This weekend we had no air conditioning...

So the plan for this weekend was to finish cleaning out the living room and den, work on removing the wallpaper in the bathrooms and kitchen, and wash the walls and windows so we can start painting soon.

But, we had no air conditioning and since we live in Georgia, the high of 95 degrees was unbearable even with our one oscillating fan.  We got started very early Saturday morning because movers came to move Marcus' sister's GIGANTIC wardrobe to her storage building.  They were done within the hour so Marcus focused on cleaning off the workbench in the garage, and I cleaned out the living room and dining room.  Without AC we didn't last until noon without having to get out of the heat.  It was like a sauna!  I have never sweated so much in my life.  We went to Lowe's for awhile, ate lunch, and tried to go back to work but didn't last more than 30 minutes before we had to go.  Sunday we slept in a little before heading out to the house.  Again, it wasn't more than three hours before we had to get out of there.  So now the plan is to get the AC fixed before we try to work on the house again.  Marcus may be meeting with someone in the morning...

We did check some things off the list though... 

We made definite decisions concerning our kitchen cabinets.  They were custom built for the house when it was built in the early 70s.  They're good quality and even the hardware looks good.  The only thing that needs to be fixed is the color.  So we're going to try out the new cabinet-kit from Rustoleum.  We'll paint the cabinets white, then use a stain to make them look antiqued.  Here's an example of the results one shade darker than ours: 

We decided to paint the inside of the cabinets with regular semi-gloss kitchen/bath paint in antique white to avoid wasting time or money on glazing the interior.

We also finished going through the boxes and items in the living room and dining room.  Next trip, we're going to have to get a U-Haul in order to move Marcus' grandmother's things to her house and storage building.  Then Marcus will begin working on the cabinets while my sister and I remove wallpaper and wash the walls... if we have air conditioning.     :)

We met in August of 2004...

Marcus and I both lived in the international dorm at our college.  He was the "bad" boy and I was little "goody-two shoes".  Seriously, that's how people viewed us!  He was in his second year, and I was a brand new freshman ready to take on the big world of college.  After a few weeks of friendship, our relationship got seriously quickly and before you knew it we were together two years.  Most people were really surprised by this because neither Marcus nor myself had ever had a serious relationship before.

After the first two years, I began to suffer from some health concerns.  I was tired all the time, gaining weight, and didn't have the energy to do even the smallest physical activities.  Many people thought it was depression because I was crying all the time and couldn't figure out what was the matter.  I was in a wonderful relationship, had awesome friends, and was making good grades.  Marcus stood by me through thick and thin.  He went to doctor's appointments with me, and he wouldn't let me give up until I got an answer that made sense.  Now we know that I have a form of hypothyroidism known as Hashimoto's and with the help of some medicine, I'm feeling a lot better.  Without that journey, I don't know if Marcus and I would have gotten to know each other as well as we did.  We opened up about a lot during that time and made a vow to be completely honest with one another about how we feel emotionally and physically and that communication would be the key to our relationship.

Now, four and a half years and a wedding since that point, we are still going stronger than ever.  I'm not saying everyday was perfect.  We certainly do have arguments, and we will never agree on some things, but we have a very strong bond and a passionate love that I have never known before.  I hope it lasts as long as my parents' (25+ years) and grandparents' marriages (50+ years).