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.

I'm a Lucky Girl

Tonight's communications class discussion was "gender".  We divided the class into men and women and we asked each other questions about the opposite sex.  I couldn't think of any questions.  Personally, I don't think men are that complicated.  I truly believe the words of Jeff Foxworthy when he reveals the answer to the big question, "What are men thinking?" to which the answer is "I want a beer and I want to see something naked."  I found the women to have negative feelings toward men, that they are for the  most part insensitive, selfish, forgetful, and thoughtless.  The girls in my class had all sorts of questions for the guys, questions that I thought were pretty easy.   Then I realized... these questions are easy to me because the man that I am in love with doesn't do any of this stuff. I just sat back, and listened.

Question 1. Why do men love video games so much?

The guys couldn't even really answer that one. The instructor helped them along by suggesting maybe it was because it was a challenge or competitive and the guys thought that was pretty accurate. Otherwise they were just saying, "cause they're just fun".  Vern appreciates a good video game, but he wont sit there for hours. He doesn't like to be stationary, he's more versatile in that he will play video games, read, cook, watch a good movie, or chat with me.  If anything causes him to sit for a long period of time it is because he is working on one of his computers. He gets caught up with it, wants to fix what he is working on and on occasion loses track of the time.

Question 2.  Why do men not throw away torn underwear or socks?

The guys thought this was a pretty funny question.  They both said they replace their undergarments when needed, but sometimes something can have a special meaning or memories attached to it which one guy stated.  I don't think Vernon has worn out socks or undies, he's too tidy of a person, but if he does, it's simply because he doesn't think to pick any up.  He takes pretty good care of himself for a single guy.

Question 3.  Why is it the mother's job to change poopy diapers?

My thought on that is what kind of guy are you with that can't even change his own baby's diaper?  We weren't able to get to this question, but then I don't think any of the guys in the class have kids.  Vernon was the type of dad who changed his kids and didn't complain.

Question 4.  Why do men get to go to camp for 2 weeks and the women can't take off when they want to?  

My thought again is what kind of guy are you with that wont let you go anywhere?  I find this to be very sad.  I know for a fact that if I were physically with Vernon, and I wanted to visit a friend or go on a girls weekend or whatever, he'd not only tell me to have fun, he'd make sure I had enough money.  I don't understand couples that get all bent out of shape over stuff like that.  Couples should do things as couples AND as individuals.  I honestly feel like there is something wrong with a relationship if one does not like the other to do things without them, ever.

Question 5. The king of all the questions asked. Why do men forget birthdays, valentines day, anniversaries but they remember opening day for gun season and muskie fishing?

This question was asked and one of the guys said, "Oh thanks for reminding me, I forgot about Valentine's Day." That was funny! Then his answer was "Because it's just like any other day. You women are special to us every day, all the time. We love you just the same." As he smiled his adorable smile.  I thought that was a good answer. I do think that men get the short end of the stick when it comes to these days.  But.... I will say that in the 12 years I have been with Vernon, I have been spoiled and treated like a princess for all of my birthdays and Valentine's Days since.  I haven't always been able to send him something because of money, but he has always managed to send me something whether it be a single rose in a vase or a stereo system I had my eye on. He always makes me feel special. If you want to see what I got last year, check out my blog post Happy Valentine's Day to Me.

Before I met Vernon, I was alone. Most single folks who are alone hate Valentine's Day and curse it. I LOVED it! I sent Valentines to my friends, got my daughter Valentine themed clothes and gifts, gave out heart shaped candy, wore red or pink and just really enjoyed the day.  I liked to hear about my friends who got spoiled by their husbands or boyfriends. It made me happy.  Now I'm the one getting spoiled, but then he makes me feel special each and every day.  He loves me, what more could a girl want?

Super Bowl Sunday and Other American Traditions

Photo taken by my cousin Holly while enjoying the festivities in Indianapolis.

Sometimes I wonder that if I were in England, what traditions would I bring with me as an American. Every family has their own traditions but overall, Americans have the same traditions when it comes to holidays and certain times of the year. Why am I picking American traditions as a topic today? It is the Super Bowl today! Although my team (Chicago Bears) is not in the Super Bowl this year, it is still a day I look forward to every year. It is awesome when your team makes it to the Super Bowl. The last time the Bears were in the Super Bowl was 2007 and they lost against the Indianapolis Colts. I DO remember the year they won the Super Bowl. It was 1985. I miss those days!


