Marriage Equality

Today I want to take a moment to express our belief in equality, in every sense. 

Jordan and I both come from different backgrounds, he was raised by his mom, and step-father with 1 sister and 2 step-sisters, on a farm in rural South Eastern North Dakota. I was raised by my parents with one older brother in Madison, WI. Yet, the different surroundings and family make-up mean nothing. Both our families raised us with the same values, ethics, and support to be freely who we are. We both are uniquely individual and love to express this through our clothing, music, the people we are friends with, where we live, what jobs we chose, who we love, and even Jordan's video games say a lot about who he is. Never once in our time together have we ever felt that our family and circle of friends did not love us because of one or all of these characteristics. We are straight, and in a "traditional" marriage, but our sexuality is not something we "chose" or members of our families encouraged us to have.
It is something we were born with, and had no control over. 

I KNOW that if either of us were born gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgender, our families would have still given us the same values, ethics, and support. Our families are also both Catholic, and yet, they step outside of the what the church teaches, and use the god-given free-will to believe, as Jesus did, that all are equal under God's eyes. Neither Jordan and I are practicing Catholics, but I do believe in something, and there is no way God would create gay people to be persecuted and left out of worship in any way shape or form. 

We have many friends and some family members who identify in the GLBT community, and it grieves me beyond comprehension that our government would take the step write a constitutional amendment to strip them of the benefits, both legal and emotional, that come with marrying the person you love and want to spend the rest of your life with. I feel so blessed that Jordan and I were able to take that step in our lives, but I still feel a twinge of guilt because not everyone can have the same joy and support we felt on our wedding day. 

So to all those who live in Minnesota and any other state that is voting on a Marriage Amendment on Nov. 6th, or any in the future for that matter. Please take a moment and think. Think about how you would feel. The strange part is this amendment does not CHANGE anything. Gay marriage is STILL illegal. This is just a complete slap in the face. 

I know this is a heated debate, but I just do not understand why in country that prides itself on its freedoms, and the pursuit of happiness that we would take such drastic measures to ensure a large portion of our population are not able to achieve these. 

I will conclude with the Marriage Equality Statement Jordan and I used in our wedding ceremony this past summer. We felt it was important to take a moment to express these beliefs which we feel so strongly about. 

I would ask you all to VOTE NO, on Nov. 6th!!

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MARRIAGE EQUALITY STATEMENT
As we celebrate marriage today, we’d also like to recognize those of us who cannot, by law, take this step. Natasha and Jordan believe that everyone deserves the right to marry, and the emotional benefits and legal protections that come from it. In a just world, we will all be free to make lawful, lifetime commitments. Hopefully, that day will come soon.

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Our Wedding on Offbeat Bride!!!

Our Wedding was posted to my all time favorite wedding blog today!!  

For those of you who have never heard of OffbeatBride.com, do yourself a favor and check it out! It has created an outlet for us "semi-traditionalists" to the all out crazy goth brides to express our unique and different weddings and ideas. I spent a great deal of time reading the site while planning our wedding and found it to be an invaluable re-source.

They showcase, all types of brides, and weddings. No where else do you see any brides with any types of curves, or Gay/Lesbian/Transgender, or even nerdy Harry Potter themed weddings! I loved that every time I visited the site I felt support for having ideas that were not conventional. Neither Jordan or I are traditional people, and we like to think outside the box. I think sometimes people misconstrue having an "Offbeat" wedding, and expect it to be less meaningful since it steps away from the traditional. It took some convincing for our parents to jump on board with all our "crazy" ideas, but in the end everyone was blown away with how personal, emotional, thoughtful, and FUN it was!

It was so much fun to re-live the day again! I will never forget it! Here is a link to our wedding video trailer for more wedding fun!

Friends!

Summer 2011

Aundrea and I at my Bachelorette party, June 2012 

I thought tonight I should blog about how incredibly lucky I am to have such a awesomely fun, smart, talented, selfless, and diverse group of friends. I think about what my life would be like without the connections I have with these women, and all I see is a black void. I have had great friendships throughout my life, but at this moment in time, I am surrounded by the best yet. Every time we are together, one on one, or in a group, I learn something. Something about one of them, about the world through their eyes, or myself and how I see things. I think the thing I value the most is the unending feeling of acceptance. Never have I felt ashamed to speak my mind, make a mistake. I also really just enjoy laughing so hard we cry! 

Many of us do not have immediate family in the same city or state. We are each other's family. We give each other crap like family, we share emotions and concerns like family, we support each other like family, and laugh like a family. As we have gotten older, and some of us get married, or have a child, or start a new relationship, things inherently change. Our friendships have adapted to these changes, and continue to grow and develop into even deeper, beautiful relationships. 

