Loco Moco, How You Blew My Mind

I won't say that I never try anything different. Cause I do. It's just really hard for me to move out of my comfort element in restaurants, though I do blame most of that on my frugalness. I just hate the idea of ordering something new, not liking it and still having to pay for it although I leave hungry. But I digress.

The boy and I like to watch a little show on the Travel channel called Man vs. Food. The host, Adam Richmond, runs around to different places in the US with one major goal: to attempt to win a food challenge in a restaurant in the town of the week. Now people, I have seen this man attempt to eat a 7 pound breakfast burrito, 6 "nuclear" chicken wings, a 72 ounce steak, and just last night a 5 pound cheesesteak sandwich (to make it relevant, there was enough meat on that thing to make SIX regular sized cheesesteak sandwiches). Granted, a perk to his job is he gets to visit other great eateries around the city while he's there and share some of their awesomeness with us (to tempt us. To eat food late at night. I'm just sayin').

A few weeks ago Mr. Richmond visited Hawaii and introduced us to a local dish called Loco Moco. We'll just say that Justin was drooling and I was a bit hesitant, but nonetheless, when he asked if we could try and make it at some point I agreed. And last night was the innagural taste test. I introduce you to:

Loco Moco

(unfortunately not my picture, but I had to show you!)

And no, your eyes don't deceive. This dish is made with a bed of white rice, a hamburger patty topped with a fried egg and covered with brown gravy. Kinda gross you say? I thought it would be too. And even as I topped my plate with gravy last night, I was still having second thoughts. But after the first bite, both Justin and I were sold. This is one of the best comfort food dishes I've eaten in a long time. All the flavors and textures blend so well together. And I only made one change to how we saw it made- the egg is usually cooked as over easy or over medium, but we went with over well so there wouldn't be any runny yolk. And surprisingly enough, as I was describing the dish to my boss this morning, she said that she used to eat rice and brown gravy all the time. Huh, who would have thought?

Now I'm hungry again...

Feels Like Home

I've been living about an hour north of home for right around 7 years now. Granted, four of those years were college days, so for the summer and extended holidays I packed back up and headed south. Upon graduating though, I made one of the first big decisions in my new "big girl" life and chose to stay in Georgetown in order to get an apartment and start my career in Lex. Two apartments in Gtown and one house in Lex later, I'm still an hour north and always dreaming of a future home with a few acres that will make me feel more in the country.

This past weekend though, after my first overnight stay with my mom and dad since maybe Christmas, I felt a homesickness I haven't felt since probably those first months out on my own. That Saturday morning when I woke up, the day wasn't dreary but it definitely felt more like fall than summer. Overcast and cool, I pulled on my shoes and made my way out to my mamaw and pap's house at the other end of the road to visit for a while and enjoyed the silence and calmness of it all with the windows down. There's nothing more peaceful than a backwoods early morning. The dew lays still on the grass, the trees sway silently in the breeze, everything is still sleepy and only beginning to yawn and stretch its way awake.

After talking for a while, Mamaw and I headed out to the garden to pick some fresh goodies for me to take back home. At first I stayed out, thinking the ground was too wet from the prior day's rain and would muddy my shoes. Then I took a few steps in, only to be told by my Pap that I'd get my shoes dirty and then "put them all over that nice clean car." I laughed and said "Well, that can be remedied now can't it?" and came back to the edge of the grass to take my shoes and socks off and roll up my jean legs. I then spent a bit playing in the garden barefoot while picking beans and tomatoes. It'd been so long since I'd done that. Mamaw started talking about a picture she has of me from when I was younger, standing barefoot in the garden with my hoe, helping with the upkeep. I used to help plant vegetables every summer- I still remember the way corn stains your hands pink.

I want so badly to have all that again one day. To own a home that sits on a piece of land large enough that it pushes the rest of the world away, if only for a mile or two. To be surrounded by trees that I, and my future children, can go exploring in and make up adventures along the way. To have backroad long enough to teach my children how to drive long before they ever hit 16. To be able to head to the backyard and have target practice without having to think twice. To have a small garden to provide homegrown nurishment to my family. Hopefully Justin and I will be able to find a haven such as that, be able to afford it and build our lives on it. That way I can grow old in the same way I grew up.

