Strange Fact

B and I have been together over 4 years now. We have done many different things when we go out. Generally, we go window shopping when we are alone. We are able to concentrate better since C isn't around being the girl with a million questions.

One thing we have never done: go to a movie together. Sure we have used Redbox, Blockbuster (when we live near one), Netflix, cable, and our own personal collection of movies. We have just never have gone to the theater. I have been with C and friends in the last 4 years.

This summer, we are hoping to change that. We both really want to see Fast and Furious 6. We watched the one before on a TV (that we no longer have) and it was good, we had a giant 60 inch DLP with surround sound. We don't have that anymore.

I hope we change this and get to watch a movie soon.

The Engagement

Previously, I wrote about how B and I met. I was talking with some friends and I haven't shared this part of our story.

A little backstory first: when B and I started dating, I didn't have a car. He technically didn't either. B bought a car, a 1993 Cadillac DeVille with a gold grill. Fancy, right? That car became Betsy. She thought she was a truck and he bought her in November 2009. We weren't together very long but he had me put the car in my name. So we shared the car until February 2010 from different residences. Weird right?

We were living together after that and sometimes he would borrow a car from a co-worker, the night in April, I had Betsy and he had a borrowed truck. He called me to invite me to dinner at a pizza joint he liked.

I showed up and we were across the parking lot from each other. He calls me and says he thinks he burned a hole in the seat and could I come look at it? I thought this was weird because he doesn't smoke. I went anyways.

He steps back from the truck, mind you, we are in the middle of a parking lot. On the seat is a box. He coaxes me to hold it, but I don't open it. The next moments seem to have lasted a lifetime.

I am standing at the driver's side door holding a ring? box. While he is dancing by the truck bed on the same side. He says "I've just got one question." more dancing. I say, "uh huh." still holding the closed box. He repeats himself and so do I, this goes on for another time except I say, "yea?"

He responds, still dancing," will you marry me?" I actually say nothing. Instead, I open the box to find a diamond solitaire ring and slip it on my finger. I hug him, I kiss him and while still embraced, he says, "so, is that a yes?" Doh! I hadn't said anything! Of course it was a yes!

I still laugh at that day and that moment. He never saw me slip the ring on my finger. We were in a dim parking lot at night. I still laugh that I married a wonderful man, who proposed marriage in a parking lot! If you ask him, he says it's because that is who we are, we are one of a kind. We had late night meals, met up with each other. It has been crazy and fun and we wouldn't have it any other way.

XOXO
Jes

The List!

The other night, we sat down and made a master list of things we want/need for our apartment. I actually started the list and showed it to B. We then circled our "must haves". So here is the list!

C's Room

-bed frame (found one at ikea we like)*

-dresser (hopefully can find this secondhand)*

-accessories (wall decor, etc. I will be making some of this) 

-desk chair (possibly ikea, or a folding chair if B had his way)*

-lamp 

-nightstand (maybe secondhand) 

-desk (ikea)*

-TV

-bed skirt (I want to make it)

Found here

-fan*

-wall (since her room is open to the living room, we want to use a drop cloth to create a wall for privacy for everyone)*

-gate (to help keep Lucky out)*

-Bookselves*

-under the bed storage

-sheets*

-comforter (I want to make her a rag quilt)

Found here

-mirror (she is getting older and we need to support her on wanting to look good. We hope to create a vanity zone for her to keep the bathroom open)*

Bathroom 

-shower curtain (yea, we don't even have one! I found this one I like)*

-shower curtain liner (we just need a new one)*

-rug 

-towels

-fan*

-dog bed* (or a pillow, he likes pillows)

Kitchen 

-built-ins (there is an open space meant to be used as a table, we don't use it like that so I will build shelves for both sides for added storage)*

-towels

-rug

Living Room

-TV

-coffee table (Possibly this one from Ikea)

-wall shelf (to display my camera collection)

-TV stand (we like one we found at Ikea, but we are thinking of getting a dresser secondhand to use for the storage possibilities it offers, down the line, we might get a regular one)*

-rug (I have been looking all over for one that I like...no luck yet)

-lamp (I have found a few I like at target and Ikea)

-shelving unit (We really like all the storage with this one)*

-chair (possibly secondhand or at ikea)

-surround sound

-couch (we saw this one on display and LOVE it, it will be replacing our current couch down the line)

Office

-chair*

Office Chair I picked up at a Thrift Store

-lamp

Other

-carpet shampooer

* -Items we are going to work on first.

