knitcole

This Old Married Life

I've been playing around with the idea of adding a feature on my post about married life and here it is, "This Old Married Life." I wanted to share some of the things I have learned from being married, it's only been a short time but I feel like marriage teaches you something new everyday. Sometimes it's fun and other times it's really hard but it's all worth it.

So without further ado...my first post about this old married life.

Yep, that's our bed. I know, not very exciting. If you're thinking I'm about to say something a la MTV Cribs, like "this is where the magic happens" well that's definitely NOT what this post is all about...so just pull your mind out of the gutter!

Our bedroom is the least decorated part of our house mostly because I'm in the process of making a quilt for our bed and I don't really want to decorate until it's finished, but I digress. We sleep here in this bed every night that we are home. Now when you get married and you have to share a bed with someone every single night it's a little different then when you're dating and you get to spend those little moments like naps and things next to one another. This is EVERY SINGLE DAY people. Here is one of many little oxymoron's about being married.

1. I LOVE sharing a bed with Mr. Coleman. When I travel for business it's weird to be alone and it's difficult for me to fall asleep without him there. I like waking up and looking at his face, or being the psycho that I am watching to see if he's still breathing. (That's a whole other blog on my craziness.) It's wonderful to just roll over and lie on his shoulder or to see him smiling at me when he says "Good Morning."

2. I would really like to NOT have another person always right next to me in my bed! I know this totally contradicts what I said above but many times I just want to stretch out or not think we are having an earthquake when Mr. Coleman moves around and wakes me up! I just want to be alone to move and stretch and not be annoyed by the fact that he's awake and I'm not.

So what do you do about this? I don't know. When I talked to Mr. Coleman about writing this little feature and told him this was going to be my first post he agreed with me. Apparently sleeping next to me everyday is no picnic either. He said when I was away this last time he slept so well but that of course all he wanted was for me to come home and be here with him again. Marriage is full of little things just like this, where you both love and hate the exact same thing. It's bizarre!

I guess that's just the way old married life works.

Nicole

What do you think of me adding "This Old Married Life" as a feature every week or two?

One of many reasons to be thankful.

Ever since I started dating Mr. Coleman the military related holidays like today mean so much more to me. As the granddaughter of a soldier who was wounded twice in WWII, the wife of a soldier who survived Operation Iraqi Freedom virtually unscathed, and the friend and family member of many others I am so thankful that I get to celebrate my loved ones on Veterans Day instead of Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is a day to remember those who died in the many wars and battles that help to keep our country free. On days like today I can't help but think of men and women like Specialist John Winterbottom. John was a man who served in Iraq next to Mr. Coleman except John never made it back home. On May 23, 2007 Specialist John Winterbottom was killed by an Iraqi bomb while serving his country. I'm sure today means something completly different to the Winterbottom family.

I love my husband with all of my heart and I know that he very easily could have ended up like his friend John. There is no rhyme or reason to war and the men and women who die aren't really any different than the ones who come home. Call it lucky, call it fate, call it God's plan; whatever it is war is ugly and the men and women who serve do so regardless of the risks. 

I had something different to blog about today and the weight of this day and what it means just hit me and I had to write about it. I am thankful everyday for the men and women who have fought and will fight for our country, especially those who won't make it home. They fight because they believe in America, not because they believe in whatever war we are currently fighting. Whether it be Vietnam or Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan the men and women of our armed forces may or may not agree with why we are at war but the fact still remains that they are there fighting for each and every one of us and some of them will never come home.

I am thankful that I live in America and I will always support our armed forces because they deserve to be appreciated for the things they do. Things that people like me will never quite understand. I think it was General Patton that said "let me not mourn the men who have died fighting but rather let me glad that such heroes have lived." 

Thank you to all of the American heroes.

Just a teeny tiny stretch out of my comfort zone.

Mr. Coleman and I went out for a bit of shopping yesterday and my goal was to buy a couple of things that were just a bit out of my comfort zone. I managed to get three lovely items, (two dresses from H&M and one shirt from Anthropologie,) and each is just a tiny bit outside of my comfort zone. Here is the lovely top I bought at Anthropologie.

As far as Anthropologie prices go this top was a steal at $39.99. It also comes in navy blue if you prefer. I paired it with my jeans from Urban and my favorite flip flops, (they're Billabong and I got them last summer.)

I chose this lovely necklace I bought three or four years ago from Make Pie Not War because it has just a little touch of nautical fun. I adore this necklace because of the sweet seahorse and the anchor on the side.