Kindness Gives me Hope

Friday morning I woke up a little too dreary and draggy and decided that I'd make it one of my "treat" days and grab a coffee at Starbucks. I'm not really a coffee drinker (unless there's a good amount of other flavors to cover the taste up) but I love the white chocolate mocha there.

I pulled into the drive thru and put in my order. I barely noticed that the lady in front of me was having a bit longer conversation with the barista than normal. She was probably just asking for a napkin or extra whip cream or something. When I pulled up to the window to hand the man my change (yes, I was paying with change cause sometimes it piles up and you need to lighten your purse) he made the following statement: "That lady that was in front of you? Her name is Leslie and she just paid for your coffee." I was shocked. All I could spit out was "What? Really? Wow." Profound, I know.

Of course I've never had anything quite like that happen to me before. But I was immediately wrapped in the thought of how it's the people like Leslie, who perform random acts of kindness for strangers, that really give me hope that the world isn't an entirely demoralized and bad place. That there are more people out there than I usually think that care about others at least as much as they care about themselves and sometimes just take a notion to make a perfect stranger smile.

Granted, I can't say that I've ever done such a thing as Leslie did for me that day, but I can say that I try to show my appreciation and kindness for others in the tiny, mundane things throughout the day. A door held open, thank you and please spoken to the person at the restaurant that takes my order, allowing people to pull into a lane of traffic during rush hour. All things that most folks don't really think twice about, but things that those that pay attention appreciate and reciprocate.

I've always enjoyed the stories of how just one smile at a perfect stranger you pass on the street can turn into a whole string of smiles going out to strangers who may have just really needed it right at that moment. Or the thought that if only one person sees you lend a hand to another, they'll be inspired enough to do one thing for someone else that day and so on and so forth. Hope is a powerful thing. And sometimes it's all you have to get through the day.

So thank you Leslie, whoever and wherever you are. Thank you for your kind gesture, for making me stop a moment to mull things over and put a few more ounces of myself into the part of my soul that holds hope for everything going on in life. I'll definitely not forget this.

It's Just a Little Crush

After hearing the name Halestorm being tossed around for upcoming concerts, I decided to take a gander at the band. And now I'm crushing :) They're first single "I Get Off" is an awesome summer anthem (in a voyeuristic kind of way) but this is the performance I'm totally in love with.

Here's Halestorm's acoustic cover of Heart's classic "All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You"

The Whole Shebang

I looked forward to this past weekend so much. It was a special one, three days, and I was sooo ready for that Friday spent sleeping in instead of dragging my butt to work. And then I remembered the list. You know, that mental list you keep of all the things happening on any particular day? Yeah, that one was pretty full for this weekend.

Friday afternoon found me at home visiting my family and that night attending my cousin's 6th birthday party. Good food, cute kids and three hours later I was headed back to Lex to hit the bed and start all over the next day.

Saturday morning found Justin washing my GTO to prepare her for polishing (I have pictures of her sitting in the garage cause I"m pretty sure it'll be the first and only time for, well, ever). I was starting on laundry and digging a small trench out along the sunroom to bury our cable and telephone lines that have been laying on top of the ground for forever. After lunch Justin started digging the holes for our fire bushes we bought a few weeks ago and we were successful at planting three before the rain started. Yep, rain on the 4th of July. Two years running now.

Saturday evening we headed over to Gtown to spend time with The Maxwells and The Thomai (and yes, that is the new plural for Thomas'). Unfortunately the rain never let up and poor Nick had to grill in the wet. After a great meal and some fun playtime with Bailey, we all headed over to the park for their fireworks display. Timing apparently isn't the forte of many people setting off firework displays as it was supposed to start at 9pm (and the rain had stopped). Instead, it was sometime after 9 and the rain had started again. Figures. But the show was pretty and I'm glad that Justin and I were there to see it.

