I’ve been working on blog post ideas in honor of our Oki-Anniversary (can you believe we’ve been here for almost 11 months!!!! This year has definitely flown by!) and i thought it would be fun to write a recap post on the things i’ve learned after living with my husband for a year. Since we started living together in July of last year, i thought it would be more appropriate to write it now rather than in September.
After receiving news of G’s PCS (Permanent Change of Station) to Japan in June/2012 and finishing my college summer class i travelled to Jacksonville, North Carolina (where G was stationed) to figure out what we were going to do. Was i going to leave with him in August? Was i going to stay to finish my bachelor’s degree? So many questions, so little time. After getting approved to join him in Japan, we didn’t have time to try and work it out for me to stay back home until January 2013, because he had to report there in less than a month. Long story short, it took us a while to get my medical stuff done and they changed his date to September. We stayed at a hotel for over a month, until it came time for me to pack up and for us to spend time with family/friends back home for a last Hoorah before leaving to Japan.
All of a sudden, I was married and living on the other side of the world! This was my first time living on my own and adding a guy to that equation, there were bound to be some fun learning experiences! Here are some of the interesting things i’ve learned this year:
1. This man takes the longest showers in the history of the world. No joke. During our first months together i would have to check up on him because he’d be in the bathroom for over an hour! He likes to sit on the bathtub while the shower is on and he uses this time to catch up on his tumbling. Weird i know. After living together for a couple of months it became something normal, i already expect him to stay in the shower for a long time after he comes home from work. It’s sort of his time to unwind from a hard day’s work.
2. Clean Freak vs. Man – he may have been a “clean freak” before we moved in together, but most times the man in him wins. When we moved in and noticed our small closet space we decided to use separate closets because we both have tons of clothing. All of his things are in the spare bedroom and man that room is always a mess! The clean freak only comes out those two sundays a month when we decide to deep-clean our whole apartment and he goes crazy with cleaning products.
Another funny thing is waking up in the morning to find last nights clothes on the floor in his side of the bedroom, when there’s a perfectly good laundry basket on my side…
3. This man can cook! and everybody was always saying how lucky i was to have found a man who enjoys cooking. But after a couple of months i started getting into cooking as well, because i didn’t want him to have to come home from work to cook. I’ve gotten quite good at it and ever since then i’m the only one that cooks. Yes, he may cook meat or BBQ here and there, but now i’m the one slaving away in the kitchen and i miss his cooking.
4. Grocery Store Cravings – I’ve been trying to budget our grocery store trips and after a couple of tries i noticed i can’t take this man to the grocery store with me! He craves everything !!! Suddenly our cart is full of frozen snacks and fatty foods. I also crave stuff at the grocery store but when i’m alone it’s easier to control myself, when he’s around and constantly adding stuff to our cart i feel like i can do the same, and that’s a No, No!!
5. TV Shows – We have more or less the same taste in tv shows and since i’ve been staying at home for the past 11 months while i find work, i’ve been watching tv show after tv show to keep me entertained. I have shows that i watch while he’s at work and shows we watch together, but he keeps falling in love with the tv shows i watch alone, for example Supernatural and Greys Anatomy! Also, after trying to get him into Doctor Who and failing, i watched the whole series by myself and NOW he decided he wants to see it.. silly husband, but i’m enjoying watching the show all over again! Another thing he does (that i hate) is that if we’re watching shows/movies at night and he’s suddenly sleepy he’ll stop whatever we’re watching midway and go to sleep.. it drives me crazy!!
6. Laundry – After living with this man for a couple of weeks i noticed he didn’t separate his laundry!!! Everything that fit in one Extra-Large load went in there with tons of cheap detergent. Maybe it’s a guy thing? because Belinda from Found Love now What? talked about this on her second Vlog! I’m all about Eco-Friendly Detergents and i think i’ve taught him a thing or two about how to do laundry, properly, but most of the time he’s too hard headed to do it my way, lol! But at least he does his own laundry, although i’m usually stuck folding everything. My favorite chore (NOT!).
7. Cooking for an Army – When i started cooking i noticed that the food wasn’t enough! I eat so little, but this man!! He eats three times what i eat and of course he has to take food for work the next day, so that means cooking for an army! Especially because he has gotten into working out with the guys and is wanting to gain weight.. *sighs* it’s not easy for me to loose weight when my spouse is wanting the opposite! haha
After spending three weeks alone in May/June i realized how much i missed his little quirks and habits! This year has been full of learning and i can’t wait to see what else i learn living by his side for the rest of my days.
Q: What have you learned from living with a guy? Leave me a comment below! 🙂