Jimmy and Carla had invited the entire restaurant staff out to their farm for a bonfire and sleep over. I of course had to work at the pharmacy so I was very late to the festivities. As I pulled up in my little mustang, "The Hot Young Waiter" pulled up in his big red GMC Jimmy. Oh I melted, he was so HOT... and so YOUNG, I reminded myself. As I got out the car we exchanged hellos and I asked him why he was so late and he gave a much similar answer as mine. He had been working late at the hospital (The Half Step was a second job for both of us).
We both proceeded to the party where we set up our tents, played some ping pong, had some Jimmy Newton ribs, followed by a few too many beers and settled in by the fire for the night. So, this story could go on forever. I could tell you every detail down to the pink shorts I wore and the backwards hat and muscle shirt he wore or the loft house cookies, I brought, which just happened to be his favorite. However, my point here is that this was the night that I fell head over heals in love with the "Hot, Young Waiter." As we swung in that AMAZING hammock, we shared our first kiss. He did not kiss me on the lips but so softly on the forehead. I almost melted right there in his arms. This guy really had game!! ;)
After that night we were inseparable. The corner ice cream store, Steak N Shake until 2am, Marquette park, the lake house... Wherever we went we just could not stop talking. That, I think, is what makes or relationship so strong. From the very beginning we did nothing but talk. We talked about everything under the sun. We knew each other better, in the first week, than some couples know each other their entire lives.
One year later... June 28, 2006, Ben took me down to the lake house for a week long vacation. Brad and Ashley had gotten married on Saturday and we left Sunday afternoon after they had opened all of their gifts up at Bob and Bev's house.
The entire way to the lake Ben could not stop listening to Jack Johnson. It was making me laugh the way he just kept listening to that same CD over, and over, and over again. He was so quiet the whole way. Which was pretty strange for the quiz-master.
I was hard at work studing for my pharmacy technician certification when suddenly Ben shouted over the music, "Crap, Crap, Crap, Crap!!" I answered with a startled, "What?" "Nothing..." He responded. Humm.... I thought, what a weirdo, and went back to my business. At the Kingdom city stop, Ben stole my pharm notes and would not give them back. He had gotten on the phone with someone and wrote something down, a really LONG something, and decided that I could not see it. Hmmm... Weirdo!!
So, after spending the first two days at the lake maxin and relaxin we decided spontaneously, or so I thought, to go to a fancy dinner at JB Hook's to celebrate our first year together.
We made our way accross the lake and had a delicious meal at JB's and then went into Laurie to sit by the lake. On the way home Ben decided that we needed Pizza Hut pizza. Hummm... We had just eaten a HUGE meal but, whatever, if he was hungry again I was not going to argue with him.
We got home and I decided to take a shower and change clothes. When I came downstairs Ben was down on the dock. I walked down the long stairway and out onto the dock where Ben had lain out a late night picnic of Pizza Hut on china, by candle light; my favorite!! By this time it was almost midnight.
We sat on the dock and ate pizza and drank champagne that he had found in the dock fridge. How lucky! It was around 1 O'clock am when he finally could not wait any longer. He had wanted to wait until 2 O'clock am, which is when we had shared our first kiss a year ago, (I told you he had game) but just could not wait any longer. He later told me that he was afraid he would get too dunk and drop the ring.
That's right the ring! So, as I sat there completely oblivious to what was going on, Ben pulled out my pharm math notes and began to sing a song he has written me, to the tune of Jack Johnson - Do You Remember? His song was called, 29 Reasons I Love You. I still could not figure out what was going on. As Ben came to the 29th reason he pulled something out of his pocket and got down on one knee. So, there is only one thing left to do, Only one question I have for you... My mouth fell open and he asked me. Lori, will you marry me? Are you serious??? I answered. That is the same thing your mom said, he laughed. Yes! Yes! Yes!!!! was the answer I finally gave.
