Wednesday, February 28, 2007

7 years, no itching.

My girl Aimee tagged me, so here we go:

Marriage Meme

1. Where/How did you meet? we met one night when a bunch of us were in Steve Smugeresky's room watching a movie (I honestly think it was "The Little Rascals" remake. Wild partiers we were!). Smugs introduced Scott as "Gigs," his baseball nickname. Scott has absolutely no recollection of meeting me that night (He pleads that it's 'cause it was dark in the room and he couldn't see me. Whatever.)
I thought he might not remember me though because next day when i saw him on campus and said hi, he looked at Pat Rupee and shrugged. Later, we both became RAs at schoool and met at a dance (Tucker Underground deserves its own post...another time). we stayed up all night together in the 24 hour lounge. And he hasn't been able to get rid of me yet. ;)

2. How long have you known each other?: 12 years in October

3. How long after you met did you start dating?: If you go by the day he met me and didn't remember it, 6 months. If you go by the time he does remember meeting me: 6 weeks.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged?: about 3 years

5. How long was your engagement?: 14 months

6. How long have you been married?: 7 years

7. What is your anniversary?: March 4th

8. How many people came to your wedding reception: about 110

9. What kind of cake did you serve?: Marble cake with butter cream icing. It was served with berries. Not that we got to eat any of it besides what we fed each other-no cake smashed in face! I threatened an annulment if he did it.

10. Where was your wedding?: North Hills, PA, at Queen of Peace Parish ; recpetion at LuLu Country Club, where my mom was working at the time.

11. What did you serve for your meal?: I think there was beef and chircken and maybe salmon. I can't remember. I did make sure I ate, though. We paid for the whole thing ourselves and I wasn't going to my own party without eating the dinner!

12. How many people were in your bridal party?: 3 groomsmen, 2 bridesmaids, 1 jr. bridesmaid and a bridesman!

13. Are you still friends with them all?: Yes.

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?: He got a little misty.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day?:Walking down the aisle with my dad.

16. Any funny moments?: Hmmmm...a girl I worked with got pretty ripped on the open bar. i didn't hear about it till after though...It was her first date with the guy she brought too. I don't think he ever called her again. Let that serve as a lesson to all the single girls in the house: a. Don't bring a guy to a wedding on the 1st date. B. Don't get so drunk on the first date that he has to carry you into the car.

17. Any big disasters?: Hm. There's the cufflinks i gace Scott got stolen when the jeewler sent them out to be engraved and he didn't get them till the morning of the wedding. Then there's the dress debacle (see below).

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?: Key west, Fl.

19. How long were you gone? 5 days

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change? I would have worn a dress with sleeves or a wrap. And went with the firt photographer we interviewed.

21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?: I sleep on the left side (when looking from the foot of the bed)

22. What size is your bed?: Queen

23. Greatest strength as a couple?: We agree on all the big stuff and always make up before bed when we fight.

24. Greatest challenge as a couple?: Getting alone time together. And Agreeing on money stuff.

25. Who literally pays the bills?: I write most of the checks, but we have automatic bill pay with the bank, so i only have to write checks to the church and school. .

26. What is your song? "This Magic Moment" by the Drifters

27. What did you dance your first dance to?: Our song - see above

28. Describe your wedding dress: I wore a white floor length gown with a princess waist, sweetheart neck and 3 spaghetti straps on each shoulder. The skirt was a lot of crinoline, like a long ballet skirt. The bodice was covered in sequins and pearls that faded onto the skirt. As I type this it sounds tacky, but it was very nice and reminded me of a snowflake. Aimee can vouch for me that it wasn't as gross as it sounds. The first dress I deposited on was ivory satin with a fitted, boned bodice which had tulips embroidered on it and a chapel length train. It would have had cap sleeves and I would have worn gloves. If the bridal shop hadn't closed in the middle of the night without ever having ordered my dress and simply stealing my $650 deposit. No. I am not kidding. This deserves a post of its own someday also. The dress I wore was bought off the rack in a boutique in the mall 4 weeks befre my wedding. And I was lucky. The woman who owned that shop really screwed over a bunch of girls on the day of or the day before their weddings.

29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?: The bridesmaids and i all had white tulips and the guys all had white rose bouttonieres.

30. Are your wedding bands engraved? What do they say? no, for we are lame...

If this meme speaks to you, go ahead and share, just link back in the combox so we can read it.