The picture above is from our recent "Summer Camp" trip. This is something we have all make and effort to ensure happens, despite our crazy busy lives. Between work, husbands, children, volunteer commitments, and grad school, we all have our fair share of crap. But there is nothing like tuning it all out to spend the weekend laughing, and sharing life stories with girlfriends. It is something that I hope we continue to do for many years to come. 

Our group of friends has such a colorful dynamic. We all have very different talents and personalities, but that is what makes it so damn fun! 

Out on the town, Fall 2010

True story: My friends are awesome. 

Here Goes...

Well, this is something I have never done before, nor ever thought I would do. To be honest, the thought of sharing my thoughts on the internet is still slightly terrifying! But I am trying something new, and that is supposed to be a good thing right?! :)

Today is a big day for a few reasons(besides being the first blog post of my life)...

#1-Its my mom's birthday!

Photo courtesy of Candy's Photography

My mom is probably one of the biggest influences in my life up to this point. I have learned some of the most invaluable lessons of love, patience, and acceptance from her. She and my dad, raised us to be ourselves, and to be HAPPY being ourselves. She would always tell me that no matter what I chose to do with my life, or who I choose to spend my life with, as long as I was happy, she would be happy. This is something that you can not measure. What is happiness? What makes us happy? WHO makes us happy? I can honestly say that I AM happy! I have made a conscious effort to surround myself with people who make me happy, and I have a job where I have a chance to spread that happiness to others. At this time in my life, I have the BEST group of friends I have ever had, and I have a wonderful husband. They all will likely play a large roll in future posts :) I would say my Mom has plenty to be happy about on her Birthday, and plus I heard she is going to get a facial...how could that NOT make you happy?! More on the topic on family, friends, work, and happiness in posts to come!

Photo courtesy of Candy's Photography

My awesome family in the 90's :)

#2-My husband and I are taking another step towards owning our first home!

A little back story...

Photo courtesy of Candy's Photography

Jordan and I got married on July 22nd of this year. It was a blistering HOT day of absolute love and joy. One night after the excitement of the big day wore off, we both turned to each other and decided that NOW was the time to start looking for a home. We had planned to start our honeymoon TODAY, but noticed that the local housing market in Minneapolis was starting ramp up, and we did not want to miss the boat. We knew we would have a limited budget and wanted to try to get a home while the prices were still low. We had not bought our plane tickets or made any hotel reservations for the honeymoon yet so we had nothing holding us back. We thought to ourselves, we can take a honeymoon whenever we want right?! There are no rules for this, and to be frank, we didn't follow many of the "rules" for our wedding either :)

Photo courtesy of Candy's Photography

Our first step was to call my best friend Aundrea. She and her awesome beau Mike had just bought an adorable bungalow in South Minneapolis in March, so they were a great resource. You can see their home ownership blog here! They had a great Realtor, who they wanted to share with us :) We called Ben Trudeau, and got the ball rolling at the beginning of August. Fast forward through all the paperwork, and financials and we were looking at several homes a week. Jordan and I were thankfully on the same page with our home expectations...unlike a lot of the couples we saw on our new favorite show "House Hunters" :) We both work in hospitality, and have long/odd hours. That, coupled with the fact that neither of us are what I consider to be "handy", and that we were using an FHA loan, we were NOT looking for any sort of fixer. We saw probably 30 homes of all shapes, sizes and layouts. Can I just say, that people do STRANGE things in their homes! WHY you would put a toilet 1 inch from the shower, so you literally have to step OVER the toilet to access the shower is beyond me!

A few weeks ago, we walked into a house, that made us smile :) We could not help it! it was perfect for our lifestyle, and in a great location. BUT, it was a short sale, and a short with not one, but TWO mortgages. For those of you who are not familiar with this here is a good description of the process. That being said we decided, that we should go for it! We are not in a rush to get out of our current rental, and if we can score a great house for a great price, why not try, right?! So we met with Ben, and filled out the offer while sitting at the bar in the Restaurant were Jordan works (Pizzeria Lola), since he was in the middle of the 10 day work week and we did not want to wait. Oh, and if you have not eaten there..got to it! Delicious artisan wood-fired pizza...but I digress...

So long story story short, we are prepared to be in this for the long haul. To complicate things, the sale is being negotiated by a lawyer and the seller is requiring an inspection to be done prior to short sale approval,  which is abnormal. But our realtor has been incredibly helpful and has kept us informed and provided great insight in the process. Today is the inspection, and my stomach is filled with nerves and excitement. Nervous that he will find something wrong with the house, or that its in great shape and we fall more in love with it, only to find out in 3-6 months that the bank has not approved the short sale offer. But mostly excitement to see the house again, and to envision our future in the home!

I will leave you with a Dr. Suess Quote that Jordan and I used on our wedding programs, that describes the two of us and the life we are building together.

Phew! That wasn't so bad was it?