Geekiness Abounds

It's almost here.  Trekkies unite!  The newest Star Trek movie opens this Friday.  Rest assured, my beloved and I will be among the first in line on opening day.  Ben and I do enjoy a good Star Trek movie and the latest one looks pretty sweet.  

I wouldn't say Ben and I are voracious Star Trek fans.  We simply enjoy watching the shows and regularly crave a healthy dose of geekiness. Lately, we've been catching old Voyager episodes on YouTube.  Few things beat an evening snuggling on the couch, sharing a big bowl of popcorn, and devouring a couple episodes of Voyager.  

I Feel Loved

We had a great day today.  (At least, I think we had a great day.)  Ben and I tackled a project that has haunted me for months and it feels great to be finished!  

I thought the walls and baseboards along our stairway and upper hall looked patchy.  The nicks and marks really bugged me.  This weekend we borrowed our neighbour's ladder (thank you!) and fixed everything up.  Painting the tall walls was definitely a challenge!  Thankfully, we only needed to paint one coat because we kept the original colour.

I haven't read Gary Chapman's Love Languages book yet, but I'm fairly certain my primary language is gifts of service.  I feel most loved when someone helps me with a task.  I know how much Ben loves to paint (insert sarcasm here), so I'm very thankful for his help this afternoon.  I couldn't have done it without him!  The thought of climbing that tall ladder totally freaks me out.

Most people who visit our house probably wouldn't notice any change to our hallway but I can see a huge difference.  The walls are clean and bright now.  Thank you for your help today, Benjie!  I really appreciate it.

Start Your Family

I've long enjoyed reading Steve and Candice Watters' articles on Boundless.  This morning I was blessed to stumble across their family blog.  I hope you enjoy it as well :-). 

The Word

My husband has decided to rename our bed.  (Not that the bed ever had a name in the first place).  He's now calling it "the Word".

It's a logical name, I suppose.  When Ben is too tired to get up in the morning, he can just spend some extra time in the Word.

How noble.

But it leads me to wonder ... can I rename our bathtub as well?

Surely, I need a great deal more time soaking in the Word.

Joke of the Day

Q:  How do uber-geeks celebrate the Day of Love?

A:  They throw a va-LAN-tines party!

(Or if they are anything like my sweetheart they rent Star Trek IV, the most romantic movie in the universe.  Sheesh.)

A Note to My Sweetheart

Honey, there's something I need to tell you.  Something you may not agree with.  I'm a bit scared to tell you, but well, here it goes.  

I went somewhere today.  I went to my favourite shop.  You know the place, the one near your office.  They were having a sale!

I came home with three pails.  Three luscious pails.  Three pails of paint, that is.

Our weekend is set.  We're painting the house!  Well, not all the house. Just a few teeny rooms.  You'll love it, I promise.

Okay, I'll love it.  You'll tolerate the activity.  Did I mention I think you're the best paint roller-on-er around?

You must have known what you'd be in for when you married an art major...

Happy Anniversary :-)

Nine years ago today I married my high school sweetheart.  Happy Anniversary Benjie!

We have big plans for this evening ;-).  We will go to the Zoolights and then out for East Indian food.  The three oldest kids are sleeping over at my sister's and the littlest Inkling will tag along with Mommy and Daddy.

It will be a great day!

My Husband is Handy
(I Think I'll Keep Him)

Yesterday our furnace gave out. (Thank God the calendar says October and not February.) We have a programmable thermostat that turns off at night and warms the house again early in the morning. Tuesday morning our house never warmed up. We sat at a chilly 16C through most of the day.

Ask my husband to fix a computer and he will get the job done. Fixing things around the house is another story. Ben is no Bob Villa but he's slowly gaining handyman skills through trial and error. Last night my beloved pried the cover off our broken furnace, found a flashy error light, and did some serious Googling.

One helpful forum suggested giving the furnace circuit board a "sophisticated tap" with a screwdriver. My handy husband figured the advice couldn't hurt, so he tapped away (in a completely sophisticated manner). Sure enough, the furnace fired up and has been running beautifully ever since.

Who knew? Perhaps my beloved really is a handy guy after all.

Oops

Nearly every morning at 9:20am (give or take a few minutes) our phone rings.

"Hello," says the computer generated voice, "This is the Calgary Public Library holds and overdue notification system with a message for (pause) Lindsay Marie Iiiinkster. You have (pause) one item being held at this time..."

At least that's the message 99.99% of the time. A couple weeks ago I was surprised to pick up the phone and hear:

"This is the Calgary Public Library holds and overdue notification system with a message for (pause) Benjamin Mitchell Iiiinkster. You have (pause) one overdue item..."

My beloved is also a devoted bibliophile. He's not so much a library geek, though. He'll borrow library books now and then but rarely has more than one or two out at a time.

"Man," I thought to myself, "Can't that guy keep track of his own library book? It's not like he has dozens piled up on the shelves. Now I'll have to go hunting for the stupid book because I'm sure he's completely forgotten. Why can't he ever keep track of is own stuff? I'll bet he can't even remember what book it was!"

In a huff, I mentioned the phone call to Ben when he returned home that evening. Within a few minutes we both promptly forgot about it.

This morning I picked up our mail from the box on the corner. Inside, I found a letter from the Calgary Public Library. It was addressed to my dearly beloved.

"Oh great," I inwardly groaned, "He still hasn't returned the stupid book. When will that guy get his act together?" I tore open the notice and read through the page.

Wait a minute.

Ben's overdue book was the Taste of Home Baking Book???

That clearly wasn't my husband's book.

It was mine.

I suddenly remembered a night a couple months ago when I was too tired to go to the library. Ben kindly offered to pick up my book on his way home from work. He checked the book out on his own card.

