Spirals & Cheese

Tonight, Betsy was hungry. So I offered to make her something or go get something. Normally when I ask her what she wants to eat I usually don't get an answer because she rarely knows precisely what she would like. However, tonight was different. When I came across the mac and cheese in the pantry and offered to make that, she got excited. The decision was clear.

Now, if only I had some HEBREW NATIONAL hot dogs to mix in...

Barefoot Contessa

Recently I learned that the "Barefoot Contessa"'s real name is Ina Garten. I have been freaked out for a long time from her creepy voice. Besides that, her voice brings to mind multiple identities for those verbal intonations. The short list includes...

1. Cat lady
2. Serial Killer
3. Witch from Hansel and Gretel (she wants to fatten you up before killing you)
4. Bedtime Story teller if you want to have a nightmare

Of course the Barefoot Contessa would not do such things because no serial killer could make such delicious-looking meals.

YES

Ok, I can finally breathe. This semester has been a CRAZY BUSY semester. Between deciding to get married, getting engaged, seeing Betsy every weekend this semester which meant lots of traveling(except for maybe 1 or 2), staying on top of my school work, having my first official client in therapy, turning 30, and planning a wedding, my life has been very hectic and stressful. I never really felt settled in a routine. I was always on the go to complete my school work, or I was literally on the go traveling.

While these past 4 months have been crazy, I have learned that God is merciful, God wants to bless each of us, and putting God first is the best decision to make. Now I understand that I have been incredibly blessed. These blessings have been very particular to me and people who do the things that I have done also experience hardships (God bless the people in the South that have been ransacked by tornadoes). I do not want to say that I will always be in bliss by putting God first. However I do want to express that putting God first has brought blessings to my life that have caused "my cup to runneth o'er." I am humbled by the bounteous blessings of a Heavenly Father that is too kind to this child.

Reality Check

Today is one of the "end of semester days" when things seem so piled up that the energy I need to continue seems to go by the wayside. There seems to be so much to do that it is hard to breathe and I want to just not turn anything in and call it good. Since that is not really an option, I trudge forward trying to create words that the professors will like to read.

In the midst of this stress, I decided to look over the New York Times. While browsing the only sections that I read from that periodical (the health and the science sections), I came across a story about a couple (the bonds) who were individually diagnosed with cancer a month apart. To add to this situation, they have a 1 year old girl. The article gave a link to their blog

If you can hold your emotions, you may want to check if you have a soul. Reading this blog touched me. Maybe that occurred because I am about to get married and so hearing stories like this make me especially sensitive to being emotional. However, hearing somebody go through something so awful, far reaching, emotional, draining, and many other strong emotions can make any human want to reach out to them. Certainly cancer stories are not uncommon. However reading about a couple going through cancer at the same time is something that can jerk some tears from any person; even when that person is absorbed in the stress of something so minimal as end of semester work.

Long Distance

I was always of the opinion that long distance would not work unless both people knew that they were going to get married. I never thought that I would have a long distance relationship unless I was engaged or "close" to being engaged. However, I proved myself wrong.

When me and Betsy started our long distance relationship last September, I honestly did not know what the future would hold. I have had various relationships that did not work out so I was not expecting anything certain with Betsy. It wasn't that I did not have hope in us, but I just did not have expectations that we were for sure going to work out. My attitude was "lets see how this thing goes."

Fortunately, I decided to do a long distance relationship with Betsy. She makes me insanely and ridiculously happy. Whoever said that crushes don't exist past high school was dead wrong. I have a major crush on Betsy. Whoever said that you can't marry your best friend is also very wrong. I don't have to be fake around Betsy because she loves me for who I am, including my glaring weaknesses and failures. One of my favorite quotes of Betsy is "I love all that is Tod." (Sorry if this embarrasses you baby but that quote is PRICELESS).

These are some things that have helped us have a successful long distance relationship (in no particular order and certainly incomplete).......

1. Understand when the other is busy and don't annoy them with incessant texting or calling if they do not immediately respond. Drowning each other in neediness is poison to a long distance relationship.
2. Make it a priority to talk to each other every day. Even if you can't see each other, consistent communication is necessary.
3. See each other as often as possible. This lets each other know they you are a priority and that you are on the same page in terms of the commitment to the each other.
4. Tell each other how you feel about things. Honest and open communication fosters greater intimacy even if you are hundreds of miles away.
5. Tell each other that you love each other consistently. If you have not gotten to that stage yet, then tell each other how you feel about them.
6. Not being with each other should be extremely difficult. If being apart is easy, then the relationship will be shallow. If being apart feels like I am missing a big part of me, then I know that I really care about the relationship.
7. Find ways to do something extra for the other person like hand writing a letter and sending it in the mail (Everybody loves receiving letters in the mail).

My Christmas List Starts With This

I was looking through sky mall magazine recently and I found this little beauty....

Thoughts

Some thoughts on what makes me unique...
1. I virtually stopped eating desserts for a season (unless it is a special occasion)
2. I love Steve Prefontaine and almost anything associated with him.
3. I still root for Tiger Woods and hold hope that he will win a grand slam
4. I used to wear an eye patch
5. I used to watch the TV show "Perry Mason" after Kindergarten
6. I did not join facebook until after I was 25
7. I did not have a cell phone until 2002
8. I studdered as a child and adolescent
9. Seeing the color green makes me happy
10. In one year, I went on close to 50 first dates