Fall Flowers

These beauties arrived yesterday for me.

It’s not my birthday. It’s not our anniversary. It’s not a holiday. The reason was “just because,” which is the best reason of all.

Thank you, Husband!

3-Day Weekend

Even though we just had a lot of time off over Christmas, I definitely still appreciated having a 3-day weekend this past weekend. Husband and I took a little road trip, which included a trip to a huge bookstore (so huge that it took me 30 minutes of active searching to find Husband at one point), a sushi lunch, and a seafood dinner. It was fun to get out of town and have a couple dinner dates with Husband. But really, my favorite memory of the weekend was waking up to fresh-made waffles. Husband surprised me with breakfast in bed yesterday. Bonus: The kitchen still smelled of sweet waffles for hours afterwards. A girl could get used to this.

Subtitles

This weekend, Husband and I watched our first subtitled movie together. I’m embarrassed to say that the movie was actually in English. It was the movie Inception, which Husband had been dying to see.

After about 15 minutes of us struggling to figure out what was going on (“Wait, what did he say?”), Husband paused the movie and change the settings to display English subtitles. Husband laughed and said that maybe he is becoming an old man. I must be becoming an old woman because I thought the subtitle idea was genius.

I’ve always said that I want to grow old with Husband. I just didn’t realize that the “older” part would be here sooner than we thought.

P.S. Even with the subtitles (although they helped quite a bit), I nearly gave up on trying to figure out what was going on. I’m not usually a big fan of science fiction anyway, but I will admit that the movie was interesting.

Just Say Yes

Out of 3.5 years of marriage, I think Husband made his biggest mistake yesterday. I was finishing some work in our office yesterday evening, when I heard the doorbell ring. Husband, who had the day off, answered the door. All I heard was him say, “No, we’re not interested,” and close the door. I didn’t think anything of it. A couple minutes later, he poked his head in the office and said, “You didn’t want Girl Scout cookies, right?” I think I’ve said here a time or two or three how much I love Girl Scout cookies. I gave him the “that’s-really-not-funny” look, expecting him to say, “just kidding!” But he gave this scared smile, and I realized he wasn’t joking. Then, in a very mature way, I said, “WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” He said, “Oops,” and ran off. In the end, he redeemed himself. A few minutes later he came back into the office, almost out of breath, and said, “We’re getting 2 boxes of Thin Mints.” It still makes me laugh to think of my six-foot husband running after a tiny Girl Scout on the street, saying, “I made a mistake! We want Thin Mints!” In the end, it all worked out. But to be on the safe side, I’ll be answering the door next year come Girl Scout cookie time.

Pocket Change

When we first moved into our house, my parents gave us a large glass jar to keep spare change. Over the course of our two and a half years in this house, we've accumulated quite the stash of change. We finally decided to cash it in this weekend, but we made it into a game. We'd each guess how much total money was in the jar, and the person who was the closest would get to choose the restaurant where we would spend (part of) the money for lunch.

The piles of coins included one Sacagawea dollar coin, one fifty-cent piece, and a dime that was so dark it looked like a penny. I guessed it would be $26, while Husband’s guess was $32. But, happily, we were both way off. The final tally was around $60. Husband won because he was the closest. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at the place of his choosing: Quiznos. We hadn’t been there in a while, and I had forgotten how tasty their sandwiches are.

Best of all, we have enough to treat ourselves to at least a couple more weekends of lunches, all courtesy of the leftover change from our pockets.

Weekend Date Night

If there was any doubt that Husband and I are fast approaching the “old married couple” category, I think that our “date night” on Saturday night confirmed it. We wanted to do something, but we weren’t sure what to do. Husband asked if I wanted to go out for ice cream, but I declined, saying that I didn’t feel like it. (There must have been something wrong with me.) But then I offhandedly suggested, “Want to go out and buy some candy?” (Ok, I was back to normal after all.) He agreed, saying that it was a great idea. So we did. We went to Wal-Mart and browsed around the candy aisle, settling on a bag of pretzel M&Ms (for me) and a bag of Reese’s Pieces (for Husband). We looked around the DVD section and then leafed through some magazines. We bought our candy and left. As we strolled to the car, we agreed that it was a surprisingly fun little outing. Then, we spent the rest of the time conversing about whether it’s pronounced “Ree-sez pee-sez” or “Ree-seez pee-seez.” We haven’t decided yet. Maybe we'll figure it out on our next date night, unless we decide instead to go out and play bingo with the rest of our kind.

Say It With Sugar

I got the best surprise this morning.

Husband left for work, and then he came back into the house a few seconds later.

“Did you forget something?” I asked, thinking he forgot his hat.

“Yes,” he said and handed me this. He had bought it for me yesterday and forgot to give it to me.

