My Husband is Like Well-Aged Cheese

Don't get me wrong.  Hear me out....

Aside from the fact I didn't actually fall asleep until 8am, today was gonna be a good day!  Why?  Well, not only was it the first day of November, but last night before Mr LKP went to bed, his boss had called and said there was no work today, but that their schedule would be non-stop, Tuesday through the end of the week.  Ya know what that meant?.....

OUR FIRST 'SNOW DAY' OF THE SEASON!!!!!
(No, no snow on the ground here...yet.  Snow Day just sounds more fun than 'playing hooky'.)

Oh man, I was totally stoked!  Our Snow Day was going to be fantabulouso, at least as soon as I was able to get a few hours of shut-eye under my belt.

It started out grand too, before I dozed off, Mr LKP made me breakfast (that sweet man), and even cleaned my sticky maple syrup'd chin!  However, lesson learned?

Don't close your eyes in the morning....when the sun's already up....and so is the rest of the world.... 

Mr LKP's boss called around 10am, when my eyes were finally shut & I was lightly sawing logs.  Turned out he needed to cancel our SNOW DAY, as there was work today afterall!  

Now I am not ungrateful for the work opportunities Heavenly Father's blessing our family with.  In fact I'm extremely grateful.  But I would be lying if I denied that pouting, on my part, definitely ensued.  Literally, the moment Mr LKP got off the phone, my eyes sprang open and I just KNEW that our day of togetherness (and putting up that overdue, and much anticipated new shower curtain rod) had met its demise.

"Marriage in its truest sense, is a partnership of equals, with neither exercising dominion over the other, but, rather, with each encouraging and assisting the other in whatever responsibilities and aspirations he or she might have."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

With Mr LKP, out winning us some bread, the day still went on like clockwork (well, as much as a sick-day can, I guess): 

• My SIL was able to get Mini-Me's homework for the days that she's missed.  
• There was more epic movie watching on the Ranch (including Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Kiss Me Kate, Lucky Seven, Elf, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, & Prince Caspian).  
• Crossword puzzles & suduko puzzles were solved.  
• Heart-2-heart convo's transpired.  
• I even whipped up dinner (that neither came from a can or from a Raman package). 

Despite all our mini-successes & joys, I still missed Mr LKP profusely.  (Is that weird?  I mean we've been together almost 9 years now---should I still feel this lost without him?  Irregular or not, it is what it is.)

Which brings us back to the question of:  
Why, then, is my husband like well-aged cheese? (A big old block or wheel of Tillamook to be precise.)

Simple answer: My heart craves his presence in my life the way my taste-buds demand they have cheese at every meal, and each snack in between!

Because when I've run out of time with him I'm beside myself, and miss the ways that he enriches my life with his one liners, with his hugs, and his innate abilities to make me smile no matter what.  A taste of that same feeling occurs when you go to make that PERFECT sandwich, only to open the little drawer in the fridge and find that you are without your crowing glory:  the cheese.  

Also, once I've been patient enough and have him back, it's always been well-worth the wait because his company is that much more delicious, his wit is that much funnier, and he chases the mundane-ness of my life away.  Much like when you're standing in Costco, ceremoniously lowering that 2lb hunk of Tillamook Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar Heaven (aged 3 years!) into your cart...  How can you NOT want to strike-up the brass band, and twirl and promenade that glorious cheese about the entire warehouse (think ala Broadway musical style, like Carousel, Singin' in the Rain, State Fair, The Music Man, My Fair Lady, or even An American in Paris)...complete with your own fair share of jazz hands?!?

Mr LKP's the life of the party.  Think about it, no party is complete without a good cheese platter.  He is the same way.  I've never seen a room that does not belong to him in the end.  All he has to do is open his mouth, and the party cannot resist flocking to him.  This is because his nature is one that instantly puts others at ease and leaves them in stitches.  He makes a person feel like a better, happier, more complete them just by talking with them.  He validates those with whom is with.   Therefore, he's in great demand.

I'm even slightly convinced that everybody likes him more than they like me.  And I am totally okay with that!  Heck, I like him more than I like me.  

Mr LKP completes me, in every good way.  (:

Plus, you know how those perfect little slices of cheese call to you from the platter, across the party?  All those lovely, buttery Havarti notes...and the tones of Sharp Cheddar....the zesty zip of the pepper jack....and the delicate Laced-Swiss slices.....Tantalizing, no?   Well that's what his smile does for me!

"Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great purpose in heart."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

Mr LKP is half of why I twinkle....he's half of why I smile...he IS my Tillamook cheese...and I 'm so incredibly grateful to be his abundantly blessed wife! 

Relive My Wedding Bells in August?

M-Cat has a wedding post that has resurfaced in the form of friendly tag-you're-it!  We're currently sittin' nowhere near Mr LKP's & my anniversary, but what the hay!  So here goes...

1. Where did you and your husband meet?  

the first grade.

2. How long before you kissed?  

lol.  16 years!

3. Who kissed who first?  

trying to be so suave while fueling my car (AT THE GAS STATION YOU SICKOS!!!), he leaned in.  i figured "why not."  turned out great!

4. How long from the time you met until you were engaged?  

Officially?  ...again, 16 years.  lol.  

...from when we ran back into each other for the first time after graduation?  8 months.  

