Off to Canada we go

We officially planned our next trip.  We've been going around in circles for months trying to decide where to go.  We considered Ireland, Belize, Whistler and the list goes on.  After so much back and forth that my head was spinning our tickets are booked and we are headed to Lake Louise & Banff in Alberta Canada.  We asked our well traveled friends the most beautiful place they had visited and kept getting told to go to Lake Louise.  Neither of us had actually heard of it until last month. 

 Now, the husband has a way of letting me give in like nobody else.  Seriously making him happy gives me so much joy.  It is kinda out of control.  My vote was for going to Lake Louise in the summer to escape the Texas heat, go canoeing, hiking etc. 

Alas, we are going in the winter.  I love snow and cold weather, but I do not like skiing.  I've made it perfectly clear to him over and over that he will be on the slopes alone.  I've tried it multiple times and rather spend my ski money in the spa.  I dread putting on all the clothes, and renting the equipment. He just looks at me with a grin that says, "See ya on the slopes." And we both know he is right.  I will get my lazy ass on the slopes simply to see the satisfied, happy look on his face.  
The Husband is very concerned about the weather in Canada.  He wants it bitter cold.  It is Canada in February. Of course it is going to be cold!  Just about every other day this week, I've caught him calling the resort to discuss the temperature.  He doesn't trust weather.com, the iphone or all the other resources at hand.  He wants a first hand account and weather predictions from locals.   I desperately plead with him each time to please not tell them our last name.   Anyone ever been and have recommendations? 

Never know who is going to enter your life

I went with the Husband to find him a new pair of shoes at Dillards.  I purchased a pair of flip flops for him, in a plan to get him to return them and find something he would wear.  These are my devious tactics to get him to buy new things for himself.  

He never thinks he needs anything.  When we got married he had six shirts in his closet and three pairs of shoes.  Slowly his closet is progressing.  The flip- flops were on display in a self-serve section at Dillards.  As he tried on different shoes, we couldn't help but over hear the sales lady chatting it up with another customer. 

Moments later, the sales lady approached us. Lidia stepped into our lives for a few minutes and will be a hard one to forget.  She had short white hair, large round glasses that drowned her eyes, and an over-sized button down shirt with long necklaces.   We really didn't have a conversation with her, we just listened to her talk.  Here are some of her comments.  She claimed German cognac kept her mind young and her body healthy.  She spoke with a heavy German accent. 

"Now that I am 83, working in Ladies shoes is too much work.  Women can't make up their minds and have to see every size and color. So I requested to be moved down to the Men's department. Much less fuss."

"When I moved down here to Men's it was just me and ten homos (looking at the Husband.) As long as you keep your back up against the wall you'll  be okay (she pats Husband on the shoulder as she says this.) Those homos sure are sweet.  Do you know that they will be the first ones to call me on my birthday, even before my children. Nothing like having homos care about you." 

"I am an 83 year old widow.  I have no sex life anymore. But I had enough sex in my younger years to keep my mind active. My beloved Husband was a stallion."

"I never hold grudges.  It is not worth it.  If I have a problem with you, I will sit you down with some tea and talk it out. Maybe you will be the one with the grudge, but at least I will feel better and live a more peaceful life."

What struck me most about Lidia was the passion for life.  You could hear it in her voice and see it in her body language.  We left the store with a new pair of shoes for the Husband and smiles on our faces.  Isn't it funny how people will enter your lives at a certain time and have an impact they don't even realize?  As I approach the next year of my life, I hope to live as long as Lidia and speak with such passion in my 80's.  I just hope my stallion is still by my side. 

The Couples Shower

I first heard of a Couples Shower when I was asked to be a Maid of Honor to my childhood best friend.  We were 23 and she was the first of my friends to marry.  I had no idea what it meant to be a Maid of Honor other than it meant she liked me the most.  She was the one that told me I planned the bachelorette party, showers and lead the way for the other bridesmaids.  Yes, I was really this clueless.  She suggested a Couples Shower.  Hmmm. Okay...This really meant nothing to me. So now what?  I started planning by making a list of couples who would be invited to the shower.  I had recently found myself single from my college boyfriend of 3 years and was wondering who I would find as a date.  A couples shower meant it was for couples to attend, right?  WRONG.  I quickly learned it basically meant a coed shower hosted in honor of the couple.  Ohh, that makes more sense.  Little did I know how many couple wedding showers I would attend in my twenties (I ended up being a bridesmaid over 10 times).  There are good intentions behind couples showers.  I think it is an attempt at making a shower more of a party for everyone.  However inevitably, I found they still feel like showers.  Somehow Husband managed to not attend any of the couple wedding showers with me, so when I told him we would be going to a couples baby shower he was totally confused.  He was totally perplexed over why he had to attend a baby shower.  Aren't those usually just for girls?  I assured him he would not have to watch the couple open gifts.  I had found this another advantage of couples showers.  Usually there is a table set up where guests set down their gifts, then they are escorted to the bar where most people spend the rest of the night.  I tried to sell it to him as a party, BBQ kind of environment (the way others had described it to me), when I knew damn well what we were walking into.  He tagged along with a smile on his face, but I could see the confusion in his eyes from the minute we walked into the shower.  The hostess comes up, greets us and offers us a drink.  "Suzy made a diaper cake, you have to go see it," She said.  
"Oh, sounds good.  I love cake," Husband replies. 