Chicago Bears - Superbowl Shuffle by jpdc11

So how would I bring the Super Bowl to England? Well first unfortunately we would have to record the game because it wouldn't start until 11pm. Then we would probably have the party the following week. I would invite Vernon's family, our friends, and encourage the kids to stick around too. I would make beer brats and hamburgers and have all the snacks anyone could want like cheese, sausage and crackers.. and not English sausage, it would be summer sausage. Not sure if they have that out there or not... I would definitely have to plan ahead to make sure I had all the foods necessary to make this a true Super Bowl experience. Then there is the football pool. I am participating in my first office pool so I'm anxious to see how that turns out. My next favorite thing about the Super Bowl are the COMMERCIALS! My most favorite commercial aired last year.



The halftime show entertainment can be great, or it can really suck, or it can involve a wardrobe malfunction that people will talk about for years to come.



Another American tradition which is also a holiday is Thanksgiving. I really want to show Vernon and his family what I love so much about Thanksgiving. Getting together with family, turkey, mashed potatoes, and all the extras with dessert featuring pumpkin pie! There is also the traditional Thanksgiving Day football game. It would be such a wonderful day and I would really enjoy cooking a traditional American Thanksgiving meal for my English family.



Another tradition / holiday would be the 4th of July. I never really got into this holiday because fireworks scare me and annoy the crap out of me when I'm trying to sleep at 1am, but I do like the picnics and all the stars and stripes.  Maybe that week we'd have an American Day and go out that weekend for a picnic or something. That would be fun. This past 4th I was in a parade and I admit to having fun.

Well, the game will be starting in another hour so I'm going to finish up this post and get out my football pool sheet to see if I win any money. I have some good numbers so we'll see how I do.

Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday Vernon!

Happy Birthday to the man whom I love.
The man who makes me feel like a princess each and every day.
The man who tells me I'm beautiful, sexy and wonderful every time he talks to me.
He adores the way I talk, the way I tell stories and the way I express myself.
I never feel like I have to make excuses, or that I have to prove myself to him.
It's been 12 years and he still gives me butterflies.

Happy Birthday to the man who loves my daughter.
The man who has been a father figure to her for many years.
The man who tells her he is proud of the woman she has become.
He admires her talent, creativity, and maturity.
She appreciates, loves and respects him.


Happy Birthday to a wonderful and loving dad and granddad.
The dad who has always put his kids first.
The dad who wants nothing more than his kids to be happy and healthy.
He is there when they need him and teaches by example.
They have always been able to depend on him.
He is loved and trusted by his granddaughter, and he simply glows when she is around him.


Although we have been apart these last 12 years, I feel so very close to you all of the time.
I can't imagine life without you, and I can't believe I managed to function before I met you.
I wish I could be there with you for your birthday and treat you the way you deserve;
Because you have done nothing but make me feel like the luckiest most special woman in the world.

I love you Honey. Happy Birthday.
I am yours forever.

A Saturday Out With Vernon

From the top of the ski jump hill, lens on full zoom.

A day out with Vernon you say?  How is that possible with him being over 3,500 miles away? Well, sometimes I go places and sometimes I'll even force myself to go out so I can take pictures and tell Vernon about it later. Today was a beautiful Fall day so I wanted to go out and take pictures of the fall colors and show them to Vern. Unfortunately we aren't at peak colors yet, I'll have to go out again next weekend and see if they are any brighter, but I went out anyway and took some nice photos and went places I think Vernon would have wanted to go.  I also drove around town appreciating where I live,  and the beautiful day. I took pictures of things Vern might want to see. I think I was out for about three hours, throwing in a few errands here and there. I had a great morning, and then this afternoon was spent on an online video call with Vernon. It's like I spent the entire day with him. Here are the rest of the photos I took while out and about this morning.

Where do you like to go with your Sweetheart when he/she can't be with you?  Do you ever find yourself appreciating things you see every day when you try to see them as if you were experiencing it with that other person? I find myself doing this quite often.

From the top of the ski jump hill, lens on full zoom.

From the top of the ski jump hill. Observation deck to left.

