Happy Sappy!

One year ago today, we were rehearsing it up:

One year later we're sitting groggily in our little house following a rather tumultuous night of an awake baby and an upset tummy.  But, we did survive the hour long trip to Kearney, dinner at Red Lobster and a 2.5 hour theatre experience with the munchkin and she hardly made a peep.  Perhaps she was so satisfied by the fact that she gained 13 oz. in one week that she decided to take the evening off and sleep.  

In honor of the anniversary celebration, I did something that I haven't done in years: I filled out a meme.  That hearkens back to the ol' LiveJournal days, eh?  I know it's silly, but I had fun and it is my blog after all.  

Here we go...

What are your middle names?  My middle name is Elizabeth, after my dad's mom (I think that Mom was trying to squeeze as many syllables as possible into her firstborn's name), and his middle name is Paul, after his dad.  I have an infatuation with the name Paul (it probably began when I read Dombey and Son during the Summer of Dickens), so I'm glad that his parents had the forethought to make that his middle.

How long have you been together?  The funny thing is that we weren't really together when we were "together," since I was in South Dakota and he was in Missouri for the majority of the time.  But we technically became a couple in January 2009 and got married in July 2009.

 How long did you know each other before you started dating?  Sheesh, we met at the CBI alumni banquet in May 2008, wrote letters to each other all summer, started texting/calling in September (cookies are very romantic things, I discovered), and became Facebook-official in January.  So we actually knew each other for 7 months before things got serious.  And that was plenty long enough.

 Who asked whom out?  Since the relationship was developed long distance, we didn't have that stereotypical "asking out."  But Steve started the whole Facebook spiel, and I eventually sent the box of chocolate chip cookies down to Calvary Bible College, and he subsequently called me and made several trips to visit...so I guess you can say that we worked together on this project.

How old are each of you? I'm 23 and Steve is 24.  He's 8 months older than I am, so we get to be the same age for part of the year.  While we aren't exactly teenagers anymore, people are constantly saying things like, "You don't look old enough to be married."  So, yeah, we look like we're fifteen, but that will pay off when we're youthful-looking seventy-year-olds, right?

Do you have any children together? One dear sweet little week-old girl named Harriet Alice.  She is the cutest thing that ever happened.  We love her muchly, yes we do!

What about pets? We have Florianus Prinzel, the Sausage Dog.  We both swore before marriage that we wouldn't have any pets besides nice, unemotional creatures like fish, but then we read a book about sausage dogs on our honeymoon.  And then when we were made aware of a sausage dog for give-away, I lost my mind entirely and Steve complied.  Florianus drives us bananas (irrational creature that he is) and somehow has a bladder that is smaller than a poppyseed, but we like him well enough and he keeps us entertained.  I might cry when he dies.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Hmm.  Well, we've been through an amazing amount of accumulative life garbage over the past six months.  It hasn't been one big thing, but lots of little things and those add up, you know.  However, as far as a challenge to our relationship as a couple I would say that Steve's 12-hour night shift job has been the most stressful on a regular basis.  Being in an entirely different waking/sleeping routine is rough on a marriage.

 Did you go to the same school? We were both home schooled, if that counts.  Sometimes it feels like we went to the same school because home schoolers generally have similar experiences, and Steve was home schooled in a way that was a lot closer  to the methods my own parents employed.  In other words, neither of us would fit into the school-at-home category, which Steve took advantage of and I regretted.  (Not really.  I just desperately wanted order and routine and textbooks.)

Are you from the same hometown? Nope.  Steve is from Modesto, CA and I'm from landlocked Broken Bow, Nebraska.  But for beach-loving me, I think that this alliance affords geographical advantage.  We may be living in the Midwest, but we'll always have to go visit his family in California.

 Who is the smartest?  Steve.  And that's not just because he wears glasses.  (Although when it comes to the practical aspects of life - like remembering where he put his glasses - I definitely win the prize.)

