Well, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve immersed myself in Andy’s hobby and have started officially playing pool.

A little over a week ago on Tuesday, I played my very first night of pool as a part APA pool league. I am part of a 9-ball team that includes some pretty cool people. I have to admit, I was incredibly nervous to play on that first night and tried several times to talk them out of making me play.

They told me I just had to bite the bullet and get it over with. I was shaking the entire time! I was lucky enough to play against a great opponent and, afterwards, even though I lost, I was really happy that I played.

Over the weekend, we decided to take another adventure up to Julian with our friend Tanner. We stopped at a brewery and played some very intense games of foosball.

I am happy that my parents bought a foosball table when we were younger because it certainly helped! It brought out my not-often-seen competitive side and we had a blast. Then we went to a couple of wineries and tried to go to a petting zoo. They were too busy to open the petting zoo and I was just a little disappointed that I didn’t get to feed the goats.

Then we headed back down to the Julian Station where we enjoyed a chocolate and wine tasting experience.

It made for an awesome day! We decided, however, that our next tasting experience has to be Ramona wineries. There are over 30 in the area and we have tried 4 of them.

Tuesday marked our 12 year dating anniversary. Though most married folks stop celebrating this moment once they get married, we like to have every excuse to have a good time.

Andy and I met while we were in high school. We went to different schools so we ended up meeting through some friends. I like to believe there was an instant connection because we were quickly inseparable.

We moved in together in college, eventually bought a home, and got married.

This year, we celebrated our dating anniversary by going out to a nice dinner at a new restaurant in town.

I love that we always celebrate the little things in life. It keeps us looking forward to every event, no matter how large or small. We just started talking about the epic way we will celebrate our wedding anniversary next month. I am excited to see what we decide on!

After our dinner out, we went to play pool for league night. I was seriously hoping that they wouldn’t make me play again so I focused on learning how to keep score in the hopes that they would forget about me. No such luck. Andy tapped me on the shoulder, told me I was up next, and my knees immediately started shaking.

I don’t know how I pulled it off (other than the handicap for my skill level) but I ended up beating my opponent! Our team lost overall for the night but at least I tried to help out! Andy keeps telling me how proud he is of my playing and I’ll admit that feels good. We are both learning a lot and having a good time.