Let Me Count the Ways
My husband is at a networking event tonight, and I am missing him. In my old life, I had many quiet evenings alone with my dogs, and I was rarely lonely. But even though I’ve doubled the amount of dogs to lounge with, I’m lonely without my husband. Funny how that works.
If you’re on Facebook, you know how the “25 Things” is going around like crazy, so in that spirit, I give you a list of things I love about my husband.
1. He’s funny. He makes me laugh all the time.
2. I ask him to do annoying things like go start my car five seconds after he wakes up, and he does them. (With only a little bit of grumbling. Heh.)
3. He can cook. In the last month his dad has told him that two of his dishes (a quiche and a pot of white chili) were the best he’d ever had.
4. He is an awesome, thoughtful gift giver. (And as gifts are one of my love languages, I seriously appreciate this.)
5. His response to when I hog his iPhone is not “give me back my phone,” but is instead “maybe we should get you your own iPhone.”
6. When something strikes his as really funny he giggles. I imagine it’s how he laughed as a little boy, and it makes me feel like I’m getting a glimpse of what he was like 30 years ago.
7. He’s a good friend. Two of his groomsmen were guys he met in kindergarten.
8. Scout loves him like crazy. He is by far her favorite human. It’s like she showed up on my doorstep knowing someday I would lead her to him.
9. I can tell he’s been in a room because there will be drawers and cabinets left open. (Okay, so I am learning to love this.)
10. The other night he came into the bathroom where I was brushing my teeth and held his finger up to mouth in a shushing motion. We held still and listened to Julie shuffle her way to the bottom of the stairs. We listened to her stand there, trying to figure out where we were and if she should attempt to climb the stairs. We’re trying not to laugh when we hear Julie burp. Well, we lost it. It was such a real moment, laughing hysterically in our tiny bathroom, because we were trying to outsmart our geriatric bulldog.
11. He handles our business.
12. Even it drives me crazy when he teases me by saying he likes the name “Fox,” for a boy, I can’t wait to see him become a father.
13. He prays for me.
14. He always notices when I do things around the house.
15. Two years ago today my friend Lauren and I went to Piedmont Dog Park, where we met a really nice guy who had a bulldog named Eller. I remember leaving that day feeling really happy, but not for any specific reason. It was just a happy day. I see now that God threw open a huge door for me that day, and I was standing there in the entryway about to walk into my future.
Laundry Room
You’d think after doing a man’s laundry for almost nine months that I would’ve learned by now to check my husband’s pockets.
You’d be wrong.
Thankfully I have yet to wash anything of consequence (an iPod or a wallet), but I’ve washed enough paper towels, tissues and pennies to last me awhile.
That said, I love washing my husband’s clothes. It’s probably the only chore I would say that I enjoy, and I think that’s mostly because there’s a sense of accomplishment when I’m finished.
The first few months he joked that we must have a house elf, as his undershirt drawer would “magically” refill, and there were always clean towels. (I got called Dobby a few times, is what I’m saying.)
I’m not always the best helper. I don’t like following and I have lots (and lots) of opinions. I’m sure Eve didn’t following Adam around Eden telling him his gardening was all wrong. I try to remember that I am called to help this man, not make his life more difficult. I don’t always remember that.
But at least he always has clean shirts. I hope that counts a little.
Frigid
I keep waiting to hate winter, but I don’t.* Although Minnesota is really trying me today with temperatures 20 degrees below zero. That’s like 50 degrees below freezing. Imagine what 100 degrees feels like and then imagine what 50 feels like. That is the difference!
But here’s the truth: cold is cold. It just feels cold.
My boss asked me today if all my Atlanta friends were worried about me, and I told him that I didn’t think they had any idea what -21 might feel like, as neither did I until today!
Minnesotans are funny though. They complain about the cold, but they’re proud of it too. I’m a little proud of myself; I feel like I’ve earned a merit badge of sorts.
*A garage, a car commute and a husband who will start your car for you in the morning really help.
109 in 2009
109 resolutions in 2009. Some are silly, some are serious, but I’m going to give them all a shot.
