When the moon hits your eye.......

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! My Popeye hero who's notably known for being "strong like bull" took me to dinner at "Just Off Broadway" for some romantic culinary yumminess. The musical entertainment was a little more geriatric, though, consisting of an old man serenading on his guitar. Dave and I sat there wondering if it was Senior's Night. Who let THIS dog out? Who, Who, Who, Who........(never mind, that rap song's long gone, too). When he came to our table, I thought I'd throw this old-timer for a loop and request "More than Words" by Extreme. Come on, the song's 16 years old, ya gotta know it! It was played at every sock-hop in junior high. Nope, he was scratching his head over that one. lol! I decided to let him off easy and then requested "It's Amore." Funny, though, we must be getting old, too. It's 10:30 and both Dave and I just want to go to sleep. Ah, old married folks already! Happy Valentine's. Good-Night Everyone!

Valentine's Wish List

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Our hubbies may be wondering what to give us for that big day. Now, we all know that the media over-hypes their merchandise, promising to win our hearts. I'm here to set the record straight, thus saving hundreds of dollars and promoting a stronger marriage. It's really quite simple! Compare the 2 lists:

What HE thinks we want:

• Chocolate (it's a little cliche and boring)


• A fat piece of jewelery (Don't you hate those "Kay" commercials? It's not necessary, honey. We still love the engagement ring!)


• Lingerie (it's more like butt-floss than undies)


• A plasma TV to hang over the mantel (this is quite obvious -- no!)

What Women REALLY want him to do:

• Clean the house (It's called a Vaccuum and it makes the dirt disappear -- really it does!)


• Sing the praises of our cooking (You know you love it, you know you do!!!!)


• Put your clothes in the hamper (You're a big boy now)


• And last but most importantly, agree with us. "Yes Dear" really does work.

Now, offer this fact to your husband, and he might be so impressed that your Wish List may come true:

Sports Trivia: Did you know that this was the 1st Superbowl ever to have an African-American coach? Not only that, this Superbowl featured 2! Something for the coaches and the African-American community to be proud of.

ABC's of Life

ABC of life
Copy this quiz into your own blog, erase my answers & write your own....then leave me a comment & I'll come read your ABC's! It's kinda fun.

A is for age: 30
B is for beer of choice: Labatt Blue, when my husband sends me to Women's Football Camp.
C is for career right now: Piano Teacher & Receptionist
D is for your dog's name? Don't own any dogs
E is for essential item you use everyday: Contact Lenses
F is for favorite TV show at the moment? Desperate Housewives & Who's Design is it Anyway
G is for favorite game: Cranium
H is for Home town: Oakbank, MB
I is for instruments you play: Piano, and maybe 3 chords on guitar....lol!
J is for favorite juice: That White Cranberry stuff
K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: My boss
L is for last place you ate: Dan & Corallee's house for Marcus's 2nd birthday today
M is for marriage: 6 months to Dave
N is for your full name: Michelle Tamara Zink-Steinhilber
O is for overnight hospital stays: none
P is for people you were with today: the Steinhilbers and Friesen families for Marcus's birthday
Q is for quote: Laughter is the Music of the Soul
R is for Biggest Regret: Wasting time at dead-end Receptionist jobs, instead of choosing a better career in my early 20's
S is for status: Married
T is for time you woke up today: 10:00 am
U is for underwear you have on now: black
V is for vegetable you love: Tomatoes
W is for worst habit: Procrastination
X is for x-rays you've had: teeth (at the dentist) and back (at some quack-of-a-chiropractor's office)
Y is for yummy food you ate today: Pizza, mozza sticks, wings, birthday cake
Z is for zodiac sign? Libra

Raise your eyebrows!

Last nite, Terry and I went to see 'The Rocky Horror Show' at MTC! Well, we finally saw what all the commotion was about! This is one show that'll ooze a response out of audience members. Here's my commentary on the musical:

- Outlandlishly weird

- Freaky

- A delightfully, psychedelic nightmare

- Slightly R-rated & questionable

- Toe-tappin' fun songs (Time Warp!!)

- Excellent singing, acting and stage-presence

- Witty and hilariously funny

- Interactive audience shout-outs encouraged

- Raunchy and racy

- A show that'll make you blush and push your limits to what you can handle

My diagnosis: Don't bring your Baptist-raised Mama and Papa to this show! Definitely an eye-popping musical, sure to push the envelope in a freakish roller coaster sort-of-way; but you wouldn't want to advertise it in your church bulletin.

Mamma Mia!

