Thursday, August 28, 2008

Husband Tag

Richae - you should be glad your family, otherwise not sure I'd do this. But it is fun to let people know more about us!

1. Where did you meet? We met cuz we were friends of friends... it was inevitable. I'm not sure if I first met him at church or at some other function.

2. How long did you date before you got married? 6 months including engagement. But we'd know each other a year.

3. How long have you been married? A little over 2 years

4. What does he do that surprises you? It doesn't surprise me anymore, but he sings or whistles the most random tunes, sometimes they are random songs from his band days.

5. What's your favorite feature about him? This one is tough, I love his jaw line and his smile (total GQ), but I also think he has the cutest ears (weird, I know).

6. What's your favorite quality about him? Favorite... yikes, I don't have one, but I'll tell you the first thing I ever noticed about him... we were playing ulitmate frisbee and he had this ability to try really hard, be really competitive, and be good... but not get mad at others if they did poorly, nor did he worry about passing to girls just cuz they weren't the greatest, he always treated everyone so kind.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? No not really. We joke about being random super heroes though.... for instance... After I did allll of our dirty laundry, I was "Super Laundry Woman"!

8. What's his favorite color? Green, but not ugly green, pretty dark forest green.

9. What's his favorite food? This was so funny at my bridal shower, we played the game where we had to guess certain things about Matt... and his sisters, mom and me all guessed different things. But I think in the end he said Funeral (cheesy) potatoes are his ultimate favorite with steak, chips with salsa and sour cream, and ice cream are close runners up.

10. What's his favorite sport? Currently, rock climbing.

11. Who said I love you first? He did.

12. When and where was your first kiss? In his apartment. We were hanging out with our friends as we did all the time. And that week, he had given me so many confusing signals like he'd stay to talk until all hours of the night, but wouldn't sit next to me. So that night we were watching movies, and I knew this would be a perfect time to make his move, but he was oblivious. Well, everyone left (except me) and we put on another movie, and I still have no idea what that movie was about, cuz we talked nose to nose during the whole movie, while I waited for him to get the courage to finally kiss me!

13. What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? Well, it depends on the day, but we love to play games together (both on and off the computer). We love going to movies together, and we also can get very absorbed having spiritual and philosphical discussions.

14. Do you have any kids? Not yet.

15. What's a hidden talent that he has? this isn't hidden to his family cuz they all do it, but telling clever puns. He's really good at it and his family sits there and tries to out-do each other... its really funny.

16. How old is he? almost 25 (I know I robbed the cradle)

17. What's his favorite type of music? Almost everything but rap. His favorite bands are Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox 20, and Garth Brooks

18. What do you admire most about him? The way he loves me so absolutely. He nevers gets mad at me when I do the things that drive him nuts, he just accepts them and moves on. (and then I get mad at him cuz he never told me how much it bugged him, he never wins, poor guy)

19. What's his favorite pastime? I'm not sure, but I'm gonna say creating or building things. He'd love to have more time (and money) to just hang out at the hobby store, whether it's building some motor, to flying a remote control airplane.

20. Is he going to read this? Probably... he writes on this blog.


I'd love to hear about others husbands, but I'm not gonna tag anyone specific.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

No, kids shouldn't share.

The idea of "sharing" is quite popular in American culture, but I decline.

Somehow, sharing seems nice if you're the giver helping out the poor, less-fortunate kid. But is it really sharing if the person you're giving to really doesn't want the respective item? Then you're a giver rather than the sharer. Giving does not teach the same values that sharing does. Giving willfully teaches the value of selflessness while sharing teaches the values of equality and fairness.

"There is no greater inequality than the equal treatment of unequals." (There are so many attibuted authors for this quote that I am unsure who the original author is.)

Some people have gotten it into their minds that they deserve what others have, and still call that "sharing." In fact, by definition, sharing means that you divide something into "shares" and distribute equally. You might share a bicycle by taking equal turns, or share a candybar by dividing it into pieces. This does not mean that the person is required to give up what they have, nor do they have to give it to them right then. The shares have to be equal, but not the distribution of these shares. This means that I can share with whom I choose. I do not have to give all that I have, only an equal portion to each party with whom I choose to share. This type of sharing emphasizes patience, and avoids the problems of instant gratification

Say I earned $0.50 and bought a candybar. I shouldn't be obligated to share just because someone else doesn't have one. We're not communists! (Please read the The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism) I have a candybar because I worked hard and earned it. I can share my candybar if I want to. I can share however much or little of my candybar that I would like. If I share it willingly, then I've learned not to be selfish. If I'm obligated to share, not only have I lost the chance to learn selflessness, but we're also teaching the receiver that he should depend on some sort of welfare system where he reaps where he has not sown.

More importantly, I think a kid needs to come to grips with the fact that "what's mine is mine, and what's yours is yours." If a person desires what they do not have, asking for a portion is commonly accepted. However, sharing is not always the best way to handle the situation of greed. Sometimes the resolution is a man working for his portion. Sometimes the answer is simply, "no." This teaches a kid not to be whiny, greedy, and inconsiderate. In turn, the kid learns respect for other's property, the value of work, and the ability to handle not getting what he wants.

Should Kids Really Share?

OK,... so I don't have my own kids thus I have to take advantage of this fun story...

