Have a drink on me...

This week actually went by pretty fast.  I was surprised.  Wednesday we got a freak snowstorm (yea, I know, it’s January, shouldn’t use the word freak, exactly!) and EE met me over at Whiskey Creek for supper while the boys were with their dad.  Is that not so incredibly sweet that he will drive 45 minutes just to see me for an hour & a half & then drive back another 45 minutes before going to work?  He is amazing!  And I saw him Monday & Tuesday too.  So it was hard to wait all the way until Friday night.  We met at The Mill, in Marion. No trouble finding it this time!  Sheesh, we still laugh at that, it was so funny him trying to guide me in via phone & me having no idea where I was.  Just kept driving around the YMCA a lot.  “Hey, kids, there’s Big Ben!”.  If you don’t get the reference, google European Vacation.  We had the appetizer sampler for dinner, and listened to someone playing piano.  He would not have been my first choice to listen to.  I know it takes a lot of courage to get up in front of people to sing & play, but still…  and he said over dinner that he loved me.  Maybe it’s starting to happen just a little bit more frequently.  As we both get used to it.  That can’t be a bad thing. Then we went back home, both got in his car, and headed down to Charley Creek so we could listen to Sam play.  That was so much better.  And Jill was there and we got to talk & catch up.  It was so much fun & I had so too much to drink!  We got home & I just did not feel well.  He had to help me to bed & stuff.  I think I slept in the exact same spot for 5 hours.  Then got up, went to the bathroom & took some ibuprofen.  Then slept some more.  Don’t worry, when we got up, I made sure he was taken care of since the night before was a total no-show!  He made me breakfast – a wonderful omelet & coffee.  I had a hair appointment at noon, so I took off for that & got my hair all done up nice.  Took a nap when I got back, as he was napping too.  Then got up to check out movies & places to eat.  We ended up choosing Haywire in Huntington, weird, but good.  It needed more dialog.  Not sure if they thought she wouldn’t be able to remember her lines, or what.  Then we went up to Fort Wayne to eat at Naked Tchopstix and it was really yummy!  We got the spicy tuna makki rolls to share, then we each got a bento box.  It was way too much food.  I will have lunch forever now!  We stayed at my house (that is getting cooler every time) and then I went to church. And I only had 1 beer that night, so I was able to participate in the adult activities, I really don’t like missing out on those!  My furnace has been acting up again, so he came by after I went to the grocery to see if he could figure out what was going on.  No dice. I made a corn chowder, he forgot the steaks, so since it was now 57 in my house, we decided to go over to his.  He grilled, I finished the soup, made a salad & we ate big.  It was super yummy.  He grills some of the best steaks ever.  Then we had a little bit more fun.  Hopefully he feels well taken care of this weekend, I know I do.  I can’t believe sometimes how wonderfully he treats me.  We were just lying there together, kind of dozing before I had to go pick up the boys.  And it is indescribable the feeling of both his arms around me, holding me close, feeling his chest hairs tickle me, and the scratchiness of his beard under my hand, the smooth skin of his neck & shoulders.  At that moment, I feel so completely loved, overjoyed, blessed.  I never want it to end.  There is nothing that compares to this.  I want to feel it (and him) every day.  And I usually do feel it around him.   I don’t think I ever have not.  And no, it still didn’t happen this weekend.  I know I should stop thinking about it and wondering when it’s going to.  I know it will not ever.  At least I don’t think so.  But he is thinking of buying a new bike, one with a saddle on it that would be comfy for me too. So we can do longer rides together. And it looks like George Baker is going to pan out.  And we’re going to be doing a show up in Traverse City in June.  And he said he loved me, so I guess that at least means he won’t be going anywhere soon, right?
So now I’m trying to get ready for the week ahead.  I need to take my CWTS practice test at least once so I can get the real test done & out of the way.  I need to somehow fix the bathtub caulk.  Thursday did not go so well.  I told him I was this close (hair-width) from just replacing the whole unit with something that does NOT need to be caulked,  and then if I did that, I should get a real vanity top so I have a place to put my makeup & blow dryer & curling iron on.  Right now it is just a sink & stuff falls off &  it’s annoying.  And it is the master (well only!) bath so you think they would have thought this through a bit better.  And I need to file my nails because typing is hard.
And I’m tired, so I’m gonna go to bed…

June 2010 Flickr Upload

OK, so June I had a lot of faves!  As always, you can cut to the chase & see the whole upload here…. http://www.flickr.com/photos/81154606@N00/
I had a training conference to go to, so Bob met me at the airport so I could see the boys & have supper. 

Love this face!  He loved the food, this is what he was eating…

Gotta love Maki rolls.  006 does not…

View from the hotel in Dallas.  It was beautiful!

Goofy faces from 006.  Love him so much!

Yum Yum!  So serious…

You gotta have it all over your face or you are simply not enjoying it, right?

