Time to Know Me Thursday

It's another Thursday, so you know what that means... you find out more useless information about me! :)

This is completely useless, but a great way to show my age and some o-so-sexy pictures of me, so I'll indulge you...

How many of you know when you have met 'THE ONE'?  I mean really, is there a moment when you think... "This guy/girl is it, I want to spend the rest of my life with him/her."  How many people THINK that, and it doesn't work out?  I didn't know I actually had that moment until later, but Mike, my husband, had that moment on that yellow and black bus... every time I see one of these it reminds me of that exact moment...

It looks like a simple gum wrapper... and to most people it is.  But to us, it's a significant piece of our history.  We were about this age...



See, told you there were some AWESOME pictures of me in this post!  I was 13 years old and he was 14, 'going out' was a new novel item in junior high (which is so not the case now).  We were at the local pizza joint, my friend (as a joke to me) ask Mike if he would go out with me...

"Kim who?"  while playing Pac Man 

"Her over there."

He doesn't look up...

"Sure, whatever."

Ah, young love.  A couple days later he ACTUALLY meets me, we're sitting in class and he's kicking the back of my chair. I'm too embarrassed to say anything... so I don't...

So to remain 'cool' we continued to 'go out'... then were forced to spent time together on the track bus.  (Both the boys and girls junior high track teams rode the bus together to co-ed track meets).  Coming home from one of our last track meets we were sitting in the last seat on the bus and Mike whips out a gum wrapper ring  I was eventually getting to that.  And asks me to marry him someday.  He said he knew I was the one.  I wore the ring for a few days, until it fell apart then put it in my 'memory box'.

We did break up our sophomore and junior year... but got back together senior year...

a not so embarrassing picture of me...  Went to college 150 miles apart for a year, then decided to get married in 1997...

And we've been together ever since...

If anyone told me that day at the pizza parlor I would marry Mike someday I would have laughed... I mean seriously... I was 13!  But ever since that night on the bus, I don't know... I guess it is true I did know "This guy/girl is it, I want to spend the rest of my life with him/her.".

Thanks for stoppin' by,

Time to Know Me Thursday

WOW!  I almost forgot today was Thursday!  I have to work tomorrow (I typically don't work Fridays... did I just hear you moan?!?) so that threw my whole schedule off!

So, I'm not sure why I started this Time to Know Me Thursdays... I'm not a very exciting person....

But here it goes...

I'm going to talk about my DH Mike.  This week was a very special week for us, and in particular him.  He finally got a teaching job.  He quit college years ago to move in with me 150 miles away from where he was going to college to support me through my schooling.  (Not that he was taking college seriously anyway!)  He always planned on going back, but with kids, a mortgage... you know how things go.

So years later he is working in a factory... a factory that sucked.  He was going through a major funk and I told him to finish school.  I had a job, the kids were in school... why not?

So he enrolled in 2007 to finish his teaching degree.  Working full-time, coaching the kids sports, and taking full load night classes was our life for 3 years.  Let me tell you it wasn't fun!  (I have a WHOLE new respect for single mothers.)

He graduated in May 2010.  Male elementary education teacher... you'd think everyone would want a piece of that! :)  Application after application, interview after interview... nothing.  Never mind the fact that our economy has taken a HUGE dump and education is NOT one of the top priorities, that there were 325,445 teachers fighting for 2,219 jobs at any given point this past year.

So, if you can't get a job, try to get over qualified! ;)  He went back this fall to get his special education endorsement.  After 4 interviews, 3 of them he was chosen 2nd because he didn't have experience (really a 34 year father of 2 who has done long term subbing has NO EXPERIENCE to teach?!?)  The 4th interview finally panned out.

He received the call Tuesday that he received a position in one of the few schools in Iowa who work with the severe and profound disabled.  This school is a fantastic school working with fetal alcohol children, severely autistic and Down's syndrome children.  Everyone says good things come to those who wait... I unfortunately am extremely impatient, but he's not.  So I am so proud to say that these last 4 years have been worth it.  He does have more schooling to do to be certified to teach these children but I think all of us will all be rewarded in the end.  (My checkbook especially!!! lol)

So congrats to my DH!  (pix of us at his college graduation reception at school)

So, thanks for stoppin' by and getting to know me this Thursday!

Time to Know Me Thursday

Hi, I'm Kim.  I don't know if we've formally met yet.

When I follow a blog I like to know the person behind the colorful background, extensive layout, the real 'bones' of the blog.  Many people let us get to know them, but some don't.  I'd like you to know me so each Thursday I'll spend some time with you so you can get to know me a little more than you do.
This is me.

20+ years ago that is!

I grew up on a family owned farm in Iowa.  7 miles from town.  Where my friends were.  And long distance phone lines connected us.  Which wasn't a big deal up until I was 10.  Then it sucked.  A lot. 

So these ladies became my friends.

They had their ups and downs.  The were great listeners (except when they got sidetracked licking their nostrils...gross) but they weren't real great at giving advice.  You could yell at them and take out your frustrations and they wouldn't talk back or argue with you.  I remember coming home from college on weekends and STILL heading out to the pasture to talk to them, they still didn't offer advice, but they still listened.  Some of the best friends I think I've ever had.  :)

So, what did I do for fun?  Feed calves, water horse, pick up rock  played on my homemade jungle gym.  I pretended I was in the Olympics and doing the uneven bars on the grain auger.  See here...

Now this isn't exactly like the one at home... the upper bar wasn't as high up.  But you see where I'm going with this.  As long as dad wasn't unloading grain it was free game. 

Unfortunately now I live in town.  I wish my children had the opportunity to make a rock house in the rock pile, play in the hay mow, or create an Olympic event by the grain bin.  They still head out to Gramma and Grampa's house but are devastated there is no cable.  As my son said, "There is nothing to do at their house... what am I suppose to do, read a book?"  Yep.  If they only knew.

So, thanks for stopping by and taking time to know me this Thursday.