Today we had a work lunch.... basically someone who works remote was in town, so a bunch of us wanted to go out to lunch. Well an old co-worker of ours decided to come. She's a stay at home mom now, and in fact also does day care for one of the working moms in my department. And since the working mom's day care giver is coming to lunch, the working mom is also bringing her child. So now, we have 3 children coming to our work lunch. Cool... sounds fun to me!

So, we have two tables, 1 with high chairs and booster seats all ready, and 1 with no childern amenities. Well of course as people file in it turns out that I move from the all adult table to the 'kid' table. I'm sitting next to the 2 year old girl (who's at the head of the table), and her 4 year old brother is across the table from me. Well, naturally the stay at home mom is excited to see everyone and strikes up conversation with the other 3 adults at the table. This leaves her son, who is hiding under the table, and daughter with no mother to watch their every move.

Naturally the restaurant gave the kids crayons and paper menus to draw on. So for about 5 minutes that entertained the daughter. Well, thanks to my 18 nieces and nephews, I've learned that it is much more enjoyable to sit next to a 2-year old if you play with them a little. So I started asking her about the crayons. Then she started sharing them with me, and asking me to draw. I thought, how nice she's sharing! Then I hung onto the crayons because she had clearly lost interest.

Then her mom starting giving her bites of muffin, which entertained her for yet, another 5 minutes. Then she decided she needed to share her muffin. And not just hand it to me nicely, but to put it on my little muffin plate... you know, that little place for your bread? So, wow! I thought, what a great girl! But I still did not really want her muffin, so I showed her my muffin that I was 'conveniently' eating at the same time.... so she knew I didn't need her muffin pieces.

At this point, we resort to the little back pack that mom brought full of toys! YAY for prepared moms! So we bust out the groovy plastic slinky. That I think actually worked for 8 minutes. Then her mom finds the wind up toys, which finally gets the son to come out from under the table. And wow, about another 8 minutes passed!

Then lunch comes! And the daughter and son were having hot dogs and french fries. Well, as a good mom would, she grabs the son's hot dog to cut in half. In the mean time I don't know if the daughter thought the hot dog was too big (which it was!), or if she didn't want it. So she tries to put the hot dog on my plate! Uh, no. So then, she puts it on the table right next to my plate. I try to hand it back to her. But nope, she beats me and tries to put it by me again. At this point the mom is aware and grabs the hot dog to also cut it in half, so daughter happily starts on the french fries.

Then she decides that after she has enjoyed multiple french fries and has good greasy-ketchupy hands, that she needs to share again! At this point she has taken a french fry and mushed a it up and down on her plate, so that its that nasty squishy type of fry and then tries to give it to me! So she starts to put it on my plate... even though she can clearly see that I too have french fries. So I politely tell her I don't want it. (This argument works much better on my nephew when he's whining and says, "BUT I WANT ...." and I say, "But I don't." It's like he never thought about the fact that I might think differently than him... its fun!) She tries again, again I say, "No thanks, I have my own fries." Well, that worked for maybe 2 minutes, and then she tries again with a new french fry! And I still have my own fries.

Then when she's done with her sippy cup.. and her brother's sippy cup, she doesn't want them near her... infact she wants them near me. Now, I'm starting to realize... maybe she doesn't want to share... maybe this really isn't about giving and being nice.... she thinks I'm the all purpose garbage can! Dang-it! How could I have fallen for those adorable eyes, and gorgeous curls! This whole time I thought she liked me... but alas, I'm just a useful big person! hahahaha.

Oh well, I guess I have a lot to learn with kids, but I did learn a very important rule in Denver from my sister-in-laws.... NEVER and I repeat NEVER share drinks with kids... otherwise, you are sharing their BACKWASH! YUCK!

Friday, August 8, 2008

I'm slackin...

I know, I haven't written in a while. Things have been busy, not crazy, just busy. And I don't know, I think my life is boring. But alas, I guess I can share what I've been up to.

- Had an SED (Sunday Evening Discussion) at my house.
- After visiting Denver, I decided my house needed more pictures, so got new picture frames, and hung them up. (ok didn't really have to get more than 1, cuz I have great ones from my wedding!)
- Finally got my 11x14 wedding picture up in my house! It looks so great!
- Got a hair cut. It's still long, just more layers and kept the sweep bangs. (sweeping? swooping? I don't know how to say it)
- Went to jury duty for the first time. It was boring, but I got a new book to read (see next line), so I was good.
- Started reading Twilight, my Young Women (youth from church youth group) is totally hooked on this book, so I decided to check it out. I'm on page 195, and yup, totally hooked in the cheesy teenage romance.
- Had Matt's family over for dinner.
- Um... providing moral support to my friend who canned a ton of peaches for me! Seriously, she's the best!
- Working. Our deadline is the first week of September, so things are getting stressful.
- Supporting Matt through his 2nd to last semester. (He finishes Monday! and then just 1 more semester! YAY!)
- Oh and trying to get back into a schedule for working out. Wish me luck on this one.
- And of course, hanging out with my hubby, mostly playing our video game.
- Painted my toes a bluish color with white, blue and silver flowers.

Well, that's mostly the highlight. Got a great couple weekends coming up. I'll bring my camera for some fun pics!