty Nemos.  We also saw Dory (Regal Blue Tang) and a huge Gil (Moorish Idolfish).  Towards the end, they had a rock pool area where we could touch everything in it.  So. Many. Weird. Textures!  But I touched everything except the fish because it was too fast.  I think my favorite things to touch were the sea cucumber and the anemone.  The sea cucumber was weird because I couldn't feel it, but I saw that I touched it... does that make sense?  It was like sticking your finger into a bubble.  The anemone closed up and tried to sting my finger but couldn't because my skin was too thick.

Sea Life Orlando Aquarium I-Drive 360 Sting Ray Jellyfish Eel Sea Star Anemone Fish Sharks


Lastly, we rode the Orlando Eye.  It was really pretty to see the city from so high up at night.  I took a time lapse video and it came out pretty cool.


To end our date day, we got a few souvenirs: a ridiculously huge mug for Lamar and a bunch of pressed pennies and a shopping tote for me.  Then we ate french fries at Shake Shack while watching a group of people play petanque.  Of course Lamar started quoting the Cosby scene. ^.^  I definitely want to go back and play.

All in all the day was really good.  We don't get to spend many non-Sabbath days together because of our work schedules.  So that Wednesday was a welcomed change in pace.  We took lots of pictures and I kept pretty much every piece of paper for scrapbooking :)

What was the last excursion you went on?  Have you and your significant other had a particularly awesome date day/night recently?  What are your go to date ideas? Leave a comment, I want to plan more date nights with Lamar.  I've definitely learned that you have to make time to spend with the people you love.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Our First Wedding Anniversary!

RyanAnniversary_2015
We Made It!!!!!

How awesome is it that Lamar and I have been married now for a whole year (plus 1 week)!!  *does happy dance* And to commemorate this, I found this cute list of questions for us to answer.  This will definitely be something nice to look back on as the years march on! ^.^



[1] What has brought you closer together this year?

Lamar: The many firsts we experienced together.

Caleisha: I think that our current housing has brought us closer, literally and figuratively.  Lamar’s brother has been super amazing and is letting us stay with him until we can get our own place.  That means most of my belongings are in boxes in the garage and I’m always on the hunt for ways to make the most of minimal space.  Sometimes I get frustrated but Lamar is always there to help me see through it and make the best of where we are in our life together.

[2] What's your favorite memory of your first year together?

L: Our first Communion together & our staycatiomoon.

C: We have done so many fun/memorable things this year that it’s hard to pick a favorite… so here’s a list Disney World, the Dali Museum, Cirque do Soleil, our Delaware reception, Thanksgiving with my family & him getting to see my VA house, many many #christianturnup nights, Caleishentines, Escape the Room, Christmas with his family, and our Staycationeymoon…

[3] Did you have a wedding or honeymoon disaster that you're already laughing at?  What was it?

L: "I WILL" & the 3 takes on our 'crossing the threshold' photo. (Our officiant phrased our vows in a way that Lamar had to say "I will" instead of "I do".)

C: I wouldn’t say “Disaster” but we do laugh about how late he was to the ceremony. Our wedding started nearly 2 hours late ^.^  The funny thing was when I talked to my Mother in law about it, she was like “eh… that’s my son”  lesigh… but those appetizers he was making were sooo good!

[4] What has surprised you most about being married?

L: How much things stay the same.  Our living situation may contribute to that since we're not in our own place yet.

C: It surprised me how easily I fit in with his family.  I was thinking that we’d have to warm up to each other because you always hear about “monster-in-laws” but his family is really awesome.  The other day, my father-in-law gave me a crochet kit and I knew this was all meant to be ^.^ lol!

[5] Anything shocking you've learned about your spouse?

L: Can't tell you that ;-)

C: Shocking… he doesn’t like pie.  Who doesn’t like pie! Who I ask!?!
RyanAnniversary_2015

[6] What is a bonus quality you discovered in your spouse that you didn't know about until marriage?

L: How loyal she is to her friends.

C: I didn’t know how dedicated he can be.  He’s always telling me that when he commits to doing something whether it’s in his personal life, career, or church, he wants to do it to the fullest of his ability and he sees it through til the end regardless of the opinions of others.

[7] If you could do anything different what would you do?