Who is more sensitive? I guess that I'm less cynical, but Steve is better at noticing when things aren't right.  Maybe he is just bolder about verbally recognizing the issues, too.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Ireland.  Well, we weren't a couple then...we didn't even know that the other existed...but we were in Ireland in the same general place during the same exact time in Summer 2006.  But that doesn't totally count.  The farthest we've traveled as a couple was to Disneyland for our honeymoon.  Fun times.

Who has the worst temper? We both avoid confrontation like the plague (which is a good and bad thing), so tempers rarely flare.  I'm usually the first to get really testy and irritable and start bawling.  Steve tends to be majorly chill unless something illogical floats his way - usually the dog or some kind of instruction manual.  In either case, we're pretty quick to kiss and make up.

Who does the cooking? I do it on a regular basis during our normal routine, but since Harriet's arrival Steve has been the primary chef.  After all, if I don't eat she doesn't eat, so he has decided that he is indirectly helping out with feeding her if he feeds me.  Hey, that works out fine and dandy.  We really enjoy making a "date" out of cooking, though, and pulling together some crazy-fun dish from Mrs. Joy or Fannie Farmer.

Who is more social?  Oh dear.  In our natural, comfortable state I would say that our social level is about the same: we want to be around familiar people and talk about meaningful things.  But when it comes to meeting people and providing the required small-talk in order to build a relationship, I seem to pull through more often than Steve.

Who is the neat-freak? Me.  Hmm, I guess I am the most concerned about the overall neatness of our house and our general appearance, but Steve has his pet peeves.  Like when the trash is overflowing (sorry, dear!) and when the plastic in the cereal box isn't rolled down tightly.  Ahem.

Who is more stubborn? It depends on the situation, I suppose, but generally Steve is more stubborn, especially about situations that are somewhat removed from our own relationship.  However, sometimes I feel like I get my own way an awful lot.

Who hogs the bed? Most definitely me, what with being hugely pregnant and now having a nursing baby and all that requires.  But Steve is kind and sleeps on his six inches of bed without grumbling.

Who wakes up earlier? Me, again.  It's just so. hard. to linger in bed when the day is beckoning.  Sometimes he gets me to stick around past 9am, but that's rare.

 Where was your first date? Depends on what you consider to be a date.  Does the guy buy the meal?  If so, then it was after we were engaged.  (Pretty cool when the girl has to provide all of the funds for food and travel, eh?)  If not, I would consider our first real date to be when we decided to go talk at Denny's until 3:3oam.  Loveliness...even if the Potachos gave us gastrointestinal fits the next day.

How do you spend the holidays? Hanging out with my fambly, because we live about five miles away.  Otherwise we would be hanging out with his fambly.

Who is more jealous? This is an odd question.  I think we are equally possessive of the other.

How long did it take to get serious?  See above.

Who eats more? Prior to Harriet Alice, I would have definitely said that Steve ate more than I do.  But pregnancy and breastfeeding take it out of a girl (even one with a rather small appetite), and now I eat just as much as he does, if not more.  I seem to always be saying, "I'm hungry, I'm hungry."  Steve says that now I know what a teenage boy feels like.  Oh goody.  Now my life is complete.

Who does/did the laundry? We both do the laundry.  We both put stuff in the various machines and we both neglect to actually fold it and put in away.  It's a struggle.

Who’s better with the computer? Steve.  No question about that.

Who drives when you are together? Steve.  I drive sometimes, particularly on long-ish trips, but normally I let him drive.  He likes it and I get to read books out loud, so it's a happy medium.

Who is the romantic one? We are romantic in different ways, but Steve is the first to say "I love you," and to melt me with some sweet comment.  Or with flowers.  Or with a clean kitchen.  Or a chapter from Winnie-the-Pooh.  Or a kiss.  Hooray!

(Okay, gotta hand off the Harriet and go find a shower.)