Day 296.

Dear New Husband,

Tonight, we ring in a New Year. And we rang it in with what I would consider to be our Best Palzz here in Dallas. I know, Best Palzz is not the most correct, exciting or adult term to use in reference to adult friends of ours, but, well, I couldn't think of anything more witty or exact. Plus, the four of us are sort of done being adults for a little bit. So Best Palzz it is.

Though these letters are for you, many people have told me how much they enjoy reading this, as well as my honesty about the joys and sorrows of marriage. To all of those who have told me how much they enjoy and appreciate my honesty, I say thank you. I don't consider myself a brave or important or a person that lives a valuable or big life, but I hope that by documenting our journey as newlyweds I show that this marriage business is tough stuff; its not an answer to a problem or a question, its a choice. Marriage certainly makes life more rich, therefore I'm glad to be honest that being rich in marriage requires being rich in humor, faith, patience, forgiveness, respect and enduring affection.

As we begin 2013 I hope its as sweet as 2012, but more wise than 2012. I hope we can continue to bravely blaze this trail of honesty in marriage. 2012 was timeless - it was the year we got married, the year we traveled to secret places on the Earth that few have seen or heard of, the year we moved into two different residences, the year we faced a lot of tribulation, the year you started graduate school and the year I finished graduate school. 2012 has been wonderful, but dear one - I know the best is yet to come.

Especially since we realized we have leftover sparklers from our wedding that we can light up tonight. Hooray! Everyone wins with scars and firework accidents!

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 295.

Dear New Husband,

Today, was a day of compromise.

A day with using gift cards and movie passes to go see Les Miserables, AND watching the Cowboys v. Redskins game.

A day of cleaning and tidying up the rest of the mess that is still residing in our apartment, AND watching the Colts v. the Texans.

Marriage high five.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 294.

Dear New Husband,

Today, we had a lot on our to do list. Including getting my car's [Victor Hugo the Honda] brakes check and an oil change for your car. As well as several different items that had just fallen in the cracks in between finishing graduate school, graduating, Mexico, Christmas, etc.

Then we both treated ourselves for our semi-hard work. For me, that included dinner and an outlet trip with a hands down, all time favorite o' mine. For you, that included dinner by yourself at Chipotle and buying the new iPhone at Sam's. . . . .

How we ever fell in love, I'll never know. But I'm thankful that we know how to have independent fun, then reconvene for some quality time, marathoning through episodes of The West Wing.

Maybe we should send a Christmas card to Aaron Sorkin. And to Netflix for having The West Wing on streaming.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 293.

Dear New Husband,

After realizing we had some things at work that were time sensitive, we decided to drive back to Dallas today. I always leave my parents house wishing we could spend way more time there than either of our schedules allow, but I think that's a good thing; I don't dread going, and I dread leaving. I am fortunate.

So we traveled back across state lines to our home - an overflowing snail mail box, dirty laundry, several piles of unattended belongings from our Mexico trip, and other neglected responsibilities. The vacation had to end sometime!

But I still can't bear to take down our Christmas stuff. Maybe, if we pretend enough, it will still be Christmas until the end of January. Right? Right. Delusion is in the spirit of Christmas, right? I mean, Santa Claus is still a thing!

Just let me have this one.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 292.

Dear New Husband,

Another relaxing day, that ended with us going to go play a game of trivia to support a dear friend's ministry.

This trivia game reminded me of how ultra competitive we are [i.e. ME] and how we really should read more random factoids. . . So we can win trivia competitions in restaurants.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 291.

Dear New Husband,

Today was spent much like our days in Mexico were spent: Reading books. Although, tonight we ended our evening with viewings of Jack Ryan movies, instead of shame eating desserts we had ordered from room service.

Enjoying this vacation and quality time with you and my family. Its the quiet, peaceful moments that are my hands down favorite. Except those moments where we're screaming at our sports teams. Those are hands down favorites too. But only when they win.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 290.

Dear New Husband,

I should have known better than to expect snow today. The local meteorologists made it sound as though we would have a white Christmas. And then we didn't. Those rats. Meanwhile, its down pouring snow where we live. The horror.

But Merry Christmas anyways! You have experienced our family Christmas and lived to tell the tale! We open all our presents, watch the movies we all received for Christmas [Unfortunately, we didn't get to watch yours - you too cool for school Blu-Ray chap, you], eat Christmas lunch/dinner, then we usually go out to see a movie. This year's offering: The Hobbit.

It is so sweet to get to spend this holiday with you, so you can see my family's traditions, as well as become more part of our family 'gang'. Except we don't have any gang colors or tattoos. Not yet, at least.

Merry Christmas, El Huz!

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 289.

Dear New Husband,

Merry Christmas Eve! We spent the first portion of our Christmas Eve in the car, traveling to my parents so we could spend Christmas with the majority of my family.

And not surprisingly, we have had a most excellent day all day. How can anyone ever be in a poor mood when its Christmas?!

I'm very much enjoying having you here, celebrating our first Christmas as husband and wife with my family. A true joy that I am soaking up with every moment, every joke, and every laugh - especially the laughs that occur during very somber and serious moments, like Christmas Ever service. Whoops.

Thanks for always being fun, even when you're sleepy.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 288.

Dear New Husband,

We started the day here.

And finished our day here, celebrating our first Christmas together.

Merry First Christmas, El Huz! Thanks for the popcorn popper!! I'm overjoyed. And not just about the popcorn popper.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 287.

Dear New Husband,

I cannot believe that today is our last day. It seems as though we just got here.

And, naturally, we spent all of today sitting out by the pool, where I victoriously finished the first Harry Potter book for a second time and sunburned my feet. MY FEET. Of all things. Sheesh.

But we finished our trip off with a second dinner at our favorite restaurant on the property, and enjoyed discussing every detail of our trip. True quality time and sweet moments with you, darling one.

Thank you for planning this trip with me, for celebrating with me, and being just as excited as I was/am for spending time together, sharing this adventure and not being too annoyed when I keep singing "I got two tickets to paradise! Pack your bags we'll leave tonight!"

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 286.

Dear New Wife,

First of all, I'm surprised by how early we have gone to bed and how early-ish we have been waking up on our vacation. I guess our relaxed selves are actually 80+ years of age instead of mid-to-late 20's.

Today we toured the property for a sales pitch for buying into a vacation system. We didn't buy into the system - we just went for the free beach massage. And man. Oh man. Was that worth the 90 minutes we spent listening to why we need to travel NOW.

A relaxing 50 minutes of our afternoon was spent getting massages on the beach. Listening to the waves crash on the beach, with a cool breeze blowing, and hearing the bones in our bodies crack back into the right places. What a day to celebrate the Mayan End of the World. If that's what the end of the world holds, then I'll take more please.

However, we encountered the Mayan End of the World at dinner. Blech. We've eaten some pretty terrible things, but that was the pits. Here's to room service. Cheers, End of the World.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 285.

Dear New Husband,

We actually did something today! We adventured out to a nearby eco-park [Which, I'm still not sure what exactly that is. . . Maybe a natural park?] so we could zip-line, swim in a cenote [Which is a cave that has a swimming hole in it. Swimming hole; my Oklahoma is showing], and explore some caves.

Since pictures say 1,000 words, here are a couple of thousands of words to express how fun of a day we had. Despite the awful American tourists that were extra bossy pants, much to our grief and dismay.

Catfishies.

Sexy diaper floaties.