Friday, February 23, 2007

She's leaving home...bye bye

My wonderful mother has lived with us on and off (mostly on) for the last 6 years, ever since Primo was born. She moved out for about a year but she's been with us for about the last 4 years straight. She's on Social Security disability, but she helps me out so very much here at home. She's mothering all of us in our house. She's been an enormous blessing to us in so many ways. It's been great for our kids to grow up with their grandmother in the house.

My brother, Lt. Frank, is in the Navy and he is now stationed in San Diego, CA. He and Coleen have twin girls (see link to The Girls on sidebar) and they all just went out there yesterday. Frank will be deployed to fight the War on Drugs in the Pacific for 6 months starting in April. One of my nieces is still on a feeding tube. We do not have family in California.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

Mom is moving to San Diego in March. It's hard for me to write that sentence. It's hard for Mom to speak it. Please pray for all of us as we adjust to the changes and say our "See ya laters."

Monday, February 12, 2007

Housework? I don't do no stinking housework!

I saw this on Aimee's blog and thought it would be fun, if slightly embarrassing because I really hate housework. And totallly avoid it. Welcome to my mess...

Presenting: The A-B-C's of Homemaking -How I don't do it

Aprons- Y/N? No, but it would come in handy to have one. Especailly when my DH insists I actually fry the french fries instead of bake them.

Baking- Favorite thing to bake? Chocolate Chip Cookies, but I got me Paula Deen's "Just Desserts" cookbook and the earthquake cake was out of this world and so very easy. I'm looking forward to trying more of her recipes

Clothesline- Y/N? No. I'm severely allergic to pollen.

Donuts- Ever made them? No. But I'd like to try Aimee's dad's.

Everyday- One homemaking thing you do everyday? Does wipe off the kitchen counters count? Thats'a botu all i can muster.

Freezer- Do you have a separate deep freezer? No, but I totally want one-our freezer is way too small to store everything I want to stock up on when it goes on sale.

Garbage Disposal- Y/N? No :( Hey. I just got a dishwasher last year.

Handbook- Y/N? No. I was on the FlyLady listserve for a while, but i had to stop because i couldn't keep up with all that email!

Ironing- Love it or hate it? I don't go looking for chances to iron, but if I have to, I don't mind.

Junk Drawer- Where is it? In the kitchen. and in the secretary. And i think you could consider our back porch one large junk space.

Kitchen- Design and decorating? HA! It's lovely brown from the '70's with holes in the walls and ceilings from when we had some plumbing work done. 18 months ago!!!!

Love- What is your favorite part of homemaking? I love baking. And painting walls.

Mop- Y/N? When we have company coming. Oh, I'm so gross!!!!

Nylons- Wash by hand or in the washer? Washer. Unless I need to wear them again tomorrow. Which I don't have to do very often.

Oven- Do you use the window or open it to check? Window. Alton brown says you can add 5 minutes of cooking timefor every time you open the oven. i can't wait that long.

Pizza- What do you put on yours? We usually do half plain, half pepperoni. DH and Primo love their pepperoni and hot sauce on theirs. and Bubba likes plain. Mom and I really like mushrooms, but since everyone else in our house refuses to eat the pizza if there were 'shrooms within striking distance of said pizza, we usually just eat plain, too. I make my pizza using store bought dough.

Quiet- What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? I usually watch TV or get on the internet, but I should really read a book.

Recipe card box- Y/N? No. I have my recipes in my brain.

Style of house- We live in a duplex, with another house on the other side of the party wall (that I'm sure Hector and diana can hear me scream at the kids right through). We have painted everything but the kitchen in some pretty funky colors. We're still trying to figure out what to do with that awful kitchen (after 7 years in the house!).

Tablecloths and napkins- Y/N? Tablecloth on Thanksgiving (usually a high quality paper one to soak up whatever gets spilled so I can throw it away. Paper napkins for us, except for Primo who insists on wiping his hands on his pants. He needs some paper clothes.

Under the kitchen sink- Pleading the 5th here.

Vacuum- How many times a week? We only have carpet in the Dining room, which should be vacuumed daily, but gets it only once a week.

Wash- How many loads do you do a week? Way too many.

X's- Do you keep a list of things to do and cross them off? No, but I should.

Yard- Who does what? DH does everythiong outside of the house. I do inside. He helps inside though when we have company coming. And his other job is to make sure that the bathroom gets wiped down regularly so it doesn't smell like a public toilet. Hey man, I don't miss.

ZZZ's- What is your last homemaking task for the day? wipe up the kitchen counters.

If you want to share, consider yourself tagged.