It’s crazy for me to think back on the people we were when we met – so carefree and young! – and everything that happened to those two crazy college lovebirds since our first date at The Cheesecake Factory.
Sometimes I look at Ryan and still picture him as the shaggy-haired college junior I met but then I realize he’s no longer 19 and he’s so much more to me than just the hot guy I saw at the gym. I’m so proud to be married to someone who always makes feel like a priority and there’s truly no one else in this world I’d rather have by my side every day. I feel incredibly lucky to have a husband I consider not only the love of my life but a true partner in every sense of the word.
Whoa! I didn’t mean to turn today’s blog post into a mushy-gushy love fest, but sometimes I feel like in the craziness of day-to-day life it’s a GOOD thing to sit back and count our blessings and Ryan is certainly one of mine.
When we were driving back home from Florida after Christmas, Ryan and I got into quite the comical discussion about little things we know about each other that we think might surprise those who don’t know us very well. I thought this discussion might make a fun blog post and so Ryan and I turned our random car conversation into today’s blog post.
We’re each sharing seven things we think those who don’t know us very well might be surprised to know about the other person. We each brainstormed seven things about the other person – 14 total, in honor of our 14 year anniversary because we’re cheesy, but hopefully this doesn’t come as a huge surprise to you guys by now. I also threw in some throw back pictures for your amusement!
Seven Things You Might Not Expect About Ryan
In Julie’s words…
He owns “A Little Bit of Mambo,” the Lou Bega album that came out along with his first (and only?) hit, Mambo Number 5. I think we’ve all owned semi-embarrassing CDs in our past that make us laugh but here’s the thing with this one… Ryan STILL maintains that this album is a GOOD one. He still owns it, plays it and sings along with nearly every word. Oh and his first concert was Up in Smoke with Dr. Dre, Wyclef, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Warren G. He also maintains that this concert was a great one, but that one I will give him.
His all-time favorite breakfast (from anywhere, ever) is McDonald’s hotcakes and sausage. His dad used to take him out for hotcakes and sausage when he was a kid, so I think Ryan’s love for this meal is wrapped up in nostalgia, grease and sugary sweet syrup. When McDonald’s began offering breakfast all day, it was a very good day for Ryan.
He plays the drums. Ryan has serious rhythm. He’s always noticing beats and creating his own beats to songs. I always thought this was cool and then the cool-factor went WAAAY up when I learned he used to be in a band in high school called… wait for it… “The Bandits.” You should probably know something about Ryan in high school. He was very far from a rebel and a pretty squeaky-clean soccer-playing kid, so this band name choice made me laugh so hard when he first told me about it. My little bandit.
Little repetitive things easily annoy him. Ryan is an up-for-anything kind of guy which might lead you to initially believe he’s laid back… but he’s also very easily annoyed by certain things, especially repetitive things like someone shaking their leg or tapping a pen on their desk, scrolling through their phone right next to him, a clock ticking, etc. Before I stopped biting my nails, we got in a heated fight or two because he couldn’t handle me going to town on a rogue nail out of the corner of his eye. Also, after 14 years together, I’ve finally come to realize that it’s better for our relationship if I don’t drive when we’re together because the man cannot handle keeping his mouth shut when I am behind the wheel.
He hates spiders. When we lived in Florida, Ryan was our designated roach killer but if a big ol’ spider somehow made it into our house, I had to step up to the plate. (Is it just me, or are cockroaches WAY worse than spiders!?) Also, whenever we go hiking, if Ryan happens to walk through a spider web, he does this spastic Matrix-like move to try to avoid getting any more of the web on him and it freaks the heck out of me every time.
He had shaggy highlighted blonde hair when I met him. He also wore a puka shell necklace and I thought he looked like some kind of a hot Abercrombie surfer model.
He’s an amazing dog dad to Sadie. This one might not be all that shocking because I talk about our obsession with Sadie on this blog a lot, but Ryan’s love for her truly is on another level and it makes my heart so happy. He wants to take Sadie everywhere with us, researches drivable vacation destinations that include her, gets the most overwhelming dog-guilt if something happens and Sadie misses a walk one day, etc. Before Chase was born, I remember thinking to myself that if Ryan loved our first child half as much as he loves Sadie, we’d be in good shape. (Good news: I was right. He’s the best father and Chase wants to be and do everything “just like Dad.”)
