What He's About

Today is my last birthday shout out. I couldn't let the 37th birthday of my sweetheart go down without a holla. And I don't mean that Jewish bread, either.

MMA is out in the garage doing one of those grueling boxing workouts I told you about. I can hear the banging and beeping of his various apparatus clocking time and telling me that I have about 30 minutes to scribble.

We made last minute plans not to go out for dinner; no babysitter tonight. All he wanted was for me to make a batch of his mom's lasagna and invite a few friends over, with kids.

And as luck would have it, they can come.

He made it too easy on me. If given more time, (he knows) I would have managed to add 10 people to the guest list and I would have loved it, but crowds and parties are not what he's about.

He's about spending Saturday mornings watching cartoons in bed with little guy and then making us breakfast. I'll have to share the recipe for his House-Special eggs sometime.

He's about Community Coffee with half and half, no sugar, because "good coffee needs no sugar."

MMA's about taking his son to the museum or the zoo and patiently reading all the signs and explaining things to Only Child that I assume he's too young to comprehend.

MMA is about Whataburger, our own wonderful Texas-based-fast-food-for-the-gods: double meat, if you please.

MMA is about pizza, fried rice and sushi -- his three favorite foods. And Blue Bell ice cream. Vanilla or Butter Pecan, but only Blue Bell will do.

MMA is about regular jeans, straight let, slightly faded with age. You won't find him in trendy, dark washed, expensive jeans. He rejects anything stretchy or with contrived bleached out spots. And paying $50 for jeans is really pushing it.

MMA is about keeping things simple, but enjoying nice things. He and his Ipod are never far apart. He enjoys a glass of red wine or a cigar on occasion. When he found a pair of dress shoes that he loved, he bought one in black and one in brown. Now he's got all the dress shoes he's going to need for 5 years or more. He'll pay extra for Sony. He's a Sony guy if at all possible.

MMA is about taking charge when we travel. If we have a plane to catch, he's going to get us there on time, without exception. He can be counted on to keep track of passports and reservation numbers and cash...freeing me up to handle the fun stuff.

MMA is a about taking care of business. Although he's never been my boss, I imagine he's the uncool kind that won't shut down early on the day before Thanksgiving. He's the guy who will make sure the last customer is taken care of across town before coming home for the night.

MMA is all about setting a good example for Only Child. If I raise my voice or say a naughty word or lose my temper, he's there calm and steady, reminding me that little eyes are watching.

MMA is about keeping things good and real and down-to-earth around here. We've really grown up together over the years and I keep finding new reasons to love and admire him. If I get the chance to grow old with this man, it will be one of my life's greatest blessings.

Happy Birthday, my MMA. I love you with all my heart!

Another B-day to Shout About

I think this may be my last Birthday Shout Out because with my condition (shit head) I fully risk forgetting someone very, very important. So we're going to have rules and order here...But its a big-even-rounded-to-the-next-decade Birthday for Erna.

Erna has a straightforward name that any second grader could sound out, yet at her high school graduation ceremony, the principal butchered both her names and said something like Erna McCann...just wrong to do to an 18 year old. So that is how she will be referred to henceforth. Hee, Hee.

Let me share a few reasons why she is wonderful:

1. She bought and wore the bridesmaid dress I picked for my wedding and never complained and even told me that she loved it.

2. She's always willing to try new restaurants, wines and activities of my choosing, even when its not her cup of tea.

3. Once upon a time we were roommates and she was a very considerate person to live with. (Me, not so much, always.)

4. She is forever telling me how beautiful Only Child is even when he acts up around her.

5. Wine cruises.







This picture was taken after more than a few laughs and some liquor, I think. I asked her take my picture for Facebook because I kept hearing from my high school friends that I had to get on and see what everyone was up to. But I decided against it because, do-I-really-care-to-go-over-the-annotated-version-of-the-last-15-years, by email, a dozen times/week? Check out my blog...

Laboring to get the perfect shot, which we agreed was a vain use of thirty minutes, turned silly and then it turned ridiculous and hysterical. In the end we didn't like any of our individual pictures all that much. But we liked this one and we'll forever have a memory of that fun day when we went to lunch and the waitress came to take our order carrying her six month old baby on her hip...only in P-land, Texas.

Happy Birthday, My Dear! You don't look a day over 26 and you look like you had your lips professionally plumped.

Happy Birthday Girly Stuff! And....a look back to our High School Years

She's sweet, she's smart, she's Girly and she's got really nice suff. By now you've seen how she can make Target bedding look like a million bucks (with a little help from Cottage Chick....) Let's face it, the Girl's got mad decorating skills. Her home is not only beautiful, its peaceful because she never raises her voice at her kids and always gives her husband the benefit of the doubt. Don't even start with her business savvy. I want to brag on her, but I know I shouldn't.

There are so many wonderful stories to tell that are meaninful examples of the kind of girl she really is. But I'll let her tell her stories and just share some of my recollections from the early days of our friendship.

In high school, where we first met, I wanted to be just like her. Good grades, perfect spiral perm/pouf, always put together (with help from her way put together momma...hey there Brenda. You're fabulous!) Remember Units? She was kickin' the Units outfits before anyone else and she had like 30 different combinations. She could have been Junior Miss Baybrook Mall if such a thing existed. I was jealous. So as not to player-hate, I made friends with her instead.

Everyone loved her. The girls, the boys, and especially the teachers loved GS because she was always polite and nice and never in an Eddie Haskell sort of way. And not in a pushover sort of way, either. Girls always fancy them self the Carrie Bradshaw of the group. She really is the Carrie Bradshaw and as you can imagine, I'm Samantha!!

But enough about me. Happy Birthday to a very special Girl. Happy Birthday, Girly Stuff. You look just like Hillary Duff, and not a day over 26.

You make my world a better place!

Love,
Cheapskate