Paperwork: Expenses

Me: Well, that looks like it leaves us with "Other"

LK: What do they want there?

Me: Dunno. I guess other are our monthly financial commitments that aren't covered in the categories of utilities, groceries, fuel, child care, and tithing.

LK (Looking over his list of "others"): So then I have home insurance, pet expenses, HOA, coffee, medical...

Me: Did you just list coffee?

LK: You asked for monthly financial commitments not covered under the first few categories, and our budget has coffee as it's own category.


I love that I'm married to a man who fully understands the importance of good coffee.

On the Off Chance They Are Right

LK and I are spending time in B'ville at the Price Tower and surrounding area.  I'm such a fan of architecture and this has been one of those places I've always wanted to experience.  Given I grew up only a few hours from here it's hard to see why it's taken me this long to come.

(And if you're a Frank Llyod Wright hater, keep it to yourself. I know the design flaws of the lit-from-within-fireplace that has no way to change the light bulb, but that doesn't discount the harmony of his designs)

So here we are, kid-less and enjoying a vacation in our own state.  And if the world does in fact end today, I can't think of a better person to be with.

10 Years Ago Today

10 years ago today.... It was raining cats and dog just like now... But 10 years ago today you had less hair.... and I had more.

10 years ago today we had a blind-fold lunch so we could enjoy the company of our out-of-town guests while still upholding the tradition of not seeing each other before the wedding.

10 years ago today we were having ourselves a great time at the reception party ...

walking in to Son of a Preacher Man, of course!

10 years ago I made one of the best decisions of my life: to marry a man who is now ...

 just as much fun as he was then.

 Happy anniversary.

The Last Night

In a few short hours we will go back to Old House to spend our last night there.  The movers come tomorrow to clear it out and bring everything to New House so we can stop sleeping on air mattresses.

The past month hasn't been bad though. In fact, LK aired my bed up nicely last night and it so it was almost like a real mattress.  But, still, I get this gitty little feeling when I think THE BEDS ARE COMING TOMORROW!

But Old House was a nice place.  In Old House we grew closer as a family- and LK and I learned so much as a couple.  I started my company in Old House.  We had many friends, old and new, over at Old House.  I learned to play the guitar in Old House.  I re-discovered my style in Old House.  And while it seems a bit melodramatic- I think I found a greater part of myself while living there.

Memphis will also be special because it was my first house. But Old House, it was my sanctuary for three good years.  I'm going to be elated to say the least when I sign on the line and relinquish my Land Baroness status- but yes, there will be part of me that will always miss that house.

RTT: Truly Random

What time is it: 936p

Where am I: at the new kitchen table at New House. HORRAY!

Listening to: LK clean up from dinner (I married a great man!)

Last ate: Hearty Beef Stew with warm rolls, but I'm contemplating trying out the pumpkin cream cheese muffins Flower brought over tonight.

Thoughts: I think it's been a month since I officially did a RTT. It's hard to describe the last month except the say that after the contract went bust, we still decided to mostly move and have been living with borrowed furniture and sleeping on air mattresses. But it's not as bad as it sounds. How great is it to be able to fold up your dining room table and chairs when not in use ... we really need to have a bowling contest in there before the real table comes. And as I've been saying, nothing shows how much a man loves his wife as when he inflates her bed for her in the evening. And I say her bed because yes, we are on separate twin air mattresses. Just call us Ozzie and Harriet.

I picked up a paint brush for the first time in a month today. Something about that dining room ceiling- it's the one thing that needs to be done before the large furniture arrives and the one thing I can't get motivated to finish. But T- 6 days til move in so I best get after it.

ISH and I had the best belly laugh tonight as I was trying to get him ready for bed. It was in no uncertain terms completely unproductive for bed-time readiness but it was equally in no uncertain terms one of those moments I wanted to freeze frame forever. Click.

LK is now off to play a game of "old men basketball." My parting words to him before such games: remember your insurance card. Yup, not as cool for sure.

College and Marriage

LK posting an interesting blog today that reflects on a study that notes how

highly-educated women (at least a 4-year degree) have a lower[ing] divorce rate and much lower incidence of children outside of marriage.

His post also reflects on how the study says that

Surprisingly the moderately-educated, or ‘Middle America’ (some post-secondary education but no degree) are trending worse than the poor [in their divorce rates].

LK postulates on why this could be and comments on how he's glad to be married to a degree-holding college girl (that would be me).  So here's my two cents on it.

