In case you somehow missed it, Sean and I are completely obsessing over Harry Potter right now. After visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we couldn't help ourselves. I'm listening to the whole series on audio book and immersing myself in literary criticism of Harry, and Sean is rereading the series.
All this has got me thinking of some of my favorite Harry Potter related memories. Here are two of my favorites:
I read Harry Potter for the first time during the summer of 2008, which I spent in Florida. That summer Cathryn was also learning how to drive. Since I'm six years older than her, I was legally able to take her out driving. So one day, Cayla, Cathryn, and I were coming home from somewhere--with Cathryn driving--and we happened to be talking about J.K. Rowling. I was telling them how beautiful the author was, but the girls were in disbelief. They were both saying how they imagined her looking like the crazy cashier lady at our neighborhood Walgreens who is older, stout, with frizzy gray hair that always has an absurd hat (usually decorated with a big spider) perched on top of it. We were laughing so hard over this image as we pulled into our driveway that Cathryn lost track of what she was doing, and drove the van right into the house. Literally, she hit the house. I know I should've felt bad as the responsible adult who was supposed to be monitoring her, but it was one of the funniest moments of my life.
Another great Harry Potter memory is a lot simpler, but nonetheless meaningful. The day after our wedding, Sean and I were relaxing in our room at the Tiburon lodge, recovering from the craziness of the weekend. And we had one of the best evenings in the world: we rented Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire from the lobby's movie collection and ordered room service for a cheeseburger and a double serving of garlic fries. It was so simple and yet, was undoubtedly one of the best spent evenings of my life. And that's one of the reasons I love being married to Sean--I always have my best buddy around to enjoy all the little things of life with.
Showing posts with label Marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marriage. Show all posts
Sunday, March 6, 2011
A Tiny Conversation
Me: Sean, do you remember when we weren't married?
Sean: Yes.
Me: Wasn't it terrible?
Sean: Yes.
Me: Wasn't it terrible?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Marriage:
"I desired my dust to be mingled with yours
Forever and forever and forever."
--Ezra Pound, The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter
Forever and forever and forever."
--Ezra Pound, The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter
Thursday, July 29, 2010
3 things:
A lot has happened since I last wrote, too much to write about in just one post. So for now, I will just catch you up on a few major things:
1. I love being married.
Last October, just after we had gotten engaged, Chris Oliver asked me what I was looking forward to the most about being married to Sean, and I promptly responded, "It will be an adventure! There is never a dull moment with Sean," (or something to that effect...) To illustrate this point, I will briefly describe one scenario: Last Thursday night, Sean and I had a few friends over (Lauren, Greg, Jason, Dan, Adria) and we cooked a big spaghetti dinner on a tiny little hot plate (our stove wasn't hooked up yet) and ate outside in the cool evening air, but this story isn't about the dinner really, but about the dishes produced by that dinner. Immediately after our meal, we went to the movies to see Incepcion, and, since I had work the next day, I asked Sean to do the dishes while I was gone. Well, that didn't happen, but it was understandable because on Friday we got our internet installed, our stove hooked up, and our new bed frame set up. So when I had to work Saturday night, I asked Sean to just do the dishes then. I returned home right around 1:00 in the morning, and found my new husband wearing only a bathing suit and a pair of rubber gloves, washing dishes IN THE SHOWER. When I confronted him about the oddity of this situation, the truth came out: Sean hates doing dishes. I said that I wish he would've told me this earlier, because I LIKE doing dishes and was only asking him to do them since I wasn't around. Sean said, "I could do the dishes if I had a sink with two sides, a garbage disposal, and a hose." We do not have any of those things, and so I'm now the official dish-washer in our family, which is fine with me. On Sunday, I washed the three and a half days old dirty dishes (in the sink, not the shower), while Sean did a chore that I happen to hate: grocery shopping. Divvying up chores like this is wonderful! And all is well that ends well...My shower ended up streaked with grease and tomato sauce and the drain clogged with bits of salad and avocado, but even that cleaned up pretty well with a little 409.
2. I love my job.
For me to be able to say I love a job that wakes me up at 5:40 a.m. three mornings a week is a big deal, but it is the truth. I'm sure I'll be writing a lot about my job in the days to come, so for now I'll just describe another scene--in an attempt to show why I love my job so much. On Wednesday I picked up Giuliana from her Little Click Club (where she's learning to use a computer) and we walked over to the park to eat the picnic lunch I packed for us. It was a crisp, sunny California day...the kind of beautiful day that makes everyone want to live in California forever, because sun and wind and sky and ocean combine together in a glorious perfection. Well, I sat on the ground with Giuwels in my lap, peeling Clementines, and the two of us sharing the juicy orange pieces one by one. The warm sun was shining down on us in perfect contrast to the cool air, and I was filled with a deep contentment. Giuwels said, with her head leaning against my chest, "I like you." I said, "I like you too." And she added, "I love when we do this...let's do this every day!"
