The Husband Project Update

Ok - so life really does happen, even when you are sick! The last two weeks have been filled with sniffles, coughs, runny noses, fevers, ear infections and a big huge migraine on my part. . . . and a slight health melt-down!

Both my husband and I determined that we had gained 10+ pounds since September (we had each lost around 25 pounds on the South Beach Diet), and we need to start eating healthier again. . . well, healthier snacks, because I really have changed our dinners to be more healthy.

I decided that as the whole point of this project was to show my husband that I love and appreciate him, I decided to focus on health last week and part of this week, as he is really concerned about the extra weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.

1. I pulled the South Beach books back out to see if I could start making a menu. I'm really NOT any good at this type of thing, so as of tonight - I'm still trying to figure out what to do here!

2. I threw out a bunch of junk food, and am trying to come to terms with throwing out a few more.

3. I went to our local Costco and picked up a bunch of fruits and veggies and cottage cheese (yes, I know - on the SB diet, fruit is not ok in the beginning, but our son loves fruit, and my hubby didn't know that we were re-starting, so I thought I'd try substituting the fruit for normal sugary snacks)

4. I pulled out all my serving size-ish tupperware type containers, and washed, sliced, scooped my way through everything I had just purchased.

5. I organized the top shelf of the fridge to hold each of the items (cottage cheese, pepper slices, celery and a few others) in neat rows that would be easy to grab out.

Now I need to re-organize the pantry and continue to throw out junk food or non-healthy items and come up with some more things I can pre-make so snacks and breakfast/lunch are easy to pull together.

Hmmm - my biggest problem?? Anyone have some suggestions on how to build menus and shopping lists? I've always struggled with this!

~ Wendi

Day 15: Project: What Not To Wear

I had so much fun with this Project. My husband didn't know it, but he actually helped me with this one. He stayed home sick, so he was able to watch our son while I went shopping.

This project requires you to get rid of one piece of clothing that your husband doesn't like - even if it's a favorite!

This was a no-brainer for me! I've got 4 pairs of pj's that are OLD! Not to mention slightly less age-appropriate, and certainly not sexy in any way, not that that is my goal. . . . I also have a few t-shirts that aren't exactly flattering and some shirts whose collars have certainly seen better days - so . . . out they go!

Now for the fix. A local store is having a clearance sale - 70% off the LOWEST price! I really was shopping for myself, but ended up getting more for my husband and son (who seems to grow more quickly these days). I did replace 2 of the 4 pj's with cute little pink knee length pjs with cute buttons and some girly touches. what fun! I also picked up two slightly more flattering shirts and a nice pair of black slacks so I can occasionally go out without wearing jeans!

Ok - then I got some 2T, 3T AND 4T basics for our son, and a few shirts and a sweatshirt (a very nice one) for my hubby.

In all a great day - got rid of a few less than complimentary items from my closet (underwear drawer too!), and purchased over $550 in clothing for $197 including tax (which is a whopping 9%).

Days 10-14: MIA, But The Project Lives On!

Ok - so this week was not an ideal week! My two-year-old became really sick with the sneezy, coughing, runny nose, etc stuff. . . then I came down with it . . . then my husband . . . then our two-year-old got a really bad ear infection in BOTH ears! Yikes!! We spent all day Saturday on the couch because every time I tried to put him down he would cry. My poor hubby - that was really the first day I didn't do some small thing for the Husband Project. . . unless you count holding our son all day so my hubby didn't have to hear crying all day? :)

So - I did small things like making lunch, leaving notes, giving him some free time, etc. In fact, this morning/afternoon, he had about four-and-a-half hours to do whatever he wanted!

I'm crossing my fingers that the rest of the weeks in the Husband Project go a little more according to plan than this last one! There were some great projects in the book that I will either double-up over the next week or two, or I will do some of them after the 21 days.

:) Wendi

Day 9: Project - Its all about his tummy! (Another diversion from the book)

Ok - so my niece was here all day and is spending the night again (winter vacation), so I had to kind of wing-it today, but I DID remember my husband throughout the day, and so I planned a very nice Greek dinner that I thought would surprise and delight him!

He DID love it, which made me feel really great. Yeah!

Now I'm off to read about tomorrow's project and start planning.

~ Wendi

Day 8: Project Adjusted!

So, my day ended up to be completely different than I had planned, but it all worked out.

As a result, I didn't have the time I needed to do the real project, so I made my husband breakfast and lunch for the next day and let him know it was ready for him . :) He seemed touched by the gesture.

Then, after he went to bed, I got the garbage and diaper pail bag ready to go out to the garbage in the morning since it is our garbage day.

Day 7: Project - Tryphy Wife (tweaked for a day in the yard!)

