Das Kaffeehaus von Zimmermann

Relationship meme

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:52:26 GMT

I just felt like doing this...and it's been so long since I posted last, that I thought you needed something! So you get this. :)

♥ What are your middle names? Rayn and Leigh...no, I didn't type his name wrong. ;) His mom wrote it wrong on his birth certificate! It was supposed to be Ryan...so, yes, I'm married to a Flower Child. ;)

♥ How long have you been together? Hmm...about 3 years or so.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? I think it was 2 years...

♥ Who asked whom out? He asked me! But we kind of decided that we were attracted to each other at the same time, so it was definitely a mutual thing.

♥ How old are each of you? 23 and 26...I guess you could say that I robbed the cradle. ;)

♥ Do you have any children together? One in heaven, and hopefully many more to come.

♥ What about pets? One adorable and disgustingly human-like cat...I wuvs him. :)

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Hmm...difficult to answer. Right now, money, definitely. :) But before (and sort of ongoing) I would say family (as in, extended) issues.

♥ Did you go to the same school? Well, we were both homeschooled. Does that count?

♥ Are you from the same hometown? Hehe, definitely not. :) I have traveled around most of my life (California, Oregon, Texas) and he has lived in Fort Worth or Weatherford for all of his.

♥ Who is the smartest? Ack, you had to ask, didn't you?? After much deliberation, I would say he is smarter. But I read more!

♥ Who is more sensitive? Now, this one definitely goes to me. :) Though, he certainly has his moments!

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? We haven't done much traveling together, but we've driven out to Ruidoso, NM three times since we've been married and we're planning a trip to Spokane, WA, in May for a friends' wedding. But that hasn't happened yet, so it doesn't count.

♥ Who has the craziest exes? Neither of us technically has exes, but I was pseudo-engaged a little while before I met Wes and that guy is definitely...weird. ;)

♥ Who has the worst temper? Ooh, me, again. It's extremely hard to make Wes angry, which in and of itself makes ME angry! I hate being the only one in an argument who gets riled.

♥ Who does the cooking? Me, but Wes makes mean quesadillas and mac'n'cheese. :)

♥ Who is more social? Well, we're both extremely social, but I would say he's even more so. He's the type that has never met a stranger.

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Hmm...hard to answer. Wes likes the house extremely clean, but hardly ever does anything about it. ;) I, on the other hand, do all of the cleaning and I'm a little more laid-back. So the house is never quite up to Wes' standards. I try, though!

♥ Who is more stubborn? We're both stubborn, but I would say he's definitely more so.

♥ Who hogs the bed? *cringe* Me. I get cold in the middle of the night and he's always hot, so I try to get as close to him as possible. He gets hot and scoots over...and I follow. So we end up all the way over on his side of the bed most mornings.

♥ Who wakes up earlier? I do, because I quickly discovered that if I don't make the effort to be the first one up on time, it just won't happen. He likes his sleep too much. :) So I get up and start the coffee and breakfast and then go roll him out of bed.

♥ Where was your first date? Ack, can you believe that I'm not entirely sure??? We went out a lot before we were engaged, but it was usually with people or just for fast food. The first time we went out after we were courting was to go see "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", but we were with people. So, I guess our first "technical" date would be the day we got engaged, when we went to Steak and Ale.

♥ Do you get flowers often? On holidays or birthdays usually, though he has been known to just show up with a bouquet just because. :) He always picks the flowers out himself at the florist and arranges them for me in a vase when he gets home...he's quite talented at it, actually!

♥ How do you spend the holidays? Thanksgiving with my family, Christmas with his.

♥ Who is more jealous? Neither of us are very jealous at all, so I don't know!

♥ How long did it take to get serious? Well, we knew each other as friends for several years, but it only took us about 2 months to figure out that we were interested in each other.

♥ Who eats more? Oh, definitely him.

♥ Who does/did the laundry? That would be me. I like it and he hates it, so it makes sense. :)

♥ Who’s better with the computer? Um, most positively Wes. He is a programmer, uses Linux on all of our computers, is the tech-guy for all of the computers at his office and used to have a business fixing them. Me? I can barely turn the darn thing on.

♥ Who drives when you are together? He does, unless he has a book that he wants to finish. :P On our trip down to see my family for Thanksgiving, I drove nearly all the way while he finished reading "Brisingr". Needless to say, I was rather bored and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. I'd rather be a passenger and talk his ear off. :)

Because this is easier than a full post...

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:27:49 GMT

...and I'm procrastinating on dishes and house work. Is that a good reason to fill this out? ;)

1. First Name: Rachel

2. Age: 25 (will be 26 at the end of the month...ack!)

3. Location: Weatherford, TX

4. Occupation: Wife to the most wonderful man in the world, Manager of the Site Clean-Up Crew for our house and Caulker Extraordinaire.

5. Partner? My husband of almost 2 years, Wesley. He is my best friend and an amazing man. I am always in awe of his wonderful Christian character and amazing sense of humor. He can always make me laugh. :)

6. Kids: One little one in heaven...

7. Brothers/Sisters: Ooh, you want the list? :) 4 sisters: Kate--24, Grace Anne--18, Essie--16 and Molly--5. 5 brothers: Zach--21, Samuel--14, William--12, Peter--10 and Andrew--8.

8. Pets: One adorable, loveable and cuddly cat named Nickel. I wuvs him!

9. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life:

1. Our house! I would say that this is probably all-consuming at this time. And it's almost done!
2. My continuing education in being a Godly wife, daughter and friend. I guess this is just general relational stuff. :)
3. Learning to be "content in whatever circumstances", including living in the country without a means of getting into town! (Wes got rear-ended by a drunk driver over a month ago, and that totalled our fuel-efficient car, leaving him driving the gas-guzzling truck and me without a vehicle. We're trying to stay out of debt, so we had to wait for the (small) check from the insurance company before shopping for another car. It's been good for me, though...I spend a lot less money when I can't drive anywhere! ;)

10. Where and for what did you go to school for? I was homeschooled from K-12 by my wonderful mother, and then I took about 2 semesters of college courses at Cy-Fair Community College. It was really just to further my music education, since I was planning on going full-time with teaching. Then Wes came along and messed up THOSE plans. ;) (An interruption that couldn't have been more welcome!)

