Friday, February 15, 2008

I'm Not Perfect Friday

As promised, a short list of reasons I'm not the perfect wife. If I keep up on this, maybe next week I'll tell all the rotten things I did to my mother when I was growing up!

1. Only child syndrome. Yes, and I've got it bad.
2. Fear of vulnerability. I tend to be emotionally closed off.
3. Hold looong grudges. No explanation needed.
4. I often neglect to do "the little things", the same things that my husband remembers to do for me. Like remembering what should go on a sandwich, how one likes their coffee, and whether one likes almonds.
5. When I say "compromise", I really mean, "just do it my way." (Or is that a part of #1?)

Here's an unauthorized pic of the guy who puts up with me, from his visit to the Chicago Auto Show. Where he went with two other guys, because I don't really like the auto show. Maybe that should be #6 - I don't share his interests, but think he should share mine. And also a pic from our renewal of vows, see... he LIKES putting up with me. He married me TWICE!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Burger of the Month

This post is for Carrie in honor of Valentine's Day, we're sharing the stories of how we met our husbands, best friends, etc. Hop on over to her blog to see more awesome lurve stories.


My high school orientation day was August 26th, 1992. My friends and I agonized over what to wear, how to act, and most importantly, where to meet up at the end of the day. We were trying desperately to NOT look like the freshman that we were. My boyfriend at the time, who wasn’t smart enough to get into the college prep high school that my friends and I attended, was supposed to come and meet me at the end of the day. He didn’t, and that was the biggest mistake of his life. (As told by him, much later)
After our first day spent wandering like idiots, having prison looking ID pictures taken, and getting our class schedules, we headed outside to officially begin our high school adventure. We were gathered in front of McDonald’s, directly across from the school, when the most perfect male I had ever seen walked past us, smiled, and got pulled along by his friends across the street. Being only 14, I didn’t quite realize that wearing a low cut bodysuit (remember those?!) and low slung jeans would actually gain attention. So my group of friends watched that group of friends as they walked away. The perfect specimen broke off from his friends, and headed back toward us. Reluctantly, two friends followed. His decision to cross the street that day changed my whole life. No joke, no exaggeration.
He walked up to me, flanked by two friends, and they introduced themselves one by one. First, my eventual husband reached for my hand and said, “Hi, they call me Sucio.” (for my cauc friends, that means “dirty”) and my reply, “I bet they do!” His friends were Tony, “the mentor” and Flaco. To this day, I swear I never knew Flaco’s real name. Sucio asked me if I had a boyfriend, and I remember feeling so bold when I looked around and said, “Do you see one here? Then I must not have one.” I know, lame by adult standards, but it’s really witty when you’re a kid.
So we verbally sparred with the boys for a few minutes, then they went inside McDonald’s. A friend was pushing me to go in after them, but I was too nervous. She said, “Listen, you want the Burger of the Month. So let’s just go in,” In fact, I didn’t even like the Cheddar Melt, which, in case you didn’t know, was the Burger of the Month in August 1992. So, I followed “the guy in the green pants” which would be DH, into McDonald’s and piled into a booth near the door with my friends. We watched these guys for a few minutes, and were in awe by how grown up they seemed. The girls they were with seemed like full fledged adults to us, and we were sure that they were going to ignore the stupid freshmen that had come following them. But no, DH came on over to our table to talk to me, and before his friends finally pulled him outside again, he handed me a pen and stuck his hand out. Is this the universal gesture for “May I have your phone number?” ?? Again with my witty repartee, I asked what he wanted. He asked me to write “something” on his hand, so I wrote, “Hello.” He asked, more specifically, if I’d give him a phone number where he could possibly reach me. Not quite specific enough, since I didn’t give him MY phone number, but a friend’s. Hey, I didn’t know this guy from Adam and I wasn’t giving him my home number. Besides, that missing boyfriend had some serious jealousy/possessive problems. So he left, and after calling my friend three times looking for me, I finally let her give him my phone number.
I won’t say it went smoothly after that, but it went. We grew up, we made mistakes, we separated, we made up… because no matter what happened in our lives, we just didn’t want to be apart. We got married 6 years later. In April, we’ll celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. I feel like we’re incredibly lucky to have found one another, because things like that just don’t happen every day. He’s been in my life longer than I lived before he came into it, and I can’t imagine me without him. It’s almost as if he was always there, and I’m never really sure if it’s me talking, or him, or who said what. Sometimes I think that line between us is blurred, but that’s okay. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
A long time ago, I heard a myth that humans had once had four limbs, two heads, and one heart. The two heads meant they kept one another company, but they shared one heart. Anyway, they angered the gods, and as a result, they were each split into two, forever missing their other half. So when you found your other half, you didn’t love them for who THEY were, rather, you recognized them as a vital part of yourself. I like that. It works for me.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Drama Club

