My Man

I saw this over at Shalee's Diner, and it sounded fun...here's everything you ever wanted to know about the love of my life...


His age: 37

How tall is he: 6'1" (to my 5'2")

How long have you been together (married): 6 years, 3 months, 8 days and 23 hours and change...

How long did you know each other before you got together?: We met in May, started dating in September, were engaged by the following August, and married in November…so, we dated for 10 months and were engaged for 3 months.

What physical features attracted you to him first?: Well, the first date we had was at a pool, and I IMMEDIATELY noticed how buff he was…man, those pecs and shoulders and arms and abs…ooh, baby!!

Eye color: Blue, blue, blue, blue…did I mention that his eyes are BLUE!

Hair color: Um…what hair is left is blondish brown,

Hair style: VERY Short – he cuts it himself about once/week

Normal Outfit: Lately it is holey (and I mean holey) jeans and a t-shirt while he works on his train. For work, it’s slacks and a mock turtleneck…the boy WILL NOT wear button down shirts

How did you meet: At work. I started about 6 months after he did, and we were both supervisors on 2nd shift. He was VERY quiet, and I really didn’t even meet him for several months. Then we started ending up in the cafeteria for lunch at the same time and we started talking…and then we started seeing each other at the gym every day…and then we started hanging out, and it was ALL OVER!

How serious is it: Oh, it’s serious! I couldn’t live without him!

Are you "in love": More and more every day.

Do your parents like him: Yep. They thought he was kinda quiet at first, but they LOVE him now…he’s their kid, too!

Do his parents like you: Yes, they do, but I know they don’t agree with everything that I do…and I hope they don’t think that I have been a bad influence on their son. Even though I’m a Christian, like they are, we are from different denominations and they don’t agree with all the beliefs I have…and now that their son has (but not solely because of me…I mean, he does have a mind of his own). Anyway, there are some times of tension, but I know they love me anyway!

Do you trust him: With my life.

Would you share a toothbrush with him?: You bet. But, he won’t let me NEAR his toothbrush…I don’t get it!

Would he let you wear his pants?: Not unless it was some kind of crazy emergency…

Do you have a shirt of his that you sleep in?: Hmm, that’s a good idea, now why didn’t I think of that??

Do you like the way he smells?: Yes. Especially when he puts on the cologne I gave him….yummy!

Can you picture having kids with him?: Definitely…now would they just hurry up and get here? He’s GREAT with kids….he’s going to be a great dad!

What bothers you the most about him?: Well, there is this one thing….he waits forever to open his mail…I get the mail every day, and it’s not very often that he gets something specifically for him, but when he does, it’s something important, so I’ll take it to him and he will set it down and not open it for days! It drives me crazy!! Ok, remember when you were waiting for that acceptance letter for college, and as soon as you got it, you ripped it open?? At least I did! B probably let it sit for weeks before he even touched it! So, it’s not a huge thing, but it drives me crazy…and I don’t dare open it for him.

Does he have a temper?: Yes, but I’m not sure he had one before he met me. He did pretty well at holding it when we were dating, but I’ve seen it many times since! =)

Are you happy to be with him?: Absolutely!

Does he embarrass you in public?: No, but he does do funny things sometimes when we’re out…like asking the hostess for a table for his daughter and himself…as he puts his arm around me (and he’s only 5 years older than me). I think it’s cute!

Does he smoke or do drugs?: He smokes cigars...the ones he rolls himself!

Does he have any piercings?: Not anymore, but I often ask him to tell me the story of when we got his ear pierced in college and was so daring as to walk into his dad’s church with a hole in his ear….after the reception he got, the earring came RIGHT OUT! LOL

Any tattoos?: Nope, but he talks of getting USMC tattooed on his shoulder, but I’m not holding my breath…he’s afraid of needles!

Does he have any scars that you know of?: Oh yeah! Where do I start?? The most noticeable one is on the side of his head. He got it when he was in the Marines…they were roughhousing in the hall…soaping up the floors and running and sliding…and he slid his head right into a door frame…the scar is about 4” long! There’s a scar on the back of his knee where he backed into a barbed wire fence. And there’s a scar somewhere from when he fell through the plate glass window in high school math class.