The night took a turn for the worse however upon arriving home a little after 11. Our neighbors were throwing a party, and as a result there were cars parked on both sides of the street. You would think it common knowledge (and math skills) that if you park vehicles on both sides of a subdivision street it's going to make it nearly impossible for those not at the party to squeeze through in order to make it home. Or not. After some griping on that front, Justin and I settled down on the couch for a bit to wind down before bed. We were going to have to get up early Sunday morning to head to God's country for his family reunion. Had we really wanted to go to bed by oh, say midnight thirty though, it would have been impossible. Said neighbors decided to celebrate the 5th of July by starting (not continuing, just starting) their fireworks at 12:15am. And not end them until after 1am. This girl was not a happy camper (and I'm not usually the nicest of people past 11:30 anyway). To make matters worse, we walked out the next morning to firework residue all over Justin's car and truck. Round two of not happy campers. Have people really lost all respect? Wait, don't answer that.

Sunday was spent hanging out with Justin's family, eating tons of awesome (and totally bad for you) food and doing a few odds and ends around the house before hitting the bed last night to prepare for work this morning. And I don't care how busy you were on the weekend, having to go back to work on Monday morning is always the hardest part.

Not Enough Time in the Day

It seems like we've been going non-stop over the past month with projects, social outings and such. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have asked to do it differently, I just can't figure out where the month of June went to amongst it all!

Our Project:Revamp Kitchen has been going very well. My dad was able to lay all the tile and grout one room in 3 days, while Justin's dad came up the final day and helped grout the other room (since Dad wouldn't take any money from us, we figured we'd save him one trip). We couldn't be happier with how things have turned out!

the sunroom

the kitchen

We're still in the process of getting the trim around the bottom down, the door and window framed back up and trimmed around and probably a new ceiling fan put in, but we're taking it one little piece a day at a time.

Justin was able to get the garage cleaned back up and put back in one piece a few days ago, thanks to some help from the newest addition to his garage organizing shelves. I bought him a cabinet for his birthday last year and he bought a floor cabinet the other day to put underneath it. I'm pretty sure his Camaro was happy to be back in her home after being parked in the driveway for so many days in a row (and now I won't set her security alarm off every morning when I start the GTO).

I've been spending time building up some inventory in my second attempt at a shop on Etsy.com. The first time around I really didn't know what I wanted to do and after a few months of selling random handmade things, I cleared it out and was just a buyer for a while (I bought most of my Christmas gifts from there). When I found the pattern for fabric flowers, I knew they were going to be my new direction. And I've recently expanded from the full sized flowers to include miniatures that can be used for brooches, magnets, embellishments or hairclips.

And this weekend is a 3 day long holiday one, which I'm very excited about! I didn't realize until this morning though everything that we'll be doing. Tonight is a birthday celebration for our friend Brian, then I'm having the Krav girls (we're like a gang, lol) over while the boys are out doing they're thing. Tomorrow I'm heading home to visit the family and attend my cousin's 6th birthday party. Saturday we'll be planting the fire bushes we bought last week and then heading over to Nick and Nicole's for a 4th of July cookout. And Sunday is Justin's family reunion. Whew! I get tired just thinking about it, lol. But it's going to be so much fun packed into every day that it's entirely worth the needing to take Monday off to rest up :)

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. Never seen a Not Me! Monday! post, not sure what it's all about...here's what MckMama has to say... "Are you feeling guilty for pretending not to notice your toddler playing with the dogfood? Feel like a slouch for staying in your jammies all day? We'll don't! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!"

I did *not* leave Justin and my dad, on Father's Day nonetheless, to work hard at laying tile in the kitchen in order to help my friend Nicole shop for pretty flowers.

I also did *not* leave the leftover pizza from lunch out on the table overnight because its easier to heat up from room temp than out of the fridge.

Lastly, I did *not* compare my boyfriend to Jacob Black (after becoming a wolf in the second Twilight book) because he's always warm like Jacob is. I also did *not* continue on to explain the difference between a werewolf and shape-shifter, citing the Animagi from the Harry Potter series as examples.

Becoming Part of the Herd

On April 21, 2007, I purchased my first car. My first new car. My first owned only by me car. It was almost exactly a year after graduating college and finding a big girl job. And was a goal that I'd had set to accomplish by that time. A year of saving and about a month of looking bought me a silver 2007 Toyota Rav 4. And she was beautiful.

This past Monday I passed my Rav's keys over to the nice dealer man at the Toyota lot and in exchange was given a set to a 2005 Pontiac GTO. A pretty 2005 Pontiac GTO.

