Man Hands vs. Girlie Hands

Shelle Edit:  I posted this in June of 2008.  My posts were more or less about my family.  But it's interesting how ones writing progresses (or not, depending on your opinion)--But there is some things that never change--which is my obsession with my mans hands.  So I thought I'd re-post this for you newbies.  Hopefully if I wrote that post now I'd be way more interesting, but the concept is the same!  Hope everyone is having a nice and relaxing summer-because I'm not-and I need to live vicariously through SOMEONE! :)

Let me let you in on a little secret of mine. I love hands! I do...it's weird...but I do. Kinda like how some people LOVE feet!

I LOVE hands...

It's not the VERY first thing I required physically in a man when I was dating...but it was definitely in the top Five. My first being eyes, then smile, then teeth, then hands...and other things come after that.

Of course they needed the personality to go along with the good looks, but DANG...I can't wake up to someone that scares me...ya know...I'm shallow and vain...remember...

MountainSport Man's hands are so beautiful they almost make me cry...I call them MAGIC hands, because they are the only hands that have ever successfully given me a massage...and I didn't cry like a victim being tortured...I actually felt bereft when he stopped...like he had given me a taste of delicious ice cream and then snatched it away only to have me watch him eat it...but I'm too prideful to ask him to continue because I always told him that NO ONE could EVER make me like massages...again, I LIED. 

For example...I had a guy in college that I LOVED. He made me pee my pants with his jokes, took me out frequently and brought me gifts, and surprised me at work with my favorite smoothies! He was a gem...totally would and will be a fantastic husband to some really great girl...I'm sure...but the guy had girlie hands. He used the tips of his fingers to open bottles...and I don't know...but it just rubbed me the wrong way, and no matter how much I TRIED to make myself see the other things about him that I LOVED there was the one wall...a stumbling block of sorts...I couldn't see past it...My vain and shallow self could only cringe at the thought of him helping me OPEN a bottle of something while making dinner together as a couple...I just couldn't do it...and so he always remained my REALLY GOOD FRIEND!

It was unfortunate really, the guy had really GREAT lips...never tried them out though, didn't want to start macking on his delicious lips and then feel his girlie fingertips caressing my neck...gives me the hibbie gibbie's...

I get it...I'm weird...and your point? My husband has incredible hands...beautiful, manly, and so natural...



Even MORE beautiful then my man's hands...is watching him do this with my spoiled rugrat PeePs

and listening...then giggling...then again listening to her pure unadulterated laughter...
While watching him watch this...(He's mine...but you can look...it's okay :) )

Hey batter batter...
and swing...

Love,

Shelle

I'm keeping my Brilliant ideas quiet next time!

We left our kids with their Aunt this week. WE thought it was about time they destroy someone else's house for a change.

In the mean time... I told my husband last week that I wanted to be more ORGANIZED.

I'm not even a LITTLE bit organized... I mean, I am one of those people that live in an organized mess but want to live more organized.  (Don't worry folks it gets worse)

So every once in awhile, usually when my organized older sister comes to hang out with me, I get a spurt of an idea... a sliver of confidence that I can tackle my weaknesses and become a more organized person.

If you wait point 2 seconds it usually goes away.

In which case it did.

Only MountainSport Man seems to feel that it was a GREAT idea and that we would actually FOLLOW through with it while the kids were gone!

I've tried EVERYTHING bar getting nekked and throwing myself at him to distract him, and stop him from going through with this COMPLETELY insane idea I had.

I am now preparing myself for the LAST resort people, mentioned above, because he has been a SLAVE driver!!!

MY GUY: Let's just start with the closet.

Me: How about we eat first, or pick our toe nails, or, or, or...

MY GUY: Just tell me what you want to get rid of and what you want to keep, ok?

Me: Fine... hmmph...

Then he proceeded to do all the work while I said "yea" or "nay" to different articles of clothing.

Me: Yes, I want to keep that.

My Guy: but you haven't worn it in 3 years.

Me: Yea, but now that we have found it under all the other clothes I have the perfect idea of what it will go with!