Updated December 30, 2009
1. Take someone’s picture for hire. Done. Had my first client shoot in February!
2. Go to an away Viking game. Went to the Vikings vs. Browns on 9/13 in Cleveland. Where we were called names and overall treated very poorly. Thanks for the hospitality dying city! We won’t be coming back and spending money in you.
3. Start volunteering at church. Done. We’re now serving in the preschool ministry.
4. Put together a scrapbook about our wedding. Sigh. No.
5. Finish the scrapbook from Romania… where I went in 2006.
Started working on this!
6. Figure out where in the Twin Cities we want to buy a house. Yes! We put a hold on a lot last week and are signing a purchase agreement tomorrow. Woohoo!!!
7. Find a good Mexican restaurant up here. I’m calling this done. 1. Because we’ve gone to quite a few and they’re all mediocre. And on my last flight to Atlanta I sat next to a fellow Houston native who’s lived here for a decade and he says he has yet to find one. So …
8. Visit Minnesota’s North Shore. No. ::sad face::
9. Walk 300 miles over the course of the year. Hahahahaha!
10. Go to Siesta Key with my family. No. Another sad face. I haven’t been to Florida since the wedding!
11. Eat more vegetables. Definitely ate more than 2008, but as I said earlier, mostly thanks to Subway.
12. Read 50 books. I didn’t keep track, but I did read quite a few.
13. Roll my old 401k and 457b into an IRA. No. Man.
14. Update here at least once a week. I’ve been doing much better, right?
15. Go to karaoke. Nope.
16. Host out-of-town friends at our house in Minnesota at least once! Done! My HS friend Christina and her husband spent a night in July, then my friend Lauren came for a weekend at the end of July too, and Mary, Sarah & Molly Beth came over Labor Day.
17. Take THE shot at the Minnesota State Fair. I don’t know that I got THE shot, but I got a lot of cute ones, especially all the ones with Molly!
18. Walk a half marathon. No.
19. Learn how to make a good dinner without help! I did make lasagna all by myself, but I did it at Let’s Dish, so that probably doesn’t count.
20. Hang stuff on our walls. Yup!
21. Save money for a new lens. Done! I purchased an 85mm f/1.8 in May, and am getting ready to get a 35mm. Yay.
22. Send birthday cards to everyone in my address book. Oh no. I even forgot to send one to my mom this year. Sorry mama. (But I did wish her HB on Facebook!)
23. Call my dad more often. No.
24. Get into the habit of daily quiet time. No.
25. Take the dogs on a long walk at least weekly. No. When my mom was here in June, she and Aaron took Scout on several walks and we’ve kept it up the past few weeks. She loves it.
26. Participate in the 100 push ups challenge. Started this 2x. Never finished.
27. Go to the Gophers/Ohio State game in the new Gopher stadium. Impossible, as the game is Columbus for the second year in a row.
28. Master the “expert” level on Guitar Hero drums. No.
29. Use our china. No.
30. Launch my photography site. Done! Launched it in July.
31. Fit back into my favorite jeans. NO.
32. Go to a dermatologist for a skin screening. No.
33. Visit Atlanta. Done. Visited in March, and went back in May with A. for my stepsister’s wedding. (That I am shot!)
34. Find more people to sponsor Compassion International children. My cousin’s FCA group sponsored a boy from India; it’s a start.
