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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Foodie Pen Pals - February

Hello Friends!

For this month's Foodie Pen Pals I got paired with two lovely ladies! I was paired with Brittany at Go the Extra Mile to send a box to and was also paired with Karen at Karen and Charlie's Kitchen who sent me a box. You can check out what I sent Brittany at her blog.

Ms. Karen sent me a fantastic box! And I just have to say, I LOVE how she approached the whole Foodie Pen Pal set-up. She sent me the nicest note with such great questions to help give her some ideas of what to send. Her box to me was a little taste of her life in Texas, so fun!

What I saw when I opened the box!
Hello goodies!

All the yumminess! Chocoalte two ways (Mexican Hot Chocolate, Almond Dark Chocolate Bar) Relish, Texas Salsa, two types of seasonings, some great granola bars and a great reusable bag! 


Some great seasonings I cannot WAIT to try!

Wickles Relish and Texas Salsa! Karen said it was great to spice up lots of different meals.
Karen! Thank you for such a great box! It was fun to recieve all your Texas awesomeness!

If anyone is interested in participating in Foodie Pen Pals, click here!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Our Love Story

Peter and my families have been friends for many years having attended the same church growing up. We were friends with each other’s siblings and had generally been in the same circles most of our lives but had otherwise not really given each other much thought (oh except for the part where I had a big 'ol crush on Peter for as longer than I can remember, but anyway...). Unbeknownst to each other, we had both been working up the nerve to ask the other out. Through a series of fortunate events in late 2007, our paths were brought together (thank you Jesus!).

Event #1: An invitation to Lunch

Peter's family has family lunch nearly every Sunday. One Sunday, Peter's mother invited my family out to lunch. This was not entirely out of the norm, but Peter had a hunch that this was invitation was not for nothing. Our families enjoyed a lovely lunch together and Peter and I hit it off pretty well, but that was about it.

Event #2: A Wedding

Dear friends of both our families, James & Ashley got married. As both our families were in attendance, we got the opportunity to be together once again. I ended up sitting with Peter’s family at dinner and convinced myself that I really needed to ask Peter out. But alas, really didn’t get up the nerve yet. Well, and neither did Peter. But he told me later, he had come to the same conclusion.

Event #3: A Baseball Game

At this point, we’re both interested but nobody has made a move. I, of course, am not one to wait for something to happen if I can take action. So I decided to see if Peter wanted to go to a Seattle Mariners game with me and a few friends. Of course, I did so by calling his sister Emily first (I’m so brave, can’t you tell?). Emily thought it was a great idea so I braved calling Peter and asked him out. Now let’s back-up a minute to mention that Peter was at the very same time working up the nerve to ask me out. As soon I called Emily, she called Peter! So Peter was shocked (but I’m assuming quite happy) that I would be calling so of course he said yes when I called. And there the relationship began.

We had a great time at the baseball game and Peter called a few days later for another date (Death at a Funeral and Cheesecake Factory). I invited him out next to a Pumpkin Patch (which he had never been to!) and we generally kept seeing each other from then on. We both enjoyed being around each other and seemed to have lots in common in terms of our families, how we grew up, etc. Our interests differed, but we began to see what a good compliment we made for each other.




I can’t say our dating relationship smooth sailing. As anyone who was around at the time can attest, we went through a fair amount of heartache “defining the relationship.” I was fairly fresh out of a two+ year relationship and was convinced I didn’t want anything to serious or defined (What was I thinking?!?). Peter on the other hand was pursuing the relationship with very strong intentions. Can you tell we had a lot to figure out? We spend A LOT of time dancing around what we wanted and where our relationship was going until it just became too much. One fateful email from Peter’s older brother really caused Peter and I to hash out (and argue A LOT). After the heat of the argument, we finally decided to just let go of it all. We knew we loved spending time together (whatever we called it) and we knew we didn’t want to stop. Whatever it was we had going, it was worth working through because I think we both knew (even if we hadn’t articulated it yet) we were meant to be together.




Big surprise, that summer we started talking about getting engaged. And that fall, Peter proposed at Thanksgiving in my grandparent’s driveway. It was the sweetest most romantic moment (even with my cousin walking in during the middle of it). He told me just how much he loved me and how he could wait for all our adventures and travels together. I said YES!

We got married a little less than a year later surrounded by our friends and family. It was truly the best day ever!



Peter continues to be my rock and my very best friend. He helps me slow down and but is brave enough to keep up with me and all my craziness. I love him.


Happy  Valentine’s Day Honey!