A year before I met my husband, I sat down and wrote a list of all the things I wanted in a spouse. I had a series of relationships prior, including a crushing, failed marriage, that really forced me to take stock in what I wanted my future to look like. I wanted my next serious relationship to last, but I wasn’t going to settle for someone who didn’t fully meet everything I wanted in a husband. I was done settling and ready to find that person who I knew…absolutely knew… fully and easily fit into the space I had in my heart for someone.

A few weeks ago I was doing some cleaning and decluttering and in the back of my jewelry drawer, I found some folded up pieces of notebook paper. When I pulled the paper out, I realized it was my “list” I had created 17+ years ago, outlining the 40 things I wanted in a husband. The funny thing is, I’ve never once shared this list with my husband, even though up until the day we got married, I had a mental checklist going on in my head, always amazed at how well he stood up to it.

So, as part of the Hallmark “Put Your Heart to Paper” initiative, I’ve decided to share some of the things I love about Nick. These things just so happen to correspond with “the list”…and still stand true, a thousand times over. What words would you use if you couldn’t use “I Love You”? Think beyond those three little words, and express your love by putting your heart to paper. For some ideas, read what the writers over at Hallmark would say. But for now… to my husband…and my list of 36 things (combined some of them) I wanted in a husband:…

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Then things changed… excitement turned into getting all 4 kids down to sleep all at the same time (quite the feat), finding a new stock to invest in that would help to pad our retirement fund (yippee) and if we were really on the wild side, actually going into a restaurant with actual silverware on the table to eat with all 4 kids instead of pulling through the drive through (so risqué) . What happened to us? Where is the fun and sexy couple we once were? Well, I can tell you, that couple is still here… we just have to make more of an effort to find them.

Date nights take on a different meaning when you are 40 with 4 kids and have been married for 14 years. The need to connect is probably stronger than ever, but the energy it takes… not to mention the money for babysitting, the desire to get out of, what I call, Friday Night Pants, and the ability to stay awake for an entire dinner and a movie…the thought of all of that usually makes us decide to just forget it.

Then, after yet one more conversation by text, because we can’t hear each other talk over the interruptions and noise from the kids, we decide… “hon, I think it’s time we find our fun and sexy selves again, don’t you?”…

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So… I turned 40 last week and oh what a week it was! I spent a week away, part with friends, part with my husband and had a lot of time to think and reflect and plan. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my birthday! With the thinking came a few regrets. One of those being that I really, really miss doing the Project 365 photo project and sharing it on Dine & Dish with you all. They were never my most popular posts… I know you all come here for the food… but they were one of my favorites.

I’ve decided to start a new daily photo project called #ThisIs40 and I plan on documenting the next 365 days of my life through photos. Today is the first installment. As always I’d love for you to follow me on Instagram…my favorite social media platform. I’m going to try to take most of my pictures for this project with my DSLR Camera (so they won’t be on IG), but there are always some fun things I might share on Instagram with the hashtag #ThisIs40 that I won’t share here.

So with all that said, here we go! Thanks for coming along for my 40th year! …

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There was a time in my life where I wrote prolific love letters… deep and meaningful words spoken from the heart. Then, after a failed first marriage, I came face to face with a box of letters I had written. Each page, raw, real and vulnerable, laid out there to remind me how exposed I had let my heart become through words. I can remember so clearly, sitting on the floor of my bedroom, reading each letter, sobbing at what was and what would never be again and feeling nakedly exposed and so vulnerable.

I was young…really young and was convinced any vision of a happily married life was over. I remember crying to my sister the first time I had to put a check mark on a form asking whether I was “married, divorced or widowed”.  23 and already divorced. Who would want me now?

Thankfully, God had very specific plans for me… the first marriage, the divorce… those and every relationship I had even prior to that led me to the man I ended up marrying 13 years ago today. And you know what? Despite the hurt and heartache each relationship yielded, I would gladly do it all over again if it led me to the man I am now married to. For, because of him, I am eternally blessed.

Photo courtesy of my talented friend, Jennifer of Jennifer Mullinax Photography.

So, to my husband, who has never received a love letter from me, but deserves a box full, I want you and the world to know that I love you more than words can say. You are the answer to my prayers, and each and every day I am extremely thankful that you chose me to be your bride. I love the life we have together… it has not always been rosy, but even through our darkest times, I know that we are meant to be together and that our love is as real as it comes.

Marriage is full of peaks and valleys, I now know that. I’m glad you are there to hold me during both.

Thank you for your patience, your kindness and most of all for being my best friend.

I am ever grateful to have you as my partner in this life. Happy 13th Anniversary!

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Nick and I are in Park City, Utah for our first kids free vacation in more years than I care to admit. We have had a very nice, relaxing time beginning with a 4 hour nap the first day! We’re obviously making up for lost time.

When we haven’t been napping, we’ve been exploring the beautiful outdoors. Park City is one of my favorite towns. Quaint shops, great restaurants and amazing landscape, we’ve talked time and time again about how much we would love to live here. At the very least, if moving isn’t going to happen, we know it is one of the places we want to return to for vacations in the future.

Today we had the opportunity to go to Olympic Village and just so happened to be there in time to see some future olympic hopefuls training. It was a pretty amazing thing to watch!

Our goal for this vacation was to rest, relax and reconnect. We didn’t go into it with much of a plan – it’s kind of how we roll, and one of the things I love most about my husband. When it comes to traveling, we like to take things as they come and let our mood direct our days.