Tonite after piano lessons, I decided to dig into my old CD's and blast the tunes. Then, I came across one goodie in particular and smiled with glee. Ya know.......some CD's really are like fine wine. They just get better with age. C'mon, dig it! lol!



Imagine if we could trade places for a day. Move over Agnetha, make room for moi!



Michelle's fantasy.....to be part of the band.....





(I morphed myself into this picture using some old Photoshop program 5 yrs ago. Ah, the "short-hair' days, a la 2002!!!)

January 22, 2007

Happy 6 month Anniversary David!

In sickness and in health, in mood swings and mind-reading, in football play-offs and figuring out what the heck the game is all about, and to the best 6 months of my life......

Always yours,

Michelle

Na na na na.....Hey - y.....Good-bye!

Well, I finally did it! I'm putting an end to the daily stress and tears of my job. So long Accounting! So long Data Entry! What's that -- the phone's ringing? I don't hear youuuuuu! After nervously anticipating how I was going to advise my boss, I took a cue from Nike at 4:00 yesterday and told myself, "Ok, just DO it!" I resigned from my receptionist position. I'm free!

Sports Trivia: Big game this weekend: The Bears vs. the Saints. Who are you betting on?

Tickle the Ivory

Well, I decided to take the plunge and I signed myself up for the "Elementary Pedagogy Certificate Program." This is Part I of III towards getting one's A.R.C.T credentials. In plain language, it's the highest level you can get in piano and enables you to teach any level of piano with confidence. Most teachers do not have their ARCT, but it limits them in how far they can teach their students. Teaching is SO different than playing. For myself, I can play a Gr.10 piece, but I'd rather watch a football game than attempt to teach the Gr.10 song. LOL!

I've heard comments that the program is pretty intense, so who knows if I'll complete all 3 parts. (Part II is the Middle Grades and Part III is the Advanced Grades). For now, I'll just take it one week at a time and get Part I done. It starts Jan.21st and goes all the way to Dec.9th, with a break in the summer. Classes are every Sunday afternoon from 1:30 - 2:30 pm, so that will be different to adjust to also. I'm looking forward to it, though. My passion is simply playing piano, so I just gravitate towards absorbing everything I can about it. I love it so much!

Sports Trivia that only your husbands care about: The Philidelphia Eagles just lost to the New Orleans Saints. Who will we cheer for now???? :(

Touchdown!!!

Praise the Lord! We caught the rodent! Glory! I'm finally safe in my home after the invasion of the solitary mouse. I'm thankful that Dave disposed of the trap findings; I could never do it! When I lived with roommates, a few years back, they decided that we'd each take turns disposing of the mice. Tammy went first, Rachel went second, and thankfully, my prayers were answered and there wasn't a third. I can't imagine having 5 mice in the house, J. You're a stronger woman than me. I would need a regular psychiatrist for that.

The Rocky Horror Mouse Show

Ok, my brother Terry and I are going to see "The Rocky Horror Show" at MTC next week, but I did NOT want to experience it live in my own home tonite!!!!!!

As I carried the garbage from the old garage into our foyer, a mouse escaped in all its merry glory. Damn you, damn you, I say! Well, needless to say, my tonsils emitted a scream so blood-curtlingly loud, I'm sure Mark could hear it in Korea. We promptly dashed out the door to purchase 6 mouse-traps. I moved all my shoes to higher ground and moved my coat upstairs.

I'm not attaching any "Cute-sy" clipart of mice. I'm also not attaching pictures of the shoes, mops, and rug in disarray downstairs. I'm too scared to go down there.

Useless Trivia that only your husbands care about: Green Bay Packer fans wear cheeseheads.

Enough talk about this! Pray for the return of my sanity.

Confession Time

I have a confession to make. The other day, Dave made the suggestion to pick up something quick and convenient just before heading out to Tanya's 30th birthday party. I agreed to it, and as we got out of the truck, I looked around, hoping noone would spot me. I cautiously walked into the building and with bout of mild hesitation and guilt, headed into line. "A Quarter-pounder with Cheese, fries and an Iced Tea" was my order. There, I said it. I crossed over to the dark side. I betrayed my principles. My compromise was billowing up inside of me and turning my stomach into knots. As we headed for a table, however, we found that the restaurant was completely different from our childhood experiences. There was no obnoxious man in a yellow suit & red shoes for children to climb all over anymore. Instead, the lighting was pleasing on the eyes, the wall color was a nice shade of red, and the fireplace was glowing warmly as we dined in elegance. It was almost.......romantic.

Word to the husbands and boyfriends of the world: Only do this once a year for your significant other. More than that would put your relationship in jeopardy and a bad case of Montezuma's Revenge.

