Friday, February 18, 2011

Jumping from 2001 through 2011

I first met MJ on February 8th, 2001. We had spoken online and on the phone for weeks before deciding to meet over coffee. Later that day, her friend snapped this photo of us at a nearby park:

Feb 8th, 2001 - MJ and I, jumping/landing on the first day we met.

We impulsively became BF-GF ten days later, broke up three months later, grew as friends for two years, and reunited as a couple on February 18th, 2003.

This Valentine's Day, MJ and I visited the park where our first photo was taken, and took a new photo:

Feb 14th, 2011 - MJ and I, jumping on our 10th year since meeting.

Then I surprised MJ with this portrait that I crocheted:



There are both too many words and not enough words to express how I feel about MJ. But MJ said it best when I asked how she felt about meeting each other ten years ago. "It feels just like yesterday," she replied.

It looks that way too!


Happy 10th Year of Knowing You, MJ! xo

38 comments:

  1. This is one of the most romantic gift I've ever seen! :°)
    MJ is a lucky girl!!!
    ...and you have made a pact with the devil?! you look the same as 10 years ago!!!

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  2. Aww congratulations!! What an awesome present too.

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  3. What a great love story! It looks as if you both wore almost the same outfits as you did 10 years ago lol. Congratulations on your anniversary, here's to many more, cheers!

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  4. You two are so sweet together! I love the thought you put behind your crocheted gifts. It makes them even more awesome!

    Congrats you two!

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  5. Her little giggle is so great.

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  6. what a lovely idea. good luck to you two.

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  7. 10 years?!! Here's to another 50 years! The portrait is just the sweetest! I've never tried crocheting something like it. You are a genius!

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  8. wwwaaawww! congratulations! the most romantic crochet I've ever seen! it's fantastic!

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  9. Aww, congratulations. :o) What a wonderful, thoughtful present!

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  10. Awwww - that is sooooo sweet and cute and I just love how you guys have re-posed for your photo!! (Symon and I are thinking of doing that for our anniversary coming up too - hehe).

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  11. That is so wonderful I can't even take it! Congrats to you two!

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  12. Love this story! A crochet portrait! Wow! turned out great! My husband and I just celebrated our first date 10 years ago on Valentines Day. Glad yours was super special!

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  13. How come that in 10 years you haven't changed?????? What is the secret????????
    I enjoy reading your blog and it often gives a good laughter.
    Happy St Valentines day to you and happy ten years.

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  14. awww! happy valentine for both of you :)
    btw, it's very amazing that you keep the same hairstyle for 10 years or maybe more, don't tell me you were born with those hair :p

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  15. The crochet portrait is beautiful Howie!! A work of art. Congratulations to you and MJ on 10 happy years.

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  16. You'll have to do this every 10 years. The crochet picture is so sweet. :)

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  17. piccinaccia: Thank you! Yes, we're both lucky ducks :) And I'm glad you think I haven't aged. Maybe it has to do with the vampire blood I consume haha

    Iris: Thanks for the congrats! :)

    ~Feather.Wing~: haha Yes, MJ still has the same jacket from that day. I found my original jacket too, but not until the day after the photos, grr :) Thanks for the wishes, Connie!

    Annette: Thank you! MJ was thoughtful with her gift too, by giving me this huge light tent for photographing future projects :D

    Alita: Thanks for liking the loveliness!

    whistlepeaknits: Yes, MJ is famous for her big laughs. Her giggles have been under-appreciated until now haha

    Allison: hehe *blink blink* 8)

    Jen & Nessa the Procrastinator: Thanks for enjoying the sugar levels! :)

    Pearl: Wow, a crochet-heaven would also be cool to see :) Lots of comfy amigurumi clouds, at least!