Thats it in a nutshell, we have lots of things we want to work on and I hope that some of this stuff can be knocked out. I will share projects and ideas as they come along. For now, I have no idea what I am going to do to the chair. I am thinking of decoupaging it and adding a pillow. Thoughts?

XOXO

Jes

How We Met

So, I have posted about how we got to where we are now, but how to we come to be an "us"  is just as important.

I used to wait tables in the downtown area of my hometown. I had been there for a while and I made decent money. It was August 2008 and I was preparing for a trip to New Orleans for Oxford House. I was going to the world convention and my trip was paid for by the state board.

So, I had the patio section and a few servers from the high end Steakhouse across the street sat at one of my tables. Not to miss out on a major tip that I knew was coming, I kept them. I continued to do my closing duties while they occupied my table. Their table grew as time went on.

I don't remember but, I think they were talking about their new chef. Lucky for me, he showed up. I would say the rest is history, but that isn't how it works.

He sat in my way that night. I either had to walk all the way around the gate or practically crawl over him. I did a little of both. I made a nice tip that night. It was his first week in my hometown.

B continued to patron the restaurant until June. He took a brief break from it during the winter months but it is normal for that restaurant to slow during the winter months. We would talk occasionally, as acquaintances.

One night, in June 2009, he said to me" if you ever want to hang out, let me know ". He didn't come back for almost a week after that. Kinda hard to let him know I wanted to hang out if I had no way of getting ahold of him! I said as much to him when I finally saw him again.

I should note, the book and movie He's Just Not That Into You was pretty popular during this time. After seeing the movie, I was reading the book. And the book told me... He wasn't that into me. I refused to call him.

I got a text from him. It said," hi are you". That was it. I was in the middle of navigating construction on my way to buy a computer part a few hours away. My best friend, A was texting him back. Finally, before I lost service, I just called him. I told him if it wasn't too late when I got back, I would give him a call.

We talked for 3 hours that night. We made plans to meet downtown for our first date.

The date, it's another post entirely, but that is how I landed my chef. Even though we both worked a lot at the time and he worked 50 to 70 hours a week, he still found me.

Courier...

A Chef's wife's work is never really done. With the opening of the restaurant tomorrow, there was much to be done today for the investor dinner.

Last night, I got a phone call. B needed me to pick up something, take it to the mall and have it at up there before they closed for them to be engraved. Easy peasy, right? Nope.

A million questions later, and a trek across the entire mall, the task was done. You would think it wouldn't be a big deal, I stay at home! Well, I had to rush out while our tween daughter was supposed to be showering and going to bed. This is a nightly battle.

Anyways, today, I thought I would surprise B and his boss by picking them up and delivering them. Then, another errand. This time to the grocery store. A case of water, a case of mountain dew and a 6 pack of bottled soda delivered, I thought I was home free!

Not. I had to make a mad dash back home, walk the dog and find a clean chef jacket and deliver it before 3:30. I also had to be home to let C in. I failed on getting home before C. Oops. Luckily, I forgot to lock the door in my rush.

Bonus: I was done playing courier for the day and I got the olive oil I needed for the potatoes I made tonight. I did pot roast, potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Thankfully, C liked it.

Want the recipe for my pot roast or wanna know how I made the potatoes? Let me know in the comments.

Housewife?

We recently filed our taxes. I guess the irs is super nosy and you have to put down an occupation for each adult filing. Fine. I guess I was a little stunned when I looked at the screen at our local H&R Block to see "housewife" as my job.
You see, I happened on this occupation by pure mistake. Back in January, I quit my job at a gas station. First time I have ever just said "I quit" in the middle of a shift. I think I have worked one partial day at a paying job this year.

The plan in the beginning was that I would stay at home to pack our things for our big move. Yea, I got incredibly sad and lonely and took far more time than it should have to do that.

So in the beginning, I would move here and work while C is at school. Then, B and I realized it would take a lot of hard work on my part to keep up with C, Lucky and the house in B's absence (work schedule). So that is how I came to have "housewife" as my occupation on my taxes.

They make it seem so naughty and glamorous. It's not. It's a full time job in itself.

We Have Arrived!

After a long 12 hours in the car with breaks, a hot dog on the way, a gps that made me mad, a couple of snarls from the pooch, and my getting stuck; we made it.