Two and a half LONG years later we were finally married. My favorite and me!!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Tomorrow is The Big Day
Tomorrow we will get the keys to our brand new condo. No one has ever lived there; we will be the first! I am so excited that very little sleep will most likely occur tonight. The boxes have begun to be packed and moving will begin bright and shiny. I, of course, have to work tomorrow so Ben will be flying solo for the first few hours. Though, Tommy will be coming around 11 to help out. I just can not wait to come home to our new home tomorrow evening and sort out all of our belongings putting them into their new place. I am also very excited to have everything new. A new refrigerator, new stove, microwave, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer. Oh I am as happy as a kid in a candy store!!
The outside view from the front. It will be so nice to park right in front of our door.
The view from the back yard. Our patio is going to be so pretty. I am excited to decorate it with some flowers.
The side view. I just love the row of trees. Can't wait for them to mature.
Such a cool little stair way. I think I may have to use it to pose some photos.
I had to take pictures through the window like some sort of stalker because we did not have the keys yet. :)
This photo turned out so awesome. The bushes and woods look as though they were painted on the wall. I LOVE it! Look at those counters and that center island!! I am sooooo EXCITED!!!
More photos to come tomorrow. T-minus 10 hours until moving day!!!! Sleep well, all.
Love, Love,
Lo Mc
The outside view from the front. It will be so nice to park right in front of our door.
The view from the back yard. Our patio is going to be so pretty. I am excited to decorate it with some flowers.
The side view. I just love the row of trees. Can't wait for them to mature.
Such a cool little stair way. I think I may have to use it to pose some photos.
I had to take pictures through the window like some sort of stalker because we did not have the keys yet. :)
This photo turned out so awesome. The bushes and woods look as though they were painted on the wall. I LOVE it! Look at those counters and that center island!! I am sooooo EXCITED!!!
More photos to come tomorrow. T-minus 10 hours until moving day!!!! Sleep well, all.
Love, Love,
Lo Mc
Saturday, June 26, 2010
My Teacher, My Hero, My Daddy
So, I know I am way late on this post but I figured better late than never...
Because there are really no words to express the perfection that is my Daddy, here is a photo tribute to my SUPERMAN. Happy Fathers Day, again, Daddy!
Me and The Daddy in Washington D.C. for my 8th grade trip
A Daddy who helps decorate your wedding cake in lieu of a Thanksgiving dinner
A Daddy who gets all choked up when he walks his daughter down the isle. And let me tell you... When Markie Logan gets all choked up, everybody gets all chocked up. That's Aunt Cathy to the theft of me. She is looking at my mom. They both proceeded to burst into tears. I was too chill to cry; I was about to marry the man of my dreams, FINALLY!!!!
Father of the bride dance: Unforgettable - Nat King & Natalie Cole (1991)
Okay, so I just had to put this one in here because, those are three GOOD LOOKIN dudes!! FYI: He just told Ben that there are only two words he needs to remember to make his marriage last. "Yes, Dear" :)
A Daddy who always manages to have a goofy look on his face in family photos. He is not in mid sentence; That is just a Mark Logan family photo smile. Wouldn't have it any other way. :)
A Daddy who makes homemade cheesecakes for birthdays!
A Daddy who cuddles with Grand-puppies!
A Daddy who builds a house because he's bored...
A Daddy whose family loves him VERY much. A Daddy who's daughter prays that her husband will turn out be the same kind of Daddy he has been. A little secret: She is pretty sure he will be...
Good Night and sleep tight!
Love, Love,
Lo Mc
Because there are really no words to express the perfection that is my Daddy, here is a photo tribute to my SUPERMAN. Happy Fathers Day, again, Daddy!
Me and The Daddy in Washington D.C. for my 8th grade trip
A Daddy who helps decorate your wedding cake in lieu of a Thanksgiving dinner
A Daddy who gets all choked up when he walks his daughter down the isle. And let me tell you... When Markie Logan gets all choked up, everybody gets all chocked up. That's Aunt Cathy to the theft of me. She is looking at my mom. They both proceeded to burst into tears. I was too chill to cry; I was about to marry the man of my dreams, FINALLY!!!!
Father of the bride dance: Unforgettable - Nat King & Natalie Cole (1991)
Okay, so I just had to put this one in here because, those are three GOOD LOOKIN dudes!! FYI: He just told Ben that there are only two words he needs to remember to make his marriage last. "Yes, Dear" :)
A Daddy who always manages to have a goofy look on his face in family photos. He is not in mid sentence; That is just a Mark Logan family photo smile. Wouldn't have it any other way. :)
A Daddy who makes homemade cheesecakes for birthdays!