Admittedly, I was a bit emotional. There were several instances of Justin and I standing outside on the lot talking about the trade when I'd have to stop in order to keep myself from shedding a few tears. Because my Rav was a great car. But as much as I loved her, there were other interests at play in my mind.

For a few months now I've been set on finding a vehicle a bit more on the sporty side. Blame it on Justin, blame it on watching Fast and the Furious too much, say what you will. The bottom line was that I wanted something with a little more ass and rumble to it. And Justin happened to find it for me last weekend.

Painted in Impluse Blue Metallic, my new Goat drives and rides beautifully. She's pretty much everything that I was wanting in my toy yet serves well as a daily driver. Although my Rav was nowhere near being old (nor was I anywhere near really needing a new car), I felt that this was the point in life to have a few more liberties with things such as cars as later on in the future practicality would reign supreme. I don't feel that I gave a lot up in trading the Rav (albeit slightly odd to be back on the ground again in a car). And I've definitely garnered several compliments from Justin's car buddies over the choice of machine and color.

Just a few little things over the next little bit to add to her (tinted windows and an exhaust) and she'll be perfect. Oh, and did I mention she's also getting a personalized license plate? I won't spoil the suprise, but it was one of Justin's more creative moments in coming up with the idea :)

Bringing out the Crafter in Me

I'm a crafter at heart. Well, really I'm an old lady at heart. Give me a blanket to cover up with and something to sew and I'm golden. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I take several pieces of regular fabric and turn it into something beautiful like a baby quilt or my newest hobby, fabric flowers.

Last year I experimented a little with the website Etsy. I had been an avid reader of the Weddingbee blog and many of the brides to be would brag about their finds on Etsy. In case you're not familiar with it, Etsy is basically like an internet shopping mall full of items that are handcrafted by each store owner. You can find pretty much anything and everything that you could think of there, and have the satisfaction of knowing that someone put their heart and passion for creating such things into each item in their shop.

After taking some time away from the site (as a seller, but definitely not a buyer lol), I came back a few weeks ago to revamp my spot and take a gander at selling something a little different than before: my fabric flowers

These are two of my girls, all named, all different personalities and all waiting to find that perfect home with someone. They look great as embellishments on pillows or purses, hung on walls for your very own flower garden, or attached to a dowel rod wrapped in green to create a bouquet for any room that never dies :)

Because I'd pretty much taken over the kitchen table as my own for the past few months, I was finally convinced by the boy that a good use for my birthday money was purchasing a craft table. He had seemingly gotten tired of having to move the sewing machine every time we sat down for a meal. After being kind enough to help me put the thing together, we moved it into our sunroom which has now been dubbed "The Shana Cave"

It's got great natural lighting through the two huge windows and in about a month, I'll be rockin' some brand new tile on the floor as part of a general house renovation project. It's exciting times.

So if you want to see a few more of my creations (and more awesome handcrafted items on the website) check out http://justshana16.etsy.com/ and then browse around to your heart's content. And while you're around, check out christiecottage's BNS in the Promotions Forum. I've been involved for only a little less than a week but can vouch that there's great stuff in each of those shops listed and they're all great people :)

Quarter Century Club

It's been a week today since I turned 25 and it's still a little unbelieveable to me that I've made it to this marker. As I've said before, it feels like I should still be sitting at around 19, enjoying college and everything that comes with it. Yet here I am- 25, playing house with my boyfriend, getting ready to celebrate my 3 year anniversary at work, my 3 year anniversary of not living at home, 7 year anniversary of having graduated high school and 3 years of having graduated college. It just doesn't seem possible.



My 25th year has definitely started out on a good note. My birthday was a busy one here at the office, as it always is. They make up for it by throwing me a big party on the 15th though, so it's all good :) A friend of mine suggested that I either find a new job or a new birthday but I really wouldn't want to leave either one behind. I like being a diamond baby and I can't imagine there'd be too many other small firms like this one that I'd feel as comfortable in.



It is funny to go back and think about the things I had planned to happen around this time in my life though. My vision at 18 was to have been married for a few years at this point and being ready to start a family. More than likely living close to my hometown and in turn, my family. I wasn't set on a specific career at that point though, so I had no idea about what job I would be working. And although all that would have been well and good, I'm perfectly happy with the way things have gone instead. Some odd years with relationships that just weren't what I was looking for in the overall that lead me to Justin. A lucked upon interview with an accounting firm that I'll probably be with for years to come. No marriage in the extreme near future (nor children for that matter), but content to know that it'll come along when the time is right. An hour drive from home, but able to make the trip every other weekend to see the family. A slightly different outcome from what was expected but one that I imagine I am much happier with than what could have been.