Seven Things You Might Not Expect About Julie
Okay, before I copy/paste Ryan’s seven things, I feel like I need to preface his bullet points a bit. I asked him to text or email me his seven things and sent him mine so he could see my formatting. When he sent over his seven things, he said “don’t change or delete anything… unless I spelled something wrong” and I had MAJOR flashbacks to our wedding!
Our pastor asked us to submit five things we love most about each other to him that he planned to read aloud on our wedding day and I sent mine to him directly fairly quickly. A few days later, Ryan emailed me his five things to pass along and I found myself sobbing at my desk at work. I instantly emailed our pastor telling him to throw my five things away and re-wrote everything because Ryan brought the heat and I felt like mine seemed silly and dumpy by comparison. So that’s kind of how I feel about the things he shared below. There were a couple of bullet points he sent my way that made me laugh out loud and a few that made me smile so big that I instantly I wanted to go back and make my bullet points way better but time limited me so, Ryan, you win this one. And I love you.
In Ryan’s words…
She’s very competitive during Game Nights. Day in and day out Julie is a fun loving, relaxed person but the minute a game comes out during Game Night, she becomes the most competitive person I’ve ever met. Seriously. No where else in life is she competitive, but bust out Catch Phrase and I think she would sell her soul to win. Numerous times she opts to not have me on her team because I’m not the best. What the heck!?
She can’t dip to the right. Julie is a great dancer and we’ve been known to get our boogie on at a wedding or two. So as we prepared for our own wedding we laughed away the idea of taking dance lessons for our first dance. Who needs that? We’re pros! 😉 Well, come to find that the we are not. The weekend before our wedding we decided to practice our jig at home. It started great. A little box step, a slow turn, we even threw in a twirl or two. We were feeling confident, smiling and enjoying our practice. But then I tired to dip her right. I planted my foot, she pivoted her hips, but when she bent over her right side she turned into a tree. Stiff as wood, couldn’t bend more than two degrees. Literally she went no where towards a dip. So we tried again. And again. Well, after a couple of the same awkward misses we tried to dip left and she nailed it. We consider this her Zoolander trait and still have fun dancing in our kitchen and trying to dip to the right to this day.
Her driving terrifies me. This one speaks for itself. If you see Julie driving, you should probably drive the other direction. Julie gets nervous going fast and she is easily distracted by her thoughts, the radio, the wind… I often fear for my life when a passenger in Julie’s car and feel my heart rate rising and my butt clenching as I jab my foot relentlessly at the non-existent brake pedal that should be on the passenger side. Julie makes it clear that she doesn’t enjoy my ‘color commentary’ to her driving and therefore this cycle makes for a less than ideal family experience. Needless to say, I drive almost everywhere we go together.
She really is that energetic. Julie is simply the most energetic person filled with positive intent I’ve ever been around. She has a aura of infectious positive energy. She’s the kind of person that you find you are instantly in a better mood after spending time together (unless she’s driving, see bullet above). It’s a joy to see her with Chase and the excitement and love she brings to being a parent. I admire this quality and hope that I bring her as much joy and positive energy as she brings me.
She could eat Ice cream forever. Have you ever played the game where you ask someone what they would choose to eat if they were stranded on a desert island? Julie’s answer is “ice cream.” I’m here to confirm to everyone that I truly believe Julie would happily sustain on ice cream any day, any meal, any flavor. If it weren’t for lactose intolerance (She’s not lactose intolerant medically, simply we all have some intolerance to lactose at high enough quantities. Google “The Milk Challenge.”) she could clearly sustain on ice cream without end. Some of you might say…I’m like this too! Let me assure you that you are not. Just this past Saturday she polished off half of a half gallon of Moose Tracks in one sitting. Yup, this is why we generally don’t keep ice cream in the house.