A Daddy who cuddles with Grand-puppies!
A Daddy who builds a house because he's bored...
A Daddy whose family loves him VERY much. A Daddy who's daughter prays that her husband will turn out be the same kind of Daddy he has been. A little secret: She is pretty sure he will be...
Good Night and sleep tight!
Love, Love,
Lo Mc
Friday, June 25, 2010
Old School Photo of the Week
The year was 1997 and we were total ROCK STARS!!! The glitter triplets, The 3L's.
These girls were the two best friends a girl could ever have. One who, once, even held me up because I could not sit on my own to pee. (And we were not even drunk) My middle school besties!! I love you girls. So many memories...
Lori Beth, Laura, and Lauren Beth, Respectively
Love, Love,
Lo Mc (A.K.A Flower Child)
3L's Forever
These girls were the two best friends a girl could ever have. One who, once, even held me up because I could not sit on my own to pee. (And we were not even drunk) My middle school besties!! I love you girls. So many memories...
Lori Beth, Laura, and Lauren Beth, Respectively
Love, Love,
Lo Mc (A.K.A Flower Child)
3L's Forever
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Happiness In Bullets
- Moving to a fabulous, brand spankin new condo
- Being closer to family & friends
- 2am surprises
- Cuddly puppies
- Not having to wait 30 days to move
- New cars with pretty chrome wheels
- Ridiculously low interest rates
- Raises even though the economy sucks
- French pedicures from Libby
- Awesome weddings where everyone dances even before they are drunkity, drunk
- My new La Roux album
- Being able to listen to my i-pod in my car
- The look of relief that the neighbor girl had on her face when we found her four year old
- New posts, on my favorite blogs, that make me laugh, cry, and fall out of my chair
- Watching Twilight and New Moon all in the same night
- Packing my very first box that will go to the new condo
- My husbands smiles when I cooked him five home cooked meals... IN A ROW
- Five year anniversaries approaching
- Surprise visits from K.O.
- Anticipating a night out for cocktails with my bestie
- Jean Friday at work
- Work firewall finally unblocking Stacey's e-mail address
- sleep... ZZZ...ZZZ...Zzz...
Lo Mac
Monday, June 21, 2010
Peaks, Valleys, and the Silver Lining
Mama said there'll be days like this, There'll be days like this Mama said (Mama said, mama said)... Shirelles - Mama Said (1961)
For whatever reason, while writing this post, I can not get that song out of my head.
Well, my Momma always said, "Sweetie, there are peaks and there are valleys and sometimes you are at a peak and sometimes you are in a valley, and still other times you are climbing up to that peak." Momma was right!
At this very second, I would say that I am climbing my way to the top. I am not quite to that peak yet, but I sure am getting close. I have been thinking, and planning this post since last night laying in bed. At first it was entitled only, "Peaks and Valley." However, after the day my husband and I had today, the "Silver Lining" seemed exceptionally appropriate!
The Silver Lining is something my hubs taught me, a few years back when I was over worked, under payed and SO dang tired!!! I was working forty hours a week as a pharmacy technician, while going to school thirty-five hours a week and owner of my tiny little apartment was too cheap to get a real contractor so the "handy men" he hired to do his "major construction work" loved to work odd hours, such as 5-9 pm. This just happened to be the exact time I slept before my midnight shift at the pharmacy started. Needles to say, I was not the most fun person to be around. Ben actually affectionately called me his "Grumpy dwarf" He even bought me a T-Shirt to sleep in that said, "HUG me, I'm grumpy" and had the Disney character with arms outstretched.
While riding in the car one Saturday at about noon, which was exceptionally early on my only day to get some real sleep, Ben looked at me (with my huge bags under my eyes, and my hair that was wild and curly since I had lost the will to use a brush, blow dryer, and straighter) and said so lovingly, "look at the Silver Lining, Sweety, whatever does not kill you will make you stronger!" He went on to make me give a Silver Lining answer for every crazy situation that could possibly happen. The Silver Lining! Humm... I was not so into Silver Lining comments at that point in my journey up Mount Everest. The point here is that I made it. I finished and became a Medical Secretary. That journey was complete and Ben's, yes annoying, but encouraging little antidotes always seemed to make things a little easier.
