Marriage

After more than 1 year of marriage, I can say that it is a great thing. I recommend it - as long as it's the right person. I don't have any regrets - except for not including the registry cards in the inviatation no matter what Miss Manners said. We got some great stuff, but I had to ask for a blender for Christmas! :) Anyway, I wanted to share a few hints with anyone thinking about getting married, or recently married.

Even if you maid of honor passes out at the wedding and has to leave on a stretcher, the important part is the fact that you are married. Don't let wedding plans consume you.

It's ok to disagree on some things (Andy and I are a clear example of political disagreements being ok) as long as you agree on the big things: God, money, and where you buy your clothes (sure, a trip to Banana Republic is ok, as long as you have money to pay for what you buy - otherwise, stick to Target, which, by the way, has excellent jeans) I guess those last 2 are kind of related, but I think you can tell a lot by a person based on whether or not they "have" to buy $90 jeans from JCrew or whether they buy them because they're the only brand that fits (as any girl will tell you, this might be harder than it seems)

Learn to cook. Whether you both know a little or a lot, it's great to cook meals together (even if I sometimes just boil water or something). By the way, I do know how to cook, but Andy's just better at it :) You'll also save a lot of money by cooking that pasta yourself instead of paying $7.95 at Olive Garden.

Appreciate each other. It's easy to take someone for granted when they're always there - the same way we often get with our moms. But remembering that someone could be gone in an instant and thanking them for what they do will help keep you in perspective.

Go to marriage counseling. If it seems like you're not really learning all that many new things, that's probably a good thing - it means you've probably already discussed a lot of the big things already. Plus, you might get to hear some great married people stories from the pastor. Pastor Bruce definitely knew what he was talking about.

I know, those seem like basic things, but they're good to keep in mind. Maybe you think 1 year of marriage doesn't qualify me to say things like that, well, maybe it doesn't, but it's mostly things I learned from other people anyway.