Monthly Archives: May 2008

Chapter Seventeen* The "M" Word

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Shop Girl| 2 Comments

This is the story of how the Hubster and I met, fell in love, and were married within 8 months…

…and lived happily ever after*

On February 16th, 2005, the Hubster first proposed the idea of marriage to me. We had been dating for 23 days. But let me take a step back and explain…

I knew that I loved him before I actually said it to him out loud, but the minute that he looked into my eyes and told me that he was in love with me was the moment I realized that I didn’t want to date anyone else. As crazy as it sounded in my head, my heart was absolutely sure. But I assumed that he, being male, would need time to let the idea of “forever” settle in a little… so needless to say, even I was a little caught off guard when he brought up the “M” word shortly after telling me that he loved me. And just to clarify– here shortly doesn’t mean a few weeks or days after telling me. I’m talking a few minutes. :)

Some of you might be wondering which “M” word I’m referring to. After all, many lovely words in the English language begin with this letter, such as macaroni (which I love), magical (which our love is.. AWW), marble (my favourite cake) or even mysterious (which I am attempting to be… haha). But let me assure you, that this BIG “M” word was most definitely marriage.

After telling me that he loved me, he explained that they were not words that he “threw around” and that in weighing out his decision to tell me that he loved me he had also thought about the possibility of marriage. To me. In the future-ish. Whoa.

He didn’t propose that night (obviously), but wanted to know my feelings about marriage. I remember telling him about my goals in life, but that if it was right then I would absolutely be ready to get married. Instead of running for my life in the opposite direction at the mere mention of the “M” word as I had in past relationships, when we talked about it I felt… good. It felt good. It felt… right. Now I know what you’re thinking–how could I say that?? I was 19, and according to some, very inexperienced in the ways of the world and of the heart. We had only been dating for 23 days! How could it feel right?? It must have been new love, or indigestion.

…but it wasn’t. I’m telling you… I am a firm believer that when you know, you know. You can choose to deny it, run from it or ignore it– or you can be open to it, listen to it, and embrace it.

Shop Girl*

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Posted in Our Story

Memory Lane*

Posted on May 19, 2008 by Shop Girl| Leave a comment

I can’t believe I went the WHOLE weekend without blogging. I don’t think that I’ve done that since January!! In my defense, it has been a busy weekend. On Friday we left to go to visit the Hubs’ family for the night to celebrate his birthday! It’s actually a little early–he doesn’t turn the big 2-5 until next Saturday. We had a lovely evening with them, then on Saturday morning we went to his cousin’s wedding! Spart picked us up in The City and then drove us back to B-Town, where we spent Saturday night with my family. We went to support my Dad as we was called as Bishop of the ward there. It was really great… we were all there for church except Peeah, and it meant so much to my dad that we were there. I am really proud of him. After church we stayed and visited for a while, then Spart drove the Hubs and I back to Senior’s City and she spent the night! We bonded with Frasier and Niles, and she was here until shortly after noon today.

So, like I said, busy busy busy.

While I was home I decided to poke around in the garage to look for Goatboy’s letters, seeing as his story was the most popular and it looks as though I’ll be sharing it with you! I have kept a box of my things at my parents house as I really don’t have room for it here. So, on Saturday evening I slipped outside and spent an hour walking down memory lane.

It was the most bizarre feeling… it was like my whole life (pre-marriage) was contained in that one box. It was full of photos, certificates, trophies, medals, trinkets, letters, keepsakes, and most importantly, journals. I decided to pull them out and take a look as some of them hadn’t been opened since childhood. Inside were a flood of memories… my CONSTANT fighting with Spart (who is now one of my best friends…), my childhood crushes, daily activities, and my thoughts and feelings as a 12 and 13 year old girl. Another journal I found was devoted to my first love–Big Chief. It reads (in detail) about the first time I fell in “love” with my first boyfriend… details of my first kiss, our up and down relationship, falling head over heels for him, and then finally, how much it broke my heart to have to walk away over a year later. (at 17 this was quite traumatic… haha) I even found some of the letters he used to write me buried in the bottom.

I read about how badly I wanted to be a singer/songwriter or an actress… I even recorded in one that I “don’t want to end up as a teacher or something like that”, and here I am–headed in that direction because I chose to. I read about my family life as a child and teenager–small details that I had since forgotten. Looking back on them, I am amazed at the attention to detail I had. I often recorded my daily events from morning to midnight and left nothing to the imagination. I love reading back and reliving those days… the things I wore, what I thought and how I felt…

However, despite the discovery of a treasure trove of memories, Goatboy’s letters were no where to be found. So, this afternoon I made my way down to our storage space and dug out another old box I had buried at the back. It too was FULL of memories… old picture frames, school work, gifts, cards and so much more…

I found a beautifully hand-painted blue, oval box from Gene that was full of odds and ends. The box still looks like new and I still remember the day she gave it to me.

I found a pink bear with a gold hear necklace given to me by Mango for my birthday one year.

I found an ENORMOUS “Get Well Chicken” card from Pog and Gene that still makes me laugh every time I read it.

I found a framed collage of pictures of the two people I once loved most in the world– my childhood best friends, AKV & Gilbert.

I found jewelry given to me by my Gumpo as a child.

I found more small gifts that the Hubster had given to me when we were only dating, as well as the (now legendary) lady bug costume. :)

Everything in those boxes had a memory attached to it, and I am so overwhelmed by how much I love and miss the people who will forever have a piece of themselves in those boxes, as well as in my heart. I have great people. I don’t get to see them, or talk to them nearly as often as I’d like, but I have had the privilege of having amazing people come into my life. I just wanted you to know.