Is he a Party dude or Stay at home?: Stay at home all the way. But, he’s gotten to be more of a social guy the longer we’re together.

Is he Outgoing or Shy?: Not so much shy, as just stays to himself. He’s completely content with himself. He’s also quiet when he first meets people, but if they give him a chance to open up, he’s hilarious!!

Does he love his mama?: Of course he does. He is very respectful of his parents.

Would he hang out with you and YOUR friends?: Yes, he does. Of course, when there are too many girl friends around, he chooses to go elsewhere…but we have fun hanging out with couples that we’re friends with.

Sing?: He’s a great singer, but he doesn’t let me hear him much….only in church if I listen very closely.

Tagged again...

Ok, Terry from Road Rage tagged me with the 5 things your don't know about me MEME...and I'll play along even though I just did this a few days ago...but I'm really having to think hard about what I haven't blabbed already! LOL

1. In honor of Terry, I'll share this one...I used to want to be a truck driver. I thought it would be SO cool to ride so high up, drive a big truck that I had to shift into so many gears, and get to see the country as my JOB! But, I'm a homebody, and I think that's why I ultimately decided to just travel for fun, but stick close to home for work. BUT, I did get a very brief lesson driving a truck...a friend who used to be a transportation manager took me out with a tractor one day and let me drive it. It was SO fun! But, I can't imagine pulling a big long trailer behind it...through traffic and on bad roads and with crazy drivers.

2. BEFORE I wanted to drive trucks, when I was a little girl, I swore I would NEVER drive. I was terrified of it. I was in several car accidents as a kid, and that may be why I decided I didn't want to drive. I used to tell my mom that she would have to drive me around for my whole life! Of course, by the time I was 14, I couldn't wait to get my license and start driving...and now that I'm older, I don't like OTHER people to drive.

3. I'm a control freak...yes, that's why I don't like other people to drive...I'm not in control when they're behind the wheel, and I'm a nervous wreck. I've gotten better at giving up the control in all other aspects of my life...but driving is still tough for me...again, all those accidents from growing up, I think.

4. I LOVE to read. I always have. When I was in junior high, I would check out books from our church library on Sunday morning, and lay on my bed reading all afternoon until we went back to church. Hubby and I read every night before we go to sleep...he loves to read, too. In fact, one of our favorite things to do on vacation is to sit around and read...and just relax! I think we had more than 15 boxes of books when we moved last year.

5. I just figured out what my dream job is...yesterday I volunteered at an Engineeing Expo at our university here. We had a bunch of hands on displays for young kids to play with so they could learn about engineering. I have always enjoyed talking to all kinds of people, kids, adults, whatever, about engineering and what it all means, and why I chose it. I would LOVE to work for the university as a kind of recruiter. I would go to schools and talk to kids, and organize info sessions and expos so kids could learn about engineering -- especially girls. Girls aren't encouraged to go into math and sciences as much as boys, and WE NEED GIRLS!! I knew when I was a junior in high school that I wanted to become an engineer. I loved math and science...still do!

More about my cousin...

It's time to post some more about my cousin, Little Man. I've found out some things in the last few days, and I have to write about it before I blow up.

Little Man is the youngest of 6 children. His Dad (Uncle) is my mom's older brother. Uncle married my Aunt and adopted her daughter when she was just a couple years old. Then they had 5 more children (there's 14 years between the oldest and the youngest). Somewhere in there the whole family moved to Iowa, Uncle and Aunt got divorced, one of them moved back to CA with all the kids, then the other moved back to CA, and they got back together. I'm still not sure if they ever remarried.

When the oldest, Nelly, was about 19, Uncle and Aunt decided to move back to Iowa. Nelly was old enough to be on her own, and she didn't want to move back to Iowa. She had practically raised all the other kids anyway, and Uncle and Aunt didn't know what to do without her, but they couldn't make her go with them. Uncle and Aunt worked in the oil refineries, so they worked lots of hours, a lot of them at night, and Nelly had to watch over all the kids. She didn't have a normal childhood. She cooked and cleaned and raised kids from about the age of 10. I don't blame her for staying in CA when the family moved to Iowa.

