Long Relationships

Jenera from Just Me has been kind enough to answer the call out for Our Story section submissions. I hope you enjoy getting to know the readers here as much as I do.

How long have you been together? It will be five years on August 7th and married 5 years August 15th.

How long did you date? Technically only 9 days but we met online 6 months prior.

How old is he? 30

Who eats more? I think he does

Who said ‘I love you’ first? He did, while standing on the river bank less than 24 hours after meeting in person for the first time.

Who is taller? He is.

Who is smarter? We are smart in different ways-he’s street smart and I’m book smart.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who does the dishes? I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do because it is closer to the door since I have to get up to feed Sam.

Who pays the bills? He makes the money and I pay ‘em.

Who mows the lawn? We have a guy that does it.

Who cooks dinner? I do.

Who is more stubborn? Oh definitely him.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.

Who asked who out? I think I did because I asked him to come to Oregon to visit me.

Who proposed? He did.

Who is more sensitive? It’s about equal but he just hides it a bit more.

Who has more friends? He has more ‘real life’ friends while I have more online friends.

If you think the involvement government has in marriages already is annoying, try marrying someone from a different country.

At the end of May in 2007, I broke down in tears one night because I was so afraid that the Australian government would force Mr. JM and me apart for whatever amount of time until we got all the appropriate visas figured out. We were married, so it didn’t seem right that anyone or anything should have the power to separate us.

As it turned out, we had turned everything in on time so no separation time was required. I was given my temporary visa and that was that as the stress lifted away from us.

This past May, my two years on my temporary visa was up and I filled out the paperwork for the judgment on my permanent residency visa. I got all the paperwork done weeks ahead of the June 21st deadline, but I am still waiting on the official yay or nay (and directions on when I can get my passport fitted with the new visa sticker).

While I am more than confident I’ll be granted permanent residency, I can’t help but feel that little niggle in my belly about it. There is something about a person or people who you don’t even know having such control over my life that makes me feel a bit ill, to be honest.

I’ll be happy when it’s all done.

Have you ever had to separate from your partner (for whatever amount of time) for reasons out of your control?

By Barbara Waters of Knitting Passions

JM has asked me to share just how two people can/could/have been married for as long as my husband and I have.

Whew! Tall order. It has taken me a bit to gather my thoughts in order to write this. You see, on any given day, either hubby or I might be willing to toss in the towel on our relationship. There are THOSE days when one or the other of us has just really had it up to HERE . . . and, given the right moment, or right suggestion, might just say “I am so outta here.”

And yet, there IS something still that keeps us together.

Hubby and I met while we were sophomores – in different schools. His best friend was dating my best friend and they decided we should meet. His buddy said “let’s go to a football game with R and B.” She told me it was a blind date with R’s buddy A. You can imagine where this might be going, right?

We met at R’s house, were driven by his dad to their high school for the game. All during the game I wondered why A was not paying any attention to me – and I was getting just a bit peeved and hurt. It didn’t help that as we walked from the field afterwards I tripped in a gopher hole and he laughed (!) and didn’t even wait to help me up.

I did NOT want to see him again. (I think the feeling was mutual)

Fast forward several months and the four of us double dated (this time it was called a date by all four) to the museum on the local university campus. There was an Egyptian display complete with mummy. I got my first ever kiss behind the mummy. Last year hubby and I took our oldest granddaughter to see that mummy and she insisted we reenact the kiss for posterity. (and pictures)

We became engaged after graduation. Eleven months later we were married.

That was 1969. Yes, we were babies - and the pictures show that.

Over the past forty years we have had our ups and downs – we’ve fought and made up – we’ve grown together and grown apart and grown together again.

There have been several life changes, physical changes, and family changes. We moved thousands of miles away from “home” (Ohio) to HOME (Alaska) to make a better life for out daughters.

And, through all of those . . . there have been those days when all was right in the relationship and those days when it was throw in the towel time. We’ve faced them all with humor and sensitivity, although not always both of us at the same time.

We tell each other and our friends that the secret of being married forty years is simply, lying down together each night and getting up together each morning. Sometimes it really is as simple as that.

Everyone loves a good love story. And we all love stories about how the love started and blossomed.

Join us in a fun new book about dating, romance, love, and marriage, scheduled for publication in January 2010, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

We are looking for true stories and poems about your soulmate, your true love, the one that got away, and all the ups and downs of your love life. Stories can be serious or hilarious, or both.

