From the Holidays to the Hell of our Apartment

So we managed to live through Christmas. With limited time to do our shopping and prepare to visit my family, we somehow purchased the gifts we needed and got them all to the car to make the trip. 


Now maybe some of you might be wondering why I am not going crazy talking about "our first Christmas together" as a married couple. But in all honesty, we didn't go out of our way to make it super special or anything. Omid spent Christmas with my family last year, which was extremely exciting because it was his first Christmas ever. I had a blast picking a present out for him and buying stuff to fill his stocking and introducing him to all of our Christmas traditions. But this year, Christmas just seemed to sneak up on us and wasn't nearly as exciting amidst all of the craziness of the last month of our lives. Omid and I agreed to not get each other gifts (he tried to trick me and buy one anyways, but it was an epic fail. serves him right). So in conclusion, Christmas was delightful, as it always is. A true vacation for me - I got to sleep in, eat infinite amounts of food and holiday treats, and spending time with some of the funniest and lovable peeps I know. But it couldn't last forever - I had to come back and face real life. 


And if I thought my life was a mess when I left, it was a natural disaster when I returned. Take piles of wedding gifts and other piles of old stuff that needs to be thrown out/donated and add Christmas gifts - you have what seems to be an apartment from the show Hoarders.  And if my words aren't convincing enough, I have included pictures (despite how embarrassing they are) to truly depict the horrificness of the situation.

Yes, Omid, it is quite terrifying

This use to be the corner the wedding gifts were neatly stacked in. 

This use to be the dining area. (yes, those are my thank you notes)

I know what you are thinking - "Geez, Brittany. How could you let it come to this?" Excellent question. Two simple words: GRAD SCHOOL. It's my excuse for everything now. Its my excuse for being tired, being moody, being stressed, not working out anymore, not cleaning, not cooking, not unpacking wedding gifts, not writing thank you notes, etc. The list goes on. There are some people in my program what work full time, go to school, have kids, have pets, cook, and do a thousand other things. Well power to those people, but I'm not one of them. Grad school plus getting married was enough to wipe me out - and the rest went to hell. So there you have it - my sorry excuse. But it's not too late. Alas, I have until Jan. 17th until classes start again. And things WILL GET DONE. These things include:

• Changing my name (getting a new social security card, drivers license and passport) 
• Writing thank you notes (So far I've done 12 - I think a faster pace might be needed)
• Unpacking the rest of the wedding gifts and finding space for them (easier said then done)
• Completely reorganizing the kitchen so that everything fits (we'll see about that one)
• Donate all the stuff that I don't need anymore (the pile in the dining area)

I should have made way more progress in the last three days than writing 12 thank you cards and doing a few loads of laundry. However, I was too busy being overwhelmed and watching a Law and Order: SVU marathon. But the time has come. The procrastinating ENDS NOW. And what I have come to realize is that my actions don't just affect me anymore. My unwillingness to accomplish anything makes my poor husband crazy. Its not fair to him that we live like this - especially because he is so willing to help with anything. Its not that he won't do anything - its that I get CRAZY when he does things without me. "Why did you put the bowls there?" "No, don't hang that picture, I am still deciding where I want it." "No, I think we should do the thank you's together." You see, I have some control issues. And I want to be part of all decision making when organizing our apartment. So if I'm not willing to do anything, Omid can't either. But Omid has an abundance of something that I barely have at all - Patience. And he's given me all that he can. He has reminded me that we are a TEAM. And we will get this done - together. So as a TEAM, we are tackling this place one step at a time. And hopefully, soon, it will really start feeling like our home.