skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I've never been a "purse girl." Every handbag I've ever used has either been given to me or something I've found lying around the house. I never understood the fascination with purses. (Or shoes for that matter.) They all looked the same to me: flashy or frumpy. When we moved to NYC, I'd see women carrying enormous leather bags with big buckles and clasps and all sorts of bling and I'd wonder what on earth they needed such a big bag for and why they were all so ugly. (Now I know why the big bag—city girls on the go carry everything from their high heels to their gym clothes and a book or magazine to read on the subway and everything in between.) So I continued on my merry way, slowly but surely wearing out every satchel, tote, and diaper bag I came across.
But I was always endlessly digging, digging, digging. Where is that stupid binky? Where are those blasted keys?! Where, oh where, is that @#$%! PHONE!?!?! Thursday night, I'd had enough. I'd fished for my phone only to miss the call for the last time. It was time to grow up and get a real woman's purse.
So on Friday, Adam and I made a trip to Burlington where I figured the prices would be low enough and the selection relatively small enough that I wouldn't feel completely overwhelmed. We searched and searched, Adam occasionally showing me one he liked ("Ugh! So ugly!") while I would look wistfully at the messenger bags with embroidered flowers ("That's SO junior high.") When I was about to give up and go back to the hideous diaper bags, I saw a purse that was semi-attractive and didn't look like its owner rode a motor cycle or had airbrushed acrylic nails. But it was purple. A beautiful, subtle purple, but still, I don't ever wear purple. We took it halfway to the register, but then my heart plunged so we turned back, hoping we could find one like it in a neutral color. Adam gets all the credit here. He found the exact same purse in a lovely silver-gray. And it spoke to my soul. It has so many POCKETS!! A pocket for my phone. A pocket for the binky. A pocket for diaper stuff and another for my planner. A veritable plethora of pockets. And it was cute.
I know this might be a strange thing to blog about, but I felt that it was a small turning-point in my life. I now have an honest-to-goodness adult lady's purse.
Gaaaaaaaa! What's next? Wrinkle cream?
P.S. Adam reminded me that it's gray and I usually wear brown so it will hardly ever match my shoes. One thing at a time, I say.
It's been three years since Adam and I were married. It's hard to believe so much has happened in so short a time. We've had 7 jobs, lived in 3 apartments, moved 2 times, and had 1 baby. And we've traveled from one side of the country to the other. Through it all, Adam has never wavered in his love, devotion, or faith in me and the Lord. Though we've had our ups and downs, I count myself lucky to be married to such a wonderful man.
Adam loves music. One of the first of many gifts he's given me was a CD he mixed of his current favorite songs. (They change all the time.) He's introduced me to so many artists I now love. And he's taken me to more concerts in the four years I've known him, than I'd been to in all my years previous. Here's us on one of our first dates: The Aquabats.
My fondest "rock show" memory, though, was the first ever at a small juice bar in Provo where we saw a friend of his in a local band, The Handsome. I started feeling under the weather in the way only a woman can, and, much to my mortification, had to tell him I needed to go buy some Ibuprofen or I'd die. He wasn't grossed out; he didn't even flinch. He just walked me to the nearby Albertson's, paid for my medicine and a Coke, and sat with my on the curb while I waited for the pain to go away. I felt so comfortable with him. It was so refreshing.
The following Spring, after a brief but important hiatus, Adam proposed to me. He enlisted the help of half a dozen of his friends to put together one of the most romantic nights of my life. His roommate blindfolded me and drove me up to this:
where I found Adam and this waiting for me.
I said yes.
We sent out announcements. I planned and stressed and shopped. We planted some flowers.
And then we were married.
August 24, 2006. Mt. Timpanogos Temple.
And our life as husband and wife began.
Happy Anniversary, Sweet Pea.
Take more pictures.
Two weeks ago, Adam's little sister came to visit. She stayed for a week and a half and we all had a lot of fun. But the August heat and humidity has fried my circuits and I place all the blame for forgetting to take more pictures on that.
We tried to do one thing a day, which was a great pace for me and Elizabeth. This is us walking the Brooklyn Bridge.
Saturday, all four of us went to Coney Island, the ashtray of New York. While Elizabeth contemplated eternity, Adam picked nails, shards of glass, and cigarette butts out of the sand.
Kim was a great guest. She gladly babysat whenever we asked; she helped with meals and clean-up; and she was amazingly non-whiny for a teenager. I think we all miss her now that she's gone. Especially Elizabeth. But hopefully this will be the first of many visits to the Big City.
On a side note: while Kim was here, we got to endlessly discuss the Twilight series. I had just finished re-reading Eclipse when we arrived at her house, to drop her off at the end of her visit. When we walked into Kim's room, where she always generously lets us stay when we're up there, I was confronted by wall to wall pictures of Edward, Bella, and this guy:
It was a little trippy. If you've read the books, you know how all-consuming they can be. Even on subsequent readings. Then I saw the poster (not this one) of the actor who plays Jacob Black. (I'm totally on Team Jacob.) Holy Hannah (Montana.) Is he only 17 years old? Yes, yes he is. Am I embarrassed to admit that I couldn't stop staring ALL WEEKEND LONG? Yes, yes I am. If only I'd been born in '91 instead of '81. I might have met him at a high school football game b/c, that's right! He went to Valencia High School. What! Oh yeah. I'm almost famous. And we would totally have beat them at said football game. Go Hart! Okay, maybe I spent a little too much time with Kim . . .
Jill, Richard, Adam, Rick, Dad, Mom, Timothy, Lauren, Emily & Elizabeth, Amy, Suzy, Taylor, Chris, Phillip
The last week of July, we drove down to Maryland for the second ever Richard G. Paxman family reunion. Though some of the cousins couldn't make it (one is getting married!), we still made up a pretty big . . . and, may I say, good-looking group. The blue theme was totally unintentional. Our gracious hosts were the Johnson's. (No relation; I didn't marry my cousin.) Jill is quite possibly the best aunt anyone could ask for. When we were little, she would have my sister and me sleep over and we'd "live dangerously" and paint our toenails. Now that we live so close, her home, as well as Amy's up in Michigan, has become a refuge of love and suburban familiarity.
The big outing of our trip was a visit to Gettysburg. In preparation, we all read The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. I highly recommend this novel, even for non-history buffs like me. I also highly recommend learning as much about the battle before you go visit. It wouldn't have meant nearly as much to me if I hadn't known who these men were that sacrificed so much.
Guessing how much a cannon gun weighs.
A couple of the days of the reunion were spent in downtown DC at the museums.
Adam's Kermit the Frog face. This is the only way to get Elizabeth to sleep when we're out and about. And it only lasts for 30 min max.
The live butterfly exhibit at the natural history musuem.
A butterfly landed on me! (I am a Disney princess.)
Another highlight was going to the temple with my cousin, Phillip, who recently got his mission call to Manaus, Brazil. His mission is almost entirely rainforest. !!! For those of you who don't know, before going on a mission or getting maried, members of our church participate in a special ceremony that "endows" us or gives us spiritual strength and power as we make promises to God. It was a beautiful thing to be there with Adam and my parents, and see the joy on my aunt and uncle's faces as their son took such an important step.
The last day of our trip, we went to a lake. Do you think Elizabeth had a good time?
All in all, it was a great reunion. See you guys in 2011.
