Champagne Promise

The Physicist and I have been married for 27 years. We're practically a Ripley's exhibit in that we have stuck together through thick and thin. We do take the vows we made all those years ago seriously. But it's amazing we're still together when you consider how many personality factors there are against us and lead us into conflict. And when we spar it is with great intensity.

Take a look at what we brought into our marriage when we first said our "I do's."

Our Similarities

*We're each first born children with one younger sibling.

*We're both earth signs. He is a Taurus, and I am a Capricorn.

*We're both fiercely independent.

*We're both from very dysfunctional families.

*We're both very driven.

*We hate to lose.

*We're stubborn.

Our Differences

*He's analytical and I'm intuitive.

*He's a scientist and I'm a romance writer.

*He's a thinker and I'm an instinctive reactor.

*He's an immovable boulder and I'm a spontaneous combustion.

You can see where this is going... We lock horns a lot. We have major arguments a lot. And we argue loud. Heck we have had arguments about our arguments and about what actually qualifies as a argument. I remember his dad telling me that no one ever could best the Physicist in argument and I said, "That was until he met me."

The Physicist wanted a woman who would challenge him, and he got one. I wanted a man who wasn't a pushover, and I got one.

And that's okay because we genuinely love and respect each other. He's my best friend. He makes me happy, and we have fun together. We're perfect for each other. But we do argue a lot.

This brings me to our Champagne Promise. The Physicist bought an expensive bottle of champagne after a very big fight. He said that we could open it if we went without a major argument for at least seven days. That was three years ago. The running joke in our house was that we probably would have to wait until one of us dies before we could pop that champagne bottle's cork.

A little over a week ago we decided we would make the effort to open that bottle of champagne. It's expensive, but it's not that expensive. It could go bad. We wouldn't want to drink that champagne in our 90s or worse have to wait until one of us um, died. 

It's New Year's Day and I'm happy to report that today we will open the champagne!!!

I think we came close to losing the privilege a few times, but I'd look at the Physicist and say, "You do want to open that champagne, don't you?" And he would nod and bite back his argument.

Hmmmm, maybe I should buy another bottle of expensive champagne tomorrow and use it as leverage. Maybe we should try to last TWO weeks without a major argument... but then the making up is all so sweet ;-)  

Look Out Vegas, Here I Come!

I've got a fabulous week planned. One filled with adventure, promise, love and joy. The adventure is my solo trip to Las Vegas on Thursday, the 25th. I'm always a bit nervous before I fly, well a lot nervous, but once I'm on my way I relax. This will be my second time to Las Vegas. I drove through it years ago without stopping. I'll be gone for 3 nights. And that means I'll be taking a break from the blog for the rest of the week. I will be on The Healthy Writer Blog on Wednesday, August 24th. Hope to see you there as I will be sharing a story about a relationship with my frenemy, the scale. Meanwhile, I have revising to do, packing, and coordinating a teen on the horizon. All my free time is going to those things.

I'm glad to have a holiday. I love breaks. This break is special because my niece is getting married at Mandalay Bay on Saturday. So that's the love part of my week. Their vows are also the promise part of my big week. I love watching people find each other and discover home. I love writing about that experience. And it is my privilege to participate in my niece and future nephew-in-law's wedding.

The joy will be in the gathering of family. My brother, SIL, another niece, my nephew and my future  nephew-in-law's parents will be in Las Vegas as well. I can't wait to see my family again. We are so spread out that it's rare for us to spend time in the same room. They're flying to Vegas from Canada. I'm coming in from Alabama. Talk about a spread of folks! We're staying in a 9-bedroom house. Can't wait to see it!

The bonus about all of this is I get to confirm my research for another book while I am in Vegas. I have several scenes set in this locale and now I can take pictures and absorb the atmosphere. Who knows? I might even take some quarters and play the slots!

When I get back into town, I'll share all my adventures with you. So stay tuned!!

Smiles!!

Real Men Don't Act Like Book Heroes

I was watching a television show a few weeks ago when my darling husband sat down in his Archie Bunker chair and whipped out his TOENAIL CLIPPERS. I sat, dumbfounded, as he proceeded to carefully clip his toenails and place them in a nice little pile on the table next to his red chair.

Note to future guests: I do clean on a regular basis so all toenail clippings have been removed.

My reaction was sheer and utter amazed grossed out disgust. I believe I screamed. I was horrified. To which my darling husband said, "You are overreacting and ridiculous. This is not a big deal." Now he might have meant to say, "I'm sorry for grossing you out. Thank you for pointing out to me that this habit is horrifying. I will never do it again." However, I was so freaked out I just googled disgusting habits of husbands on my laptop and sent him link after link of other wives who were equally freaked out by their husbands' sheer gross behavior in front of them.

Here are a few of the common nasty habits:

*leaving wet towels on the floor (could be a teenager's bad habit as well)
*burping
*using a fork as a back scratcher
*passing gas
*refusing to replace an empty toilet paper roll
*putting feet on furniture
*taking forever to get to the point of the conversation
*inability to read a map correctly & refusing to ask for directions
*blowing nose at the table
*flossing teeth in the living room

One consolation in discovering the myriad of complaints on the Internet was that I wasn't alone. But as a romance writer, I got to thinking about my heroes. My heroes NEVER do these things. In fact, I don't think my darling hubby did these things till after we got married. My heroes may act like Alpha men who always get their way, but I have never read about a hero in any romance book doing the things on the list I posted or in the Internet sites I found online. 

And these wives, for the most part, continue to remain married to their husbands despite their nasty habits. Another consolation, right? After all, this is real life. I'm not writing about real life. I'm writing fiction. And what woman with a husband who clips his toenails in the living room while she's trying to watch Toddlers and Tiaras wants to read a romance novel about a hero who is equally as disgusting? Can't think of one example. She wants the fantasy as much as I do. 

And that's why I write romance novels about sexy heroes with magically perfect feet that require no toenail clipping at all.