We prefer stories and poems written in the first person of 600-1,200 words. Stories should not be pre-published unless in very small publications.

Here are some suggested topics, but we know you can think of many more:
Dating adventures - the good and the bad
How you met
Internet searching and dating
Speed dating and other strategies
When did you know?
Proposals
Wedding stories
Parental pressure and support
Pressure and support from children
Senior dating and love at a certain age
Making marriage work
Second chances

If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it.

SUBMISSIONS GO TO http://chickensoupforthesoul.com/form.asp?cid=submit_story.

DEADLINE IS May 31, 2009.

Teen relationships will be covered in a future book, so please do not submit them for this book.

Today we have a special guest post. My husband decided to surprise me and sent this to me last night. Enjoy.

A Woman of My Own
By Mr. JM

With little success, I had spent my life wishing for and sometimes daydreaming of, finding a partner in life. I had a few expectations – she would be intelligent, we would be able to talk about many things and she would walk beside me; neither a pace behind nor a pace in front. The last was, of course, a metaphor for what kind of person she would be – I wanted neither meek ‘little woman’ nor rabid feminist for a wife, I wanted a true partner.

After years of trying, and failing, I gave up on the idea. I had tried too many times without success for me not to know that the problem was me. Too many women, of a whole range of types, had proved not to be my partner. The problem was in me; either I wasn’t suitable for the role for which I dearly wished, or I was choosing the wrong types. Either way, the ongoing hurt caused by multiple failures left me unable to contemplate continuing the search.

I spent some time coming to terms with this. I worked my way through the pain of realizing I was destined to be alone, forseeing the time when I would grow old, alone, and working on being able to accept that this was who I would be. I decided the one thing I would work on was to never become the old nutter up the road whom all kids feared.

Time passed and life moved on. I got involved with some writing on an internet site. That site kind of died a death and I found another. On the new site I found some troubled young people and I reached out to offer what help I could.

One in particular stood out when I ‘spoke’ to her. I found myself following her posts on the forums, intrigued by the way they seemed to show a ‘glow’ from her. I puzzled for some time over it as it seemed I was somehow getting more than I should from mere words on a screen.

She was troubled; life had not been easy nor had she found much in the way of support systems and I could sense her pain sometimes in the confusion she had about the world.

I reached out even though, in my own life, I was slowly recovering from a trauma of my own. I found I could talk to her as I had been able to talk to few people in my life. She was bright, articulate and intelligent. We were in love.

There is an age difference which, although it didn’t matter to her, concerned me a lot. I might have stepped away from involvement but for her being wiser than I. She was right, age was not a barrier unless we (read I) made it so.

I can’t say it was an easy path. The internet was the way we met and we were both pretty much the people we showed on the web, but there was another who gained our trust and then tried to mess with our heads. Almost she succeeded; almost we allowed her machinations to part us and hurt us and cause us to hurt each other. But we didn’t. Eventually we saw through the liar’s actions.

My woman was still in a troubled life. It got worse even as we grew closer. Plans we’d made to wait for particular milestones had to be scrapped and we made arrangements for her to come to Australia. I don’t recall ever having been so impressed as I was by her act of courage when she got on a plane to fly 12,000 miles to meet a man she knew only online.

Many people have crappy lives, many people live in pain or unhappiness, but how many will act in faith to the extent my love did? How many people will take their first flight, with all the knowledge that there are predators out there, to a place both alien and so far from anything they know, and knowing that there would be no easy path back home, nor probably a home to which they could return?

My wife is a person who doubts herself, who has fears which I will probably never understand fully, yet who trusts me, who needs me and who I am proud to have by my side. She is facing up to her past, making her present and building a path to a future she never thought could be hers.

I wanted a partner all those years and I finally found her. But I got so much more; I got someone to renew my life, to help me rebuild my hope and for whom I need to be a better person. I found love.

Hello and welcome (back) to Long Relationships.

As you know, every Monday I have been posting responses to the Our Story Meme (along with links to the responder’s site(s)), and I have been enjoying the answers a lot so far. Remember, if you haven’t answered the meme questions yet, feel free to send the answers to sylvr451@tpg.com.au (If you aren’t married, just skip the ‘who proposed’ question.)

