I Was Home, Then I Left, Now I'm Home Again

When you've been married 11 days and only home for three days, the last thing you really want to do is leave town again. Especially when it's for work. But duty called, and so I packed for a four night business trip to Houston, which I ended up cutting down to three nights because I missed my husband so much and couldn't stay away.

There are several things I could recap from the last three weeks of my life, but I feel there are six important things that should be mentioned. 

Casey. LJ. Ashley. Sarah. Mandy. Lauren.

This was where all the fun began with my best girl friends. Sarah had just flown in town from Savannah. Mandy and Casey had come down from north Arkansas. So we all got together at a bed and breakfast off Fairfield for a bridemaid's luncheon. We drank out of tiny coffee cups and tried to talk like ladies for at least an hour or so, unsuccessfully. But the best part was that these girls kept me laughing all weekend. While Jennifer, the hairstylist, was fixing us up, she listened to our silly conversations and made a comment about what a great group of girls friends I had. The photographer said the very same thing. 

These six girls all knew each other on some level, but you would have thought they'd been friends for ages. It was effortless and I'm thrilled we all had so much fun together.  

 

They were gorgeous in their bridesmaids dresses. I think they may have shown me up. But as well as I know all of them, they have a way of surprising me. Like at the reception when they snuck into the kitchen and cut their dresses off to their knees.

It's one of my favorite memories we made that day. One that I'll cherish forever. And it explains perfectly why these girls are my very best friends.

My Five Favorite Things About Mexico

Ty and I had a fabulous time in Cabo, and we learned two valuable lessons:

1. Never wear orange when you have a sunburn. It's not going to be your most flattering shot despite the gorgeous scenery.

2. No matter how good it sounds, or how badly you're craving it, or the fact that you've dieted your ass off dreaming of this day ... never eat a hamburger in Mexico. It made me violently ill and resulted in my husband of three days having to hold my hair back, and the resort staff having to take a taxi to the pharmacy to get me medicine. Stick with the local specialties: seafood. ... nachos. ... tacos. ... the end.

However, despite a few life lessons along the way. There were several things I enjoyed while honeymooning in Mexico. Allow me to highlight my top five favorites:

 

1. The Nachos We Ate Everyday. On our honeymoon, we considered this a lunch appetizer. Homemade chips, authentic Mexican cheese, tender sliced beef -- all delicious, but these key elements are only secondary to the most delicious component on the plate. Holy Frijoles! These were the best refried beans I'd ever eaten. That's not really saying much, but I swear they were amazing. I even ate them with breakfast. I should never have admitted that.  

2. Breakfast Pina Coladas. This picture is slightly out of focus due to a technical camera issue and not because I had too many of the best pina coladas in the world. But I feel the deliciousness still translates through the blur. This was No. 4 in the order of our day.

1.Wake Up.

2. Put on Swimsuit.

3. Eat Breakfast.

4. Pina Colodas.

Ty and I had a discussion on whether or not the drink was spiced with a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg. ... And then we looked at each other and realized we were officially boring and married.

  

3. Releasing Baby Sea Turtles. No worries, this is not another one of my favorite menu items. These are fresh hatched, fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand baby sea turtles. You are a savage if you don't think these are the cutest things ever! It's sea turtle season in Mexico and sea turtle eggs are poached and sold as a delicacy. So, our resort takes the eggs and buries them so they can hatch and then lets guests release them into the ocean. We selfishly thought about bringing one home for the swimming pool. 

4. Mexican Independence Day. We were startled from our sleep one night by these fireworks. My original thought was a drug war shoot-out had erupted on the beach. But I was relieved and confused to see it was fireworks. Why fireworks? Well, it happened to be Mexico's 200th year of independence. I thought that was Cinco de Mayo? And Ty and I both really wished that Marcus was there to explain the difference to us. He loves the History Channel.

5. Seeing the Arch. The only time we left behind the nachos and pina coladas at our resort was to see the Arch and to snorkel. How amazing is this scenery! The Arch is definitely the must-see attraction in Cabo, and I'm glad Ty and I made it a point to go there. I'll tell you more about snorkeling soon.

The Jordans are Back

This picture was taken after our last plate of fish tacos (eaten poolside) and before returning to our room to pack up and head back home Saturday. It feels like an eternity has passed since then. And I already miss those fish tacos.

Ty and I returned from our honeymoon late Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning to the rude realities of life: a dead car battery, loads of laundry, work the next day. It was a good two weeks off. Our wedding and reception was better than anything I could have planned or expected. Simply perfection, thanks to the Lord's blessings and our brilliant chef/event planner, Bill.

We danced, we sang, we inevitably sweated and it was altogether the best night of our lives (so far).

I'll post more on the wedding and Cabo in the coming days.

How Quickly Life Progresses

Last night, LJ and I grabbed some wine and dinner at Tokyo and waited on Ty to finish with band practice at the church and join us. We were chatting about how the wedding is just 10 days away when LJ reminded me of a conversation we had a long time ago at that exact same place.

Years and years ago, LJ and I were eating at Tokyo when I told her that Ty and I were going to give a relationship a shot. Ty and I had been friends for over a year, and she couldn't hide her excitement, or the fact that she thought it was about time.

Now, here I am, 10 days out from saying "I do" to the guy I was so excited to tell my friend about. Crazy. Where does the time go?

In addition, Ty's sister, Mandy, sent us this video of Ruby Belle yesterday. She'll be turning one soon, and we'd just heard a few days before receiving this video that RB had begun pulling up by herself.

When did she get big enough to do that? If she would have let me know she was going to be able to walk, she could have been our flower girl.

It amazes me how quickly life can completely change!