Just the way he is

Eight months ago Brandon (no more initials for him, you all know who he is anyway) and I met. What was supposed to be a one nightstand has turned into eight months together. Wow, what a story to tell our kids. How I ended up at the barbeque and then later that night, how he ended up in my bed. I do believe in this day and age men aren't the only ones that are out for just sex. We ended up attached the hip after that. Want to know something I realized last night? Because of how everything has gone with us, we have never been out on a date. We went out all the time, but never had one official date.
Things moved rather quickly for us. By week three he had told me he loved me. We've already had major ups and downs. I've met his family and he's spoken to a majority of mine, even met the ones that live near by. Last week I discussed a job opportunity with him that could have influenced our future. We've talked about kids. We, that's how I think anyway, we. Women are good at that, men not so much.
He snores loader than a freight train. He also moves a lot while sleeping, hitting and kicking me. I'd say he swears like a trucker, but I think he could teach them a thing or two about swearing. He is so very much a redneck (sorry Hun, you are). His feet smell like they've been marinating in the sewer. He is always belching into the phone at me. I know for a fact that he speaks before he thinks 90% of the time. He is extremely jealous and insecure when it comes to me. But he'll flirt with anything that talks back to him. He is very close minded on a lot of things. He hasn't got a romantic bone in his body, but he does try.
Yeah, I whine and complain. Yes, I'm getting crankier by the day and am not happy with the current situation. It's easy when you're upset to see everything that's wrong and forget all the good. Truth be told the good stuff out ways the bad. At the end of every day I know I love him. So I suck it up, and for a while longer, I deal.

Take my breath away

I have said before that I'm easy to please. Last night while watching one of my shows I was reminded of one of my loves. I love the city lights at night. Many a time did I drive into the city at night and as soon as I saw that skyline it took my breath away. I am an extremely hopeless romantic and that is just one of the things that I truly love.
Don't get me wrong, I love the city, but I love the country too. I remember my first trip to Alaska. I never had been anywhere that I had understood the still of the night. My parents live outside of town and up the mountain, not far to get to in Alaska. On the drive home I remember the snow. Far enough out of town that the only light came from the moon and a near by lit Christmas tree. The snow truly sparkled. It was magical. Like something out of a dream, too beautiful to be real. I was reminded of that night with the recent snow falls here. Even in the city the fresh snow sparkles and there's not much more angelic than watching it fall. In a storm the sky is pink and even at night it's bright out.
I also will never forget the first time I saw the Northernlights live. Photos give you an idea, but once again it was pure magic. Mother nature at her best, in full glory, dancing the night away at some glorious ball.
I could go on with many more memories. I have a spectacular view of the mountains from my office and am constantly staring out in awe. During the day it's the majesty of them capped in white against the clear sky. At night it's the setting sun in all her colors lighting them up. The rays bounce off them and color the clouds above. Simply spectacular.
I love the ocean just as much. A sunset on the beach is just as transforming. I love to sit and close my eyes and just listen to the waves crash against the shore, the river rush over the rocks, the rain pound upon the roof, the thunder strike, and the still of the night. I love the smell of the first summer barbeque, campfires, a freshly cut lawn, outdoors after the rain, the first fire of the fall, and the first time the heat gets turned on for the winter.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”

Maxine's Living Will

I, MAXINE , being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive
indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my
fate be put in the hands of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade
biology if their lives depended on it, or lawyers / doctors interested
in simply running up the bills. If a reasonable amount of time passes and
I fail to ask for at least one of the following:

Sex

Glass of wine

Chocolate

Margarita

Chocolate

Fried Chicken

Chocolate

Pizza ~ extra cheese

Chocolate

Cup of coffee

Chocolate

Sex

Chocolate

It should be presumed that I won't ever get better.
When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed
person and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes and call
it a day.

2007

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when...
1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years..
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you..
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years! of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your
coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile.
: )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
14. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself

Forget Mars and Venus

Want to know what never ceases to amaze me? It's exactly how different men and women minds work. I hate the whole Mars and Venus aspect. Ask a woman and she'll say that she's easy to understand. Ask a man he'll tell you how simple they are. Truth is we're all human and no 2 are the same. Here's a little of the generics I've learned in my 32 years of shit and sugar.
I have learned over the years that men don't mean things they say the way we hear them and vice versa. Women are much more emotional and read deeper into everything. When a guy says something, it means just that. No hidden agenda. It's also usually not the personal attack we take it for. Unless they say "you" then it's not about "you". And don't take offense if "you" aren't included. It's not that they're excluding "you"; they're usually just making a general statement. In which, most cases, "you" don't want to be included anyway.
Here's the other big one. When women have something important to say, we say it. Problem being we also expect an immediate response to it. It was important to us and in return we want it to be important to them. Honey, you have to give it time to sink in. When we say to them "we need to talk" their brain automatically shuts off. All they can think is "fuck, what now".
My advice is come up with a different approach to the conversation. Don't make them feel trapped, and don't do it in the middle of a game. Then you need to walk away. Give it time to register. Be happy that at least you got it off your chest. If you don't expect a response you're more likely to get one. The less pressure they feel the easier it will be. Now, they are individuals so remember that it may take some longer than others to respond. It took BR about a month.
Really though that's just my experience. As humans we've all been burned. In response we all group our hate towards one gender. Stereotypes don't always work. As a woman, I know how different we are. Men know the same thing. If you can learn to be more open minded you would have a better chance at finding that one. Approach a new relationship like you would a new friend (which you should be anyway). There's usually less typecasting there because there's less pressure.
Let 2007 be the year of less judgment. Open your mind. Don't the judge the book. See where that takes you

People watching

People are something in everyday life that you just can't avoid. In my profession, I get to deal with them on a daily basis. As you know there are all sorts.
I have ones that come by just to say hi to me when they're in the area. I have some that I wouldn't mind going with for a drink. I've been asked out numerous times. There are the ones that know just a enough about me to ask how it's going the next time they stop by, and vice versa.
Then I have the ones that I just can't figure out. I usually try a little small talk while they're waiting just so the wait doesn't seem so long. It's not that they're rude about it, but I can only get one word answers. What's that saying about pulling teeth? :) I just can't read them. They seem nice, but are so quite I have no idea.
Then I get the ones like EB. What a BITCH! Flat out rude, argumentative, and just plain nasty. These people walk in with an attitude. The whole world is against them and they want the first punch. They are the ones that after five minutes of dealing with them you need a very strong drink, to throw at them.
I have been working with the general public for 15 years now. I feel it gives me a lot more sympathy for everyone else that does too. I so understand the last 10 minutes of the day when you're trying to close because all you want to do is get the hell out of there and that last person just won't go. I understand the rude, nasty, polite, quite, nice, and sweet people that come in day in and day out. I understand having a bad day ourselves and still having to force that smile. I don't understand anyone that thinks they are better than us and their time is much more valuable. I understand that there is just no pleasing some people, but I don't get why. There are lots of stories to tell and certain people I will never forget, good and bad. I love to people watch. You all make me smile in one way or another.
Mostly I've learned that any given Sunday you can run into the good, bad, and ugly. At the end of the day I just go home and be glad I'm not one of them.