OT - Chef Rob little long

Well folks I'm gonna start by saying this ... Men & Women talk completely different languages! I went over last night (valentine), I had already given him his gift on sunday (couldn't wait).  We decided to eat in as opposed to going out.  We had the the place we were gonna go...2 hour wait!  He made some fantastic crab cakes, steak and veggies in a wine sauce....YUM! So, what did I get??? (its also my birthday today)  I got a lovely bouquet of flowers and not the gas station kind! And a gift bag with a color, leash, ball and chewy bones!  So, a puppy!!!  He had him in there before I got there, but was worried he'd pee in it!!! I had been on the fence about it, but now I guess its a done deal! Anywho...I spent the night because this morning I had a dr appt at 8:15 literally just down the road from where Rob lives and my house is 25 minutes away, so we rationalized that that would be a good plan. I had been under the impression that Rob would be coming to my house tonight for a birthday dinner out.  Well, he thought we had talked about this and decided that he would not be coming over.  I have NO CLUE when that conversation happened, but apparently it did.  So, I pouted, kissed him good bye this morning and may have shut the door behind me a wee pit hard. He called me about 5 minutes later, worried I was annoyed with him. I told him I felt disappointed but that I was a big girl and I'd get over it.  This was before I found out that my friends and family that were also gonna meet us at a local pub for a drink and game of pool all canceled on me as well! So now I'll be home with nothing to do this evening.  This whole don't plan stuff so you're not disappointed way that Rob lives his life would have been great for today...I wouldn't have planned and I wouldn't be disappointed right now. Sherman the puppy comes home in a week or two!  Thats a plus!

How does that expression go--"men are from Mars and women are from Venus' or something like that?    Men--you can't train 'em but you can love 'em!  Hope you have a nice birthday in any case! Birthday ((HUG)) **SUE**

I can't be annoyed with him...it was cute how he sounded so timid when he called to see if I was upset!   It'll be nice... decided to give myself an at home mani/pedi, hot oil treat my hair, put on a face mask and take really long hot shower...spoil myself a bit! Then, I'm gonna go to bed early and take my son to the movies tomorrow!

And they say women are hard to figure out...NOT!  Sorry everyone let you down...don't let it ruin your night! Sounds like you will have a very restful and relaxing evening. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!     Hugs, connie d

Hope you had a great birthday anyway!!!!

If it makes you feel any better my DH and I are trying to fix our house after the flood, and for Valentines Day we got in a huge screaming match, he  didn't come home until 8pm, I told him I was going to live with my "mommy" and my baby lizard and one of my snakes died some time while I was away argueing with my Husband. Then I had a major breakdown and he had to call my mom to calm me down because I was going to leave him to drive to my parent's house with my 8 year old daughter even though it was -20 below. New love is great with all the anticipation, and caring what the other person is thinking and wondering why they do what they do. Enjoy this stage before it gets to be "routine". And so glad you are bringing Sherman home, what a great addition to any family!!