To me it's like the conversation I had with a friend who lacked one class to graduate but instead of taking that one class (a gen ed class at that) he was applying for a job and leaving his studies, and he wanted my opinion on how his resume sounded.  I told him that personally, the fact that he lacked one class and could not list a degree on the resume even with all those hours under his belt would raise many a red flag as an employer about his ability to start and complete a task.

So, perhaps completing college is not only evident of someone who can handle delayed gratification, and not only understands that what she does today will have a lasting effect on what can then be accomplished tomorrow, and not only shows someone's ability to work with group projects (a necessity in college as well as marriage), but that it also shows a person who is able to not just start something but see it through to it's intended end.  Perhaps that is why women with a diploma on the wall fair better.

Perhaps.

Gobble Gobble

What time is it: 838P

Where am I: at back home after an afternoon with family

Listening to: Football game in one room, ELF on in here - love the way Zooey sings

Last ate: Oh good heavens! It's Thanksgiving, I don't know if I want to (or could) even answer that.

Thoughts:  Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for my family- those immediate, and those extended.  Those here now, those gone already, those yet to come.

I'm thankful for my friends- the new ones I've been blessed to meet this year and those who are my steady constants.

I'm thankful for my job.

I'm thankful for the trips I've been able to take this year.

I'm thankful for my boys and for their wonderfully curly hair.

I'm thankful for LK and the marriage that, as we were both discussing late one night, we can't imagine being without.

I'm thankful for the life that I have no idea why I have been blessed to live- but the life I hope I am living to the fullest- giving back and enjoying the ride.

My cup overflows,

Sunday- after a busy week

I turned back on the NetNews Reader tonight to catch up after stepping away from it for the past few days and saw this post on LK's blog.

I made the mistake of watching the video with the boys around who immediately started questioning why this was making me cry.

Geo turned to ISH and said "I guess some people cry because they see two people kiss and it's just so sweet." He said in that almost mocking-overly-sweet-tone.

ISH looked at Geo and in all seriousness replied "And some people cry because something is so beautiful."

Warning- grab a box of tissues before clicking play

Memphis Women and Good Fried Chicken

I can remember one of the first times LK and I drove around Memphis.  It was late and after looking around I asked if we were on the wrong side of town.  "No," he answered.  "We're just in Memphis."

A few months later we would go on to buy our first house not even a mile from the gas station parking lot where I made my "bad neighborhood" inquiry.  And while the women from the suburbs whom I worked with, and the people from the delta town in Mississippi where we worship, and my parents (if they were to tell you the truth) all thought we were crazy for choosing to live in Memphis, it became home- our first home together.


In Memphis I found the open door to a job that I love and have been doing for the past (as of this week) 8 years (I suppose it's about time to start calling this a career).  In Memphis we had our first home, our first dog, our first over-night house guest, and our first child.  In Memphis we learned how to drive defensively and in Memphis we watched our first fight between two women who decided to duke it out on the highway- beating each other with their shoes! (Only in Memphis).


And since we were so far away from our biological families, in Memphis we learned how to make "family" out of the people around us (which would include people like the moms from the play group once Geo came along, the fellow grad students who would get together monthly and dream how we were all going to change the world, the previously mentioned suburbanites from my Wolf-Chase-Mall office building, and Randy- our perpetually drunk neighbor who tried to pay LK back for something or another with his food stamps).


And, of course, in Memphis we had great barbeque.


So when I stumbled upon the blog I Love Memphis it spoke deep to the place inside me that still, after after six years removed from it's city limits, wakes up some nights craving a barbeque sandwich with the slaw on top the way Tops Barbeque would make it.  And so I decided to follow her story.


On Thursday the author wrote a great summary of why she and her friends think Memphis is a great place.  For those of you who have never lived within the Memphis city limits, you'll just have to take her word for it.

Memphis is great because nothing here comes easily.

In this town, nothing is handed to you. Staying positive in Memphis requires overcoming a checkered history, chronically low civic self esteem, and the fact that other people constantly suggesting the easy way out.

I’ve thought about the easy ways out quite a bit. There seems to be a lot of conversation about them lately. Conversations that start with “have you ever thought about moving to (insert “cooler” city)”. Conversations about where I see myself in five years, doing the work that I do in a town like this. Questions about why I chose to come back here, buy a house and make a life.

Choosing Memphis isn’t always easy. I’ve joked about feeling like I’m married to the city, like I have to stay with it and make it work, no matter what.