...from when we started dating?  4 months.  from when he proposed?  3 months. 

5. How did he propose?  

he was all playing it safe..."where do you see this going with us?"...."ever think of marriage?"...(me being one who didn't want to appear vulnerable played completely stupid & denied ever thinking about marriage between the two of us, and continued to remind him of his previous plans to move to wyoming to go to school to build race car engines)...eventually, "well what do you think?  you wanna?"...that's it.  no ring.  no down on one knee like in the movies.  so anti-climatic.  i was ticked!  movies lie, dang it!  lol.

6. Did he pick out the ring or did you?

i was adamant i didn't want a rock.  just a simple band for me.  i didn't like diamonds.  but he was stubborn and said HIS woman would have a ROCK!  so he found a lovely emerald-cut.  it was classic.  not bad taste.  though i still didn't like diamonds.  but since it was from him, i decided to like it.  had it set in a platinum head to protect it.  found out AFTER the fact (= the hard way) that i'm allergic to platinum.  couldn't wear it.  had it RESET in white gold.  within a month one of the prongs broke off.  so i'm wearing my $30 "eternity" band from deseret book....haven't taken it off in 4 years & i LOVE it!

7. Do you still like the ring?  

see #6.

8. Where was your wedding and reception?  

we were married within the first year after he got home from his mission.  he was without blemish, but i had some stuff to sort through.  so we married in the church building we grew up attending together.  a year later we were sealed (him, me & my daughter) in the columbia river temple!  

9. How many bridesmaids did you have and who was your maid of honor?   

one.  his cousin, who was my close friend.  my daughter was our flower girl.

10. What color were your bridesmaid dresses?  

green

11. What was your bouquet made of?  

shades of fire tulips (think: reds, bright pinks, flashes of orange, some yellow).

12. Who gave you away?  

my dad.

13. Did you cry during your wedding?  

nope.  my face hurt from smiling so much.  didn't cry until right before our first dance when i gave him a little speech, on the mic, in front of everyone.  i have the speech written down, folded up in a book for him.  makes me cry still whenever i re-read it.

14. What style was your dress?  

simple short sleeves princess seamed w/ tulle ballgown skirt.  think major POOF!  it was difficult to hug or dance close, lol.  but hey, it cost me like $200 in alterations.  not bad!

15. Was your wedding kiss sweet or sexy?  

sweet.  

but i think the embrace right after was the sweetest & my most favorite part!  

he squished into my dressed and just snuggled into my shoulder.  i LOVED it!

16. Who caught your bouquet?  

honestly can't recall.

17. What flavor was your cake?  

decadent vanilla with buttercream icing & raspberry filling layered together for the filling.  then it was drenched in buttercream frosting & cloaked in the most amazing fondant icing.  cake perfection!

18. Did you smash the cake onto each other's faces or feed it to each other nicely? no, i was totally nice to him.  he may have had a tad just barely off his lips.  but we were kind.

19. What was "your song" that you danced to at your wedding?  

"no ordinary love" by jennifer love hewitt  (very unknown to most, but awesome!)

our old standard/second dance song was "what a wonderful world" by louis armstrong.  still makes me melt.  especially if he's whisking me around our kitchen floor!

20. What did you serve your guests to eat?

party subs from subway, fruit, veggies, nuts, cake, punch---simple but nummers!

21. What did your friends do to decorate your car?  

i sweetly wrote on my own car windows with shoe polish.  that's it.  kinda sad, but we were also kinda grateful for no damage.

22. What was your favorite wedding gift?  

our ICI whip creamer?  no no, our crystal glasses from his grandma?  or our pyrex set w/ lids.....yeah!  no.  i know, our deep fryer!!!!  man we gained some WEIGHT that first year!  lol.

23. What was the worst wedding gift you got?  

i don't remember a bad gift.  my dad gave my husband a shotgun...perhaps as a joke, but mostly because  dad either lives, eats, sleeps, breathes guns or cars....and so does my husband.  so it wasn't a bad gift!

24. Where did you go on your honeymoon?  

we couldn't decide.  so we sat at a jack in the box on the side of the highway, flipped a coin.  heads=seattle, tails=spokane.  heads won.  was a blast, but in all the places we went we kept missing mini-me & thinking how much she'd have loved the adventures.  so we came home 3 days early!

25. Looking back, is there anything you would have changed about your wedding? i'd have spent more money on a bigger cake...and maybe i'd have gone with a straight skirt on my dress.  but other than that?  no.  wouldn't change a thing.  well except i'd have been temple-ready when he proposed!

So I too now tag anyone that wants to play along and relive their wedding day!  It's actually QUITE FUN to stroll down this memory lane.  (:

This Brightened My Day!

Lately, more than ANY other time in our marriage,
I've found myself repeating the following phrase:
"You just don't listen to your wife."
Consider that fact.
Now watch this video of Matt Townsend that has helped
me with my outlook, thanks to Rudy Family Ruckus for it.
I promise.
It'll be the best set of 5 minutes you've spent all day!

Guess what?!  He's, as a rule of thumb, NOT going to
listen to me 100% cause it's not in his repertoire.  And that's ok.
If it was in his repertoire, then I wouldn't be married to him,
I'd be married to a woman.  And frankly, there's only
room for ONE of those in this marriage!  Haha!
I'm grateful for the changed perspective I have now.  =)