polka-dotted proof

I am absolutely, positively sick of being sick. I have had a sinus infection since March, and regardless of the various medications my doctor has put me on, the insane amount of rest I'm getting, and all the tons of fluids I've hydrated myself with, it will not go away. Sure, from time to time, it gets a tad better, and I get all excited, and the one morning I'll wake up with a horribly swollen throat, post-nasal drip like whoa, and I'm off again. My husband has also been battling a sinus infection off and on since about the same time. We think it might be something in our apartment, but we've cleaned and scrubbed and are as dust-free as possible.

I'm spending my first summer staying up way past my bedtime and waking up in the afternoon. I must get my sleep schedule on track before school starts.

I shamelessly stole this from Natalie.

Things I Loathe:

1. Having colds in the summertime.

2. Dirty dishes sitting in the sink.

3. Low-fat ranch dressing that tastes nothing like the real thing.

4. Spending money to see movies that I don't like at all.

5. Parents who discourage their children from reaching their goals.

Things I Love:

1. Quiet evenings with my hubby which make words unnecessary.

2. Quirky wedges (the shoes).

3. Authors who never cease to amaze me.

4. A good weigh-in on Weight Watchers.

5. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (which can really mess up #4).

I enjoy verbing the word vox. I just looked at my husband and said, "I need to vox. I bet it feels neglected." He nodded like he had a clue as to what I was talking about. I assure you he didn't.

I've been a little out of the loop with school and my new marriage. School is okay; I'm ready to wind down for the summer so I can get a summer job that requires little to no thought and preparation from day to day. And have I mentioned, I'm ready to go back for my Master's. I'm currently looking in to several programs that will help me achieve that goal while still teaching full time. Slowly but surely, I will get there.

My marriage is going well. I'd be a liar if I said it was perfect, but we have more good days than bad, and my husband can grill one mean hamburger! We're still settling into our roles and discovering expectations and all that jazz. He makes me smile a lot, and he's a good thing to come home to at the end of an otherwise shitty day.

Now I'm really gonna try to do better about this Voxing-nonsense.

The seventh season of "American Idol" premieres tonight.  Will you be watching, or are you over it?

I was never hooked, so no, I won't be watching.

What are you saving up for? 
Submitted by Star. 

House

How do you want 2008 to be different from 2007? What will you change or do differently? 
Submitted by Becca-Pink.

• Be more organized. In the midst of my first year of teaching, planning a wedding, and advising a yearbook staff, my organization, usually one of my most fine-tuned traits, has fallen off tremendously. This will be a semester of intense organization as I try to pull my life back together, one accurately labeled file folder at a time.

• Be more healthy. I will eat better and move more, or eventually, I will weigh the same as my house.
  

• Be financially responsible. I will pay bills, not spend money as frivolously as I have, and attempt to start growing a nice little nest egg.

• Write more because honestly, I just miss it.

• Do more things to develop myself as a young professional.

• Learn to cook. The husband and I are working on this one, and it's coming along decently. I like to cook; I just lack knowledge beyond Hamburger Helper and baked goods.

• Make more time for me and "us." So much of my time gets zapped away by pointless things. I need to take time each day for me, and now for the family made up of me and my husband.

• Have a great year. It will be my first year as a newlywed, and I want to make it a good one!
  

Amyhankwed

What's the best photo you took this year?  Show and tell!

I'm a married woman! It was GREAT.

Cut from the same cloth, kindred spirits, all that jazz. It all simmers down to the fact that I adore you. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss your presence in my life. I'll see something funny, or read a great book, or hear the most outlandish thing, and immediately, I'll want you to know about it. I'll want to call you and rant or stand out in the cold to hear what's going on in your life. I want to be around your wit and see pictures of your girls on the screen of your cell phone. And more than anything, I want to just get over whatever it is that fucked, and continues to fuck, us up. At this point, I'm not even sure what it was.

And if it was me, honestly and solely just me that did it, then that's fine. I'm over me. Together we've overcome the wow-guy scenario (or at least embraced it), been Writing Center-inappropriate to a point where we should get medals, written poems about anal sex on a Sunday, and clicked like people who spend a lifetime as friends.

I don't really know what else to do. As it is, I'm afraid I'm too pushy and shovey and trying to wedge my way into a spot that's been emptied and forgotten. But I love you, love you, love you...and I'm now publically pleading with you in a blog to love me back. I'm the sappiest girl-crusher ever.

The RSVP one was for you, too. I really do need you there that day.

I love you, Nat.

I'm getting married in 19 days, and my sister is making a fun thing for my reception with advice for a healthy marriage. Therefore, I came to Vox to get some advice from all you lovely Voxy folks. So give it to me.

Q: What's the best advice for a healthy marriage?

Send this to any of your friends. I'd like as much feedback as I can get!