What was supposed to happen: Ok - So I was supposed to get up and do a few things to look REALLY good for my husband today, and I had figured out everything I was going to do - straighten my hair the way he loves it, wear my diamond earings and necklace that he gave me, pretty frilly shirt, really work the makeup, etc.

What really happened: we got up, threw on hats and ran outside to play in the sun! It wasn't raining and we thought we would get the yard cleaned up from a recent storm so our son could play outside this week (weather permitting).

Then it was nap time for our son and I realized that being a "Trophy Wife" today just wasn't going to happen, so I started planning. I invited my husband to jump in the shower with me (dual shower heads are great!) to get clean. I then proceeded to wash his hair with shampoo and conditioner - I think I spent about 7 minutes really massaging his scalp - he told me he was in heaven! He stayed in the shower while I got ready ad put our son down for his nap.

Then we had to be quiet, so I wrote a few book reviews that are scheduled on Wendi's Book Corner for later this week.

Now my men are in bed (husband and son), and I am free to plan tomorrow's project!

My question to you: What do you do to make yourself pretty for your husband?

Day 6: A Little Hand's On Attention

Today was better than yesterday, although my hubby didn't make it easy!

We had a nice day today, getting up, exchanging little Valentine's Day sweets, etc.

This evening, our son went down early because he is still feeling pretty bad, and he missed his nap (too excited with daddy home all day!).

As a result, we decided to watch a grown-up movie and my hubby chose Eagle Eye - very actiony movie!

My husband got the movie ready and sat down on the loveseat. I told him to scoot over and he refused (I'd been planning to massage his head and rub his back). Instead, he said I could cuddle with him, so I decided to take what I could get.

At one point, he got up to check on our son, so I took the opportunity to switch places. He humored me when he returned, and I got my chance to massage his head and back.

I know he enjoyed it, and it was worth it to help him relax and feel loved! :)

Day 5: E-Flirt (Did I Just Crash and Burn??)

Ok - so yesterday (yes - I'm behind on posting - both my son and I are battling colds, so I was amazed that I made it through the day in one piece! By the time my son and hubby went to bed, I was simply too tired to sneak back out and post!) the project was to e-flirt (text, email, etc).

I was challenged from the moment my husband left the house at 3:30 am! You see, I tried to call him to make sure everything was ok (yes - that is a little early even for him), and when I called his cell, it rang in the kitchen - oops! Well, we do have the same phone, so maybe he took mine?? Nope! Tried mine and it rang in the kitchen as well. Then I started to worry - he NEVER forgets anything! Fifteen minutes later I did get him at work, and he said he was getting a jump start on the day so he could come home early. I wished him a good day and tried to go back to sleep.

I checked my email on my pda, then decided that since I couldn't text him, I would email him and wish him a happy day, so I sent him a quick email signed xoxo.

Mid-day, sent another email telling him I hoped he was having a good day and was looking forward to seeing him and doing something fun this weekend.

Yes - I'm not exactly an e-flirt via email - I used to work for the same company, and I KNOW they log and filter emails.

Anyway, he came home, and other than having dinner in the crockpot and the house straightened, I was curled up on the couch with a blanket (just got the son down for a nap and was trying to relax and get rid of the cold!).

He seemed to have misunderstood my emails to be nagging him to come home, so my feelings were a little hurt (I specifically didn't ask him to come home, but rather wished him a good day!). I had picked a fun movie up for us to watch in the evening, and he didn't seem too interested.

Anyway, he later made another comment about me not being nice except for the first few days of the week, so I'm thinking he sees the grander gestures and not the smaller ones.

I'm not going to take it personally - I'm going to get through the temporary stall and keep going! :)

Day 4: Heart vs. Stomache (yummy brownies. . . )

So, the project today was really fun and easy. I was challenged to surprise my husband with a yummy treat for his tummy!

I made two!!

1.Yummy homemade (well, partly- I did use a mix!) triple chocolaty brownies, warm from the oven when he arrived home, and neatly arranged on a pretty plate.

2. A very interesting Jambalaya type dinner. Lots of diced peppers, celery and tomatoes, Turkey SPAM cut into squares and sauteed - yes I said SPAM - this was a first for me - all simmered together to create a wonderful flavorful dinner.

I really enjoyed surprising him with this tonight. I even cleared off the table and put on the pretty tablecloth my Mom gave me a few years ago!

Overall, the dinner and brownies were really enjoyed, and my hubby went to bed with an overly-stuffed tummy!

:)

Day 3: Brag About Your Man!

Ok - Ok! I don't have the title quite right, but the gist of today's project was to brag about my husband and let him know that I talked about him.

