Men and their Televisions

Men are so funny! I love my husband and the things I’ve learned about him in the four years we’ve been together (2 and a half as man and wife living in the same house) and I really enjoy sharing with you. I hope you find this as humorous as I did. 

My husband thinks that the TV (and anything attached to it) is his exclusively and that it’s only by his good grace that I get to use it. He’s never actually stated this but I’ve been noticing it all the more this holiday break. 

He plays his video games and watches things like “Top Shot,” and while I don’t really enjoy these activities they give him time in his “nothing box,” which I’ve heard guys need. All of this is fine with me as long as when I say “can we please watch something that we BOTH enjoy?” he is willing to change things up. 

We enjoy a good number of television programs together. We’ve got our schedule of shows to watch and I don’t usually veer too far off of our traditional path but earlier today, I stumbled upon a shocking revelation that actually made perfect sense.

I was wrapping a present (as I’m apt to do at Christmastime) and all of a sudden, Mr. V’s voice pierced my inner monologue.

“What are you doing saving all this stuff?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked?

“Love Actually, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, what is this stuff?”

“Stuff I want to watch later. I wanted to save A Christmas Carol, too, but it interfered with Gold Rush so I cancelled it.”

“YOU CANCELLED 'GOLD RUSH'?!?” he loudly exclaimed.

“No, I decided to cancel A Christmas Carol. I saved Gold Rush for you.”

“Oh, good! I was going to be upset!”

“Um, I’m going to need you to remember that the DVR is OURS and that I can save stuff, too.”

At this point, he relaxed and smiled. “You’re right,” he said. 

Phew! 

I tell you this with a sheepish grin on my face because as I went throughout my day, I realized that I’m pretty much the same way with the kitchen but that’s another blog for another day. I hope you’re enjoying some down time with your family. I’m loving mine!

Merry Christmas!

Mrs. V

Happy Holidays - Curiousity is a gift best left on the store shelf

Dear friends and readers,

Christmas is upon us and in just a few short hours or days, we will be surrounded by loved ones whom we haven't seen since last week, month, or year. For those of us who are married, it is already a fantastic juggling act with hoops set ablaze that we must jump through as we navigate the delicate waters of spending time with our families (all of them) and our friends without excluding or alienating any of them. It's as exhausting as it is joyous (and for some, all the more).

But it's also a time of trepidation for those of us who are childless. Friends, I cannot tell you how many people, on a nearly daily basis, ask me when Mr. V and I are planning on having children. For most people, "not yet" is sufficient. For my students, it is often a jumping off point for more commentary on how they'd like to see me with a baby bump before they graduate or how they'd like me to wait another year so that they aren't in my class anymore because pregnant women are moody (ironic that hormonal teenagers complain about moodiness, isn't it?) and they're absent for doctor's appointments and that means substitutes. They really don't like substitutes.

At Thanksgiving, I was asked by no fewer than 5 different people (relatives and friends) if we're planning for any additions. This is after I had two dear friends confess their heartache - they'd both suffered miscarriages earlier this year. Talk about a tear jerker! It was so hard to hear them tell their tales because my heart aches for them and for the friend who is childless, not by choice, but because she and her husband are struggling to conceive.

It also brought up some words from early Autumn which stung me as they were uttered one by one. A girl, a total stranger, asked me (in front of my mother-in-law, no less) if we were planning on Baby V anytime soon. When I said, "no, we're not," she asked me "Oh, are you still young?"  I laughed off her rude question but I felt those words all the more as I approached my birthday this year and every time I got on the scale since then. See, I'm underweight and that, in addition to each passing year, makes it more difficult to conceive.

I KNOW that my friends who are having trouble conceiving or have had trouble carrying to term don't need the question either. Our reproductive health is the business of  the woman and her husband. I don't really care how many of you want to babysit, to pinch little cheeks, to have grandchildren.  If you're not married to the woman in question, then it simply isn't any of your business. You are hurting more than you're helping, even though you may have had no intention of causing harm.

Please consider sparing a woman of this particular pain this Christmas. Let her enjoy the moments she has away from wondering if she'll ever have a baby of her own. For a woman who wants kids, the sight of children opening toys on Christmas day is enough of a reminder of her ticking biological clock.

Thank you for understanding!

Mrs. V

30 Days of Thanks 2011 - Days 21-30

I know it looks like I abandoned my 30 Days of Thanks but I assure you that is not the case. Because we were traveling to Louisiana for Thanksgiving and a Wedding, I didn't have the opportunity to get onto my blog and post. I decided that finishing up on Facebook was the way to go. If I have time, I will post the last 10 days below. If not, know that I was thankful throughout, always found a reason to smile even in the midst of frustrations, and that I've continued on with a different sort of daily post because I decided that the positivity couldn't end at the close of November. I'm leaving 2011 better than I found it and hoping to inspire others to be a blessing to those around them, known or unknown.

Mrs. V

30 Days of Thanks 2011 - Day 20

I am so thankful for church potlucks, church family, and a short work week ahead!

Today's food was delicious and I have some pumpkin cheesecake in the fridge that I'm dying to try - after dinner tonight!

I am thankful for friends who are coming into town this week, friends who are mine because of my husband. I can't wait to catch up and relax!

Mrs. V

30 Days of Thanks 2011 - Day 19

I am so thankful to my friend, Mrs. B, for introducing me to Settlers of Catan so many years ago when I was visiting her in California. Because of that introduction, I could confidently play with my husband and his high school friends, with mutual friends we have through work, and with new friends from church.

Though I didn't win tonight, I did have a great time playing with Mr. and Mrs. K. They are a couple of fun people! And to top off a wonderful evening of Catan, Mrs. K gave me the option of having hot chocolate with little gingerbread marshmallow men. Yum! I have to admit, though, that I felt a little cannibalistic eating those men after drowning them in my beverage. Oh, well!

Great game + great friends = great night

And it was all made possible by Mrs. B and her Cali gal pals making the introduction. Just awesome. Thank you!

Mrs. V

30 Days of Thanks 2011 - Day 18

Today, I am thankful for a husband who will put his jeans back on (slow down, he was wearing sweat pants) and take me to the grocery store! Normally that doesn't happen. At all. The grocery store is not somewhere he wants to be. On a Friday night. With no discernible plan as to what we're buying. It was fun!

I'm also thankful for naps after a long and frustrating week at work. It was incredible!

Happy weekend!

Mrs. V

30 Days of Thanks 2011 - Day 17

I am thankful for hot showers, early bedtimes, and a day to wear jeans while teaching teens about something that they've done before!

Showers are so relaxing and early bedtimes make me a happier person the next day. Jeans are comforting and a signal that the weekend is so very near. Teaching teenagers, while challenging in itself, is also more challenging when the students have never ever done the activity before. Literary analysis and interpretive response papers have cluttered my desk the past six weeks but now we are moving into familiar territory - poetry!

I had a significant dip in my grades this last six weeks and last night, at report card pick up, I finally realized why. The kids haven't done any of what I was requiring of them (by the way, the state and my district require me to require these assignments) ever before. No wonder they struggled so much! No wonder my headaches were throbbing on and off all day every day. Oh, glorious realization!

I expect that grades will pick up this third grading period. Yes, it is shorter. Yes, they've been benchmarked to death (with one final nail in the coffin yet to come), and yes, we were all at each others' throats with frustration BUT WE CAN DO POETRY!!! WE WILL ENJOY OUR LAST GRADING PERIOD OF THE SEMESTER!!!

Can't wait to get to class!