It's a Rad(ford) Life!

We found a house. It’s perfect. Three bedrooms, one bath, a one car garage. It includes all appliances, has hard woods in the living room, a really pretty tile in the kitchen, dining room, and bathroom, and carpet in the bedrooms. On top of that, it has a big, beautiful back yard with a privacy fence all the way around. And the location is just perfect.

We turned in our application and as long as our credit check, etc. checks out (which it should), it will be ours. I am so excited! I just wish we didn’t have to play the waiting game.

If all goes as planned, we’ll be moving the first weekend in February! I cannot wait to decorate our first home. 🙂

Wow, what a year 2010 was. So many good things happened, along with so many not so good thing. But overall it was an amazing year because I married the love of me life! Starting our journey as husband and wife has been a wonderful blessing.

A lot happened at the end of 2010, so I’ll recap a few things here. Chandler graduated from OSU with an industrial engineering & management degree. It was amazing to see him walk across that stage and accept his diploma. He has worked SO hard. On top of that, he was able to bring his GPA up to a 3.0, and he passed the fundamentals of engineering – the first step to becoming a professional engineer. He was also lucky (more like he worked his ass off), to receive more than one job offer before/after his graduation on Dec. 18.

As for me, when I told my boss we were moving and that I had to quit, she offered me the opportunity to work remotely. I am thrilled beyond belief! We also hired a marketing firm and I am really excited to learn from them and get a lot of cool things done.

Christmas fell exactly one week after Chandler’s graduation, and the day after that (the 26th) we moved out of Stillwater. It was… hard. Stillwater has been our home for 5+ years. Not to mention, the apartment (36F) we moved into together in the summer of 2009 was our first home together and Roma’s first home. I miss the town of Stillwater itself, every day. I love Oklahoma City and I’m excited for our new adventure, but Stillwater will always hold a very special place in my heart.

After only two days of living in OKC, we joined our friends Justin and Kim, and headed to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl. OSU played Arizona and we whooped their butts! It was amazing. It was Chandler’s graduation present, as well as our one year anniversary present to each other.

As for the day of our actual anniversary, we spent the day hanging out and then we went to Chili’s we gift cards we’d gotten for Christmas. It was a wonderful day.

So that brings us to today. Today Chandler will officially be accepting a job. The job he’s wanted so badly from the start. I am so proud of him for all he has accomplished, and just for being the man that he is.

We were talking the other night about how much our lives our going to change with two salaries. We feel so broke right now, but we know we’re going to look back and cherish these times. I just hope I always remember all the little moments we had our first year of marriage.

Til next time,

Meg

Drunkenly, on the eve of my wedding and the new year, I rambled on about how all you have to do to keep a marriage alive is to keep your sex life active.

I’m not sure what made me feel entitled to say this.  Maybe I was feeling ballsy because Chandler and I had been together 4.5 years already. Or maybe I was just drunk. Either way I’ve thought a lot about that “speech” I gave to our wedding party since it happened. It has been just over 10 months and I have heard the same sentiments, time and time again. On late night television. On the Ryan Seacrest radio show. In the Cosmopolitan magazine delivered to my house each month. But is it true?

Point blank – No.

Sex is great, don’t get me wrong. But it can no way be the foundation for a relationship. And while I still believe that keeping things spicey in the bedroom could never hurt a marriage, it is not what keeps one going for a lifetime.

Want to know what is? In my opion, it’s communication. Specifically, communication of your intimate feelings toward one another. Saying “I love you” on the phone before you hang up can be so mundane. Routine. But saying “You’re the love of my life!” in a text message randomly in the middle of the day – that’s totally different.

Chandler and I have gone through a lot in our first year of marriage. We’ve lost close loved ones, we found out I am a carrier of an extremely rare medical disease that will affect us forever, I got laid off… the list goes on. But what’s helped make us stronger – and grow closer together – is the fact that mutliple times a day, through multiple outlets, we say “I love you” in a unique way.

Just some food for thought. What a difference 10 months makes. Can’t wait to see what insights I have in 10 years… 25 years… 50 years… etc. 😉

Roma Radford 🙂

Hiding a dog at your apartment complex really isn’t that hard. You just have to be willing to do a little extra work on top of the lot of extra work that comes along with getting a puppy. Here are some tips:

1. Only take her outside in front of your apartment before 7 a.m. and after dark. I’m serious, we follow this rule.
2. During the day, take her to Boomer Lake or the Conoco station near your house (other non-threatening places can be swapped for these, as necessary).
3. During daylight hours, make sure you carry her in and out of the apartment in a puppy carrier bag.
4. Make sure you get a dog that sleeps a lot and doesn’t bark much. (I can’t help you with this, we just lucked out).
5. When you need to call maintenance about a repair on your apartment – just don’t. Either fix it yourself or live with whatever is broken.
6. Try to keep the carpets as clean as possible. Resolve for Pets will be your best friend.
7. When it’s time for quarterly inspections at your complex, find a babysitter or day board her at the vet. Then, hide everything of hers. Her crate, the baby gate, her toys, bowls, etc. Then get them out for her that night, and rinse and repeat this cycle until the inspection is complete.
8. If she starts barking at 8 a.m. on a Saturday, you get up at 8 a.m. If you leave her in her crate barking so you can get some extra shut eye, one of your neighbors might spill the beans to the management of your complex.