I miss you.
Shop Girl*
xo

P.s. I did find the letters in the very bottom of the last box. Be excited. Goatboy is coming.

Posted in My thoughts*

The Hubster’s Super Secret Bathroom*

Posted on May 16, 2008 by Shop Girl| Leave a comment

Remember my Secret Bathroom confession? Well, as it turns out, for a time, the Hubster also had one of his own.

The Hubster is a super student. Since we got married nearly three years ago he has not had more thank a 2 week break from his classes as he studies year-round. Because he is a joint arts (business) and science (computer science) major, he requires extra credits to complete his degree, thus requiring the summer classes. He actually prefers the campus in the summer as the weather is nice, it’s much less crowded and the classes are generally much smaller.

However, perhaps the best aspect of summer school is the library. In the summer, Hippie U’s library becomes like a REAL university library that has lots of space for studying, and most of all–it’s QUIET. Because Hippie U is lacking in student social spaces, during the school year many people “hang out” in the library creating an atmosphere that is less than ideal for those that are there to actually benefit from the library itself.

Anyway, I digress. As he’s taking an intensive calculus class right now, he often leaves several hours before the start of his class so that he can take advantage of the quiet library and force himself to work. He loves working on the top floor, which is also where I had my office this year.

In my Secret Bathroom post I told you all about the wonderfully secret rest rooms located on this floor. They truly are… magical. As he is working up there so often now, he found one of his own. It too was hidden away, and he was immediately impressed by its large size, cleanliness and privacy. As far as secret bathrooms go, it was up there with the best.

As he continued to use the bathroom over a period of a couple of weeks he found a few things about the bathroom to be a little strange. He first pondered momentarily over the reason why this particular bathroom didn’t have any urinals and instead had several private stalls. He was next curious about the presence of what appeared to be a tampon dispenser on the wall.

However, despite these curiosities, he continued to enjoy his secret bathroom until one day, while using said secret bathroom, another person entered and sat in the stall next to him. Taken aback by volume at which this person peed, he glanced at the floor of the stall next to him…

…and saw women’s shoes. At that moment, it all made sense–no urinals, tampon dispenser, and lastly, female shoes = women’s bathroom. He quickly attempted to shove his size 12 men’s Adidas shoes to the opposite side of the stall to hide them and waited until the super pee-er left the bathroom before making a sly exit.

Yes, my dear readers… the Hubster and I found the SAME secret bathroom!!!! hahaha!!! The door is unmarked, and the signs leading to it and its male counterpart are terrible. They send you in a general direction with no specifics and make you guess which is which as there are no signs on the doors. So his love affair with his secret bathroom had to come to an abrupt end…

…parting is such sweet sorrow. *sigh*

Shop Girl*

Posted in Random Junk*

Levo Cookie*

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Shop Girl| Leave a comment

I wanted to add this to my post last night, but I couldn’t find it. Thankfully Spart came to the rescue and sent me a copy!

This is a picture of the cookie / cake we gave to my mom a little while back… Teep wanted to show my mom just how much he levos her. :)
Shop Girl*

Posted in Tookie Tribe*

Levo*

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Shop Girl| Leave a comment

Meet Teep.

Teep is the youngest member of our tribe (family). The bébé. As a result he often gets picked on by the rest of us (in good fun) about being the baby. He was stinking cute as a kid with his fiery red hair and temper to match.

Every so often he does something REALLY cute without even realizing it or meaning to do it which spawns a lifetime of family jokes. For example, he once promised my mother a “Free Diner” (cooked by him) for her birthday one year… I think he ended up cooking her Kraft Dinner and hot dogs. haha! By simply forgetting that extra “n” in dinner he created a world of fun for all of us older siblings who love a good laugh. We have all done it from time to time, but the most enduring of all these “mistakes” is levo.

When Teep was small he attended an elementary school, like most children do. This elementary school, like most elementary schools, held “visual arts” classes (glorified arts ‘n’ crafts) for students to participate in. The projects were never difficult–usually involving paint, glue and Popsicle sticks to create a picture of some kind. These pictures were then usually brought home and put on display on the fridge until the next picture was created.

Teep was quite the little arts ‘n’ crafter. Being the bébé, his pictures were highly celebrated by my mom and were left on display for weeks on end. One day when he was six or seven Teep came home with a lovely picture specifically for my mom. It may have been for a Mother’s Day gift or something of the like. I can’t remember what the picture was of–it was probably full of rainbows, butterflies and hearts. However, as he was learning to write at the time, inscribed on the picture were three little words:

Teep Levos Mommy!

I can’t remember if my mom was able to decipher his ‘hidden message’ immediately or if it took her a minute, but I DO remember that his little picture was on the fridge for months and months… and that immediately thereafter my mom began replacing “I love you” with “Levo!” when she would tell us that she loved us.

Well, it stuck. To this day–some 10 years later–my family continues to use “Levo” both in great fun while playfully mocking Teep but also to say “I love you” to each other. The Hubster and I have even adopted it and even he says “Levo!” to me without realizing it. So, if you ever want to tell someone you love them but don’t think you’ll have time to get out all three of those words, please feel free to use our condensed version and levo those around you. :)

Teep’s probably going to be a wee bit embarrassed that I told you our family secret. I levo it!

Shop Girl*