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Jealousy. Isn't that just an everyday, slightly uglier than Arkansas humidity taking it's toll on my hair, part of life?

Every day may be pushing it, but I know that things happen that make me feel jealous, and I hate it. Jealousy is ugly and unbecoming. But there's a short list of things that will just do it to ya, no matter who you are, no matter how great your life is, no matter how awesome your husband is, no matter how many years you've been married, no matter how hard to try to not be jealous; it happens.

What are those things?

Hmm.. Let's see. Ex-Girlfriends. That's the one thing that makes me so jealous, so easily.. and the subject of exes is sometimes much more popular than you want it to be.

Hmm.. you're in luck, ladies and gents, looks like that's actually the beginning and end of my list. Oh, yours too?  Maybe or maybe not. Well, here's the deal. This topic isn't to dwell on the past, but this blog is supposed to be from a young, married girl's point of view, so there it is. Oh sure, there are girls who could waltz right up to your husband and give him a big ole smack on the hind cheeks and squish his cheeks together and just sugar him all over and you wouldn't care. It'd be like his grandma touching him. You don't mind, cause you're not that crazy. But then there are a handful of girls that would just about get the Special Weapons And Tactics team called on you, cause if they so much as look at your man with both of their eyes, it's on.

Don't tell me that maybe one face didn't pop up in your head; it's okay, you really don't have to tell me.

I also hear some girls say that they don't get jealous, they're too confident to be jealous. Then you've got the "I'm only jealous because I care" girls. Then you've got some who are right in the middle of psycho stalker and way too chill.

I'm not gonna act like I haven't had some crazy, psycho moments where I've just wanted to call up a chick and have a "hey, there's an 'ex' in front of 'girlfriend' and you. are. it. so why you tryin' to chat it up with my man" moment. But regardless of the crazy things I've said and done and the crazy things that you've said and done, just remember: you. are. it. You're not the ex. You're the girlfriend. Or the wife. The one he loves;  the guy who gets hair all over the sink and it makes you so mad that you can't handle it? Yeah, him. He loves you, even though you have your insane female moments and talk about girls that he probably hasn't thought about in years. Even though he looks at you like he might be scared to ever make you mad, because now he's seen that you probably are crazy enough to dispose of his body.

Marriage is so much more than talking about exes. They really have no part in your life, your conversations. It's good, important even, to have exes. You learn lessons about yourself and other people that you might not have learned without that person. But then, like every other part of the past, you leave that person in the past, and carry those lessons learned with you, to the future.

So, next time you see someone who has had a romantic history with that guy you love, don't get all crazy and cross-eyed. Instead, remember that he chose you, you chose him, and life is good. Trust me, you'll feel so much better about yourself.

Now, go tell your husband you love him.

Date Night.

In a perfect world of young married life, every couple would set aside one night out of the week to go out together and enjoy themselves.. pure bliss. They would call it date night. On date night, no one would worry about the bills, feel guilty about spending fifteen dollars to see a movie that will probably be out on DVD soon, and nobody would dream of not noticing how beautiful (or handsome) their wife (or husband) looked. Too bad, huh? Too bad that date nights do exist, but they're nowhere near perfection. Too bad that as a wife, or maybe as a female, I can't look at a movie ticket without thinking "Redbox is so much cheaper." And if you do what I do, do what I do next. Think back to how you spend your weekdays. Do you have one of the nasty J words? Yeah, I said it. J-O-B. If you do, stop feeling guilty! I'm not saying blow all your money, but stop feeling guilty about the movie you see once a month, the dinners you go out to because you hate cooking and don't want to are too tired from work to make a delicious meal, the purse you bought yourself because it's been a year since you had a new one (a year is a long time in the life of my purse). 


Just stop. You work, you make money. You deserve to have a little bit of happiness. That's what a movie and some potato soup from Colton's brings me anyway- happiness.

Back to date night. 

Whoever came up with the idea of a date night; brilliant. It's not their fault that when I hear date night, I think of a horse drawn carriage, little black dress, handsome date in a tux, candle lit dinner, gifts of diamonds, etc. Probably because in One Tree Hill, Nathan tried to pick Haley up in a horse drawn carriage, greatly increasing my expectations. (If you haven't gotten the hint yet, I love OTH and highly encourage you to veg out on the couch and watch it for dayzzz).

Reality of date night: it's a night to get away from the house, enjoy some time with your spouse (or boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever), not have to cook dinner and have some fun. Number one tip: try not to get into an argument on date night. Try not to get into arguments, period, but especially on date night. Why? Because it's date night. It's really hard to be romantic and lovey dovey when you're fighting over the radio and temperature in the vehicle. Hold hands on date night. It's really hard for Cory to be mad at me when we're holding hands. But sometimes we fight because he won't hold my hand. Like he needs two hands to push the buggy in Wal Mart. Go figure.

Also, if you go on date nights every night, it's no longer date night. It's not special. It's the norm. So, keep it special. Once a week, once every two weeks. Heck, if you're me and Cory, once every six months. We eat ice cream and watch Netflix on the reg, so life is pretty great. It would be hard to have a date night top watching One Tree Hill and eating Rocky Road, would it not? 

Date night doesn't mean drive to Vegas or go sky diving.. just do something that you and your S.O. enjoy, even if it's just bowling. Golfing (I hate golf, but hey, maybe some man is lucky enough to have a golf loving wife). Watching lame movies (Cory thinks every movie I pick is lame). Maybe going on a picnic. Looking at the stars. Whatever you're doing, you're doing it with someone that you love. 