She’s a Super Mario champion. This one is truly random and goes back to a moment in time from our early dating years. Our first spring break together, Julie’s high school friends came to Florida to hang out. One of those nights we all went out to dinner then decided to just relax and have a few drinks at home. We made some hunch punch and a cup or two later everyone was being silly. My college roommate and I schemed up a plan to have some fun with Julie. He recently found his Super Nintendo and we were nostalgically playing classic games of yore. We plotted to convince Julie that we had agreed on a bet that needed her to get past level 3 in Super Mario or I would lose some astronomical sum of money. (Mind you we were in college and I think the “astronomical” sum was $25.) Needless to say Julie was a bit tipsy and reacted as nervous and bashful as expected when we told her she needed to play. Well, what happened next defied our minds and lives with me to this day. Julie jumps on the controller and proceeds to pilot Mario like Drain-o through a clogged drain. She literally went 14 levels without dying. But here’s the thing: I’m pretty sure she never stopped sprinting and jumping little Mario’s heart out. Mario literally never stopped moving. Our jaws hit the floor and we have been in awe to this day. So, long story short, never bet against Julie on Super Mario.
She’s incredibly kind. This one may not be a shocker but it’s our anniversary and I’m allowed to be a little mushy today. Julie is exceptionally kind and thoughtful. It’s not just the authenticity of her kindness but also the intentional way she goes out of her way to brighten another person’s day. This is another quality I admire and have learned to emulate. It’s the little things here and there that are special. From something as trivial and passing as an informal compliment to a stranger to going out of her way to help others, her authenticity and intent is subconscious. The cliché statement is “she makes me want to be a better man,” but in this case it fits. She makes me want to be a better person to others. Kinder. More intentional with positivity.
Question of the Day
What is one thing you think people would be surprised to know about you?
For those in a relationship, what is one thing you think people would be surprised to know about your partner?
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I am 1000% with Ryan when it comes to repetitive noises. They drive me up a WALL. My husband let’s the dog lick his hand (???? it’s gross.. idk) and I feel like I am going to SCREAM! The noise combined with the repetitiveness is too much for me to handle. Hahaha. Ryan- I FEEL YOU1 🙂
Hahaha! He seriously loses his mind!!
This is amazing and you absolutely should find a way to frame these items or put them on a canvas. What a beautiful and so meaningful thing to have of each other. Happy anniversary to you both!
Thank you, Sarah! This was definitely a fun post for us to do! 🙂
These types of posts are my favorite! Its so nice to be reminded we are where we are today because of these amazing moments 🙂 Cheers!
Absolutely! Sometimes it’s hard not to just be so future-focused, but anniversaries often prompt me to stop and really think about what got us to where we are now. <3
Ryan’s comments cracked me up. Yes, you are a fiercely competitive game player and will not shy from cutting a throat during Scategories (ie: Kludjian making up words). And yes your driving is scary. You’re like my mom and turn your head to chat while you are driving. However I once risked your life for a burrito so we’re even.
This post gave me a much needed smile this morning. Love it!
This is the SWEETEST post <3 I love all the mush 😉 Happy 14 years!!
This was such a sweet post – made me a little teary 🙂 Thanks for sharing!! Really beautiful to read.
This was just too sweet! My husband and I also still celebrate our dating anniversary! Maybe we’ll try an exercise like this when our anniversary comes around this year. Happy 14 years together!!
Oh my goodness! My 6 month old is staring at me because I’m laughing out loud reading this!! Super Mario and not picking Ryan for your team…oh my gosh I can’t stop laughing. Thank you for the morning laughs, happy 14 years and sending nothing but love and positive thoughts for your next 20 (or less) weeks of pregnancy to fly by so you can hold your newest little love.
Second that repetitive noise issue! I think I’m laid back until someone starts clicking their pen or beating out a rhythm. This is completely adorable and I love it!!! I recently got engaged and we’ve been together seven years…I don’t want to lose them either!
