Love Is All Around, Wet Wet Wet

Over our 14 year relationship Vernon has burned me many CD's; and as technology changed, shared many digital songs with me. I thought that if there is a while in between blog posts I would do a quick post on one of "our songs" that pops into my head; and we have lots of them.

This one is special to me because it is the theme song to one of our favorite movies "Four Weddings and a Funeral". He's also sent it to me on a CD. I get emotional every time I hear it.


 

Love is an Open Door

A selfie I sent to Vernon on Valentine's Day

I'd like to post more often than I do but I don't always have the time so I thought I'd post various songs that have some relevance in our relationship. Some for the both of us, some more for me than him and vice versa.

Ever since I saw the movie Frozen I fell in love with the music.  Had to get the soundtrack immediately.  I listen to it every day on my commute to and from work which is about a 50 minute drive.  I know these songs and I sing along. This particular song reminds me of me and Vernon, our relationship and how fast it grew.  We are in sync with each other and have had similar experiences, much like Anna and Hans.  I absolutely love this song.

Missing Him Terribly

We got married!  The wedding was small and beautiful; and the reception was a fantastic celebration where he could meet my extended family and friends.  I promise I will post details, photos and video later.  I regretfully got away from blogging and I do miss it very much.  Things have been crazy and my mood hasn't been the best. Today's post will be a short one, but an important one.

One day last week a song came on the radio as I was pulling into the parking lot at work.  I had to sit in the lot for a while because this song made me cry.  It made me think of Vernon and I miss him so much.  Every time this song is on the radio I cry.  I absolutely love that it is by the Goo Goo Dolls, I have always loved their music.

He went back home to the UK just a couple days after the reception. It was a very sad day for the both of us and by far the most difficult goodbye we've had to do. Since then it's been back to the usual, chatting for a short time every day and video hangouts on the weekends. I cry a lot more because it's been 14 years and we are finally married but still apart. There are many factors both obvious and personal as to why we are not together, but one day we hope that will change.

A Cultural Moment

I wanted Vernon to watch a video that I saw for the first time today. He stopped 1 minute into it....

Me: "Why did you stop the video? I want you to watch the whole video."

Vern: "I don't want to watch any more."

Me: "Why?"

Vern: "BECAUSE HE WAS WAGGLING HIS TACKLE AT ME!!!"

Me: [laughing uncontrollably]........................................ [still laughing uncontrollably]

It's moments like this I love that he is English and I am American. We will forever keep each other entertained.

Party Like it's 1999.

This week will be 12 years. In the beginning I never thought our distant relationship would evolve into something so amazing and wonderful. Next to my daughter of course, Vernon is the best thing to happen to me. I can't imagine life without him, nor do I want to remember life before him. He is my soul mate, my partner, everything I didn't know I wanted in a man until I met him. To get more of our beginning you can check out My First Blog Post or the "About Us" tab at the top.

Other couples know exactly when their relationship started. They also know who said "I love you" first, and when. Some can even tell you the cute little story behind it. I don't really know how it happened with us?  It just happened. We started as strangers in two different countries who just wanted someone to talk to and now, 12 years later, we can't imagine life without the other. I do not regret one day, one hour, one minute or one second with him.

It was mid to late September of 1999 that I decided to write to him. And he promptly wrote back. Everything was so different back then. His youngest was 3 and both of the older kids were 7. It feels like a lifetime ago when Heidi was that young. Here is a bit of historical information from the year 1999.

*This list is by no means exactly accurate or verified. I simply Googled various websites to find this general information for entertainment purposes.



Economy
Gas: $1.25/gal   Petrol: 61p/ltr
Milk: $2.75/gal
First class US stamp: 33 cents
UK minimum wage: 3.60 pounds/hr
The Euro is introduced
WalMart buys the UK chain ASDA



Entertainment
Top movies: Matrix, Star Wars episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, American Beauty, American Pie, 6th Sense, Big Daddy, Office Space, 10 Things I Hate About You, Boondock Saints, Cruel Intentions, Notting Hill and the Blair Witch Project.
I feel 1999 was an awesome movie year. This is only a handful of them.