11. Parents? Gene and Tina; my dad is a full-time pastor of their church, St. David's (a CREC congregation) and my mother is a full-time wife, mother, teacher and gardener. :)

12. Who are some of your closest friends? Wesley is definitely my best friend of all time. :) Other than that, I would say my dear sisters, sisters-in-law, mother and mother-in-law.

I promise that I'll try to take some more pictures of the house today and get them up on here or Facebook...I have been terribly remiss in that, I know. But just so you know, we have almost all of the interior doors in and trimmed, the baseboard trim in, the ceilings painted and we're starting on the walls! It's so much fun! :)

Houses, babies, cooking, books and dancing...what more could you want??

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:32:23 GMT

Before you ask, no, the baby is not mine, unfortunately. That day will come, hopefully soon, in God's time! :)

It was my friend Christa's baby, and I got to be there for the birth! It was an amazing experience--she did such a good job, even though she was in labor for 37 hours. She finally had her gorgeous baby boy, named Joshua James Gregory (the middle two names are after his maternal and paternal grandfathers, respectively), at 4:30 in the afternoon on February 28th. He just missed being a leap-year baby, which is probably good! :) He weighed in at 6 lb. 7.2 oz and was 18 inches long. He has the most beautiful head of dark, curly hair and looks very much like his daddy. :)

So, in other news, our house is coming along swimmingly! I am very much in love with it. It helps when you have had an active hand in designing it, though..it's hard not to love something that is so much your own! :) Wes and are going to be scoring the concrete today in the kitchen, breakfast nook and living room, and then we'll hopefully stain it in the next couple of weeks. The windows are ordered, but not in yet, so we need to wait for them to be installed. The stain we're using is called an acid stain, and then the sealer is acrylic, so we really need all of the ventilation that we can get. Wes says he'll just hold his breath the whole time, but I have my doubts...

I've finally picked out the color for the house, trim, front door, etc. We're going with a lovely taupe-ish color called Pony Tail for the main color, and then we're using a dark, chocolate brown for the horizontal and window trim, cream for the vertical trim, and a toned-down (but still vibrant) red for the doors. :)

But, as you can see, we're still very green now. That's okay...I can still have vision. :)

I have been trying to bake a lot more recently, but with my schedule with the house, that gets really hard. I end having days where I cook all afternoon long, especially since my trailer oven is so tiny. But it works fairly well, and yesterday I ended up feeling very accomplished! I made 2 1/2 dozen blueberry creme muffins (soooo good!), for church, a quiche lorraine (with a bunch of other stuff in it, 'cause I like my quiches brimming), a chilled artichoke dip for the ball we're going to tonight, and finally, pizza for supper! Rita, I followed your recipe and it was great! My pizza stone is really new, though, and I think it cooked the crust a little faster than I intended, so it was kind of crispy. I think next time (until I break in my darn stone!) I'm going to add a little wheat gluten and see if that softens it up.

Wes and I decided that we needed to give up watching TV/movies for a while, and since it was Lent, decided to give them up for that. It's our first time observing the Lenten fast and it's been really good for us! Kind of tough, but really good. :) So, instead of watching movies in the evening, (or during the day) we've been reading. I have read something like 15 books in the last 20 days. :) Of course, a lot of those are audio books that I listen to while I work or knit...it helps to pass the time. Some of my favorites have been:

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
All of the Aunt Dimity mysteries that I've read so far, by Nancy Atherton
Most of the Agatha Raisin mysteries, by M.C. Beaton--there was one I didn't like very much.
Marie Antoinette, by Antonia Fraser (still reading this one, but it's fascinating!

I'm also reading various decorating/architecture books (What Color is Your Slipcover? by Denny Daikeler, Concrete at Home, by Fu-Tung Cheng and Inside the Not So Big House, by Sarah Susanka). I can never read just ONE book at once, so I've always got at least 3 going. :) What can I say? I guess I'm ADD. :)

So, anyway, there you go: a better update than last time, 'cause I added pictures. And if each picture is worth a thousand words...I think this one is long enough. :)

Yes, a real update!

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:37:35 GMT

Gosh, it sure has been a long time since I have updated! And I thought that life would be slow and boring after I got married. Maybe I married the wrong guy for that to be the case! :)

Oh, my, where to begin? It seems like so much has happened since I wrote last, and yet I can't remember what I have or haven't written about! Let's see...

We continue to live in our little trailer (or maybe I should say "trailers", as we have several *nod to Mr. Collins*). It's 28-feet long and very cozy, especially since we have an older one right behind us in which to store various and sundry items. Living in the trailer has been great for me, especially, since I have to stay on top of organization and cleanliness all the time...it's clean one minute and a disaster the next! That's the joy of living in a place where two socks and a shirt on the floor make it look like a disaster area. :)

But we're building our house! Praise the Lord! It may seem like a really long time that we've been working towards this, but it doesn't seem that like long now that we've started. We were originally approved for our loan in May, by Frost Bank (which is our "regular" bank), but they ran into a little trouble with our property. Apparently, when Wesley's parents had refinanced 5 years ago, they had specified that they wanted the majority of the property to be free of a lien and they instead put a lien on their house and 5 acres. I guess someone at the mortgage company didn't understand, since they lien remained on the whole property undetected until we started the loan process. Then the lady at the bank called Wes up and said, "Well, you're good to go once you clear up that lien on your property."

Excuse me? Lien???? It was the first we'd heard of it! So, we scrambled around to find out which mortgage company had the documents (you know how it goes...one gets bought out by another that gets bought out by another...) and when we found them, they were on their way to a document storage facility in Arizona!! Wes called and practically begged them find the documents, which they agreed to, but it took several weeks to even locate them, let alone the time it took for them to send them to us. We were a little nervous, because the we only had until August 7th to close on the loan and the documents weren't here.

They arrived on August 8th. Hrm.

