3 posts tagged “sugarland”

Tonight Iain and I are seeing Sugarland in concert.

SUGARLAND.

Iain and I don't really have a song - we have albums. Three to be exact, and they're all Sugarland. We even had a Sugarland song in our wedding ceremony.

Sugarland's three albums have been the soundtrack of my life for the past three years. Their songs have been with me from car rides to and from the Starbucks I used to work at, to packing my bags for my move to England, to lazy Spring nights spent in my parents back yard when ever we go home to visit.

They're the soundtrack to those bright, English summer days when Iain and I put the top down and drive through the country side, smirking at the fact that no one for 100 miles knows the songs we're blasting.

Basically - I'm afraid I'm going to cry throughout the entire concert. Their songs are packed with so many emotions and memories for me that I'm afraid that seeing them live, played in front of me is going to send me into some euphoric, emotional coma and I'm going to embarass myself by sobbing like an idiot for their entire set list.

Is that normal? Do you cry at concerts?

 
 

Today, Iain and I drove to the sea topless.

Until you've driven around sans top, eating an ice cream and blasting Sugarland, I'm pretty sure you've never known happiness.

(Finally, our decision to buy a convertible in England makes perfect sense!)

I used to point and laugh at the good folks of the UK whenever the sun decided to come out. It could be barely 20 degrees Celsius, and they'll all be outside, drenched in SPF 50 and standing in line at an ice cream van discussing their evening plans for a BBQ.

Me, hailing from a town where it's likely to get up to 110 Fahrenheit in July, would roll my eyes and mock them endlessly.

Now, I am one of the assholes drenched in SPF 50 standing outside a que of 20 or more people, just to get a freakin' Cornetto so I can sit outside under the sun. The first summer I came to the UK I was shocked by how warm it was. Apparently it was the hottest July they've ever had, and I felt right at home.

Sadly, this past summer was the exact opposite. We saw the sun for about two weeks at best, and then all it did was piss down with rain. And be cloudy. And then hail. And then rain some more.

I no longer laugh at how giddy this country gets when the sun is out. I get it. I totally get it.

Therefore, instead of staying at home watching old episodes of Smallville and only leaving the house to walk down to Starbucks this Sunday, Iain and I left the house with one goal: TO GET AS MUCH SUN AS POSSIBLE.

We started the day off by driving to Box Hill, where we stood in a line of 20 or more people, just to buy two Cornettos and a bottle of water. The view at Box Hill is gorgeous, so if you have yet to go there, I suggest you do next time the sun is out.

We sat for a good hour, judging everyone near us and enjoying the view. The woman flying a kite in a really annoying fashion, the gay couple in front of us with the cute puppies who rudely didn't offer us any of their picnic, and all the pasty, sunken-chested men with their shirts off made for excellent conversation and people watching.

Then! Iain surprised me by driving us out to Worthing. The sea was gorgeous, the cocktail I had at a bar by the shore was amazing, but the people we saw...I won't even go into it. All I'm going to say is that they were unique, and we probably will never go back there. (But really it was lovely.)

On another note, things are doing very well over here in The Home Offices Of CupCate. We have some very exciting prospects, which, to say the least, is very comforting. Thank you all again for your encouragement and the birthday wishes.
 

Today is a rather special day, as it is me and Iain's first wedding anniversary.

Last year, at 11:00 on the 11th of January 2007, we got hitched and I can proudly say that we can still mildly tolerate each other to this day.

I really can't believe it's been a year. Not because I feel like, "THANK GOD WE MADE IT!" but because this whole marriage thing really doesn't seem to be that hard. You always hear on TV shows and movies that "The first year of marriage is the hardest." and that "Marriage is such hard work!" and I have to disagree.

Relationships, and not necessarily marriage, are hard, simply because compromise is hard. Living with someone else is hard, because you have two egos, two sets of hopes, and two sets of opinions under one roof. Two tempers, two sets of insecurities and hangups and one person who's body freaks out once a month and goes all hormonal and crampy and SHEDEVILISH.

Marriage is simply a incredibly committed relationship where both people are truly, honestly, and 100% in it for the long haul. Where the mentality isn't, "Well, if we break up," or "Well, if we get divorced..." Or at least our marriage is.

I've found that the fiercer you love someone, the more tragic (though less frequent) your arguments seem. Iain and I don't really fight, but when we do, it's not fun.

I can't speak for Iain, but I know that I've had to learn a lot this year. I've learned that when I'm depressed, or angry, or stressed, I no longer have the luxury of just shutting everyone and everything out, climbing under the covers and crying my way through the days. It's not fair, and you cannot shut your partner out.

Of course there are moments where we both know that I need to fall apart for a minute, so I hide under the covers and cry my eyes out  - but I always blow my nose, pull back the covers and then look Iain straight in the face and try my best to tell him how I feel. How I really feel.

I'm not perfect at this, but I'm trying.

I've learned that I have to come out of myself, and pull myself out of whatever mood I'm in to be there for my partner. I don't know about you, but it's very easy for me to just ball up with whatever I'm feeling and just stay there. It's very easy for me to just stay in my own little box and only come out when I want to.

But your partner needs you. There are times that even though I'm feeling miserable, I need to be able to pull out of my shell, pull my WOE IS ME cotton out of my ears and LISTEN to what Iain needs and BE THERE FOR HIM.

In marriage, you cannot be selfish. You cannot be self obsessed and needy. It's a give and take situation, just like any relationship. And if you love hard enough, and you love honestly, every stupid argument, every Kraft Singles plastic wrapper that gets left out on the counter and every used tea cup hiding under the bed is so, so worth it.

Happy Anniversary, Iain.

I love you.