3. I love my new house.
Perhaps house isn't the most appropriate term for what is in fact a tiny studio apartment, but it stands alone behind our landlady's house, and because we live in a guest house rather than an apartment complex, I insist on calling this our house. Tonight is a good night to write about our new home, because I am completely at peace with it. For the past three weeks we've had boxes everywhere, and today I woke up and said, "No more. I will not go to sleep with boxes in my house tonight." While Sean helped Jason move, I unpacked the last few boxes and put the finishing touches on everything...Now I am sitting here feeling satisfied beyond belief. We somehow managed to fit in everything we wanted: our king size bed, 4 bookshelves, a table, four chairs, a desk, a love seat, and a stove! We live in a tiny room nestled under a great avocado tree. Our sliding glass doors open onto a small balcony and an orange tree. We wake up in the night to avocados falling on our roof, we reach for each others' hand and go back to sleep. Our Harry Potter books are sitting on our desk between two wooden lion bookends that were carved in Africa. During the day, Timmy and Garfield preside over our bed. Our house is overflowing with books. We have way more books than we have square feet to live in, and that's the way we like it. Our portrait done by the street artist in Waikiki is hanging on the wall, as well as prints by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Monet. The picture of Jesus that has hung over my bed since I was a toddler is also hanging on our wall, as well as Sean's crucifix from his first Communion. It is our home, and we love it, and I want everyone to come visit even though there's nowhere for them to stay! We'll make room!
1. I love being married.
Last October, just after we had gotten engaged, Chris Oliver asked me what I was looking forward to the most about being married to Sean, and I promptly responded, "It will be an adventure! There is never a dull moment with Sean," (or something to that effect...) To illustrate this point, I will briefly describe one scenario: Last Thursday night, Sean and I had a few friends over (Lauren, Greg, Jason, Dan, Adria) and we cooked a big spaghetti dinner on a tiny little hot plate (our stove wasn't hooked up yet) and ate outside in the cool evening air, but this story isn't about the dinner really, but about the dishes produced by that dinner. Immediately after our meal, we went to the movies to see Incepcion, and, since I had work the next day, I asked Sean to do the dishes while I was gone. Well, that didn't happen, but it was understandable because on Friday we got our internet installed, our stove hooked up, and our new bed frame set up. So when I had to work Saturday night, I asked Sean to just do the dishes then. I returned home right around 1:00 in the morning, and found my new husband wearing only a bathing suit and a pair of rubber gloves, washing dishes IN THE SHOWER. When I confronted him about the oddity of this situation, the truth came out: Sean hates doing dishes. I said that I wish he would've told me this earlier, because I LIKE doing dishes and was only asking him to do them since I wasn't around. Sean said, "I could do the dishes if I had a sink with two sides, a garbage disposal, and a hose." We do not have any of those things, and so I'm now the official dish-washer in our family, which is fine with me. On Sunday, I washed the three and a half days old dirty dishes (in the sink, not the shower), while Sean did a chore that I happen to hate: grocery shopping. Divvying up chores like this is wonderful! And all is well that ends well...My shower ended up streaked with grease and tomato sauce and the drain clogged with bits of salad and avocado, but even that cleaned up pretty well with a little 409.
2. I love my job.
For me to be able to say I love a job that wakes me up at 5:40 a.m. three mornings a week is a big deal, but it is the truth. I'm sure I'll be writing a lot about my job in the days to come, so for now I'll just describe another scene--in an attempt to show why I love my job so much. On Wednesday I picked up Giuliana from her Little Click Club (where she's learning to use a computer) and we walked over to the park to eat the picnic lunch I packed for us. It was a crisp, sunny California day...the kind of beautiful day that makes everyone want to live in California forever, because sun and wind and sky and ocean combine together in a glorious perfection. Well, I sat on the ground with Giuwels in my lap, peeling Clementines, and the two of us sharing the juicy orange pieces one by one. The warm sun was shining down on us in perfect contrast to the cool air, and I was filled with a deep contentment. Giuwels said, with her head leaning against my chest, "I like you." I said, "I like you too." And she added, "I love when we do this...let's do this every day!"
3. I love my new house.
Perhaps house isn't the most appropriate term for what is in fact a tiny studio apartment, but it stands alone behind our landlady's house, and because we live in a guest house rather than an apartment complex, I insist on calling this our house. Tonight is a good night to write about our new home, because I am completely at peace with it. For the past three weeks we've had boxes everywhere, and today I woke up and said, "No more. I will not go to sleep with boxes in my house tonight." While Sean helped Jason move, I unpacked the last few boxes and put the finishing touches on everything...Now I am sitting here feeling satisfied beyond belief. We somehow managed to fit in everything we wanted: our king size bed, 4 bookshelves, a table, four chairs, a desk, a love seat, and a stove! We live in a tiny room nestled under a great avocado tree. Our sliding glass doors open onto a small balcony and an orange tree. We wake up in the night to avocados falling on our roof, we reach for each others' hand and go back to sleep. Our Harry Potter books are sitting on our desk between two wooden lion bookends that were carved in Africa. During the day, Timmy and Garfield preside over our bed. Our house is overflowing with books. We have way more books than we have square feet to live in, and that's the way we like it. Our portrait done by the street artist in Waikiki is hanging on the wall, as well as prints by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Monet. The picture of Jesus that has hung over my bed since I was a toddler is also hanging on our wall, as well as Sean's crucifix from his first Communion. It is our home, and we love it, and I want everyone to come visit even though there's nowhere for them to stay! We'll make room!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Just Registered!