But by that time we were really grateful, because we had discovered that we did NOT want to work with Frost Bank. The lady there took her time about everything and was really not very helpful. We switched to another bank that Wesley works with in real estate and they got us closed in about 2 months! We signed documents and paid the largest sum of money we've ever paid on November 7 to begin work on the house. It's been a wild ride since, but loads of fun! :)

To see pictures of the house process, check out my Facebook: http://nhmccd.facebook.com/profile.php?id=199301713

Amongst all of this, we've still be attending church at the fabulous Heritage Covenant Church in Weatherford and loving every minute of it! It's wonderful to grow with people and truly feel as though they are your family. We have been through our ups and downs together, but the Lord is so faithful to His people. I praise Him for His constant watch-care of us!

I am still teaching piano, but only to a few students. It's hard to teach when you don't have a place of your own to teach in, but that will be remedied soon. :) I plan to try and find some local students once the house is complete and they can start coming to me, rather than the other way around.

The sewing is still coming along well, although I'm taking many fewer orders until the house is finished. My sewing stuff is set up in the apartment that my in-laws have behind their house, so it's a bit of a jog up there for me to work. But it was wonderful to have in the summer--it had an a/c, which my "second" trailer didn't have! I did two weddings in 3 months and that was exhausting. I'm grateful to have some time off!

Wesley is still working at the real estate office in Benbrook and doing fabulously! He's such a great Realtor. :) All of his clients and his boss love him, and I can totally understand why. The Lord has blessed me with an incredible husband and I love him more and more everyday. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the other part of our little family: Nickel! He's my cat, in case you forgot. (How could you???) He's my constant companion and the sweetest little guy that ever there was. I wuvs him.

So now you're all caught up on my life! My days now are spent cleaning, cooking and making boatloads of decisions about the house. I have my double wall oven and cook-top (thanks to a scratch and dent sale--they're awesome!) and my bathroom (complete from Craigslist at a REALLY great price!), so now I get to choose paint colors, floor color, windows, doors, trim, faucets, ETC!! It's a little overwhelming, but I'm enjoying the process. And I still find time to read a lot, knit, take walks and hang out with my adorable husband and his family. Life is good.

I'd love to share pictures here, but I already uploaded them to facebook. So, look there! :) If you aren't a friend, I'll be sure to remedy that situation. And if you don't have facebook...poor you. :)

A Shakespeare in music theory? :)

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:17:31 GMT

On the twelfth day of Christmas, psalmsinger82 sent to me...

Twelve homesteadherbs drumming

Eleven msdjr99s piping

Ten siemovas a-studying

Nine ashes_311s dancing

Eight longshanks161s a-singing

Seven unpoedics a-writing

Six oratorios a-sewing

Five me-e-e-edieval studies

Four requiem masses

Three norse myths

Two rascal flatts

...and a shakespeare in a music theory.

Christmas Wish List

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:02:20 GMT

Make a post to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fun ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ so that the holiday joy will spread.Step Two
Surf around your friends-list (or friends-friends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't see -- or even know where you could get someone's dream pure-bred Basset Hound for free--do it.You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

Be they ever so superficial, here they are:

1. Jasmine Vanilla Body wash from Bath and Body Works.
2. A really cool watch.
3. Some piano music--hymn arrangements, carols, jazz, whatever!
4. Starbucks decaf coffee beans.
5. A finished house...soon. :)
6. A gold clutch.
7. A piano.
8. French manicure polish set.
9. Voice lessons.
10. Spicy, fall (or Christmas) scented candles.
11. Mysteries!

Rachel Hurd
395 Pepper Ln.
Weatherford, TX., 76088

Now, I want to see all of yours! :)

Yes, yes, I know...

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:54:20 GMT

...one shouldn't, on coming out of hiding for so long, just post a survey. Sorry. I just felt like doing one! I promise I'll post more later, okay? :) Here's a brief rundown:

Wes and I are still very happily married--he's the best husband in the world!--and we just celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We are just now getting started on our house (lots of bumps and glitches encountered...later) and we're both staying VERY busy. He shows houses and I sew, teach piano and try to keep our little place in some semblance of order. :)

Okay, here we go. From Bethany.

1. Elaborate on your default icon.

It's one of our engagement pictures, probably my favorite. I should really change it to one of our wedding pics, shouldn't I?

2. What's your current relationship status?

Married to the best guy around, last time I checked! :)

3. Ever have a near-death experience?

Several. And they all involve cars. (And I wasn't driving for most of them!)

4. Name an obvious quality you have.

Friendliness, I suppose. That, or the inability to trust those I love. I'm not sure that's obvious until you get to know me, though. It's rather unfortunate and something I'm fighting against every day!

5. What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?

Let It Snow!, even though it probably won't for a while! :)

6. Any celeb you would marry?

No, I don't think so...I'm happy where I am, thanks. :)

7. Who will cut and paste this first?

Probably no one. I don't think I even have anyone reading my journal now! So it will be lost in the vast reaches of cyberspace, never to be recovered again.

8. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?

Well, a couple of people have said that I look like Jane Seymour (kinda doubt that), and Wes thinks I look like Drew Barrymore, because we're both cute and round. (My words, not his. :)

9. Do you wear a watch? What kind?

No, I don't...I used to wear one years ago, but I kept leaving them on various pianos that I would play. So I gave it up. I'd love to get a new one, though...something from Fossil. :)

10. Do you have anything pierced?

One in each ear...but I'd like to get a second one, just 'cause I think it would be fun. Not the actual piercing part, but the wearing of two pairs of earrings.

11. Do you have any tattoos?

No, and the idea kind of creeps me out. I like needles when you sew with them, but not in relation to my body!

12. Do you like pain?

Um, absolutely not. Wes says that I have a very low pain tolerance. :P

13. Do you like to shop?

Ooooh, yes! It's my favorite thing! As long as I have money and I find what I need. Otherwise, it's not my favorite thing.

14. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?

My really pretty black pants suit and top to wear to my choir performance next Monday. That, or some bread and wine for yesterday's supper.

15. What was the last thing you paid for with your credit card?

Well, it's a debit card...but I think I went to Starbucks (sheepish grin).

16. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone?

