Our Love Story...

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
It will be five years in April.

When we started dating {Gosh-we both look so different!}

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}
We met the first day on our undergraduate campus during an honors course orientation. We talked about both having gone to Germany and liking science {We're real nerds-can you tell?}. T asked me out after a couple of months but I wasn't really sure. So he waited a few more months and asked me out again at the end of the school year - right before going to Japan for a month {good timing, don't you think?}. We were apart for most of the summer, but we spent hours on the phone every night talking. T went so far over his cell phone minutes that his parents had to change the family plan. I wouldn't change anything about it though. We became best friends that summer and we still share absolutely everything - even the weird stuff!

Our first concert together - Summer 2007

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}
We got married in July of 2011. Best day ever, hands down.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?
We got married at the church in my hometown. It was a medium wedding - just over 100 people. 

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
Haha! 
T calls me: My Favorite, hon, baby girl
I call him: honey, smoochums, whatever comes to mind
Since we're still newlyweds we've been using hubby and wifey as jokes, but we might drop those soon...


6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
Just 3? I guess if I have to pick:
1. His crazy dances/songs that he does just for me. He'll sing songs he's listening to, or make up new words to old songs to make them into cheesy, silly, ridiculous "love" songs. Then he'll swing me around and we'll do a combination of swing dancing, ballroom dancing, and whatever else comes to mind.
2. T is a medical student so he spends most of his day learning all about diseases and treatments and he always wants to share what he's learned with me. It's another way for us to connect. I'm working toward my PhD in Pharmacology so I study new ways to treat diseases - you can read more about that here. Anyway - I love that we both work in science/medicine so that we can talk about it. He's always teaching me something new!
3. T is the best listener. He always listens to my problems/concerns, even if he can't fix them {although he certainly tries}.


7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?
We went on a walk (the day before my birthday) on a trail near campus that we frequently used to get away from school. It got really cold right before we left, so I wore my winter coat, but he didn't wear any coat. He was shivering the whole way. I suspected didn't suspect a thing so I kept asking him if he wanted to head back. T insisted we at least get to the river. When we got to one of the benches by the river, we sat down and he got on one knee and proposed. It was perfect and very us. {Although it would have been equally romantic if he had worn a coat}.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?


Neither really. He did flowers this year and in the past he's done chocolate. I'm not really demanding about Valentine's Day. 


9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?


Definitely a movie and couch girl. We did sunset dinner on the beach on our honeymoon, and it was very romantic and lovely. But I get cold easily {even in Aruba in July}, and I love cuddling on the couch. 


10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
I would love to travel around Europe - top of the list is probably Iceland, Switzerland, and Italy. We've both been to Germany, and Travis traveled all around Europe on a band tour during undergrad (he plays saxophone).


11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
Well, I started writing this after V-day, but we didn't end up really doing anything. Like I said, we're both in school, so we were busy studying. But when I came home from work, T had done all the dishes (which is a nice treat for a Tuesday!) and he bought me flowers. We spent the evening hanging out and studying. 


12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
I didn't ask for anything - V-day isn't really that important to me. I would rather celebrate on our anniversary or birthdays. But, that being said, I don't mind a little recognition of the day anyway.


13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Our rule has always been: Share everything - good, bad, embarrassing. We've found that even if we don't really want to talk about it, that eventually a good heart-to-heart makes both of us feel better. T has a remarkable ability to calm me even with my worst worries {even when they come in the middle of the night}.


14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.
The day of our wedding - we had just seen each other for the first time and we were both speechless, soaking in the "this is really happening" moment.