The rest of the kids did pretty well in IA...they had an old farm house out in the country and they learned how to raise animals and take care of some land. Nelly and I stayed in touch because I only lived about an hour away from her. I would drive over and hang out with her when I could. She was working as a checker at a grocery store, but she wasn't getting enough hours to make a good living. She asked our grandparents for help, and they gave her money and helped her get her car fixed...but she never made an effort to pay them back, and the wouldn't show up for family meals when they asked her to. So, Grandma and Grandpa stopped giving her money. Nelly lived in her own apartment until she couldn't afford it anymore, and then she got some roommates. She had boyfriend after boyfriend, and all she talked about was clothes and partying and how she wanted a boob job.

One day Nelly called me in tears...she thought she had herpes. She had been dating a guy who she had just broken up with, and then she ended up with herpes. She had just found out that he had it. I drove over, not sure what I would be able to do, but she needed someone. I tried to talk her into moving to my town, where it was cheaper to live and she could start over. By the time I got to her apartment, she had calmed down and decided that she could make it on her own. We talked several more times after that, but then she stopped calling as much. When she did call she would promise to come for family dinners, but she never showed.

A couple years after that, the next oldest, Reyna, started arguing with her dad. He was being very strict on her and she wanted more freedom. Reyna ended up moving out to live on her own. She worked at Hooters to make enough money to live on…and she started partying a lot. Then she decided she wanted to move to CA and live near her older sister, who was partying it up in CA.

The next sister is Suki. She’s such a smart girl! She is now in CA, too, engaged to be married, and working on her college degree. Are you starting to see a trend here? These kids are all following the same path…of course I don’t know all the details, but I know that my Aunt and Uncle yelled a lot, they didn’t give the kids very much freedom, and they treated them like slaves a lot of the time. Now, I love my Aunt and Uncle a lot, but I would have parented these kids differently. Of course, they have their own problems. Aunt was diagnosed with MS years ago, and she has a very hard time getting around anymore. Uncle has epilepsy and terrible back pains. They both appear to be much older than they are.

There are still 3 more kids to tell you about. Matty is the next oldest. He’s still in IA. When he graduated from high school he started working full time and met the love of his life, who he is marrying this fall. He stayed living at home for a couple years to save money, but he’s now moved out on his own. The next kid is Rita. Rita lives in a foster home. I don’t know exactly what happened, but she accused her parents of being abusive…it might be halfway true, but I also think she added quite a bit to the story. She lives with a family in a town close to her parents, but doesn’t see them very often any more. When my Grandad died, she had to come to the funeral with an escort from social services. She’ll be 18 soon and will have to figure out what she wants to do from there.

That brings us to Little Man. For the last couple years he was in IA, he was there with just Matty who was working a lot and home as little as possible. The summer before he went to live with my parents he started fighting with his parents, getting physical at times, and Uncle and Aunt called my parents to see if they could take him for the year. I think they were trying to avoid a situation like they got into with Rita. It’s worked out great for him with my parents. He’s started working out, he’s getting good grades, he’s made lots of friends, and he’s turned into a “Little Man”.

That’s the history, and I’m sorry it’s so long, but this post is more for me to work things out in my mind that to be eloquent in my writing.

So, now we’re at present time. Little Man is living with mom and dad, and his 3 oldest sisters are living 4 hours away in NorCal. He sees them occasionally, but only when M&D drive him up there to see them. Other than those times, his sisters (Nelly, Reyna, and Suki) are living their own lives in NorCal. Nelly is a bartender, and I think she’s going to beauty school also. Reyna works the cosmetics counter at a swanky department store in SF, and Suki is finishing up college. All of them brag about how they like to drink until they can’t remember things, they post provocative pictures on their myspace sites, and they have almost NO contact with other family members in their part of the state.

A few weeks ago, my grandma had surgery, and M&D and Little Man planned to drive up on Friday to visit her. On Monday of that week, Little Man found out, on accident, that his parents who he hasn’t seen since last August were in CA, at Nelly’s place. They had flown out for an awards ceremony at the refinery where they used to work. Little Man called them on the phone and asked them to come to his band concert a couple days later (it would mean a 4 hour drive). They said NO because that was the night they were supposed to receive the award. LM asked again, saying it was his biggest concert, and he really wanted them to come see it…they still said NO. Then he asked if they would at least drive down and visit him while they were in town. They said they would see. When it became apparent that they weren’t going to come visit, he called again and asked them to delay their trip home because he would be there Friday night (they were leaving on Friday morning). They said NO, that would be too expensive. Poor kid never got to see his parents!