We only explore caves wearing the latest fashion trends.

And then we cleaned ourselves up and finished the day with this:

Dinner.

And a really strange tasting strawberry Bellini.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 284.

Dear New Husband,

Well. We successfully had a complete day with no meetings, no Concierge service to go talk to, generally no responsibilities at all. I mean. Seriously. This is our lives and our view right now:

What the heck?

Another day spent in the sun, AND NO SUNBURNS. I know this may seem like a small thing, but with Scottish and Irish roots, its a miracle I can even go outside. 

But I've enjoyed this quiet relaxation, complete with my Harry Potter book and your Tom Clancy manifesto novel when our only concern is how much sunscreen we are applying and our biggest dilemma is where to eat dinner. We are always blessed, but this trip reminds me how much we have been given.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 283.

Dear New Husband,

First full day in Mexico, and we didn't get sunburns!! Its the personal victories that I tend to treasure the most.

It was nice just to enjoy time by the ocean, and the pool, just enjoying books and the gorgeous weather here. I could get used to being waited on hand and foot. Although, its going to make going home a little more arduous. Please be gracious with me if we come home and I ask for a bottle of water and a Pina Colada. . . I over adapt to my climates.

I did throughly enjoy walking out of the evening 'show' when we found out that it was audience participation night. Audience participation nonsense? Nope, we're out.

Also, Apple really needs to work on how harsh the photo flash on the iPhone is. Sheesh.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 282.

Dear New Husband,

Here we are in such a gorgeous place in the world, shame ordering room service in our 'all inclusive' resort.

But seriously, the food portions are kind of small here when you're used to the globs and globs of food that is placed on your plate in American restaurants such as Pei Wei. I mean, seriously. Have you seen those portion sizes?!

However, I am very happy to be here with you. And that you're an accomplished travel companion that I know won't bring in any rookie items through security like hand sanitizer or bottled water.

Excited to be here with you and so glad that I always get to have adventures with you.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 281.

Dear New Husband,

What a day we have had today. What a journey is over, and what big of an adventure still awaits. Starting tomorrow. With a much needed vacation to Mexico.

Thank you for being you - for being the level head when I fly off the handle, for being the logic when my passions and zest drives me nuts or to overreact, and for always communicating how cute I look, even when I feel like a nasty, drab lady.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 280.

Dear New Husband,

A very exciting day indeed - my bestie & her El Huz, and my parents are in town to celebrate me graduating with my Master's.

AND YOU BOUGHT ME AN iPAD YOU STINKER. As I continually tinker with this new piece of technology, I want you to know that you are so loved, even without the immense gifts of love you buy for me. Though I am excited to use this and play way too much Fruit Ninja on it, I dearly love the bottle of win you got; a bottle of wine from the vineyard we visited on our honeymoon.

Speaking my love languages all over the place! Thankful for your thoughtfulness and generosity, even with the sacrifice it brings.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 279.

Dear New Husband,

Playing hookie & driving to go see The Hobbit with some favorites of ours was so delectable. A great way to spend a Friday with you.

Also, I feel like a failure for not being able to proclaim that I had actually read the book before I watched the movies - my inner nerd-ness and terrible need to show how amazing I am at things such as reading books before they became movies is pretty rotten. Not gonna lie.

But thanks for continuing to love me and buying me mounds of movie theater popcorn, slathered in fake butter substances, that will inevitably make me feel gravely ill, and for always sharing the middle seat with me. You are a treasure, dear one.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 278.

Dear New Husband,

Despite the movie we went to go see ended up being a dud [Playing for Keeps, in case anyone was wondering, is pretty 'meh' - wait for Redbox], I enjoyed venturing to the new 'Bar & Grill' movie theater that has opened up down the street from us. The seats were comfy, but they are so obviously learning how to provide service in a very dimly lit movie theater.

One of your sweetest qualities is how gracious you are to businesses that have just opened. You are so polite when the service is somewhat terrible, and are incredibly patient with wait staff that is trying to figure out how to serve food and drinks in between rows and rows of moviegoers that are silently, yet passive aggressively, munching on their "tardy" food.

In those moments, I'm so proud to be your wife. Rather than hitch my wagon to a man that is openly complaining about the service, you somehow seem to find a bright spot and encourage how to improve. As we strolled back to our car, you even talked about how you wanted to come back, when I know there were others that did not share your optimistic view. You make me proud and inspire me to bite my tongue.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 277.

Dear New Husband,

Well. We ripped off the band-aid and saw how much we owe in student loans. . . Ugh. Sticker shock.

But I'm thankful for your level head as I tried to convince you we need to liquidate everything we own in order to pay it all off - which in hindsight would have been a horrible idea.

Thankful for you, your willingness to help and for always trying to be the best cheerleader and solution finder there is. . . As per usual, you da best.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 276.

Dear New Husband,

My first day as a 'Master's Graduate' [Well, technically its my first day. I haven't officially graduated yet, but I've completed all the coursework!] and I go into work as I have neglected work for what seems like months. I know that 'months' is not true - but I love my job and hate that I have had to put it on the back burner these past few weeks. 

And then you made it to the finals of your basketball intramural league! We won't talk about the outcome of the game, but I'm so proud that you guys made it to the finals! It may be just intramural's, but its still important to you, which makes it even more important to me.

Sweet, simple day - complete with pizza because hey, sometimes you gotta neglect all those leftovers for hot, fresh junk food. C'est la vie.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 275.

Dear New Husband,

Okay, now I am actually finished with graduate school, as I do not have any more classes to attend. Ever.

And, its our 9 month anniversary! Congratulations on spending 9 months with an absolute type A over achiever!

But I am relieved, excited and sad that this chapter is closing. I probably could have stayed in grad school forever. I cannot help myself. I love academics. . . Maybe a little too much. It might be considered unhealthy.

A big thank you goes out to you for supporting me so well these last few weeks and encouraging me to finish strong.

And thank you for celebrating in a way of my choosing: With bubbles, popcorn and sweet quality time.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 274.

Dear New Husband,

I am so incredibly proud of you for finishing your half marathon today! You inspire me with your athleticism and dedication to perseverance, even though your body was begging you to stop at a couple of points.

Plus, I'm so glad I got such a prime spot so you could give me a drive-by smooch right before you crossed the finish line. You're such a sweet romantic, dear one.

But I am so proud of you and what you have accomplished - the dedication you put into this race is inspiring. Thanks for letting me be part of your story!

Such a tired hunk.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 273.

Dear New Husband,

A day spent running errands. . . Which was a recipe for disaster. Sometimes, life is not as fun as we would like, but I love that we know how to make up and move on in a healthy manner. Thanks for always sticking it out with me and trying to see what life is like from my side of the world.

And, what started out as going to run some more errands following dinner [Delicious roast beef recipe that my Momma taught me the last time she was here] ended up going to look at Christmas lights in a neighborhood where Clark Griswold resides.

Spur of the moment little adventures like that is one of the reasons why marrying you was such a wonderful idea.

That and you don't make me look like the only ridiculous person in a photo. But really, we get easily excited about Christmas.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 272.

Dear New Husband,

A moderately busy day. A morning of meetings, being incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of study materials I have to take for my licensing exam, but still being relieved that the finish line is near.

Again, another evening at home, complete with a homemade dinner - but this is how I want to spend my Friday night. I want to spend it with you, addressing Christmas cards and watching Christmas movies. Nothing is more relaxing than a quiet evening at home [Which lets be honest, we seldom have gotten the last couple of weeks] and enjoying simple pleasures.