My handsome darling, Wesley!

17. What is on your desktop background?

An artistic drop of water.

18. What is the background on your cell phone?

Again, my handsome darling, wearing 3 pairs of sunglasses. :)

19. Do you like redheads?

There are certain redheads that I love very much! But I love their hair color--especially when it's curly.

20. Do you know any twins?

Yes, I do, several.

21. Do you have any weird relatives?

Well, that depends upon what you call "weird". My relatives would call me weird, but I don't know if I would apply that word to them. I think maybe "normal" is the word that I would use.

22. What was the last movie you watched?

The Contract...it wasn't bad.

23. What was the last book you read?

The Wandering Fire and I don't think I'd recommend it. It was okay.

24. Is there such a thing as love at first sight, or it is more likely to be "lust at first sight"?

I guess so...but I think that love has to develop before you can call it that.

25. What's your favorite book?

Oh, I don't know! I love them all. :)

26. When was the last time you visited the street where you first lived?

Not since I was living there.

27. When was the last time you googled your own name?

Oh, a loooonnnggg time ago. I forgot about all the fun stuff you could do with a computer that connects to the internet!

28. What was/is your favorite subject at school?

Probably History.

29. What was is your least favorite subject at school?

Definitely math.

30. Do you like having your photograph taken?

Not particularly. I don't make a fuss about them, but they always make me look weird. Of course, you know what they say..."the camera never lies". So, maybe I DO look funny and just have to come to terms with that. :)

31. What time were you born?

7:00 in the morning, I think.

32. Ever seriously questioned your sanity?

Not seriously.

33. How many phone numbers do you have remembered and can say off the top of your head?

Not many. My cell phone address book has been a crutch, but I won't get rid of it!

34. Can you Limbo?

'Till the pole starts getting lower.

35. Have you ever killed your own dinner? No.

Absolutely! I love to hear the little lettuces squeal when you pull them out of the ground. :D

36. How long have you been living at your current residence?

Almost 14 months! And I'm ready to move. :)

37. What phobias do you have?

Spiders and small, dark places.

38. What's your ideal breakfast?

Thick French toast and syrup with sausage, scrambled eggs and coffee.

39. Where are you right now?

In our living room--no, wait, kitchen--er, bathroom--at the desk in our trailer. :)

40. Why do you blog?

I don't!

41. What would you call your autobiography?

The Thing that Wouldn't Shut Up

42. What's the longest time you've stayed out of the country/where?

I think that would be when we went to Canada for a week.

43. Do you use ICQ, AIM, etc..?

I talk to Wes on AIM sometimes, but that's it.

44. Do you have nightmares frequently?

Not that I remember.

45. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?

I don't know...if I really knew me, probably not!

46. Which TV character could you be friends with?

Hiro from Heroes, Callie from CSI: Miami, Eric Weiss from Alias.

47. What's on your mouse pad?

I don't have one.

48. What is your ring tone?

A very traditional ring.

49. What did you watch on TV last night?

Dr. Phil and then That '70's Show. Yep, pretty stellar. We only get a few channels and we like to make fun of modern TV. It's great.

50. Scary movies or happy endings?

Definitely happy endings. I'm a post-millennialist, after all!

My Memorial Day

Tue, 29 May 2007 14:32:23 GMT

Wes and I made a date for Memorial Day: we decided to sleep in as late as we wanted to. Nice, hmm? :) You'd think it would be an easy thing for newly-weds, but there's this thing called a job that Wes has to keep up. Boring, I know.

So, we slept in late (it was heaven!), got dressed, headed off to town and bought some coffee and doughnuts. I think I can count on one finger the number of times I've done that in the last 10 years. :) We took our goodies to the park and sat by the edge of the pond, frittering away time, observing the ducks. They decided that doughnuts weren't exciting enough to mob us for, so they gave us a good grooming show. Afterwards we decided to follow a path that led along the creek that the pond drained into and we ended up in an old Girl Scout camp. We were trespassing and didn't even intend to! :)

It was such a fun day...I love spending time with my husband. Maybe we can schedule another Memorial Day next week?

New monitor, new car, new world!

Tue, 22 May 2007 14:38:26 GMT

We bought a car. A really awesome '93 Toyota Camry that's in great condition. And we bought it for cash! Praise the Lord.

Wesley found a Dell flat panel monitor in the trash at one of our cleaning jobs and he brought it home and fixed it. Don't I have a cool and resourceful husband? :) Now, if only we could find a house in somebody's garbage...;)

Shopping

Wed, 09 May 2007 16:31:45 GMT

No, this isn't the fun kind of shopping. We're looking for a "new" car. Whoop-de-do. I hate car shopping!! Probably because I know next to nothing about cars, but I have a very distinctive idea of what I do and don't want.

I don't want: a "granny" car. a car that gets 13 miles to the gallon (duh). a car that is more than $4000. a car that only has two doors.

I do want: a nice looking (whatever color) car. a car that gets 20+ miles to the gallon. a car that has a CD player (well, this isn't strictly necessary, but we're talking wants here!). a car that is less than $4000.

Anyone have any leads?

And Wes wants to limit our selection of cars to Toyota, Honda and Nissan, so that we can have a reliable car. I think I've burned him with my Volvo. ;) He says we are absolutely never getting another Volvo or BMW again. (His sister had a Beemer and it was not a very good investment.)

So, anyway! We have to find something before my car's inspection expires in June, because it's going to cost us upwards of $4000 to fix the car just to get it inspected. Yesterday, after a long drive to Dallas and back (to see an absolutely incredible exhibit of Balenciaga's couture!), the right front wheel started smoking. Not good. Wes thinks it's probably the oil leak (yes, I have one of those, too!) getting onto the tire and making it smoke.

One of our friends asked if we had a tall cliff that we could drive the car off of. ;) I think that might be the best answer!

So, please, be praying that this car search would be sucessful and that we would quickly find the car that we need. I know that these situations are rarely settled quickly (mostly because of the silly decisions we make when we're in a hurry), but a shorter wait is much more attractive right now than a longer one. :)

I have a totally awesome husband!

