We are the Mareans

Well sort of.  I guess I should say we are the soon to be Mareans. James and I are getting married next year and we will be joining forces in Virginia.  Which means combining 2 households. Yeah this ought to be fun. So here's our back story and how we are the soon to be Mareans. 

James and I originally met in 1996 through a mutual friend of ours. Ethel was besties with him from middle school. Ethel and I have been besties since freshman year in high school which was well yeah long time.  After graduation we took a trip to Quantico, Virginia where James was station as an active duty Marine. That was an amazing trip (that's another blog post) shortly after that we went different paths and while Ethel and I stayed in contact and James and Ethel stayed in contact, James and I didn't stay in contact.  Well flash forward 20 years and many life events later things changed.  On that infamous trip to VA we saw Independence Day in the theaters. I've loved the movie ever since. Its just one of those guilty pleasures.  While Ethel and I have been in different states all this time, we've remained the best to each other and we started virtually remincing about that trip.  I was watching the movie and happened to post about it on the book and tagged her in it. James happened to see it, asked if I was the same person from 1996. My first instinct was to deny everything but Ethel ratted me out. So we became friends on the book.  Later that week, I was up late finishing up my son's "homework" (quiche lorrine) and happen to see that he posted that he loved to cook so I took a shot in the dark and sent him a message, it was the first of many and I hit the target center mass, bullseye. 3 hours of texting later, we exchanged numbers and my heart was a goner. 

We spent the next 3 months talking and planning for a trip for me to return to where it all began. I had so many emotions over those months about seeing him again after 20 years. I will admit that I had strong feelings for him from the first night we started talking but the first time, I stood at his door and saw him I knew I found the person whom I was going to marry. It was like standing on the outside of your home looking in and seeing nothing but joy and happiness.  He cooked dinner for me the first time that night. It would set us up for many nights of cooking for each other.   We both love to cook, we both love trying new recipes. Don't get me wrong, I love date night where we can get gussied up and go out BUT I love date night at home more. I think its the competition thing.  We have this thing where we each take turns cooking for each other. He cooks dinner one night, I cook the next. He is a marine through and through and loves to out do the previous meal and out do me at what I cook for him. Its hilarious how we compete with each other for best date meal which we have to take the voters on the book to help us decide.  The best date night so far (not meal wise, but best still) was the night he proposed to me.  We had a wonderful day date in DC the day before and then just a wonderful day at home the next day, It was his turn to do date night meal, crab stuffed lobster tails, sauted spinach and mushrooms, roasted sweet potatoes and cranberry chablis wine from Glenora. We were just spending a wonderful evening at home before my return trip to NY and he came up and simple asked me to marry him. For me it was perfect. He gave me the proposal I wanted. (obviously, I said yes) Dinner that night has been out done cooking wise but the date night has yet to be outdone. 

So here we are almost 5 years together and less than a year to our wedding, we are moving and groovin' towards a new life together as the Mareans.