So here's to the coming months and what they may bring. Happiness, laughter, philosophical conversations, maybe a few disagreements, good food, good friends/family and love. All the things that make my world go round.


*and you can find that rockin' hat at zazzle.com

No Words Needed

Trace Adkins' performance on the ACM awards this past weekend. All proceeds from downloads of this performance will go to the Wounded Warrior Project. God Bless our Soldiers!

Kitty That Goes Mew

Isn't it just the cutest thing you've ever seen? As I remind Justin every time (and that's no exaggeration) we see a tiger, cheetah, lion, lynx, wildcat, enter any other catlike animal type here, they're all just cute kitties that go mew. Of course he tries to tell me that they're really not cuddly and would nom my face off in about two seconds, but I swear people- these animals would love me.

For some reason, I've always had one of those silly daydreams where one day I'd be gifted with an adorable little Tiger cub and would get to raise it in my home and be its "mom". I'd get to bottle feed it at first, and as it got bigger wrestle with it in the living room floor like you would a puppy. I'm pretty sure it would quickly outgrow being able to sleep in the bed with me (if Justin wanted to sleep in the same bed anyway), but it'd make a great foot warmer in the winter while watching tv. Plus, it'd purr. A lot. My tiger would be the best behaved and most loveable tiger ever. EVER.

Of course, everytime I see this video I get a little choked up inside. Partly because I'm an animal lover (they're a part of the family) and partly because they proved the naysayers wrong (And although it's a great song by itself, please don't let the cheesiness of the song with the video ruin things).




Sigh. Well, you know, it is almost my birthday. Maybe there's still time to hint around at what I really want...

Rev It Up!

I want a fast car. Not that this is a new revelation, just one that usually sits on the back burner until I've either a) spent the day at the track with Justin and friends or b) watched The Fast and the Furious for the thousandth time. Yesterday I happened to do both. Thus my overwhelming yearning for a hot, fast, six-speed car. In any color but white or yellow.

I really don't know much about cars. I ask Justin questions all the time but there are so many parts and such involved in the answers that they make sense as I'm listening but I couldn't repeat back any of the information and it sound relatively sane. Off the top of my head, I can say these few things though- I know when a car has NOS, I know when it's got a turbo and I definitely know what the sound of a broken rear end and/or drive shaft is. I also know that the low rumble of a beast of a car makes me smile. And want to drive it. Quickly. Preferably without running into any cops.

As we were walking around the track yesterday, I told Brittany that one day I'd have a car to bring to race. She asked jokingly if I wanted to take the Rav down a time or two and I laughed. I told her that being the kind of person I am, I'd have to have a car just as good, if not better than the boys. Cause I would not be that girl. The "oh, you're just a girl" girl. Blame it on my tomboy-ishness, blame it on my sheer stubborness, but I've never been one to take the implications of "you're just a girl" well. Yes, I appreciate doors being opened for me, and yes I appreciate when someone gets something off the high shelf for me, but I'll be damned if you think I have to depend on you for things. I am and have never been ashamed to climb shelves and scoot heavy things with my feet just to prove the point that I can do it my own self. *Breath* But I digress.

I told Justin after we'd been home for a while that after I'd built him his nice working garage, I wanted said fast car. And although I wouldn't be the first choice at being put to work as a mechanic, any modifications that were done to it I wanted to be involved in. Even though most of them would be a "put the wrench there and turn". Of course his response was pretty much "I'm not gonna tell you no". Cause for him, it's one more toy to play with :)

Time of My Life

For the past year, I've felt like life finally fell into place. Between me being happy with myself, happy in my relationships, and happy in my workplace, I knew that it was that point where all my nights of worry about this, that and the other were over. I also knew, however, that my nights of staying up late and hanging with the roomies was going by the wayside as well. And at that point I wasn't aware of just how much I was gonna miss it.

