The Newlywed Game: Jordan and Me

Earlier this week, I saw someone post these questions on Facebook as a really fun way to pass the time on a roadtrip. Well, we accidentally forgot to do them on the way back from Tulsa, so we're doing them now.

We both answered these sets of questions separately and without discussing them or cheating, then read our answers out loud to each other. Jordan did a lot better guessing mine than I did guessing his. Ha! Hope these make you giggle! 

ROUND ONE: I ask and Jordan answers. 

Me: What is something I always say to you? 
Jordan: You call me "Stink!" a lot.  
My answer: "Stink!'

Me: What makes me happy? 
Jordan: Food.
My answer: You and Tom Hanks! And food.  

Me: What makes me sad?
Jordan: Mean people and sad things. Um, more specifically, like...hurt animals and/or dead animals; being away from people you love (or Tom Hanks). 
My answer: Feeling like I'm career-aimless right now. 

What was I as a child?
Jordan: Angsty. 
My answer: You'll say I was angsty. 

How old am I?  
Jordan: How what? You're 27. Of course. 27 years, 4 months, and 14 days old. 
My answer: 27. You better get this right. 

What's my favorite thing to do?
Jordan: *Gives me a look as if to say, "Is this gonna be okay if I say it out loud?"* then says, "Eat? I mean, I'm sorry, but that's true. Also people - you love people." 
My answer: Watch bad TV and hang out with you guys. And blog. And sing. And eat, honestly. 

How tall am I? 
Jordan: Are't you like 5' 5 3/4'' and you tell people you're 5'6''? 
My answer: 5'6''. 

What do I do when you're not around? 
Jordan: Watch bad TV and, uh...text. Um, chores: groceries, cleaning, other inside chores. I guess, also work. 
My answer: Chores and watch trashy TV.

If I become famous, what will it be for?
Jordan: I think writing, honestly.
My answer: Maybe singing or writing? 

What am I good at?
Jordan: What are you good at? You're good at a lot of things, that's not very fair. I mean, how do you start listing, alphabetically or chronologically? (He then went on to say about 5 minutes' worth of REALLY nice things that made me glad we got married.) 
My answer: I guess singing and writing, and maybe cooking? 

What makes you proud of me? 
Jordan: You take really good care of our family. And everyone that meets you loves you! And when you say something really funny. 
My answer: You like that I'm a good cook and that I'm a generally nice person. 

What is my favorite food?
Jordan: Mashed potatoes. 
My answer: Mashed potatoes.

Where is my favorite place to eat?
Jordan: Dining room table. Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. Any Mexican place or any pizza place. Or somewhere expensive. 
My answer: Mexican or pizza. Doesn't really matter where. My standards are very low. 

Where is my favorite place?
Jordan: Home, but that to you is still your parents' house.
My answer: Anywhere my family is. 

How old was I when we met? 
Jordan: 25. Wait. No. 24. 
My answer: 23.

When is our anniversary?
Jordan: August 2nd. 
My answer: 8/2/14

If I could go anywhere, where would it be? 
Jordan: Is it Italy where you want to go so bad? 
My answer: Greece or Italy. 

Do you think you could live with me forever?
Jordan: Yeah, that's what I signed up for. Right?? 
My answer: You're contractually obligated to, so this question is null. 

How do I annoy you? 
Jordan: Do you want the list chronologically or alphabetically? Haha!
My answer: With games like this. 

What is your favorite thing about me?  
Jordan: Your personality. I just like you. 
My answer: You'll say something like, "Your butt - I mean, heart!" 

ROUND TWO: Jordan asks and I answer.  

What is something I always say to you? 
Mary: "Mary..." (in a warning tone because I'm about to accidentally hurt myself somehow.)
Jordan's answer: "Unbelievable."

What makes me happy? 
Mary: Tom Hanks and me. And fishing.
Jordan's answer: Being outside and in the woods. And my little family.

What makes me sad?
Mary: People who can't defend themselves from being picked on or bullied. 
Jordan's answer: People who can't defend themselves getting taken advantage of.

What was I as a child? 
Mary: Independent. 
Jordan's answer: What does this even mean? I've been sitting here for like 5 minutes and can't figure that out. Probably good sometimes and bad sometimes, happy, sad, fun, mean, loud, quiet, etc...

