Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Triumphs of Love

Okay, ya'll, this might get a little cheesy - but hopefully you expect that and are totally into it. Eric & I have been engaged for exactly four months, and for almost as many months, the nation has been anxiously awaiting some big Supreme Court decisions about marriage equality. This morning I woke up, read about my new feminist hero Senator Wendy Davis, and then watched the internet explode with news about the decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act and then the decision to keep California's Prop 8 overturned. While neither of these decisions guarantee marriage equality for all, it is a huge step in the right direction.

In the last year, Washington (my adopted home state) legalized same-sex marriage, Colorado (my real home state) legalized civil unions, Jason Collins came out on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Obama spoke in support of gay rights for the first time, three GOP senators have announced support of same-sex marriage - all of this is so, so inspiring. Our country could legalize same-sex marriage in my lifetime, maybe even in my parents' lifetimes! Even two years ago this would've seemed impossible.

There are still a LOT of injustices that our nation needs to address, but I have learned that you gotta take the small victories as they come. Eric & I have been talking lately about how the US seems to be moving backwards in regards to some things - health care, incarceration rates, etc., so it is heartening to see us moving forward in recognizing love and marriage rights for all. Here in New Mexico, our awesome Santa Fe Mayor David Coss is getting the ball rolling, and I did have a dream the other night that same-sex marriage was legalized in Santa Fe... triumphs like today's give me a little more room to hope.

It's also a good reminder for me to check myself.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Running Running Running

I don't know about you, blog world, but these last couple weeks seem to have just flown by in Marie-and-Eric Land. Here's a quick chronological update of some of the things we have been running around doing.

1. Fancy Dinner Night
Anyone who knows me probably knows that I am a pretty frugal lady; I frequently get outraged at the normal prices of things like toothpaste and underwear. Living in Santa Fe, I've started to learn that some things are worth spending a little extra money on, especially food. I'm sure we've written before that most food in Santa Fe is redonkulously good, and lots of the best places use high-quality, local ingredients to make their delicious and creative dishes. After spending most of my college years mostly eating Kroger-brand box mac'n'cheese, I definitely feel privileged to have enough financial flexibility to buy good food when we go out to eat and support Santa Fe. Sidenote: Something like 84% of restaurants in Santa Fe are locally owned!

All that rambling just to get to this: After we moved here, Eric (the true romantic in our relationship) suggested that we pick a day in the near future to dress up and spend a good chunk of money at a fancy restaurant. So a couple weeks ago, on a day that we had both gotten paid, we dressed up like so:
and went to The Palace, where we ordered appetizers, entrees, dessert, and a whole bottle of wine. It was awesome. The first time you order a whole bottle of wine at a restaurant is an important life milestone, right?

2. Whirlwind Trip to Colorado
In 36 hours over Memorial Day Weekend, we drove to Colorado and back so that I could run the Bolder Boulder, and we also managed to squeeze in visits with our families, a short photoshoot, and  lunch with a couple of friends.

That's me in the blue, about to cross the finish line!
Running the Bolder Boulder was one of the best things I have ever done. Growing up, I was never very athletic, and when other people would talk about running the Bolder Boulder, I would always think, "I could never do that." When I started enjoying running a couple of years ago, one of the most exciting things was that I might be able to participate in the biggest race in my home state. After I ran my first 10K in Bellingham last October, I knew that 2013 was the year that I could do it.

After the race I was so happy to be sitting down in the shade.
And even though I was nervous about the altitude, and it was really hot, and I didn't get a great night's sleep the night before, I DID IT! Not only that, but I did it 19 minutes faster than I thought I would, AND it was FUN! I could write paragraphs about how empowered I felt and how quirky the race was (it is Boulder, after all), but for now I'll just say that it really is incredible to have a new appreciation of what I am capable of. And the free snacks and beer I got afterward weren't bad either. (Actually, the free beer was a Michelob Ultra, which is pretty bad, technically speaking.)

3. Our First Visitor!
A few days after returning from Colorado, Colorado came to us in the form of my brother Paul, who stayed with us this past weekend! He was our first visitor and it was really fun to show him around. We also spent a good amount of time in our house, playing with Zeezy, which he definitely appreciated.
Spoiled kitty.
We went on a hike, ate delicious food, played Settlers of Catan (Eric and I finally bought our own game!!), walked around the plaza, and saw an Argentinian band in the park for free!

Siblings!
Guess who won the first game of Settlers of Catan.
We also went inside the famous Cathedral of Saint Francis; it is HUGE and very ornately decorated inside. It was a little weird because half of the people inside seemed to be having a very spiritual experience, while the other half (Paul and I included) were just walking around the periphery, admiring the decorations.

Shrine to the Virgin Mary
Being there as a non-Catholic felt a little sacrilegious, but at the same time, this cathedral has a gift shop. Not kidding. Sometime I'm sure I'll write something more about tourism in Santa Fe, especially since tourist season is upon us. So stay tuned!

Now that I have written a novel, I will leave you with one more photo of Assisi:
"PLAY WITH ME!"