Happy One-Year Anniversary!

Yes, Peter and I have been married for over a year now. I know most couples don't usually celebrate one year of marriage with a black tie party, but under the circumstances I thought it was a very sweet gesture on Peter's part. This past year has been filled with our share of ups and downs, and I really thought it would  be nice to celebrate our one year anniversary with friends and family. Um, well you can't blame us for trying. In life, some things don't always work out the way you plan them.

The party was wonderful, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Except Sheree of course. For some reason no matter what we do, Sheree never has a good time at our events. I'm not really sure why she even bothers to come. Oh, maybe since she had already decided that she was going to have a horrible time, it would at least be a great opportunity to bring Lawrence to confront Marlo about the whole F-word issue. From the look on her face, she clearly enjoyed every single minute of it. I guess it wasn't a waste of her gas after all. What kind of person comes to a party just to be negative about everything? I would rather she stayed  home, than show up late and be mean. The invite was a courtesy -- her presence was not mandatory.  Peter looked especially handsome, and with the exception of the loud whistle to get everyone's attention for the toast, he did an excellent job. All the men looked very nice in their suits, and the ladies were stunning. Kandi looked "smoking hot" in her little disco number, Marlo gave us "princess," and of course NeNe walked into the room and owned it in her long, flowing maxi style print dress. Despite the fact that Sheree was bored after five seconds of being at the party, and could not believe there was no one to open the door for her because she was late, I thought she looked nice. My mom looked 20 years younger in her long ponytail, my BFF Kithe was dashing, and Mal was simply a "show stopper." Literally. The food was delicious, and the Ciroc flowed all night. Thank you, Peter, for all your efforts. I know that you wanted to make this a night to remember, and it certainly was!

I love Mal. She is my sister which makes her family by birth. Peter is my husband which makes him family by marriage. Family is family, and I love them both very much. However, family relationships have to have boundaries. Peter has to respect my family and my family has to respect Peter. And our marriage! That's how it usually works. I respect my sister's marriage, and I do not involve myself in the inner workings of her relationship. We are both grown women, and are responsible for own lives and the choices that we make. My sister and I are close, but we don't agree on everything. We didn't when we were younger, and we don't now that we are grown. As Mal's sister, my role is to be there when she needs me & mind my business when she doesn't. I expect the same. We will always be sisters, and will always have each other's backs. It was not exactly a shocker that Kim did not attend the party. She is an associate, not a friend. The invite was a courtesy, same as the baby shower invite. I often get invited to outings amongst the girls that I choose to attend out of respect, not desire. In hindsight, Kim's absence was actually a small blessing. I'm sure nothing would have been good enough for her, and she would have brought her own bottle of wine. Again! Bottom line is, Kim wasn't really trying to be friends with me before the whole "African baby" comment, so I really didn't expect things to be any different after we came back. My comment was my opinion for the hundredth time, not a fact. I don't know her well enough to say what she would do and wouldn't do. But have no problem giving my opinion. Maybe one day we will sit down as grown women, and put all nonsense behind us.  As for the "one year marriage" comment, my family has earned  the right to voice their opinion in regards to my life because we are family. Agree or disagree, at the end of the day, they have my back. A bit overprotective? Yes, but at least its coming from a pure place. Kim on the other hand couldn't care less, so her little two cents is not as welcomed. Again, we are not friends, and owe each other nothing. Anyway, it's a free world, and everyone is entitled to their opinion. With every opinion, comes a response. Why is it that people feel they can say hurtful things about a person, and then almost bust a blood vessel when that person responds to the foolishness? As always, I wish Kim's marriage a thousand years of happiness! All marriages, even the "perfect" ones actually require work. I'm am just amazed that some of the marriages that looked so "perfect" on the outside have sadly ended in divorce. Hopefully for both of us, love will conquer all!

I love Peter, and if I didn't want to be with him, I would not have married him. I don't need to defend my marriage to anyone, and don't expect anyone to defend theirs to me. I have managed to live a very successful life for the past 45 years, and God willing I will happily live at least 45 more. I married Peter because I always follow my heart. I could have married a million very easily,  but the heart wants what the heart wants. At my age most of my friends are married, and they have all been through ups and downs in their relationship. They all have borrowed money from each other, and it is never a big deal because they are partners. The only difference between them and us is that our marriage is on TV, and theirs is not. Our marriage will always be "a work in progress" because we are both very set in our ways & usually have a different point of view on things. We could choose to only share our lovey-dovey moments, but do not. That's easy, its the real life day-to-day issues that are the hardest to put out there. Just sayin'.The limo ride to the party wasn't really a factor since the limo never actually turned up. However, I willl address it anyway. Peter did not want Mal to ride with us to the party. I agree with Peter on this one. What would be the point? If Peter irritates Mal like she said he does, why would she want to ride the same car with him anyway? Peter set up the limo ride to be this romantic moment that we would share together as husband and wife before the party. Champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries included. Where does Mal fit into the equation? Even if she did get along with Peter, it wouldn't make sense. It wasn't Mal's one year anniversary, it was mine. 

Thank you:

Mark for extending your beautiful home to us. You are a sweetheart!

Ivan for introducing us to Mark, and for being a loving, supportive friend.

Tony Conway for always making our events absolutely wonderful! You are an angel.

Kithe Brewster for flying all the way from Beirut to be by my side. You put the "f" in the word friend. 

NeNe for helping Peter plan the party. You always give us so much positive love and support. You give so much and ask for nothing in return. You are a great friend, and you always show up!