Weekending with the newlyweds

I just told my brother that I think it's cooler to write on subjects than to journal, but I'm going to give in to the powers that be (namely, my laziness), and recap my weekend. Friday night, J's college buddy Clint and his wife Sheridan spent the night at our house. They are a real hoot, and so sweet; brought J and I sno-cones from JJ's Shaved Ice (best sno-cones in Bryan County, but can't compare to the ones on Lindsey St. in Norman). They have two little boys--Hudson and Garrett. Get this: Sheridan and Clint both sell Arbonne, this Swiss skin care stuff. They're trying to get J and me to sell it, but I don't think it's gonna happen. I'm glad it worked out so well for them tho; Sheridan's driving a Mercedes SUV b/c of Arbonne!

Saturday, I was supposed to go the Caddo church's special seminar, "Holding to the Tradition," but slept too late, and then had to feed our guests my super-good breakfast casserole. Yay for trying new things! Then I went out to run errands: rented Bride and Prejudice, which J and I watched that nite--he basically just listened while he puttered around the house--but it was GREAT!! Haven't seen such a fun, clean movie in a long time!! You gotta get up and dance during more than one song (Did I mention it's a musical, my favorite kind of movie?). I skipped over my day activities: shopping at Ross and the Rage: more good, clean fun. Also bought a leather loveseat and ottoman--YIKES! It's a little painful to let go of that big a chunk of change. PLUS Jay and I just bought a hot tub last weekend--I don't know what possessed us to go furniture shopping and hot tub shopping on one day last weekend. (We bought a headboard, and couldn't decide on a loveseat, so I came back this weekend.)

Anyone read N. Scott Momaday's A House Made of Dawn? It's a postmodern, Native American novel--quite interesting, but extremely time-consuming to read. Is it shameful that I didn't know what a postmodern novel was until grad school?!! Professors have always bandied about that word, but I have a hunch that several people in my class, (a senior-level English class/grad class) had no idea what it actually meant until Dr. Tudor explained it. In case I'm driving any of you nuts b/c you don't know what postmodern is either, it's a novel structure that's hard to read: nonlinear plotline, multiple narrators, perhaps visions or memories thrown in to confuse you, lots of symbolism substituted for say, character development...you basically have to take notes on everything to keep it all straight. What on earth was my prof thinking, saying we needed to have the whole thing read by the second week of class?!!

BB6 going down the toilet

How much do I love reality TV? I steered clear of Big Brother for so long, but like so many reality shows, it has lured me into its clutches. I can't get out! Let me just vent my opinion on BB6, since my hubby will not hear a word about it: Howie completely screwed up the Sovereign Six when he nominated James & Sarah. That was the beginning of the end for them. Rachel saw it right then; I didn't. When, oh when, will reality TV competitors understand that they must put their personal vendettas on the back burner until the numbers are in their favor to serve up some just desserts?!! Now I can't even decide who I'm going for in that house. Howie went ape on April, Janelle is still a strong competitor, but she's looking more and more petty. Rachel's okay, but she seems so dang boring!! Plus, she was the main person behind the colossal goof-up that was the candy-pinata veto challenge. I guess I'm going to root for James, even tho his personality doesn't appeal to me. Any guy who silently agrees to his girlfriend's comment, "You don't have a very smart girlfriend" probably falls into the "typical jerk" category. But he's playing the game the best right now, despite his frantic deal-making when Sarah was still around. If Beau, Ivette, or April end up in the top two, I will be thoroughly disgusted with myself for wasting so much time watching a half mil go to people who sat on their rears and trash-talked in a phat pad all summer long.

5 things that have made us laugh in the last week

1. A man making annoucements at church welcomed our friend Amber back from Guacamola. (She spent a month in Brazil on a missions trip.)
2. Jay came in at about midnight Friday night from fishing; I was dozing on the couch after going out with my mom and sister that night. He came and bent over me and whispered, "I caught my first ten-pounder, Babe," and then went over to the kitchen and started banging around looking for something to eat. "Hey, is this rice stuff still good?" He called over to me, where I still lay with my eyes closed. When I didn't answer, Jay repeated himself. "Do you think I care? Can't you tell when someone's trying to sleep?" I yelled back, and then got up and stomped to bed. If what I do and say when I'm partially asleep is the real me, then I'm mean! The next day, we remembered this scene and laughed.
3. We got the giggles one night in bed because I suddenly remembered a fight song our friend Jeremy Tims had made up for a small high school where J.T. and Jay and done a basketball camp. Jay started singing, "We are the Turner Falcons...we are the Turner Falcons...Caw! Caw! Caw!" in this high voice J.T. used to sing it.
4. My professor gave me an awkward hug after a one-on-one appointment. I recounted the story to Jay, and don't worry, he's not worried about me having an affair with the highly self-satisfied, very well-fed professor with the lazy eye.
5. I followed Jay into the bathroom to tell him the story about the professor.