Don’t know if you can read it, but it says “GROSS!” Love the little notes they leave me…

They sell these at The Works Ice Cream shoppe.  I think the face says it all…

Love the fact that my nephew has such a great relationship with both my boys.  He is a wonderful young man.  Very caring, sensitive, and smart.  I am proud to be his aunt.

Catching Up

Well, life certainly has a way of just keeping on rolling down the line.  After New Year’s, we were invited up to Muskegon for a Hooligan’s party.  It was just so much fun.  And their house is simply amazing.  Two of the most warm & generous people I have ever met.  I got off work early on Friday, and Grampa was going to keep them for Friday night for me, as we’d be returning sometime on Saturday.  010 packed too much stuff, so it wouldn’t all fit in his school bag (course the lunch box could have had something to do with that) so we had to use his go-bag, which he can’t take to school.  So I left work an hour late, and then we had to go over to dad’s to drop off the bag (008’s stuff believe it or not all fit!).  We had lunch at Mr. Weenie’s in Peru, and then I took a bit of a nap.  I woke up just as we were hitting MI and we filled up & switched out drivers so he could take a bit of a nap too.  The whole gang ended up being there, and it is just so much fun to be around them, they have always been so welcoming to me.  I’ve been asked several times if I’m going to be going down to Bakers this year again, so I’ll have to figure that out.  They all seem to want me to go.  I would love to go.  It is the time of my life.  And I’m still trying to figure out why I’m the only girl they ask to go.
On the way back home, we stop at the New Holland Brewery, in Holland, and had some super-yummy pizza & beer.  I think it was called Sunset Dog. On the way back, we talk, and listen to music.  I take over driving for a bit so he can nap.  I love to watch him sleep.  It’s hard to keep my eyes on the road.  Sometimes when we’ve been at Charley Creek, or The Mill (when they’ve had live music), we’ll both start singing along. And it’s a very powerful feeling to do this, for some reason, to sing together.  It is incredibly sexy.  And I love the sound of his voice. And I pretend he’s singing to me.  I know, I am such a girl.
Last weekend, we went up to BC and attempted to do some work on the woodpile.  That didn’t happen.  But we did get the garage cleaned out.  And hung out with his boys.  Went to see Contraband with them.  Is it bad I showed up drunk?
This weekend, has been just hanging out at the house.  008 had  a play date yesterday, and I think he had fun. Ben & I went shopping & did some chores.  Maybe next time I should do something special with just him.  Today, I think we are going to go see Munkwrecked.  I’ve not seen the other two, so I hope I can keep up.  And I’m worship leader & not looked over my stuff yet.  Oops…

May 2010 Flickr Upload

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81154606@N00/
Here are my faves:

Hillbilly iPod dock… I thought it was clever…

Don’t have many pictures of the male parental unit, so this one was cool….

Cassie & I found this turtle going across the road.

Ft. Wayne Tin Caps game, the light was so incredible, and they had so much fun!

He was in heaven!

One of my favorite places to go.  So glad the Honeywell Foundation took it over too.

Our House

Well, maybe sometimes I wish it were in the middle of our street (so it would get hit by a very large farming implement!)….  Spent my afternoon after work caulking more cracks I keep finding that are very un-nicely letting the cold air in. Brrrr, it is cold out there!  One of these days my heating bill might drop $1 a month…sigh…

Watch the Santa Clause 3 tonight with the sprouts.  It was so cute, I love Tim Allen.  Really makes you think that no matter how crummy you think things are, it can always be worse.  So I am thankful I have a drafty house, because it is better than not having any house at all. And there are warm spots.  And I do have a very snuggly new blanket that I love because it is so soft & furry!

And I’m thankful that the boys had all their chores done by the time I got home from work (I usually come home for lunch, so I left them a note).  And there was no fussing & complaining.  And they asked for another one tomorrow.  Am I delirious?  Some sort of twisted dream? How long do you think it can go on???

