Grocery shopping synonymous with hell!

As most newlyweds tend to do, my husband and I have started running our errands together. Save time, save gas and spend a little quality time together. It sounds all well and good in theory. What's cuter than your 6'3" hubby pushing the shopping cart through the local grocery store trying to decide which brand has the better deal on Swiss cheese? That cute vision can quickly become a nightmare!

First of all, I have to acknowledge the fact that I HATE grocery shopping. I know the germ covered cart I insist on wiping down with antibacterial wipes gets me going. Aside from that, I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe because it takes me three hours to pick up essentials? Ya know - bread, milk, cheese, toilet paper, etc. After I compare calories, cost, one-ply vs. two I feel mentally drained. But I can't bring myself to order groceries online through a convenience company.

Well now I thought wonderful, I have someone to drag along with me. Misery loves company! Another rookie mistake. It all started off with sparkling wine. My husband and I just visited Michigan's wine country. We purchased nine bottles of our favorite Chardonnays, Cabernets, Demi-Secs and Merlots. We came home with six. We are in no need of any more bottles to add to our collection, or at least that's what I thought.

Nick decided we really need a sparkling wine. We don't have any and apparently everyone needs a bottle of sparkling wine. I said I really don't think we need any, we have enough at home. Not the answer he was looking for so he sulked into the next aisle.

He made it through the remainder of the trip with minimal pouting, until we stumbled upon an aisle filled with some of our worst, most notorious vices - frozen pizzas and appetizers. I know, terrible for you. Chalked full of preservatives and empty calories. But sometimes you just gotta have some! Well in an effort to fill our freezer and pantry with more wholesome foods I made note that we didn't need the personal pizzas with 670 calories a serving and no we didn't need the box of mozzarella sticks for nearly $4 a box for 6 measly, greasy cheese sticks.

Nick was not a happy camper. I got caught up in calorie counting and price comparing, as I tend to do in grocery stores, I realized Nick was being awfully quiet for someone who had to have cheese sticks.

I looked over...Nick had deserted me, took off with the cart and all! I searched high and low, down each aisle, going back to the frozen section thinking I'd catch him stocking our cart with the mini-pizzas and cheese sticks! But no such luck.

So I gave up and headed to the door thinking he could just meet me at the car when I see him checking out at the register like everything was just peachy keen. I walked over in a huff, holding my breath and gave him the meanest glare that totally said, "How dare you walk away with our grocery cart, not filled with all the things you want and make me search for you!" I refused to talk all the way to the car, when he looks over at me with this pitiful, childlike voice and says, "All I wanted were some cheese sticks".

Married couple fight over really stupid things #1 out of 1,000,000+ I'm sure. Lesson for the day: if you must run your errands as a team, make a list before you go to the store and do not under any circumstances deviate! Otherwise you could be battling over wine and cheese in Aisle 13!

© Nichole DeMario, 2010 – 2011. All rights reserved

A word to the wise

As any intelligent woman knows one key to great looking skin is to properly remove your makeup.

Well after one very late wedding night of...knitting, I decide eh, it can wait until morning. I'll wake up, remove the remaining lipstick and fix my raccoon eyes before Sir Snores A LOT is even out of his REM sleep cycle.

Bad move Mrs. very bad move. I wake up at about 4:30 a.m. to a pulsating, burning eyelid. My eye is practically caked shut with Maybelline Falsies mascara. As I pry open my eye and try not to curse too loudly in an effort to leave my sleeping husband off in dream world, I finally see the result of my laziness.

Bloodshot...red...puffy...irritated...sensitive...OUCH!

As I should have all along, I wash my face, remove the remnants of the nights' smokey eye look and dig desperately in my purse for eye drops. I crawl back into bed and catch a few more ZZZ's hoping I'll look pristine and perfect later in the morning (and make my new husband think I always look this way in the mornings).

I knew you were hoping for a victory for the new bride. Nope. I spent the day in glasses, using the recommended amount of eye drops every four hours.

It's heart wrenching stuff people! Makeup removal is no joke! So remember no matter how late you're up knitting (or working on your needle point if that's your thing) remember to always remove that makeup or pay the consequences later.

© Nichole DeMario, 2010 – 2011. All rights reserved

Allow me to introduce us

Well hasn't this been a year of firsts? My first (& only) marriage, my first house, my first time living "away from home", first time living with someone other than family...and now my first blog. These are all firsts shared by my husband (still getting use to calling him that) too, minus the blog.

A little background on me, Nichole, and my significant other Nick. (And yes, I strategically planned that while I was dating. I would stop at nothing until I found a Nick that fit! And yes, we are naming every one of future children with the prefix "Nic"...kidding of course).

We grew up in the same town in Indiana. A little more suburban, a little less corn where we're from. We were in the same fifth grade class. It wasn't until junior year of high school that we really crossed paths again. With 3,000+ students in our high school that wasn't a difficult feat. We officially began dating May 8, 2004.

After graduation in 2005, we went on to college. Nick stayed local, majoring in business administration with minors in pre-law and communications (Note: has a job, searching for a jump start to his career in case you're hiring). I commuted to Columbia in Chicago where I majored in broadcast journalism with a concentration in television. I now work in communications, freelance and now blog.

I know, real exciting stuff here. High school sweethearts, yada yada yada...We persevered, went through our fair share of hiccups, but came out on top.

But the real deal, as previously noted, we share a lot of firsts. Being a newlywed is completely new territory for us. Living together - uncharted waters. I feel so sure when I'm with Nick, but this new adventure whoa! It's thrown me for a loop and we've been married 9 days (5 of which were spent on a honeymoon).

So here it goes. Our life, our trials and tribulations out for the world to see. Join us as we embark on our life together. This is Confessions of a Newlywed: Surviving Wedded Bliss.

© Nichole DeMario, 2010 – 2011. All rights reserved