This was so heartwarming to read, I wish it wouldn’t end! This sounds like something I’d love to do with my fiance before we get married this summer! Would love to hear Ryan’s perspective on future posts 🙂 #icecreamforever
Oh my gosh this is so sweet!!! I love this so very much! Michael and I have been together for 14 years too! And we still celebrate our dating anniversary, because it is a very special day! I am laughing way too much at the part about your driving…this totally reminds me of Michael because he is the worst driver ever and his driving scares the hell out of me! Needless to say, I drive everywhere we go if I want to get there safely. He just cannot pay attention to the road for the life of him. Hahahaha! I wish Michael and I did something like this for our wedding! That is just so precious!! Have a great day, Julie! Xoxo
Awww, I love this post. So fun! Ryan wins, but yours are good too.
Oh my goodness I love this post so much! I can’t believe it’s been 14 years?!?!
You two are so great for each other and I can’t wait to see what happens once you become a family of 5… because let’s face it, Sadie definitely counts.
This is SUCH a cute idea!! Congrats to you two and cheers to ice cream 😀
Aww this is so sweet! I love that you asked Ryan to contribute too. Happy anniversary! I’ve been with my husband for 11 years and I feel the same way – totally mushy and in love. 🙂 Glad you’re happy.
And for those reading that don’t have significant others – we see you and you aren’t alone.
You two are so cute! Happy anniversary!
This awesome! So so sweet!
You said Ryan won this one, but you definitely both win! There are many reasons I read your blog, but one of the big reasons is because I can just tell how genuinely kind you are, Julie. This was such a sweet post and definitely makes me want to do this with my husband on our anniversary! I wish you both many more years of love, silliness, and happiness! Happy anniversary!!
This is so sweet. You guys are such a great couple.
The last time we celebrated our date-a-versary was right before my daughter was born. I was pregnant and had some mild complications, including gestational diabetes so my husband took me out for a wonderful steak dinner to cheer me up – protein is good for gestational diabetes and it was the best meal I had had in weeks since my diet was so limited. 3 days later my daughter was born and ever since that time of the year has been focused on her bday (rightfully so). This year will be 10 years since we started dating so maybe we will acknowledge it again.
You guys are so cute. Happy Anniversary!!
I loved this post and would love to see more like it in the future! When it makes sense obviously, like it does today. 🙂 I love these quirky little tidbits that we as readers would never know. Also, Ryan could not hang out with me… I shake my right leg ALL the time and don’t even notice it. It drives my husband crazy!
This was the sweetest post EVER!!! I was laughing so hard I was crying about Ryan and the spider webs! My husband is the SAME WAY! And I’m like you – I will take a spider over a roach ANY DAY!!!!! And we definitely have some similarities haha – I’m super competitive when playing games, my husband thinks I’m the worst driver ever and therefore always drives, I eat ice cream every single day, sometimes twice a day, and I am incredible at Mario Kart, haha.
Anywho, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! This post totally brightened my day!!! You two seem like an amazing couple!! 🙂
Happy Anniversary!
I LOVED reading this post! It’s so sweet!
You guys have such a great relationship 🙂
This post gave me chills, made me cry, and had me cracking up (especially at the butt clenching part!). The love you two have is palpable through the computer, so if it’s like that over the internet, I can only imagine how pure it is in real life. Happy Anniversary!
I LOVE this blog post!!! <3
I love this post SO much! Happy Date-versary to you two! And I’m RIDICULOUSLY competitive at Game Night, too!
What a great post! I recently discovered your blog and really enjoy reading!
I’m going through a divorce after almost 17 years together (almost 12 married). I am realizing/learning a lot about what was missing from that relationship, and strive to find those missing things in my next relationship. We don’t have many pictures like the ones you posted above that show such pure joy (unless my son is in them)…even when I thought it was there. You should be proud! Happy Anniversary!
Happy dating anniversary!! My fiancé and I will be together 9 years this year. We are getting married shortly before our 10 years and I definitely plan to continue to do something for our dating anniversary even after we are married.
Happy (Dating) Anniversary! We celebrate our dating anniversary by going to the same restaurant as our first date. We’ve been together for 11 years, married for 5.5 years. Our son was born on our 9th dating anniversary, so we have more to celebrate!
Oh my gosh Julie– I love this post! You guys are SO sweet! Your answers are so fun and genuine <3 Plus the pictures are great too! Happy Dating-versary!
