Thursday, June 17, 2010

Fifteen Years…

Today I have been married for fifteen years. On this day, back in ‘95, I made a really good decision (to stuff cake in Ken’s face).

shovingweddingcake

Fifteen years, friends!! Some people don’t even stay together for fifteen minutes unless the sex is really good, of course.

Number of addresses: 7

I won’t lie. We have a great marriage (maybe you should read Ken’s blog to see if he agrees. Oh yeah, he doesn’t have a blog). I don’t think there’s any specific secret to marital success, but I’m convinced a couple things have gotten us through:

  • Constant humor found in farting and pretty much anything crude (ever seen Tosh.O?)
  • Playfulness
  • Mutual respect
  • Being kind to each other
  • Sharing activities like running, biking and drinking beer at the bar
  • Me = controlling; Him = laid back
  • Great parental role models (both sets of parents have been married over 45 years). I believe that witnessing our parent’s commitments to one another through thick and thin has been a good example. Lord knows we’ve had our thin times. Not to say that if your parents didn’t stay together you’re doomed. I simply have appreciated and been inspired by their longevity.

Number of cars: 6

Here are my parents at our wedding (and my all time favorite picture). Just look at Jim and Sue!!!:

poppieandgrandma 

Number of moves cross country (VA –> CO): 1

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not all perfect. For example, there was that Dutch Oven back in ‘98 that about killed me.

But, it’s the closest I’ll get to perfect in this lifetime.

Number of times we’ve been apart for more than 5 days: 2

As for Ken, he’s sweating bullets knowing he’ll be married to this hag in the future (thanks to my son and Aging Booth):

momold

 Number of mattresses: 3

And as for me, I’m going to keep running so he doesn’t have to live with this next year (thanks to my son and Fat Booth):

fatme

Number of days together before we hit the fart stage: 7

But really, I hope it just stays like this:

P1060738

Here’s to fifteen more!!!!

What’s your secret to a lasting relationship?

63 comments:

  1. Happy Anniversary! Great tribute.

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  2. P.S. So if both my parents and in-laws are divorced... are we screwed? :/

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  3. Happy Anniversary - I am about 10 years shy of you!

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  4. Congrats on 15 years! I will have been married 12 years this August and I can say that I agree with you on the whole parental role model thing.....My grandparents just celebrated 60 years, my parents will celebrate 40 years this December and my hubby's parents celebrated 50 years last year.....we are surrounded by people who have taught us that marraige isn't always easy, but that you can perservere with hard work, love and commitment!! Have a great Anniversary today!!!

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  5. YAY! Fat booth photo! You are awesome!!

    I love this one: Me = controlling; Him = laid back - - - the best! That's me and the Pita too.

    Happy
    Happy
    Happy
    Anniversary!

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  6. Congratulations...15 years..awesome!

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  7. Yay! Happy anniversary to you and hubby!

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  8. Congratulations and happy anniversary! :) The picture of your parents is so adorable. I think the secrets to a lasting relationship are trust and a mutual respect for one another. Skype is pretty crucial for my husband and I at this point in our marriage (I feel so mature saying that- we've been married for less than three months!) being that he is deployed.

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  9. i had to laugh at the me-controlling, him-laid back, that is totally like my marrige:) we'll have 10 july 1st! happy anniversary to you!

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  10. Congrats! Holy socks your parents ARE the cutest...ever...

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  11. Happy Anniversary! 15 years is a great milestone :) And, we have some things in common: we both LOVE Tosh.0 AND me= controlling, hubbs= very laid back, too! Hahaha! Enjoy the ride, it's nice to have a partner in crime :)

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  12. Happy Anniversary! I don't have any long-lasting relationship secrets since I am unmarried so if you know any cute runners in their late 20's- early 30's in MN, send them my way!

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  13. Happy anniversary! Love the picture of you two at the end.

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  14. Happy Anniversary! Todeay is my 21st anniversary. My marriage can legally drink now.

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  15. Happy Anniversary!!! 15 years is quite an accomplishment. Your list of reasons that your marriage has worked is wonderful. My parents have been married 33 years and my in laws have been married for 40, they are both huge inspirations to us.

    Congrats to you and your husband, I hope you have many many more happy years!!!

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  16. Congrats to you and Ken, who I forget that I knew back in my JMU days until you post pics. Tell him "Hi."

    Secrets to a good marriage? Humor. Communication. True partnership in everything from the finances to the chores to the child rearing and care. Shared and separate interests.

    And lots and lots of beer.

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  17. Happy Anniversary - what a wonderful post!!
    I had to laugh that my secret to a good marriage is pretty much the same as yours: a shared love of a good fart joke. Here's to fifteen+ more happy years together!

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  18. Happy 'Versary! My hubs and I just hit 16yrs in May. You guys are very similar to us....fart jokes and all.

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  19. Happy Anniversary, girl!! I hope you're able to get out and celebrate tonight...maybe some good cheese snacks to get that bowel moving properly again!!

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  20. Always remembering we're on a team. you can't turn against your turn. Even when you're hurt or angry we try and see eachother's side.

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  21. awww happy anniversary! congrats :)

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  22. Congratulations, and I hope you both have many more happy years ahead. Lovely picture of your folks - so sweet!