Back to today; Today was not a "bad" day per-say... It was just a "challenging" day. Yes, we will call it a challenge of my high on happiness.
The first challenge of my day came early in the morning. I was just not feeling the morning this a.m. It is so much more fun to cuddle in bed with my sleepy husband and puppies than to get out of bed, into the shower, and head off to work. Though, I drug myself up, and out the door and into Monday morning traffic. Oh was it traffic! The P.S.B. was in a deadlock as I approached about 10 minutes later than I should have been there, anyway.
Needless to say, I was late to work. As I ran into my office and threw my frozen lunch into the office freezer I looked down at my feet.... flip flops.... (A big office NO, NO) luckily I had an extra pair of heals in my desk drawer for just this occasion. Unluckily, I did not have any cute little half socks to wear under them. I have a blister on my heal as proof!
The rest of my day was not bad but definitely challenging as we are about ten people short and it is the busiest time of year for me. As my day drew to a close I was excited to leave the office and head on over to the sister-in-laws kitchen for a waiting, hot meal. T-minus four minutes to the end of my day, the phone rang and it was Ben. HooRay! A happy voice was not awaiting me on the other end. He had gotten in a car accident. :( He was fine, the car was ummm... less than fine, and every one else involved was fine. The silver lining, right??
As I climbed into my car and started the drive out of the parking garage, I phoned Ashley to say we would not make it to that wonderful home cooked dinner she had prepared. I was on my way home to console my unhappy husband.
As I drove done highway 70, a strange thing happened. I was driving along, minding my own business...
when suddenly I saw this....
which quickly became this...
Okay, so if you look closely there is no driver. This was actually a MACK truck being towed by another MACK truck; sure gave me a good scare though.
I just kept thinking to myself, "Silver Lining, Silver, Lining, Lori... It will be over quickly. :) See, now I can see the silver lining in EVERYTHING.
Any way the evening really only became more comical. Ben got hit in the ankle, side, and head with two separate 2x4's and a sheet of roofing, and McDonald's forgot my small french fries and put onion on my burger.
The silver lining to my day... It is time to go to bed and tomorrow can only get better! Also, I am blessed with two adorable puppies and a cuddly husband to take to bed with me. The biggest silver lining of all... That same cuddly husband is right by my side through every peak and valley to remind me of all of that silver lining I have to be thankful for.
My Favorite golfer!
Okay, so this photo is CrAzY old, but they are just so whittle and cute!! Don't you just want to squeeze em??
It is off to dream land for me...
Love, Love,
Lo Mc
For whatever reason, while writing this post, I can not get that song out of my head.
Well, my Momma always said, "Sweetie, there are peaks and there are valleys and sometimes you are at a peak and sometimes you are in a valley, and still other times you are climbing up to that peak." Momma was right!
At this very second, I would say that I am climbing my way to the top. I am not quite to that peak yet, but I sure am getting close. I have been thinking, and planning this post since last night laying in bed. At first it was entitled only, "Peaks and Valley." However, after the day my husband and I had today, the "Silver Lining" seemed exceptionally appropriate!
The Silver Lining is something my hubs taught me, a few years back when I was over worked, under payed and SO dang tired!!! I was working forty hours a week as a pharmacy technician, while going to school thirty-five hours a week and owner of my tiny little apartment was too cheap to get a real contractor so the "handy men" he hired to do his "major construction work" loved to work odd hours, such as 5-9 pm. This just happened to be the exact time I slept before my midnight shift at the pharmacy started. Needles to say, I was not the most fun person to be around. Ben actually affectionately called me his "Grumpy dwarf" He even bought me a T-Shirt to sleep in that said, "HUG me, I'm grumpy" and had the Disney character with arms outstretched.
