Two months to the rest of our life

In two months, at this very moment, I'll be tearing up the dance floor with my husband and our closest friends and family.

That, my friends, is a cool little somethin' to think about.

We have been together three years and 10 months today. We've been through quite a bit already in our short time together.

Wedding planning has been a pretty cool experience. I will pride myself that I didn't lose myself too much in the process. I had my moments of frustration, a "bridezilla" moment here or there- but between the programs, and the hand-made invitations that made me want to rip my hair out... it's been mostly about the big picture to me- the marriage itself.

What's amazing about marriage, and I think we forget this, is that it is "til death do us part." It is a beautiful feeling knowing that I was lucky enough to find my other half (and better, most times) at such a young age.

People ask me why I want to get married so young. It's not my age that made marriage attractive. It's not my immaturity, or the fact that I'm naive. It's that I found the person that I can't be me without. I found the person who loves my quirks, puts up with my awful story telling, tells me I'm beautiful and how much he loves me every single day, without fail. I found the person I'd be lost without.

In two months, I will slide a ring up his finger and promise to walk right next to him through every endeavor life has to offer. To support him through everything that may come our way. To honor and cherish every moment we have together because it's true- the little moments are the big ones. 


Two months to the rest of our life.

5 months.

I love milestones. I love dates. I can tell you when Chad asked me to hang out for the first time (8/16)  & when he asked me to be his girlfriend (8/24). That date also just so happens to be our wedding date.

The 24th of every month has always been special..Chad and I always said "2 months!" "6 months" "11 months!" "One year one month!" Okay..so it's usually me. Whatever. But when we got engaged, the 24th became a countdown instead of a count-up.

Yesterday marked five months until I become Mrs. L. In five months I will finally get to wear that white dress, have some new bling on my left hand, marry my best friend. I remember when that countdown started at almost 550 days. To have it now be so close is still so surreal to me.

Lots has been done, there's a little bit more that needs to be completed, but I just can't wait for the next big milestone.

With love,
Janelle

I'm not one to be terribly open on the internet with my personal life, and I don't plan on changing that now.

But the past couple of weeks haven't been the easiest for me.

God Gave Me You

This is all.

I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

Back to Reality.

We got back from vacationing (twice!) at the end of August, and September is now here. As promised, my hunt for a full time job is now in double full swing (double the resumes being sent out now!) and I am back to picking up as many hours as I can.

It's hard to go from seeing him all the time for almost two weeks to getting shoved back to our normal lives, him saying goodbye in the morning at 630 and me coming home to him fast asleep at almost midnight. Some people laugh when I complain and say, "It's a blessing in disguise," but it's not. Sometimes, two people are just better together.

Yesterday, after feeling particularly sorry for myself, I was surprised with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that Chad picked for me.

Tonight they're what I have to remind me of how lucky I am, as he's at work until 7 tomorrow morning.

Love you, darling.

Two years tomorrow...

Tomorrow marks two years of Chad and Janelle.

Janelle fell in love with Chad years ago- but life ran its course and they weren't meant to be together.

Until two years ago.

It took a long time, but it was worth the wait.

No relationship is perfect- that's impossible, since no person is perfect, either. But to look at someone, past the flaws, past the baggage, past the...everything, and see nothing but pure love & a person that is perfect for YOU, is what matters most.

We celebrated last Friday night at a lovely italian restaurant. Our friends were playing music that night, and we dressed up for a night of romantic dining and wining. Two years down. No one in the room existed but us. It was perfect.

Amazing Wedding!

The wedding I went to yesterday with Chad was just beautiful.
We got our hair and makeup done, and I must say all the bridesmaids looked amazing.
The ceremony was perfect. Short and sweet, definitely, but it was beautiful and to the point- life isn't complete without love and friendship is basically what she said, in a nutshell.

Needless to say, Chad and I danced the night away. He was a fabulous dancer and I wish people would get married more often so that we could dance like that more! The reception was awesome, we had an absolute blast. It was a great night out with our best friends!

Here are some pictures from the evening!

Us :)

"You make me feel like dancing!"

Groomsmen...the Groom is in the black vest!

Me and the Bride!

What. A. Ham.

Happy Mother's Day!

If you're a momma, (to a child/dog/cat/bird/fish/horse...) Happy Mother's Day! I hope you enjoyed the weather where you are (it's around 60..but it's sunny in my neck of the woods.)

My mother is my inspiration to be a homemaker, a baker, a cook-er. I look to her for guidance, for support, for love, for acceptance...she is the most beautiful person in the world to be.

Being thankful for today.

Today, I played hookie. Hooky? Hookee? I don't even know how to spell it- that's how often I cut class.

