Falling In Love...Or Maybe Just Falling

In lieu of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share one of my proud moments from dating that happened on this such holiday.

About eight years ago, I had started hanging out and seeing someone.  This is probably the second time we had gone out, and we decided to meet up a little later on Valentine's Day at one of the bars in town.  My roommate and I drove up there, had a few drinks, and then he showed up a while later.  My roommate decided to call it a night, and after a few more drinks, socializing, and the bar kicking us out, we did too.

Since it was one of our first dates, I was dressed to impressed.  Black pants, heels, the works. He had parked probably eight blocks away, hey it was free parking.  So we trudged out into the cold night on the snowy sidewalks.  You can't really expect college students to shovel the walks, you know.  We were having some laughs, and even ran into some people we knew walking home too.  After a long walk, his SUV was finally in site.  I made it all the way to the car walking on snow covered sidewalks, and then...

He walked to the passenger door to unlock it and let me in.  As I stepped into the grass area between the sidewalk and the road, the snow was kind of sloped, and I lost my footing.  As he stood there with the door open waiting for me, my feet slid out from underneath me.  It happened so fast.  I bit it hard, and ended up sliding underneath his vehicle!  He asked if I was OK, and after a slight pause I got out a weak "yeessss?".  My head and shoulders were sticking out from underneath the car, so he was able to help me up to my feet.  In addition to my pride being injured, I had jerked my left shin up as a reaction to falling, and ended up kicking the frame of the car on my way under.  If you've ever hit your shin bone (tibia for the medical folk), you know it hurts. However, through the pain, I laughed the whole way home. I mean if you don't laugh, you'll cry right?

So in addition to falling on a second date, bruising my shin, and injuring my ego, I learned an important lesson:  shoes that make you fall go into the garbage.

Ahh, married life; where you can fall, and not leave your dignity under the car.  Thanks to the Husband for saving me from those awkward moments for the rest of my life. 

Another Reason To Love

Every couple has inside jokes. That is part of the fun of being so close to someone. The Husband and I have a couple places around Macomb where his mom and step-father live that are our inside jokes.

One of the first few times we went out there together, we stopped at a liquor store to pick up some wine. The place was called BB's. I kept saying, "Bee Bee, that's you (his initials). This is your place." For whatever reason, it was just funny to us. That's how inside jokes are. You have to be there.

Another place nearby is a place I like to call "Bar". Probably because I could never remember the full name, and the sign for the place just has BAR in giant letters. So the place is called Bar. One night we went out for drinks and on the way home, we stopped at Bar. We both got Pabst Blue Ribbons out of a can, and I think we got two dimes back for the $2 we laid down on the counter to pay for them. It's just this po-dunk of a place, but I wanted to check it out, just because of the name. So now every time we go out to Macomb, I always ask if we're going to go to Bar. We have never gone back, but that place sure has a cool name.

So anyway, The Husband is out at his mom's house for a couple of days for her birthday, and he sends me these photos from his phone. No text, just photos. I just cracked up laughing when I opened the messages. See what I'm missing out on?

Dresses Decided Upon

I must admit, I was a little worried what kind of dress we'd end up getting for my sister's wedding. With five bridesmaids all wanting something a little different to suit their own body types and interests, I had my doubts that I was going to be 100% happy with the selection.

The first day we went shopping for dresses though, I ended up trying this dress on and just loving it. It was on the OK list between me, my sister and sister-in-law. So after another trip out with her friends, my sister and her friends all decided on this dress. Whew, my favorite dress won out! How lucky is that?

So here they are, from the Jasmine Bridesmaid collection B2 in petunia. I love the rouching at the top, and the material is so flowy and breathable for an outdoor, August wedding.

I also bought this brooch on etsy a while back, before we had even decided on the dress. I knew my sister wanted pink dresses, so I just took a chance. If it matches, I'd like to wear this in my hair. I thought it had a little Bohemian flare to it.

Bad Kitteh

As I was plugging away at work today, I heard my phone go off indicating that I got a text message.  I checked the phone.  It was a message from the Husband.  It said, "Nico bit me."  I started cracking up, then I pointed out to him in a text message back that no one likes a tattle tale.

If At First You Don't Sucseed

Ok, so I failed miserably at some of the seeds I tried to grow last year. That doesn't mean that I am giving up. Here's my list for 2009. Wish me luck!

This is a Coleus Wizard Mix. It'll be great for the north and west side of my house which doesn't get much sun.


Columbine Origami Mix. These will look great in the area next to my Japanese maple and ornamental grasses.


Flowering Tobacco. I've read that these are on the easy side to sow from seed. I purchased a couple of plants last summer which were quite pretty, so I thought I'd give these a try.


Mystic Mix Impatiens. Impatiens were my huge success last year, so I was no doubt going to get these again.


The first summer the Husband and I were in our house, I purchased Sweet Alyssum as a border flower, and they grew very successfully. I thought I'd try my hand at growing my own. I've never seen these pastel shades in any nursery.


The Petunias I tried to sow last year never took off. Not even one seed. I have no idea what I did wrong, but I'm willing to give them a second chance. This color combo really drew my attention.


Ahhh, onto the Zinnias. So easy. These are Double Cherry Zinnia.


Apricot Zinnia...to go with...


Deep Apricot Zinnia...to go with...


Orange Zinnia. These are all dwarf zinnias.


Scarlet and Yellow Swizzle Zinnia.

The following three photos are of Asti. Look how great the colors coordinate together. I was drooling over them. They are actually the inspiration behind my petunias. At a whomping $6.95 for a packet of seeds, I don't really want to invest in this plant yet with my lack of experience, but maybe next yet.



I decided that I am going to get a couple of tools to assist with the gardening once the plants get going. I'm going to purchase some Watering Spikes for my larger planters, to get water to the bottom where the roots are.


Aqua Pads for my hanging baskets. These things will make it so that I only have to water my hanging baskets once a week. Nice!


So here's hoping that I have a successful growing season.

Christmas Eve 2008

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents' house this year, which was nice. A couple of traditions we have are to find the pickle ornament hidden on the Christmas tree after opening gifts (which I failed miserably at this year, and I'm still pouting), and we also watch Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The original from 1966. No Jim Carrey crap.

I love going home for Christmas. It just reminds me so much of being a kid. Dorothy was onto something...there's no place like it.

O Christmas Tree

Our Christmas trees and fireplace mantel for 2008.