Happy Valentine's Day Eve!

Lu and I are more than ready to celebrate our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife. I haven't gotten his card yet, but I'm so excited that I can shop in the "for my husband" section this year.

We actually kicked off the festivities last night with an aphrodisiacs-themed game night. We invited a bunch of people over and played party games, including "What's Yours Like?" and "Pick-Up Lines." We also bought "Saucy Charades" -- a game where the answers are clean but the acting might be a bit suggestive (i.e. stuffing a turkey, sliding down a fireman's pole, etc.). However, we had so much fun with the other two that we're saving that one for our next game night!

In addition to games, we also had a smorgasbord of aphrodisiac food. Lu and I made chocolate fondue, using one of our new favorite wedding gifts. Other people brought all sorts of delicious, libido-enhancing goodies for us to snack on.

Okay, so the goal wasn't to actually get any libidos enhanced. However, you'd be surprised at what counts as an aphrodisiac! We had guacamole and chips, red velvet cake, sweet potato pie, pumpkin vanilla pudding, popcorn chicken with honey mustard sauce (the aphrodisiac being the honey, not the chicken), quiche, brownies, all sorts of fruits, and of course lots of wine and coffee. Although they weren't at our party, asparagus, figs, and even oysters make the aphrodisiac cut.



Tonight, Lu and I are having a mini-getaway at a hotel... 10 minutes away from our house. While we're not physically going to be that far from home, we are going to turn off our computers and cell phones (or at least silence them) and enjoy our own little world of luxury. In fact, the only thing we're turning on is the romance: massage oil, lingerie, soft music, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries, and even a heart-shaped pizza.

When Lu first told me his idea for this "gift" to each other, I had mixed feelings. What girl doesn't want the flowers, candy, and jewelry?! Besides, we're going on our honeymoon in a few weeks. We'll have plenty of hotel time then, right?

After re-thinking it, I realized something that I'd learned early on in our relationship but had neglected a bit: the most precious gift you can give someone is your time and attention. Flowers die, candy adds calories, and Lu's already made some pretty big investments in the jewelry department recently!

For our first Valentine's Day, I can't think of a better way to spend it than time with friends followed by time with each other. Now, I'm off to pack my overnight bag!

Lu has a huge test on Tuesday, and we'd really appreciate it if everyone who reads this would send up a quick prayer!

In the meantime, I've been holding down the home front: cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, baking cookies, writing Christmas/thank you cards, and packing for our trip home for the holidays.

Although I hate chores, I must admit that I kinda like this. As weird as this sounds, it's actually putting me in the Christmas spirit.

In I, Isaac, Take Thee Rebekah: Moving from Romance to Lasting Love (one of the books we read during our engagement), Ravi Zacharias states that you must literally die to yourself everyday and serve your partnership. Many people go into a marriage with the preconception that it's going to be 50/50. However, one point that has been reiterated by our counselors, in our readings, and by other married couples is that this is not the case.

Marriage should always be 100/100.

Sometimes we can't give our absolute best, but this is when it's even more important to have the support of your spouse. This time, Lu needs me to bear a bit more than my "half" of our marriage.

Taking care of my household, even if there are only two of us right now, is putting me in a wonderful mood. Christmas is all about family, giving, peace, goodwill, and -- like the true essence of Jesus -- love.

I'm sure I won't always feel this great about folding socks and making tuna casserole, so I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can right now!

'Tis the season to be... BUSY. Between planning a wedding, getting married, having a second reception, moving in together, and going to school, Lu and I have had a busy last few months.

Add to that holiday parties, Christmas shopping, planning my parents' 50th anniversary party, and a little thing called finals time, and the holidays are crazy!

Lu and I have come up with a way to save some time this season: We're combining our wedding thank you cards with our Christmas cards.

You're supposed to send thank you notes within six months of the wedding. Since we've received the majority of our gifts already, we've decided to get our cards out a bit early -- just in time for Christmas.

Once again, we've broken etiquette rules in favor of practicality. The thank you card is supposed to be totally separate because our wedding and Christmas are two, distinct "events." However, it doesn't make any sense to us to write two sets of cards, address two sets of envelopes, pay for two sets of postage, and send both to one set of addresses a few days/weeks apart.

The most difficult part was finding a card that would fit into both categories. Luckily, our fall wedding colors (burgundy, yellow, orange, and chocolate) go great with the deep reds and golds of the holiday season. We ended up designing our own cards on Vistaprint:



I think we did a great job. We also used using a coupon code to get 75% off -- 250 thank you/Christmas cards, envelopes, and coordinating return address labels for $42. The wedding definitely taught us how to stick to a budget! :-)

Every Thanksgiving, my family goes around in a circle right before we say grace and each person shares what he/she is thankful for this year. Since I'm not sure if Lu's family does that, I'm going to share my list on here.

Today, I'm thankful for:

-- a healthy body and sound mind.
-- being married to the man of my dreams.
-- my immediate and extended family, who love me and pray for me, even when I'm not there.
-- the fact that my family has now grown to include all of Lu's aunts, uncles, cousins, and a new mom and dad!
-- friends and church family who have filled my life with love and joy as I trudge along this path called graduate school.
-- the light at the end of the tunnel to grad school!! The end is still far away, but at least I can see the light... kinda.
-- most importantly, a growing relationship with God, who ordained all of these things for my life.

Now it's time to sign off, and enjoy myself.... Have a blessed holiday. :-)

We're in Columbia, SC to spend Thanksgiving with Lu's family. Lu's parents have also planned a second reception for us, so we're excited for both Thursday and Friday afternoon. I'm especially excited because my parents are coming down on Friday with my aunt and uncle. :-)

However, the holidays aren't always the most wonderful time of the year for all couples. In fact, they can be downright stressful, or just weird, for most newlyweds. The hardest part: Where to spend it?

My parents grew up in the same city, and my sister and her husband are both from Maryland. Spending the holidays with both families used to be as easy as hopping in the car and driving from breakfast with one family to dinner with the other.

Most of my dating/married friends nowadays are like Lu and me. They grew up in different states than their partners. The holidays become more of a negotiation that generally falls along these lines:

1) "My family's closer, so let's just spend every Thanksgiving with them. Then we'll spend every Christmas with yours."

2) "We'll spend Thanksgiving with your family and Christmas with mine. Then next year, we'll switch."

3) "I love you, but I'd rather spend the holidays with my own family. See you on New Year's Eve!"

4) "Let's just go on a vacation, then we don't have to pick at all...."

The first year we knew each other, the holidays weren't even worth bringing up. By the end of the second year, we were dating pretty seriously. We ended up spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with our own families -- but videochatting with each other during the day, and we headed back to Ann Arbor to spend New Year's Eve together.

Last year, we spent Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with Lu's family. We decided that would be our standard. Thanksgiving at my house, and Christmas at Lu's house. It was actually a pretty easy decision:

-- My family's closer to Michigan, so we usually end up driving to Maryland for long weekends a few times a year. Two full weeks with Lu's family over our two-week break balances out the 3-4 long weekends spent with mine.

-- Thanksgiving is more of a big deal at my house with lots of extended family sharing dinner at alternating relatives' homes.

-- Christmas is a big deal for Lu's family with his parents hosting dinner for 50+ family members each year.

This year, we've flipped it because Lu's parents are having a second reception for us over Thanksgiving, and my parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on Christmas Eve. (Yes, the big 5-0! Amazing!!) However, next year, we'll be back to our routine.

Right now, this works for us. Although I'm sure that there will be some adjustments once we have babies involved.... Good thing we've got some time before we have to worry about that!