My husband rocks

Dear Darling Husband,


This week I have been freaking out — just a tad — about getting our condo in shape for the party I’m throwing next weekend.

To ease my stress, you installed new shelves for me, and will be painting our bedroom this weekend. You have even promised to install that final lightswitch-plate-thing, that I have been gently reminding nagging you about for almost two years.

And although you could care less about paint colours, vases, and comforters, you helped with the decorating in your own quiet way. You agreed to take me to Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and Home Outfitters, even though you despise shopping.

Thank you for heroicly disregarding the “Employees only” sign on the ladder, and bravely climbing to the top to fetch that comforter set I spotted waaaay at the top. 

Also, thanks for not rolling your eyes when I gasped at the price and asked you to put it back.
Love, your wife
xoxo

This letter is part of “My Husband Rocks Fridays”

I’d like to thank the Academy …

Wow! This is seriously fun! 
For the love of pictures over at Boredom’s Bounty has given me my very first blog award! Thanks!
Isn’t it pretty?
So in return, I’m honouring seven of my favorite bloggers with the One Lovely Blog award:
These are all blogs that I read every single day, and I wish I could meet all of these bloggers in person. You guys are lovely!

Sorry, no vacancies

You know when you’re away from home, and after a while, you just reeeeally want to be at home and in your own bed? And eat your own food? And sit in front of the loving glow of your DVR?

Well, I think being in the hospital equals that feeling times a million.

I hadn’t really thought about what it will be like to bring the baby home from the hospital, and who would be there for those first few weeks. But AlphaMom just posted a great article on having company over after you’re home with a new baby.
Am I ever glad I read it! I love my mom, and my in-laws, but having company always stresses me out. The last thing I’m going to want — after spending three days in the hospital, and arriving home with a baby (and uncertainty) — is a condo full of houseguests!

Is there food in the fridge? Is there ice? Are there clean towels? The are not the kinds of questions I’m going to want to be obsessing over, when I have a brand-new baby to figure out. 
The article mentioned that many parents institute a “no overnight guests for two weeks” rule, when they come home from the hospital. This gives them two weeks to adjust to parenthood without worrying who is seeing them in their jammies. 
Many parents also specify that if someone is dropping by to visit the baby during those first couple of weeks, they should make the visits quick — and, preferably, bring food. Now that’s more like it!

I hope I never forget this …

“You can’t just think love will be fine on its own without tending to it. It’s a living thing, like a fire you feed or a garden you must tend. If you neglect it, it does wither. It can fade …


… A woman can feel like she’s fading if she’s not given attention, and a man can feel unimportant if a woman quits looking at him with excitement and admiration …

… If we treat each other plainly, we become plain.”

She’s nothing like the rest of us

Belle: Good Morning! I’ve come to return the book I’ve borrowed!

Book shop clerk: Finished already?

Belle: Oh, I couldn’t put it down. Got anything new?

Book shop clerk: Not since yesterday!

Yesterday, totally by accident, I discovered the most wonderful used bookstore. And it is located — get this — half a block from my office. 
I was heading back to the office after running an errand, and turned up a street I don’t normally use. It is the kind of bookstore I like best — where everything is crammed onto shelves, covered in dust. It’s like treasure-hunting.
I wandered around it in a happy daze. I scooped up three books in the few minutes I could spend there, and now I’m counting the minutes until I can go back at lunchtime.
Darling Husband had better get started on those built-ins — this could get ugly!