Anyway.
I picked up my new car, decided on homemade chili with cornbread for dinner, and got home...to Chad already at home and an air freshener for my new car, with a card on the table. A "random" act of love.

Thank you, Chad, for being my best friend and for being so amazingly wonderful to me lately even while I've been sick and too exhausted to do much more than make the bed.

That's all I really have to say today, but I will leave you with some silly pictures that I've been meaning to show.


Carson likes to hug Chad's leg while he snuggles.


I will probably never read a recipe all the way through before attempting it. This is what I had to google when I got all of my ingredients boiled, mixed, stirred, and...what? You need an ice cream machine?!...


While I do my homework, Carson lets me pretend I have a dog....he sleeps like one.


Thank you Chad, for letting me take pictures of the food that turns out half-okay before I allow you to dig in. Stuffed portobellos, salad, and tofu. Successful evening.


I know, Carson overload. But...Chad made this. Carson is in LOVE.


And here's my new car. :)

Spring Cleaning!

Yesterday Chad and I had the morning off together. We've been talking about where we want to go, where we want to be, etcetera, etcetera.
We've made the decision to stay in our apartment another year. With any luck, I'll have a full time job and we'll be able to put money away for our (dun dun dun!) house that we'll buy at some point in the near future. So...as embarrassing as it might be to say, we decided to finally do all the finishing touches of unpacking and making our apartment home. I cleaned my closet and unpacked my last two boxes. He cleaned his office. And. Let. Me. Tell. You. It looks GREAT! Next step is to grab a sofa table to put in the living room for my laptop so I can have a little "desk." Then I need a bookshelf. And a spice rack. And...curtains for two rooms.

Yes. Two of our rooms are lacking curtains.

We've had this philosophy that "we're not staying here, so why spend money on the place?" But...our new thought is (and I can safely say "our" because he suggested it!) is that no matter where we go, as long as we're both there...it's home.

And that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. And loved. And...at home.

So we spent our morning drinking coffee, talking about tomorrow's, then getting down to business. Opening windows. Laundry. Dishes. Sweeping. Vacuuming. Sorting.
We've got a lovely pile for goodwill. I'm happy about that. One person's trash is another's treasure.

Happy Monday! What's on your list for Spring Cleaning?

Why the revamped blog?

I started this blog with no idea what I wanted to talk about. Did I want to portray my life as a wanna-be homemaker? A horseback rider with no goals or knowledge of where I wanted to go with my hobby-turned-lifestyle? Or, my forever-woes of the diet world?

So for a while I blogged about everything. But I still, every time I saw my blog, wanted structure. Life. Love. All those things I long for in my day to day adventures.

So, I bring you my new blog. xo-me.

Why XO-ME you ask?
When Chad and I first met, it was almost a daily ritual for me to leave him a post-it in the morning- in his bathroom, on his computer screen, on the wall...and I'd always sign them very simply. xo-me. It means more to me than it does to you. And that's okay.

Will I change the blog again?
Yes, probably. I will most likely try to create a pretty header and fool around with colors. But I think I've got the "idea" down this time.

So, with a new blog, I will (hopefully) bring you a more organized look into my world, my thoughts, my faith, and my life as a 21 year old soon-to-be college graduate who lives the dream every day.

Meet Callie!

So if you know me, you know at least one thing. I love horses. Not just any horses, though. I love MY horse.



Yes, I am one of the lucky girls whose dream came true early in life. I am the proud partner in crime of a 6 year old appaloosa mare who I fittingly named, “She’s My-T Majickal.” In the barn, though, we call her Callie.


Callie was born on April 12, 2004, sometime between 3 and 7 in the morning. On April 1, 2005, my parents signed papers with her owner signing her over into our ownership. On April 2, 2005, Callie left her old home as a scraggly yearling and into my life forever. Where you all know how much I love her, little of you know exactly why.

When Callie was born, she was promised to me by her breeder as a gift. In 2004, at 15 years old, I had my own horse. I loved it.
For whatever reason, her breeder simply changed her mind. That story is pretty bad- so I’ll cut to the important part. When I realized that Callie wasn’t actually going to be my horse, I wanted out. So I gave her my last board check, told her I didn’t want the horse anymore, and picked my things up at the barn three weeks later. I said goodbye to horses forever, and had no interest in ever owning another horse- since mine had literally ended in heartbreak just six months later. I decided nothing was permanent, people were shady, and I didn’t trust the horse world. Saying goodbye to Callie was the hardest thing I had to do. I cried the entire way home with my dad. He cried too. I’d worked my whole riding career towards owning my own horse. It had been the worst experience of my life.

Fast forward six months, March 2005. Callie is for sale. I’m not a materialistic person, (nor have I ever been) but I BEGGED my parents for this horse. I just begged. I pleaded. I wrote them letters. I wrote them budgets.

