Quesada Family: 10 Years!

When Antonio and I were only married for a few years, I thought that 10 years would be a big milestone, but now that we have been married for 10 years, it doesn't seem that long in the grand scheme of things. Now it seems like 25 years will be a significant milestone, but I suppose when that rolls around it won't seem that long either!

So what have I learned in 10 years of marriage? Here are few things that come to mind:

1. That old advice about "Never go to bed angry" is some of the worst pieces of advice ever given. Trust me, absolutely nothing good comes from two people who are upset "talking" about it at 1:00 in the morning. Better to go to sleep and deal with it in the daylight. Chances are the problem will seem much more manageable.

2. I don't need to say everything that I think. As a matter of fact, I shouldn't say most things I think! Well, if they are negative, that is! Often times an issue that seems a big deal at the moment will end up being moot in a day or two, so best to not say anything.

3. It is possible to feel this most incredible love for someone one moment, and then to want to kill them the next (this is true with children as well!)

4. Having someone to depend on, who shares your worries and goals, is an incredible feeling.

5. With each year comes more and more inside jokes which makes life even more fun!

6. After only 10 years, I have realized that we can make it through tough times. We can be furious at each other, but I know that at the end of the day, we still love each other, and as the saying goes "this too shall pass." And it always does, and it just makes it that much easier to deal with the next time either one of us messes up.

7. I can't rely on someone else to make me happy; I have to do that on my own. If I want to lose weight, only I can do it. If I want to have a fun hobby, only I can do it.

8. The rosy view I have of myself is not always so rosy if I think about it from Antonio's point view. Simply being nice is the best way to have a happy marriage, and when things are tense between us, most of the time if I am honest about it, it is because I am not being kind in my words or attitude.

I guess I could sum it all up by saying that in 10 years of marriage I have learned that the old saying is true: "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!" I find that when I follow that principle, life is pretty darn great!

For our anniversary we went away for a few days to Huntsville, Alabama. We started thinking about where we'd like to go for our anniversary at the end of last year, and Antonio mentioned this place he had seen on the TV years ago, called Unclaimed Baggage. Whenever an airline can't return a bag to its rightful owner, it is sold to this place. Here is a blurb from their website:

"Our sprawling 40,000 square foot store has many departments for you to explore for incredible bargains and unexpected treasures. You can wander the entire store or use the map to make a beeline for the specific products you want."

Sounds pretty cool, huh? Well, we were very excited and so we thought it would be a fun place to go see and being as it was on the way to Huntsville, home of the US Space and Rocket Center, it was a perfect weekend trip!

The weather was unbelievably perfect, and the drive smooth. So when we arrived at the Unclaimed Baggage Center (which was packed, despite the city of Scotsboro being completely run-down and mostly vacant), I was still excited to see what lay inside. As soon as we walked through the doors, the excitement ended, and we just had to laugh! It was like a big Goodwill (although, not that much bigger than Goodwill, to be honest). It had that junky look, racks full of clothes WAY too overpriced (I kept saying to myself, I can get a better outfit for half the price, brand new at JCP!!) We had planned this entire trip around coming to this place, only to spend 30 minutes there, but we got a great laugh out of it.

I am clutching my purse in this picture (in case you were wondering what I am doing with my hand!)

Antonio browsing the DVDs.

Some of the electronic devices for sale.

So we drove on to Huntsville and checked in at our beautiful hotel, right next to the Space Center. Here are some photos of downtown Huntsville at Big Spring Park.

We walked around beautiful downtown Huntsville Saturday night.

Antonio took this great shot of a bird in a tree over our heads.

This bridge and all the cherry trees were a gift from Japan to the city.

A view from the bridge of the giant goldfish in the pond.

On Sunday we went over to the Space and Rocket Center.

The Space Shot ride was included in the museum entrance fee. The museum was not very crowded at all, so I rode the Space Shot 3 times. I probably would have ridden it more, but they would only run it with a minimum of 3 people, and there weren't that many people getting on the ride!

The second time, Antonio took a video.

I know this might only be interesting to me, but I found the computer memory used on the Saturn V simply incredible! This is a picture through a magnifying glass showing the woven wires. If you look closely, you can see little circles around each intersection of wires. What is even more incredible, is when you realize that these were woven BY HAND, and they are SO TINY!!! Look at the rest of the pictures for an idea. I took pictures of the explanation as well.