HIJACK to Nicole~ SORRY--this is long! I give you credit for surviving as long as you have in a hotel! BUT please TAKE TIME for you and your husband!!  And for sure, fun family time is necessary!!   Here's my story...  In 1991-92 we decided it was time to fix up our dumpy house.  It had been 1-1/2 stories on a dug-out hole of a basement. ((It was indeed the DUMP of the block!)) My hubby tore off the 1/2 storey, lifted the house, put the basement under, then added 10 feet to the back, and added a barn-type roof.  ((My hubby was a 'thrifty Scot' (last name McEachern!) who borrowed only enough money to do the job on a bare budget) Well, he started this in the fall--and OF COURSE winter came early.  An acquaintance (George) who CLAIMED he was a carpenter sort of was the contractor. We were sucked in by the grand house he claimed to have built. We should have been tipped off when this guy ordered the wrong rafters, which caused major problems in the roof line, the floor plan, and how the windows were supposed to go. Also, an acquaintance of my hubby and George warned us of George's 'habit' of taking stuff that didn't belong to him.  ((My hubby was the kind of guy who tried to see the best in everyone. I don't know if he ever confronted George about the missing stuff--whi*****luded pictures, furniture, tools...)  It turns out George was the kind of guy to measure once, cut twice--when it SHOULD BE measure twice, cut once! So many things ended up being wrong. Being the rugged people us Canadian are, we had been planning on staying in the house while it was under construction, but having NO roof or water changed our minds. (Our family consisted of a 12 YO son, 11 YO son, 11 YO daughter, and a sickly toddler. Dan worked for the railway and I worked for a courier company.)   George offered to let us stay at his house, since he was working on ours and his family had moved west.  We camped out--sleeping on the floor of this 5000 sq. ft. house, as his wife had taken most of the furniture with her. We paid  him $300/mo for this, in addition to him being paid 'under the table' for his carpentry skills as he was collecting unemployment insurance. We were to stay there until his house sold or ours was finished, whichever came first. (Neighbours told us later that they were upset to see Dan alone working on the roof in zero-weather, hammering away after dark with a trouble-light to see by. But these folks were disabled and couldn't have helped anyway.  In retrospect, we were lucky that the police didn't shut him down for breaking the noise ordinance, as Dan worked until midnight or later.)) We stayed at George's place for 2 months before it became intolerable. He had no qualms about hollering at the kids, and things were going missing at the house job site--when only George had access to it. Luckily (?) I guess, George's house sold and we had to find somewhere else to live, as our house was only a shell with no plumbing yet. We stayed for 3 months in a 'kitchenette' room at a country motel.  All 4 kids slept in the bedroom, and Dan and I slept on the (terrible!) pull-out sofa in the kitchenette/dining/living room.  I would start the week with 'Thank God it's Monday!' and we fully knew why rats ate their babies when living in crowded situations! In the beginning of March we moved back into the house. It was basically a shell, but the walls did have sheetrock and we had running water in the main floor bathtub. At this time, Dan decided to have his hoarse voice checked out, and it was discovered that he had thyroid cancer. Surgery took out his thyroid and vocal cords, and the doc found out that the cancer had spread to his esophagus. This cancer had morphed into an incurable type of cancer for which there was no cure.  Dan died 5 months after the operation.  If only we could turn back time!!   Because of the situation we were in---seeing each other in passing, the enormous pressure we were under with the construction, living in a tiny space, trying to have a 'normal' family for the kids who also were under great duress, Dan and I lost contact each other and probably were headed for a divorce. We did came to our senses before the cancer discovery--God blessed us with a renewal of our love for each other. And this put our relationship on a great level--Dan mentioned later before he died that if we hadn't made the effort in our relationship, he would have been suspicious that I was only feeling sorry for him, instead of REALLY loving as I did. ALSO--it would have been soooo easy just to buy a place that was finished and had what we wanted!!  We were both making good money, but the 'tough guy' in Dan who always had to do things the hard way prevailed and thus we did the rebuild.  I really believe that if Dan hadn't been sooo damn busy working on the house by himself he wouldn't have neglected his health to the point the cancer morphed. So many IFs...so many regrets.  Yup--I'm still bitter about George being a con-artist and ripping us off for so much!  Dan did try to get hold of George before he died--only to find out that George himself had died of various cancers.  Dan wanted to personally forgive him for all the crap he pulled on us. ((There is justice!!)) May God give me the grace to forgive George--for my own good. I don't know where this statistic comes from, it could be just what  happened among my hubby's co-workers, but the divorce rate among people who do rebuilds themselves rather than hire it out, is 3 out of 4. UNLESS you work at your relationship at the same time! This is my story and unfortunately I'm stuck with it.  Nicole--please PLEASE take care of yourself and make time for your hubby!  It's too easy to lose each other when you're in tough spot.   Been there, done that..  God bless. ((HUG)) **SUE**  

Sue thank you so much for sharing your heartbreaking story. Whenever it feels like things can't be any worse, someone else gives me a wake up call. You are an amazing woman, and I am so proud of you for getting through it all and being able to share your words of wisdom.

Hi Nicole~ If what we went through can help ONE person, then it's worth it. (Truly) I pray things will get better for you.  My hubby used to say--'That which doesn't kill you will only make you stronger."   And guess what--I'm still here! :-) ONE DAY AT A TIME--- (((HUG))) **SUE**