Thanks for always being up to being slightly agoraphobic with me.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 271.

Dear New Husband,

A mental health day for me as I celebrate the first day 'off' that I have had in a very long time. Granted, I got bored pretty instantly, but it was good for me. 

Plus, we later got to spend a wonderful time at Trader Joe's. Nothing I love more than grocery shopping with you. Plus, I don't have to do all the heavy lifting. Everyone wins!

Thanks for a peaceful evening, and for enjoying the simple pleasures with me. Including leftovers.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 270.

Dear New Husband,

It was an enjoyable date night, celebrating the fact that I am finished with my major assignments for graduate school. We celebrated by going to see Lincoln at a nearby movie theater that serves dinner and drinks, while you are reclining in a recliner.

I mean, really. How much more American could we get?

But movies like that get me all twitterpated in regards to the democratic process of policy making. . . Gives me an itch to get my law degree. Hold me back, dear one. Encourage me that master level social workers can get somewhere with policy without a law degree.

Otherwise, you will have more psychotic, emotional breakdowns if I do decide that law school is in my future. You've been warned.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 269.

Dear New Husband,

IT. IS. FINISHED.

I did it. I finished my capstone paper - adding research, revisions and edits - in 13 hours. Holy. Crap. I cannot even believe its over. Thank goodness.

Now my heart will just shrink down to the size of a raisin until I get my grade back. No biggie.

Thank you, again, for being so supportive and sweet today. I did nothing to merit your support and I'm so thankful and grateful for it. You always da best.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 268.

Dear New Husband,

A day full of school work for me. A day filled with regular work and some school work for you. So excited that our school work is coming to an end.

Hopefully my school work is coming to an end forever for me; or unless I elect to self-inflict more education on myself. Which I, sadly, could see myself doing. I literally cannot help myself - I love learning and academics. Although, today - Its the worst.

But thanks for pulling out all the stops on being extra supportive this week. Especially since tomorrow is going to be super painful as I finish my capstone paper tomorrow. Woof.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 267.

Dear New Husband,

A day complete with discovering you may have been bitten by a brown recluse [Pending further investigation and you making a doctor's appointment for tomorrow], me napping for most of the afternoon as I stayed up until 2 am last night working on a group project/assignments for class, me working more on assignments for class, and ending with a Dallas Cowboys win. 

Oh, and your triumphant return home. Let's not forget that. I'm glad you had a great time, but I'm so glad you're home. Mainly because I love you. And mainly because I still have some Christmas decorations I want to hang, but cannot do it solo because I'm too short.

Thankful for your genetics that make you tall. Thankful that you always miss me when you're gone.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 266.

Dear New Husband,

While you're off in the woods and I'm at home, doing things like getting a mani/pedi, getting a car wash and spending our money at Trader Joe's on things like Greek yogurt and prosciutto, its fun for me to live the pseudo single-lady life style.

Well. Pseudo single-lady life style that includes staying up late to continue to work on my school work and work projects that are still left undone. But that's beside the point - its nice to have some alone time, and some time with friends. Not that I don't get those things when you are in town, but. . . I feel like I'm explaining this wrong and making it sound terrible. But you know what I mean. I think its something along the lines of absence makes the heart grow fonder. And I'm enjoying getting some things taken off of my to-do list. Or something like that.

Excited to have you back home tomorrow, but have enjoyed this weekend.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 265.

Dear New Husband,

We only have 100 days left of letters. Where does time go? Fortunately, for us, time has gone into investing into each other, time has gone into spending lots of time in airports, time has gone into school work, time has gone into figuring out how money exactly works - and how you do that thing rich people do where you take money and turn it into more money, time has gone into realizing that holy crap - we committed the rest of our lives to this person and they are really annoying me, time has gone into realizing holy crap - we committed the rest of our lives to this person and I have never accomplished anything to deserve the sacrifice they put into this weird marriage thing.

As Ferris Bueller once said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Thankful that these letters are a reflection of looking around at this weird process of learning another person, and learning myself with another person.

And I'm thankful that you're off in the woods so I can hog up the whole bed.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 264.

Dear New Husband,

With assignments, stress ulcers, and tears inevitably on the horizon for me, it was nice to be able to have a date night with you. Granted, I wish we had known a little bit more about what we were getting ourselves into with Flight - which I now predict will be shown in graduate level social work classes for years to come. Especially in regards to substance abuse.

But it was worth it; it was worth it to pretend that we do not have any kinds of responsibility headed our way. Just us sharing a meal [God bless Texas & its dine-in movie theaters] and a movie.

Thanks for always making time, every week, to date your wife. I know plenty of wives that do not have the fortune that I have to have you. . . But then you would have multiple wives. Although I'd be dying by inches of curiosity to see how you make a date night happen for each of those wives.

But I digress.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 263.

Dear New Husband,

Yet another stressful day. Including me forgetting that a professor that always wanted assignments emailed to him decided he wanted our major paper turned in, a la hard copy.

Which only aided into me turning into a bigger basket case than I already am. Fun times for all to be had. But then you pulled moves like these:

And drove up a copy of my paper to me. You truly saved my behind. You're my sweetheart, darling one.

Thanks for being flexible and being willing to cancel our usual Wednesday night small group plans so I could stay at home, brood, and work on more homework. You have been incredibly considerate during this rough patch of school, work and being sick. So keep on, keeping on. Your love and deep care does not go unnoticed. And I hope that some day you become completely batty so I can return the favor.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 262.

Dear New Husband,

I've been hunched over the computer for far too long today/tonight/all day. Yet another paper is due tomorrow and I am crunching it down to the wire on this one. I think this might be the most pitiful paper I have written in all of graduate school. 

Which makes sense because its a counseling, therapy focused paper and my concentration is not in counseling. Woof. But oh well - pushing forward for the great goal of a Master's, which is so close to being in my grasp.

Thanks for being supportive and not being too upset when I fly off the handle and meltdown into the shell of a normal, functioning human being. You deserve awards, parades and as much Reese's as a stomach can hold. Thanks for always trying to cheerlead me onto success.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 261.

Dear New Husband,

Longest day ever? Almost. It definitely does not beat all the quality time we spent traveling to Central Asia. But, getting up at 5 am is for the birds. Let the record show: I do not enjoy early mornings.

Plus I really did not enjoy that we had to take two separate flight patterns to get home. Things that happen when you book flights with your frequent flier miles. Le sigh. But, you didn't miss much. As I slept on all two of my flights. I didn't even put my tray down for drink service, that's how tired I was. That's almost unheard of! 

Because if I'm paying for a flight, then I am getting that 'free' drink that I have rightfully earned by paying $25 for my checked bag!!!

Thankful you got an earlier flight home. Thankful you take care of me when I feel incredibly dreadful. Thankful that you clean up when I am so exhausted/sick. You da best. As per usual.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 260.

Dear New Husband,

Its hard to believe that we are headed back to the Texas heat again tomorrow morning. Wait, let me rephrase that.

We are headed back to the Texas heat in the pitch black early morning hours that make grown men weep. Ugh.

This has been such a good trip - especially for me. Its nice to be able to log this time in with all your family; I know that to them I may still be a bit of a mystery. But the good news is that I think I'm still a bit of a mystery to you as well #womanprobs

Seriously. This trip has meant a lot to me and I know it has for you too - I hope it has meant as much to them. Despite me diving off to work on my paper(s) and my sinuses collapsing into themselves like a dying star.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 259.