How old am I?  
Mary: 28. 
Jordan's answer: I'm 28. <who the hell doesn't know that IN THE NEWLYWED GAME?! Their own age or their NEW spouse's?!>

What's my favorite thing to do?
Mary: Be outside in nature. And fish. And hang out with us. 
Jordan's answer: Hiking and/or fishing with MC and TH.

How tall am I? 
Mary: You are exactly 6'0''. 
Jordan's answer: 6'0"

What do I do when you're not around?
Mary: Fly fish, mostly. Or watch bad sci fi movies that you know I'll hate.
Jordan's answer: Fish, read, hike... you know, stuff.

If I become famous, what will it be for? 
Mary: Inventing something or being a great teacher later in life. 
Jordan's answer: Probably something dentist-y but I wish it was something more interesting. <Jeez, I can't even be creative in my own fantasy. My power of flight! Oh wait, did I just say that out loud?>

What am I good at? 
Mary: Eye roll because you're good at (and know you're good at) a lot. But I love how good you are at crazy crafting/woodworking, I love your curveball skill of being a great sketch artist, and obviously you're a very good doctor.
Jordan's answer: This is a loaded question - pass.

What makes you proud of me?
Mary: I love how great you are with other people - you can always make a situation fun and make everybody in the room feel comfortable. You're very funny (don't let it go to your head), and I really do admire you as a medical professional. You're very gentle and kind to your patients, but still execute at a very high level. 
Jordan's answer: She sometimes mentions: how hard I work, that I try to be nice to people, <All of these questions seem so ego-stroking. Eesh.>

What is my favorite food? 
Mary: You don't really have favorite food like I do, as in you don't really crave anything ever. But you do love my cooking (tomato soup particularly) and cheesecake. 
Jordan's answer: Don't have one but I enjoy pretty much everything. Maybe just 'good food.'

Where is my favorite place to eat?
Mary: Outside? I don't know. 
Jordan's answer: Same as above. Depends.

Where is my favorite place? 
Mary: Around your family. 
Jordan: Home (in Asheville).

How old was I when we met? 
Mary: 24.
Jordan's answer: 24. 

When is our anniversary? 
Mary: 8/2/14
Jordan's answer: August 2, 2014

If I could go anywhere, where would it be?
Mary: Probably a tour of the National Parks. You would love that. 
Jordan's answer: Some amazing national park with amazing views, but not one specifically. Maybe the Patagonia/Andes of Argentina. Or Switzerland. If domestic, Yosemite National Park or British Columbia.

Do you think you could live with me forever? 
Mary: As you said when we got married, "These rings are like tiny handcuffs." 
Jordan's answer: That's what the contract says.

How do I annoy you?
Mary: You sometimes come and mess with me while I'm cooking, which I hate because I'm too spastic to be trusted not to horribly injure myself. But my big one is BEARD CLIPPINGS IN THE SINK. 
Jordan's answer: I'm grouchy when I'm tired/hungry, I hate traffic, I don't sit-still-and-not-do-things very well.

 What is your favorite thing about me?
Mary: You are kind and tender-hearted despite your acerbic wit and attempts at looking callous sometimes. Hehe! And your height.
Jordan's answer: Hopefully my personality or something along those lines. Also, I'm tall(ish).

HA! Hope you enjoyed this goofiness. Try it out on your spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend - it's actually kind of hysterical. 

Happy Thursday! 

Puppy Birthday Cake

I can already see your eyes rolling. I know. It's bad. The obsession has reached critical mass. 

But if you're like me (have no children and love your dog more than just about anything), then you probably get it. 

On the 27th, our little pup turned two! Can't believe it's been two years since we took him home when he was four weeks old. He was SO teeny, and we weren't sure his little snub nose was ever going to pop out. Turns out he got to be pretty handsome. 

4 weeks old in this picture. I mean, come on. 

Since we were in Tulsa for his actual birthday, I made him a cake yesterday and thought I'd share the recipe in case you fellow Crazy Dog People ever need it. It's so simple and, with a bundt pan, can be so pretty! 

Ingredients:
1 cup carrots
1 t baking soda
1 large egg
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 cup flour (if your dog has a grain allergy, you can use almond or potato flour here) 
1/4 cup cooking oil
(And one dog toy stuffed monkey for good measure.) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350. Give your carrots a rough chop so they look something like this. 