Why is this a touch out of my comfort zone you ask, well...it's the lace. Usually lace it way too girlie for my taste but this little added touch is just perfect. I can't take all the credit, Mr. Coleman actually picked it out!

I will have to post on my other two purchases very soon, they are dresses that sit above my knee! If you know me you know that I am the queen of the very long maxi dress...so yeah...comfort zone completely shattered with those two!

Nicole

It's been a long, long haul.

Wednesday the 11th, I left for a business trip that kept me away for over a week. To say it was tough and tiring is a huge understatement. I spent multiple hours in transit, usually on a plane, and managed to hit seven of the great 50 states. I worked like a madwoman and I missed home like I couldn't have imagined I would.This is pretty much how my trip went.

• Wednesday, 12:00 PM Leave LAX
• Wednesday, 2:30 PM Arrive Scottsdale
• Thursday, Work 12+ hours
• Friday, 11:00 AM Leave Scottsdale
• Friday, 3:00 PM Arrive Cleveland
• Friday, 9:00 PM Arrive Richmond
• Friday, 9:30 PM 3 Hour Drive to Maryland
• Saturday, See DC and Hang out with Family
• Sunday, 1:00 PM 3 Hour Drive to Richmond
• Monday, Work 12+ hours
• Tuesday, 9:00 AM Leave Richmond
• Tuesday, 12:30 PM Arrive Chicago
• Tuesday, 3:00 PM Work 8 hours
• Wednesday, Repeat Tuesday (Chicago to Dallas)
• Thursday, 1:00 PM Fly home to LAX
• Thursday, 2:30 PM Home Sweet Home!

It was craziness! I came home so tired I could barely think. I spent any free time I had, which wasn't very much, working on another project or just trying to get some sleep. The three hour time change really killed me at first, I wasn't able to sleep until about 2:30 every morning and then I was away just long enough to get used to it so when I got home I kept getting up stupidly early. Being away that long taught me a lot about how much I really love my husband, my dog and my home.

Here is small photo time line, all from my iPhone, of how I spent my time away.

1. My dog obviously doesn't want me to leave, or she wants to come with me. Sweet little chihuahua stowaway? I WISH!
2. On plane #1...the first of many.
3. Work in Scottsdale! First day of work, sending kisses home to my Mister.
4. This lovely photo stands alone. I woke up to the sound of water pouring OUT of my sink and onto my floor. The sink was not turned on...no the water was coming up out of the pipes, filling my sink and then POURING onto the floor. I wish I had a photo of how much water actually went everywhere, let's just way when I called down to the front desk he said, "it sounds like you have a fountain in your room." Yeah, all this exactly one hour before I need to leave for the airport and I am neither packed nor showered. 
   
5. I spent all day Saturday in Maryland and DC with my wonderful sister and brother in laws, Charisa and Luke. They took me into the city and we saw a couple sights before heading home for a lovely homemade meal and some Wii. This photo is from the Trinidad and Tobago embassy.
6. Good ol' honest Abe. The Lincoln Memorial is truly impressive but the lack of water in the reflection pool was quite a let down.
7. While I was with his sister Mr. Coleman was with my family. This is my dad and my aunt Pammy, they're twinsies and you very rarely see such a nice picture of the two of them, (this is mostly because my dad refuses to smile willingly for photos.)
8. The Washington Monument. 
9. The three hour drive back to Richmond.
10. Dinner in Richmond where I met some lovely people including DeShawn and Larry.
11. I love a good front porch!
12. Bella. Sweet little chocolate lab.
13. FaceTime! I make the silly faces and Mr. Coleman just sits and laughs. FaceTime made being so far away feel a little less horrible.
14. Chicago in the afternoon.
15. Presbyterian church in Chicago
16. Rainy Chicago morning
17. One last flight.
18. A sight for sore eyes. My love at the airport.

I'm home and it feels so good.

Nicole

Blogging is an art form that requires dedication.

I can't believe it's been April 24th since my last post! Truth be told it all started out with blogger's block, then I got really sick and had no desire other than to be in my bed and then it just became easier not to blog than to create a post. How does that happen?

Well, I've decided that it happens because it's easier not to blog than it is to blog. I look at the blogs I follow that have thousands of followers and the amount of dedication they have to their blogs is phenomenal. They blog daily very rarely missing a blog and all of their posts are posts of meaning. That takes a lot of work and dedication. I appreciate that...and admire it.

So here I am sitting in my hotel room in Scottosdale, Arizona before I head out for a very long day of work. I'm on a week long business trip that I'm sure will wipe me out! That said, I have a couple posts in mind that I'm hoping will get the blogger in me up and running again!

Nicole