My heart swooned. Though I do love flowers, I’ll take a bag of candy any day over a floral bouquet. Especially sour patch candy. Especially in a flavor I haven’t tried.

This is the best day. Or perhaps that’s the sugar rush talking.

I Fear I've Given Away My Secrets

A couple days ago, Husband brought home a series of racing DVDs that his friend let him borrow. Husband immediately put on the first DVD and watched it, completed transfixed. Then he started speaking in a language I didn’t quite understand, “Check out that Z06!” and “Notice that 564 series has much better performance than the R300.” At this point my eyes glazed over, and I may have been starting to nod off. I decided to entertain myself by making a blueberry and banana crumble for dessert. Husband loved the dessert. (Personally, I thought the bananas got a little mushy, but it was still tasty.) When the first DVD ended, I stopped him before he could even think about putting in the second one. “Please! I can’t take any more!” Husband seemed shocked that I didn’t enjoy the video as much as he did. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Yes, I’m sure. In fact, I made that dessert because I was so bored.” That was the point where Husband made a stunning revelation. “Let me get this straight. I put in a racing video, and I get to watch a show I love and then get a yummy dessert? Sounds like a win-win to me!” Sounds like I just lost-lost all my secrets. And I fear that if I had a fortune cookie right now, it might say something like: “There will be more racing videos and desserts in your future.”

Wedding Dress Donation

The search for my wedding dress was not unlike the search for the groom: it took longer than I imagined; I found a few potential ones, only to figure out that they weren’t right for me; there were many tears, and finally, when I least expected it, I found one that was better than I imagined. My mom and mother-in-law were there to witness most of my dress searching. (Husband was even there for a short time, as he’d play chauffeur and then would end up napping in the car while we tried on the dresses. He also got mistaken for my brother by one of the dress shop owners, which was both funny and awkward.) In the end, we all agreed that the dress I found was perfect for me. It was beautiful and simple, and in terms of price, it was a deal. Originally, I put it on hold because I thought I wanted to think about it. But minutes later, as we were driving out of the parking lot, I said dramatically, “Stop the car! I want to buy the dress!” And I ran into the store and bought it that same day. After the wedding, I knew I wanted to donate it. It was such a pretty dress that I couldn’t accept the idea of it sitting in a closet for years, never to be worn again. Surprisingly, the search to donate it has been more challenging than I thought. First, I almost donated it to an international organization that I contacted, but I never heard from them. There were a couple of other organizations that wanted it, but then their dress sales were canceled. More recently, we thought a needy girl that lived near my grandma would want it, but it turns out she already had a dress. But finally, this past week, I found an organization that is happy to have it. I’m thrilled that another girl will get to wear it on her special day, and all the proceeds will help a very worthy organization. I’m happy to donate the dress because I’m keeping the real prize from my wedding: the groom.

Surprise Cookbooks

Last week Husband came home with a surprise for me. He brought me a stack of cookbooks he bought at a local bargain book sale. I think this combined everything I love in one surprise: books, cooking, and bargains. The surprise happened after I’d had a somewhat rough day of work, so it was the perfect pick-me-up.

This weekend was the first chance I’ve had to look through the books. I’ve already flagged lots of delicious recipes for chicken, soups, and some desserts. But one book, hands down, had the most…interesting recipes.

Surprisingly, it came from a book that has “sugar” in the title, which made me assume that it was mostly a dessert book. Let me post some of the recipes so you can see how wrong I was. Here’s a recipe for pan-fried (ahem) lamb brains.

Or, maybe if I wanted to try something healthier, here’s a baked version.

There were a few other interesting recipes. I made up a new rule after seeing them: If a recipe contains words (liver, tongue) that belong in an anatomy book, then it’s safe to say that I’m probably not willing to try it.

Maybe I’m just not cultured, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Picking a Winner

Well, I can add “owning a NASCAR hat” to my list of things that I thought I’d never do, but now have.

A couple weeks ago, I watched my first, full NASCAR race on TV with Husband. At the start of the race, he explained how difficult it is to predict who might win based on the car itself, weather conditions, the driver, etc. I happened to see that there was a car sponsored by “M&Ms,” and I told him that I’d be rooting for that car. (As a chocolate fan, it was an easy decision.)

“You can’t just pick a car because of that,” he said, once again explaining the intricacies of racing.

But I did. And a couple hours later, the M&M car happened to win first place in the race. We both laughed in disbelief.

On a recent military trip, Husband saw this hat and brought it home for me as a souvenir.

So now I’m the proud owner of a NASCAR hat. I don’t know what this means exactly, but I’m hoping maybe it involves eating more M&Ms.