Mon, 07 May 2007 18:34:33 GMT

But you already knew that, didn't you? I thought so. ;)

Notice my location. Notice the key word in the statement: my. That means, therefore, that my darling, incredible, smart and handsome husband figured out how to get internet connection in our trailer!! (Unfortunately, the location doesn't mean our house is finished. More about that in a sec.)

Anyway, isn't that cool? I can actually be a part of your lives now! I can be an internet junky! I can waste time by the bucketload, if I feel like it! (And I confess, I do sometimes. ;) Awesome, dude.

So what's new? A few things...

First of all, we got approved the for the construction loan for our house! It feels like we've been trying to make this happen for months (which is true...ahem) and now it's hard to believe that it's actually done! The lady with the bank was soooooo slow and took forever to get back to us about lots of things. But she's pretty nice and finally made the loan happen, so I harbor no ill feelings. :) We should close on the loan this week and can get started as soon as our house plans get back from the architect! I am so excited. I have been reading house building books and critiquing nearly every structure I enter, so I have some good ideas of what I want and what I don't want. Just think! I could have my own home by Christmas! Hurrah!

Wes and I have been taking dancing lessons for about a month and a half and it's tons of fun! There is a ballroom dance teacher who lives about 5 minutes away from us, so the whole family has been taking lessons. We're learning the two-step (definitely my least favorite of the dances--it's rather boring!), the waltz (ballroom waltz is HARD), the foxtrot (this one is really fun!), swing (which we're getting pretty good at, if I may say so myself) and, just last week, salsa. It's been great! Our teacher is an older man, but he's really good at what he does and fairly patient with all of us and our left feet. I don't know how much longer we'll take from him, but we're definitely learning a lot.

We're also in charge of leading a Dave Ramsey "Financial Peace University" for our church and that seems to be going pretty well. This will be our second week and, despite the terrible mud we had last week (and consequently the late-night rental of a carpet-cleaning machine to return the building to it's original state), it was great! I'm looking forward to seeing what Dave says about finances...I've heard that he's got some good advice.

We do commercial cleaning twice a week, one building on Wednesday evening and three on Saturday afternoon/evening. That keeps us really busy and feeling like our weekends are about three seconds long, but it's all good. The extra cash is quite lovely, I assure you.

Oh yes! And Monica had her baby! My first nephew. :) Kai Brennan Jacobson (isn't that a nice name?) was born on April 18th at 8:30 am and weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz (I think...). He was delivered via C-section, because the midwife discovered soon after arriving that he was toe-line breech. Despite the obvious recovery challenges, Monica is doing great! Mrs. Hurd just returned from spending 10 days with them and she says they're adjusting well. I am sure that Monica and Marty will make great parents. :)

On a totally different note (pun intended), I love this new Norah Jones album! Hannah loaned me her CD to make a copy of and it's wonderful. I listen to it at least once a day, always assuming I can get iTunes to work. :)

Well, I had better scoot and fold my laundry. The laundromat is quite a blessing--4 loads of laundry done in an hour. PLUS, you get to see some of the most interesting people! Today it was mostly old ladies (one of which asked to borrow my cell phone to make a call...fun), but sometimes you get some real characters. It's my people-watching time for the week. :)

"Just Relax."

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:06:44 GMT

If I had a nickel for every time my husband said that to me, I would be a rich woman. "Just relax," he says as I hyperventilate about what "people are going to think" about this or that. "Just relax," he says as a crazy driver whizzes past us, endangering our lives. "Just relax," he says to me while I'm in peril of crashing into a VERY large tree on my first ski slope. And he says it while skiing backwards. Showoff.

Yes, I have joined the ranks of those who ski. Not very well, very long or very fast, but I CAN do it! :) The whole family (read: the Hurds) took a ski trip to New Mexico this past weekend and it was such fun. It was slightly odd, though, going back to the same place where we honeymooned, bringing 10 other people with us. ;)

Thankfully, Wesley said that he thought I should take the beginners' ski class, rather than just taking me up to the top of the mountain and wishing me luck. :) So I joined a class of 9 other beginners and we took all day to learn how to put our skis on, get on and off of the lift and not fall on our faces very often.

And I did fine! For the first half of the day. In our class, we just went on little slopes and our instructor told us to take it easy. During our lunch break, I met up with Wes and he wanted to take me on another easy slope to help me practice. Little did I know that this particular slope had several different sides, and I ended up on the steep one. On my rear, to be exact. Yes, my first fall was in front of my husband. How horrid. :)

But I kept going. The next day I went on the easy slopes again and then Wes took me down a green run. Wow. Okay, it was only green, but I can't imagine what the blues and blacks must be like! I managed that run and did it again. The third time my legs simply gave out and I ended up feeling very chummy with a bright orange fence that divided the green run from the bunny slopes. So chummy, in fact, that I wanted Wes to leave me there. Silly boy, he didn't. He patiently waited until I had disentangled my legs from the skis and each other and manage to achieve an upright position once more.

My ski outfit was a conglomeration of left-overs and unused pieces in the Hurds' collection, mostly belonging to Monica. I had on flaming red ski pants, a bright orange Gap jacket (quite the spiffiest item in the collection, I assure you, Mons!) and I finished it off with a cashmere red-and-white snowflake scarf (thank you, Sears out-of-season) and a bright red knitted hat. Now, I am quite sure that they dressed me that way so that they wouldn't lose me. Wes said he could spot me anywhere. Especially when I fell.

So, you ask, was it worth it? Most definitely! I had the time of my life. Besides learning to participate in my husband's favorite activity (albeit not very flexibly), we had a splendid time of fellowship and fun. Midnight walks, sleeping in really late one morning, a trip to the various shops in town, TCBY and the long ride home, accompanied by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (read by the incomparable Stephen Fry) and a whole slew of cheeseburgers from Burger King. (There were, after all, 10 of us traveling home...) It was the ski trip of a lifetime, only I hope that my next one find me vertical a little more often. ;)

The post you've all been waiting for...