New Year - 2012

Wow, can it really be already?  Hard to believe!  Christmas was a total blast!  I got off ½ day Friday & so we were able to get an earlier start up to Battle Creek.  Stopped off at Gander Mountain in Coldwater because he still didn’t have much in the way of Christmas or Birthday for #2 son.  We were finally able to get something good for Christmas & he was going to take him over to Kalamazoo to get new sights picked out, put on & tested.  They had a bunch of fun doing that, but that is getting ahead of myself.  We went to Oye Amigos with S & D for dinner, then just sort of crashed back at the house.  Saturday morning, C came over, he & S cooked breakfast (I donated my yearly Kringle, they are sooo tasty!) and then we opened presents.  They even got me something, I thought that was so sweet.  They really liked the collage frames I did for them.  S got a new iPhone & she was totally in love with it.  Luckily C & D could help her get it all set up.  For supper, we went out to his Gramma’s on the lake & tons more present opening.  And he told me twice that morning that he loved me.  Once just a straight out “I love you” and once a “that is just one of the many things that I love about you” statement. Met more of the family.  And got to know more of the family jokes.  Like gramma never opens or uses any of the presents given to her, so EE decides to bust out the hand lotion (wow, it smelled very girly!) and we joked that she’s had it for 10 years.  And what did I end up getting from her, but a bath set!  D joked “better be careful, if that’s not used in 10 years Dad’ll get into it”.  Wow, do they think we’ll still be together then?  That would be totally cool. It was such a whirlwind night because we left there, and then joined up with the Hibiske’s and gang for another celebration.  It was nice to finally meet Tom after hearing so much about him.  Another pilot from CAP was there, Mike.  His wife Bonnie was so super sweet & made me feel very welcome.  Apparently word has gotten out about me… Ken & Theresa were there too, and it was a lot of fun to see them again.  It was so late by the time we got back to the house, everyone was exhausted.  Luckily D & S were with us, so D drove us all home.  Sunday we really just hung around the house, tried to catch up on laundry.  The  kids went over to see their mom & we eventually made it over to see his again.  She fed us a nice leftover supper before we headed back Indiana way.
We spent the night at my house again, and I left to go get the boys, he went back home for a bit, then  caught back up with us to open presents. It was amazing to have someone there again to share that with.  He went back to BC after a rousing game of Monopoly. It is so hard when I get to be with him for so much time, and then he’s just gone again.  I know it would be the same way if we lived under the same roof as I would still want him to go home & visit with his kids.  I just miss him, is all.  He was able to help his mom clean out the kitchen a bit, and he had D work on the basement. And they went to K-Zoo.  And then he was back Friday night & I got to see him again.  He stayed for a bit, then left to go home.  Saturday, Dad came over early to get the boys & take them swimming so I could actually just go to the hair salon & not have to hear any grumbling.  I had a fantastic updo done at Willow Salon by Jen.  Got the car washed & fueled up, then came back for a quick nap.  Woke up about 5 so I could start getting ready, he would be over at 6:30 so we could be at Charley Creek by 7.
I was mostly ready, except my earring. I had to have my ear re-pierced and I thought I could slip out the stud & put in a nicer one and it worked until I dropped the nice one, and then I couldn’t get it to go back in.  And he had to shove it through.  It hurt.  I could not believe how incredibly sexy he was in his tux. Wow, I almost didn’t want to leave the house. But we made it there in plenty of time, Jill wasn’t there yet so we got a glass of wine & waited & talked.  We shared a wonderful meal together, the 3 of us.  I guess it was sort of reversed, last year I was without an escort & she shared Tom. So I shared EE.  We went downstairs after supper & danced a bit (and he told me he loved me!), then back up to the Green Hat for Sam & a couple more drinks. Just an absolutely amazing time.  Bumped into one of my bosses, who raved about me so much it was embarrassing – and sweet.  Also bumped into one of my senior English teachers.  She hasn’t aged a day.  Found out the trees on my driveway are from her farm.  Totally cool.  I love connections like that.
We made it home safe, and had more fun when we got home, if you know what I mean.  And it was so amazing to sleep next to him again.  I miss seeing him next to me when he’s not here or I’m not there.  And more in the AM.  And when I got up, I just really didn’t feel well.  He sat on the couch and drank coffee while I dozed.  Then he fixed my bathroom drain.  Again.  I hate the fact that he’s always having to fix stuff.  And then I got up and felt so much better.  And we sat & talked until the boys came home.  He stayed and ate supper with us.  And I loved every minute of it.
And today, the boys had to go to school, but I didn’t have to go to work.  It was an awful lot like playing hookie & I loved it!  I worked on getting Christmas letter written, getting some memorabilia sorted, pictures printed out & hung up, etc. And then he took me to lunch & we went shopping at Walmart together.  That was fun.  When we got back home, we had enough time to have more fun before the boys got home.  He left shortly after, they were on shutdown last week, so tonight will be interesting for him as they bring all the machines back online.  Some of them take close to 8 hours to get warm enough to run. So he had to go in 3 hours early.  Bummer.
A couple weeks ago, when I was over helping him wrap presents for his kids (that was weird for me to write out the tags & put Dad on them) I told him how it troubled me that we don’t say “I love you” very much because I want that to be the last thing he hears from me, should something happen.  And I told him I was just always so scared to say it because I didn’t know if he would say it back & I couldn’t handle the rejection.  He just laughed & said he was thinking the same things.  Then he said “I love you very much”. And yes, I’ve told him back each time.  So we still don’t say it every day, at least the words, but we do say it other ways.  Like in the way he took care of me yesterday, and the way he does little things for me, he’s so very supportive of me & always gives me such generous, heart-felt compliments.  And I try to say it back in similar ways.  But I really just like saying it.

Here is one of all 3 of us in the Wine Shoppe. 

And here is just the 2 of us in the Green Hat.  It is not the best photo – quality-wise, but it is my absolute favorite. Absolutely, most definitely all-time favorite.  I love that we are laughing.  I love that he has his hand on my hip & mine on his chest. I had no idea she took it, it is just an amazing candid,  a once in a year shot.  We both look so very happy.  I have found my happy.  That is part of my happy.