For whatever reason, my parents saw the dedication that I had for this little horse. I knew she needed me, and more importantly, I needed her. On April 1, 2005, we drove to New Hampshire to sign the papers making Callie my own. Callie’s breeder asked if I wanted to brush her. I wanted nothing to do with the woman, so I told her I could wait one more day.
April 2, 2005. My new barn owner drove her horse trailer to New Hampshire to pick up the little filly. She was nervous about her getting on a trailer, but Callie hopped right on, as if to say, “I’m ready to go home.”

This story could literally take months to finish. There are so many things that happened. One of the most significant parts of our life together, though, was when I asked the vet about Callie’s size- at a year old, she was still only the size of a 6 month old. Horses are supposed to do 90 % of their growing in their first year. She was absolutely tiny. The vet told me that Callie had been neglected to the point that she would someday fill out, but she’d never grow taller. I was absolutely furious that someone could do this to a horse, but I refused to give up on her. At two years old, Callie was beginning to prove the doctor right- she had only grown about 4 inches in a year.

I could have easily sold Callie as a child’s pony (she was absolutely flawless) and got a bigger horse that I could have ridden and jumped and shown right away. But there was something about taking my horse for walks like a dog, sitting in her stall and reading books, and playing silly little games with her that made riding secondary to me. School and I never got along. Callie was my escape, she was my friend, one who I knew would never let me down.




Callie was diagnosed with "night blindness" at the age of 3. This means that she shows sensitivity to light and her pupils do not adjust as well as they should. She often has trouble if she goes outside when it is still dark and instead of adjusting quickly, it takes her quite a long time to begin to see light. Progressively, it has seemed to get worse, but there is no treatment for this genetic disease. Callie's eyes are constantly changing, and it is obvious with her sudden fear of shadows and quick movements. The vet has told me that she will most likely go blind at some point in her life. You'd think this would deter us from living "normal" lives together- we just go with the flow, and we take each day as it comes. If she shows fear in something, we take as long as we need to help her realize that the shadow is not a scary monster, that it is simply a shadow.

Fast forward again. December 8, 2010. Callie is six years old. We’ve been riding together as a team since she was four. She is now 15.1 hands high (she’s grown about 12 inches- oh yes- it’s true!) and although I’m tall, we make a pretty fantastic pair. With the help of a trainer, Callie had a solid start of her training and I took over the rest. Callie trail rides, responds beautifully to commands, listens, and most importantly, she tries. Whether it’s in her nature to be perfect, or whether she tries for me, she has given me the greatest gift an animal could give a human and that is partnership.



So, when you hear me brag about “my pony/my mare/my horse/Callie/the Queen,” now you know why. That horse and I have a long story together- one that will continue to unfold as time goes on.




My two favorites ;)

Thank you

In Kennebunk, Maine, for a day away for our birthdays (2 days apart!)
It's funny how we forget to say "thank you" sometimes. I try REALLY hard, as a general rule of thumb, to be appreciative of everything I have instead of wishing and cooing about the things I don't. It's taken me a little while. (Maybe more like a lot a while...)
Today, I am thanking my incredible boyfriend, Chad.

For making every morning and every night perfect. "I love you" begins and ends every day for me, and, well, I love you for that.

For laughing at my jokes even when they're not funny.

For listening so closely to me that you actually remind me what I've just said.

For putting up with the millions of pictures that I take and just smiling for the camera because you know you won't escape it anyway.

(For letting me frame those pictures and put them all over our house!)

For knowing exactly how I take my coffee.

For knowing my favorite scratch tickets and surprising me with them.

For going grocery shopping with me. I love bickering over what we'll make for dinner.

For showing me the beauty in every situation. (Even the yucky ones.)

For telling me I'm beautiful, even on the days where my hair sticks out 3 feet in every direction and I look like Mufasa.

For drinking diet coke when we go to the movies because you know I won't touch the regular stuff.

For smiling and saying "yes, dear" when I wonder out loud if you can hang up pretty decorations that I buy. It's just because I'll hang them crooked.

For being my best friend.

For supporting me in whatever I attempt to do (and say that I'll attempt to do. Cheering me on as I start YET another scarf is just so sweet, though a little pointless, but you do it anyway.) Cheering me on while I finish my degree and forever spend our nights together job hunting...that means more than you know.

For agreeing to the philisophy, "Love me, love my horse." She's my world, and when you tell me to get my butt to the barn (and offer to help fix fences & take pictures...) it lights up my world.

For not asking me to change.

For being so forgiving. And selfless.

For loving me.


I find myself very, very lucky to have one of the best men out there, and I would not change a thing- thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thankfully (yes, thankfully),
Janelle