Father-in-Laws.

Who knows your husband even better than you know him? His dad, of course. Especially if your husband is the spitting image of his dad in personality. Lucky for you, if you've got the big bad FIL on your side, life will be good. And when life is bad, said FIL can probably help you figure out how to iron out the wrinkles in life, which is the only ironing he may ever do.

Without even knowing it, your husband has given you an ally; a friend with unlimited knowledge of, well, everything about him. An arsenal of priceless information.
Glorious, right?

Last night, Cory asked me if I was insecure about being short, to which I replied no. I mean, come on. There aren't many guys that don't love short girls. We're spunky. Anyways, not the point. So then he asked if it was offensive when people call me a midget. (***please note- I am not a midget***). So I said yeah, and he asked if I would be mad if his dad said that. Game changer. I mean, I wouldn't like it, but it's Rog, ya know? I probably wouldn't be mad, because that's how he is. A jokester. Actually, when he was in the hospital, I think he did call me a midget. But he was in a hospital bed, so it's not like I could just let him have it! I think I just looked at him and said, "Did you just call me a midget?" He did his little Rog laugh, and we went on with life.

Me and Rog, we have a lot in common. A good sense of humor, the ability to take a good teasing and the inability to handle ignorant individuals. Maybe that's why our relationship rocks. One of my favorite things about being married to Cory is spending time with his mom and dad. Mother in law time will come later; I don't want to steal the thunder from Rog. 

If you've ever met him, he's probably made you laugh. He just does that, without even trying. He's a good listener, even if you're complaining about his own kid! Sometimes he's so stubborn you just want to kick him. He tells the best stories. He's an endless source of wisdom and life lessons. Life wouldn't be the same without him; I honestly can't wait for my future kids to meet him.

To prove I'm not the only girl with a great FIL, I asked some FB friends what they love about their husbands father. The responses mostly boiled down to "he's like another dad to me", "he's a great grandpa to my child/children," "he will do anything for family" and "he intentionally modeled a strong and healthy marriage." Those are just a few of my personal favorites. The point is, if you haven't taken the time to sit down and have a really good one on one talk with your husband's father, I'd encourage you to do so. He's probably pretty great. I spend more time with other people, usually women, talking about women stuff (and complaining about the men), but there are few things I love more than hearing Cory's dad tell me that he's proud of me and that he's glad I'm a part of his family. 

And with that, I'm out. 

Things Girls Do.

Things Girls Do That Guys Don't Understand.

1. Gettin' Our Nails Did

For me, that's a personal favorite. Cory used to ask me all the time why I, and I quote, "wasted money" to get my nails done. I just like it. It makes me feel good. I don't see it as a waste, but rather a reward. And that's all that really matters. Duh.

2. Making The Bed

Not everyday, by any means. I used to make my bed every single time I got out of it, but that has changed. Anyway, if it were up to Cory, the bed would never be made. Reasoning? You always have to get back into it, so why make it? Hm.. I'm sure he likes the way he thinks.

3. Putting On Make-Up

You know that song about the guy staring at the girl taking off her make up and not even knowing why she put it on? They probably really do feel that way. But whatever. They don't understand that we feel like our beauty is enhanced with a little help. Cory was probably scared to death the first time he saw me with zero make up on. Fortunately, he's still alive.

4. Wearing Leggings, Boots & Shirts That Are Big Enough To Be His

Okay, get real. The big shirt probably is his. And he'll never know why you have fifteen jillion clothing items and choose to wear his shirts. Good thing is, he doesn't have to understand how comfortable it is because you know.

5. Paying To Have Hair Removed

Hair, eyebrows, etc. Why do we need split ends cut, eyebrows waxed? Well, they just don't know how cute we'd be with caterpillars above our eyes.

There are bound to be more and I'm sure they'll come up eventually, but there's a start.

Now go get your nails did and your brows waxed. And don't forget to wear your leggings.

High School Love vs Real World Love

Hey, now. Don't read that title and get your undies in a wad. No one said that high school love isn't real love, but it's nowhere near the same thing as real world love. According to me, anyways, since this blog is just full of my opinions.

I think it's safe to say that at some point in high school, we all thought we were dating the one. He was so cute or so smart or so athletic; he hung out at your locker waiting for you after class, carried your books, invited you to sit with him at the next basketball game.. or whatever you thought was just so romantic back in the day. I thought it was just pure perfection when I didn't have to carry my own books, and not just because those suckers were heavy, but because when people saw me and my "boyfriend" walking together, they saw him carrying my books. That was a claim laid down, people. He was mine! After all, he was carrying my books! Then again, I also thought that slicking back all of my curly fly-aways was cute too, so we've all been wrong at some point in our lives.

High school seems to be all about finding out who you are, who you want to be. While doing so, it makes sense to want to find someone to be with you. I know tons of couples who dated in high school and got married. One of my best friends got married 5 months after high school and they're going so, so strong. Others were in high school and dated a guy a couple of years older; that works too. Point is, you find out more about yourself after high school than you'd ever think, so how exactly do you know that Mr. Perfect in high school is Mr. Perfect in real life? (That's kind of a trick question, considering they're never all that perfect all the time. You can thank me for the heads up later). Sure, you might know that you were prom queen, a nerd, hilarious, most athletic or flirtiest.. you know these things because the yearbook said it- duh. Oh, and speaking of the yearbook, you were clearly the most popular because way more people signed your yearbook than anyone else's, but back to the point. Who are you after high school? Are you still most athletic or most popular? Who really cares outside of those walls? You have to define yourself in other ways now. Are you hard working? Do you make the best out of stinky situations? Do you go to work on days that you would've skipped school because you don't feel so great? Are you independent?

High school boyfriends can turn into real world husbands. As a romantic, I'm the biggest fan of high school romance turning into wedding bells, trust me. But the truth is, that doesn't happen for a lot of us. For those couples that it did happen for, I am sincerely happy for you! There are so many people outside of the bubble of high school. Cory said something the other day that really made me think; something to the effect of just picking the best of what you've got available to you. See, high school limits your choices. I didn't know Cory in high school. I knew of him, but I didn't know him. I tease him all the time that he was too cocky for me to talk to back then ;) Really, high school can give you the chance to have a relationship that teaches you all kinds of life lessons. Lessons that were learned and you remember them and you would never want to have to repeat that lesson again.

Real world love, on the other hand, isn't about books being carried and going to Homecoming together. Real world love is about helping one another pay the bills, making sure your husband gets fed, washing clothes, buying groceries.. man, sounds boring, huh? But seriously, who hates grocery shopping alone? I do. And I hate having to load the car up and unload it by myself. I love when Cory gets to do that part! That's what it's really about, the little things that make you realize that life is so much more fun with the right person by your side. Real world love is about understanding that you don't have to do things on your own; you have a person. Your person helps you, loves you, calms you, listens to you. I'm independent to the max; I don't like to rely on anyone else to help me, but you know what? It's nice to know that I have someone who is always there, whether I think I need him or not.

High school was about the little things; real life is about the big things. Trust me, your car payment not being paid is a big thing and it's a real life thing. If you're a wife, think about those things that your husband does to make you feel better when you're down, whether it be a foot rub or a get out of cooking dinner card.. small things that you feel are the biggest things at the right time. Aren't you thankful for him? Make sure he knows it!