Firsts and Lasts

or alternative title: “the beginning of the end…”

every relationship has it’s “firsts”.  zach and i have plenty – some of which are documented photographically:

our first “serious” conversation (@ Together 05):

the first package i sent him:

the first visit i made to Pasadena to visit him:

the first piece of mail i received addressed to both of us!:

our first Valentine’s Day:

and
of course there are many other romantic firsts, such as the first song
he wrote me, or the first time he held my hand, or the first time i
cried on his shoulder while he held me, or the first time he said “I
love you,” or the first time he kissed me…

being long
distance, we also had the first visit, and the first time we said
goodbye at the airport, and the first time he picked me up at the
airport.

there have been many firsts, and many of those things have been repeated since the “first” time they happened. 

and now… we are starting to encounter lasts.

most
of them are related to the long distance aspect of the relationship. 
which makes me so grateful and happy to have many of these “lasts”
finally upon us! 
– nearly two weeks ago, i made my last flight home
from Pasadena.  it was the last drive to the airport, and the last
goodbye at the airport.
– this weekend was his last visit to Arizona.  next time he drives out, it will be to stay.
– today was the last goodbye as he drove away.
– next Sunday will be our last sunday at different churches.

with the wedding getting closer, some aspects of my single life are coming to a close as well. 
– next month will be my last month [regularly] babysitting for the [keith & carrie] daukas family. 
– pretty soon i’ll be spending my last night at my parent’s house.
– before i know it, i will be waking up on my last day as a Lambros.

it’s
so crazy!  some parts are bittersweet, i will confess.  but i wouldn’t
change any of it.  these “lasts” all come at the perfect time, just
like every “first” did.  each step of the way has been perfectly and
sovereignly ordained. 

i couldn’t be happier.  🙂

LOL Cats

i think i’ve mentioned this before… but one of the websites i subscribe to is LOLcats.  i find it very entertaining… mostly because i hate cats, and so a website poking fun at them in a nice way just cracks me up.  actually, all the pictures and captions are almost enough to make me want a cat.  and then i remember that whole “spawn of satan” thing… and the fact that i’m quite allergic to them…  and i am quickly transported back to sane thinking again. 

however, i thought i’d post a couple of the most recent pictures that have made me laugh:

watching 24

my dad and i have been watching 24 lately.  over a year ago we started with season 1.  i didn’t like it at all and quit halfway through.  my dad, however, finished it out.  i had several people tell me that season 2 was much better than season 1, and that i should give it another chance.  ok, ok.  i do like action/spy type shows (i loved Alias with Jennifer Garner) after all.  so dad and i started season 2 and we’re having a blast.  it’s been a fun father/daughter activity for us to share (mom’s not really into it). 

now, i’m the kind of person who can get really sucked into what i’m watching.  i put myself in the place of the characters and get all caught up in the movie.  a famous story from my childhood serves as a hilarious example – the first time i saw The Little Mermaid around the age of 6, when it came to that part where Eric finally realizes who Ariel is and goes to kiss her, but is a moment too late and she turns back into a mermaid… i lost it.  jumped up off the couch and ran to my room shrieking and crying.  no joke.  i had gotten so wrapped up in the story that it never occurred to me that um, hello, the movie still had what? 20 minutes left? it wasn’t over!  my parents had to stop the movie, calm me down, and convince me to come out and watch the rest of it.  haha! 

i’m definitely not that bad anymore, but occasionally i find myself having to stop, detach for a moment and remind myself that i’m just watching a movie/tv show.  “andrea, the entire show centers around sydney bristow (alias)… or jack bauer (24)… there are at least 4 more seasons after this one.  they aren’t going to die.”  a little pathetic, i know.  but i just get so into
it!  my current means of staying detached is to sit on the couch on my laptop, usually working on random wedding stuff.   

ok enough revealing of embarrassing childhood stories… back to 24.  dad and i have a blast trying to guess what’s going to happen.  sometimes we’re dead on and sometimes we’re caught by surprise.  we also enjoy thinking about the filming process of the show.  our current chuckle is considering how many of the people on the show have “being a
glorified extra on 24” as their current “claim to fame,” you know?  we wonder if any of those actors/actresses tell their friends at cocktail parties, “yeah i was on 24.”  “oh really?  who were you?”  “oh you know the guy who opens the helicopter door for jack bauer in that one episode?  yeah, that was me.”  ::