Babies

Who doesn't want one, really? I mean, what an amazing idea God had for procreation. He could have created a baby-making plant, and we could go pick out which ones we wanted. But no, God combines the DNA of two people who love each other very much so that we have a little combination of the two of us! How awesome is that?

I guess once you get married, people never really stop asking when you're going to start that awesome procreation process, but Jay and I aren't quite ready yet. But I do have some names picked out: Ella and Samantha for girls, and Jesse and Ethan for boys. My thing with names is, the spellings need to be such that when you say it, other people know how to spell it, and when people read it, they know how to say it. My cousin Kiernan and my cousin-in-law's new baby Raegan will be spelling their names for other people for the rest of their lives! And, one more crucial factor: when you say your child's name, three kids don't answer. You want a name that's familiar enough to spell and say, but not so familiar that your kid has to be called Jenny S. or Casey-boy in school. And, I'm all about having family names as middle names.

What does Jay have to say about all this? I seek his opinion on practically everything; generally after delivering a long diatribe on why I believe my opinion is best. Then he usually says something like, "Yeah, I guess," or "That would be okay." Sometimes he disagrees, but he's starting to realize that arguing with me is asking for trouble. ;)

The Dam Law

Don't worry, no obscenities here. I'm referring to the law that as soon as you get one hole in your life filled with happiness and fulfillment, another area springs a leak. (Remember that scene in National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation?) That's what happened to me in the past year in two months. Here I was at OU, busy as a little bee with all these intellectually challenging activities: interning at Oklahoma Today or editing a section of the student newspaper, taking upper-division college courses, and not to mention planning a wedding. I was constantly reading or writing, and having my hard work rewarded with published works or glowing peer critiques or A's on my transcript. Everything's great, right? Wrong. I was living two hours from my husband-to-be, having to get by with nightly telephone calls and bimonthly visits. In the midst of this whirr of activity, all I wanted was to be a happily married woman. Now that's exactly what I am, but the intellectual and professional stimulation has all but bottomed out.

In short, I CAN'T FIND A JOB! Okay, so I'm freelancing, working part-time as Johnston County 4-H Program Assistant, dabbling in real estate, and pursuing a Master's in English Education. That sounds like a lot, and sometimes it is, but most of the time, I'm struggling to plug this hole in my life. A bunch of part-time jobs is having the same effect on this leak as Clark Griswold's chewing gum had on the leak in the Hoover Dam. I love being a wife and having a home, but I need to use my brain and my skills! (You know, nunchakas skills, computer hacking skills...)

Shadow-boy

Jay and I haven't had a child yet, but we do have Shadow-boy. He's a six-month old Lab (mostly) we got as a stray when he was four months old. He's added so much to our life, it is almost like we've had a child. Especially for the first month, about 75% of our conversations were about Shadow: his house-training, his eating habits, what he's chewed to bits recently. I'm glad to say that the almost constant Shadow-talk has subsided, but the baby-talk has not. I really never pegged Jay as a baby-talker, but this dog has turned him into one! Just about all he ever calls me is "babe," but Shadow is "you little black toot," said in a squeaky voice that sounds like a six-year-old girl. Sometimes, Shadow is "you little tooty-wooty-tooty," said in an even higher falsetto.

Spotlighting

Welcome to my world as a newlywed.

I'd like to start at the beginning of our marriage so this thing has some semblance of order, but alas, I don't feel like recounting the past year and two months. Worthy anecdotes from that period will likely be forthcoming.

Here's dating advice you hear from your mom and read in all those silly girly magazines, but you usually kind of dread: Share his interests! Honey, you better get used to drag racing or deer hunting or web design, or whatever it is this boy is into, because when you're married, you'll find yourself doing the most out-of-character things with your hubby. Case in point: I've now spent three of the last four nights on my Uncle Gary's ranch, shining spotlights around in search of deer. Now before you call your game ranger, let me say, the only shooting we're doing is with a video camera. I'm the note-taker and filmer. Jay is The Boss. He sees a pair of tiny reflected circles 200 yards away and hisses, "Get your camera ready!" I follow his commands and film the majestic beasts staring over at Sqeaky (Jay's junky truck) in total bewilderment. It's actually been pretty fun, bouncing along through Brushy Pasture, Sanctuary, Southside, and Long Pasture. (All these places must have names for the purposes of record-keeping.) We cross Blue River every night, and there's always one deliciously frightening moment when you think the water is going to carry Squeaky away. We've seen two bobcats now. Jay says they attack the deer, and therefore should be shot, but I like to watch them. If it was humane and inexpensive to own a tiger, I would want one.