And I had totally forgotten about it.

Rambling

We are now into Day 4 of Daddy's business trip. Ben will return home sometime tomorrow afternoon. I think things are going exceptionally well, really. The kids have been good and Ben's teenage sister has come to stay for the weekend. The extra set of hands were a great asset last night when I had to run out to the store!

Potty training is going fairly well. We had two puddles yesterday, sadly, but today our big girl has been completely dry. I even took the children to the zoo for a couple hours this morning. Our H. Bear wore pull-ups and refused to use the public washroom. She waited until we returned home and then used her potty. Our big girl received a big marshmallow for that feat!

Last night I realized that after almost nine years of marriage Ben and I have never been apart for so long. I really miss him. The bed has been cold and I've taken to wearing flannel pajamas and thick socks. I hope he's enjoying the weather in sunny California...

Our littlest family member is still working on tooth #2. I wish that thing would finally poke through! He's been up two or three times every night lately. (Oh how I pray my baby will sleep 12 hours again!) I also suspect our timbit is ready to start solid foods. He will be six months old next week and is a fairly big boy. I think he's getting hungry in the night.

Yesterday we slept in and I kept our three-year-old home from school. (Our kindergartener had a PD day.) I am feeling quite guilty about skipping preschool. Our son doesn't really understand he missed school, at least. I was simply too tired to load up all the kids first thing in the morning. Yes, I'm feeling horribly guilty.

All that to say, I'm looking forward to Ben's return tomorrow. I've been so grateful for our caring friends and family. I can't count how many people have offered to help. Thank you so much!

Leavin'

My beloved took his tweed jacket to California this morning. What was he thinking?!

Lookin' Good?

Ben's new tweed jacket is causing quite the stir. His jacket + jeans combination has received rave reviews from several men our parents' age. Considering my husband is not yet thirty, I haven't decided whether or not this admiration is a good thing...

Stylin'

Ben and I have never claimed to exhibit great fashion prowess. Our clothing is quite ordinary. Ben loves his stripy shirts. I like Value Village.

Fashionistas we are not.

Lately, we've begun a new love affair with LL Bean. The clothes are good quality and reasonably stylish. Ben likes wearing the LL Bean button-up shirts. I love how perfect his shirts look straight out of the dryer. I recently bought two LL Bean fleece sweaters, and I must admit, I enjoy any shopping experience that doesn't involve trucking four small children through the mall. (The duty and shipping nearly make me faint, but that's another story.)

Along the same lines, I recently did truck several small children though Eddie Bauer. The store had a terrific clearance sale. I wasn't courageous enough to brave the dressing rooms with the Inklings in tow, but I sure enjoyed browsing through the racks. Someday when we're rich and famous I could get used to shopping at Eddie Bauer ;-).

All that to say, I've been feeling a wee bit insecure next to my super-stylish friends. I could never pull off the skinny jeans and 80s tops. Lulu Lemon gives me hives. I prefer comfy cargos and a fleece pullover any day. Hemp jewelry is cool, right?

Ben and I may be nabbed by the fashion police sometime soon. Ben's new tweed jacket must surely count as a minor offense. That's okay, though ... at least we'll have comfortable clothes to wear in jail.

My husband tells me witch hazel is good for piles.

Too Cool

My geeky husband totally rocks. He set the Wonder Pets theme song as the ring tone for my cell phone!

Dance Matt, Dance

For whatever reason, this video makes my husband feel uncommonly happy. I've caught him watching it five times within the past day. Seriously.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

And That's Why I Married Him

My dear husband has worked the past two days straight (without any sleep in between). He went back to the office yesterday after supper and, with the exception of a quick shower this morning, did not return until supper time tonight.

(When Ben is very tired he gets a wee bit emotional.)

My husband called at about four this afternoon to share that he was sitting at his desk, sobbing his eyes out. He had just purchased Steven Curtis Chapman's latest CD and was listening to the music on his computer.

Apparently, Cinderella was a bit too much for him :-).

Ah, No

Today my impulsive husband is somewhat less irresistible, self-sacrificing, geeky and debonair (he made me say that). When I said my man possessed a balding pate, it was not an invitation for him to go completely bald. Certainly not. What was he thinking?

I nearly had a heart attack when I realized I had mistakenly married Lex Luther.

(As an aside --- Did you know they are thinking of renaming strokes brain attacks? Perhaps my dear husband was trying to give his frazzled wife a brain attack.)

Ben assures me his new look will grow on me.

I don't want the hair (or lack thereof) to grow on me. I want it to grow back on him.

DH

My dear husband is irresistible, self-sacrificing, geeky and debonair (he made me say that).

He also wears cool glasses.

And has a balding pate.

That is all.

A Quick Update

Things are moving along in Inksterland. Ben and I spent most of the day cleaning and tidying our current home. Tomorrow our real estate agent will take pictures and prepare the house listing. Our house officially goes on the market first thing Monday morning.

Ben and I are both tired. (Exhausted. Not quite firing on all cylinders at this point...) However, we don't have much left to do. My pregnancy nesting coupled with a neat-nick personality resulted in a fairly tidy home to begin with. We should be finished all the odd jobs by tomorrow night.

Baby is staying put in my womb for now. I have been having some strong contractions over the past few days. Will Baby make his appearance soon? I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if he arrived this weekend, but the contractions could simply be a result of all the excitement lately. If Baby waits two or three more weeks perhaps our house will sell before the birth. (Wouldn't that be great...)

Things are moving along at an alarming rate, but Ben and I feel surprisingly peaceful amidst it all. It's as though we are in the eye of a hurricane. We can certainly tell many people are praying for our family. Thank you for your prayers!