Stole this little meme from Maria!

A little bit about me and Dan!

What are your middle names?
Rene & James

How long have you been together?
September 2008

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Well…before we officially started dating, maybe a week or two?

Who asked whom out?
He was the one that asked me out first…

How old are each of you?
I’m 27 and he is 29.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
My brother is who we see the most. My sister lives in Tennessee and his only sibling lives in Colorado.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Finances. I’m in grad school so sometimes things are tight.

Did you go to the same school?
Nope

Are you from the same home town?
Nope. I’m from Southwest Michigan, and he grew up in central Michigan

Who is smarter?
We both are. He’s the computer nerd and I’m  all about the medical information

Who is the most sensitive?
We’re both pretty sensitive

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Our “out” nights? We usually run out to get QDoba and bring it home to eat. When we do eat out, it’s at a restaurant called Martini’s.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
South Carolina…SO FAR!

Who has the craziest exes?
I have a crazy ex. But crazy for really bad reasons. Not a nice guy. He doesn’t have any crazy exes really. The girl he dated before me was a bit kooky though, according to the stories he’s shared.

Who has the worst temper?
Me. I take credit for this one.

Who does the cooking?
I cook! He does the dishes!

Who is the neat-freak?
Neither of us are perfect with this stuff, I’ll be honest. But I’m the one that cringes first when things start to get sloppy!

Who is more stubborn?
me!

Who hogs the bed?
me!

Who wakes up earlier?
Him!

Where was your first date?
Our favorite restaurant, Martini’s. This is also where we held our rehearsal dinner. I wore a nice navy blue top, khaki bermuda shorts, and brown gladiator sandles. He wore a pair of Soloman athletic/outdoor shoes, khaki cargo shorts and a button up casual shirt. Orange, I believe. He looked casual and comfortable. I didn’t live far from the restaurant and had walked there….He drove me home.

Who is more jealous?
So far, neither of us.

How long did it take to get serious?
Quickly, a couple of weeks. We were engaged within a couple of months.

Who eats more?
He does usually.

Who does the laundry?
We usually do our own

Who’s better with the computer?
We each have our own talents with the computer

Who drives when you are together?
No one drives the most. It’s all about who’s in the mood to drive. :p

This past week has been quite busy! On top of our normal every day lives, which includes school, homework, work, and for me, meal planning (around the sunflower oil/cheese situation..which by the way…I HAVE FAILED ON A TON! For instance, bought pesto on Thursday to make homemade pizzas?? Sunflower oil was the number one ingredient. I didn’t even check — seeing as pesto is typically made with olive oil.Guess I’ll be making my own next time. ANYWAY.), and allergy shots (OH! I had a bad reaction on Thursday/Friday on my left arm. GOOD TIMES.)….we’ve been doing a lot with the family. Took me long enough to get to the point, huh?

Anyway…

In my family (my side of the family anyway), it’s important to always be there to help when another family member is in need. It’s not necessarily about money or any situation like that. Actually, it’s almost NEVER that, although if there was ever a family member in financial distress, I’m sure we’d all find a way to step up and help them, etc. But I’m talking about sweating and working hard all for the family. Because when you help them? They will always be there to help sweat it out for you, too. That’s just how it works.

Last weekend, Dan and I went out to my aunt and uncle’s home to help them with the removal of dead trees. Well, I didn’t help out a ton with the actual process. I went to see a cousin play basketball (she’s in 4th grade and I hadn’t made it to a game yet!),then I came back to watch the process of the men pretend to be big and strong as my uncle, who was on a cherry picker with a chain saw, started hacking away at branches and eventually sections of the trunk. I mostly watched the two kids that were there (I had never seen Madagascar until that day…holy moly…hilarious as HECK). The point is, the men were there helping out from 10am until 6pm. They weren’t paid to be there — my aunt paid them with pizza for lunch. But they were family (and one good friend in the mix). Dan wasn’t specifically asked to help, but when we heard what they were up to, we volunteered our time. We drove the hour to be there. Because we know they’d do the same for us.

It’s so strange and fantastic at the same time to hear family (my aunt, this time around) approach me and tell me how fantastic Dan is. How he is such a hard working guy, selfless and ready to jump at the chance to help. How my ex would have NEVER volunteered to do this. And even if I had drove his butt there anyway, he most likely would have done very little.  Makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside, to be honest!

This past weekend, we went over to my brother’s house. During the week, in what Dan explains to was one of the hardest things to do, he asked for car advice from my dad and brother. And he and my brother replaced his brake pads this weekend. I’ve never seen Dan so proud!

Dan came from a family…similar from the ex’s family. When something went wrong or was broken, in able to fix it, you’d call for help from a professional or take the car in and pay a fortune. Dan says that he is a bit embarrassed to admit that he barely learned how to do what normal guys DO. He learned how to be “handy” later on in life, in his 20s.  But in this economy, we have to watch our money. And we have bills to pay. And while we could afford to go the more expensive route, we’d like to NOT do that. If we can do it cheaper and still have it done well, then that’s what we’re going to do, darn it.

I’m not sure what my end point is. I guess I’m just happy that I found a guy that is so willing to help others out. And so willing to learn how to do things by himself…with the guidance of a few of my family members. The important thing to remember is that you never know when you’ll need someone to help you out… So always be willing to offer your assistance, even if you don’t get anything back in return immediately.