happy birthday, pops!

yes, my father was born 3 days after my mother (although she will be quick to tell you that he is 5 years older).  so, happy birthday, dad! and so goes the embarrassing list of reasons why my pops is so great:

1. he is the most sincere person i have ever met in my life. for reals.  i did not pick up my sarcastic nature from him. 
2. i procured my love of genealogy from him. to his delight, from a very young age, i would always ask stories of his family and his parents family. what it was like for him to grow up. so we have him to thank for my ability to bore people to tears with genealogy.
3. loyalty. it's big with him. if my dad was ever your friend, or if you were ever kind to him, you will be forever spoken highly of. my dad knows way more "real good guys" than i thought was possible. he will also not hesitate to tell you to look these people up and go and visit them if you are in the near vicinity. no, it doesn't matter if you yourself haven't met them.
4. thirsty? not an alcoholic? my dad is your man. he has been brewing his own beer for over 30 years. and he is really good at it. this isn't me just bragging about my dad. it has been taste tested by many beer lovers and all agree.
5. like meat? (who doesn't, right?) my pops has converted an old 1950's refrigerator into a smoker. he has been smoking meats, eggs, cheese, and probably more for quite some time. this combined with his mad gardening skills, and brewing talents would make him set in case there was some sort of disaster that kills walmart.
6. my dad most patiently taught me how to ride a bike, drive a car, and to drive a manual truck. not an easy task (any of them). although my dad is quiet short in patience regarding any sort of line, traffic situation, or venue that has more than 6 people; he never once yelled at me while i grind-ed gears shifting on dirt roads.
7. along with my mother, my dad is one of the hardest working people i know. he was always up at the crack of dawn heading out to work, and would return in the evening covered in grease and dirt (oilfield mechanic). he worked outside no matter the temperature or weather doing physical work. all for his family.

thanks, dad. happy birthday!

happy birthday, mama!

in an attempt to wish my mama a happy birthday, i wanted to share with you some of the reasons my mama is so special:

1. she is not shy about expressing herself. seriously. if my mom is mad at you, you will know about it. she is not passive aggressive. I've seen her throw salads, tell off the cable man, slam doors, not to mention the stories she tells about herself in her "younger days". on the same note, she also tells me how much she loves me, how proud she is of me, and how perfect I am (yes, she really thinks this) oh, about six or seven times before we get off of Skype. and hugs, she is not scared of hugging you to death.

2. growing up, she was always fond of games. my momma and me played many games all the time together. cribbage. scrabble. gin rummy. she was the only one who liked games as much as me.

3. the woman can cook. we might not have been the richest family in bogue, but you would never have guessed it by the quality and flavor of the foods we ate. she is the reason I shrivel my nose when I hear what other people grew up eating.

4. she is a tough lady. monday - friday my mom was always up before dawn. getting ready for work, getting us ready for school. sometimes she worked on the weekends. most of the time she held at least 2 jobs at any given time. she is what my dad would call a "tough broad".

5. clean freak. the house was vacuumed every day. dusted once a week. a load of laundry was ran every day. everyone showered once a day (it didn't matter if you "didn't do anything" that day). to this day, i can't relax after dinner until the dishes are done. she might have given me a complex.

6. one time when a boy broke up with me, she bought me a magazine/book totally devoted to prince william.

7. when i moved in with aaron after 5 years of dating, she asked me how i would keep my virginity. bless her heart.

happy birthday, mom!