It's so hard to make time to write. Right now I just want to go home, read, take a shower, and sleep for a really long time. I've been at Sean's apartment, working on my resume for most of the evening. I really dislike working on a resume, or should I say, trying to sum up my entire self on a sheet of paper...And even that wouldn't be too hard, except for the fact that the sheet of paper must be perfectly formatted with no grammatical or stylistic errors. There's a career expo at Biola tomorrow, so Sean and I are going to wander around with our resumes in hand, eagerly looking for jobs.
I feel utterly overwhelmed by everything I have to do between now and June 26th. I really hope our wedding is out of this world amazing, otherwise I will be furious that we did not just elope. I have never so many decisions to make in my entire life! I have also never had so many people calling and asking me what they should wear. I am probably in charge of picking out or approving of outfits for at least 30 people on my wedding day.
I really should be more relaxed than this, considering that Sean and I spent the weekend at his house, and I took at least three bubble baths a day. We also registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, which was not as awful an experience as I expected, but wasn't exactly great fun either. We registered for five pages of stuff. Then we asked the lady how much most people register for. She rolled her eyes and said she's printed off registries at least fifty-six pages long...that's fifty one pages longer than ours, which made me feel a lot better...I sure felt like a moronic materialist monster wandering around the store and zapping anything I wanted with my scan gun, so that other people can buy it for me. Sean's mantra for the excursion was, "I will not sell out." This enabled him to resist the inevitable temptation of registering for things we absolutely do not need, and it helped us keep a levelheaded approach to the somewhat heady, mind-altering experience of being let loose in a store to pick out whatever your heart desires. By far the most expensive thing for which we registered was the tangerine colored Kitchenaid Mixer, weighing in at a hefty $300, but that was also just about the only thing I wanted. Why? Because I know I will use it. Because I know it will last. And because my childhood development can be measured by my growing ability to engage my own mother's Kitchenaid Mixer. Suffice it to say, the sturdy Kitchenaid mixer is an uncompromisable domestic asset which I really do feel my kitchen (and my life!) would be incomplete without. Other than the Kitchenaid mixer, the only other thing I got really excited about was towels...This is also due to my childhood, but in the reverse manner--meaning that growing up we never had enough towels for our burgeoning family, and I have made it my mission to have a plentiful amount of large, fluffy towels in my future home...even if I have very little else. So, from the way it's looking, Sean and I will be setting up house with plenty of books, towels, and of course, love. What more could we ask for?
I feel utterly overwhelmed by everything I have to do between now and June 26th. I really hope our wedding is out of this world amazing, otherwise I will be furious that we did not just elope. I have never so many decisions to make in my entire life! I have also never had so many people calling and asking me what they should wear. I am probably in charge of picking out or approving of outfits for at least 30 people on my wedding day.
I really should be more relaxed than this, considering that Sean and I spent the weekend at his house, and I took at least three bubble baths a day. We also registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, which was not as awful an experience as I expected, but wasn't exactly great fun either. We registered for five pages of stuff. Then we asked the lady how much most people register for. She rolled her eyes and said she's printed off registries at least fifty-six pages long...that's fifty one pages longer than ours, which made me feel a lot better...I sure felt like a moronic materialist monster wandering around the store and zapping anything I wanted with my scan gun, so that other people can buy it for me. Sean's mantra for the excursion was, "I will not sell out." This enabled him to resist the inevitable temptation of registering for things we absolutely do not need, and it helped us keep a levelheaded approach to the somewhat heady, mind-altering experience of being let loose in a store to pick out whatever your heart desires. By far the most expensive thing for which we registered was the tangerine colored Kitchenaid Mixer, weighing in at a hefty $300, but that was also just about the only thing I wanted. Why? Because I know I will use it. Because I know it will last. And because my childhood development can be measured by my growing ability to engage my own mother's Kitchenaid Mixer. Suffice it to say, the sturdy Kitchenaid mixer is an uncompromisable domestic asset which I really do feel my kitchen (and my life!) would be incomplete without. Other than the Kitchenaid mixer, the only other thing I got really excited about was towels...This is also due to my childhood, but in the reverse manner--meaning that growing up we never had enough towels for our burgeoning family, and I have made it my mission to have a plentiful amount of large, fluffy towels in my future home...even if I have very little else. So, from the way it's looking, Sean and I will be setting up house with plenty of books, towels, and of course, love. What more could we ask for?
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