My Guy: But you didn't even miss it and you have 4 others shirts that look the same just vary in shades of Black.

Me: But they are all different cuts!!! You never know which shirt will got best with which pair of jeans!

It was hard work people. Let me tell you.

Here is just a sneak peak of our shoes we had to sort through...


...just so ya'll know, more than HALF of those are HIS. He's a collector of shoes WORSE than I am!!!

Just saying...

Tomorrow he wants to tackle the armoire!!! EEECCCKKK!

Someone dial 9-1-1!!!

(Okay really, anybody have a good organizing book for dummies laying around?  I know half of it is habits that need to be broken so we'll need like a 7 step program)

Love,

I think my husband is prettier than me!

Okay, I had an experience over the weekend that MUST be shared and MUST be discussed.

I was shopping at WalMart aka WallyWorld aka WalMarts aka the store one step below Target.

MountainSport Man was with me.

Go figure.

We were checking out, minding our own perfectly oblivious business...

The Checker, nice lady named Barb, said her Hi to us.

I looked at my husband and said, "Hon, do you have your card handy?" Because mine was in my purse underneath ALL the groceries...why I put it there? I don't know? It's just one of those habits that is hard to break (It's a HARD habit to break...come on, SING IT WITH ME--you know you love Chicago).

MSM: "Yea, here I got it"

Barb the Checker: "Oh!" looking surprised! "Are you guys...oh...your married?"

Me: Giving her a DUH look.

MSM: Giving her a woman-your-crazy-if-you-think-I-would-deal-with-this-girl-if-I-wasn't-married-to-her look.

Barb the Checker: "WOW...you guys have picked up each other's characteristics. You look similar."

Me: Giving her the whatthewhat?-you-did-not-just-say-that-I-looked-like-a-guy look.

MSM: Starts to smirk.

Barb the Checker: Looks at me and then starts back pedaling, with a sweet as honey smile she says, "I mean to say, you guys compliment each other...a very good looking couple."

I just smiled. My husband THANKED her for the compliment.

We bought our groceries and started walking out to the parking lot.

My husband being, my husband, turned to me with a smart smirk on his face and said, "So...do you think she was saying I was getting prettier? Or you were getting more handsome?" pause... "I think she was saying I was getting prettier..."

In her defense...and for the sake of my pride... I was wearing a hat, hadn't showered, and my natural beauty wasn't shining through (I'm sure).

Either that...or I should be worried that my husband is prettier than me.

He DID buy designer jeans that looked freaking HOT on him a few weeks ago.



This one is pretty recent, self photo, and yea don't know why I looked freaked out here... my hubby is 30 pounds heavier here, I think he would like me to make note about that, he's pretty vain about it...



Hmmmm... can't tell with the sunglasses really... maybe that was her trying to tell me I had a 5 o' clock shadow?

No, not possible...I just got waxed... :)



Okay...now this one freaks me out a bit...

What does that MEAN? I wonder when my hubs and I are holding hands or necking in the parking lot if incest comes to people's minds?

Oh my GOSH, I gotta go, I just threw up in my mouth.

Anybody else out there get this? Am I alone? Please tell me I'm not getting Handsome-er!

Love,

Shelle

P.S. Hope y'all had a good weekend!

P.S.S. If you got time, go check out the most recent post at The Real World Venus vs. Mars...and then do yourself a favor and FOLLOW cause we are having some GREAT discussions over there...it's like our OWN suburban neighbor hood where we BBQ on our street and the kids are running around being crazy and the Adults are chatting away tuning them out! It's GREAT!

Warm, Fuzzy, and Giddy Feelings...

Is it weird if watching my husband do this:

This...
This...
And This...

Makes me get butterflies and a warm, fuzzy, giddy feelings inside?

Seriously look at his hands...SOOOO Beautiful...You know I had a second date with him just solely on his hands...

Anyway...I hope you all have a GREAT Valentine's Day...and eat ALL the Guilty Foods that you can on me! :)

Join Candid Carrie for Friday Foto Finish Fiesta!