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:40:46 GMT

Or do I flatter myself? Yeah, probably. Okay, so you haven't thought about me in aaaagggeeesss. I've thought about you, though! I've also thought about the fact that I don't have internet access except sporadically. Which limits what I can do about the fact that I'm thinking about you. And that was a very odd sentence. You know what I mean, though, right? :)

Anywho, here I sit in the Hurds' house--in an entirely vacant and </i>quiet</i> house, I might add--doing laundry and looking through pictures all by me onesy. I confess, I'm a little lonely after all of the commotion that I'm used to. But everyone has gone their separate ways to the zoo, the airport, the college, the real estate office, etc., and I can't go along because I have to teach piano lessons this afternoon. But that will be a blessing in disguise, because now I get to update you all on the wonderful happenings in my life! You're waiting with bated breath, right? I thought so.

First, I'll begin by saying that I love being married, and I adore being married to Wesley. He's just...the world. He compliments me perfectly and I try to do the same for him. He's working at a real estate office about 30 minutes from where we live and he works very hard. One of the other agents in the office is leaving to go work for his dad, so Wes is taking over all of the retail listings. His boss is going to do all of the repos, so they're going to be two busy little bees! (And I'm relatively certain they wouldn't appreciate that analogy. Silly guys.) Besides that, Wes is trying to get together the financing so that we can build our house, attempting to learn how to live with a fickle, hormonal and irrational woman, and puzzling out the problem of how to keep the cows from eating our insulation. It's a stumper, I tell you.

As for me, I'm just the same. I think. I keep myself busy by doing dishes (and HOW, I ask you, can two people and a cat generate so many of them?), laundry, knitting, reading, taking walks, attempting to write my myriads of thank-you notes (you'll get yours soon, I promise), teaching piano lessons, doing commercial cleaning with my darling husband and getting involved in our awesome church. We're still in our little trailer, which is very...compact. At times it feels more so than at others. ;) But our house plans are coming along and we're definitely looking forward to starting it!

There is always something going on around here, which definitely makes me feel at home. :) Our most recent achievement was my dear sister-in-law Lindsey's wedding to Shayne this past weekend! It was a double wedding with her best friend Tami and her (then fiancee) Paul. The wedding was beautiful, but a lot of work. :) But what wedding isn't? I got the make 3 of the flower girls' dresses, alter Lindsey's wedding dress (because she's even shorter than me!) and Kate and I were in charge of food prep for the two days before the wedding, besides also being in the wedding as bridesmaids. Monica and Marty came down for the wedding and we've been thoroughly enjoying their company. Marty took some positively fabulous pictures for the wedding and you can find them at http://picasaweb.google.com/martincjacobson

So...I suppose ya'll might like to hear a little bit about my wedding? Or has it been too long? ;) I really wanted to type up a post about it before, but...the best laid plans of mice and men, you know.

I guess that everything up to the point of the rehearsal and dinner went just about as you would expect of any wedding...rather hectic, chaotic, exhausting and fun. Our rehearsal was pretty funny, trying to coordinate all of the little kids and reminding the ushers NOT to touch the communion rail (our coordinator was adamant about this, but otherwise quite awesome). But we got everything figured out. Bethany (on piano) and Mrs. Hampton (on flute) showcased their enormous talents with the wedding music while we tried to figure out how long the processional was. Afterwards, we all adjourned to a friends' house for an incredible dinner prepared by the incomparable Lindsey, Tami and Mrs. Hurd. They cooked for tons of people (out of town guests and close friends were invited in addition to the wedding party) and it was all soooo good! Wes and I had a wonderful time enjoying the food, the company, the toasts, the champagne and red wine and the hospitality of our friends. Once all of the guests and the ladies left, the guys had a Superhero bachelor's party for Wes...which I hear was quite entertaining. Suffice it to say that they dressed him up as Superman and played poker for hours. :)

The day of the wedding dawned absolutely clear and warm--it was just gorgeous! I tried to sleep in, but I was too excited. (Also, I had slept really well the night before--thanks to the champagne!) My aunt, who did all of the flowers for the wedding, looked over my outfit and declared that I must have something blue to wear, so she and I and her daughter Kelsey drove off to the store to find something. It really was fun, looking through all of the blue jewelry at Claire's and trying to figure out how wacky I wanted to go. In the end, though, I just decided on a pretty blue bracelet and she bought it for me. Quite fun. :)

After that, everything's pretty much a blur. We packed things into the cars, Wes came and picked up my clothes for the honeymoon, and Zach and I ended up being the last two to drive out of the house, in my Volvo loaded down the food, clothes and baked beans (which spilled all over the place!). We took our time driving into town and Zach took me to get some coffee, which was a lifesaver. By the time that we got to the reception "hall" (really just the meeting room/lunch room of a local Lutheran highschool), it was about 4:00. And everyone was freaking out because there was too much to do! I was just supposed to drop Zach off and go to the church to get dressed, but instead I ended up decorating all of the tables for the reception. It was great fun to see peoples' faces when they saw me there! :) But I made it back to the church in time to get dressed--thankfully my hair and make-up were already done.

So...all of the girls are there and dressed, looking simply lovely. Except for Lindsey, who had been at the Shormann's house icing the cake. It was 5:45 and nobody knew where she, the cake OR Mrs. Shormann were. The wedding was supposed to start at 6:00. I didn't panic for the wedding, but I was seriously nervous about Linds! 6:00 rolls around and she flies into the room, muttering something about never making a cake with meringue icing again. She said that the icing had refused to set and the cake was sliding around all over the car, despite the fact that Mrs. Shormann had the air conditioning set as low as it could go! Lindsey threw on her dress, twisted her gorgeous hair up and looked stunning. Gosh. Wish I could get dressed for a wedding in 1 minute!!

After that, as they say, the rest is history. Bethany and Mrs. H. kept playing music until the girls were ready and then the wedding started. I entered to them playing "Be Thou My Vision" on the piano and flute...simply lovely! Molly scattered autumn leaves for me and I don't remember much about walking down the aisle. All I remember seeing is Wes waiting there for me, and thinking that I really wanted to get there as fast as possible. :) The ceremony was wonderful, we took our vows and were declared man and wife and then had communion. Bethany played Chris Rice's version of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" while the elements were being distributed and she did such a good job! I love that song. Afterwards, Papa was about to present us, but he had forgotten the kiss! I leaned over and whispered, "Papa, don't forget the kiss." Realization dawned on his face and he said into the microphone, "Oh, wait--they want to kiss." LOL! We did, were presented to the congregation and left singing "The Son of God Goes Forth to War".