We are attempting settling in like normal people. B and I both got bad colds and hopefully we are on the mend.

I can honestly say that this place is a lot smaller than I thought. It is going to take some serious thought and effort to get it functional. We did get our sofa bed and a closet for C, that broke. I am seriously loving our sofa.

Tomorrow, I may hang some pictures. The walls are very bare right now and I need to finish my pantry logging and unpacking in the kitchen and bathroom. Hopefully I can finish the "wall" in C's room too. She may not think we need privacy, but we do. We need some separation between the two rooms.

I was poisoned!

This isn't a new story, it's actually a few years old. If you can't take stories about stomach illness, skip this one.

So, a few years ago, my BFF, A and I went to IHOP. We had C with us. Now, I am not a fan of pancakes, but A loves them. She has this thing about their butter pecan syrup. So, if you have ever been there, you know that they take your order, bring you drinks, bring your food and your check. They typically only check on you once. I hate this policy. I worked as a waitress before and I hate shotty service.

This particular time, I requested a refill. My mistake. I wound up crapping my brains out for 2 days. I threw up, once. I was not doing well. My amazing husband, looked it up online. He guessed based on his experiences with food illness, that I was given eye drops in my drink. My symptoms were exactly matching that of being poisoned by eye drops. It was worse than when B and I got food poisoning at Red Lobster on Mother's day years ago.

The practice of poisoning or spitting or doing anything terrible to a customer's food because you believe they are too demanding or a pain in the ass is terrible. There honestly is no reason for this. Yes, you work in the food service industry and bad customers are a part of the deal. However, the better you work to take care of them, the more money they give you. B has worked in kitchens for 20 years, he does not condone this behavior and if he catches any of his cooks or waitstaff doing anything like that, he will fire them on the spot. There is no excuse for it. I have never been back to that IHOP and I haven't been to any Red Lobsters since these two incidents.

Really, people, if you work in the food service industry, please, do not poison people. I can honestly say that during my 5 years of dealing with food, I have never done anything that would jeapordize the quality of food that I put out. It isn't worth it to me. It's a max of an hour or two that you have to deal with this customer, try to make a good impression. My few days of hell was terrible.

Valentine's day fail 2013

Well, it's now February 25th, I have still yet to receive my valentines present from B.

Let me start from the beginning. With B being in Texas and me being in Missouri, he ordered me 2 Diamond Candles. He was so proud of himself, he got me exactly what I wanted. Except, I wanted to see him, that's another story. So, in order to get these candles, you have to order them online or by phone. I waited anxiously and B checked my order. It said it would be there on February 14th, perfect timing.

Valentine's day comes, I was so excited to receive my gift. B calls me. His first words, "baby, we have a problem." First few things through my mind are: we ran out of money, our bank account is seriously negative, B cut off his finger, B was in an accident...etc. WRONG! He says, "Well, your gift came. I have it." I was confused. So, I had to ask, "what do you mean?" So, he tells me, he got a call from the guy who is going to be the bar manager of the steakhouse. He asked B if he goes by a different name. B is confused. The guy tells him he has a package for me. B was so upset. He said that he apparently gave the address for the steakhouse when he ordered them instead of our address here, in Missouri.

The next day, without my knowledge, B took the candles, a pack of cigarettes he bought me, 2 bottles of zzzquil and a bone for our dog to the post office. He told the man at the post office what was in the box. The guy says "No problem!" I told B after I found out that you cannot mail cigarettes or liquid. That night, I drove 7 hours to Texas so our little family (minus Lucky) could be together. The trip was unplanned and I was excited to get my candles and all other items. I showed up, and look in the freezer. No smokes in there! He finally tells me that he mailed them to me.

So, I have been waiting since I got back for this package. I text B today and told him he forgot to give me the tracking number. I get a call a few hours later. He says, "you would not believe my luck." Ok? What now? And he tells me, "I have to go to the police department tomorrow and explain why I tried sending cigarettes and zzzquil in the mail." WTF. Seriously?

I honestly hope that they let him off with a warning. I guess it was documented that he told the postal worker what was in the package and hopefully it's just not a big deal. I am no closer to getting my valentine's present than I was when I was with B in Texas for the weekend. It seems that everything in our life has to be a dramatic production. I honestly wish he had consulted me on this before flying by the seat of his pants. MEN!