I did brag about him quite a lot to my mother and grandmother, along with a stranger or two when we took my son to the local Children's Museum today.

You see - my husbands car has a horrible leak in it somewhere, and after taking it to the car shop twice, they still can't find anything, yet the trunk and back seat are sopping wet - I'm talking actual puddles!

My hubby did some research and found out it was a flaw with the car, and he also found out what some other owners of the car did to fix it. So - we took a hose out a week or so ago to see if we could MAKE it leak, and sure enough - we were able to find at least one leak, and follow it back to the source.

Sunday, my hubby spent a few hours outside taking the tail lights out of his car (no easy task!), and re-sealing the gaskets (think that was it). He then sealed a bunch of other areas around the trunk that didn't look water-tight.

Yesterday he came home and told me that even after a full day of rain (not surprising here in Seattle), there was LESS water in his car!! Yeah!!!

I am so impressed that this car repair hasn't cost us $1k in repairs! :) He found the leak, did some research, and FIXED it!!

So yes, I bragged about it today!! And then I told him about it, and how proud, excited, impressed, etc I am of him!

Hmmm - he didn't appear to really care. That said, he and I visited a little more than normal, and he initiated a game of dominoes with me shortly after he got home and I had put dinner in the oven.

:) Wendi

PS - for the past two days, he has noticed how nice I've been, and has commented. It is so nice to feel "nice" for a change! I really do find myself continuing to think of my hubby throughout the day in nice ways.

Oh - and he took the garbage out when he left for work! I didn't have to ask or put it by the door - I got up and it was simply gone!! So I did say a huge thank you this evening. Maybe this Husband Project will have a few good benefits for me too (other than my happier outlook)!

Day 2: Back In The Day

Ok - so I thought I would try to do the project from yesterday (give him 30 minutes when he got home just for himself), then figured I'd go right into today's project, which was to "Do Something He Enjoyed Before You Got Married."

I actually struggled with this one. You see, I've got some great memories from pre-marriage days. We didn't live together prior to getting married, but we did spend a lot of time at one of the parents houses, and we had a better time at his dad's because he was so relaxed about rules. As a result, my husband often had projects set up on a table in his room that we would work on for hours. Well, he would work on them, and eventually invited me to help him. Generally he was working on RC cars (really nice, expensive ones!), or an occasional model car.

A few other fun memories were watching wrestling shows with his dad - yes - dorky, but it was so fun because they had so much fun and things got rowdy and loud. The shows aren't as much fun anymore, so I went to three different stores thinking I would get a new UFC fighting show for him to watch while munching on some goodies, but none of them had them!

We also used to hike and bike a lot - but with snow falling today - that was out of the question!

Finally, I remembered that he used to play a lot of games. . . pool at my parents house, Monopoly with his family, and I taught him to play cribbage, and he taught me dominoes.

So - I got dinner all lined out, straightened up the house, put our son down for a nap, and started getting things ready for a game of dominoes.

He called to say that he was on his way home, so I turned on the oven (chicken enchiladas from Costco), and got the dominoes all set up. He came in and I suggested that he relax for a few minutes - maybe catch up on sports or the news (or his game). Surprise - he had no interest. He wanted to know how my day was and what we had done.

I took him over to the table and pulled out some hummus and pita chips I'd stashed in the kitchen.

WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! . . . .

And then it happened. . . .

"ok - what did you do to the car?"
"are you cheating on me?"
"what are you hiding from me?"
"are you drunk?"
"are you on drugs?"

I just laughed at him and told him that I'd been thinking about him and thought it would be fun to play a game of dominoes like we used to.

We had so much fun - did I already say that?? Hmmm. . .

Well - I won the first game, he won the second. We started visiting about different things in a way we haven't for a long time.

So, during this whole time, I'd had dinner on "low" in the oven, or so I thought! Oops - I didn't really look at the nob when I turned it down to keep it warm. I accidentally turned it onto broil!! So - while we were distracted, dinner was melting to the pan I had under it!

We ended up having grasshopper pie (leftover from a dinner party the other day), hard-boiled eggs, sliced peppers, and hummus with pita chips for dinner - along with some great laughs!

We then sat down on the couch while our son was playing with his cars, and started asking each other about favorites . . . colors, movies, veggies, fruits, etc. We must have sat there for 45 minutes or so. It was so great to connect this way - we haven't done that in years!

Special note- as with yesterday, I found myself thinking positively about my husband throughout the entire day, which was really nice and made me feel good! :)

Note (You will probably see this on a lot of my posts): If you want to participate in The Husband Project, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of the book. I am going to share some of my experiences with you, but you will get SO much more from reading the book and really understanding what Kathi Lipp is saying.