Dear New Husband,

We celebrated Christmas with your family today and decorated Christmas cookies.

And the Pokes lost in OT in Bedlam.

You win two, you lose one.

C'est la vie.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 258.

Dear New Husband,

I truly enjoyed an evening/day out with your family at Busch Gardens - but it seriously feels so weird that its Christmas already. I mean, sure Thanksgiving was yesterday and we're celebrating Christmas with your family tomorrow, but that's not what I mean.

What I mean is that I cannot believe that this year is almost over, that its almost Christmas. WHAT. Weren't we just getting married yesterday? Weren't you just proposing last week? Weren't we just emailing back and forth about engagement rings; both awkwardly excited about what it all meant? Weren't we just going on our first date? HOW DOES TIME MOVE SO QUICKLY.

Despite the fact that I'm starting to freak myself out that 2012 is almost over, I truly did enjoy time with your family today. I enjoyed every minute of getting to be part of your story.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 257.

Dear New Husband,

Stuffed. To. The. Brim. I truly enjoyed my first official holiday [As in a day when the banks are closed] as part of your family.

Granted, there was a bit of tears, because change is hard. It doesn't necessarily mean that change is bad, its just different than from what I have known for the last 25 years. Its not the same, but I'm so glad you understand that. And understand how I worry about everyone else.

More importantly, we participated in Black Friday shopping with your seeeester. Well. Can you still call it Black Friday shopping if you go at 9 pm on a Thursday night? But it yielded fruitful results. Sure, we had to wait in line for 30 minutes, but it wasn't as horrible as I expected. However, I think its because we went to Target and everyone knows that Target is where dreams come true and everyone is polite and kind. Not like that heathen store Wal-Mart! I'M LOOKING AT YOU SAM WALTON.

But I digress.

Thanks for trying to understand and for knowing that the remedy was bargain hunting through a stack of DVDs and Blu-Rays.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 256.

Dear New Husband,

I GOT YOU APPLE TV FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY! AND A BLU-RAY COPY OF THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO!

I love birthdays and hate keeping secrets. So I am so glad I can shout it from the rooftops what I got you for your birthday.

So happy 26th, darling one. I treasure these moments and times with you and I'm so glad your family gets to share in your birthday with you. You add joy, love, companionship and so much laughter to my life. Thank you for being you and being a man of your word.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 255.

Dear New Husband,

A long long long day. Its amazing how hungry you get when you have breakfast at 5 am. And amazing how tired you get when you wake up at 4:30 am.

But I'm thankful that we are here with your family and enjoying time with them. Despite the fact I feel as though I am 80 years old and need to take 5 naps today.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 254.

Dear New Husband,

I'm so glad you didn't have class, so that way you could spend your evening at home and help finish up all the things I could not finish up before we leave for Virginia tomorrow morning for Thanksgiving.

And thank goodness you did, because I do not know how I would have accomplished all the things that needed accomplishing without you. You are always da best. Thanks for being you, for being 'efficient' and for always asking what needs to be done; most importantly, doing whatever that thing is without complaining or whining, even when I know its not your most favorite thing(s) to do.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 253.

Dear New Husband,

I am so blessed to have a man that will take me to the zoo so I can spend the afternoon watching otters swim around. Because I have a ridiculous obsession with these precious, adorable mammals.

SERIOUSLY. WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE.

Plus, you even tried, beforehand, to get the zoo to allow me back there to play with the otters, possibly feed them and/or swim with them. WHAT. Turns out, the zoo doesn't even allow their otter handlers close to them, so it feels as natural of a habitat as possible for these precious, adorable, noisy, stinky, and playful animals.

Thanks for trying to make my otter dreams come true. And thanks for not thinking its weird that an adult is so obsessed with a furry animal.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 252.

Dear New Husband,

A busy busy day. To say the least. Getting up at 7 am on a Saturday is definitely not my love language. Its probably my hate language. But I'm happy to do it so I can work alongside you and help with yet another packing event.

Its a joy to be able to invite people along for the ride that is our job's. But I have to admit. I'm so sleepy/tired. The drool on the couch cushions from the nap(s) I have taken today prove that.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 251.

Dear New Husband,

A day that started out with us getting spend time together this morning; three cheers for all your comp time that you have that you have to take now! Hip hip hooray!

Then. An evening where we were just going to go out for burgers. And we ended up going to Trader Joe's, Gap, and seeing Argo and splitting a meal. And getting a text from a favorite o' mine that she is engaged. A solid evening to be sure.

Its so nice to have time together; time to actually enjoy each other's company in the midst of how busy we are, how the holidays are literally around the corner - this inevitably means that we are more busy. A good busy, but busy still the same.

Then throw in that its my last semester of graduate school and you're in grad school and we're both ridiculously busy at work. . . I have no clue how we function on a regular basis.

So impressed by you and the man you are; I truly married up.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 250.

Dear New Husband,

Those Red Lobster Crabfest commercials finally got to us, as we spent the evening enjoying one pound of crab legs and other treats from the sea. Hubba.

I'm not usually a huge fan of Red Lobster, as I have all those obnoxious beliefs about supporting local businesses, etc. etc. But that was pretty enjoyable. So cheers to you, R. Lobs for a splendid date night. And you, El Huz for a splendid date night. Followed by a viewing of the movie Date Night.

What more could I ask for?! But seriously, it was a nice evening not talking about school, work, and everything else that is causing us to stress out. Thanks for forcing me to not focus on how overwhelmed we both are and to instead, focus on how blessed we are to have each other.

And to have Crabfest.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 249.

Dear New Husband,

A full day for the both of us. My day filled with school, your day filled with the end of the year newsletter we send out. It seems we are two chickens. Just running around with our heads cut off.

Which is probably a bad thing because hey, if we're both missing our heads, who can see where we're going?

Did I take the metaphor too far?. . . Yeah. Probably.

Our busy lives is another sign the holidays and the end of the year is nigh. But in the midst of this overwhelmingly busy season in our lives, I'm thankful that you willingly help out with so much so I don't have to do all of this stuff by myself. Because we all know what would inevitably happen there: I would deny I had anything to do until the last minute and then emotionally destroy myself trying to get everything done.

Oh my. I am truly a horribly time managing human being.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 248.

Dear New Husband,

Pretty sure this was not how I imagined our evening together would go. But then. Oh then. I came home only to be slapped in the face with what I can now describe as: 'The death of an animal that has been held captive in a baby diaper full of Indian food.'

You have been incredibly kind by moving the stove and the fridge for us [Rather, you actually! You have been so diligent in cleaning!] to clean behind them. We have deep cleaned almost everything possible, including the garbage disposal and still our kitchen smells rotten.

So here's hoping there isn't a dead Mickey [This is the name I'm giving to the potential dead mouse that may have laid himself to rest in one of our walls] and that this last ditch attempt to clean the dishwasher proves to be fruitful.

Otherwise, you should probably buy me about 28 candles for Christmas. Preferably my favorite ones from Anthropologie. 

Thanks for taking on projects, like discovering what is secreting a horrible smell, for being so diligent in the small things and being incredibly handy with fridges, stoves and dishwashers.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 247.

Dear New Husband,

On Mondays I feel as though I don't have much to write about, since we don't spend much time together on Mondays.