Last Friday I attended a concert here in town with my Meggie, Michael and a few of their friends. Halfway through singing my heart out to Papa Roach, I turned to Meg and said "I miss living in the apartment with you guys." She immediately responded "Me too! I found a 3 bedroom house in Gtown and told Michael that me and him, you and Justin and Dre and Cedric could all live together and it'd be great." It made my heart hurt and be happy at the same time that she too felt my sentiments.

I started staying at Justin's pretty much full time by the end of April of last year. I didn't officially move out of the apartment though until August, which was when our lease was up. Depsite the fact that I wasn't there very often in the end, it was still my apartment and my little family. They didn't call me Mom for nothing. The thoughts of missing the apartment/roommate life didn't really hit me hard until a few weeks ago when I twittered "I think I need to make my bedtime 1030. Go back to my apt days when I was in bed by 10 and back up at 1 asking the roomies to be quiet." Who would have ever thought I'd miss Meg saying "All she needs is a little love!" while I was angrily staring them down. But some of my fondest memories come from the random conversations that happened amongst the three (actually five) of us who lived in that apartment. Even the shadiness we all shared at some point or another, lol. There's just nothing like it in the world.

One day I hope that I live somewhere where my neighbors are my friends, our kids can play together, and we all sit around and laugh about the sordid affairs of yesteryear while grilling hamburgers, watching tv or just hanging out for the hell of it. But for now, I just want the good times to keep a rollin'.

You're Only as Old as You Feel

So the saying goes anyway. And if that's the case, then throw me some dentures and remind me what my name is, cause this girl is feeling far too old for her years.

I'm drawing ever closer to the quarter-century mark, which really is only about 1/4 of the lifetime I hope I have. And although I'm still in my prime of life (I haven't even had children to wear me down yet), I'm starting to feel the world slow down a little. Okay, maybe the world is actually going faster and I'm slowing down, but whatever the case there are a few things pointed out to me this weekend that I'm just too old to do anymore.

Staying up late multiple nights in a row. Sadly enough, even when younger this wasn't the greatest idea for me. Having never really been a morning person (and what little bit I was ever so quickly fading away with each passing day), getting up when I've had less than the desired 8 hours of shut eye is never good. Granted, in college I could go to bed in the middle of the AM and drag myself to class the next morning (well, my 9 or 10's at least). These days, however, I'm good to have both eyes open by the time I'm walking to the car to drive to work.

Sleeping in the bathroom floor as a side effect of alcohol. Starting around my senior year of college, I found out very quickly that my bed of choice after a night of hanging out with friends was the bathroom floor. Offering it's cool, hard exterior to lay on, I couldn't say no after finally getting what was left of my stomach lining to stay put. Nowadays, I have a few things working against me in the department. The biggest being lack of experience in oh, the past year, lol. When you mix low tolerance with tendency for everything to hit at once, you once again have the perfect recipe for waking up the next morning with towels as blankets and pillows and a possible cramp in your leg from not having stretched it in more than four hours.

But my, do I look back at those days fondly. Plenty of memories to go along with 3am bedtimes and being hit with the bathroom door cause someone didn't know you were asleep in the floor :)

Playing Catch Up

Back in the day, I wrote almost every day in my livejournal. Not that my life was any more exciting then than it is now, it was just a vehicle to pass the time, prevent boredom, procrastinate from homework, vent and share similar life experiences with the few friends that I had met through the site. I then decided to start this blog. And admittedly, I've been very bad about keeping up with it.

Ironically enough, I never intended to share the most personal side of myself on this particular page. Because of situations far, far in the past I've always been a little eh about just putting any and everything out there for people to read. And because of this fact, I never seem to have much in the way of stories to share because most of them I find too near and dear to blurt out to the whole world. Silly of me right?

So let it be known that it's on my list of things to do after tax season to start putting a little effort into sharing the ongoings of life once again. The little things, the funny moments, the pains and disappointments that come along every now and again. Just gotta bear with me though. Cause this office owns my soul until after the 15th :)

Celebrating

A year ago today, I asked a wonderful man if he would like to dive into a relationship with me. Okay, I really asked if he'd like to be my "boo bear." But the sentiment was true and heartfelt and after having worked up to it for six weeks, he agreed with a smile. That's the smile I've gotten to wake up to every morning (literally- the boy is a freakin' ray of sunshine in the mornings compared to me) for so many days of the last year, I wouldn't know where to start counting.