The rehearsal was tons of fun--a friend of ours made some spectacular BBQ and the ladies in the church supplied the side dishes (by request--it wasn't a potluck!). We ate, danced our first dance to "Sweet Afton" by Nickel Creek and then did a swing dance to "Come Fly With Me" by Michael Buble. We socialized, cut the cake (which ended up looking wonderful), had pictures taken and before we knew it, it was time to toss the bouquet and leave. Everyone showered us with birdseed and sang Psalm 128 to us while we ran--I don't remember the singing, I have to confess. :) They had really massacred Wes' truck--it cost him $40 the next day to get it clean, because someone had bought the wrong kind of paint!--but that was really a lot of the fun. And then we left. Married. Man and wife.

The End.

Well, I had intended to put some pictures in here, but there are waaaayyyy too many and this post is long enough already! So, just to here and you'll be able to see them all: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v334/southrnheritagedancr/Engagement%20Pictures/wedding%20pics/

Here are a few just for you:

(By-the-by, our incomparable photographer was Abi. Didn't she do a great job?)

Alas, I cannot promise that I'll be any more faithful on here than I have been since I got married. It just doesn't seem likely. But I like to check everyone once in a while, so you can be sure I'll get your comments if you leave them. :)

A quiz about my darling

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:47:22 GMT

I stole this from Rachael, and since I can't upload the pictures that I have like I wanted to (my darling husband took the camera to work), I'll waste your time this way. :) And maybe you'll learn something about Wesley that you didn't know before!

1) Do you love your spouse?
Yes-huh. Incredibly, and more and more everyday.

2) How did you meet your spouse?
At a ball through mutual friends. (Yes, it actually does happen!)

3) How long did you date before you were married?
We didn't date, per se, but we courted for 5 months and were engaged for 5 months, so that makes 10. I think. ;)

4) How many times did you break up before you were married?
None, as far as I can remember. hehe

5) How many times a month do you fight?
I don't really keep track of that sort of thing...and does it really matter?

6) What side of the bed do you sleep on?
The side Wesley doesn't sleep on. :) Um, the right side (when you're laying down in the bed).

7) Who is the money maker?
Definitely Wes, but I help as much as I can.

8) What kind of car do you drive?
1991 Volvo station wagon named Bill.

9) Do you rent or own a house?
Well, neither, actually. :) We own a 28-foot trailer that we're living in on our property while we're building our house. So I suppose you could say we "own" a house.

10) How many square foot is your house?
What's 28 feet long by 8 feet wide? That's how many square feet. :)

11) What date and year were you married and where was the party?
October 7th, 2006 and we partied at the reception area, duh. And it was fun!

12) Do you have pets?
Yes; one black kitten named Nickel and a beagle named Bitsy who lives at my parents' house.

13) Do you have a baby?
No, not yet. We will have many, Lord willing!

14) Who pays the bills physically?
Wesley does. I help him by reminding him which ones are due when.

15) What kind of car does your spouse drive?
2002 Dodge truck named Molly. Which is one of the reasons that I married him. :) I love Dodge trucks.

16) What does your spouse do for a living?
He is a realtor and a good one, too!

17) How many places have you lived as a married couple?
Well, we've only lived in our trailer technically. We house-sat for some friends for two weeks--does that count?

18) How many kids do you want?
As many as the Lord wants to give us. Seriously. :) We'd both like to have a large family, but we don't have a certain number in mind.

19) Where do you both love to vacation?
Just about anywhere! Ruidoso, NM, where we honeymooned was wonderful and we'd love to go back to the Pacific Northwest and to Scotland, one day.

20) What is your favorite place to eat out?
Probably Chili's--we like their margaritas. :)

21) What is a great date?
Eating dinner out, going to see a movie and window shopping in the mall, or swing dancing and late-night coffee with friends.

22) How many couples friends do you and your spouse have?
Quite a few! I only get to see two of them on a regular basis, but I'd have to say maybe seven or eight.

23) Who makes the decisions?
It depends upon the decision. If it's "What's for supper?", I decide. If it's how much money we have to spend on X, it's usually Wesley. :)

24) Who mows the lawn?
We don't really have a lawn to mow right now (it's all dirt or trodden-down grass), but Wes will, as far as I kow.

25) Whose family do you see the most?
His. We live on the same property as they do, so we see them nearly every day! I wish that we lived closer to my family, because I miss them very much.

26) How many neices and nephews do you have?
One in the oven. (Thanks, Monica and Marty!)

27) Do you like being married?
Oooh, yes. It's a state of affairs that I highly approve of and would recommend to anyone!

"Well, I never! Snow in August!"

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:20:03 GMT

Er, November. But in Texas??? Yes, indeedy! And baby, it's cold outside.

:)

I have pictures, but I'll have to wait to share them until I'm on a faster computer. The last time it snowed I was 6 years old. Long time no see. :)

I am alive!

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:39:58 GMT

Alive, well, and very, very happy. I have the best husband, the best family (old and new), the best little "house" (er, trailer) and the best kitten ever. God is good.

We also had an incredible honeymoon in Ruidoso, NM, for a whole week! We went mountain climbing, went to the White Sands Desert, went shopping and generally had a wonderful time. I have some pictures, but they're not on this computer. :(

My access to internet is not very often or very long, but we're hoping to improve this state of affairs. I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here and haven't forgotten about you. I've actually been keeping up with some of what goes on here...it's all very exciting. :)

More to come later!

It's happened...

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 16:13:27 GMT

...we have a marriage license! :)

This was the one I took of us after we got the license...we decided to take the picture in his truck, which is also where he proposed to me. :)

Then Wesley decided to take a picture of us. He was concentrating, can't you tell?

