Guest Post #4: Words of Me Project

What a fantastic week of Guest Bloggers!!! I am so enjoying each of their posts, and I hope you are too. By now, I am probably all Mickey Moused OUT and SO tired of singing "It's a Small World" or hearing "Some day my Prince will come!" that I am probably sneaking some time to visit your blogs, but not quite ready to return from the Magic of Disney. So, today, I have an amazing guest post that made me laugh and smile the whole way through it, written by my dear blog friend, Leslie, from {Words of Me Project}. Les (as her friends call her) and I stumbled upon each others blogs about a year ago, and I have a special place in my heart for this gifted and inspiring lady! She shares wonderful creative adventures and stories of inspiration and hope on her blog. If you don't know her yet, sit back and enjoy this wonderful post, titled . . . . 

My First Date with Dave 

Before I get to my post I just wanted to THANK my dear friend Leanne for asking me to guest post on her amazing, well-written blog. Leanne was one of my first Blog readers {and I think I was one of hers} She has become a dear friend and I look forward to meeting her one day.

Okay, so on to my post...sit back, relax and hear all about my first Date with Dave {my wonderful husband} or as I like to call it "The day my heart was ripped from my chest, torn to little bits and scattered all over the pavement for people to walk on but I still fell in love with you anyway" Date. :)

We met at KNIM radio station. I was an announcer. He was the new guy in town and owner of Domino's Pizza. It was love at first site for me {that's another story and oh, so true}. Him? Well, let's just say he was a bit S  L  O  W when it came to women. ;)

Those first few weeks after he moved to town we spent quite a bit of time together. Well, not together. Not really. I mean we were together but more on a professional level. It went like this...he walked into the station, I met him in my office and took him to the studio to cut radio ads. I'd sit behind my board of buttons and levers while he sat across from me, face behind a microphone ready to record 30 seconds of Domino's Pizza goodness. Dave started every ad like this...

"Whoo, whoo, whoo, this is Domino Dave."

{That was nearly 20 years ago and he is still known for these ads in town!!}

After several takes we'd listen to each one, choose the best and put it on a carte, ready to hit the airwaves. We got to know one another in between takes and before long instead of spending 10 minutes recording his ads it was taking up to an hour.

Dave and I went on our first date the week before July 4th. I had no idea where this young, hot business man was going to take me but I was sure it was gonna be good. He had hinted we may go to Clarinda for dinner {there is a super, fancy schmancy steak house there} so I made sure to wear my best outfit and spent hours perfecting my hair.

I mean, you know how it is...don't you girls? The hair has to be lookin' good for you to feel good about how you look? Right? And back in 1990 waaaay BIG hair was still in. The more Aqua Net the better. {at least for me anyways}. I had one of those "punky" do's. Picture this: a nearly shoulder length mullet with a spiky top...oh and I had permed hair. It was fantastic. {and required an entire can of spray each week... and whatever you do...be careful using matches around my head....seriously.} Oh yeah, Babee, I was ready for a serious night on the town.


So there I was waiting on my front porch when I heard it.


Very LOUD music.

Not the jump up, bang your head, rock stuff.

Nooooo....it was more like....Rock Me Amadeus...but for real. The REAL Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was blaring from his black 1989 Honda Prelude.

I just happened to think this was the hottest car out there...it even had a sunroof. SaWeet!

Anyway, so he pulls up, Mozart so loud it about broke my eardrums. {eh, what did you say?} All I could think was..."This guy is a little bit weird. Hey, I like my music loud, too...but think Quiot Riot, Def Leppard or Van Halen..ya' know what I'm sayin'??


"Where are we going, Dave?" I asked after he had turned down the music a bit.

"How does Clarinda sound?"

Ohhhh, he was gonna take me to that fancy whancy place!!! {that I sooooo could not afford}

"Clarinda sounds amazing, Dave," I answered happily.

"Great! Clarinda has a Pizza Hut and I thought we'd go there to check out the competition!"

I was speechless. Really? Really we were going to Pizza Hut? The OWNER of Domino's was taking me to PIZZA HUT!!! {on our first date?}

We went to Pizza Hut.

Being the gentleman he is...Dave ordered for both of us.

Not one but TWO large pizzas.

Two.

Yes, you read that right...there was two of us and he ordered us two large pizzas. Enough to feed me, him, the Spoofhound football team and a family of four. Did he think I was fat? I mean I have always been kinda sorta pudgy but did he honestly think I could eat an entire large pizza by myself? Oh, and I almost forgot...he ordered breadsticks, too! I didn't know what to say. So many thoughts were running around in my head. Where was this guy coming from? He hadn't seemed weird at the station.

Hmmmm...

I gave him a break, sat back and enjoyed the evening. Talking came easy for us. This date was going along pretty well, considering...

After a few hours we decided to head back to the 'Ville and catch a movie.

So there we were driving along, windows down and the warm, summer breeze blowing on us...everything felt just right. This was the happiest I had been in months.

Then it happened...

"Hey, Les I've been meaning to ask...what's that in your hair?"

My hair? I panicked and began patting my head, searching for whatever might be wrong with it. Had something blown in the window and landed amongst the perfectly sprayed strands?


"I don't know what you mean, Dave."


"Well, it looks like a bird has made a nest in your hair," he replied with genuine concern.

A bird, in my hair, a nest? What was he talking about? Now like I said before...a girl and her hair have a love/hate relationship. If our hair looks good then we feel good. If our hair looks bad then we feel...like we're failures, we ate too much at dinner and now we're fat, we're stupid, we're not pretty or cute or fun, we shouldn't even be allowed to walk on the face of the earth...we are losers!!!

"Uh, I don't know what you mean, Dave?" I said a bit nervously.

"Well, your hair is like all matted and messy...I've just been looking at it all night."

My heart sank. He hated me. It was over before it even started.

And all because I was having a bad hair day.

A few minutes later and we were in Maryville headed towards the theater. Did I want to go? Did he want to go? I mean, gee...with my hair all matted and nest looking. Why in the world would he want to be seen with me?

This large pizza eating, bird nest hair looking mess.

Dave whistled as he opened the passenger door for me. Smiling he took my hand and helped me out of the car.

"What movie are we seeing?" I asked him shyly.

"I was thinking we'd go to Pretty Woman. Okay with you?"


Oh, yeah, sure I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing than watching Julia Roberts run around with perfectly long, flowing curls and a body that looks like she eats anything but large, greasy Pizza Hut pizzas.


Can't wait...I smiled sweetly.

The rest of the night? It was sweet. We held hands, cuddled a bit then said good night. Dave was the perfect gentleman. Well, perfect all except for the Pizza Hut thing and the bird nest hair thing, and then there was that Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts thing {I still don't like that movie}.

I saw Dave the very next day. And the day after that. And the day after that. We were married nearly 2 years later and this October we will celebrate 18 years together.

My friends always tell me things like...you two are sooo cute together. You never argue and you always are holding hands, going on dates and talking to one another. What's your secret?

You know what I tell them?

We never eat at Pizza Hut.

I stopped getting perms.

And oh, you know Julia Roberts?

We never go to her movies...

;)

- Leslie