The lovely Shelly of Natural and Sustainable, Earthly Eating, Wax and Bubbles, and Shoe Boxers is letting us take a sneak peak into her relationship this week.

Enjoy…

How long have you been together? 8 years total, 5 years married.

How long did you date? 3 years

How old is he? 34

Who eats more? He does.

Who said ‘I love you’ first? He did.

Who is taller? He is but a few inches. I’m 5′9″ he is 6′.

Who is smarter? Me, of course.

Who does the laundry? I do most of the time, when I’m lucky I get help.

Who does the dishes? I do ALL THE TIME.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does. It’s closest to the door and I have a fear of sleeping close to the door.

Who pays the bills? He does. Is Macy’s a bill? Then I pay that one. LOL.

Who mows the lawn? Both of us.

Who cooks dinner? I do most of the time, but he does occasionally.

Who is more stubborn? He is, dumbass men!

Who kissed who first? He did.

Who asked who out? We met on the internet so there was no asking out.

Who proposed? He did.

Who is more sensitive? I am. But, he does cry at some movies. Which, I think is awesome.

Who has more friends? We had the same amount in the beginning, now we have the joint friends now. So it’s equal, I think.

Hello and welcome (back) to Long Relationships.

As you know, every Monday I have been posting responses to the Our Story Meme (along with links to the responder’s site(s)), and I have been enjoying the answers a lot so far. Remember, if you haven’t answered the meme questions yet, feel free to send the answers to sylvr451@tpg.com.au (If you aren’t married, just skip the ‘who proposed’ question.)

The lovely Jean of Marital Talk and Parenting and Religion is letting us take a sneak peak into her relationship this week.

Enjoy…

How long have you been together? We met 30 years ago this month, will be married 28 years in July.

How long did you date? 2 years, 4 months

How old is he? 49

Who eats more? He does, a lot more.

Who said ‘I love you’ first? He did (and scared me…. I was only 14!)

Who is taller? He is about 6″ taller.

Who is smarter? We both are in different areas.

Who does the laundry? We both do.

Who does the dishes? Mostly me, occasionally him.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Who’s right?

Who pays the bills? We do.

Who mows the lawn? Our neighbor…lol

Who cooks dinner? I do, but he does the occasional surprise dinner, and very well too.

Who is more stubborn? Me.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.

Who asked who out? He asked me.

Who proposed? He did.

Who is more sensitive? He is.

Who has more friends? He does.

May I also add that he is usually the first to apologize, and that he is much nicer than I am? I am not ashamed of it, it has become a joke. I am not as nice, therefore I am not as much of a pushover…just ask the kids.

Hello and welcome (back) to Long Relationships.

As you know, every Monday I have been posting responses to the Our Story Meme (along with links to the responder’s site(s)), and I have been enjoying the answers a lot so far. Remember, if you haven’t answered the meme questions yet, feel free to send the answers to sylvr451@tpg.com.au (If you aren’t married, just skip the ‘who proposed’ question.)

The lovely Sandra of Globally Green Living, Parenting Under the Stars, and Mental and Emotional Health is letting us take a sneak peak into her relationship this week.

Enjoy…

How long have you been together? Um, off and on for over twenty years. (13 years married)

How long did you date? About ten years.

How old is he? 42

Who eats more? He does.

Who said ‘I love you’ first? He did.

Who is taller? He is.

Who is smarter? About equal. (He’s smarter in some ways and vice versa)

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who does the dishes? I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does. Does this have some significance?

Who pays the bills? I do. I do all the running around, budgeting, shopping, balancing etc.

Who mows the lawn? He would but we’re presently in a complex where someone else does it.

Who cooks dinner? I do.

Who is more stubborn? He is.

Who kissed who first? I kissed him.

Who asked who out? I did.

Who proposed? He did.

Who is more sensitive? I am.

Who has more friends? I do.

Welcome (back) to Long Relationships!

As you know, every Monday I have been posting responses to the Our Story Meme (along with links to the responder’s site(s)), and I have been enjoying the answers a lot so far. Remember, if you haven’t answered the meme questions yet, feel free to send the answers to sylvr451@tpg.com.au (If you aren’t married, just skip the ‘who proposed’ question.)

Eliza, writer of Tom Cruise Watch, TV Bender, Reviewing Toys, and Kansas City, MO has responded to the questions this week to allow us a little peek into her relationship.