The transition from the getting to know you into the getting to love you was seamless. In less than a month, I was completely enamoured and willing to start placing bets that this was the one I'd be with when I was 90 and senile (at least I'd think it was him). Turned out he was feeling much the same and here we are- a year into what will be a lifetime together :)

I told him recently that he completely uncomplicated my life. Although he doesn't quite understand how that's even possible (let alone how big of a deal in my world that is), he knows that means he's special. And damn right he is. I never second guess, hold back, question or ponder the other possibilities with him. He told me the other night I was a bad liar and I said that it was because I was always joking around when I tried, although he had no worries for the real thing cause there was nothing for me to hide from him. So far from what other relationships have been. So many things and feelings that I felt I had to tuck away with others aren't even present now. Ah, the joys of a soulmate.

Here's to the amazing first year we've had together and all the others that are yet to come. I truly am blessed to have met him and become a part of his life. Happy one year sweetheart!

Why I Love My Man

As tagged per Nicole, here's some answers to questions about why I'm in love with one Mr. Justin :)

1. Where we met - Justin and I met on a cold, January day at a mutual friends house. Kent and Emily were my best friends from college and Justin worked with Kent, and long story short a group of us had decided to start running a few days a week after work and the first day there he was. He had on a Georgetown hoodie (as did I) and after making a comment about us matching, I met up with him for a few moments after the run to ask a few questions. I then stalked him on facebook and myspace for a day before sending a simple message that was sure to get a good response from him.

2. Our first date - Technically our first date wasn't planned. We had intended for me to come over to his house to run after work, but it turned too cold and we went to Johnny Carrino's and a movie instead.

3. How long did we date before we were married? - Haha, well we're still in the dating process, but I've got my money on a few years :)

4. How long have been hitched? - Not yet, but I promise that there'll be at least 65 years of us bugging one another

5. Favorite feature - His eyes and long, long eyelashes

6. Favorite quality - In all honesty, everything. Justin turned out to be everything that I had ever put on my list of qualities I wanted in a future husband. But I suppose my favorite is something I just told him last night- his ability to uncomplicate my life. Since he and I have been together, my uncanny ability to overcomplicate any situation has decreased immensely.

7. His nickname for me - Although we call each other Babe, I'm pretty sure mine is usually one of two: punkass or short stack

8. His favorite color - I think he's a fan of blue

9. His favorite sport - I don't know that there's one that trumps the rest of them completely, but I'd say college football is on the top of the list. He does enjoy Nascar and shooting matches too though :)

10. Who said I love you first - Although he told me first that he was falling in love, I was able to show him an email I'd sent to Emily two days earlier confessing that I felt a little silly for feeling that I was already falling in love with him. I'll call it even though :)

11. Our first kiss, when and where - He got a small peck after our dinner together Valentine's Day. Our first real kiss was two days later at Saddle Ridge after I asked him if he "wanted to be my boo" lol

12. Favorite couple thing to do - Since it's been cold, hanging out at the house and watching tv. But this summer I'm sure it'll include going to the shooting range together.

13. His hidden talent - I don't think he really has one. Unless you count the fact that he can name cars just from hearing them (and usually their price tag) and guns from just taking a quick look at them.

14. His favorite music - Metallica and the like. He likes hard rock, the stuff that just screams at you through the speakers.

15. What I admire most about him - His drive in life. Justin is an intelligent man who works hard and tries to educate himself in everything that he does, whether it be a one time repair on something or a full blown hobby. He's literally full of interesting knowledge that just comes out at all times and I love hearing.

16. His favorite pastime - Cars and guns.

17. Will he read this - I seriously doubt it :)

Update to my Cast

So, yesterday was the magical day that I got my partial cast off. Now, before getting into the details I must clarify that I was under the impression that since I was only wearing it for two weeks that my hand would be good to go after yesterday. Wrong.

Upon pulling my hand from the splint, my fingers were so happy to be able to bend again. But the pain that was there in the beginning was still there, and just as bad. I spent a good five minutes poking around, pushing the pad of my pinky, placing my hand on the seat and putting some pressure on it, only to wince each time. I was a bit confused. When the doctor asked me how I felt and I expressed "basically the same as before" he looked at me and said "Well, it's still broke." All he needed was a "Duh!" after it to make me feel any more stupid. I assume that because the bone isn't displaced and it's in the area that it is that I don't need to wear a splint or cast to allow it to heal. And he also didn't want my hand to get stiff. So I've got 6-8 more weeks before the bone is completely healed. Wonderful.