While riding in the car one Saturday at about noon, which was exceptionally early on my only day to get some real sleep, Ben looked at me (with my huge bags under my eyes, and my hair that was wild and curly since I had lost the will to use a brush, blow dryer, and straighter) and said so lovingly, "look at the Silver Lining, Sweety, whatever does not kill you will make you stronger!" He went on to make me give a Silver Lining answer for every crazy situation that could possibly happen. The Silver Lining! Humm... I was not so into Silver Lining comments at that point in my journey up Mount Everest. The point here is that I made it. I finished and became a Medical Secretary. That journey was complete and Ben's, yes annoying, but encouraging little antidotes always seemed to make things a little easier.
Back to today; Today was not a "bad" day per-say... It was just a "challenging" day. Yes, we will call it a challenge of my high on happiness.
The first challenge of my day came early in the morning. I was just not feeling the morning this a.m. It is so much more fun to cuddle in bed with my sleepy husband and puppies than to get out of bed, into the shower, and head off to work. Though, I drug myself up, and out the door and into Monday morning traffic. Oh was it traffic! The P.S.B. was in a deadlock as I approached about 10 minutes later than I should have been there, anyway.
Needless to say, I was late to work. As I ran into my office and threw my frozen lunch into the office freezer I looked down at my feet.... flip flops.... (A big office NO, NO) luckily I had an extra pair of heals in my desk drawer for just this occasion. Unluckily, I did not have any cute little half socks to wear under them. I have a blister on my heal as proof!
The rest of my day was not bad but definitely challenging as we are about ten people short and it is the busiest time of year for me. As my day drew to a close I was excited to leave the office and head on over to the sister-in-laws kitchen for a waiting, hot meal. T-minus four minutes to the end of my day, the phone rang and it was Ben. HooRay! A happy voice was not awaiting me on the other end. He had gotten in a car accident. :( He was fine, the car was ummm... less than fine, and every one else involved was fine. The silver lining, right??
As I climbed into my car and started the drive out of the parking garage, I phoned Ashley to say we would not make it to that wonderful home cooked dinner she had prepared. I was on my way home to console my unhappy husband.
As I drove done highway 70, a strange thing happened. I was driving along, minding my own business...
when suddenly I saw this....
which quickly became this...
Okay, so if you look closely there is no driver. This was actually a MACK truck being towed by another MACK truck; sure gave me a good scare though.
I just kept thinking to myself, "Silver Lining, Silver, Lining, Lori... It will be over quickly. :) See, now I can see the silver lining in EVERYTHING.
Any way the evening really only became more comical. Ben got hit in the ankle, side, and head with two separate 2x4's and a sheet of roofing, and McDonald's forgot my small french fries and put onion on my burger.
The silver lining to my day... It is time to go to bed and tomorrow can only get better! Also, I am blessed with two adorable puppies and a cuddly husband to take to bed with me. The biggest silver lining of all... That same cuddly husband is right by my side through every peak and valley to remind me of all of that silver lining I have to be thankful for.
My Favorite golfer!
Okay, so this photo is CrAzY old, but they are just so whittle and cute!! Don't you just want to squeeze em??
It is off to dream land for me...
Love, Love,
Lo Mc
Welcome to my new blog
SO, I have decided to go in a little different direction with my blog. Stay tuned because there are big, great things to come! In the mean time, If you would like to read some of my past posts, hop on over to my previous blog and take a peak at my wordpress blog . Also, please visit my photo blog, Lo Mac Photography . Big things are coming there as well!
Love, Love,
Lo Mc
P.S. Ignore the you may also like these posts links; they are goofy right now because I do not have any previous posts. Sorry for the glichyness!
Love, Love,
Lo Mc
P.S. Ignore the you may also like these posts links; they are goofy right now because I do not have any previous posts. Sorry for the glichyness!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Pursuit of Happiness
While laying on my favorite raft, in the middle of the lake, at my very own retreat from the real world I came to a realization. Life is good... I want it to be great!
KO, Brad, Ben and I packed up our cars and hit the road for a much needed breather on Memorial Day weekend. We made a stop at Hooters for some wings and the largest Corona I have ever seen and then we were off to the lake. (The Lake of The Ozarks, that is)
The lake house has become Ben and my home away from home the past few summers. When life gets to be a little too much, when we feel as though we just can not breath, or when we are just plain board we pack the car and get the heck out of Dodge. There is something about laying on the dock or a raft in the sun that just makes everything okay. No matter what crazy stage we are in, the lake house just makes life make sense again.
