Earlier this month, my husband surprised me with a Kindle for Chanukah. When I opened the box I was at a loss of words for two reasons:

I didn’t realize we were exchanging Chanukah gifts.
I didn’t really want a Kindle.

You might be asking yourself, “Well, why wouldn’t they exchange gifts for Chanukah?” First, Chanukah is not really as a big a deal as Christmas. That’s just the honest truth. Yes, as children we were slightly spoiled with presents, but, as I’m …

Regardless about how you feel about the term date night, quality couple time is so important as a part of the married lifestyle.  It can be too easy to get caught up in all of the to do lists and work pressures and social gatherings of summer to find that it has been way to long since you have gone out on a just-the-two-of-us date.  While dinner and movie is a nice standby, why not get out and enjoy the great weather …

In many ways, Mr. Mojito and I are very much alike. We love math, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, delicious food, lazy Sundays, our old cars, living in suburbia, and Cowboys football. We’re OCD neat freaks, simpletons, and nerds to our core.

But there are many ways in which we are different, especially in regards to how we communicate and deal with arguments.

He’s patient and kind and caring and collected and reserved. I’m loud and vocal …

Not long after my husband and I were married I shared with you my reasoning behind why I didn’t change my last name and today I figured it might be time to share with you why I got married. I’m sure it seems pretty straightforward to most of you, but as it turns out there is at least some degree of confusion among people as to why two individuals might decide to get married. My reasoning behind marriage was pretty …

(image via Flickr)

A few weeks ago, my husband went on a business trip for a couple of days. I was dreading sleeping alone again; J hasn’t been deployed in quite a while and I’ve gotten used to spooning before we drift off to dream world.  To my surprise, the first night he was gone, I had the best sleep that I can remember having in a long time. It was one of those sleeps where you wake up in the …

I know it’s not Mother’s Day, and it might seem a bit random, but as newlyweds who are nesting I think we can all relate to our mothers more and more each day. I feel like the more I grow up the more I understand my mom. I see myself in her with each passing year and although that used to frighten me, I’m proud of that fact now. I am beginning to appreciate all that she has done for …

Specifically in regards to the in-laws.

Although things have gotten better since our wedding, there was a time when every conversation I had with my mother in law ended with me in tears. It was very early on in our engagement when Mr. Mojito and I made firm boundaries with our in-laws. We are a team and we needed to act as such. In the end, those boundaries saved us.

When things would get really bad and I wanted to cave into …

I’m a Talker.  My husband, like most men, is a Fixer.

Let me explain…

{credit: Charles & Hudson}

Having discovered the wonders of therapy at a youngish age, and having spent one whopping semester as a psych major (I switched after deciding that Spanish Literature and Language would be oh so much more relevant to my daily life), I am definitely a gal that likes to vent.  While I’m not usually a whiner (at least, I hope I’m not), when I’ve …

I have had this conversation with several people and wanted to know your thoughts. I find that people are VERY divided on this topic…

Would you upgrade/change your engagement ring (either in size, shape, clarity, or all of the above) assuming you could pay for the upgrade with cash (i.e. no credit cards or debt) and both parties were O.K. with the decision?

Ponder and discuss.

Every week since we started dating, Mr. Mojito has given me a bouquet of flowers. Sometimes it is orange tulips, raspberry colored peonies, calla lilies, or cymbidium orchids, but this week he gave me beautiful two-toned roses, berries, and hydrangeas.

This is a weekly tradition I look forward to. It has even become a fun game between us. He never gives me the flowers on the same day so I am still surprised every time I receive them, and he always makes me …