Best Picture: American Beauty          
Best Actor: Kevin Spacy
Best Actress: Hillary Swank



TV Shows: The Sopranos, Futurama, and The West Wing

Music: Backstreet Boys - I Want it That Way  
TLC - No Scrubs
Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
Cher - Believe
Ricky Martin - Livin La Vida Loca

Books on New York Times Best Sellers List:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
Hannibal - Thomas Harris
The Testament - John Grisham
Bittersweet - Danielle Steele
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon - Stephen King

Sports
FIFA Women's Soccer World Cup-US defeats China in shootout
FIFA Men's Soccer World Cup-France defeats Brazil 3-0
Superbowl champs-Denver Broncos defeat Atlanta Falcons 34-19
NCAA Men's Basketball champs-Connecticut defeats Duke 77-74 (Michigan State was also in the final 4!)
World Series-New York Yankees defeats Atlanta Braves 4-0
Michael Jordan announces his retirement. (for the first time)



Technology I did a guest post on how technology has changed over the last 11 years and how it affected my long distance relationship. I'm quite proud of it. Feel free to check it out.


Businesses were starting to advertise on Dot.com businesses online.
Online auctions sites were the new rummage sales where you could bid on other people's junk..
Chinese government restricts internet use, aimed especially at internet cafes.
The Melissa Worm infects MS word processing and email systems around the world.
The Blackberry was introduced but didn't reach a million subscribers until 2004.
The world was panicked and getting ready for the predicted Y2K crash when date/time reached 010100 00:00:00. I really wasn't too concerned. Nothing happened that I know of.  My sister sold generators at the time and it was a very good year for their company.

 Politics
President of US: Bill Clinton
Prime Minister of UK: Tony Blair
President Bill Clinton begins impeachment trial in the Senate.
Pro Wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as Governor of Minnesota







Other Major Events of 1999
Hurricane Floyd hammered North Carolina
Columbine High School massacre happened in Jefferson Co, Colorado
Millennium Dome opens in London.
Ladbroke Grove rail crash in West London kills 31 people.

Another big major event is worth mentioning here. On October 12, 1999 the world was able to proclaim "The 6 billionth living human in the world is born". Vernon made a beautiful post about us and it was titled 6 Billion to One, We met in September, and the world didn't reach 6 billion until October, but then One in 5 Billion 999 Million 999 Thousand 999 to One just doesn't have the same ring to it.


So many things have changed since 1999, including us and our relationship. We love each other more and more every day so after 4,380 days that's quite a lot of feelings we have for each other. Also, physically, I don't think we changed a bit... and I'm stickin' to that. 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY. I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH AND HAVE CHERISHED EVERY MOMENT YOU HAVE BEEN A PART OF MY LIFE. I AM YOURS FOREVER. <3 <3 <3

Wish You Were Here

There are days when this long distance relationship is something that I am used to and have become accustomed to living with. Then I have days where I'm like "Damn! Damn! Damn! What I'd do to have you here." I miss you Honey.

Monthly Milestones - July

Another Monthly Milestone post means summer is coming to an end. I'm dreading the snow already. It's been a crappy summer with my knee being all banged up but all I can do is keep on working on it and be very careful.

I had a few things I wanted to accomplish in July. It never happened. No cleaning out the garage or anything like that took place. I'm having enough trouble keeping up with my laundry. I also didn't sign up for a class. I have no money. I'm going to lose my spot in the program if I don't register for school this semester.  I really don't want to lose the progress I've made on my degree but I'm still trying to pay off the heat bill left over from the winter. I really need a class to keep me occupied in the evenings, especially right after Heidi leaves for school which will be the beginning of September. It was an emotional, difficult miserable month. I know I'm supposed to be looking at the positives but I don't see them right now.

What are my goals for August? I don't know? I'm sitting here thinking of the things I want to accomplish and I just want to stay in bed and do nothing. I have my business trip at the end of the month which I'm nervous about because my knee still hurts when I work out. My daughter leaves for college while I'm gone and then I wont see her until either Thanksgiving or Christmas. I don't want to cry as much as I have been lately. It has kind of been a daily thing for me so I guess that's my goal for August, to stop crying so much over nothing.