This trip was especially needed for KO and myself. It turned out to be a nice relaxing weekend that left us sad to leave our oasis in the sun. For me it could have been a little better since I was pretty sick for most of the weekend but, why let being sick bring you down, right?!
Back to my point here...While relaxing on my raft in the sun Saturday morning, I had a utopia moment... I was floating there in the middle of the lake, listening to Kari's perfect compilation of tunes when it hit me. This feeling, right at this moment, this is happiness! Laying here, in the sun, with two people that completely get me and always love me no matter what; that is true happiness.
Some say that we always want more. No matter what we have, we always want more. Though I do not completely believe this, I do believe that at this point in my life I want more. I am not satisfied with happy... I want ridiculously happy. I want to love my job, I want to love my life; no matter what curve ball life throws at me, I want to be able to pick it up and run with it. I want this kind of happy, and someday soon I and my husband will be there. We will have this kind of happy, and that is what keeps me moving through life. That is what gives me strength to get through the long days.
I have a husband who loves and supports me in everything I do and everything I want to do. I have a best friend that knows absolutely EVERYTHING about me and loves me, not in-spite of it, but because of it. She loves the good, the bad, and the ugly. She has seen me at my best and at my worst and she still says, "count me in on that life!!"
All of this came to me from one song. Of all songs, it was a rap song. I may not agree completely with everything the artist says in this song but at that moment, his song just fit...
I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold. I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good... - Kid Cudi -
CoCo, chillin at the lake last summer
Brothers - the best kind of friends
Now this is happiness
Always a little dance in this one
Sunsets are always better at the lake
Husband, puppies, lake, perfection!
Lake Summer 2010
I think we have this same photo at every age since fifteen
There are no words for this photo... :)
Come on! It's the lake, who needs grammar??
That's all for now...
KO, Brad, Ben and I packed up our cars and hit the road for a much needed breather on Memorial Day weekend. We made a stop at Hooters for some wings and the largest Corona I have ever seen and then we were off to the lake. (The Lake of The Ozarks, that is)
The lake house has become Ben and my home away from home the past few summers. When life gets to be a little too much, when we feel as though we just can not breath, or when we are just plain board we pack the car and get the heck out of Dodge. There is something about laying on the dock or a raft in the sun that just makes everything okay. No matter what crazy stage we are in, the lake house just makes life make sense again.
This trip was especially needed for KO and myself. It turned out to be a nice relaxing weekend that left us sad to leave our oasis in the sun. For me it could have been a little better since I was pretty sick for most of the weekend but, why let being sick bring you down, right?!
Back to my point here...While relaxing on my raft in the sun Saturday morning, I had a utopia moment... I was floating there in the middle of the lake, listening to Kari's perfect compilation of tunes when it hit me. This feeling, right at this moment, this is happiness! Laying here, in the sun, with two people that completely get me and always love me no matter what; that is true happiness.
Some say that we always want more. No matter what we have, we always want more. Though I do not completely believe this, I do believe that at this point in my life I want more. I am not satisfied with happy... I want ridiculously happy. I want to love my job, I want to love my life; no matter what curve ball life throws at me, I want to be able to pick it up and run with it. I want this kind of happy, and someday soon I and my husband will be there. We will have this kind of happy, and that is what keeps me moving through life. That is what gives me strength to get through the long days.
I have a husband who loves and supports me in everything I do and everything I want to do. I have a best friend that knows absolutely EVERYTHING about me and loves me, not in-spite of it, but because of it. She loves the good, the bad, and the ugly. She has seen me at my best and at my worst and she still says, "count me in on that life!!"
All of this came to me from one song. Of all songs, it was a rap song. I may not agree completely with everything the artist says in this song but at that moment, his song just fit...
I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold. I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good... - Kid Cudi -
CoCo, chillin at the lake last summer
Brothers - the best kind of friends
Now this is happiness
Always a little dance in this one
Sunsets are always better at the lake
Husband, puppies, lake, perfection!
Lake Summer 2010
I think we have this same photo at every age since fifteen
There are no words for this photo... :)
Come on! It's the lake, who needs grammar??
That's all for now...
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