2. The rest is purely measuring and dumping. In a large bowl, add the carrots and remainder of your ingredients: 

3. Stir mixture together until well-combined. Spray a bundt pan (or 9x9 cake pan) with non-stick cooking spray and add mixture. 

4. Pop that bad boy in the oven for 40 minutes, then remove to cool. If you're extra insane like me, you can make a melted frosting out of peanut butter while it's still hot by adding a dollop of peanut butter to an icing spatula. And add candles, of course. Because we might as well.

After the cake has cooled, ask your husband to video. But definitely cut it up, because otherwise your dog will be confused. And your husband will probably make everyone a little sick by turning the camera sideways mid-way through the video. And make sure your bra strap is hanging out. All necessary ingredients. But your dog? Your dog will LOVE IT. 

Happy birthday, my sweet buddy!! I love you so much! 

The Ways My Brain Runs Wild.

Everyone does it. 

You're standing or sitting somewhere with some time on your hands. Something happens. And immediately, your imagination runs wild. This most often happens to me when I'm left alone with my thoughts - driving, doing something mundane and repetitive like folding laundry or taking a shower. A key ingredient in this process is that I don't have visual stimulus - audio, sure. Podcast, radio, the low hum of people talking - all fine. But if I'm in front of the TV, this never happens. Which probably should be a commentary on how imagination works. Anyway, the point is that, left to my own devices, my mind morphs into the mind of Michael Scott from The Office.

Not sure what I mean? Walk with me. 

Actual scenario:
I'm at work. I'm folding sweaters. Outside, I hear the screech of car tires. A sedan has narrowly avoided a pedestrian crossing the street. Everything is okay. Shaken, but otherwise unharmed, the people go about their business. 

In my head: 

The woman actually got hit by the car. I, being the only person who saw this happen, rush to the scene, sweater in hand. "Come back!" my co-workers cry as the magnetic sensor at the door sounds the theft alarm, but I can't hear them. I'm in the zone. The driver of the car is now emerging and, to his horror, this woman's bone is sticking out of her leg.

"DON'T MOVE HER!" I shout, the clear medical expert in the group. Then I become gravely serious. "If there's damage to her spine, we'll only make it worse. Someone call 911. Sir, take off your belt!" 

"What?!" 

"YOUR BELT, DAMN IT, I'M SAVING A LIFE!" 

The man quickly removes his belt and hands it to me, marveling at my steady hands and expertise in a crisis. I look at the injured woman, who for some reason is Dame Maggie Smith. "Don't worry," I say reassuringly. "This is all going to be okay. Just try to breathe." I tighten the belt above the woman's knee as a makeshift tourniquet, the paramedics arriving at the scene. "Thank you, ma'am," they nod to me. "I can't believe you know so much about medicine." 

"I was nothing," I reply. "I'm happy all those episodes of Grey's Anatomy have paid off." 

And with that, I tip my hat (because I'm wearing one) and stroll away.  

-------

...see what I mean? Okay. Now that you've got the hang of it, let's do a few more. 

-------

Actual scenario: 
Jordan is 4-6 minutes later than usual coming home from work. 

In my head: 
After 4 minutes, I call him and he doesn't answer. I get a sixth sense, which is really just my special name for the feeling called "completely unfounded anxiousness." That must mean one of the following things has happened: 

1. Terrible dental trauma resulting in someone's head being accidentally detached
2. Grizzly car wreck that ends in an explosion
3. Alien abduction 
4. Kidnapping, including a letter pinned to my door with magazine cut-out letters: "We have him, send $$$." Joke's on them. I only have $5. 

I want to call him a million times, but I don't. I don't want to look crazy. (The irony is not lost on me here.) I call my mother and nervously chatter, all the while drumming my fingers on the table and sweating through my shirt. With every passing car, Tom Hanks' ears perk up and he runs to the back door, but it isn't Jordan. 

I imagine my life as a widow.

Roughly ten minutes past the time he usually arrives home, Jordan finally pulls into the driveway. Turns out there was just traffic. He tried to call me, but I didn't answer. I now notice there are two missed calls from him. I am dumb. My diseased mind is now exhausted and I slip into a coma of exhaustion for the next hour. 