So there you have it. Eight simple tricks on how to hide your dog from your apartment complex. I told you it was easy!

Got your attention, huh? I’m sorry to disappoint but the only reason for that title is the simple fact that I’ve had that song stuck in my head all day.

Anyway, here’s a quick life update:

• Chandler and I had an amazingly relaxing weekend, but we still got a bunch of stuff done at the same time. It was perfect.
• Last night at the Wall, three people told me Roma was the cutest puppy they’d ever seen. I have to agree.
• Tonight the Cowboys are playing the Aggies. Thursday nights games suck and are awesome at the same time. I love the excitement that fills the air all day while I wait to get off work. Even during my lunch hour people were already tailgaiting. However, it does make for a really long day. Oh well, they only happen once a season (if that).
• Another week is almost over. That alone is something I am thankful for.
• Chandler has had one interview already, and has at least two more coming up. So proud of my husband!

That’s all for now. Xoxo!

This weekend, I plan to not do much. Essentially, I’ve planned to not plan – and I’m pretty damn pumped about it! Weekends like this don’t come around often for Chandler and me, and this is especially perfect timing. I’m still getting over a bronchial infection and Chandler has strep throat. Awesome, right?

Movies on the list to potentially watch:

• Letters to Juliet
• Killers
• The Backup Plan

Other things I want to accomplish:

• Shopping for my work trip to San Francisco in October
• DEEP cleaning the apartment
• Drinking plenty of wine

Shit, I just planned out the weekend of no plans, didn’t I? 🙂

Chandler’s aunt passed away last Friday, after having a successful double lung transplant a little more than three weeks ago. People always talk about second chances like they’re inevitable. But sometimes, even if you are lucky enough to receive one, it doesn’t last forever.

RIP Kelly. You will be missed more than words can express. I am so sorry that things turned out this way – you didn’t deserve it. I hope Heaven is filled with cats, Star Trek, Broadway plays, and more.

Lately, I’ve been feeling so nostalgic. I don’t remember ever yearning for the past like I have been lately. But it’s weird – I don’t want it back; I just want to remember it… to reminisce.

I think it’s like this for two reasons – the work weeks have felt longer than usual lately. This makes me long for class, where I had no other responsibilities aside from working part-time and homework. What a life I was living and I didn’t even know it! The other thing is that Griffin is now a freshman. He keeps asking me about places to eat, things to do… and it just gets to me.

I don’t think I really appreciated college while I had it because I was so ready for the next chapter. I’ve caught myself feeling that way now, too. Like I just want to fast forward to the next chapter and leave it all behind. I’m going to try really hard to appreciate the life I’m living now… really take it in and make some amazing memories. It may not always be easy, but life is too beautiful to be wasted on thoughts of fast forwarding.

Living in the present is one of the most special gifts we can give ourselves. Yes, it’s okay to plan and yes, it’s okay to get excited about the future, but we have to remember that there is happiness to be found in even the tiniest of things. My mom’s always been big on looking at the sunset, smelling the roses, etc. I used to tease her about it – but now I only wish to be more like her.

Okay, next post will be happy and upbeat – I promise. 🙂

Chandler and I are planners. I don’t mind it – actually, I rather like it. And I’m glad he’s like that too. Anyway, we’ve set our vacation schedule for the next five summers. Some people might think we’re dorks, but we like to get excited about the adventures ahead of us!

• Summer 2011: Santa Monica, Calif. /Los Angeles
• Summer 2012: Hawaii (not sure what island(s) yet)
• Summer 2013: Greece/Italy
• Summer 2014: Virgin Islands
• Summer 2015: Australia or Canada, depending on where we go to have children. I prefer Australia.

This is my dream vacation schedule. Fingers crossed it actually happens!

WE GOT A PUPPY! She’s absolutely perfect. She’s a puggle (half pug, half bealge). Chandler and I are already hopelessly in love with her. She’s precious and very smart. We’re having so much fun. However, she’s still a puppy and therefore she’s still a little shit sometimes. And every time she is, it just reminds me of the fact that I am no where NEAR ready to have a child.