Three Years of Yes

Technically, Husband and I never said “I do” at our wedding. Our rehearsal was pretty short, and we had never practiced the full vows. So, at our wedding ceremony, when the priest asked Husband, “Do you take this woman….,” he responded with “yes.” (I can see why he responded that way, since it sounds like a simple yes or no question.) I followed suit, answering “yes” when the priest asked me, “Do you take this man…” It continued, and we said “yes” a number of times during the vows portion of the ceremony. It was funny because a few people came up to us afterwards and said, “That was so unique to say ‘yes’ instead of ‘I do,’ ” as if we had carefully planned it. It was only then that we realized our mistake. But now I think it’s one of the more memorable moments of our wedding day, and I’ve come to see our mistake as almost endearing. We’re celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary this week. I know I say this every year, but it really does feel like our wedding just happened. We still consider ourselves newlyweds. (Is there an expiration on newlywedism? I hope not.) I think it’s funny that the most important decision of my life – who to marry – was actually the easiest decision I’ve ever made. When Husband asked me to be his wife, I knew in my heart and gut that I was 100% sure. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I have a harder time picking out jeans in the mall than I did picking Husband. (Although, to be fair, it did seem like it took a lot of time to find him!) I never once felt “cold feet.” In a letter I gave to Husband a month before the wedding, I wrote: “I was thinking about how people say that they have “cold feet” before a wedding. I think that I have “warm feet” – or better yet, “hot feet.” I haven’t, for a second, had any doubts about us.” And it seems like every day, more and more, I realize what a good decision I made. Being married to Husband is even better than I could have imagined. So, if someone asked me if I’d do it all over again, I’m sure you won’t be surprised when I’d respond with a heartfelt “yes!”

The Language of Deodorant

So it seems that Husband and I are in the point in our marriage where we can have a whole conversation with a well-placed stick of deodorant.

When I woke up this morning I saw this in the bathroom sink:

It was a coded message from Husband, and I knew instantly what it meant.

Morning, sweetie. I know you asked me last night if I needed anything before you made your weekly grocery shopping trip. But I didn’t realize that I was almost out of deodorant until this morning. I would tell you right now, but I don’t want to wake you up. And I’m running late for work, so I don’t have time to write a note. Sorry! Love you.

I left him a message in the same spot.

Hi, sweetie. I figured you might need more deodorant, and your message in the sink confirmed it this morning. And because I love you (and good hygiene, of course), I bought you a new stick of deodorant. Here it is. Love you.

Who needs text messaging when you have toiletry messaging?

Cooking Success

I got the Pioneer Woman cookbook for Christmas, and I just love it.

Husband had to work yesterday. (Yes, on a Saturday, which is a bummer.) I decided to try a couple fun new recipes from the cookbook while he was at work.

I made the “Flat Apple Pie” dessert first because…well, why not? I kind of cheated because I used ready-made pie crust. I had to bake it for less time because I didn’t want the crust to burn, so the apples were still a little firm, but good.

The first thing that Husband said when he saw it was, “Apple pie? This looks so good!” The second thing he said was, “Why is half of it missing?” Oops. (Guess I was a little enthusiastic with the taste-testing.)

The second thing I made was potato skins. While I can’t speak for the nutritional content (sour cream, cheese, and bacon are probably not the healthiest things ever), I can say that they were absolutely delicious! My only regret is that I didn’t make more.

I noticed at the bottom of this recipe, Ree (the author) mentions that after you make them you’ll be the “most popular person in the room” and you might even receive “marriage proposals,” which at first sounds a little dramatic.

After Husband had happily devoured all the potato skins, he looked at me and said seriously, “I’m so glad that I get to come home and see you. I’m lucky to be married to you.”

And now I realize that Ree was right. The secret is in the skins. P.S. I have no pictures to show you because we devoured every last crumb of both the pie and the potato skins.

P.P.S. We liked the skins so much that we might actually make a second batch today.

Laundry Disasters

I usually do the laundry in our household. But every once in a while, Husband will help out when he has time. Usually I say, “Aww…you didn’t have to do that.” Now, my new saying will be, “You don’t have to do that. No really, please, don’t do that.”

The first laundry disaster actually had nothing to do with the actual washing of clothes. Husband had cleaned up around the house using one of his small, bright red rags. Evidently, it was a little damp when he threw it in the laundry hamper. It just so happens that my favorite white, collared shirt was underneath the red rag.

Ladies and gentleman of the jury (or internet), I present you with Exhibit A.

The shirt has to be retired, unless I want to make people wonder if I’m an overzealous artist or a messy butcher.

Husband apologized profusely about the incident, and I wasn’t too upset because I know it truly was an accident. To be on the safe side, I stored all of his “favorite” red rags in a new location – the garbage.