Date nights don't have to involve spending a lot of money, because face it. Sometimes we're just flat broke. No money for movies. No money for steak dinners. No money for renting ugly shoes to throw a heavy ball down a lane. No money period. That's where picnics and stargazing come in. If Cory asked me to go lay in the truck bed and look at the stars, I'd probably think he was on drugs or think that he wanted something huge, like a new truck or something. Nonetheless, I'd do it. Free and cute. Just the way I like.

Date night.

Keep your expectations simple: have fun. Wherever, whatever- just enjoy yourselves. 

And then, do it again.

Date nights forever. 

Work It Out.

First, for all of you that think it's been a while since I posted, just know that I did post.. and then accidentally deleted it when I was trying to delete a draft. So that was a good day.

Second, the title of this post is two-fold. Work it out. As in, exercise. Also, as in arguments.

Arguments.. easier to work out than the body most of the time. According to me, anyways. I'd rather think of a jillion ways to end a fight than increase my heart rate.

Is that just how life is when you get married? Life is busy. You work, he works. It seems like surely the time that you have off together should be spent together, not doing other things like working out. Right? WRONG.

I had that mindset for a little while. It was almost like I felt guilty for spending time doing something other than being with Cory. On a typical day, he wakes up at the crack of dawn, I wake up later than that, we both go to work, I get home around 5:30, he gets home between 6:30 and 8:00.. we're ready to eat, bathe and go to bed. Who has time to spread love and kind words and work out too?! We tried to work out together, but his legs are the length of my body, so we don't run well together. He's just too fast. So there went that. Besides, running is my favorite form of exercise and it's not his. It just wasn't a good fit.

So once I decided I was too busy to work out, I just kinda went with it. Working, crafting, eating, cooking (hamburger helper and the like, of course). 

Point is, I got tired of looking in the mirror and seeing something that I knew could be better if I would make time for working out. I was using getting married as an excuse. 

So, newlyweds, (and not newlyweds) your husband loves you. Big or small, short or tall, they love us all. But are you loving yourself enough to be the healthiest version of you that you can be? 

Maybe I'm completely rambling, but I feel like I see this happen all the time. Life (& marriage, sometimes) gets in the way of being healthy.

So, I'm working out. I'm running. Not every day. But Cory doesn't complain, I can tell you that. He's probably thinking "Hallelujah, praise Jesus. Bout time that girl got her run on." 

He never complained about me gaining weight; they won't if they're smart. But he's not complaining about the 20-30 minutes I spend running either. 

Hey, do you. Work out. Find your girl time. Be the best you.

3 Things My Husband Has In Common With Nathan Scott.

Alright, y'all. Cory has specifically requested that I not write personal things about him, though I can't imagine why he wouldn't want the whole world to know every charming thing about him that I know. 

Actually, considering I know now only charming things, but embarrassing things, I might be able to understand..

Anways, sharing common knowledge facts can't be something that will get me into trouble, surely.. 

If you aren't familiar with One Tree Hill, I can't be responsible if you don't understand the references, and the fact that I'm totally fan girl-ing right now. That being said, here goes.

1. High school jock

"In season one, Nathan was introduced as the selfish, jock basketball player for the Tree Hill Ravens."

I'm not referring to "jock" as a bad thing at all. It's endearing really. They ball hard, they play hard- and sometimes it's not just the game of basketball that they're playing. Not to say that my now charming husband is a player, oh no. Quite the opposite really. Like Nathan Scott, Cory has outgrown that game. Now he plays the game of "Try Not to Anger Your Wife Today." It's much harder and requires much more mental strength. On a day to day basis, his stats are going strong.

2. Pretty Boy

Funny story, but long before I came along, Cory took some classes with a couple of my cousins. He didn't know that, of course, considering the size of my family is approximately ginormous, and trying to find a Dixon in a classroom is like trying to find a bobby-pin in my hair: pointless. Moral of this story is that my sweet little cousins didn't know his name, so they referred to him as Pretty Boy. I think Cory finds this nickname offensive, perhaps, but for the life of me, I have no idea why. It could completely be the fact that I'm married to him, but I certain agree that he's the prettiest boy around! (If you don't know how this relates to Nathan Scott, allow Google to help you out. Like now.. he's pretty pretty as well). 

3. He's a Lover and a Fighter

For you faithful One Tree Hillers, you know that Nathan and Haley faced and overcame many obstacles. For you married ladies and gents, you know that's just a part of life.. and marriage. There were so many points that they could've just called it quits- we all could. But we don't. Because what is life without the one you love? We could probably all agree that Nathan said it best- "What I'm feeling is definitely not normal. And to be honest with you Haley, I don't ever want to be normal. Not with you." Don't get weak in the knees and jealous of my life, Cory hasn't made it to saying those exact words just yet. Point being, Nathan fought for Haley, and I have no doubt Cory would do the same, not just because he'd be without clean undies, but I think that for some reason or another, he loves me just as much as fictional Nathan loved fictional Haley.

Okay, so maybe this post was just a little reminder to myself that love on Netflix and love in real life aren't the same. Maybe it was to remind myself that no matter how good it seems on Netflix, those people don't face the day to day struggles that real life married couples do. Nathan and Haley fought over her riding off on tour to be a rock star. Cory and Cindi fight over who gets to take the car in for an oil change. Nonetheless, I encourage you to find yourself a close to perfect TV star and compare him/her to your husband/wife, not to see who has bigger muscles or more money or anything shallow, but for this reason: you realize how many cute, quirky attributes your real life partner has, and you know what makes them so great? They're your real life. 

"You can drive at sixteen, go to war at eighteen and drink at twenty-one. So how old do you have to be for your love to be real?" 
-One Tree Hill