-------

Actual scenario:
I know of someone (let's call them "X") who did something once that was really despicable. X doesn't know that anyone knows they did this, but I know. X got away with said thing because not many other people do know about it. X is the kind of person who never believes they're in the wrong, but who regularly and definitively IS. In fact, X has been routinely awful to several people who are very close to me. I have never let on that X really bothers me deeply, but X really REALLY bothers me deeply. I would never actually speak up about X because it's not my place, and even if it was, it isn't really worth it.

(Are you scared X is you? Don't worry. It isn't.) 

In my head:
X steps a toe out of line and says something offensive to one of the aforementioned people I adore. Something in me snaps. I, cool as a cucumber, go to my typewriter (because in this fantasy, I have this big, beautiful office featuring a lot of wooden things and a typewriter sitting next to a pile of worn but very valuable vintage coffee table books). I type a message. I put on driving gloves. I extract the sheet of paper from the typewriter with a flourish and meticulously fold it into thirds, then seal it in an unmarked envelope. 

I write "X" on the front of that envelope. I call a teenager, who'll serve as my mule, as I myself can't be seen dropping it off. I instruct them to also wear gloves (because #fingerprints, duh), go to X's house, ensure no one is home, then leave the envelope in the mailbox. A half hour later, the teenager reports that the job is done. 

X, coming home from work to find that the flag on the mailbox is suspiciously raised, is delighted to find a letter. X opens the letter and reads the following: 

That thing you think no one knows you did? 
I know. 
And if I ever heard that you've been unkind to anyone I know, 
(and I mean anyone)
everyone else will know it, too. 

Be a better person. 

From that point forward, X's behavior is straight as an arrow, and everyone that interacts with them notices the difference. X pretends to be confused and flattered by the way everyone takes notice of the positive changes, but they secretly know why they've improved. And SO DO I. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. 

-------

Actual scenario:
While driving on the Interstate, a guy in a muscle car pulls up in the next lane so that he can see into my windows. I look over and notice that he is making vulgar hand gestures at me and yelling obscenities, the G-rated gist of which is that he finds me attractive and would like to take me dinner; the actual version wouldn't even pass in a Quentin Tarantino movie. I look at him in disgust and speed up to avoid him. He continues to pull up beside me until another car blocks him out. Happily, I drive away. 

In my head: 
I call the emergency line for the Feminist Alliance of Superbadasses.

"Feminist superhotline, what is your emergency?"

"Yeah, hi! I'm looking at a guy who needs to be taught a lesson. He keeps making nasty hand gestures at me and won't leave me alone. I'm just trying to drive my car." 

"Make and model?" 

"I mean, I don't know. Ugly muscle car? It's red? I'll give you my coordinates." 

And with that, the FAoS dispatches Gloria Steinam, who's wearing a fabulous leotard and cape. She flies down and stops traffic on the interstate. She invites every woman nearby to get out of their cars and stand behind her to glare at this guy with the fire of a thousand suns. 

"Hey, jackass!" she begins. "Stop harassing this driver. What did she do to deserve that? Oh wait -- nothing. Because there's nothing ANY woman could do to deserve being the butt end of your nasty little ego. Do you think that this is appropriate behavior? Is this something you're proud of? Are you so small that you need to degrade women and make them feel uncomfortable while they're just trying to drive from point A to point B? Shame on you. You've lost driving privileges today. Hand me your keys." 

The crowd of women behind her erupts into cheers as the man exits his car, head hanging low, and tosses his keys into Steinam's hand. 

"Didn't you forget something?" she asks. 

The man looks at her blankly. 

"Don't you want to say something to Mary Catherine?" 

"Oh. Right. Sorry." 

"It's okay," I say. "Don't let it happen again." 

"Trust me," the guy replies. "I've seen the light. That's the end of that kind of behavior FOREVER." 

The women cheer and clap and shake his hand as he, a changed man, hails a cab. 

-------

So let this be a warning to you, parents. Encourage your child to imagine and to dream, but just know: it's possible they're going to turn out like me. 

Happy Thursday!

The Perfect Tomato Salad.

Disclaimer: This first course is very heavily based on Chris Hastings' Hot and Hot Tomato Salad, but is not identical, and is therefore not called the Hot and Hot Tomato Salad. This is a bastardized version.

Now that we're through with the legalities. 

One of the best parts about the weather warming up is that the produce section explodes with fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables. Summer strawberries and okra are always my two favorite things - they're just so plump and juicy and wonderful. 