This past weekend was the second laundry disaster. Husband threw in a load of laundry on Saturday morning. He happened to wash the long-sleeved white shirt that I was planning to wear that night. The only problem is that the shirt can’t go in the dryer, or else it will quickly become child-size.

I told him, “How am I going to wear that shirt tonight? There won’t be enough time for it to air dry.”

Husband had an idea. He hung the damp shirt on the towel rack in the bathroom, and put our space heater on underneath. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Ok.”

A couple hours later, I decide to check on my shirt. The good news is that it’s completely dry. The bad news is that the bathroom is filled with smoke, the shirt has scorch marks on the back, and the plastic on the space heater has started to melt. I scream, and Husband comes running in.

The shirt had fallen onto the space heater, and the rest is laundry-disaster history. I couldn’t be too mad at Husband for this one, since, sadly, I went along with his crackpot plan. This time, we’re retiring both the shirt and the space heater.

Exhibit B.

Husband said, “I’m so sorry! I’ll never wash your clothes again.” Good idea. And then I realized I just signed myself up for a lifetime of doing laundry. Hmm…

Keeping Tabs

I have a daily habit of checking our credit card account online. It only takes a few seconds, and I just like to make sure everything looks ok. Coincidentally, there are times it also lets me know that Husband is ok, too. Today he is traveling, and I wondered if he made it to his destination safely. I usually don’t call him right away, as I try to avoid acting like the worried wife (that I sometimes am). But our credit card already gave me the answer. Not only is he ok, but he’s also well fed (Taco Bell), all at a very modest price ($6). Thank you, credit card!

Communication Differences

I asked Husband to get updated addresses for a couple of his military friends, so we could send them Christmas cards. And with this simple task, I realized how different how different our communication styles are. I e-mailed a few of my friends for their updated addresses, and here’s a sample of my e-mail: Hi [friend’s name]! Long time no talk! How are things in [friend’s state]? How’s [spouse’s name]? I just started a new job a few months ago, and it’s going really well! I’ve gotten to travel a bit, which has been fun. My husband's family came to visit us for Thanksgiving, and we had a great time. My parents are visiting for Christmas, and I’m looking forward to that. By the way, what is your current mailing address? I couldn’t remember if you were still at [previous address]. Talk to you soon! Tootie Husband then forwarded me an e-mail with the response from his friend with their address. I saw Husband’s e-mail below it, which said: Dude, I need your address. - [Husband’s callsign] Coincidentally, we also have different styles of writing Christmas cards. While I sit on the couch and write the cards, Husband just sits on the couch. But then again, if he wrote them, it might say something like: Merry Christmas, dude. Maybe it’s all for the best.

Dorothy was right

There’s no place like home. After being gone off and on for the past few weeks, I’m done with all my work trips, and I’m home for a while. I figured I had been gone for too long when the hotel staff that saw me every morning at breakfast for two weeks gave me goodbye hugs on my last day there. And now I’ve grown to appreciate the little things about being back: being able to cook real meals, sleeping in my own bed, curling up on our comfy couch, etc. Of course, there’s one big thing I appreciate most about being home. (I’ll give you a hint: he’s 6 feet tall.)

Redneck Car Repair

I have to hand it to Husband. He’s pretty knowledgeable in the car repair category.

Though, he wouldn’t have to know much at all to surpass my limited understanding. The most I can say about car repair involves caveman-like sentences, like “Car broken!”

So, I wasn’t surprised when he said fixed the problem he had with his car window, which had been stuck briefly in the “down” position.

What did surprise me, however, is that the car looked like it was fixed by someone named Bubba or Billy Bob.

Notice how the car door "guts" - for lack of a better word – are clearly visible. If you look closely, you’ll see some scrap wood that is helping to prop up the window, plus some green tape that’s holding up a dangling door handle.

Note that the tape used is not duct tape, which may exempt us from redneck status, but only by a technicality.

I’ll just make sure that Husband doesn’t start parking the car on the front lawn, or I might as well give up and put on my bathrobe and curlers.

Business Trip

I’m getting ready to go on a business trip. While usually it's Husband who’s jetting (no pun intended) off somewhere, this time I’m the one who’s leaving. I think the trip will be fun. But, of course, I’ll miss Husband. And I’ll also miss this perfect weather that’s decided to hang around here. In honor of the nice weather, we grilled up some bratwurst this afternoon, which was a great idea. The bad idea, however, was completely forgetting we had put them on the grill. All of a sudden, I heard Husband say, “Oh crap!” and I saw him rush out to the grill to rescue our charred lunch. On the up side, I think we invented a new meat category to follow well-done: Burned to the Point of Almost Being Unrecognizable. You know what, though? They still tasted delicious. Have a great week!