Yesterday Ryan and I were married 9 years. NINE. It just doesn’t even seem possible that it’s been that long. We’ve been having so much fun together it feels like time is moving too quickly..

On our way home from dinner last night we were trying to remember what we’d done for the previous 8 anniversaries… and we could only remember two! Lame. Then I realized… I could just go back to my blog. We were laughing so hard about what I’d written on previous anniversaries. It’s so easy to forget all that’s happened. All the little things. The way I was feeling at the time.

I stopped writing on this blog for a few reasons. First is that even a year and a half after my mom died, I was feeling so raw and sad, and I felt like my blog was helping me express how I was feeling, but I don’t know… I guess it wasn’t really the best way to actually deal with it.

The other reason I stopped is I’d made a conscious decision to use my blog to promote my business. It wasn’t working. The reason I liked my blog so much is because it was about my life. I know that tons of portrait photographers use their blog as the key way they connected with people, but that was never the purpose of my blog.

So for me, for when it’s my 20^th anniversary, I’m going to be better about keeping up this blog so I don’t forget. I’m thinking about everything we’ve done in the last year and how I made no effort to document it… Sad. I’m going to try to catch up here for a while if that’s ok with you. We’ve had all kinds of amazing vacations since I last checked in. I also started a new blog with 4 other food lovers. I hope you’ll check it out. http://WineAndaSpoon.com

But I’d be remise if I didn’t write what I did with my husband for our 9^th anniversary. We’re on this crazy diet right now. I call it the ‘beige diet’ because it’s completely devoid of color. Here’s how it goes: 6am Oatmeal and egg whites, 8:30am protein powder in water, 11am: white meat with a tiny bit of rice (I can put soy sauce on it), 1:30pm more white meat (which I’ve been sneaking broccoli into), 4pm more protein, 6:30pm beef and spinach, 9pm more protein. We’ve been at it for just over a week and I’ve lost 4 pounds! Well, actually, that was Monday, so I’m guessing it could actually be more.

At any rate, what kept me going that first week was we had a big fancy dinner planned last night for our anniversary. The plan was to go to Kazmierz wine bar before dinner, but we’re 32 year-old OLD people. We got there before the bar even opened. We went to Olive and Ivy, ordered drinks…. and hummus. Omg, it was AMAZING after a week of tasteless food. FNB was stellar for dinner. Ryan hadn’t been before. We had TWO appetizers, TWO entrees, and TWO desserts. Cheese plate and a salad w/ heirloom carrots, pasta with amazing mushrooms and mint lamb with purple fingerling potatoes, and for dessert chocolate cake with banana ice cream and a fresh made butterscotch pudding. HEAVEN. Highly recommend. The service alone is worth the hefty bill.

But, back to the beige diet… the real reason for the beige diet is we’re going to Vegas next week! We love to go to Vegas and go about once a year. We fell in love with a house in Mini’s neighborhood 2 weeks ago, and when it fell through we decided, F it! We’re going to Vegas!

So there you go Amanda and Ryan of the future trying to remember what you did on your 9^th anniversary. Can’t wait to see what the next 50 or so anniversaries bring!