Enjoy…

How long have you been together? 12 years married in June

How long did you date? 3 months, but this was our second time.

How old is he? 30

Who eats more? Me

Who said ‘I love you’ first? Don’t recall, but probably him first.

Who is taller? He is

Who is smarter? I say he is, he says I am. Toss up.

Who does the laundry? I do

Who does the dishes? I do

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? me

Who pays the bills? he does

Who mows the lawn? He does

Who cooks dinner? I do

Who is more stubborn? him, but he’d say me.

Who kissed who first? both

Who asked who out? Don’t recall

Who proposed? He did, I was on the phone.

Who is more sensitive? me

Who has more friends? I do virtually, he does outside the computer (we just moved, it’s snowed a lot and I haven’t ventured out)

Happy Monday!

As you know, every Monday I have been posting responses to the Our Story Meme (along with links to the responder’s site(s)), and I have been enjoying the answers a lot so far. Remember, if you haven’t answered the meme questions yet, feel free to send the answers to sylvr451@tpg.com.au (If you aren’t married, just skip the ‘who proposed’ question.)

Today the lovely Toni of Watching Sitcoms and Watching the CW has told us a bit about her relationship.

Enjoy…

How long have you been together? 16 years in May

How long did you date? 75 days

How old is he? 42

Who eats more? he does

Who said ‘I love you’ first? I don’t remember

Who is taller? He is

Who is smarter? That’s debatable.

Who does the laundry? I do

Who does the dishes? I do

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does

Who pays the bills? I do

Who mows the lawn? He does

Who cooks dinner? I do

Who is more stubborn? That’s a toss up

Who kissed who first? Don’t recall

Who asked who out? Don’t recall

Who proposed? He did

Who is more sensitive? He is

Who has more friends? We have all the same friends

Hello and welcome to another “Our Story”. My awesomely awesome babe of a friend Randi - who writes for Parenting Toddlers and Brad Pitt Watch - has contributed this week.

Remember, if you’d like to contribute your answers, feel free to send them to me at sylvr451@tpg.com.au

How long have you been together?
What year is it?! We’ve been together 8 years.

How long did you date?
Three years - but I don’t consider that dating…I consider it a “trial period”!

How old is he?
Older than me, and that’s what counts!! He’ll be 35 in April.

Who eats more?
Him. DEFINITELY him. The man can eat a horse and not gain an ounce. Bastard.

Who said ‘I love you’ first?
I have that particular distinction!

Who is taller?
He is - but it’s not hard, I’m only 5′1″!

Who is smarter?
Me. Oh definitely me. Well, I guess I can’t say that - I have a formal education, but he has a lot of smarts as well and is no dumb cookie. But when it comes to who is right in an argument? ALWAYS me

Who does the laundry?
He does!!

Who does the dishes?
This is a cross between both of us. We take turns, although he’ll say that he does more…

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Me - its closer to the door!

Who pays the bills?
We both do.

Who mows the lawn?
He refuses to ‘waste’ money on a riding lawn mower, so he does, of course

Who cooks dinner?
9 times out of 10, I do. If he does, we’re guaranteed to have eggs, noodles, chicken fingers, or grilled cheese.

Who is more stubborn?
DEFINITELY me.

Who kissed who first?
I can’t remember! How sad is that! I think I kissed him first…

Who asked who out?
We never really asked each other out - my mother hooked us up (really sad) and we just started getting together and having sex…less than a month later I moved in!

Who proposed?
HA! He did.

Who is more sensitive?
Oh me - definitely me.

Who has more friends?
I have more close friends, but he has more casual friends and acquaintances.

Hello everyone!

The lovely Elisa from Watching Doctor Who is our Our Story contributor this week. I hope you’ll stop in and say hello to her and enjoy her story…

How long have you been together? 8 years 5 months

How long did you date? 2 years 9 months

How old is he? 38

Who eats more? He does.

Who said ‘I love you’ first? I did after returning from my Grandfather’s funeral in Atlanta. One month after we started dating.

Who is taller? He is. (But then, I’m only five feet tall…so it isn’t difficult to be taller.)

Who is smarter? He is. No question. I mean, seriously. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Math and a Bachelor of Science in Physics. I have a B.A. in French and an M.L.I.S. You do the…er…math.