Love,

Shelle

Because I got lucky!

(We didn't have enough money for a REAL photographer...one thing I will always regret...what kind of even AMATEUR photographer gets red eyes???)

For my husbands birthday I wrote this HUGE post about all the things he does for me. (Really good read...)

And honestly...going back and reading it...I cried.

Now though, is a different scenario. It's our Anniversary!

9 FREAKING years people!!! Honestly...I feel like...like...I should definitely win an award or something? I mean...it's not a DECADE yet, but it's the year BEFORE the decade...which counts for something right?

From the beginning...my favorite thing about him is that to the outside world he seems laid back and an easy going guy...which he is--

But for ME(And close friends and Family)...he will get silly..like little boy silly...and do crazy things with me. I LOVE it. I married him because he pretty much made me smile everyday over something.

(Engagement Pic...on of the many, but the only one I could find that was half way decent!!! :)

( These are some more fun pics I found of us...the BEFORE years!!!)

(And the AFTER marriage years!!! or more likely the NOW...because I didn't have enough time to rummage through old totes to find stupid film pics!!!)

All I'm saying is that 9 years and two kids later...I still feel like I'm getting to know him. He's my VERY best friend, my confidant, my lover, my co-conspirator, my happy place, aggravating, stubborn, prideful, and the love of my life for this one and the next.



Here's to a Happy, Sad, Crazy, Fun, stressful, and Emotional, yet incredible 9 year ride...

Gosh I'm glad it never ends!!! :)

Love,

Shelle

He's Old...really really OLD!

Today is an incredibly special day. Today 34 years ago, the man of my dreams, my other half, my one and only, my husband, was born into this world!

I can honestly say that I married a really good man. He's an incredible father to his kids and treats me, most of the time :), like gold!

This is what I mean.

1. He won't park in Handicap stalls because 1) it's against the law and 2) he doesn't want to be parked there if by some chance there is someone that actually might need the parking space.

2. He goes to church and fulfills his callings because of his testimony of the gospel and "it's what he's suppose to do".

3. He comes home from work or school and instead of being grumpy and mean and telling his wife and kids to give him a half hour to relax from the day…he wants to play with his kids and make out with his wife. Pretty much that is the routine EVERYDAY!



4. To my ever-consistent-back-seat-driver-tactics, he won't speed, because again, it's against the law and it's not safe. This one IS a good thing I know and understand…but it’s a hard one for me because I am forever late and since I began driving I have had somewhat of a lead foot…but no matter what, and no matter where we have to be, he obeys all traffic laws…yet, he'll throw himself down a steep mountain terrain on a bike that has two slim wheels or a board with himself strapped in because he "loves the adrenline rush"! Explain THAT one to me?

5. Even though I have gained weight since having my kids…he still tells me and SHOWS me how sexy he thinks I am…right there should give him the NOBLE PEACE PRIZE among married couples…just saying.

6. The few times in my life when he has been needed to stand up for ME…he has been there, my ever Knight in Shining Armor! He always makes sure I am taken care of first...whether that is using his jacket because I forgot mine in below zero temperatures...or other things behind closed doors! :)

Same goes for his kids. Except for the behind closed doors part. He is always playing the Martyr...our secret joke! lol!

7. Speaking of kids…after having each kid, those first few weeks, he was the first one to get out of bed…change their diaper…and return them to me so I could feed them, EACH FEEDING,so like every two hours (with my first one, while I was recovering down there, he even would wake up after I fed them, then burp them, see if they needed to be changed again, and put them back in bed)…even though he had to work the next morning! When he was home, he also bathed them and got them ready for bed and held them until it was time to feed them to put them down for the night.

8. Since we have been married…every night when he FINALLY rolls into bed after doing homework or watching his favorite TV show then falling asleep then waking up to come into bed…he will scoot all the way over to my side of the bed (I like to sleep right on the edge) and cuddle right up to me.