    Ness: Thanks!

    clarice39: Thank you for the good luck wishes :)

    TADA's Revolution: We appreciate your 50+ year wishes, thank you :) It's the first time I've tried making a 2D crochet portrait… If you do try it, I suggest using a sharp embroidery needle. (I used a dull needle, which became painful to press through the cardboard sheet after awhile!

    margarida & Ascasewwen: Thank you! For the anniversary present, it was either going to be this crocheted portrait or a $10 gift card ;) I'm glad this portrait was seen as slightly more romantic/thoughtful haha jk

    PaisleyJade: I'm looking forward to seeing anything you photograph or create for your anniversary with Symon! You overflow with creativity and talent in all you doo :)

    Suravi: haha Yes, these types of blog posts should only be taken in small doses due to their high sugar content :)

    Rebekah: Congratulations on your 10year date-anniversary with your husband too, wow! Maybe yarn plays a role in long-term relationships :D

    Lin: haha I only appear to look the same because of the far-away photo 10 years ago! Also, plastic surgery (jk)Thanks for the Valentine wishes :))

    Silvia: hehe just 200 calories of sweetness!

    zuperdzigh: haha Yes.. While my hair colour changes every few months, my hairstyle has stayed relatively the same for the past 10 years. Not since birth though, I hope ;)

    kara: Thank you for your kind sentiments, Kara! :))

    Lavender Yes, a jumping photo every 10 years would be fun to continue! I look forward to the photo where our elderly selves try to jump with our canes & walkers ;)

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  18. Lovely, lovely, lovely! (I've lurked around here, but heard the guy was crazy-armed.)

    Now I'm imagining you two racing around trying to zap each other with plushy cartoony guns.

    (No, they don't have to actually be functional in any way. Doing the noises would be sufficient.)

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  19. Congratulations and what a wonderful and thoughtful present!

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  20. Brilliant artist *and* uber-romantic – what a guy!

    Love your work, Howie.

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  21. Too cute! So very sweet. Happy ten years!

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  22. I love your crocheted masterpiece. hugs from Italy

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  23. too cute ! excellent !!! congratulations

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  24. What a sweet, personal gift! It's adorable and so unique. I've never seen a crochet portrait before.

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  25. You made me laugh .your crochet portrait is so great and so romantic .Y.S from France

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  26. Tatiana: Thanks for de-lurking for your kind comments :) *zap zap*

    dagenskreativa: Merci for the congrats!

    Rachel: hehe Too kind, thank u :)

    Oanhderbread: Thank you for the happy-decade wishes!

    AlessandraLace: A romantic blog post can always benefit by a virtual hug from Italy :D Grazie!

    Augustine: Thanks for the good wishes!

    Sherezada: I'm glad you like the crochet portrait! I originally planned to make a smaller 4x6" portrait, but the facial expressions were too abstract/simplified at that size. The sky and grass were straightforward to crochet but the most time-consuming, especially as the anniversary date quickly approached!

    BUSIR: Thanks for visiting from France! The next blog post is coming soon. It will be illustrated :)

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  27. OMG! Howwwwwwwwwwww-wie! I have spent wayyyyyyyy too much time reading your blog! :)

    I only came so I could check it out before I voted at Crochet Liberation Front. And now I'm hooked. Yeah, pun intended.

    Your life seems like such fun and very interesting too. Congrats to you and MJ.

    I'll be back... :)

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  28. Howie!!! MJ!!!! I've been out of the loop for quite some time- moved across country & got involved with new projects. I "come home" to Howie's site today & what's the first this I see??!!! OMG! Totally love this, totally love both of you, totally love that ten years of love between you both is still going strong!!! This piece is TRULY one of the greatest examples of "picture worth a thousand words"! I got tears in my eyes looking at this! LOVE!!!

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  29. This is sweetest, most touching happy story! You are such a sweet and obviously talented man! I am very happy that I by chance came across your blog! You made me smile.

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  30. That is totally awesome! I have been contemplating trying something like that...did you crochet it as one or did you crochet the pieces and stitch together?

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