Things that no one tells you about the first month of marriage!

(I’m enjoying the “things that no one tells you” blogs; they are my new window to sarcasm)

Marriage… the mark of a new life, a new house, and newly found independence with “the one”! Some of it truly is a fairytale, and the other part is so reality that you can feel it in your aching muscles and cracked nails.

Being used to everything being done for me by my spoiling/ protective parents, loving brothers, and enduring maid, the experience of having my own house was bitter-sweet.  I was used to having my meals hot, my clothes ironed, and my room clean and tidy and all I had to do was give the order.

Things change…

Doing the dishes is new age torture. It combines chemicals, glass and metal utensils, water, and yucky. It gives you back pain, shoulder pain, cracked nails, an itchy nose, and stinky hands.

You turn up on every plant’s wanted list because you become the dictator that deprives them from water and sun.

You do the laundry twice, not because you’re super clean, it’s because you forgot to put detergent the first time.

You leave the house, only to return one minute later because you forgot a sock in your hand.

Dust becomes the neighbor that never leaves, because no matter how many times you dust that TV unit a day, dust needs to watch its programs.

On the other hand,

There is nothing like watching a DVD while curled up on you cozy couch with your hubby, getting kudos on the delicious dinner you just cooked, and “I’m the happiest man on earth” you get at the end of the day.

Things that no one tells you when you’re remodeling your apartment!

The apartment that my fiancé and I will move in to after the wedding has been “Under Renovation” for a little less than a year.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but still can’t reach it. Work was going on hard, especially in the first seven month with the complete remodeling of the bathrooms and kitchen, reinstalling all electric circuits and lights, reinstalling all pipes and sanitary, reinstalling doors and other woodworks, molding gibson board into the ceiling, installing glass curtains, installing parquet, painting, and a bit of furnishing.

From the sound of that, I know you’re thinking: What else could they still possibly be doing?

Well, no one tells you that making the finishing touches takes much longer, more effort, and is actually more nerve wrecking than the actual work.  By finishing touches I mean the little retouching required on the wood to eliminate those little scratches that come naturally, those little glass shelves in the bathroom for the toothbrush, the key whole frames on all the doors, the kitchen cabinet handles, and that little accessory that makes the glass curtain open and close easily!

It’s a nightmare sometimes!

No one tells you that the carpenter can make you seven hardwood doors, four kitchen high chairs, one console, and one TV unit in 3 months, but requires another 6 months to get those key whole frames on!  Oh, and he has a carte blanche to carve wood and drill things over your newly installed parquet!

No one tells you that the electrician can re-circuit you entire apartment and install all the lighting in 4 months, yet manage to leave some switches bursting outside the walls.  And don’t forget, your life will be compromised into an ever ending whirl of picking up plastic wraps and wire cuttings.

No one tells you that you have to pick up cigarette buds and plastic Turkish coffee cups as much as you have to pick up the rubble, and maybe more!

No one tells you that you would be stupid to bring in any furniture item because some worker will think that it’s Ok if their soft drink can leaves traces on your antique console.  

No one tells you that you have to have a back-up plan for every item of furniture you buy because you never know if the gallery will end up selling your purchase to someone else.

On the other hand…

No one tells you that everything you complete makes you so happy, so fulfilled, and brings you even closer together!

No one tells you that every item you buy for the house makes you so eager to use it.

No one tells you that everything around you becomes temporary, and just a transitional phase to take you to your own place and own life.

Valentine’s Day

Red is my favorite color, but on Valentine’s Day, and the week before it, it becomes repulsive.  Shops are filled with too many red roses, teddy bears, and hearts that it becomes a sign of ridicule rather than love.

Non-the-less, this holiday cannot pass uncelebrated. 

In stead of the traditional lovey dovey gift with flowers and a dinner, I decided to change the entire theme of Valentine’s Day and turn it into something more practical, concrete, and a true symbol of love and devotion. 

Our apartment!

I had mentioned before that my fiancé and I are in the midst of remodeling the apartment, so it’s basically a wreck; even so, I decided to prepare a dinner and bring it over for the occasion.  Of course, to do that I’d have to actually cook it at my parents’ house, pack it, in addition to all the serving bowls, plates, cups, cutlery, chairs, table, and a portable gas tank; and bring it to the apartment.  The menu I prepared was entirely Italian!

The Menu:

Appetizers

Bread, Butter, and minced black olives

Romano Bread

Salad

Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil Salad

Pasta

Fettuccini Alfredo

Main Course

Steak with Portobello Mushroom Sauce

Deserts

Apple Tart

Strawberry Tart

Crème Brule Tart

I got my sister-in-law to help me get my fiancé to the apartment, by coming up with a story.

Everything worked like a dream!  He couldn’t believe his eyes when he walked through the door.  He was surprised, happy, and very grateful with the whole idea.

To top off the “Our Apartment” theme, I got him a Tefal Crepe pan.  J