    Can't believe I'm craving greasy pizza after your comment.

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  23. I'm middle-aged and still struggling to make it to a second date, so 15 years is amazing! Can you take the fat booth pic and then run it through the aging booth? Please?

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  24. Happy Anniversary!!! these days that is quite the accomplishment! I love all the things you've listed...awesome and yes Tosh.0 rocks!!! Too funny!

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  25. congratulations!! 15 years is a great milestore!

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  26. er, milestone. I blame the keyboard. GRR.

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  27. Happy Anniversary! The photo of your parents is awesome.

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  28. Happy Anniversary! My parents were married for 28 years before my mom died - they definitely had the type of relationship I want and strive to live up to.

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  29. Happy anniversary! I loved this post. I think humor, mutual respect, shared interests and kindness are key. Also, having an example to look up to is incredible, whether it's your own parents or someone else in your life. My parents will celebrate 29 years this summer, and even though my boyfriend's parents didn't stay together, I think we're learning from both sets of parents. There are always lessons to learn from people who got divorced, and of course from those who have stayed together.

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  30. awwww I love these kinds of stories... oddly my secret would be the opposite of yours we keep the bodily things private and like that :)

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  31. Very happy anniversary! What a wonderful post.

    And absolutely love that pic of your parents :)

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  32. As always you are hilarious! Congrats on 15 wonderful years!!!

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  33. congrats and happy anniversary.

    my husband told me while we were dating that you know you're in love if you can fart in front of each other. we've been farting every since! :-)

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  34. Happy anniversary. You and hubby are a cute couple but that pic of your parents is so touching!

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  35. AAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWW! CONGRATS!

    I've been married for 2-somethin'! Me: controlling, him: laid back. I think it's perfect!

    Happy anniversary!

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  36. Congrats on the big 15! That pic of your parents is adorable. I have one of mine dancing a jig together down the aisle after our wedding ceremony. I had no idea they did that until I got the pictures back from the photographer.

    My secret? Sometimes you just have to put your stubborn-assed-ness (?) aside and compromise!

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  37. Happy Anniversary! I don't have a secret yet, only been married for a little over a year and a half. But I do think it's important to laugh together, a lot. Also have hobbies or interests that are you own, can't be glued at the hip all the time.

    My in-laws have been married for 38 years. Great example. My parents on the other hand...eh. I suppose my dad and stepmom have been married for 12 years.

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  38. My secret to a long lasting marriage is staying focused and... Holy crap I made your blog roll. That's awesome. What was the question?

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  39. Congrats and happy anniversary!! This year will be 11 for me, and I think a lot of the same things have kept us strong. I also think it's important to make sure your relationship doesn't get lost when you have kids and your lives get busier!

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  40. Happy Anniversary!
    Hey can you age that fat pic?

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  41. Ahh..so sweet to read. I especially subscribe to the part about laughing at anything crude.

    Happy Anniversary!

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  42. Happy Anniversary! I almost have my husband to the point where we can joke about farting. Almost ;)

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  43. Happy anniversary!! Love the Jim and Sue pic. Huge awww...

    Enjoy!

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  44. awwww! happy anniversary!!! you guys are so cute!!! <3

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  45. Happy happy anniversary!! The hubs and I are going on seven years married and twelve together total. We believe in keeping open lines of communication about EVERYTHING and that helps us through.

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  46. Happy Anniversary. The Fat Booth picture looks like one is about to explode. RUN!

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  47. that's really cool. happy 15 anniversary! very inspiring, and i love, love the pic of your parents. the best;-)

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  48. Happy Anniversary, Beth!! Way to keep the love alive!

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  49. Happy Anniversary. Your hints for a happy marriage are incredibly useful and really accurate. My husband and I have been together 24 years and the one that I could really relate to was me = controlling and him = laid back. That works for us too.

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  50. Congrats on a happy marriage- my parents have 33 years under their belts...I don't know how some people make it 33 days!


    PS- 1995...I was graduating 8th grade :)

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  51. Constant beatings are the key to a great relationship. My wife beats me all the time - I think I like it...

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  52. Happy Anniversay to you and Ken! 15 years huh? Wow.

    My secret to a great relationship is that I am good in bed. JK. Laughter and respect of course.

    I love that you are wearing your necklace! :)

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  53. Happy Anniversary!!!!

    Yup - marriage is a lot of hard work. We will be married 33 years (Tall MOM would love this) in August.

    On the good side - your wrinkles (not that you have any wrinkles) are gone in the fat picture . . . ;-)

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  54. Yay! Happy Anniversary! What a great post!

    I think a key thing in making a marriage work is just to have an open communication. Without being able to talk openly to each other, things will slowly start to crumble and fall apart.

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  55. I absolutely love that picture of your parents! I hope to have a picture just like that of my husband and I when we reach or 45th anniversary. We have 24 years to go. For me, it's all about respecting each other, laughing together, sharing a common interest (careers, running) and feeling safe together. Even now, I still have many moments when I am just overwhelmed by the connection between my husband and I. I hope that never ends! I hope you and Ken have many more years together!! Happy Anniversary!!

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