I'm not a particularly tomato-y person; I like them occasionally on burgers, but they usually end up being too mealy or bland for my taste. But this salad? This salad I like. 

This is simple and easy recipe will absolutely knock the socks off your dinner guests - you have my guarantee. I've seen it work many times. If you want this to be Whole 30 approved, nix the cheese, and you're there. If you want it to be vegetarian, skip the bacon. 

Ingredients: 
2-4 heirloom tomatoes (not regular tomatoes)
20-25 pieces fresh okra (and whatever ingredients you like to use to fry it) 
2-3 pieces of thick cut bacon, fried crispy
1 cob of sweet corn
1 package shelled edamame beans
Balsamic vinaigrette
1 package feta cheese
2 T sugar
Sald and pepper to taste

1. Boil your corn with a little sugar in the water, then start on frying your okra however you choose to do it. I use my mom's recipe which can be found here. When you're through frying, it should look like this. 

2. Fry your bacon so that it's very crispy (the crispiness of the okra and the bacon gives this dish a lot of texture). I actually cook bacon in my oven - I put it onto a foil-covered baking sheet, stick it in a cold oven, then pre-heat the oven to 425. Once it's finished pre-heating, I let it cook a couple of minutes longer, then we're done! No muss, no fuss. "Oven bacon" leaves your hands free to cook. 

Once it's cooked, give it a rough chop. 

3. Slice your tomatoes into half inch slices - a little thinner if you want to pile more tomato slices on top of each other. 

4. Begin assembling! Pile your slices on top of each other - toss on your okra, edamame (lightly salted), your freshly cut corn, crumbled bacon, and feta. Then drizzle a light coating of the vinaigrette - or, better yet, leave it off and let your guests add it themselves. 

Best enjoyed with great friends outside with a fabulous bottle of wine. 

Billboard Music Awards Red Carpet: Fetch or Wretch?

This event isn't really major - in fact, I had to stop and ask "Who is that?!" like 45 times during the show, but we did stumble upon it on TV last night. So I'm posting about it, because it's Monday and what better to ease us into our week than clothes? 

Fetch. 

Britney Spears. 

I'm changing the rules for our girl because her red carpet look was very bad, but THIS is what she looked like during her performance. 

BOW. DOWN. 

Zendaya.

I legit have no idea who this girl is or why she's famous. I *think* that she was a Disney Channel star of some sort? Regardless, I see her on the red carpet every time it's is rolled out, and she almost always knocks it out of the park. Some will say this look is too monochromatic, but I think she nailed it - she knows what works for her. She looks statuesque and fabulous. 

Ke$ha. 

...it physically pained me to type that stupid dollar sign. It also pained me to put her in the "best dressed" category - but I would wear every piece of this outfit, down to the shoes. There has certainly been a lot of controversy around this lady lately, and while there's no way I'm going to opine on that, I will say she's definitely succeeded in toning down her look to be taken more seriously. Jordan looked at me last night during her performance and said, "Why is this so solemn? Is she re-branding herself?" After I got over the fact that my husband knows what "re-branding" is, I had to agree - her publicist is doing a great job adjusting Ke$ha's image to reflect that she's got more to offer than glitter vomit and sweaty club remixes.  

As an aside, I had no idea she could actually sing. 

Laverne Cox.

A little grand for the Vegas red carpet at the Billboard Awards, but when someone is slaying in this manner, it doesn't matter. I don't mean to be politically incorrect, but this used to be a man, people. SHE IS SO FIERCE.

...and those four outfits are the only ones I liked. Now, on to the not-so-successful. 

Wretch.

Rihanna.

Girl, the 90's called and wants every single bit of this look back, right down to the mom hair. But you CRUSHED your performance and you normally get it right, so we'll give you a pass. 

Ariana Grande.

WAY too much going on with the cutouts, leather, and pattern. Ages her a decade. Too small a person to carry off that much dress. Hate the shoes. 

Nick Jonas. 

Looks like he grabbed four pieces off his bedroom floor and threw them on in the car on the way. Also, in every picture, those pants are doing something weird in the crotchal region. Also, it's too casual. 

Jessica Alba.

...why are you wearing black suede boots in the middle of May?? 

Idina Menzel.

It's almost right, but that dress gives her three boobs. 