One more confession: I am learning more sports facts and tid bits than I ever cared about Pre-Marriage. So, I'll begin including a segment in my blog entitled "Sports Trivia That Only Your Husband Cares About". Here's the first one: John Ryan (former Punter for the Wpg. Blue Bombers) now plays for the Green Bay Packers. Stay tuned for more trivia to impress your spouses with.

Holiday Update

It's been a LONG time since I last blogged, but here's a sketch into our Christmas and New Year's. Sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things" from Sound of Music. (HEY! Even Gwen Stefani cashed in on the 'Sound of Music')

Our first Christmas as the new Mr. & Mrs.

Dave and Michelle and all mistletoe kisses

Wrapping the presents all under the tree

These are a few of our Christmas-y things

Love fern all dressed up in red and white trimmings

A few footballs thrown in for masculine-type things

Fondue and eating and fun company

These are a few of our Christmas-y things

Then comes our New's Year Eve with party-throwing

After a foot and a half of snow-blowing

Having a hubby who does the cooking

These are a few of my favorite things

(Bridge)

Then it's onto.....

2007......

Where does that bring me?

We're onto another adventure in life

But what does that mean? We'll see!

My Prince Charming

Well, here's an inside glimpse of my hubby's romantic side. From time to time, he likes to lay roses on the stairs for me, continuing down the hallway, and into our room ending with two dozen roses carefully placed in a vase. How sweet is that, hey?

More than Seasonal Frenzy

Sometimes I wish I could turn the clock back 10 years. Don't we all wish we knew *then* what we currently know *now*?

If I could choose my career all over again, I think I'd look into Healthcare, or some people-related helping profession. And definitely something that paid better! Right now, I bust my tail everyday for a bunch of Yatzees at work, playing waitress, mother (looking after my co-workers and callers), data-entry clerk, broken record player for callers, investigator into misplaced documents, juggler of multi-tasking and janitor, all under the title of "Receptionist". Oh glory be! And upon my arrival home, Hydro, Water and Phone gladly await my wallet with hungry mouths wide open. I wish the little fairies that vacuum my wallet would also vacuum my house because I'm exhausted! Between working days and teaching at nite, there's not alot of time or energy left over.

I know alot of you feel like this, but it's just nice to vent it out on a blog sometimes.

Hopefully oneday I can concentrate on what I enjoy doing -- teaching piano, and kick the office job into the Recycle Bin. It just gets monotonous waiting for that day to come.

Show us your Christmas Tree!

The tree is up and our livingroom is festive! Here's some pix of our 'Love Fern'. Jill had a great suggestion.......let's see your Christmas tree, too! Feel free to post them here, or give your blog link for others to see.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

As soon as Halloween ended, I wanted to put up our Christmas tree. Dave thought that was too early, and insists we wait until Dec.15th. So, we compromised (there's that word again!) and agreed upon Dec.1st. So, this Friday, our house becomes festive!

Let's take a survey.......When do YOU put up your Christmas Tree?

Harmony, or something like it

Hi Ladies! (assuming it's mostly ladies that read my blog)

Thanks for your valuable input on spouses appreciating each other's differences. I don't think I'll ever be a hard-core 'football chick' nor will I frequent local pubs yelling out hometown cheers. But, I took notice of Dave's favorite football team today and commented to him at lunch saying, "Hey, did you notice that John was wearing a Dallas Cowboy's hat in church today?" Dave nearly fell off his chair, surprised that I noticed. Yes Dear, I do take notice in your interests. I told him, "I still don't like football, but I can appreciate that you love it, so I try to take notice of the things you enjoy."

Besides, he cooked up a fabulous fondue dinner for MY friends last nite. Between him cooking and me cleaning the house for our company, it took us an entire day to prepare for the evening. But, in the end, it was a nice evening and it was really fun to be surrounded by friends. Well, MY friends. It just so happens that Dave likes them too. Well, ok...... 3 out of 4 ain't bad. The last one has verbal diarrhea, so Dave has to wear his 'patience cap' all nite. LOL! But noone's perfect anyways.

Opposites Attract???

Well, I deleted my previous blogs, for all you readers hoping to read a bit and chuckle. Seems that my hubby can't appreciate my humour and takes any topics related to football very seriously. I still don't feel his affection for football.

So interesting how they say that opposites attract. In fact, I said it in our wedding speech.
Yup, our interests are as contrasted as black and white. Or Winter & Summer. Or Football & Piano. Or Pearl Jam & Beethoven. How the heck does that happen?

Game Over

Well, the game and all the surrounding craziness is coming to an end! Life is slowly coming back to normal.

The Ying and the Yang