12 years ago

Do you know what YOU were doing 12 years ago?

Alas, 12 years ago tonight....I met my husband.

The stars aligned and I met him. I say that because I wasn't supposed to be where I met him. I had finally got myself to a place in my life where my work was going well and I wasn't looking for a relationship. I was settled with the fact that my career was it.

That evening, I had scheduled a happy hour for a bunch of buddies from work. It was a group of people I'd initially worked with when I first was temping at the company. I hadn't had a chance to chat with them in a while, so I thought I'd draw them out with a happy hour.

It was fun. We ate appetizers. We drank some beer. But my one girl friend (GF) had to leave. She said she was meeting her husband at another happy hour. One of our long time sales associates was leaving the company. There was a BIG happy hour for him at a restaurant two miles away from our location. GF was taking the receptionist (a young girl looking for a boyfriend) because she wanted her to meet some of her hubby's friends.

GF: Do you want to go?

Me: I don't know. It's mostly going to be sales people...

GF: Come on. It's just down the road.

What did I do? I caved to peer pressure. Hey! It was Friday night and I didn't have anything better to do. Plus, there would be dancing! How can a single girl pass that up?

We caravaned to the restaurant. We walk in together. The place is already packed for happy hour. Thankfully, the group we were meeting had overtaken the upstairs seating area. We walked up and I finally met GF's husband. I also met the three buddies of her husband. Their names were a blur. It was a good time. I danced. I drank. I danced some more.

Around 9pm, I decided to head on out. GF and her hubby were also ready to leave. We walked out together. They dropped me off at my car and headed out. I got myself situated in my vehicle and warmed it up. I put it into reverse and was about to pull out...

[knock-knock-knock]

Me: Holy Hannah! What the heck?

There was one of GF's hubby's buddies knocking on my window.

Me: [rolling down the window] Hi!

Guy: Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to grab some coffee?

Me: Uh, yeah, sure.

Guy: Why don't we meet up down the road at that Denny's?

Me: Sure. I'll see you there.

We drive the 5 miles down to the Denny's. We sit down. I order a coffee. He orders milk. Yes! He ordered a glass of milk! How cute is that? We talked for a long time. What we talked about? I don't know. It's a blur. We finished our drinks and he walked me to my car.

Guy: So, I was wondering if you wanted to go out tomorrow night.

Me: Hmmm...I'm not sure if I'll be up to it.

Guy: Oh....

Me: I have to go into work tomorrow (Saturday). I'm not sure how tired I'll be.

Guy: I have to work too. Why don't you give me your cell number and I'll give you a call around 3 to see if you're not too tired.

Me: Okay.

The next day I went to work. I had TONS to do. But you know what question kept on cropping up in my mind?

What the HELL was that guy's name?

You've got it folks. I couldn't remember his name. You've got to remember that I was introduced to three of them the night before. The night that I had a bit to drink. I could only remember one name "Mark".

[ring-ring-ring]

Me: Hello?

Guy: Hi! It's me [insert my hubby's real name].

Me: Oh HI [insert my hubby's name]!

Needless to say, it was a meeting that I'll never forget. From that day on, we were a couple. A little over 3 years after we'd met, we wed. Now here we are with two wonderful kidlings. A chance meeting.

Homeschoolers?

Anyone out there homeschooling their children?

I was wondering what program/curriculum you use to homeschool your child/children. Why did you chose that program?

How many hours a day do you spend homeschooling?

Do you have a local support group to help?

Are there a lot of supplies that need to be purchased?

Any HELP would be appreciated!!!!!

Where oh where can they be? [update]

There we were with jackets and shoes on. I look over to grab my keys and [gasp!] there's NOTHING there.

Where the heck are my keys?

We had an at-home day yesterday, so I didn't touch them. The last time I saw them was on Wednesday. I dropped them in their usual spot next to the closet once we got home from preschool pick-up.

!$#%^!$^$!

I had to use my extra carkey. Then I had to drop by hub's work to pick up his house key.

I've looked in the dirty laundry. I've looked all over the kitchen. I've looked around my side of the bed.

Nada! Nothing! Zilch!