9. Even though I have an alarm to wake me up in the VERY EARLY morning…he knows I have a hard time waking up…so he sets his phone alarm and then proceeds to caress, poke, and kiss me awake until I finally get out of bed. Really…this is the routine EVERY morning that I've had to get up for anything…whether it be my WORK now or when we were first married and I taught a dance team at a College and we practiced in the mornings…it's always been the same!

10. When I don't have to go to work early…and this has also been since we have been married…I get woken up by caresses or kisses for a whole other reason…regardless if we have fought the night before or…well…NOT fought the night before and amused ourselves doing other things. :)

11. After we eat dinner and it is our turn to clean up. Most of the time he is the first to get up and clear off the table and load the dish washer. Although he does leave those NASTY BIG dishes for me, the ones that you have to use your whole body to scrub off! But this is about his GOOD qualities! Lol!

12. He stepped outside of his comfort zone to go back to school at an older age to obtain his degree so that he could provide a better standard of living for us…his family! :) He told me that we will always be provided for no matter how many jobs he has to take on. It is killing him that I have to work while he goes to school because he knows I'd rather stay home with the kids. But now, he says I must keep my job because he's not willing to give up the benefits (I work at an airline!)--go figure! :)

13. He insists on showering with me. He makes sure those hard to reach places are thoroughly cleaned! lol!

14. He has never given me a hard time about Girls Nights Out or Girls Weekends(which actually happen quite often)...he just plans a full day of fun activities for him and the kids...in fact, I never hear from him...in the beginning it use to make me feel bad, but NOW I appreciate it! :)

15. He's got incredible green/hazel eyes...with lashes longer than any man has a right to have!

16. His lips are beautiful...and he'll only get me to say this, this one time, PERFECT...the little scar he got from falling off his mountain bike and rolling down a moutain...only ADDS to them!

17. His height is 6'1" which fits my 5'7" frame perfectly!

18. He has a husky, sexy, phone voice...no lie...half our courtship I preferred to call him just to hear his voice!

19. He's a manly man...but one of his favorite shows is Extreme Home Make Over...and every time he sees the ending where the family says, "Move That BuS"...he is softly crying.

20. And to me...and I'm only speaking for myself...He's Dang Sexy!!!



So if you have the time...tell him Happy Birthday...and whatever else you wish to say! lol! But remember...in the end...he's MINE, all MINE, and the sucker is stuck with me FOREVER!!! Thank goodness for Temple Marriage! :)

Let me be the first on this blog to say, Happy Birthday Sweetheart! You still look good for an old fart! :)

Love,

Shelle

P.S. Someone must have punk'd me or REE really left a comment on my blog! lol! No lie...just go and check out the comments from the post below! Of COURSE, she is going to come over to my blog when I state that I've given up! lol! So even though I imagine someone is probably playing a joke...I'm taking it as successfully getting her to comment on my blog...even though the credit again has to go to my valiant soldiers Binks, Kritta, and Insane Mama (please come back IM everyone in the blog world will miss you!!!) I'm sure I'll write more about this when it isn't my husband's birthday! :)

Shhhh...don't tell him, but I missed him...

You know that great spontaneous trip I took a couple of weeks ago...or maybe it was last week? I am losing track of time. Anyhow, the trip to Minneapolis where I packed my two kids and I up to fly out there and visit my cuter younger sister?

Yea, well...it wasn't too spontaneous.

You see, my husband had this boys man trip planned where him an 5 other guys drove up to Canada to Mountain Bike for 3 days straight on Whistler Mountain. It's in the Providence B.C. is all I really know about the place...oh, and that it's a Mountain Bikers Heaven!!!

Well when I found out that he was FOR REAL going to doing something as INSANE as driving over 20 hours, especially with the way gas prices are now, and with stinky boys men...just to Bike down a mountain...well I panicked...

I try and give off this tough girl image...like I don't care...I panicked!!! Because I DO care...