But here’s the thing about Memphis: there’s loads of opportunity. In other cities, if you want to start something – a business, an event, a flashmob – chances are, someone’s already doing it. Here, there’s plenty of room to experiment, to try, and to learn.

Memphis is a city full of secrets. Some of the most amazing places and things here are hidden. You have to work to find them, but once you discover that amazing hidden patio or unguarded pool or bar in a warehouse neighborhood, there’s a thrilling sense of victory and discovery.

Living in Memphis can make you more open minded and  willing to try something new.

Living in Memphis makes you strong.

Random Thought Thursday: Projects

What time is it: 841A

Where am I: living room couch

Listening to: ISH try and explain Lego Star Wars to me

Last ate: a plum from my backyard :)

Thoughts: I don't care if your partner is Ghandi, if you take a project that requires exact measurements and add to it a late night, an Oklahoma summer, Memphis-like humidity, and dive bombing june bugs, you'll end up with a pretty good argument. Bar none.

To the man

To the man
who stepped up to the challenge of "conquering the unconquerable"
who wasn't scared off by my marriage proposal after our second week of dating
who called even when I wasn't at my best
who listened even when he didn't want to know the truth
who talked me down from ledges
who called my parents when I said I was ready to come home
who put miles on his car up and down the turnpike for a chance that I might know what I wanted this time
who (rightfully) let me know that I needed to make a choice
and who came up one more time when I was ready.

To the man
who listened as I laid down my rules and laws and regulations
who was patient when I changed them all
who was willing to call strangers on the phone to see if they were nervous before their engagement just so I wouldn't walk out the door
who proposed to me on the grave of a worm named Fred
who was willing to have me from a distance so I could see what the world looked like
who slept at weird times so he could call me every night from a million miles away
and who was waiting for me when I returned home.

To the man
who helped me put together furniture only to return it hours later without an "I told you so"
who danced with me to America in our little apartment
who worked hard to save money for us so I could have a house
who let me cry when that house took me miles away from home
who stood with me when all plans changed
who has loved me when I have been completely and utterly wrong
who has never given up on me, never walked away
who has remained committed to the promises we made
and who works to love me more fully like Christ every day.

To the man
who still has wonderful Robert Redford eyes
who can still make me laugh
who can still make me smile
who has supported and encouraged me to do what I love
who helps with laundry, cleaning, cooking so that I can
who still understands my innate need for globetrotting
who is an amazing father, husband, friend
and who doesn't wear scuba gear to bed.

To the man that I have been married to for nine wonderful years,
Happy anniversary.

Looking Forward to May Days

So you might notice the new do we're sporting around these parts. Yup, the blog had a spa day (speaking of Mother's day presents) and came out looking rather fab (if I do say so myself and since it's my blog, I will).

The new look was a bit impromptu, but then I'm someone that often rearranges furniture (yes Mandy, I agree my bed looks better in it's new location) so why not a little bloggy-rearranging too.

And in case you're wondering, the inspiration for the header picture is to show you all how it is my hair can stay so big (and you all thought it was just the pomade). It's a fun Where's Waldo sort of picture if you have the time to hunt.

But the look isn't the only thing that's changing this month. This month I will set aside the 365 with Rachel Ray and will be moving on to another cookbook- which one, ah you'll have to come back and see.

All and all, I'm looking forward to May. In my mind, May is the beginning of summer, I mean I know it's not really summer yet and I know that we have a full 26 days until I'm feeling sand between my toes, but when May is here- it's like I can see summer peeking it's head around the corner, "walking sneaky" towards me as ISH would say.

May is also the sixth Mother of a Brunch that I've hosted for both sides of my family on Mother's Day weekend. It's a great time of celebration.

And speaking of things that have been going on for a while, this month I get to celebrate nine years of marriage to the wonderful LK.

May will also be a time of celebrating as I get to be there to watch Dr_EAM walk the stage and cross from the world of med-student into the world of resident. He's been working on not laughing when someone calls him doctor. Let's hope he gets that one down before his first day in the new program.

I feel like I missed out on the April showers part of year, but the tree-house effect of my backyard is in full swing, the birds are back, I saw my backyard toad the other day, and good times ahead. (Someone stop me before I break into some Nellie Forbush meets Laurey Williams song and dance routine!)

Here's to hoping you're seeing May as optimistically as I am,

To LK on Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's day, and please pardon the midi file, I had to work with what I could find. I did use Helvetica font, so hopefully it can all balance out for you. Helvetica does cover a multitude of midi sins you know.