Golden Boy came home with a permission slip for Drama Club. He handed it to me without saying anything. I asked him, "Do you want to join?" He just shook his head no. So why would I sign it? Decided to give him a hard time, so I said, "You know, Drama Club is a good way to meet girls."

Here's how that conversation played out....

GB: "I've already got lots of girls. Even girls I don't know come up to talk to me."

Me: "Is that so?"

GB: "Yeah, and besides that, I meet lots of girls online."

Me: "What??"

GB: "Yep - there's lots of girls on Club Penguin."

Me: "Well, if you'd like to meet girls you can actually TALK TO, Drama Club is the way to go."

GB: "Nah, I don't want to do that. Maybe I can just join an online dating service."



That's it. That boy can no longer use the computer.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Mommas for Obama

Who couldn't use a little hope today?

Monday, February 11, 2008

Waterfalls

Saturday night while DH and I were watching 3:10 to Yuma, Golden Boy started screaming at the demented and defective cat, Clementine. I ran downstairs to find a waterfall from the overturned fish tank onto a bookshelf and the couch, and continuing in a small river across the living room. The fish got wedged in between two couch cushions, but survived. DH scooped him up and put him in a cup of water. As he’s grumbling about my troublesome animals, he takes the petrified fish into the kitchen only to find that the dog shit on the floor. If he hated the animals already at that point, that little move certainly didn’t win them any points. The fish has been relocated and is now residing with my mother. Along with JP, the other demented and defective cat that I was going to pitch out into the snow for peeing all over my house. My mom’s a sucker for these things. I’m going to get her a sign that says “Grandma’s Home for Wayward Animals.”

This morning DH made coffee, using our schnazzy coffee maker that drips straight into stainless steel insulated cups so we can just take them and go. Well, he didn’t check the settings, and it had been set to brew only one cup. He poured in enough coffee for two cups, turned it on and walked away. A little while later I was standing there packing my lunch, when I felt something wet on my leg. It’s the coffee waterfall, since it’s trying to pour two cups of coffee into one cup. That’s a fun way to start the week.

Here’s what’s played on my ipod so far this morning….

Paperboy - Ditty (This is how we do it for the nine deuce….)
Pat Benatar - Love is a Battlefield (Yep, I still love this song)
Pharcyde – Otha Fish (Brings back some strange memories)
Elvis - Good Luck Charm (What can I say, I’m an Elvis girl)
Chevelle – The Clincher (I play this album when I’m tormenting myself on the treadmill)
Mary J. Blige - I Can Love You (Sing it, girl, that's right, he doesn't know what he's missing)
Lissette Melendez - Together Forever (Makes me want to put on my big ass ghetto girl hoop earrings, high ponytail and tight jeans and then go get into a fight with my boyfriend)

Honestly, I don't think there's anything recorded later than 2005 on my ipod. The majority of music is from the 90s, and I'm going to guess that my kids will laugh at me later in life when I'm still jammin to A Tribe Called Quest and Nirvana. See? Kurt Cobain's been dead for like 15 years already! Yesterday the song Paralyzed by Finger Eleven was stuck in my head and I wanted to kill someone. That's what newer music does to me. I'll listen to newer music when Incubus releases their next album, and when Aaron Lewis stops with the "life is great" music. I liked him better when he was tormented and hated himself.