{Guest Post} Emily from Hope Squared

Hello, all you party people!  I'm on vacation until March 8th and have decided NOT to blog so that I can pour my attentions onto my sweet hubby and snuggly pup.  =)  I hope you've been enjoying the guest bloggers I've been featuring the past few days.  I'm really excited about today's post and I hope y'all enjoy it!

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Hey there MNWL Readers!  My name is Emily and I blog over at Hope Squared.  When I saw that Mrs. Robinson put out a call for guest posts so she could dedicate her vacation time with her new husband - I jumped at the chance.  One because I enjoy her blog {and obviously you do too - duh} and secondly because the timing was perfect - you see today is my wedding anniversary.  My first wedding anniversary.   I am married to the hunk in the picture below. His name is Steve and I kinda like him - a lot.  We got married on a beach in Cuba. It was the best day of my life.

{Emily Plus Steve March 3, 2011}

Here we are one year later.  366 days of wedded bliss.  I'd be lying if I said it was anything but amazing.  Because it has been just that.  Prior to getting married Steve and I had dated for eight years.  So I didn't think getting married would make much difference.  I mean we already got through the awkwardness of our twenties and were ready to hit the ground running in our thirties.  I assumed that getting married would basically just make things legal and give me a shorter {and much cooler} last name.  I was terribly wrong.  Marriage is so much more than that.  In my short wedded life I have learned a lot about why marriage is so special.  Here are my opinions on what makes our marriage so great. Learning to compromise.  When I was 8 someone bought me a nightgown that said "I'm only happy when things go my way." This is polite way to basically say that I am stubborn.  I still, sometimes, sulk when I don't have things my way.  This doesn't usually work in our marriage.  I am working hard on this one - but thankfully I have a partner that will call me out on this.  Basically this is how I feel inside when I am not in control of the situation.

Keep it real and be yourself.  You know those couples that are into all the same things - I mean like everything? I don't get that.  I think individuality is so important in a marriage.  It's what makes you - you.  For example, Steve likes war documentaries.  I find them incredibly sad. I like TV Teen Dramas.  Steve can't stand them.  But it's not a problem.  Because we have already learned that compromise is important so we settle on shows like Survivor and Mad Men okay and some comedy gold like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  Plus while Steve 'jams' with his man friends once a week - I enjoy the awesomeness of a quiet place to myself.  Have fun and laugh a lot.  Thankfully I have a husband who makes me feel like the funniest person in the world.  He is a great audience and is good for my self confidence.  But not only that - we laugh together.  We have fun together.  In whatever we are doing.  Even if it scares the heck out of out of us. 

{this is a vintage photo but emphasizes my point.  This is monkey island in Vietnam.  All day we were so excited to see the monkeys.  That was until we got there.  And we learned that monkeys are wild.  Monkeys are scary.  I don't really like monkeys.  Steve and I laugh at this memory a lot.}

Fall in love with each other all over again. This happened the moment we said I do.  I mean seriously ladies - what's not to love about this handsome face?

So today I will celebrate my first year of marriage with the best husband money can buy ever. But I am eager to know - what do you do to make your marriage work?  Don't be shy come on over to my place and say hello and tell me.  I promise no monkey business.  Oh and thanks again to Mrs. Robinson for letting me guest over here {I hope you're having an awesome-sauce vacation}

Blog // Twitter

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Thanks for the great advice!  =)  I've got my 6th month anniversary coming up in a few days, and it looks like Emily & I are learning many of the same lessons.  Anyway, GO to her blog right away and become her newest follower. =)  Have a great Saturday!  

{Guest Post} Moo from The Musings of Lil Moo Moo

In case you've missed a few posts, I am on vacation!  Super busy drinking too much liquor, snugglin' with my boys, and watching my husband learn how to tie a bow tie.  ;) Yesterday, Amie shared her love story with y'all and today Moo is sharing a different kind of love story.  Enjoy!  =)
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Hello all you fabulous readers!
 My name is Moo.

I blog over at The Musings of Lil Moo Moo

I blog about things like.. my life, the military, my dog, and some random DIY things thrown in there. 

It's basically whatever is in my head at the time! 

One of my absolute favorite things to write about (besides my husband) is my dog.

Meet Skeeter.

He is one of the STRANGEST dogs you will ever meet. 

He is very set in his ways, and demands my attention at all times. 

I also think he might have a touch of the "hoarding" tendencies. 

The only time he isn't all up in my business and following me around is when he is spending time with his "sister wives."

Skeeter has 3 very special ladies in his life. 

They are the sister wives.

There is a pink. a yellow. and his VERY favorite, a blue one. 

The blue one is his first sister wife. She has been through it all with him. 

He makes sure she comes to bed with him every single night, and travels around the house with him throughout the day.

Wherever Skeeter is, the blue sister wife will be.