And Little Man wants to go back and live with THEM for high school??? I don’t get it. He been ignored by his family, pushed away, and he wants to go back for more! Don’t get me wrong, I love his family – his parents and his siblings. I don’t necessarily agree with a lot of the choices that they have made, but I still love them. And I love LM, too, and I want him to have all kinds of opportunities and choices, and I want him to have a family who loves him and makes him a priority. He’s stuck in the middle. He’s had to grow up too fast.

M&D aren’t going to force him to stay with our family, so I hope he really thinks about his future and makes his decision based on all the facts.

All right, this is long enough…and I’ve probably scared everyone with my wacky family…but I needed to get it out. Now I’m going to go to bed. Good night

V-Day Recap

Aside from the fact that it was below 10 degrees and we had freezing drizzle, Valentines Day was a great day....once I got home from work.

Instead of joining the millions of people fighting for service at the local restaurants, we decided to stay home, save some money, and have a home-cooked meal (by me!) with just the 2 of us. So, I made a lazy lasagna (all the flavors, but about 1/3 of the work), fresh bread, and salad for dinner. For dessert, I made a heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie that we topped with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean (Lite) ice cream as soon as it came out of the oven. Yumm!!

We had decided not to spend any money on gifts, so I cooked, and B made me a wonderful gift! Remember how I said that my hubby is creative and loves to make things? Well, when we had been married for 6 months, I came home from a business trip to find a wooden tray, filled with sand and pictures from our first 6 months as a married couple. It was made to look like a little scene from our lives together. Every year, on our anniversary, B adds to it. Here's what it looks like after 6 years of marriage.




The house is a drawing of the first house we owned together. The cars have changed as we've bought different cars, so they represent what we drive today. There are pictures of our dogs when they were puppies, the rock is from our trip to Ireland last spring, there's a sticker of a Moose from Jackson Hole, another vacation destination. The icy tree reminds us of the ice storm we survived in East Texas 2 weeks after our wedding, and the palm tree reminds us that one week before the ice storm we were in Maui. Oh yeah, and there's our voter stub from the election where we votedr the Governator into office...y'know, all the memorable times in our life!

SO, for V-Day, B took some of the tiny tiny people from his train layout and painted them and glued them to a rock, to "remember the happiest day of my life" (his words, but true) - our wedding! Now, how sweet and romantic is that?? What a guy I nabbed...

My Honey’s Hobby

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I have decided to write about my hubby’s hobby. B is a very creative guy. He loves to build things, he loves to paint, and he’s the only person who was able to convince me that it’s ok to branch out and paint the walls a wacky color. See, before B, I always thought houses looked cool when the walls were painted something other that white…I mean, who doesn’t think that? But, I was so nervous about taking that step and putting color on the walls…B broke me of that. In fact, the first year we were married and living in the ends-of-the-earth, aka East Texas, we spent a lot of time peeling flowering wallpaper from our walls and painting them bright fun colors.

Over the years, B has developed several hobbies (aside from watching football and playing golf)…he rolls his own cigars (yes, all you ladies out there, if you need a gift for your loved on…B’s cigars are great and he sells them for $3 each – that’s a steal!)…he’s painted a water color of each house we’ve lived in, he makes shadow boxes to remember our favorite trips, and he’s built a wet bar, a gun rack, and cabinets to hold our collections of shot glasses and golf balls. But, those aren’t what I’m here to tell you about today…

He also builds N Scale Model Train layouts. He liked trains growing up, but about 5 years ago, he picked it up again…our dining room table turned into a train layout. Luckily, he’s been able to upgrade since then. He now has his layout in the basement, starting in the storage/utility room, and coming THROUGH the wall into the main room of the basement.

It’s a never ending process. He is always adding to it or changing it, and he’s always looking for materials that will make it better. Last weekend we went to a model train show, and we bought model houses and miniature people to add to the layout. For those of you non-train people out there, an N scale train is about 1 ½ inches tall, so the people are VERY small.