I'm going to admit this, right now, in front of all of you...I am a WUSS! I absolutely hate to sleep in my BIG king size bed with out my husband taking my covers and man handling me ALL night. Sure I complain about it...it gets hot...and then when he turns away from me and pulls the covers with him...it gets cold...but you see I am so use to it, that I hate to be with out that special routine we have created...plus, he kinda makes me still feel wanted with all that touching and stuff! :) I don't sleep as well and then through those sleepless nights I tend to miss to BIG BLOKE!

So I called my sister and told her I was coming to invade her space...and to test her on her Hostess abilities. Let me just sidenote here because this post is going to be about my husband and not my sister: Suns Fan #1 and Suns Fan #2 completely passed the hostess test. I let my kids run amuck and they still didn't twitch convulsively crying disease and making us go home early. When my little sis was cooking dinner or breakfast...I completely ignored helping her (just to test her you see, for the sake of research) and blogged on her laptop...she was like a rock solid wall not letting it show how irritated she was with me! I made sure to have our stuff strewn everywhere among her little apartment...and both of them just walked over it like they hadn't noticed their compulsive clean behavior was being ignored! They were champions...passed the test with flying colors!

Moving right along...I am just saying. I missed my guy. But please don't say anything, because his head is big enough with all the other chic's around town flirting with him and so I try to seem aloof when I am in his blessed and dang sexy presence...even though I am affected, like a dog to a fire hydrant, I am affected.

A recent example being...

We had to switch our Costco membership from a Business Member to just a Gold Member since my busniess was no longer setting us up with them anymore. My husband's job was to go and get his picture taken while I stood in line to pay for our WHOLESALE goods...no lie, it took me 20 minutes to get that done and I thought, FOR SURE, he would be done and waiting for me. I go walking toward the membership counter and this is the scene that lay before me.

My husband standing there with his arms folded and the chic on the counter leaning over laughing and smiling at him...then she leans back from the counter, smiles...my husband must have said something EXTREMELY hilarious because she broke out in an unabashed, deep gut, laugh. My husbands face alight with amusement that he is making someone laugh continues with what he is saying...only to have her lean into the counter to pretend that she needs to get closer to hear what he has to say. She hands him the card. He puts it into his wallet...then turns around...sees me, and walks over like I hadn't seen what had just transpired.

Me: "That girl has a great smile...she smiles with her whole face."

Him: "Yea...she does, doesn't she!"

Me: rolls my eyes.

So here are some fun pictures of BOTH of our trips. I missed him...but we still had lots of fun! I guess he did too! :)

My Trip in Minneapolis Minnesota--Most at the mall of America in the Nickelodeon AdventureLand...some at Como Zoo!

MountainSportMans Trip: Whistler in Canada somewhere!







I had to post this picture of my friends husband Nate because My guy isn't to good at taking pictures so I thought I would post a picture of the guy that took pics of my husband...thank goodness for him!!!

MountainSport Man got Tagged...

We found out that MountainSport Man got tagged by Spencer at Our Own Family Adventures...and the good sport that he is...as long as I typed for him, he decided to answer the questions... Here's how the conversation went:

ME: "Hey a few weeks ago you got tagged off of someone else's blog."

MSM: "I got Tagged? What's that?"

ME: I give him a DUH look and said matter-of-factly, "It's a blog thing. IT's where someone asks personal questions and you talk all about yourself and then you name other people to do the same thing! Will you do it...wanna, huh? Ya wanna? Come on...just check out how cool the guy who tagged you is!"

MSM: Chuckles...I showed him the blog who tagged him and he was impressed that the guy could do splits AT ALL let alone at the age of 30..."I'm not really that interesting"...

ME: "So are you going to do it? Other husbands are doing it for their wives...hmmm..."

MSM: Rolls his eyes, "Okay I'll do it but you have to type."

