Waiting for a ring...

Before we get to the title of this post, here's what's happening: 1) I'm limiting my cheese intake and it hurts me to my soul. Well maybe not my soul, but it def hurts my tastebuds. I eat salads Monday-Friday for dinner and I always put cheese on them, but now I'm finally getting serious about what I put in my body. Cheese serves no real purpose, but to make ish glorious, so I had to deny said gloriousness to cut calories. Without cheese on my salads Mon-Friday my guess is I'm saving between 450-600 (most likely in the 600s) calories each week. On the weekends, I'll allow myself cheese in my eggs. Monday-Friday I also only eat egg whites, not whole eggs when I want a warm breakfast (I've done this for a while now though), but I was also putting cheese in my egg white omelet. Now I'm not going to lie, it's def a difference without the queso, but when I sauteed sweet yellow onion to go in with the greens, it was better, so I'll likely stick with that, maybe I'll even make some pico de gallo or add salsa verde next time. Mmm yummmy! 

Egg white omelet with spinach sans the cheese. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Baked sweet potato fries.

Justyn and I took a trip to the Shenandoah Caverns. It was def a bit creepy headed out that way...going to those Western areas always reminds me of my Blackness.

Shenandoah Caverns. You see that strip of bacon? More bacon coming up.

Bacon bacon bacon.

It was freezing in there, about 50 degrees.

The colored lights made this section even more beautiful.

Clearly I had to make this one larger.

There were tiny pieces of faux-glass that formed on this creation. When the tour guide lit different colored lights on the formation, the glass would disappear, then reappear.

Then we went to Vapiano for the first time in the Reston Town Center. I had a voucher from Livingsocial. I wasn't full after my calzone, which was a bit odd. I have no idea why because usually when I go out to eat I'm stuffed afterwards.  

Calzone from Vapiano.

Pesto chicken pizza. Justyn's pizza was much prettier than my calzone, but mine was the tastiest.

Of course me being greedy, I saw another restaurant I recognized and we had to stop in to try the adult milkshakes I heard about. Banana's foster milkshake pictured below.


 

 

So about this title, as a young woman in a relationship for 3 years and now 2 months, it can be a little ughhh agitating "waiting on a ring". This problem lies in me though, not my #Him. Also, every single time I log onto Facebook/IG someone's pregnant or engaged, not to mention every time I go to Justyn's house there's another wedding invite, hence my strike. I believe as a woman we're taught that becoming engaged, having a man ask you to be in his life for the remainder of his life, is one of the best moments on this Earth. I'm having a difficult time coping because of this ingrained ideology and then there's the cognitive dissonance of "the man should be just as happy as the woman". I hate the fact that when men become engaged, their friends respond with a deep sigh of agony as if they've "lost another one," it's childish and leads others to believe that men are forced to marry. Like those whack cake toppers with the bride dragging the groom. The absolute last thing I want is a pity engagement/marriage. This should not be a moment about you losing a piece of your manhood, but about a recognition that you need someone as badly as your basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter; I mean you're supposed to be monogamous prior to said engagement so you ain't losing no hoes.

 

 It's also annoying because people are always asking me "when are you 2 getting married" and I don't want to sound bitter/angry when I respond "do you see a ring on my finger" because I get asked that question all the time. Like what other response should they expect? Seriously. It's not up to me to decide when he's ready to make that commitment and it's also not up to him to decide when I'm ready. With that being said, I also can't stand the "well you're basically married already" to which my new response may be "my bills say otherwise". I am doing a pretty good job, I think, at being okay with him taking his time because the absolute last thing I want is a divorce, whenever I do get married and to whomever I get married.

 

I'm also not here for the "wifey" label. What in the world is that? I suppose it's to acknowledge that your partner has graduated from "someone you're talking to" to "girlfriend" to "serious girlfriend bka Wifey". It's a little odd to me to be slightly labeled something I'm not (a wife). I am completely comfortable with the term girlfriend and even more comfortable with partner because that seems a little more grown-up and shows that it is indeed a partnership in life.

 

So please stop asking me when I'm getting married because it will yield a smart remark like this one I just thought of "next week and you aint invited" and please stop telling me "you're practically married" because there's no such thing as as "practically married" you either are or you aren't. As you can clearly see, I'm not fond of the childish term wifey either. If you have read this and think I'm bitter, that's not it, it's a "please respect our privacy and relationship; we move how we want to move".

 

 

Now good day.