But here's the good news: I still love you. We're still married. And we both think the overtime rules for the NFL are dumb.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 246.

Dear New Husband,

I am writing this post earlier than usual because. . . Well. I'm tired. And you're tired as well, so I imagine come my normal time of posting these letters, we will both be asleep.

We get the chance to do pretty cool things and travel to pretty cool places. But my favorite is when people volunteer to work with us; volunteers might be some of my favorite people of all time. They freely give of time and resources and usually have such sweet dispositions and serving hearts. Today was no exception as a church volunteered their time and resources to pack meals and seeds for those who desperately need it.

Our feet, our muscles, our spirits, our minds - they're all tired. But I know my heart is full as I see so many people and families that care so much about people they will never meet.

We have the greatest jobs.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 245.

Dear New Husband,

Happy 8 month anniversary to you, dear one! It is warmer today, in November, than it was on our wedding day. In March. Sheesh.

We celebrated with a decided Oklahoma State victory and you went to go help set up for a packing event that our organization is hosting this weekend. It finished off with another meal shared at Chuy's. Additionally, we made it a Blockbuster night. We rented a dud, that we couldn't even make it through, and a success.

Truly, I enjoy a rented movie at home with you. With our things, our life, our stuff. . . Plus, we get to mercilessly mock whatever is happening. Who doesn't love at home heckling?! I know I do.

I love you more today than I did 8 months ago,

Your New Wife.

Day 244.

Dear New Husband,

Definitely a busy day for me and for you. You prepared for a packing event for our organization at a local church. I made cookies and dinner for a favorite couple o' ours that is adjusting to having a new member in their family.

Then. Oh, then. We went to the opera Aida. What is not to love? Doomed lovers that are an Ethiopian princess and an Egyptian general. I'll admit the production value was a little 'meh' when you consider the grand scale of ancient Egypt, but that's okay. Still worth it. A very moving opera. Plus, at the end, they brought the conductor on stage for a round of applause from the packed house. I wish more operas did that; conducting on that grand of a scale is not for the faint of heart. . . My identity as daughter of a band nerd is showing.

I appreciate that the value of art and music was instilled in me by my parents, and that the willingness to try anything once, within reason, was instilled in you by your parents. Makes our lives much more diverse and exciting.

Thanks for dating your wifey.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 243.

Dear New Husband,

After being so busy at work this week, you took today off. Which I fully support. Fully. And I'm so thankful you stayed at home. First, because you really needed that time off. Second, you got so much done around our apartment to prepare for our friends coming over tonight.

You even cut up the spaghetti squash - because I literally cannot chop that gourd.

Thanks for trying to be as engaged as possible with our friends, despite the very close Virginia Tech football game that was on. And thanks for being just as enthusiastic as I was as I used Borax on almost every cleanable surface. It is truly exciting to see our bathtub that clean. And our disposal that clean. And our toilets that clean. . .

Oh gosh. I've gotten old. I'm excited over a new cleaning agent to clean surfaces in our apartment.

Send help. And chocolate.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 242.

Dear New Husband,

Tonight was spent gathering Christmas presents for your family [As we're celebrating Christmas with them when we get to Virginia for Thanksgiving] - and I have to say it was a wild success.

I have to admit, I'm a list person. I am a list maker. I am organized. I am tediously boring at times. So not being able to shop from a list is difficult for me, but I'm proud of the creativity that innately came out.

Let's all high five.

Thanks for laughing just as hard as me at a book full of meerkats, and being wildly entertained by my vast knowledge of nerdy things - like who composes music for movie soundtracks. This is just a by-product of having your Dad be a band nerd. But I'm glad these are things you enjoy about me, because these are things I enjoy about myself. I know a lot of random trivia that may not seem valuable to others, but it is valuable to me. I may not know anything about physics, but I know who made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs.

Thanks for being the Mitchell to my Cam.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 241.

Dear New Husband,

A late night for us [Since we're old grownups who have jobs and cannot stay up past 11 pm and function for the mornings] as we watch the ending of another Presidential Election race.

No matter what either of our beliefs our [Because while similar, they still contain a multitude of differences] its incredible to know that no tanks, bombs, wars, riots, etc. broke out because of the election last night. That we peaceably accept the outcome of the election. Furthermore, its incredibly humbling that we get to vote and know that our vote gets counted. And that I, as a woman, can go vote without worry of being jailed, beaten or oppressed for doing so.

I am humbled by the fact that we get to live the United States, when we have been so many places where the last paragraph is not a reality. We get to live a good life - even when we disagree with the politics of our nation, we enjoy freedoms so many others do not.

Including the right to not be judged for eating leftovers three times this week.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 240.

Dear New Husband,

A day that started with us seeing my Marmee off as she headed back home - I always hate it when we have to part. Bummer. 

A day that contained two papers for me and a test for you. BIG bummer.

A day that contained dinner of delicious leftovers. Yay!

And now a day that is ending with Monday Night Football and watching last night's Once Upon a Time. BIG yay!

Glad neither of us have class tonight, and instead we can recover from a very busy and enjoyable weekend.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 239.

Dear New Husband,

I loved getting an extra hour of sleep this morning, but it proves to be a very confusing evening as I remain convinced that it is almost midnight, rather than almost 11 pm. But I digress.

I enjoyed a day with you, cheering on my amazing Aunt as she accomplished such a huge milestone - walking 60 miles in 3 Days. She did it for my Marmee, but its amazing to see how many other women benefit from her commitment. A very inspiring day that makes me feel very life affirmed about what we get to do for a job: We get to impact people's lives [Hopefully!] for the better. What. In. The. Crazy.

Also, let us not forget about the fabulous lunch we had downtown. Brunch next weekend? Also also, re-watching Dowton Abbey with my Marmee reminds me how awesome this show is. Is it January yet?

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 238.

Dear New Husband,

My Marmee taught me how to make roast beef and took us out for frozen yogurt.

My OK State Cowboys lost.

You win some, you lose some.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 237.

Dear New Husband,

Well. I spent the day pawing through other people's trinkets, collectibles and antiques with my Marmee and our dear friend. It. Was. Awesome. And incredibly exhausting. Fortunately for you and for our bank account, it was so overwhelming, that I only purchased one item. 

I appreciated the quality time with these two women, but I'm not going to lie: I was definitely excited to come home and take my shoes off.

I even more enjoyed watching "How to Steal a Million" with you and my Marmee tonight. One of the few Audrey Hepburn movies that I had not seen, nor had my Marmee, and now I'm so glad I have seen it. Even more glad that you enjoyed a classic movie with one of my favorite actresses. Always a treat.

Thanks for being you and always supporting your wife going on a 'junk hunt.'

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 236.

Dear New Husband,

A very full, frustrating, yet somehow affirming day at work for me. As hard as it is to hear difficult news, it is also very nice to hear someone be straight with me. It sets me up to know how to face the challenges ahead; because the best offense knows what the defense is doing. Or something sports-like similar to that sentiment.

Additionally, we got to make dinner for my Marmee and hang out with my fab Aunt before she starts the Komen 3-Day walk. Moments like these make me wish we lived closer to my family. I could get used to nights like these.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 235.

Dear New Husband,

I so badly wanted to dress up for our first Halloween together as Han & Leia, circa Empire Strikes Back

Despite not dressing up, I loved enjoying Halloween with you around a fire pit, roasting marshmallows and just getting to hang out with our home group. I love evenings spent around the fire pit. I love that smell of 'fire' on my clothes, and love knowing that smell came while making s'mores. Hubba.