Flagpole at Veteran Memorial at top of ski jump hill.

Mountaineer Stadium

Mountaineer Stadium

Mountaineer Stadium

Menominee River, the border between MI and WI

Menominee River, the border between MI and WI

Menominee River, the border between MI and WI

A small corner grocery store.

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

Seven Posts of Past

Thank you Sarah @ The Ex-Pat Bride for nominating me to participate in this. I don't usually go back to my old posts and it was fun and enlightening for me to read past posts. I can't believe I have had this blog for over a year and I'm amazed at how much I've learned. I value the friendships I have made and the camaraderie amongst other bloggers. Most of all it has helped keep Vernon and I close over the 3,500+ miles that we have to face every day. Vernon enjoys my posts, and so do my family and freinds. I also hope I have given encouragement and hope to others in long distance relationships. Well, enough babbling, on with the meme.
The rules of this meme are as follows:

To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.

Rules:

1) Blogger is nominated to take part

2) Blogger publishes his/her 7 links on his/her blog - 1 link for each category.

- Your most beautiful post

-Your most popular post

-Your most controversial post

-Your most helpful post

-A post whose success surprised you

-A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved

-The post that you are most proud of

3) Blogger nominates up to 5 more bloggers to take part.

4) These bloggers publish their 7 links and nominate another 5 more bloggers

5) And so it goes on!

6) The site Trip Base will be sharing the best posts from participating bloggers on their blog and everyday on Facebook and Twitter at #My7Links

1. Most Beautiful Post:  A Castle, Shopping and a Baby! 
During my most recent trip across the pond I got to see my first castle, go shopping with one of my dearest friends and a baby was born. I couldn't have asked for a better trip.

 2. Most Popular Post:  Happy Father's Day!
I was actually surprised at how well this one is doing. It is my most popular post and still going strong. I guess this is the day of the dad. I find Vernon's dedication to his children very endearing and very sexy. He's a wonderful father.

3. Most Controversial Post:  Are You Crazy?!?!?!
I don't really write about controversial topics, but this one was full of venting. I guess I can't expect everyone to understand or accept our relationship, but I don't like being made to feel like there is something wrong with it.

4. Most Helpful Post:  Dear Kimberly:
Someone from the Loving From a Distance site reached out to me asking advice about her long distance relationship. I replied and then turned it into a blog post. She and I are now friends and she is still in her LDR. It's a bit wordy, it's not a popular post, but if someone is looking for advice on LDR's this is the post to read.


5. A Post Whose Success Surprised Me: Monthly Milestones - June
This is another meme that I participate in and is sponsored by Sarah @ The Ex-Pat Bride. I'm surprised it has done so well because it is really short and basically consists of a to-do list for the month. Nothing exciting or earth shattering.

6. A Post That Didn't Get the Attention it Deserved: Three Very Special Children
Nobody likes to read about sick kids, but I was hoping this post would have done better than it did. Two of the three children have long journeys ahead of them and they come from such amazing families. The third had had his journey and has thankfully started kindergarten. I felt like I didn't do enough for these kids, like I didn't write the article well enough to catch the interest of readers or other bloggers. But then I thought if I got them at least one donation or caused a reader to donate their money or time to a charity of their choice, then I guess I succeeded.





7. The Post I am Most Proud of:  I Have Been Featured on "The Ex-Pat Bride"!
I was really excited when Sarah @ The Ex-Pat Bride contacted me asking if I would guest post on her blog. At first I was like, "why?" I don't have many readers, I'm not special. I don't even know what I'm doing half the time as I'm trying to post these blog entries. She is one of the sweetest people that I know and was really flattering and excited to see what I came up with. I decided to write about how technology has changed in the last 11+ years and how it has affected our long distance relationship. I figured Sarah's readers are pretty young and would find this article interesting. It was more of a structured researched article as I wanted to provide Sarah with a quality post. My posts are usually random and unorganized but I want my blog to be somewhat candid.

The bloggers that I am nominating are:

Sarah @ Crafting with Sarah
Christy @ Castles, Crumpets and Craig oh my!
Betsy @ Betsy Transatlantically
Yvonne @ Welcome to my World of Poetry
Brittany @ Tales From a Sailor's Soul Mate