The lady issuing us the license made Wes swear that he wasn't my cousin or already married or anything...but she didn't ask me. *evil chuckle* Of course, I couldn't be his cousin if he's not mine, but what if I was married? I could be committing bigamy or something. Maybe they were attempting to be vaguely covenantal. :)

We also received a fascinating hand-out about HIV...and after reading it, we both concluded that we were not at risk. *relieved sigh* ;)

Less than three weeks until the big day--I can hardly believe it! Time has flown by so quickly. And my dress isn't even finished yet. Yikes. It's actually almost done...I just have to put the sleeve/shoulder straps on and finish the back closure. That means, though, that I have to don ALL of the undergarments and get someone to help me with the final fitting, and that's easier said than done. That's today's project...pray for me. :)

Oh, and my aunt sent the majority of my flowers to me on Saturday! They are SOOO gorgeous! I'm posting just one picture of some of the bridesmaids' bouquets so that you can see the colors. All of the bouquets are slightly different, because the girls aren't wearing the same dresses OR the same jewelry and I love the effect! Can't wait to see it all together.

On Thursday, Mama and I are planning to visit the church and the reception hall so that we can figure out our plan of attack...pray for us as we try to coordinate all of the people who will be setting up the wedding!

Well, that's about all for now, folks. I'd better get to work or my dress might never be finished!

A milestone...

Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:15:08 GMT

Yesterday afternoon Wes and I got our marriage license.

Weird.

It's, like, really happening!! I'm still in a little bit of shock...I'm getting married. Wow. :)

More updates, plus pictures of the happy couple with said license, to come when I return home from this heavenly vacation of 6 days with the most wonderful man on earth. :)

The nice lady even let us keep the pen that we signed our license with...isn't that awesome? :)

Yes, I gave in to peer pressure...:)

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 03:39:18 GMT

My Personality


Neuroticism	88
Extraversion	83
Openness To Experience	32
Agreeableness	74
Conscientiousness	51

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report

Bebo, MySpace Codes and MySpace Layouts by Pulseware Survey Software

The full version is pretty accurate, except for the "Openness" part...I consider using my intellect a waste of time? Do I? Really? You must tell me more about myself. Do.

;)

Baby excitment!

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 02:44:46 GMT

Monica's pregnant!! My dear sister-in-law to be is pregnant with Wes' first nephew or niece!! Oooh, how exciting. :) Isn't God good??

Just so you know...it isn't a joke. The picture...well...that's just Marty and Monica. Ahem. We love them anyway. ;)

Life changes and goes on...

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 14:01:15 GMT

Thursday was my last day of working at the studio...and yes, I did cry when I left. It's pretty neat, though, to be sad when you leave a place of employment, isn't it? My bosses Linda and JR took me out to lunch at a Japanese Sushi bar on Tuesday and gave me a nice going away present (aka cash!) and told me how much they're going to miss me. *sniff* It was such fun working there! I already miss my students.

And last night I attended a good friends' wedding...and realize that my own is only 35 days away. Yikes! Where has the time gone? Can it possibly be September already??

I had my first bridal shower last Sunday and it was quite fun! There were sooooo many people there, and not everyone that I invited even showed up! I received tons of knives, so if anyone is wondering, I'm very well off in that area. ;) Target isn't doing a very good job keeping up with the registry, for some reason, and I've been getting a lot of duplicates. But it doesn't much matter, because I can return them anyway, so it's all good. :)

And my dress is coming along! I'm nearly finished with it, as a matter of fact. :) During the time I was beading the bodice, I seriously thought that I was insane to be making my own dress. (I'm still not entirely convinced I'm not...) But it's shaping up to look pretty good, so I'm okay with it so far. :)

Life is so wonderful, my family is so wonderful, and most of all, Wesley is so wonderful. He puts up with my many moods and helps me to learn how to be a better woman and help-meet to him. I am constantly amazed at how patient he is...and how little I deserve him. But I think I'll keep him, anyway. :)

Well, housework and hemming call. More updates soon, I hope!

It MUST be in the water!

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:42:21 GMT

I found out the other day that a good friend of mine (that I've known for just about as long as Rachael!) is getting married on September 1st, after a 6-week engagement. (What is it with my close friends and short engagements? Am I the only one who's going to buck the trend? :) I remember back to October of last year...

She and I were sitting at a coffee shop, having decided to get together for a long chat because we hadn't seen each other for some time. We were talking about this and that, and she asked me if I had had any "interest" from anyone--whether there was anyone special in my life. I had just had my first visit from Wes, but I thought it was too soon to commit to anything (since I wasn't positive that he was interested in me--silly girl that I am), so I responded no. What about you? I asked. She shook her head. We're just two happy, busy old maids.

And here we are: both of us planning weddings almost a year after that. She met her fiancee at church shortly thereafter and they began courting about a month after Wesley and I did. She's a month older than I am and getting married a month before I am. To quote The Incredibles: "Coincidence? I think NOT!" :)

I also found out last week that another friend of mine is engaged, after a 2-month courtship...must be nice! :) She is so happy and excited, and all of her friends are just as happy for her.

Isn't the Lord's provision incredible? He knows what we want, what we need, almost before we can articulate it ourselves. He puts us on paths that seem to lead nowhere special, and then reveals to us that they will bring us to our hearts' desire. All we have to do is follow Him.

For the musicians out there...

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 04:36:32 GMT

I have decided that I've been a piano teacher for too long. Tonight, I was sitting down, beading the bottom half of the bodice for my wedding gown. I glanced down and realized that I was nearly half-way finished with that section.

How nice! I thought. I'm nearly half-way done with the bass clef.

*face palm* Bass clef???

I think I need to go to bed.

Pics from my world

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 01:26:45 GMT

I've been disciplining myself to get up every morning and take a walk (after Wes and I finish with our devotions--via cell phone--wonderful technology!) and decided to take a camera along a couple of days ago. By looking at the pictures, you'd never guess they come from oh-so-humid and incredibly flat Texas, would you? :)

Happy Birthday!

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 13:56:12 GMT

My dearest fiancee is 21 today...click here to read my birthday greetings to him. :)

Just in case you couldn't guess...I think I love this guy.