This afternoon was about as perfect as it could get for exploring the mountains during a hike. Thank goodness I had my new Nokia Lumina 900 Windows Phone. Without a plan in place, Nick and I were able to download an app called Outdoor Navigation, find a great trail for hiking, and keep track of our elevation, distance, direction and speed. It was honestly the easiest app I’ve ever used for outdoor navigation! My Windows phone also worked like a dream in the mountains, never losing signal and keeping us on track perfectly. Make sure to check out the Windows Phone Home Page for your own demo of the power of this great phone.

I’ll be sharing more about our vacation as well as more about my experience with the Windows Nokia Lumina 900 phone over the next couple weeks. Oh, and stay tuned as I’ll be sharing a giveaway for one of the phones as well! I hope you enjoy following along!

Disclosure: Microsoft gave me the the new Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone to test drive.  I am being compensated for this review, however all opinions are all my own.

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My husband can be a very patient man. For example, it has been mentioned around here a few times that I have a bit of an instant gratification issue. When I set my mind on something, I pretty much want it then. My husband, on the other hand, can window shop, online shop, research and study things and never actually pull the trigger on buying it. He seems to get as much satisfaction out of browsing as I do actually buying….

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I was crying, my husband was crying and nearly everyone around us who witnessed this beautiful event was crying. You see, this wasn’t any ordinary vow renewal. Hal and Ann took the same vows that Nick and I took ten years ago, but the significance of the words behind their vows has taken on an entirely different meaning. ‘Through sickness and in health’ has meant Cancer. Ann has been battling breast cancer since before I met her 7 years ago. She has valiantly stared cancer in the face and has been an example to us all of what it means to fight. Ups and downs. Good times and bad. Hal, her husband, has stood by her side and has cared for her thorough this all. He has watched his best friend, the mother of his children, bravely fight all the while maintaining the faith of one of God’s true soldiers.

Ann’s blog recently read…“We are saddened to say that we did not get the results that we were hoping for. The cancer continues to spread in my liver and in my back and some still in my chest area. Numb is a good description of how we feel.” Ann continues, “To be truthful, I feel like giving up sometimes that I cannot possibly keep doing this but when I look into my girls eyes then i know that i can do it. I don’t want them to ever ask why mom gave up.”

I wrote about Ann a few weeks ago in my Cupcakes for Cancer post. At the time I was struggling to think of something I could do for them… something besides praying and making meals. I don’t have a lot of talents, but I do have a blog. How can I turn my blog into something that could help to benefit Ann, Hal and their girls? After the ceremony today, it dawned on me. From now through the end of 2009, I am going to donate all of the advertising dollars I receive through my blog to Ann and Hal. It won’t be much, but right now I think every bit counts.

How can you help? Well, I’m starting a “Clicks 4 a Cause” network and would love for you to join. My goal is to continue to provide quality content and good recipes for you to enjoy and my hope is that you simply will continue to visit. Pass the word on to your friends to visit Dine & Dish. Whatever it takes to get people to at least stop by on a regular basis so that through viewing the ads on my blog (you don’t even have to click ON the ads), I can raise more and more money for Ann and her family. (Signing up for new post email updates is the easiest way to know when there is new content at Dine & Dish. Click on the red envelope in the right hand sidebar & fill out the easy form.)

If you have a “cause” you would like to raise money for in a similar way, please join the Clicks 4 a Cause network. I will provide you with a “Clicks 4 a Cause” badge for your blog that says “Clicks 4 a Cause.. My clicks are for <insert name>” (example mine would say “My clicks are for Ann”. (My blogging friend, Amy, is graciously creating these badges…will let you know when they are ready!)Write a post on your blog with your intentions and a link back to this post and I will include your link on my “Clicks 4 a Cause” network page, which should be up and running shortly. As part of my commitment, I will visit your site on a regular basis and will ask that you do to the same for those included in the network.

Now for a recipe. After the ceremony today, there was a dessert reception. Tables and tables full of scrumptious desserts. I made these delicious Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting. If you have any leftover zucchini hanging around your kitchen, put them to good use with this delicious bar recipe…. hey, if it has a veggie in it, it has to be good for you, right?

Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

SERVES 12

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Nick is a fairly predictable guy. Sometimes I think he might be a little bit OCD because he is very routine about things. He wakes up at the exact same time every morning, he goes to the window and peeks out the blinds, walks into the bathroom and brushes his teeth, turns on the shower water, goes pee, hops in the shower, etc. His routine is just that… a set in hard stone routine. He is a very easy guy to figure out.

The other day, Nick, who never puts mustard on anything and detests honey said “I have really been enjoying the salad at  the deli in my office building lately. They have the best Honey Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing I’ve ever tasted.” Excuse me? Honey Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing? Who are you and what have you done with my husband? After all of these years, I thought I was married to a Buttermilk Ranch / Italian dressing kind of guy, but noooo… I am married to a Honey Mustard Vinaigrette man and never knew it! “Since when do you like honey mustard vinaigrette salad dressing?” Apparently he has always loved it… honey mustard vinaigrette salad dressing is his favorite kind of salad dressing. Who the heck knew? Just when you think you really know someone they throw you for a loop!

Being the thoughtful, intuitive, kind wife I am, I made up a batch of Honey Mustard Vinaigrette dressing for my honey. We shall see if it rivals the deli in his office building. In the meantime, I am going to spend some time trying to unravel the layers of this mysterious man that I have lived with for so long. My marriage based on Ranch and Italian salad dressing love has been turned upside down.

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (from Recipezaar)

5 min | 5 min prep

1/2 cup

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