Besides, we can save Han & Leia for another time. And just think, when we get a dog, we can dress him/her up as an AT-AT!

You're welcome.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 234.

Dear New Husband,

A wonderful date night at our favorites of all favorites: CHUY'S.

I know people think its loud. It is. 

I know people think its got crazy, Miami beach decor. It does.

But that doesn't matter. Nothing stands between us and our love for Chuy's. Because it's just that delicious. So thanks for always being up for a quirky date night at a quirky location. No matter what everyone else says, Chuy's is the best.

But only during happy hour when we can get half priced margaritas and free nachos.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 233.

Dear New Husband,

A long and tiring Monday. 

This one is going to be short, because well - I'm tired. And I know that this level of tiredness means that I'm stressed. So thanks for being continually sweet and doing things around our home and for me to pitch in to make my stress level decrease. 

You always da best.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 232.

Dear New Husband,

As Dallas Cowboys tickets fell into our laps today, I knew I wanted to snatch them up for you and a friend. Partly because I feel heinous, and partly because I think you need some 'dude' time without your wifey.

You humor me by buying tickets to Aida, frequenting trendy sushi restaurants, wandering around Anthropologie, and watching my guilty pleasure tv shows next to me. And while some might criticize you for your manhood, I say that this makes you more of a man; you know the important things to your wife and 30 minutes - 4 hours is nothing to you if it means you get to spend time with me. So thank you for humoring your wife and learning to try new things. 

My reward is snagging a friend's free tickets to the Cowboys game and watching you so excited to attend a game that you didn't know you were going to attend.

You're welcome. You deserve fun treats.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 231.

Dear New Husband,

We have really great friends. And a really great life. Sometimes, I forget that we have a great life. We are fortunate enough that I never forget we have really great friends, because they always invite us to cool stuff, like park openings. 

And I have to say, I've been looking forward to this park opening since I moved to our city over three years ago. Its amazing to live in a city that wants to innovate itself, by tunneling a section of highway and then building a park on top of the tunnel. And right next to the beloved Arts District, where you sweetly asked me to be your wifey. 

Naturally, to go along with our evening was a ride on public transit [I still wish we lived somewhere where the public transit was more reliable and not as sketch], crisp autumn weather, FOOD TRUCKS, an Owen Wilson sighting, vino, laughs and our favorites. Thanks for always being a fun date, for always having the best interests at heart and for keeping short accounts.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 230.

Dear New Husband,

After a pretty up and down week, it was very nice to have you come home, pizza in hand and have an evening at home with one of my family's favorite 'Halloween' movies: Arsenic & Old Lace. I'm so glad you have a weird sense of humor like my family does. I mean, we may have not gotten married otherwise.

Well. Almost an evening at home, as we finally ventured out to the Trader Joe's that FINALLY opened in our neck of the woods. And I have to say, I'm a top fan. Cheaper produce, wine, Greek yogurt AND. The mother load.

The goat cheese with cranberry spread that I have been dreaming about since we left France. They had it. And for a steal of a deal. Its taking everything within me to not eat that whole thing at once. Just slather myself in goat cheese cranberry goodness. Hubba.

Thanks for being the kind of guy that follows me around the grocery store as I pad around to find the best deals with my coupons in hand. Thanks for being you.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 229.

Dear New Husband,

After spending most of today in a Benadryl stupor, I thought it was appropriate to try and go play some tennis and bake some cookies. Two very important and accomplished tasks I can check off of my list.

These days, I'm not sure my body really knows how to rest, so maybe all this hives/allergic reaction/anaphylatic shock business was just the ticket. Not that I'm interested in a repeat of last night's events. I could pretty much be fine if I went my whole life without that happening again. 

Despite all that, this break has been good for me. Even in a Benadryl stupor. So thanks for being kind, for taking care of me and going with me to get weird ingredients from the store so I can make Weight Watchers chocolate chip cookies.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 228.

Dear New Husband,

Well. A day that started out with me being incredibly exhausted still from our whirlwind weekend in Stillwater, the stress of school, and work, and you know, basic existence. We made a great call in having a night in, recuperating from whatever was ailing me.

And then, oh then. Enter hives, trouble breathing, swollen tongue, paramedics, vomiting, low blood pressure, ambulance ride, etc. etc.

"Oh? You wanted a quiet night in? NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND." - Liz's antibodies

Well. At least you know you married the adventure of a lifetime. I swear I never get this ill. But of course, my first year of marriage, I put you through the medical ringer. Hope you're enjoying the ride, El Huz. Because there will probably be more where all of this mess came from.

I love you,
Your New and Allergic Wife.

Day 227.

Dear New Husband,

A much needed date night with excellent conversation. I'm so thankful that I introduced you to sushi and that you actually tried it and actually liked it. Huzzah for treats from the sea! Because let's face it. You say "Wanna go on a date? Get some sushi?" I automatically envision romance.

But I envision romance with most dinners out. That involve food.

Anyway, thanks for making us a priority and for always being willing to take wandering strolls with me.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 226.

Dear New Husband,

Kind of a rough night, filled with tears, honesty and stress. But, such is life with a newly married couple trying to balance being newly married, work and graduate school.

I hope that through all the stress, short tempers and needed apologies that I love you. And that's the most important part of all.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 225.

Dear New Husband,

We were in the car for only 3ish hours but it felt like an eternity.I think being tired saps you of your concept of time, I suppose.

Then I came home to what I think might be the worst life choice I have made in a bit: Working on the last half of my capstone paper that is due tonight at midnight. WHAT. THE. CRAZY. 

Ultimately, I finished, but at the dear cost of my sanity and well-being. I'm just so grateful I have you to feed me, wake me up when I have napped an hour and then make me kettle corn when I am finished. You da best, babe.

I love you,

Your New & extremely tired Wife.

Day 224.

Dear New Husband,

I know your Hokies lost. But the good news is that my team won! We've been having miserable sports weeks, so maybe next week the Pokes & Hokies will win!. . . We hope.

But I loved getting to spend a sports day with you and in Stillwater. I loved getting to see glass blowing with you. I loved getting to hang out with some all time favorites with you. Thanks for always adventuring with me, even when you're tired. And for wearing bright orange, when you want to be wearing Chicago maroon.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 223.

Dear New Husband,

Okay. So to be honest, I'm backlogging this entry so it will count for Friday. But technically I am writing it early Saturday morning. Because we loved Stillwater, OK a little too much tonight.

Thanks for loving my Oklahoma State. I know you will never love it as much as you love Virginia Tech, but I appreciate you loving it, because its important to me.

And now I'm going to bed. I'm too old to be up at 1:30 am.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 222.

Dear New Husband,

In honor of our 222nd day of marriage, we enjoyed an evening of friends, fair and fried foods. Okay, so it was not in celebration of our 222nd day of marriage, it was in celebration of the the fact that we love fair food. 

Deep fried Samoa Girl Scout cookies, corn dogs, turkey leg, deep fried s'mores, Tornado Taters. . . All enjoyed while people watching and having lots of laughs with our favorite friends.

Then, we come home and have my best friend and her Huzzy Huz here as a reminder that we're headed to the best place on Earth tomorrow. Best. Thursday. Ever.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 221.

Dear New Husband,

You are currently asleep as I am up late writing a paper that is due at midnight on Sunday - but as we are traveling to America's Greatest Homecoming Celebration this weekend, I have to figure out someway to rough out this rough draft. 