L: Be on time to the wedding. Do more financial planning before we got married.

C: Probably a wishing well instead of a registry.  We have yet to open the vast majority of our wedding gifts and they're all in storage.  Future brides… don’t let the Bed, Bath, & Beyond guy pressure you into putting random stuff on your registry!

[8] What have you learned from your spouse this year?

L: The importance of taking advantage of the time you have.  My late hours coaching and her weekend working schedule mean that we have limited time together.  So we have to take advantage of it.

C: I have learned to focus more on NOW instead of worrying about what might happen later on.

[9] How have your feelings changed in just one year together?

L: They have been reinforced.  I've seen everything I love about her demonstrated in our everyday lives.

C: More and more over this first year, I’ve been feeling appreciative and blessed to be married to Lamar. He is definitely the type of person that works to lead by example and he always wants to better himself as well as those around him.

[10] What is something you've done that has made a difference in your marriage, that you would give as advice to be successful to others on their wedding day?

L: Listen and make sure you communicate things clearly.  Be patient and be prepared to hear things about yourself you may not want to hear or accept.

C: We talk.  Talking about our days is a really good way to decompress and to make sure that we know what going on with each other.  Whenever we talk about something that’s wrong or upsetting, we try to use the active listening skills that we learned in pre-marital counseling.  When I’m expressing some feeling or another to Lamar and he can respond with his understanding of what I said, I personally find that very reassuring.


RyanAnniversary_2015

And there you have it. Thinking of the answers was a good memory exercise.  I did have to go back through instagram and my phone photos to remember random things we did over the year.  Also, I find it kinda funny that all my answers are longer than Lamar's because he is most definitely the talker between us lol :)

Wish us luck, send up prayers, and send us positivity as we go into our second year of marriage!  Let the adventure continue!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Music of the Moment

Just a little ditty that reminds me of mah booski :)
I love this song. I want it played during my reception, but I really think I'll be the only one jamming to it. *shrug* Meh! Whateva... I'm the bride! lol

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Galavanting Files: Calamari Date Night

Saturday night, Lamar and I were suppose to go to a church social, but it was canceled at the last minute.  So with a night to ourselves, we decided to have a date night ^.^

First, we were going to get a bite to eat at burger king, but as we drove up we passed a little Italian restaurant.  Of course being the foodie explorers we are, we decided to eat there instead.  It turned out to be pretty good, except there were WAY too many options on the menu.  So we ended up getting a large cheese pizza and garlic rolls.  The pizza was on the salty side, but the garlic rolls were delicious!  We chatted about wedding type things as we ate.  It was a good meal. :)

After eating, we went to Congo River Golf for putt-putt and arcade games.  I love that Lamar and I can compete in things and the activity still stays fun.  I'm also glad that he doesn't make fun of me when I win something and swear to never do it again... I'm all about going out on top ^.^  Anyway, we made a video.  Enjoy!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

I Love Me Some Him: Big News

{I accidentally deleted the original post, so this is the recovered version. Crisis averted.}

I want to tell you a story today.

Once upon a time, in the year 2010, a math teacher and an after-school care teacher had a conversation in the gym of the Academy for Sciences and Foreign Languages.  She listened and crocheted while he vented.  When he was all talked out, he went back to his classroom.  She wanted to do something nice for him, but what?  So she wrote her list prayer and an encouraging note on a piece of paper, folded it up, and took it to him.  This was the prayer:
Dear God, please grant me these things.
Serenity for acceptance
Peace to be alright with what I accept
Clarity of Mind to maintain that peace
Strength to stand on my own
Courage to remain standing
Love to be an understanding soul
Open Ears to listen
Open Heart to listen
Wisdom to make good decisions
Patience to wait
Trust to know all things are in God's divine control.

He folded it up and kept it in his wallet.

------------
And that's how Lamar & I met ^.^  It's funny how situations that are so unpleasant and painful can push us to cross paths with the right person at the right time.

