I loved you then...

Around this time last year, we were still "hiding" our relationship lol. It's so funny because we were so used to our routine. Go to work, usually you would go into work first and than I would go in 5 hours after you would. I loved going into work because I had just seen you hours ago and no one had a clue!
You would leave work and I usually closed, but we both knew that after work I was going to be with you at your place. Sometimes we didn't plan it and sometimes we did but it got to the point where my clothes were there and I would start leaving my hair stuff and shampoo...so I was there pretty much all the time.
I loved spending the nights with you, just watching either House of Cards or some other stupid show and just sitting on that couch talking! My FAVORITE night was I think February 6th 2014, I think it was around that date. I had horrible back pains to the point where I couldn't even walk, actually couldn't even get out of bed so I just stayed at your place until you got home from work. I remember going out to the living room with you and watched House of Cards because we wanted to re watch the first season before the second season came out on Valentines day. Well we started chit chatting about everything and just stopped watching the show. I just remember starting to get butterflies in my stomach and my heart started to race because I could tell that you were about to say that you loved me. I knew I wasn't going to be the first one to say it, because I didn't want to look crazy but I knew I loved you from the first night that we started hanging out together. Just writing about that night makes me get butterflies and makes my heart race. It wasn't anything romantic it was just you and I and what we usually did. I was so happy when you told me you loved me, and after you telling me that we started talking about our future. We knew we couldn't stay at the restaurant and still be together so one of us was going to have to leave. Sadly, Joey just became General Manager so I would of never let him leave...but God had other plans when he decided to close that restaurant down in March.
That story brings me back to another story, Christmas Eve of 2013...  It was the night where we gave each other our Christmas gifts. Although my gifts were totally lame compared to what you bought me but it's the thought that counts.  You cooked me dinner, and we watched some tv and then I told you that we should open our gifts.  I gave you all of your gifts, which honestly I had no idea what to get you! After you opened up your gifts, you walked into your closet and one by one started to hand me all sorts of gifts. When you handed me the last one, you started crying and told me that you just wanted me to know how special of a woman I was to you, and obviously I had already been crying because I had never felt so loved before in my life. I felt so lucky to be with you, we hadn't told each other that we loved each other yet, but I loved you then.

You know, so many people say that the first few months is the honeymoon phase for every couple, trust me I heard that from my family and friends especially when I spent so much time with him.  Our motto was, that couples should always be in the honeymoon phase. I can tell you, every time I came home from work or when Joey came home from work, we kissed each other probably 20 times, LOL.
There would be times when I'd come home from work just frustrated and he'd be standing there with a kissy face waiting for me to kiss him and if I looked at him or walked past him he'd grab me and kiss me. We never went a day without telling each other that we loved one another. We probably did that a million times a day. We always cooked together, well Joey did most of the cooking...I would honestly just annoy him in the kitchen...haha. We always sat at the dinner table and talked about our day or just anything in general. We loved talking to each other, everyone knows Joey loved to talk and so do I so we were perfect for each other. We did everything together!

It's so hard with him not here, my world is crumbled into tiny little pieces and now I'm here to pick them up.

Missing you so much Joey <3

That fixer upper...

The days do not get any easier, they say they will, but I don't believe them. It's just not fair, all of our plans have been taken away. The love of my life, my best friend have been taken away from me in a blink of an eye. There were two things that reminded me of you today, well more than that but these were my two favorite.
First one was, walking around the water today in our apartment complex and I noticed that one of the porches had the patio furniture we were going to buy 3 weeks ago. Thank God we didn't because we both know how I don't like having the same thing as other people so now, that is officially considered "BASIC" patio furniture.
Second thing was I saw the kids and Danny and Liz tonight. I see you, in Rocco so much and I promise, you will live on through me. Rocco and Izzy will know how much you love them.

Tomorrow night I leave for New York City, which I'm actually excited about. Janna bought the plane ticket and I know you will be with us the whole time, because you love the both of us to death. I've decided also that I am going to go ice skating since last month you and I didn't do that while we were in the city. There is snow on the ground and it's suppose to snow some more, which I know is your doing because you know I love the snow so much. I always bugged you about moving to NYC, but I also bugged you about moving back home to Gainesville or in our crazy world, moving to Italy.
I was happy being with you anywhere we lived. I hope you know that.

