Happy Valentines Day to lovers old and young

WARNING: If you are my personal trainer or know my personal, please do not continue reading. Seriously, stop it. You will not like what you will find.

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It's kind of wonderful being a wedding photographer for a lot of reasons, but one thing I really adore is being able to witness the inevitable excited that beams from two people as they become husband and wife. It's the beginning of an adventure; the start of something new. Nearly every time I photograph a happy couple recessing back down the aisle, I can totally remember what that felt like when Jon and I strode hand in hand out of the church and into the rest of our lives.



The first few weeks as a married couple are wonderful... the gifts, the honeymoon, the continual congratulations... it's all such a rush and I so wish I could go back and relive June 2004 all over again. It was really a great month.

But time moves on and things change. When Jon and I first got married, we used to eat like crazy together. And I do mean crazy. Our two staples from the grocery store were nacho cheese filled soft pretzels and bakery-fresh miniature chocolate chip cookie and icing sandwiches. Now, our metabolisms have more than caught up with us and our 14 month-old keeps us from getting to the gym as much as we used to, so gone are the days of fattening indulgences and in their place we instead purchase non-fat greet yogart and spinach. I'm still trying to convince myself that "it doesn't taste as good as thin looks" every time I see a cookie, but my hearts breaks every time I pass by my favorite delectable treats.

Last night, Jon and I had the rare chance to escape our hectic lives and steal away to dinner and movie together. We chose wisely at the restaurant (we were both quite surprised at our healthy selections), and then headed to our favorite AMC to see "Valentine's Day." As the movie began, scenes featuring young couples in love at the beginning of their relationship filled the screen, and it made me remember how exciting and responsibility-free our relationship was in the beginning. And I kinda missed that. Don't get me wrong, I love Jon and he continually gives me more reason to love him, but that beginning phase.... you just can't get that back. There's only one beginning of a story...

After the film ended, I couldn't stop thinking about cookies, so we headed off to the nearest cookie kiosk, even though I had sworn off cookies just earlier this month. Much to my dismay, they were closed. "I guess it wasn't meant to be," I said a little too dramatically as we walked away from the barren cookie oasis. We got in the car and headed home, but for some reason, Jon took a wrong turn. Before I could ask what was going on, I had it figured out. He was going to get me cookies :).

We pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store that was located just a block away from our first apartment, and we headed inside, both of us salivating at the thought of our treasured chocolate chip cookie and icing sandwiches. When we got back to the bakery, we scoured the shelves like ravenous scavengers looking for our prize. But alas, we couldn't find them. It didn't even look like they were out... it was more like the bakery didn't even make them anymore.

Sadness seemed to drop into the grocery store, almost like a dark cloud had settled into every aisle. Ok, well, maybe I'm being a smidge dramatic again... no one else in the store seemed to share my feelings of torment, but I was certainly disappointed to say the least. Jon grabbed a container of miniature cookies, though, and didn't seem sad at all. Then he grabbed my hand and we walked quickly to the icing aisle. We were going to make our own.

So when we got home, we put on the Opening Ceremonies that we had recorded on the dvr, and opened this


And these


And what ensued was a heavenly creation that can only be described as a siren to the taste buds.


And as Jon and I sat there together, making more delicious cookie sandwiches than I can count, I realized that these tasted better -nay, MUCH better- than the cookie sandwiches we used to buy when we were first married. We'll probably never be able to find those cookies again anyway, but it's ok because what we made was a whole lot better anyway.

And you know, while I can never go back to the very beginning of our relationship, that's really ok with me, because what we have now is a whole lot better anyway, too. And I'd never trade our healthy shopping trips and distracted workouts for all the cheese pretzels in the world. Really, every day gets better and the ability to soak it in and see the beauty in the now... that's where the excitement really lies.

Happy Valentines Day, to lovers old and young.