A lot of what he puts into his layout comes from our own interests or places that we have visited. Last spring we went to Ireland, so one part of the layout includes the Cliffs of Moher. I spend A LOT of my time at the YMCA, so it has made an appearance as well. Of course, there is a golf course, a Hummer dealership, and a cigar shop. B used to work in the citrus industry, so there is an orange grove (complete with an outhouse to demonstrate where E-Coli comes from -- he has a sense of humor, too!). Almost all of the companies we have worked for have made an appearance in the layout somewhere.


The Hummer dealership is the building outlined in yellow below...it sits right next to the shoe store, which B says is where I spend most of my time. Can you find the sniper in the scene?



Since we live in KS now, a grain elevator HAS to make an appearance.


Here's the orange grove...the outhouse is somewhere right in the middle...you can probably see it if you click on the image to make it bigger.


This is one place we haven't visited yet...someday...


Here we are wishful thinking there was still a beach nearby...actually, it's the bank of a lake that sits right beside the awesome YMCA he built...


I’m so lucky to have such a creative husband. He balances my engineering, type-A personality very well! And it’s fun to go to the shows with him and watch him get so excited when he sees something he can use. Any kids we have will be very lucky that he’s their dad – those school projects will look awesome!

Happy Valentine’s Day, B! I’m glad I caught ya!

Big Whoop!

People are crowded around the TV in the lobby of our building right now, staring at the broadcast from Fox News. Why are they crowded around the TV? Because Anna Nicole Smith has died.

Wait! Stop the presses, the world may be coming to an end.

What the heck! Do people stop and gawk at the TV when reports of soldiers dying in Iraq go across the screen? Or when an Amber Alert is issued for a child? NO! But, the blonde bimbo herself kicks the bucket, and the world is ending.

Ok, maybe it’s just more from sheer curiosity and not that they think Anna is more important than other things, but that’s ALL I’ve heard as people pass by my cube…which is only a few feet from the lobby.

The poor child that she brought into this world last year…of course, the baby may be better off now. Who knows. Sorry if I sound a little callous, but I’m not exactly surprised that the playboy-bunny/TrimSpa-popper/NOT-mother-of-the-year ANS kicked the bucket…live hard, die hard.

Disclaimer: I have no sympathy today as I battle it out at work with the MOTHER of all colds.

100!!!

This is my one hundreth post...which is hard for me to believe since I just started my blog last July...that means I've probably spent too much time online in the last 7 months, but oh well.

Shell tagged me with this meme, so I better take care of it...here goes...I have to tell you 5 things that you may not know about me.

1. I hate horror movies. I think I always have. When I was younger and it was cool to watch Friday the 13th and Freddy Kruger movies, I put up with them to be "kewl", but I don't really like them...what's fun about blood and gore and scary stuff?? Give me a romantic comedy any day!

2. I don't believe in ghosts. We have a friend who says his house is haunted, and a couple people have stayed with him and said the same thing...but I don't believe it. I think it's all in their heads.

3. B and I may become the "parents" of a high schooler in the fall. This is new news, so no one knows it yet...my cousin lives w/ my parents and he starts 9th grade in the fall. Mom and Dad are moving to KS next spring, but we want cousin to start high school here, so he may come stay with us until M&D get here. So, today we have no children, and this summer we may have a teenager! How's that for instant parents?? I'm excited though.

4. I am keeping my eyes open for how to become independently wealthy. I don't want to have a boss anymore...and I don't want to have to go to a job every day if I wake up and decide I don't want to. Anyone got any great ideas??

5. I have only been in love one time, with one person...my hubby!

Just the facts

1. Several area churches have had one of their appliances burglarized and parts stolen from them to use as drug paraphernalia.
2. The company I work for manufactures said appliances.
3. The community I live in has NO idea that a company manufactures these appliances here in town, and the majority of people who live here use a different brand.
4. We have way more inventory than we can sell right now, thus explaining the 200+ people who are laid off right now.
5. Said company was approached (by me) with the suggestion to donate new appliances to these churches.
6. Request was immediately denied by person in charge of donations.
7. I don't get shot down easily, so I have asked someone on the next rung of the ladder...no answer yet.

What the heck is this world coming to??