Although the cast was annoying, I'd rather have it back on at this point. Yesterday being the first day out, I was getting used to doing the little things again with my left hand and found very quickly that even picking a sheet of paper up to flip it over tweaks the hand. And how many times during the day do you just automatically do something with your hands without really thinking about it first? I was so pissed off last night when I got home from work just because nothing had really changed. And I was even more pissed off because I felt like I was being a baby about it when I really wasn't. Such a little thing to make things so complicated. But i guess that's the way life works sometimes.

I'd been going back and forth about what to do concerning my Krav class. I'm no good for partnering cause I can't use that hand (instructions were to not do anything to hit it or have it hit, or put pressure on it) so no holding bags, no drills, no punches and the like with the left hand, no pushups or other warm ups that involve being on my hands. But Justin talked to Curt after class who said that I needed to keep coming and they'd find stuff for me to do. And that he thought I had what was known as a 'boxer's fracture' which is apparently cause because of the force you put on that part of your hand and takes a long time to fully recover from. I was a little less disheartened to hear that, so next week I'll be starting back to class ready to perfect my kicks, knees and elbows, lol.

7 Little Secrets

Ah, the dreaded 7 little secrets ( I can't keep Post Secret or All American Rejects "Dirty Little Secret" out of my head). A few may not actually be secrets, but here ya go:

1) I rewrite moments from everyday life into movie scense in my head, complete with background music and all. Sometimes music can make an ordinary moment extraordinary and an extraordinary moment feel just like a dream.

2) At the age of almost 25, I am still a bit iffy about the dark. Or what's in it rather. I can't say that I'm scared of it like I used to be (when I was younger I would carry my clarinet case in my right hand while walking past the barn to the bus stop in case someone were to jump out at me and I needed to hit them), but my overactive imagination definitely causes some anxiety from time to time. And yes, that includes not being able to hang my feet off the side of the bed sometimes.

3) It took me almost 24 years to find the man I would someday marry. Upon meeting though, it only took me six weeks to know :)

4) When people ask me where I live and I say Lexington, I immediately follow it with "but I'm originally from Rockcastle County." Although there is nothing wrong with being a city person, I'm a farm raised country girl who is proud of her accent and upbringing. It's my hope to go back to live in the country one day so my kids can learn to drive on backroads, go four wheeling on weekends and gain an appreciation for a clear summer night's sky full of stars like I got to.

5) I've only just recently broken my first bone, which is really a miracle in itself. I've been terribly accident prone for most of my life and I stopped counting how many sprained ankles and wrists I had once I hit middle school. But of all the things I've done (including popping several ligaments in my left ankle a few years back so badly that my then boyfriend and i were placing bets in the ER as to whether it was broken or not), it took one hammerfist to a tombstone pad in my Krav Maga class to put a fracture in my left hand. The reactions that I get from people when I tell them how it happened is usually funny, cause I"m sure they're looking at me thinking "This little girl is trying to be all badass?" but at least I can feel better whining about it considering I was punching something, lol.

6) I am probably the pickiest consumer of ice cream in the world, lol. I prefer a vanilla based mix, and hate slivers, flakes, chunks or swirls of chocolate anywhere in there. A lot of my favorites though include the chunks, so I eat the ice cream and spit the chocolate back out. Not pretty, but I can't help it. Now this is not to say that I don't like chocolate, I just prefer it to be in the form of chocolate milk, hot chocolate or a candy coating. And definitely not the dark kind.

7) Although it's a little early in the game to be talking children, I hope with all hope that our first time out we get fraternal twins of a boy and a girl. Obviously I'll be happy with whatever the real outcome is, but in my girlish fantansy, the twins are it :) I've got my fingers crossed that with twins on both my maternal grandmother's side (she had twin brothers) and paternal grandfather's side (he had twin brothers) that I've got a good shot at it.

Now to tag a few more people...

Flo (and have Brian do it to, even if it's just for me to read :) )
John