The Brief Version of Us

First there were the emails.*

Then a phone call, which after an hour turned into lunch. 

Before lunch arrived at our table he has asked me out on a date. I said yes.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving I stressed over what to wear.  I was meeting him directly after work and needed something work appropriate yet first date adorable. I went with a grey skirt and black knee high boots. They were great boots.

At dinner he had prime rib and I had a steak salad…with extra bleu cheese.  I love me some moldy cheese.  Following dinner we went to see Harry Potter. During the movie he grabbed my hand.  I felt like I was in high school again…and I loved it.

After the movie we chatted in the parking lot, wanting to prolong the nice evening.  But it was late and he had an early morning flight while I had one more day of work because going back to Chicago for the holiday. We said our goodbyes and he leaned in for the kiss.  He was going for the cheek while I assumed he was going for the lips. As I walked back to my car after the first awkward kiss, I tripped over those fabulous boots.

A week later, both back in Savannah , we met for burgers.  The meal ended too quickly so I joined him on an errand at the Lowes across the parking lot. We held hands as he picked out hypoallergenic air filters. Then another parking lot kiss…or three. As I drove home a nagging thought kept running through my head.  “Uh oh.  This is going to be HUGE”.  I attempted to ignore those thoughts.  We had not even had the DTR (determine the relationship) conversation.

Three days later I drove to his house after work.  Actually, it was 5 years ago today!. He made me steak and baked potatoes topped with shredded Velveeta.  He pulled a bottle of red wine out of the fridge. As a foodie and red wine lover, I didn’t even grimace.  I liked him too much. Then we had the conversation.

Him: So are you seeing anyone else?

Me: No.  Are you?

Him:  No. Wanna keep it that way?

Me: Sure.    

Five years later we have rings on our left hand and a child with his eyes and my nose is currently sleeping in a room that once held a drum kit and piano.

Those early days are some of my favorite memories.  I wouldn't mind living them again and again. 

*Of course we met online.  We’re nerds.  How else do nerds meet?

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to the greatest husband ever.

Here are just 5 of less obvious reasons I love him. I mean, everyone says their hubs is kind, sweet, romantic, great father, blah blah blah.  Brett is all of those things too.  However, those reasons are boring.  I love Brett because he is anything but boring. 

5) He's crazy smart.  Like read Steven Hawking in his teens, smart. Designs robots for fun, smart. Makes airplanes fly for a living, smart.  Points out when the science talk on Big Bang Theory is wrong, smart.  Dying to vacation at the Large Hadron Collider, smart.  Explains to me why the world won't get sucked into a black hole of said collider works, smart.

4) He can fix everything.  From car window motors, to hair dryers to bike chains, the man has a serious knack.  I mean, just our internet rig up alone would stump most corporate IT guys. 

3) He makes THE BEST steak ever.  It's better than anything I've had at a top of the line steak house.  Plus, he doesn't snub me when I then coat the delicious hunk o' beef in A1 sauce.

2) He supports my blogging.  Some people complain that their husbands bitch about them being on the computer too much.  Not mine!  He understands it's a sanity outlet and always stops what he's doing to help me re-phrase a sentence, think of a good word or listen to a post.

1) He wears suspenders with suits. Seriously awesome.

Happy Birthday Brett!  I love you. We got together like cocaine and waffles*.

*10,000 awesome points to anyone who gets that delete scene reference

Two years

Two years ago I made the most important commitment of my life with two little words.

"I will."

For better or worse.  For richer or poorer.  In sickness and in health.

"I will." 

Always.  Forever.  Happily.

Happy Anniversary, Brett. The day we married was the day I became the luckiest girl in the entire world.

I love you.

You Know You Married an Engineer When....

Yesterday after a reading a post from Adventures of a Wee Mason Man I realized "Holy Crap!  Max's pack-n-play bassinet has a weight limit....and he's way over it!".  Mom of the Year I am not. So Brett and I decided that it was a good time to move Max to his own room.   My bloodshot eyes, red nose, messy pony tail, yoga pants at noon and 37th cup of coffee are proof that both naps and bedtime were a fail of massive proportions. It's a story for another day but lets just say there were tears and screaming from both Max and me. 

Anywho, he finally went down (for a few hours) and Brett and I decided we too should head to bed. As I was finishing up an email Brett turned me and asked "Do you think we should put a camera in there so we can watch him?"

"Like, right now?"  I replied.

He gave me the "Duh, obviously" look and disappeared into his evil lair office.

When you are married to a mechanical engineer you learn it's best not to ask silly questions like "Why?" and "How?".  You just accept things like a motorcycle engine in your living room and you aren't worried when he comes in from the garage making statements like "My pants just caught on fire".  In fact his mechanical mindedness comes in handy when your laptop screen cracks or your hair dryer stops working. 

Ten minutes later, Brett emerges from his lair and and sneaks into Max's room.  I pop my head in to see this contraption:

And this box:

Then we head upstairs with and with a flip of a few switches, we see Max slumbering away. Sure, the video quality is reminiscient of the Paris Hilton sex tape (not that I saw it) and when the camera is turned on the wireless internet dies but now when we hear a fuss we can flip a switch and see if Max is actually up or just squirming in his sleep. It doesn't require running down a flight of stairs or tripping over a nortiously underfoot cat in the dark.  

It's just one of the many perks of loving an engineer. A little bit of extra work to facilitate a significant amount of laziness.