My husband is the same with spiders! He can kill any nasty, creepy-crawly, but when it comes to spiders – not a chance. What gets me is when there is a spider on the ceiling and with his 6’4″ height he could easily just reach up and smush it. But no, I have to get out a chair to kill the dreaded spider hah!
Thank you for sharing and it was really fun to get Ryan’s perspective on you. It’s very easy to make up an idea of what you think a person is like based on how they present themselves, but it’s so interesting to get perspective from someone who knows them so well. Happy anniversary!
I LOVED this – and can totally relate! My husband drives me crazy when I drive – commenting the entire time so now I let him drive whenever we are together, granted he is always so stressed when driving, he always thinks the other drivers are trying to annoy him!
And this quote: “and my butt clenching” had me laughing at my desk!
Happy 14 years!
I LOVED this! It had me cheesing hard! Ya’ll are the cutest! Something that everyone would be surprised to know about my partner is that he LOVES mini, functional things. If it’s mini, and can perform the same function as the normal sized thing he is dying. For example, when you’re in home depot and there is like one mini washing machine on display that actually has water in it, he DIES, or mini crock pots, etc. It’s hilarious!
This was such a sweet post! Happy anniversary!
“Some of you might say…I’m like this too! Let me assure you that you are not”
LOL!
This was so fun to read 🙂 Congrats on 14 years!
Happy dating anniversary!!! This was so much fun to read! The driving part cracked me up – I bet my husband would say the same thing haha. I’ve been following your blog forever and you and Ryan seem to have the sweetest relationship. Cheers to many more years xo
This was so fun and inspiring to read! I’m not married and in my mid-twenties so it’s always amazing to see couples loving each other through the ups and downs of marriage and parenthood. Cheers to you both!
Happy dating anniversary! I LOVED this post! We used to celebrate our first date as well as the first day we met, which is also the day he chose to propose, but haven’t really since we had the kids. Last year, our pastor talked about how the marriage should come first, before the kids, so I’ve been shifting my focus lately. 🙂
This was SUCH a cute post! The stories were so adorable…..you two are clearly a great match and have a strong relationship that many others can only aspire to. Cherish it!
I am crying <3 … and on an unrelated note I am 22 weeks pregnant. 😉
Happy Anniversary!
Ahh this was such a sweet post and it’s fun to hear Ryan’s thoughts in the blog! I think I could give you a run for your money on the dip issue though. When my husband and I got married this past summer our photographer asked him to dip me for a few pictures. Well I had no idea that we couldn’t do this and it turned into me just launching my head back and pulling my arms straight out. The pictures ended up looking more like he was trying to pull me back up from a fall instead of a romantic dip. We laughed through the whole thing pretty hard! Happy anniversary!
This made me laugh out loud!!! Dipping is WAY harder than it looks! LOL!
Such a sweet post! May you always find joy and comfort in not just the big things, but the little things you love about each other. Happy Anniversary!
Your husband is FUNNY! I laughed out loud reading his seven-especially the driving! Hahaahaa.
What a fun post! You guys seem like a perfect pair. Happy anniversary!
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This kept me wanting to read more, I loved this so much. Your relationship is beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
What a fun post! You guys seem like a perfect pair. Happy, happy anniversary!
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This made me cry a little bit! Now I want to play this game with my husband. We are coming up on our 10 year anniversary from our first date. 🙂 And yeah, he did win. 😉
What an awesome idea & fun post!! My husband & I have been married for 2 & a half years, but dated for 9 years prior to that….with a 3 year ‘hiatus.’ So we wound up kind of having 2 anniversaries in addition to our wedding anniversary. & since we were still extremely close in those 3 years we were apart (& instead of always explaining to people our complicated love story was…) I always just say we’ve been together for 13 years. I think the ‘dating-versary” is adorable because that’s a reminder of how YOUNG you were & how different life was back then. I know our first date was our college dining hall & a dorm room movie..& we were 18 & 20. So crazy!!
Yes!! I LOVE the dating anniversary! It just reminds me of such a fun, exciting time!
You guys are too adorable for words. 🙂 And don’t be ashamed about your mushy, loving relationship because it’s AWESOME. Happy Anniversary!