Maybe I should make a daily list. Nothing major, even if it's just one item I want to accomplish. (Is that still considered a list?) Then when I complete that task or tasks on that list or non-list I will feel a sense of accomplishment and not the miserable loser that I feel like today. I am also going to make sure I work out every day... I'm calling that "Operation Metallica" because I want to be able to stand for the entire Metallica concert at my conference unlike the Stevie Wonder concert at last years conference.


In a sense, I guess I did end up with some goals for August, which will include a trip to the doctor to help me get a handle on whatever is going on with me. My outlet for all things miserable is this blog so don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.

Just Sayin'

Addictions!

I get easily obsessed with things. Well, mostly certain TV shows, movies and songs. Vernon has been the cause of several of these addictions. He tells me about songs he listens to and sends me DVD's that he thinks I will enjoy and next thing I know my daughter and I know the entire series by heart. I am currently addicted to a song by Caro Emerald, I will post the video below. Another good example of one of my obsessions is this blog. I should really be chopping onions and carrots for a stew I'm making for tomorrow's St Patrick's Day pot luck at work, but instead I'm sitting down typing away. UGH... it's gonna be a late one tonight. Here are my addictions that were caused by Vernon:

Song: Back It Up by Caro Emerald. She is BEAUTIFUL and is one of those women who give power to curvy girls! And, I totally want that square necked black dress... LOVE IT!


TV Show: Black Adder, I selected a clip from my favorite season with Hugh Laurie. He is simply one of the funniest actors to come out of England.

TV Show: The Office. I had never heard of it. He sent it to me and mentioned that there was an American version. I picked up the American DVD after enjoying the English series. I wont say which one I like more because they are both very unique even though based on the same concept.


I think my worst addiction of all is the TV Show Vicar of Dibley. Heidi and I like to do the "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter" routine. It's the best!


The final one I will post is TV Show: The Thin Blue Line. I love this. Rowan Atkinson is genius in his comedic timing and facial expressions. I love the writing and Constable Goody... he's a riot! When Rowan Atkinson's character is reading Sherlock Holmes in bed... I wonder if that will be Vernon and I some day. Makes me giggle.

Butterflies

He gives me butterflies. I have told him that since the very beginning. Thoughts of him make me smile and blush and I get that feeling in my stomach that I never want to end. He jokes about it and tells me that he's probably making me nauseous, but that's not it. It's butterflies. He told me he kept hearing this song on the radio and it makes him think of me, but he hasn't really paid attention to the lyrics. Well, I looked this up on YouTube and it made me cry. I listened to it several times and it still makes me cry. What a pretty song, sung by such a pretty girl. I just love it! Thank you for making me feel so special Vernon. You give me butterflies!
          

Love Songs and Seriousness

I was thinking of songs today. A friend posted the song "When You Say Nothing At All" from the movie "Notting Hill". There were clips of the movie with the song as well. It just so happens that this movie is a favorite of mine and Vernon's. Also, this song is
wonderful. My baby girl is in college and she took the DVD player but I have "Notting Hill" on VHS so it's all good.


Vernon and I had a serious chat today. I'd rather we didn't have to have talks like this but it is necessary. We have been together for 11 years (this month!) and when I have a purchase to make, a problem, a decision coming up, or just happy wonderful news, I run it by Vernon. I get his input, advice and feedback. He does the same with me. He is going through a very difficult time right now and I was very honest and firm and it made me sad but it had to be done. I always risk having him get mad at me, (although I don't think he's ever been mad at me), when I am honest with him and we  
don't exactly see eye to eye. I don't think he would ask me for my opinion or input if he wanted me to just smile and agree with him, so I tell him how I feel and what I think. But, no matter what the problem, no matter what our views are and if he follows my advice or not, I support him completely and trust that he is making the right decision. It's times like this I wish I could be there to help him through this, sit up with him at night and let him talk things over, and use me as a sounding board. I would rub his shoulders, make him his late night hot chocolate or tea and tell him that everything will be OK.