Who does the laundry? Me

Who does the dishes? Whoever can’t avoid it.
Sometimes the person who did not cook.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? No one.

Who pays the bills? Me.

Who mows the lawn? We are certified lawn free.

Who cooks dinner? Me, unless he’s feeling creative.

Who is more stubborn? Him.

Who kissed who first? It was really more of a mutual thing.

Who asked who out? I asked him out to a work event on a boat. He’s sort of afraid of water, so this should have given me a clue that he liked me. (We were already friends.)

Who proposed? He wouldn’t let me propose, but it should be noted that I bought his wedding ring before he got around to it. I always say that I annoyed him into marrying me.

Who is more sensitive? Me, hands down.

Who has more friends? Me.

The lovely Karen Lynch from Discussing Breast Cancer has sent me her answers to the Story of Us meme!

I hope you join me in welcoming her to the site and enjoy her ’story of us’.

How long have you been together? Timothy and I met 15 years ago — we just celebrated ten years of marriage. And having survived the marital stress that two bouts of breast cancer brings on makes that a monumental milestone in our books.

How long did you date? Five years.

How old is he? He’s six years younger than me, and while I’m not shy about my age, that’s all you really need to know!

Who eats more? If you mean quantity, him. If you mean variety, me.

Who said ‘I love you’ first? Tim said it first. But technically, the words just sort of fell out his mouth while we were sitting on the side of his bed one day.

Who is taller? Oh, he is. By several inches.

Who is smarter? I’m smarter in many practical ways, but he has got to have a higher IQ; intellectually, he’s the smartest man I know.

Who does the laundry? I do. And since this is a family of five I do it ALL THE TIME.

Who does the dishes? That would be me again … he’s not home most of the time our dishes need doing!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me!

Who pays the bills? Me!

Who mows the lawn? The guys we hired — there’s only so much I can do!

Who cooks dinner? Me! All this talk about chores — now you see why we were in such dire straights when I was in treatment. Looking back, it’s hard to believe anyone ate, any bills got paid, any dishes or laundry got done … but by the grace of God I had good friends and family members that lightened Tim’s load.

Who is more stubborn? That’s a toss up — we both like to get our way. Most of our fights end in a stalemate because neither of us are too good at compromise.

Who kissed who first? Tim spent weeks pursuing me, but when his hard work finally paid off, I believe it was I who planted the first one on him.

Who asked who out? Pretty much the same story — Tim asked and asked but was consistently refused. One day he simply gave me his number and told me to call him when I was ready, and he said he knew one day I would. And as he predicted the day finally came when I called him.

Who proposed? Tim did. He blurted into the condo we were living in at the time, having just come from my parents’ house getting their blessing, with a ring burning a hole in his pocket, and he dropped to his knees before me — where I was simply sitting on the couch in my sweatpants.

Who is more sensitive? Me!

Who has more friends? I’ve always had a ton of friends, but he’s really only had one true lasting friendship. Fortunately my friends’ husbands have become his friends so that gap is closing.

Last week I put up The Meme of Us with my relationship details and invited you to send me your answers to the meme to post here as part of my “Our Story” section of the site.

The lovely Jenera responded! You can find her site here and her answers below. Thank you Jenera!

If you fill out this meme and send it to me with a link to your blog/site, I’ll put it up on a future Monday for the ‘Our Story’ section of this site! Email me your responses to sylver451(at)tpg(dot)com(dot)au

You don’t have to have a website to participate! Just email me your answers and the name you would like posted with your answers and I’ll put it up.

How long have you been together? Oh, I think the official amount of time is about 3 1/2 years. We were married on August 16, 2004 but I think we could actually count from August 7, 2004 as when we actually ‘got together’.

How long did you date? This is a hard for me to actually say. Again, technically, only about 9 days before we got hitched. But we met in February 2004 and communicated by email, then phone, then letters, then phone again before meeting in person in August 2004. I think somewhere along the line we knew in some way we were meant to be but I just am not too sure.

How old is he? He is 29 years old.

Who eats more? He does. But he is a big burly man and can eat more than me. He is almost pure solid muscle so it takes more food to maintain.

Who said ‘I love you’ first? My sweet man, he said it first, the day after we met in person while standing on the bank of a little creek where we were camping. It completely shocked me at first-it was the first time I had ever heard it from a man.

Who is taller? Definitely him, I’m a shorty..