So thank you for being supportive of me, especially when I want to quit. And for not being too bothered when I hog your side of the bed with notes and books. And for continually saying to me: "Its just the first draft. Its okay." Thanks for always talking me off of my ledge and out of my nonsense.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 220.

Dear New Husband,

You are finally at home! And I even somehow talked you into going to play tennis, despite how incredibly tired you are. 

I'm so excited that you are home and we get to get back into our 'routine' of life. I truly enjoy having our little routine and living life together. 

So thanks for coming home and for always putting us first.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 219.

Dear New Husband,

Almost all of the gifts have been opened and enjoyed - I have one more tomorrow! - which means you're coming home tomorrow. Hooray! I've enjoyed this time to go visit my Momma and enjoy living the psuedo single-lady lifestyle, but I'm ready for you to be back.

Mainly so you can hold me accountable for how many episodes of Dawson's Creek I watch in a given day. Literally. No self control. I'm only partially kidding. Maybe. . . But I am excited for you to be home, not just to regulate how much Dawson, Joey, Pacey & Jen I intake.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 218.

Dear New Husband,

Almost missed my flight back to spend more time with my Momma - worth the stress. But it sure is nice to be back in our home.

I appreciate the fact that you had a quick trip back to our home for yet another work endeavor, and now you are back in Pennsylvania for more work endeavors but you still took the time to pick up/clean up and be the as per usual awesome El Huz that you are. 

Marriage high five. Excited to have you home soon!

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 217.

Dear New Husband,

I spent the day helping my Momma unpack and sort the rest of our wedding decor today, and I stumbled upon so many leftovers of our wedding program. It was a sweet, simple reminder of all the hard work you put into our wedding. You were continually keeping me updated with your progress on the program; always wanting my input. 

And they turned out lovely. I know I already told you how awesome the programs were/are but I'll tell you again: These programs are awesome. Your commitment to something that I saw as something so important only yielded your best efforts, which I know is a reflection of your love and care for not only me, but the stuff I care about. So thank you for always caring about the stuff I care about - even if its as trivial as a wedding program. Or needing to stop everything I'm doing to tell you we need something from the grocery store. Its the strangest things that I see as important - so thanks for not thinking that I am strange. Or at least not telling me out loud that you think I'm strange. 

My ego appreciates it.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 216.

Dear New Husband,

Another day spent enjoying time with my Momma. You are spending another day working. Well, I spent part of the day working. But I digress.

Unfortunately, we are not on par to defeat the McCartney's in nights spent apart. And yet I'm not as bothered as I thought I would be. Mainly because we are separately doing the things we need to do and that is okay. Besides, this time apart means that you have given me all these fun chotckie gifts to open! Who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?! Or be upset about why I am getting the gifts!

Sure, you can go on work trips - it just means I get gifties! Hooray!. . . I'm just kidding. Only slightly. Maybe. Yeah, who are we kidding, I'm not kidding.

I love you,
Your New Wife who loves the sweet gifts her New Husband leaves behind.

Day 215.

Dear New Husband,

What.a.day. A reminder of my constant need to 'prove something/myself.' Its a sickness. I want to prove my capabilities, but what a bunch of hooey anyway. I'm still bad at letting people take care of me. Even my own Mom. Whoops!

So thanks for taking care of me, even when I don't want you to; thanks for being kind and gracious, even when I don't deserve it. Also, thanks for being unintentionally funny. And for being a problem solver.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 214.

Dear New Husband,

Happy 7 month anniversary! I only know this because you reminded me about it today via text. To all those girls out there that complain men have no capacity to remember things, just remember this: I literally cannot remember my wedding date and you, my husband, can. That's normal, right? 

As I fall asleep in my old bedroom at my parents house, know that I do miss you like crazy, but I love spending time here. And I'm so glad you are so incredibly supportive of me spending time with my Momma than being home as you have a short stint back in our home, before heading back out to the work event.

Thanks for being supportive in the most simple of ways. And for buying me a copy of Glamour magazine for today's present so I had something to read on the plane.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 213.

Dear New Husband,

As I sit on our couch, watching Dawson's Creek, neglecting packing or anything that looks like productive behavior I should be participating in - I wish you were here.

As much as I enjoyed being single and continue to enjoy girlie activities and solo moments, I love sharing and spending time with you. Things just do not seem the same without me annoying you with all my antics. I mean, really. You're missing some solid gold here at the homestead.

Again, thank you for all my sweet gifts - thanks for leaving me reminders of why you're the best and worth missing.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 212.

Dear New Husband,

I do miss you. Sleeping alone in our bed is kind of weird.

But sleeping by yourself in a queen sized bed doesn't suck.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 211.

Dear New Husband,

Okay. So I was only slightly sad that you missed your flight this morning - and the only reason I was sad was because it brought you so much grief.

But hey, I got to get breakfast with you and spend extra time with you today before you left! Everyone wins! Well. Not really. Unless everyone equates to just me. Which it doesn't. FYI.

So, its not a big secret that I love you. Its not a big secret that I've flown on a lot of airplanes. Yet whenever you fly/travel without me, I get incredibly anxious. Its ridiculous. You have no idea how many times I've had to restrain myself from texting to you: "HAS THE PILOT BEEN FLYING FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS. DOES HE HAVE A FAMILY TO GET HOME TO OR IS HE SHAMELESSLY FLIRTING WITH AN AIRLINE ATTENDANT." These are the eccentricities I only share with you after the fact. Because if they actually showed up, I'm certain you would think I was nuts. Or maybe you already do.

But you're the one that married me. Weirdo.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 210.

Dear New Husband,

Our sports luck continues to decline. Currently, we are probably the biggest sports curmudgeons; greater than. . . Red Sox fans? Cubs fans? Everyone that lives in Wisconsin? So I guess, uh. . . Go Old Dominion?

Oh well. We can't have it all. We've been incredibly sports spoiled these past couple of years, so its time to go back to suffering - well go back to sports suffering and introducing you to sports suffering. It is truly unpleasant. I'll walk you through it.

The upside is that it is finally under 70 degrees here - even better it is under 60 degrees. Hello, cute fall/winter clothing! Another upside is you took me out on a fun and nice dinner/evening. And ANOTHER upside is that you got me presents - one to open each day that you are gone on your nine day work trip. Just so many good things happening all around.

I guess if our teams have to be terrible, then all of that makes it for it. Maybe. Just a little.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 209.

Dear New Husband,

Who wouldn't love a day that is Friday, filled with episodes of 30 Rock, and dinner and a movie with some of our all time favorites?! I mean, really. 

I've had a lot of fun today with you - I'm sad you're leaving on Sunday, but am enjoying the weekend farewell tour with you; its been the best. As per usual, you are such a fun date. Even when MLB Wild Card games are on during dinner. I know you tried your hardest not to watch, but when there are fans throwing trash on the field, who wouldn't be distracted. We'll let it slide. 

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 208.

Dear New Husband,

Kind of a not so great day. But we made it through the day and had a great night. Who doesn't love home made kettle corn and junk tv? Especially that Grey's Anatomy.

I say it all the time "Oh yeah. This is it. I'm done with this show" and then I come back. Hating myself and that ding dang show as soon as its over. Sigh.

This is the wife you married - lamenting over fictional characters way more than is culturally appropriate; I care way too much. But what else is new? However, because I care way too much, I'm pretty sure that's how I landed you for an El Huz.