Skeeter also has a basket of "brother boyfriends" that he refuses to leave put away in his basket. 

Any time I pick them up and put them away, he is right behind me tipping the basket over and pulling them out. 

I'm thinking that I have not only a promiscuous young pup on my hands, but possibly a hoarder too. 

My dog makes my day to day life just a little better. I don't know what I would do without my hoarding and multiple partner puppy. 

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Moo & her little Skeeter are just precious!  Makes me wanna go give Zombie a hug.  So...while I'm doing that, go visit Moo and start following her blog because she is awesome.  K, bye. 

{Guest Post} Amie from Amie's Tales

Good Morning!  To kick off my week of guest posters, I have Amie from Amie's Tales.  She is sharing a bit of her love story with y'all, and I have to admit I'm a little jealous of how she spent her first few weeks as an engaged lady.  ;)  Anyway, Amie is very sweet and we are just getting to know each other!  Enjoy!  

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Hey everyone! The lovely Mrs. Robinson is off on her road trip, and I'm honored to be writing my very first guest blog for her! I'm Amie from Amie's Tales.  Like Mrs. Robinson, I am a young newlywed figuring out marriage.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a writer. I would tell people that I didn't want to get married until I was "like 30," and I would have kids after that.
Well, you know that phrase "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans?" That becomes more and more apparent with every year I'm alive.

My husband and I have actually gone to school together since I was 9 and he was 10. The first time we hung out was four years later. We were both snowboarding through a local parks and rec program, and while everyone else was in lessons, I worked up the nerve to ask if he wanted to snowboard with me. He did, and he was very patient as I proceeded to embarrass myself and get stuck in powder repeatedly.

We hung out occasionally over the next  two years, and dated other people. However, by the time I turned 16 he at my house about 4 days a week. He was a total gentleman, too. We'd lay on my bed and listen to music, or go on walks, or watch movies, but that was all.  We finally became "official" our senior year of high school. We had a wonderful year and before we knew it I was moving 7 hours away to go to college. It was hard, but absence really does make the heart grow fonder. By the end of January I moved out of the dorms and we were moving into our first place. It was a tiny mother-in-law unit, but we loved it and we loved each other.

A few months later, I had been bitten by the wedding bug. I would drool over wedding pictures online, and lurk on The Knot constantly. I knew I wanted to be with my boyfriend forever. He was the only person I could picture being the father of my children. He was kind, honest, responsible, and strong yet gentle. 

He was more hesitant. He loved me, and liked how things were. To ease his mind I suggested we read through some premarital counseling questions together. 90% of our answers were identical, and we came to agreements we were both happy within the areas we had differed. I could see it dawn on him that we really were compatible, even more than we had thought!

Not too long after that we left on an 8 week long backpacking trip. About 5 weeks into it we were in Rome and after buying a 2 euro ring in front of me in town that night, he crawled into our tent, laid next to me, and asked me to marry him. It was 9/6/09. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement. I was over the moon. We spent our first few weeks of being engaged in Rome, Venice, and Paris. I gleefully sent out e-cards asking my best friends to be bridesmaids as a way of breaking the news. They were thrilled. Our parents were happy, and I was busy trying to talk my fiance into the idea of getting married in 2011 rather than a year or two after that.

We finally agreed to get married on 9/10/11. After returning home and talking with our families, and spending a few months planning, we decided to move the date up. Not until everything was in full swing did I realize my student financial aid info was due very soon. My parents make too much for me to qualify for financial aid, but they have too many expenses to help with my tuition. As a married independent, I could qualify for aid. After discussing it with our immediate families, we decided to get legally married three months before our wedding.

On 6/5/10, shortly before my 19th birthday, our parents sat on the back deck at my parents' house. We were surrounded by flowers and love. As cheesy as that sounds, I could feel it coursing through the air. My mom is ordained, so she officiated. We all celebrated and then it was back to life, and wedding planning. On 9/5/10 we got married in my in laws' 2 acre yard with one hundred some people. The sun shone, tears were shed, and it was a wonderful day.

Marriage isn't easy. It's a job, just like any relationship. It requires work, love, patience, and compromise. The biggest thing I have learned from my time as a newlywed is that communication is vital. My husband I realized we were fighting and all of our fights could be traced back to simple miscommunication. Since then, we try to be very specific and clear, and make sure the other hears us when we're discussing important matters. It's hard, but I wouldn't trade being a young bride for anything :)

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How 'bout that?!  We almost had the same wedding date {if they would have stuck with .09.10.11.}  I totally understand not wanting to wait.  When you know, you know.  And love is a beautiful thing!  I hope that all of you enjoyed her sweet, sweet love story as much as I did!  Amie is a first time guest-blogger and I hope you'll go show her and her blog some love!  Have a great day!