Who is smarter? This one is tough-we are both very smart but in completely different ways. He has some serious street smarts. I’m more book smart. But he also knows so much more than I do on such a variety of topics. I think of him as my evil genius.

Who does the laundry? Me. He does do his own while out on the road or when I’m not home (like now, while I’m visiting my mom).

Who does the dishes? Typically me. When he is home, the dishes don’t get done because we like to avoid household stuff and spend time with each other. But if I ask him to wash the silverware and cups (I HATE doing them) he will with no complaints.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do now. It used to be home but it seems like every time we move, we switch sides that we sleep on.

Who pays the bills? I pay the bills with the money he makes. I think if it was left up to him, it wouldn’t happen. I pay almost everything online and he wouldn’t know where to begin. Even with the ones I write checks for, I always have the checkbook-he only has a debit card.

Who mows the lawn? We haven’t had to mow in awhile but we both do. Sometimes I get a wild hair up my butt and will mow it or he will when he’s home.

Who cooks dinner? Almost always me. Usually because he is too tired to cook when he is home and plus having something ready to eat when he gets home is something he loves. He digs my cooking after being on the road forever. I even cook big ‘ol meals when he plans to have friends over, :o)

Who is more stubborn? Man, this is a toughie. We both are but I think he might just win a little bit.

Who kissed who first? He made the first move, in front of a Denny’s when he first arrived in Oregon. But I kissed him back.

Who asked who out? Oh, I don’t even know. Considering how our whole relationship began, it’s hard to say. It might have been me though because I asked him to come to Oregon for my birthday party.

Who proposed? He first brought up the idea of marriage but I never had a real proposal-not that I’m complaining! It was more like a mutual proposal of marriage.

Who is more sensitive? We both are very sensitive but in very different ways. I think I’m overly emotional at times but he can really surprise on some things with his compassion for things.

Who has more friends? I’d say him because since we’re back in Idaho, he has his friends and family. I have some friends through him. Though I do have a considerable amount of online friends.

I found this fun relationship meme at Ms. Zoot’s site and thought it would be perfect for this site.

Today I’ll fill out the questions based on my relationship, but if you want to participate feel free!

If you fill out this meme and send it to me with a link to your blog/site, I’ll put it up on a future Monday for the ‘Our Story’ section of this site! Email me your responses to sylver451(at)tpg(dot)com(dot)au

How long have you been together? About two years and four months. (Longest relationship I’ve ever had. Hehe!)

How long did you date? In terms of ‘how long were you together before getting engaged’ erm… Before he engaged in person, we dated for a little over a year. It was pretty much solid that we were going to get married from early on, though.

How old is he? Older than I am.

Who eats more? I do. The guy is like a camel with water AND food.

Who said ‘I love you’ first? I’d have to check, but I think it might have been him. Or me. I’m really not sure. I think we both said it plenty of times in many ways before saying the actual words.

Who is taller? He is.

Who is smarter? Definitely him. He’s extremely intelligent as well as being a smartass.

Who does the laundry? We both do. It used to be mostly him, but they we finally bought a washer so I can do the laundry during the day if I want to.

Who does the dishes? Pretty much the person who doesn’t cook does the dishes. Sometimes we just wash our own dishes and the person who didn’t cook does the other stuff.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Memememe. It’s kind of unfortunate because I usually like to sleep on my left side. Ha!

Who pays the bills? Up until now, it’s been me paying my bills (US bills) and him paying the bills over here (Australia). We’re slowly moving towards me paying all the bills, though.

Who mows the lawn? We don’t have a lawn to mow.

Who cooks dinner? Usually him because I get so nervous. He’s such a good cook and I feel lousy when I burn something or overcook it. I will occasionally get adventurous during the day, though, when no one is watching.

Who is more stubborn? We’re both pretty darn stubborn. This is a tough call, but I think he’s just a bit more stubborn than I am.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me. Hehe. On my first day here in Australia, the hussy.

Who asked who out? Neither, really. We kind of did the flirty dance and it was obvious we were meant to be together. No asking needed.

Who proposed? He did. A couple times. Hehe.

Who is more sensitive? My instant reaction is me, but he’s a pretty sensitive guy even if he doesn’t show it as much as I do. I’m still going to go with me, though.

Who has more friends? Lessee… I’d say him because he works outside the house in a big company where everyone likes him.