K, let's get started:

3 Joys:

1. Shelle (My Wife)

2. My kids

3. Snowboarding/Mountain Biking

3 Fears:

1. Something happening to my Beautiful Wife or my kids.

2. Buying a car. I hate the whole process.

3. The unknown.

3 Goals:

1. Finish School

2. Get a Harley Davidson

3. Getting Shelle to get off the computer or her nose out of a book to hang with us.

3 Obsessions/Addictions:

1. Letting my wife do whatever she wants to do to make her happy and my kids

2. I'm obsessed with getting out of my current vocation.

3. Snowboarding/Mountain Biking

3 Surprising Facts:

1. I love the theatre...broadway shows.

2. My first time EVER going to Disneyland was when I was 32 years old.

3. After 8 years I still haven't figured out how to get my wife to do whatever I say...when I say...even if it's right...surprising enough.

MSM says he doesn't know anybody to tag so he's not going to! lol! Hey Babe...I'm just glad you participated even though I think you could have come up with some different answers on some of those :) ...

To my Father's!

I love this quote and thought I would share it:

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." ~Clarence Budington Kelland

If there is any father who lives out that quote it would be MY children's father! MountainSport Man is not only our provider, husband, father, dad, and daddy, he IS our best friend! He is so incredibly good with our kids. Just yesterday I was preparing for a lesson I had to teach today...he decided that he would take the kids swimming at the new pool that just opened...just him and the KIDS, so I could prepare my lesson! This is not abnormal behavior for him...that's just what he does!

With PeePs, he takes her on walks, or rides bikes or scooters with her.
Another example would be taking DCar up every weekend during the winter to teach him how to Snowboard so he would have a snowboarding buddy...during the summer he takes him every Saturday morning to the skateboard park to mess around on the skateboard!

He is also a great example for them. He is a hard worker...he is the perfect person to have around when you want to get something done. He will work and work and work until the job is finished...he hates leaving things half done! Thank GOODNESS for that...or ALL our projects would be just a thought without the work and completion since that is more MY work ethic! I live by that quote, "Isn't it the thought that counts?"

He loves the gospel, his Father in Heaven, and Jesus Christ. He knows it and has studied it...and one of the reasons why I married him was because we could talk COMFORTABLY about the gospel...it is so nice not to feel stupid when I don't understand something!

Most of all though...he is fun...he shows his kids that there is time for WORK but there is always time for fun! His laugh is infectious...sometimes annoying when watching a funny movie because he is LAUGHING NONE STOP, but mostly infectious!

Honey, we LOVE YOU FOREVER +1!

TY: The quote that I love that goes with him is:

"I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich." ~M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter

This motto he project to his kids! He is definitely rich because of his family of 7 kids!

This is my Father-in-law Ty! I just call him TY...i love this guy. He has taught me alot about endurance and keeping your faith! He has one of the STRONGEST wills I have ever seen! He has been through so much these last couple of years...but every time I am around him he jokes around with me and the kids.

Plus, he is so lovable...I just love giving him hugs and squeezes and little kisses on the cheek!

This is how he has been with my kids since the first. He LOVES having them around and having them sit on his lap and tell him all about what they have been up to...or just watching TV with them. They usually end up falling asleep on them. MY KIDS LOVE talking and being with their Granpa TY...like I said, it's most likely because he is SO lovable!

DENNIS:
This rings true when it comes to my DAD:

"A father carries pictures where his money used to be." ~Author Unknown

My Dad is someone that I can talk with and argue with. He respects what I say, and I don't know very many Dads that feel that way. If he doesn't respect what I say, then he ACTS extremely well and we know where Broadway gets it from! lol!

Growing up my Dad use to take me on rides to the grocery store and I would talk and talk about what was going on in my life. We built such a good repoirte together and have continued to have an incredible relationship!

He was a good example to me in the gospel of our church and in what man I wanted to look for when I was to be married. I did marry someone similar to my Dad. I never questioned if my Dad loved me...or if he would be there for me...I know he did and he was!

Then look at that smile...how could you NOT love a man that twinkles when he smiles!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all those father's out there...but especially to the THREE main father's in my life! I love you guys!

My husband got a IPOD touch for Father's Day that he has been wanting for FOREVER!

What did you do for the "father" in your life today? I always like creative ideas for next year! how about things that DON'T cost money...yea that would be nice...any ideas guys...any? Come on, help a sista out here! :)