You know those cute little elderly couples you see on the news or social media who dress in matching outfits and are unknowingly photographed doing little things to demonstrate just how much they still love each other after all these years? I used to read about those couples and wonder if it was true. It seemed like over time love would eventually fade away or get lost between deepening wrinkles. It just seemed to make sense that you would probably get to so used to being together that the other person became nothing more than a presence. People grow apart, after all, and there are countless books written and movies made about escaping loveless marriages with boring partners. Could you really could fall in love with someone and stay in love with them for the rest of your life?

The answer is yes.

I know this because in August 2003, I met the man who has proven to me time and time again just how true it is. And today we’ve been married for 9 phenomenal years!

My amazing husband, Nick.

Our Awesome Wedding Party. We couldn’t ask for better friends!

Thursday, October 1st, was our 4th wedding anniversary. You can read all about it and see more photos on our wedding page here.

My smile was this big the whole day. It really was the best.

It was definitely one of the happiest days of our lives. Things have been a little crazy in our lives lately, however, so we didn’t really get a chance to celebrate. After working most of the day, we went out for celebratory tacos and a small glass of cava from our favorite local taco joint, Nanataco.

Calamari taco, fried oyster taco, rice, beans, and chips. And a litle cava on the side!

Then we came home and cuddled on the couch, watching episodes of Dexter. It was actually kind of perfect, when you think about it. We got to spend some quality time together, and really, isn’t that what really matters?

Happy October, everyone!

I grew up in a small southern town so it’s probably not hard to imagine little, adolescent me dreamily scribbling the last name of some boy next to my first name inside the cover of a 3-ring binder. At one point I was convinced I was going to become Mrs. Nikki Samuel. Fast forward almost 10 years later when I had an actual ring on my finger (not by Mr. Samuel, of course) and I was struggling with that whole concept. I’ve come a long way since those adolescent days and had researched the origins of marriage and didn’t like what I’d found (business dealings where daughters were “property”, religious institutions with strict rules that included discrimination, etc.) and, quite frankly, I wasn’t having any of that. But I digress.

From the moment we got engaged, I knew I didn’t want to change my name completely. My final decision came down to hyphenating it or keeping it just the same.  In the end I chose not to change at all, for a number of reasons, although part of me still thinks hyphenating would have been a fine idea because, in that way, I would have been adding to my identity, not changing it entirely.

I’m thankful for laughter. It’s just so much fun to do and you know when you’re doing it you’re having fun. What’s not to love about that? It’s also a pretty powerful medicine; even on my crappiest days I’ll start to feel better if I can laugh. Of course that means I have to actually find something funny, but when I do, it makes me feel better.

I happen to have a huge smile and boisterous laugh. Don’t believe me? Just look at this photo (or almost any of my wedding photos):

Yup. This is just the way it is and I wouldn’t change it for anything. So, have you laughed today?

…wait, isn’t that from a cheese commercial? Oops. Oh, well. GET TO LAUGHING! 🙂