Me And Mine

I rarely do memes and not because I don't appreciate being tagged for them but because, well, I'm inherently lazy (ask my mom) and that's that. But I read one over at Alyndabear the other day and thought it was perfect parts meme and perfect parts sharing a real taste of who I am. Also, it lets me share some of my favorite posts with you so you don't have to sift through the archives trying to find the worth-reading ones yourself. Now, let's see how far I can get before mentioning Veronica Mars.

(Also, I added one picture per category.)

FAMILY
This one post comes to mind, about how much I adore my nephews. Mike and I really want a baby and I have to say, it doesn't help that we have these kids in our family. (Although back when I wrote this I didn't know when we'd be ready for one, so it's rather funny that it turned out we became ready about four minutes after I hit publish.)

Because, for now, it seems they're enough

(They were all ring bearers at our wedding, in white button-down shirts and khakis. Micallen is hiding, but adorable, trust me.)

FRIEND(S)
I wrote about my thoughts on sororities and the friendships my particular sorority cultivated in the first post. In the second I wrote about Natalie, who I've known for the better end of 14 years and who can sometimes turn my day completely around by just being Natalie.

Like a sorority, but with much better linkage

Natalie

A friend recently told me that my wedding was the most beautiful wedding he'd ever been to, and I had to resist the urge to cry because that was a serious compliment. He then said I had the most incredible friends, and I then had to resist the urge to spend the next three hours telling him just how right he really was.

My crew:

(During the wedding party shot taking.)

MYSELF
I thought about a lot of posts I could share, but re-reading this one makes me truly happy. Getting a second tattoo (of what I got and where I got it) was something I did just for me. It was something I wanted and suffered through to get on my own. (FYI: Most pain I've been in to date.) I am surrounded by good, loving people. But ultimately I should be my own best company. This tattoo reminds me—every day—that I am strong enough to do anything on my own, even if I don't often have to.

My wings 

MY LOVE
Apparently I write about Mike a lot. It's hard to pick just one post. Do I go sappy? Do I go brutally honest? Do I throw a bunch of conversation snippets at you? When everything is said and done, Mike and I have the kind of relationship I always hoped I could one day have with someone, the kind of relationship where you're allowed to be your most authentic self, where you laugh more than you don't, where you hold hands more often than not, where you know the really hard days won't break you because you're both in this. And, the kind that allows you to write things like the following and not really care if people think you're crazy. Because, well, you are crazy. But you're also happy. And I imagine that's the point.

Trust me, but really don't

(Taken at our engagement party in August of 2006. I found his shirt at Target and thought it was hilarious.)

ANYTHING
Anything? Really? Because I have a whole category over there devoted to Veronica Mars that I'd be happy to dive into. But, as much as I love my little blond detective friend, Molly may stop snuggling with me if I don't link to posts about her.

What happens when Dad works late

All I needed was a sad song playing in the background

People tell me that when we have a kid, our love for Molly will wane. It's inevitable, they say. And it's not that I don't believe them, it's just that I really, really hope she never figures that out.

(I'm in a chair here, and all 37 pounds of Molly are on my lap.)

Comments

[Someone Being Me]

Very sweet and entertaining. I'm totally jealous of your foot tattoo. I wanted one for years, YEARS, PEOPLE! And never got one. Maybe someday. The older I get the harder it is to justify another tattoo. Yes, I too have the lower back tattoo required of college freshman girls all over America, aka the tramp stamp.

Your nephews are adorable but enjoy your time of just you and Mike for what it is now. Once you have kids you will find yourself saying things like "When was the last time we went to the movies? had sex? slept? What is that smell? How did all of THAT come out of something so small? And the whole burrito thing was just wrong. Had it been Freebirds that kid would have been in REAL trouble.

[Kristie]

I still think that t-shirt is hilarious, too!

[alyndabear]

This is great - I love the matching pictures!

[EmilyPie]

Ooh. I must go back and read your old posts. Crap, I'm not going to get anything done this weekend....... oooh. Maybe I can stay up late, I never do that anymore.

[bethany actually]

Something jumped right out at me and I feel the need to address it.

Your love for Molly will not wane, any more than your love for Mike or Veronica Mars or fabulous shoes will wane. It's just that compared to the new baby love in your life, all the other loves are going to seem dimmer and less interesting for a while. But that is as it should be. :-)

[Kristabella]

I like the photos! And I love the purple scarves(?) that your bridesmaids all have.

My one friend had these belt things on our bridesmaids dresses that we all tied around our necks like men's ties at the reception. Which wasn't what she really had in mind. :)

[Katie]

That was fun revisiting those old posts! I always love your Molly posts best because I can totally relate to the whole furbaby as child thing :)

[kerrianne]

My second tattoo was something to inherently personal and impulsive that I didn't even tell Chris. It's a set of stars behind my left ear, and I love them more than I imagined. The foot-laden reminder to yourself of your own strength, of your own wings, is brilliant.

Also: I've seen! that shirt at Target, and love it.

Also: Good friends are so amazing. I feel exceedingly blessed in that department and if I think on it for too long I'll start crying. OK, officially too late.

(Also: I leave really long-winded comments! amen.)

[Jess]

Man, these photos are so poignant and fun. Also, thanks for the post of the day shout-out!

[Angella]

While I am not a huge fan of DOING meme's, I LOVE to read them.

Mostly because I learned a LOT about you :)

[Lisa]

Okay, that shirt totally cracked me up. Also, I'm loving this sentence very much: "This tattoo reminds me—every day—that I am strong enough to do anything on my own, even if I don't often have to." I don't have a physical reminder, but I feel the same way.

37 pounds?! I wonder how big Lucy's going to get.