---

I found them. Where? On the shelf above where I usually keep them. They were tucked behind the envelopes of mail. Whew!

February days off

So who has President's Day off?

Most folks, right? It's a normal yearly holiday. Even my husband has the day off for crying out loud!

You'd think the schools would synch up with the rest of the nation, right? Not here. Not where I live.

What?

The kids in her school district have Feb 24 & Feb 25 off (that's the Thursday and Friday after President's Day).

Why? What? Why?

That's what I was wondering. I brought this up to the director of her preschool, who laughed.

Her response? It's for RODEO DAYS.

I'm sure you're scratching your head as much as I was yesterday morning.

Apparently, the rodeo comes to town. It's a huge deal. They have a big parade in downtown and everything.

The most funny remark the director made? She said they used to have the ENTIRE WEEEK off from school.

Can you imagine? An entire week off of school because the rodeo came to town.

Weird dreams

For some reason I dreamed about my first boyfriend last night. It was so odd. I dreamed that he and I were talking - at 13 yrs of age. I dreamed we were talking about getting back together. It was so strange to have him in my dreams. But he was the nicest guy. So sweet. So handsome. So athletic. He was my first boyfriend. I was his first girlfriend. It was such an innocent time. Ho-hum.

Terms of endearment

I was watching my tape of "The Amazing Race" afternoon. I saw how Adam couldn't handle Rebecca calling him "baby". Of course, I loved her response "How about ass?" A thought came to mind after I saw the two of them.

Terms of Endearment

Now do you and your loved one have special names for each other? No one on the race seems to use anything other than "baby" or "honey".

We were out with some friends, who'd been dating a few months more than us, and they only called each other by their names. They still only call each other by their first names. Even now that they've been married 9 years.

It's weird to me. I know that once my husband I started dating, we came up with nicknames within 9 months. Somehow we just started calling each other these nicknames and they stuck. He's "Sweetie" - no explanation needed for that one. I'm "Bunny" - as in 'honey bunny'. Now, our kids have nicknames (Bear & Princess).

So is it just us that put nicknames to our loved ones? What are YOUR nicknames? Come on! SHARE!

Making Mommy Laugh

Oh my son!

Yesterday at his parks play class, my son claimed a riding toy (pictured below) when about 8 various ride-ons were set out.

Looks like your everyday ride-on toy, right? Well, he claimed it and wouldn't relinquish his claim the rest of class. He first rode it on the soft mat they put out for class, but he quickly ventured onto the basketball floor. The class is in a large open gym of a local park. They put a curtain up to separate the two basketball courts they've got. They put down a huge area mat where the kids have their climb-on toys.

Anyway, my son started riding on the basketball floor. It's flat. It's slick. There's definitely NO drag in comparison to carpet (which we've got at our house). He had a BLAST! He'd push it with his chunky legs and the thing would goooooo..... By the end of class he was pushing off with his feet and leaning his body forward. Then he'd lean back and pull his legs up in front of him in a spread eagle v-body position. His little hands would be holding onto the handle bars. And he was saying "Wwweeee!!!!" I was giggling so hard!

An artist in the making

I have to share the different outlets my daughter is using for her artistic side...

Example 1: This is a crayon drawing of my daughter (on the right) and her two best boy buddies. She also wrote their names, but I've edited those out (to protect the innocent - lest they get queried on the internet when they're 16 years old - ha!).

Example 2: This is her painting rendition of Simba (right) and his father, Mufasa (left), from the Lion King.

Example 3: This is her Magna Doodle drawing of me (right) and her (left).

I love the fact that she enjoys using all different kinds of art supplies. This week we're starting to make Valentine's Day cards. We'll need enough for her preschool class friends & teachers, my family, and my hubby's family. YIKES! I just realize that we're going to need more blank cards! Supplies? Blank white cards. Sequins. Beads. Foam hearts, triangles, squares, & circles. Plain Elmer's glue. Glitter 3D glue. That's it! She's made about 7 of them so far and each is unique. I'm going to write expressions in the inside like "Be Mine" & "Happy Valentine's" and have her write her name. Hopefully everyone enjoys them. She's had a blast so far making them!