Some Person I've Never Heard Of.

Who does she think she is? What the hell is she wearing? How did she move around? Does the skirt detach? Do you think she made the photographers wait until she got her face and hands arranged in that, "Leeeeewk at me I'm a bewwwwwwtifwel fissssh!" pose? Is the top sheer? Was the wig heavy? Does she know there's already a Lady Gaga?  

There were a lot more looks that I really didn't care for, but I genuinely didn't know who they were. Like, had never heard of them or their music.

Is that it's like to get old? 

See you tomorrow for the first episode of Bach-capping. 

5 Things: Reasons I Love Traveling with Jordan

This week, Jordan and I are at a beautiful resort hotel in Myrtle Beach, SC. He's doing some continuing education work, but we're still getting to spend lots of time together! Yesterday while the weather was cloudy, I stayed inside and watched Downton Abbey for about 4 hours. And I'm not even sorry. 

Most of the time when we travel, we're with people and/or only gone for the weekend. This is the first trip since our honeymoon where we've had several days in a row getting to relax and spend lots of time together, and I am gobbling it up. 

So, in honor of that, here are five things I love about traveling with my husband. 

1. He will eat anything. 

I don't mean he has low standards, I mean he'll try anything. Weird, cultural foods are his jam. He loves to try something new if the occasion calls for it, and that's one of my favorite things about him. Last night at dinner, he had the waiter choose for him (because he likes almost everything). The guy brought him salmon Rockefeller and he gobbled up every bite. I think the reason I like this quality in him so much is that it speaks to his low maintenance personality - he's just here to have a good time. 

2. He doesn't sweat the small stuff.

I am the planner in our marriage. I know what's happening, when, how long it will take to get there, what the attire is, who'll be there - I RSVP, send the gifts, and book the plane tickets. That is my role. But since this is his trip, I took a backseat and decided to just show up and go with it. True story: we drove here (a little over 5 hours), and about 30 minutes before we arrived, at 11:15 PM, I confirmed the hotel with Jordan. "Yeah, that's right," he said, "But text someone to make sure." (His entire dental office is also down here, so that's who he was getting confirmation from.) Turns out, we had the wrong hotel. I, of course, was basically bleeding into my brain stem that it was almost midnight and we didn't know where we were staying. But he was fine and we got it figured out within minutes. In the scheme of life, having every plan perfectly nailed down isn't that important. Jordan reminds me that we all have to loosen the hell up sometimes. 

(To be perfectly clear, I will still want to know what hotel we're staying in well before we arrive in the future. Just in case you're reading this, Jord.) 

3. He'll take pictures with me. 

I know that many men are pretty irritated the minute their wives pull out their cell phone and try to snap pictures. Rightfully so - I don't blame them. We take too many pictures. We can't help it. Though Jordan definitely has his limit (example: selfie, take a picture of me by myself, now take a picture with me again, oh wait my hair was doing something weird, etc.), he is almost always such a good sport about posing for as many pictures as I want to take. He says, "It may not be my favorite thing, but I'll want to remember this at some point." 

4. He is happy first thing in the morning. 

I don't know about you, but I am a groggy, nasty wreck first thing in the morning. I'm not one of those, "Don't talk to me before I've had my coffee," people, but it definitely takes me a second to get up and moving. Jordan, on the other hand, is happy right when he opens his eyes. For example, this morning he woke up, snuggled up to me, and started laughing at me because I'd put my pajama pants on backwards last night. #classic Even in the middle of the night if I have to get up for some reason, he's so pleasant and unbothered. This makes traveling a breeze - no grumpiness to fight through, just happiness. 

5. He is a big, curious nerd. 

Any of you who know Jordan personally know that he is a giant nerd. If we go to a park or zoo, he loves to read every SINGLE placard in the joint - all the details about the specific types of trees and/or animals. If we're stargazing, he loves to talk about star death. And if we're beach walking, like we were yesterday, he loves to search for shark teeth (for his dad) and identify every living creature we see along the way. It's a precious habit and always reminds me that stopping to be curious about the natural world pays off in fascinating little bits of information. 

SO let me go ahead and use all the cliches about him: "I love doing life with you!" "THIS guy." "So happy to be in a beautiful place with my favorite person." 

...but really, he is my favorite person. And I'm really glad we got married.