 The Husband was very disappointed to learn there was no actual cake, just a bunch of diapers piled up with ribbons as he said.  I made sure the Husband had a beer in his hand the whole time to help make the time move along for him.  Right when we thought it was time to leave, we are escorted in the gift opening present room.  Husband gives me a look and I smile going to get him another beer.  So, if you are going to have a couples shower, don't have guests watch you open gifts.  It makes for a better time for everyone and make sure the bar is well stocked. 

Happy 2 year wedding anniversary to us

Today is our 2 year wedding anniversary.  Warning: This might get a little mushy.  Everyday I get to spend with him feels like a fairy tale.  

Seriously, I don't know how I ended up with such a compassionate, honest, loving man.  I did everything you are told not to do when we were dating.  I didn't play the games, I just put myself out there.  I knew from the minute I laid eyes on him he was the one I was suppose to be with.  I made my intentions known to anyone and everyone.  At times (most times), it made me come across as the crazy girl that I am.  Before I met Husband, I rarely even thought about getting married.  I thought about being some successful single,  entertainment executive.  Thoughts of marriage and family were very foreign.  Now here I find myself, loving every minute of married life.  Here were some of my forbidden dating tactics that somehow resulted in a happy marriage of 2 years and counting.

• Flew across country 3 weeks after meeting him at a wedding.  He lived in Grand Rapids, MI and I was somewhere in Texas.  I flew to Chicago and took a 5 hour train ride to Grand Rapids.  It is only a 3 hour drive.  That was the slowest and worst train ride I had ever been on.  I paid for the ticket with my credit card.  I was unemployed at the time.  NOT CRAZY GIRL:  A normal girl would have made him come visit her or at least have him help with the cost of travel.  Not me, no sir.  It was all me.  
• We were long distance for the first 2 years never officially dating.  I never dated anyone else in these 2 years even though husband directly told me multiple times that he only saw me as a good friend and did not see a long term romantic relationship happening.  NOT CRAZY GIRL:  A normal girl would have continued dating other potential suitors at the same time as talking to a guy across country. 
• I moved across country. Twice.  The first time we weren't even dating and the second time we had officially been dating for 3 months.   NOT CRAZY GIRL:  A normal girl would've kept herself put in her safe, stable environment. 

This is all I am willing to share for the time being, but the list goes on.  I guess my point is that I am someone that can't help but follow her heart in everything I do.  I have to say, following my heart has lead me to this wonderful, daily, happiness I never thought possible.  

I almost forgot to mention the newest addition to our family this year.  I also never knew I was an animal person until our sweet Journey came into our lives. 

Happy Halloween

The husband has joyful, childlike memories of Halloween and loves recreating them every Halloween.  He carves pumpkins, roasts pumpkin seeds, makes hot apple cider, and makes me visit pumpkin patches.  He tells ghost stories and reminisces about Halloween's with his family. Spending holidays with him gives me a new, delightful prospective.   Here are some of his pumpkin carving masterpieces.  Can you tell what the second one is?  I had some trouble and it frustrated him to no end.  Happy Halloween!

The Husband taking matters into his own hands

Oh, the Husband.  When I think he can't get any kinder, more compassionate and thoughtful he once again surprises me.  Husband is a police officer.  He deals with the scum of the earth, the worst of the worst.  He chases down pedophiles, and drug dealers.  He is one of the good guys in every sense of the word.  One of his fellow officers accidentally ran over a dog while they were on duty.  Husband goes to the scene of the accident to sadly find a deceased dog.  While protocol is being properly followed including sanitation to come pick up the dog and clean up the street, he takes matters into his own hands.  He picks up the dog and wraps it in his own jacket.  The dog has tags.  He calls the numbers on the tags and gets the owner on the phone.  Husband gently breaks the news to the devastated owners about their dog. 

Instead of having the owners come to the scene of the accident, he drives the dog still wrapped in his jacket to the owners 30 minutes away, in the rain.  If only I could always be as considerate, and kind-hearted as he is.  I am one lucky lady.

Half the truth is all they need

I offered to pack a lunch for Husband to take to work with him.  

 "Will you pack one of my pills too?" he requested.  His pills are a sore subject with me.  I hate that he takes them.  The only purpose they have is to prevent hair loss.  I reach for the medicine bottle and place a pill next to his burrito in a plastic container.  I neglect to tell him where I put it.  Hours later I get a call from him at work while he is eating his lunch. 
"This burrito tastes funky," he says as politely as he can knowing that insulting my cooking might result in no home cooked meals at all.  
"Did you take your pill out before you microwaved your lunch?" I ask.  
He did not and the pill had melted in with the burrito.  Funky burrito mystery taste solved.  
"Will you please bring me another pill?" he asks.  He works less then a mile away so I obliged.  
I went to grab another pill when I realize there are 2 pill bottles on the counter.  One for our dog, and one for Husband. The top of the dog's pill bottle even indicates so.

I open both bottles examining the pills.  

The capsule is Husband's and the while pill is our dogs.  I had given my Husband our dog's medicine.  Surely he would be alright?  Right? 
On my way to Husband's work, I make a quick stop at the vet just to make sure.  
"Make sure he doesn't drink any alcohol and he will be fine," the vet said.  
Should I tell Husband or not?  I chose not.  When he got home from work I watched his every move making sure he reached for the lemonade and not a cold beer.  All is well so far and once again the moral of the story is sometimes half the truth is all they need.