I cried on the way home from Danny's because I wanted what Danny and Liz have. The perfect family, and the perfect two kids! Every time I saw Joey with his nephew and niece I knew he was going to be the man that one day, down the road I would have kids with. Most of our conversations while we lay in bed was about what we would have when that one day came. The one night that stands out the most is on my 21st birthday when we went to St.Pete for First Friday. We sat down, at an outside table and talked for hours as if we just met!  We planned our whole entire future that night. We were going to have a huge house, but not a brand new house. We were going to be that couple that bought a fixer upper! Obviously our main priority of that house would be the kitchen to make sure that we had the best kitchen for Joey to cook in! We would have tons of land and a long drive way up to the house.
We didn't even know how many kids we wanted, we just wanted as many as God blessed us with. We knew that if we had a girl her name would be Milania or Ava and if we had a boy his name would be Giovanni or Joey Jr. clearly had to be an italian name. If God made us the next 19 kids and counting, we would of been fine with that. LOL. Joey would of been a great dad, he would of loved our kids like crazy and we pretty much already knew our kids were going to be spoiled and have everything in the world! We wanted the same things, some times we would have our moments when I was being stubborn or stressed out but you were my future and my whole entire world. I can't help but feel bitter...I wanted it all with you. I can't believe you were taken away from me, so fast... All I know is, we told each other a million times a day how much we loved each other, gave each other all the kisses we could give and showed our love for each other in weird ways. lol
I'm missing you so much, and it hurts so much. My heart literally hurts, and I'm here in this world..in a daze.

...Love you more and love you to the moon and back. 

"And that's just it, isn't it? That's how we manage to survive the loss. Because love, it never dies, it never goes away, it never fades, so long as you hang on to it.”

Feels like a hangover

Today, is hard for me to get out of bed. There's no clouds in the sky and it looks beautiful out but today I just want to lay in bed. Waking up feels like waking up with a hangover. The worst part is, it's worse than a hangover. I wake up and realize that you're  not here and you're not coming back. I realize that life is going on without you. I'm constantly talking to myself because I'm talking to you. Everything I do, I talk to you.

Taco Tuesday

Second Taco Tuesday without you, tried going to Green lemon tonight...the hostess said it would be 45 minutes for a table...which made me think of you because they never give the right estimate on the time. Which was the one thing that made you frustrated with this restaurant. Didn't really feel you today with me, and maybe thats why I cried most of the day and wanted to sleep all day. You were in my dreams today and I didn't want to wake up. At least in my dreams I can feel you and hear your voice, why would I want to wake up from that? 

The one thing that's been on my mind is that I'm 21.... I have the rest of my life to miss you...and grieve....Though everyone says that life goes by so fast but my God....the rest of my life without you is a very long time. It's weird to think that I'm going to be loving your memory, and all the memories of you and I. I feel like I'm going to be that miserable woman that can't be surrounded by happy people. I don't want to laugh or even smile, I don't want to live my life without you. 

I love telling people our story of how we met cause not many people know... That's the way you're going to live by all of our stories that we have of you, Joey. Which in my case I'm the luckiest one because I have the stories of our love. A love that not many people will ever get to experience in their lifetime.  I knew the first night that you and I were going to be forever.  

As many people know Joey and I worked together. Totally scandalous; Manager and server relationship which is so typical in a restaurant. Being 19  and him 30 when we first started seeing each other (secretly) I was trying not to be that server where he simply forgets about...but I knew after one night, that it was not going to be like that. Before the first night that we expressed our feelings for each other, he started scheduling me closing shifts when he would close, so not obvious. After closing we would go and workout because only in Gainesville would there be a 24/7 gym. Those nights we spent hours running and watching HGTV and getting to know each other and than we started going on our not yet "dates" to Sonny's during the day  before we would go to work. All this time spent with each other we still never told each other our feelings to each other until sometime around October 18th, so there were 3 months of hanging out every day.   On Mondays it was bowling night, so I closed one Monday and I knew he was going bowling with everyone from work, well by midnight he was obviously drunk, soooooo I got there and started drinking. It was the first time we had been around each other while we were drinking so obviously we started flirting a little bit more...I'll never forget the look in his eyes when he would look at me. Next thing I know, Joey is running outside to his car, so what do I do...run after him and ask him "What do you think you're doing" and he told me to get in the car. With the drink still in my hand, I did. (FYI we still have that glass) Than he starts driving, we get to the stop light and he grabs my left hand and holds it and kisses it and tells me we were going to be just fine. Obviously with a few drinks in me, I'm looking at him like a crazy person (obviously my heart is beating) Until we got to his house, he never let go of my hand. When we got to his place, I sat down on his couch and looked at him and told him that nothing was going to happen that night because one, I wasn't that type of girl and two he was my manager. He looked at me and he said he knew and at that moment I dared him to kiss me, and he grabbed my face and kissed me.  We woke up the next morning, and I couldn't believe that I was laying in the same bed as him, worst part is I still had my Nikes on. He threw on different clothes and this time was the first time I saw him in normal clothes and he wore his glasses. I never found him more sexy than when he wore his glasses. He took me back to my car but on the way he stopped at Mcdonalds and bought me a sweet tea with extra ice...at that moment I knew it was game over and that he was the one.  Thats where our story began and the love lives on..

Joey he is going to live through me, telling our stories. He touched so many hearts and I was that special person that he wanted to spend the rest of his life. How lucky am I, to be able to say that..

Week One, down...so many more to go..