Date night at Sam & Greg's Pizza downtown.
When we met, I was working 2 part-time jobs and hunting for a full-time position.  That position turned up, a little while later, as a customer service rep in a call center.  I told Lamar that my last day at the school was coming up and he said, "Since you're going to be busy learning a new job, we should go see a movie now while you have time." (Slick slick Mister...) I agreed, and we planned to see Book of Eli on March 17th.  That night, I had second thoughts, but I did go... and showed up late.  (We missed the beginning... oops.) After the movie we ended up driving donuts in the parking lot trying to decide where to eat.  Since it was super late, IHOP was the only thing open.  We talked until some ungodly hour of the morning... so late that one of my girlfriends called to make sure I was OK, lol!  There was such an ease to our conversation.  That quality, in itself, is hard to find.
Our EPIC snowman! I think it was our first proper snowman ever.
Neither of us remember when we "officially" became boyfriend/girlfriend, but somewhere down the line the conversation went kinda like this.
Lamar: I already call you my girlfriend.
Caleisha: I call you my boyfriend, too.
Lamar: So that's it then, huh?
Caleisha: Yep :)
I'm sure there were more words, but that was the gist of it...
We are SO silly together. We keep each other laughing :)

I know it's very cliche to say, but we've had ups and downs and there are things I regret.  But what makes it better is how much we know that we love each other. I've told him that he is such a picture of grace and love to me.  He's my own 'Christ Object Lesson' and I'm very blessed to have him in my life.  I have his back all the time and he has mine.  :~)

Christmas with his family

To continue the story:
Recently there was a young lady and a young man who had been dating for nearly three years.  She was a data entry clerk in Alabama and he was a math teacher in Florida.  They knew that long distance relationships were hard, but were determined to keep themselves locked on one another.  They sent text messages throughout the day, talked on the phone during his planning period, chatted on facebook, skyped after work, and occasionally sent emails.  He visited her for Thanksgiving and she visited him for Christmas.  But when Valentine's day came around, all she could think and wish was for them to be together. So she texted him to chat.  Their technological bridges would have to suffice.  The text messages went like this:
Her: Good morning Babes & Happy Valentine's day :~)
Him: Right back at ya booski! Happy Valentine's day! I love you! :~)
Her: Are you on planning?
Him: No
Her: Ok. can you call me when you are please? I almost started crying in my salad just now :(
Getting ultra touristy while visiting my family
He called her a bit later and she felt better to have spoken to him.  Later that night, she prepared to perform at the Luvapalooza show with her poetry club.  She sent him the site where he could watch the show stream online.

After her poem (and the minor panic attack that followed), her friends in the poetry club called her back on stage when she'd gathered herself.  They gave her roses & a Build-a-Bear from him (complete with St. Patrick's day dress for their first date) and each person read a verse from a poem he wrote for her.  And when it got to the last verse- 

HE WALKED OUT ONTO THE STAGE!

oaerhooapk;o,akijkhfd;vajmpianeuhv';mtj;anyhb;roba,tr yhakjrpekrj ci !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ran to Lamar and gave him the biggest hug ever!!!! I didn't want to let him go.  He finished reading the poem and then told me that throughout our relationship I'd shown him so much love, through joblessness, family sickness, and all kinds of other times.
"You've shown me love and since God is love- you've shown me God." 
He pulled out a beautiful pearl ring, got down on his knee, and asked me to marry him. ^.^  What could I say but yes?  Well technically, I said "What kind of question is that? Of course!"  (really Caleisha? lol)
Backstage afterwards. I love his forehead kisses :~)
So that's our story.
We are two people who God has blessed to find each other.  Lamar makes everything better in my life. He understands me and does so many things that show his character. He loves me through my emotional ups and downs.  I love loving him. (Wow... cheese much?)  I'm looking forward to many many more years loving and learning more about him.  I can honestly say that I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God brought us together. And that thought makes me feel like the other crappy, cruddy, relationships we've had were to get us to that day in the gym of ASFL nearly 3 years ago.
Wading in Lake Guntersville

Now that this is a proper BOOK, lol, I'm going to end this here.  Please pray for us as we venture into this engagement period and then on into marriage.  Pray that God will put a hedge around us.  Pray that we'll continue communicating and doing it well. Pray that we make proper choices in wedding planning and life planning.  Yeah... :)  I loves me some him! ^.^

Backstage. Still buzzing with happiness.

The ring. He got me a pearl! This was my only wedding dream when I was younger. I always wanted a pearl engagement ring :)