Getting to Know Us Q&A Part 2: Answers to Marriage Questions

After reading your questions, it seemed like it made the most sense to break up these posts into four different categories: marriage, blogging, my routines (skincare, shopping, working, etc.), and answers to questions asked by my former students.

Today, Matt and I are sitting down to answer questions that were asked for the both of us and/or relate to our marriage.

So here goes!

How often do you go back for Clemson games and do you have any favorite game day traditions?

First of all, Matt would like to clarify that he is very much a Florida State fan first and then a Clemson fan. ;) Matt grew up going to FSU games with his dad and the two of them still make it down for a few games a year. I usually make it down for one game too (since I'm an FSU fan second behind Clemson).

Needless to say, they were ecstatic about the season they had last year! Matt's highlight (aside from being there for the National Championship win in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl) was meeting Jameis Winston the night he won the Heisman Trophy. You can read more about that here.

As for being a Tiger fan, we make it back for at least one game each year. We rent out a house on the lake with three of my college roommates and their hubbies and have made the reunion weekend a yearly tradition. This year, we'll be taking our little man up with us in November for his first college experience. He will be decked out in Tiger decor for three straight days and getting a tour of the whole school, so I can't promise that he won't completely fall in love and choose his allegiance early. ;) ;)

More pictures from this weekend here

As far as game day traditions go, we keep things pretty simple. When we're home, we love making breakfast and lounging while we watch College GameDay. I'm a sucker for those Tom Rinaldi sob stories that they cover weekly. I cry every time. If our games are later in the day, we'll go for a walk and/or work in the yard until it's time for the games to start. Sometimes we get together with friends to watch, but we're just as content to stay at home and watch hours of football just the two of us... and Tally of course, who supports both schools equally, despite his name (more on that below). ;)

What is your favorite place to travel? Do you like to go back to one spot or visit new places?

Our favorite place to travel is anywhere we haven't been! We love seeing new cities and experiencing new places. If we had to pick a place that we would like to go back to, it would either be the resort where we spent our honeymoon or The Inn at Palmetto Bluff.

You can read about all of the other places we've traveled here, and read more about our tips for travel here.


What is the origin of Tally's name?
Tally is named after Tallahassee, FL, where FSU's campus is.  "Tiger" just didn't seem to fit a golden retriever quite as well, so Matt got to win that one. ;)


How much time do you guys want between kids?
Matt says 18 months - 2 years. I say I'll take them whenever we can get them. :) If there's one thing I've learned over the past two years, it's that I don't get to control this area of our lives. But if I could have it my way, I would love to never try to get pregnant again and just be pleasantly and unexpectedly surprised by future pregnancies.


What is your secret to a happy marriage?
Matt's first response? Happy wife, happy life. Haha... I'd say there's actually a lot of truth to that. ;) His other answers: Major on the majors and minor on the minors, laugh a lot, don't take yourselves too seriously, and build the other person up.

My answers- Let things go, decide what really matters to you and communicate those things when you and the other person are in a good frame of mind to listen, and focus on what you appreciate about the other person and verbalize that often.

This is going to sound really dorky, and I almost didn't share it, but one thing we do when we've had a stretch of "discussions" or have just been busy with other things and not intentional with our time is share 5 things we appreciate about the other person. Sometimes when you're having a rough week at work or at home for whatever reason, it's nice to be reminded of why you're appreciated. And we also use it as a semi-joke sometimes and request to hear "5 things" when we're needing a little confidence boost. ha. Yeah, that's embarrassing. But you asked what works for us, and this is something small I'm glad we do.


Do you ever fight?
Yes! In fact, Matt's first response (after laughing) was, "It actually happens more often than you think."

We prefer to call them "discussions" or "tifts".  Why? It sounds less dramatic I suppose. They usually stem from one or both of us being really tired and are almost always over things that don't seem nearly as important the next day.

We are both pretty stubborn, but over the years, we've gotten better about letting things go, agreeing to disagree, and "pausing" disagreements to go to bed... because most of the time sleep and a fresh perspective that comes with the morning makes us realize that what we were being stubborn about really didn't matter anyway. Oh and I've had to get better about being willing to apologize first (did I mention I'm stubborn?!)- so awful to admit that but so true!


What do you like to do for fun?
Matt's first response to this question? "Answering this question is going to make us sound boring." HA! It's true. I've tried to say this on here before. In fact, I dedicated a whole post to it. But since you asked, here's our answers:

1. Go on walks

2. Hike

this post here

3. Hang out at the book store 

this post here

4. Order pizza and watch recorded tv shows or a movie

5. Go to the frozen yogurt shop that's up the street from our house

6. Go on weekend getaways and/or day trips

this post here

7. Travel

So there you have it. Every marriage is a work in progress, and ours is no exception. But I wouldn't write our story any differently if I could- I love doing life with this guy, and I think he likes me okay too. ;)

Happy Friday, y'all!