My Favorite Saturdays

I haven't had a lazy Saturday in a very long time to sit up in bed, drink a cup of coffee, listen to Pandora, and blog. Yes. It's a great morning to be Ashley Long. Phillip even brought me my coffee so the only reason for me to even get out from under the covers was to brush my teeth. What a great life.

I'm so ready for more of this. The slowdown that comes with moving out to a more rural area. The slowdown that comes with not having gas stations, restaurants, or stores within at least a 2 mile radius. Now, we're still going to be in suburbia in a growing area so it's not completely country. But you have to admit, not having anything but homes and fire stations within roughly 2-3 square miles is considered country in the metroplex. Did I mention the city of Argyle has a population of only 3,000?

As we come up to our one year anniversary, my mind is filled with a lot of reflection and a lot of looking forward into the great things we have coming up in our lives.

Remembering the past year, remembering our wedding day, remembering how fast this year went by and remembering how we got here. We have grown so much. We have survived that fateful first year. We are stronger than ever. We have learned so much about each other and our relationship. We have overcome in-patient surgery, unemployment, work trips, plane phobia, college graduation, shifts in friendships, house hunting, uncertainty, a new puppy, making traditions, filling a home together, moving in with Phillip's parents for a little while, water leaks, and so much more.

And for the future we look forward to so much. Eventually we will start a family, buy a house, plant our roots, and further establish ourselves as the "Little Longs". But for the immediate future, we look forward to renting our first house, finding Phillip a permanent dream job, exploring post-graduate education, enjoying our little family of two people and one dog, figuring out what is truly important to us, enjoying our families, heading to Cabo for a magical wedding, and loving every second of growing into our marriage. Growing old together. Spending so much time together. Loving together.

Our anniversary is in ten days. This means it's crunch time. We are still trying to decide where our celebratory dinner will be that night. But we will be heading to the Stoneleigh hotel in Dallas, where we took our engagement pictures. We have a nice room and will enjoy unplugging from the rest of the world for a night. Room service breakfast the next morning will be a must as well.

We are finalizing our gifts for each other. You know, the first year is an important year for gifts. It's the most creative challenge. We are each creating unique gifts for each other with very small budgets. I'm excited to see what he gives me and excited to see his reaction to what I'm getting him!