To my advantage

People always talk about how different boys and girls are. I don’t think that one can really understand this concept until they are married. I am a girl. I am married to a boy. A 100% boy. He thinks like a boy, acts like a boy, smells like a boy, likes to do boy stuff, and has lots of boy stuff (which thankfully is now located in our garage). How is a girl supposed to deal with all of this ‘boyness’? I figured it out. Use it. That’s right. Use it to your advantage. This is no secret at our house. Let me give you some examples.

Bryan has tons of wire in our garage. Long pieces and short pieces. I never touch it. However, I know that Bryan likes to work with that pokey, hard to bend stuff so I take advantage.

In every room in our house there is at least one thing hung on the wall that is rigged up with copper wire. Yep, I just tell him where I want it and the next thing I know there is some hanger looking thing on the back that can easily be attached to the wall.

FYI- Wire makes a good hook that fits up the hoses in the vacuum when it gets clogged. Also, it can make a belt if your pants are falling off. (both have been done at our house)

Football. Ug. I can watch a good football game every now and then but not all day on Saturday. There is a boy I know that loves to do this. Coincidentally, the laundry usually needs to be folded about that time. Nothing wrong with a little laundry during the commercials. Taking advantage? You becha.

Bryan works with a computer program a lot called AutoCAD. He has made blueprints, mapped out a street for his surveying class, etc. with this program that he can’t stop ranting about. He is pretty good at it. Last night he was working on this program making me a border to go around a young women’s handout! I couldn’t find what I was looking for in any clipart so he made one. I was cracking up! There he was in this complicated program making a dainty little border for his wife. His buddies would totally make fun of him for that one if they ever found out!

There is someone at my house that LOVES his saw. This fact screams out, “give me something to make with my saw!” Even as I type this I can hear the saw going on the back porch. Later tonight I will have an empty closet converted into a food storage closet, shelves and all. I think I love that saw too!

I could give tons of other examples. In the end I am pretty sure that I like all the ‘boyness’. It keeps things interesting around here. And it turns out to be very helpful if you work it right.

The Happy Dance

Before yesterday, the last time I did the real, true, genuine ‘happy dance’ was in high school. I bet you have a happy dance too. Let me explain.

One day I came home from high school to find my mom practically in tears. My little brother accidentally threw his retainer away in the cafeteria at lunch. My parents, not being in a situation to pay hundreds of dollars for a new one, were obviously upset. My mom asked us (the kids) if we would come help her look for it. We did. Yes, I jumped in the elementary school dumpster and we went through the trash, one bag at a time. I still can tell you exactly what was served for lunch and I can tell you that most students do not eat their food! After many bags I found it (I still brag about how I was the one to find it). That day the Kupfers did the true ‘happy dance’ in the elementary school parking lot.

Fast forward 8 years. Bryan lost his wedding ring. Gone. For over a month. We searched everywhere, and I mean everywhere. We looked in every closet, drawer, car, bucket of paint, trash (I was so sure that I would find it cause I have experience finding things in trashes :). It made me sick that it was gone yet we knew that it was somewhere in the house. We got desperate. We moved all the appliances. Bryan tipped the fridge up and I crawled under to see if it was magnetized onto the bottom. I gave up hope. Bryan refused.

Yesterday I got a picture text from Bryan. It was a picture of his ring. He found it. Right then and there I did the true, genuine ‘happy dance’. Yep, there I was in the science office at school between 2^nd and 3^rd hour with students passing by doing the ‘happy dance’.

The ring was in a place where it never should have been found. Sometimes miracles happen. Sometimes happy dances just need to be danced.

Here was the location of the ring. FYI, if you lie on your kitchen floor you will notice a small gap between the floorboard and the bottom of the cabinets. The space is so small that your hand cannot fit through but apparently a ring can. I guess inspiration led Bryan to pull of the wood covering, saw a hole in the floorboard, and reach his hand in to see if his ring was in there. We think that the ring fell off the counter and bounced at a perfect height and angle to be able to fit in the little crack and get back there. What are the odds??

Bumper Stickers

So in my mundane life of driving to and from work I have discovered a fun game. I look at bumper stickers. I have actually found myself changing lanes just so that I can read a bumper sticker. It helps the time go by faster. Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Hey, me too!

This one made me laugh right out loud. Whatever works to make people more aware of...well...um...ta ta cancer.



Couldn't have said it better myself.


This was on a jeep. Upside down of course. Very clever.


I actually have this magnet at school. I love it. No need to sugar coat it for the little high school darlings.


People are very creative I must say. Keep the stickers coming!

So brave

Hi. My name is Karen and I am afraid of big chunks of meat. Hmmm. Let me explain. Big hunks of meat scare me. Don’t get me wrong, I love eating meat and often even crave a nice chunk of beef along with some potatoes and gravy on my dinner plate. In fact I have the best childhood memories of coming home from church to have the entire house smelling of pot roast that has been cooking since early that morning. We could even smell it as we walked up the walkway! Yum. Honestly, a Sunday without roast is a bummer. Problem: I am scared to buy, refrigerate, cook, and serve big hunks of meat. How do I know how to cook it? How long is it supposed to cook? How do I know when it is done? What if it is too dry? Not cooked all the way through? What if I give someone (or me) worms? Food poisoning? What if I totally ruin it? That’s an expensive oops! AHHH! My poor dear mother has been so patient. She has shown me, walked me through it, discussed with me over the phone, and encouraged me many times. Finally, the other day I found myself walking passed the meat at the store. I had a bout of courage and picked up a roast and threw it in the cart. There it sat taunting me in the fridge until this morning when I put it in the crock pot, said a little prayer, and headed off to church. I am happy to report that when we came home there was a hint of roast smell in the air. Later we successfully ate the roast. It actually was good. Bryan sensing my insecurity was overly complimentary.

So there it is. The Martins have officially branched out and are no longer only chicken and hamburger meat people. I am exhausted; its been an emotional day.

Clothes

Today I wore a skirt to school. No reason, just because. I also happened to get myself up in time to do my hair and it actually stayed down the entire day (usually it ends up in a pony by the end of 1st hour). The comments I got today made me feel like I usually dress and do my hair in a way that is sending me straight for a makeover on What Not To Wear. Here are a few comments along with my reaction to them, I hope you catch the sarcasm in my comments; it gets me through the day.

Student: Oh my gosh you are wearing a skirt!
Me: Yep

Student: It's about time you wore a skirt Mrs. Martin.
Me: I'd say. (sarcastically)

Student: I was wondering when you were going to wear a skirt.
Me: Why on earth do you pay attention to what your teachers wear?

Student: Are you going somewhere after school? Where are you going?
Student across the room: Mrs. Martin's going to a party! woowoo!
Different student across the room: I bet she's going clubbing!
Me: Oh yeah guys, I am going clubbing in my knee length jean skirt after school.

Although there are more, I don't think that I need to go on. I had no idea that students were watching what I was wearing! Actually I don't care. What I am wearing is the least of my worries when I have to grab the attention of a group of 37 fifteen year olds for 52 minutes 5 times a day Monday through Friday. If I can talk in it, walk in it, yell in it :), dance around in it, do a lab in it, grade in it, make a fool of myself in it, tell people to 'shut up' in it (that happened today, yikes), then I will wear it. If they notice my clothes then, hey, at least they looked up at me.