35. Beat my husband at Scrabble. Done!
36. Floss my teeth every day. No.
37. Change my name on my passport. No.
38. See the Grand Canyon. Done! 4/10/09
39. Visit Stillwater, Minnesota. Done!
40. Write in my paper journal consecutively for at least a month. No.
41. Find a hair stylist in Minnesota. Done.
42. Fix the Vista/Photoshop CS3 on my new laptop. Sort of done. I bought Lightroom instead.
43. Give regularly. Done.
44. Clean my kitchen every night before bed. Scratching this because we clean almost every night.
45. Pick up the house for 15 minutes each week night.
46. Read the Sunday paper. Ha. We canceled the paper!
47. Go camping. Aaron went camping. Does that count?
48. Run an agility course with Scout. No.
49. Swim in our lake under a full moon. No.
50. Sing karaoke. No. (Was this on here twice?)
51. Eat roasted corn at The Fair. No. But I did find the fried pickles this year!
52. Build a snowman. No. And I learned that the best snowman snow falls in March. Uh, what?
53. Take baths. I took 1 all year.
54. See a show at the Guthrie. Done. In October I went to a reading there and got a backstage tour.
55. Go on a Twin Cities Flickr photowalk. No.
56. Kiss my husband goodbye every morning. Done. 
57. Stick to my 2009: Year in Photos project. I’ve missed about 60 days, but eh.
58. Get a massage. No. Sadly.
59. Get monthly pedicures in the summer. Not monthly, but I got several.
60. Learn how to use our gas grill. No.
61. Spend less.
62. Close paid off credit cards. Done!
63. Get my ring cleaned. Got it cleaned just after Valentine’s. Will do it again on our engagement anniversary in August.
64. Read the entire New Testament. No.
65. Memorize a verse of Scripture per week.
66. Pay for the car behind me in a drive thru line. No.
67. Go on a 20-mile bike ride. No.
68. Visit my new niece or nephew in July! Not in July, but in September. (Niece!)
69. Organize our home office. Done. I have all my photography stuff neatly organized. Great feeling.
70. Go one month without fast food. DONE! Tried and failed this multiple times. (Made it 3 weeks in August.) But as of today 12/30, I haven’t had fast food since 11/29.
71. Give my husband a compliment every day. Not every day, but close!
72. Send flowers to someone. No.
73. Get paid for writing. Done since my new day job involves writing!
74. Do a puzzle. No.
75. Mow the yard on our riding mower. Done! I’ve mowed it twice now. It’s really fun.
76. Decide what to do with my wedding dress. No. Still hanging in the closet.
77. Take a decent picture of all four dogs together.
78. Organize my digital files. Done. Everything is backed up in two places. Whew.
79. Celebrate our first anniversary in style. Had a really nice day, and finished it with dinner at our favorite restaurant and a split of champagne we saved from our wedding.
80. Establish a skin care routine that works. No.
81. Be grateful every day. No.
82. Stick to my weekly cash allowance. No — we stopped doing the cash thing in late winter.
83. Get 100% on the vocals on “Heartbreaker” on Guitar Hero. No.
84. Swim in the ocean. Siiiiiiiiigh. No.
85. Improve my job situation. YES! Started a new job on 11/30.
86. Tweet on Twitter daily. Yup.
87. Paint the bathroom. No.
88. Plant a garden. We had an awesome tomato garden this summer, though I didn’t plant it, still counts.
89. Watch Band of Brothers series. Done. Watched the entire thing in January.
90. Learn how to cross country ski. No, but we’re going this winter.
91. Take the dogs to a dog park monthly. No, but our new house will be within walking distance of a huge one. Can’t wait!
92. Drink more water.
93. Live in the moment. Can you ever really strike this through? It’s an ever constant goal!
94. Have dinner by candlelight.
95. Write down some of my grandmother’s stories. No.
96. Scan in old family photos. Yes. Put up quite a few for my family to see on FB.
97. Pay off $X amount of debt. We paid off a lot, but not the X I had in mind on 1/1/09.
98. Write a short story. No.
99. Walk barefoot in the sand. I am counting the sand on the beach at the lake!
100. Have people over for dinner. Done several times.
101. Get pregnant or figure out why I’m not. Lost a pregnancy in June, and we’re pretty sure why it was ectopic and why I haven’t gotten pregnant since, so I guess this is “done.”
102. Get my hair cut at least quarterly. Finally found
103. Pay for Starbucks only with cash or a gift card. No. Hahaha.
104. See fireworks on the 4th of July. No.
105. Turn 33 and be happy about it. Done!
106. Swim laps in the lake. No.
107. Use eye cream daily. No.
108. Remember every day that God is control, and that He works all things for good. (Romans 8:28.) This was the big lesson of 2009, yes?
109. Update this list throughout the year. DONE.
It’s a little depressing that I did so little on this list, but it was still a fun exercise, and I assume I’ll do it again in 2010! (Including a lot from this list, eh?)
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Compassion