Or at least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better. . . I mean, you do like that about me, right? Right. Kthanxbye.

I love you,

Your New and Overly Involved with Fictional Characters Wife.

Day 207.

Dear New Husband,

Who knew how challenging tennis was? And that skills you had in high school did not stick around. 

Or maybe you were just trying to make me feel better that I am not athletically inclined. I'm the child of music nerds and book worms - we love art, history, culture! And when you're 5'2" you have to figure out how to offer people your brains, because your sports ability directly relates to your height.

But I did have a lot of fun just goofing off with you - I like being friends with my El Huz.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 206.

Dear New Husband,

As we watched the second part of the Half the Sky documentary series, it is still unbelievable that we have seen some of those places, or similar places and can bear witness to the difficulties that women around the world face.

But we are gifted that we get to see these things together; that we get to bear witness to some of the worst parts of humanity. But we also get to bear witness to the best parts of humanity - how we see people overcoming these unbelievable obstacles to show extraordinary resilience, love and compassion. We get to see amazing things and I will never understand how we got so blessed to be able to do what we do.

So thankful for you and the fact that you are too brave to ever say 'No' to a new adventure. Especially an adventure that involves marrying a complete basket case.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 205.

Dear New Husband,

I'm so glad you worked from home today. Mondays we never get to really hang out or be together, and it was a nice treat to have you here.

Additionally, I'm glad you like Once Upon a Time as much as I do so now I can watch it guilt free with you being interested as well. I tend to feel slightly guilty when I watch 'my' shows; because you politely sit there, trying to understand what exactly is going on. I really appreciate the effort you put forward to try and like/participate in the stuff I like to do.

I still haven't forgotten that you owe me at least one musical attending experience. Just like Rumpelstiltskin  I never forget the deals that have been struck. Boom.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 204.

Dear New Husband,

I truly enjoyed our 'man' date to the golfing range. Even though it is painfully obvious to you and to everyone within a 5 foot radius [It would be a larger radius, but I can't hit the ball that far] that I have no clue what I'm doing. Oh well. Pass the brews and the club sandwiches.

At least I try. Plus! Did you notice I was the only girl who wasn't pouting that she was there? The only girl who was enjoying herself and making comments on the sports games that were on?! Congratulations.

Thanks for being you and for taking me on weird adventures I had no clue I would ever enjoy.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 203.

Dear New Husband,

Fall has finally arrived to our consistently 90-100 degrees city. I welcome this pouring rain, and chilly temperatures - I need a legit reason for the candy corn and autumnal scented candles/air freshner I have been purchasing. 

But what a nice day - pouring rain, I got a mani/pedi and much needed girl time with one of my favorites, we had a great date night.

But what an awful sports day - Pokes lose, Hokies lose. It would almost be too much to bear. But when you are an Oklahoma State Cowboys fan, you are intrepid. You carry on, despite your tattered dignity and the deep sigh that emerges when you pull the OK State cup down from your cabinet to get a drink of water. Sigh.

A true sign college football season has started, we are both emotionally strained from our teams. Oh well. We get to commiserate, and yet still we had a great day.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 202.

Dear New Husband,

Again, another hectic day at work together. Despite the fact that it was Friday. What the heck?. . . I know have just thought of the joke "Adam & Liz - putting the heck in hectic since September 27th!!"

I know. Just let me have this one.

But I love having our friends over, to hang out, play games and just enjoy their company. I never really thought I liked having people over - What I mean is that I am a type A control freak. In the worst kind of way. And it used to bother me thinking of people pilfering through our things, messing up my home. But did you know that people actually don't do that when they come over?! I don't know where my ideas come from or where I come up with them. It just happens.

As much as I hate to admit it - it is kind of amazing that you have such a long winning streak with Settlers of Catan. Its impressive. And obnoxious. Like the SEC in football.

But I still love you.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 201.

Dear New Husband,

Full day of work, for the both of us. Again I will say it, fall seems like the busiest time for our organization. 

And then you were the diligent man you are and went to play in your intramural soccer game - despite being tired from a day of school and work, and despite the 9:15 pm start time. As much as I would have liked you home for the premiere evening of TV, I'm glad I was able to sob and yell at Grey's Anatomy in private. Once again, I think I am going to quit that show and it reels me back in. I skipped all of last season - then stinking Netflix. Ugh. But I digress.

Thank you for being you - for being diligent and faithful in the little things. It shows so much of your character. 

And thanks for being gone while I sob over fictional characters. Kthanksbye.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 200.

Dear New Husband,

To celebrate our 200th day of marriage, we went to Ikea and had ice cream!

Okay. Actually. We didn't go to Ikea to celebrate our 200th day of marriage. We went to get a new plastic bag holder [Note: The command strips that come with those things do not travel well], buy some unexpected Christmas decorations and spend 'free' quality time together. Some much needed quality time together.

I know we spend a lot of time together, but this evening was different. Its actually having conversations than sharing a show together; watching you get so out of control excited for the Ikea 360 shopping carts and enjoying reveling in the idea of celebrating our first Christmas together as a married pair. 

Thanks for making me and our relationship a priority - even in the most simple of ways.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 199.

Dear New Husband,

I love Tuesday evenings because I get to spend them with you. Dinner with you. Spending a belated wedding gift card with you; which I'm really glad you have the patience with me as I peruse a large box store, clutching a gift card and a 20% off my entire purchase coupon as I debate what to use our gift monies on.

Even more important, when we saw that huge car accident tonight - my immediate thought was: "We need to pull over and help" and you pulled over to help without my insistence. This is one of the reasons I am so glad I married you - you do not think twice to help others. What a hunk.

AND! I finally got you to watch Once Upon a Time - which you really enjoyed. Or at least convinced me that you did. Well, you did ask to watch one more episode. I'd call that a win. Tiger. Pump.

I love you,

Your New Wife.

Day 198.

Dear New Husband,

As you were at work/school all day and I was at school, we only get a couple of hours together on Monday nights. And I love tonight's couple of hours together - specifically, chatting about my policy class and, naturally, NFL replacement refs.

The NFL is finally dramatic enough for me to watch - remind me again why no one likes replacement refs? They are so dramatic and exciting to watch! Viva la replacement refs!! Gosh, its just so exciting.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 197.

Dear New Husband,

As much as I enjoyed Oktoberfest, I did miss having you there. But I know you need your 'dude' time, but I hope you realize you truly missed out on the most precious thing ever: Dachshund Dash.

It was genuinely odd not having there while exploring German beers, brats, and kettle corn; I am so used to having you by my side that I would think of some joke to make and instead of telling you, I told one of our friends. Not that they don't appreciate my humor and insight into a German festival; but its just always more fun with you.

But it was fun being a faux single lady for an afternoon. Let's be honest. However, you were definitely missed.

I love you,
Your New Wife.

Day 196.

Dear New Husband,

As I continue to labor over this Christmas tree skirt that was labeled 'easy' it makes me feel as though I should go to the back of the class. Or at least punch the maker of the pattern for this tree skirt.

But again, a sweet Saturday with you. Especially getting to have dinner together in our home. Again, I try a new recipe and I knock it out the park. Here's to you brown sugar and garlic for tasting so delicious together! Huzzah!

I enjoy these days with you and I hope you know that I cherish this slow moving time we can actually get together. You da best, El Huz.

I love you,
Your New Wife.