It's the little things...

Some women complain that their men are too needy. Some women complain that their men don't romance them enough. I've dated men that I was able to endlessly complain about, that's why there are so many entries in this blog.

As women, we are so used to comparing our lives, relationships, and men to movies and reality TV shows. Comparing your man to Dr. McDreamy or wishing that the Bachelor would give you the final rose does nothing but blind you from all the little things - the good little things that our men do for us on a daily basis.

It is one of those little things that I'm writing about today.

The other day, I had asked my Muffin to help me rotate our King size mattress. It's a job for 2 people. I've been working out at the gym a lot lately but I'm still not buff enough to carry the floppy memory foam mattress on my own. He had recently hurt his knee playing basketball, so he hobbled into the bedroom, ready to help me.

We have a metal frame that the memory foam mattress sits on. Under that, usually, there isn't much. 2 suitcases, a box of Christmas decorations, a few pairs of Muffin's shoes, and dust. But not too much dust, I'd never let that happen.

But this time, things were different. When we rotated the mattress, the bed-skirt bunched up all kinds of crazy to reveal to me several rocks under the bed. I looked at the rocks, I looked at Muffin. I knew he had something to do with this.

Muffin has an affinity towards crystals, energy, and all things spiritual. He has a pretty big collection of crystals and the guest room and his closet is where they are all housed. He has me carry one around in my purse, but it's so small that I forget that it's there most of the time. I think his passion for them is endearing. It's something that I love about him. He whole heartily believes in crystals healing powers. Different crystals do different things, if you ask him, he would talk your ears off about it.

Well, the crystal collection had moved from out of just his designated areas to under our bed. There was a medium sized rock under where my head lays, several crystals on platforms under where his head lays, a giant crystal, the size of a cantaloupe in the center, and more crystals by our feet. I thought it was the weirdest thing ever. I was so surprised since I had no idea they had been under our bed!

I asked him why he put crystals under our bed. He said it was to help us sleep better. He reminded me that I had been sleeping better lately - I didn't have the heart to tell  him it was my Zyrtec-D that makes me sleepy. He told me that he had made a grid of crystals under the bed so that we would sleep better, be kept safe, have better energy, get along more, etc. His list of reasons was long and very sweet.

After we rotated the bed, I immediately texted my friends to let them know of my weird discovery. Obviously, we laughed and I made a joke out of it!  There were rocks under my bed that I had not know about, strategically placed by my very own weirdo.

That night, as we lay in bed, I couldn't help but think of the crystals. Now that I know they're there, now that I know they were strategically placed under me, I couldn't help but love my Muffin even more. What he did might have been weird to me. I might not understand why he did it, and I may not feel the benefits from any of it. But he did it for for us. He put those crystals under the bed with the intent to better our sleep and our relationship.

Sometimes we may not think our men do enough, say they love us enough, tell us we're pretty at the right moments. But sometimes, we overlook the smallest gestures of their love because we are too busy being negative douche-bags.

Lesson Learned:

As long as there are no crack rocks under your bed, you will sleep easy.

It's all so clear now...

This is not a blog about a horrible date or some dreaded fool who tried to woo me and or my pants off. This blog is going to be cheesy. It's going to be annoying. But you're going to read it. Because you love me.

This blog is about the day my entire life made sense. The day I found my wedding dress. As most of you know, I am engaged to Muffin. He is by far, the best man I've ever laid my eyes on. This is not a blog about how amazing he is, mostly because that would make the blog about him and not ME and we cant have that.

I am really excited to get married. I am NOT excited to have a wedding. Blending Assyrian, Iranian, Lebanese, and African American family for 5-6 hours is overwhelming. I plan to have an open bar - this was not done to please the guests, it is specifically for me. If you are lucky, I will share.

After several years of watching Say Yes To The Dress on TLC, every Friday night, while texting my best friend, I decided that I would fly to NYC to try on bridal gowns at Kleinfeld's. This was the best decision I have ever made- outside of the time I decided to NOT get Ricky Martin's face tattooed on my body.

In my life, I have had 4 serious boyfriends, Muffin being the fourth. My first boyfriend, he was a dud. Much like the first wedding dress I tried on. He seemed to be what I wanted, but I was young, and naive, and he drove an ice cream truck.... And I like ice cream, so we were happy. The first dress I tried on was nice, it was what I thought I wanted, it looked like Vanilla Ice Cream, but it wasn't THE ONE.

My second boyfriend, he was better than the first. He was tall, he was handsome, he had swag dripping from every pore of his ever so beautiful body. But, he was too much for me. His ego was bigger than my svelte ass which led to the inevitable breakup. The second dress I tried on was better than the first. It was more intricate. It was beautiful on the hanger, but on me, it wasn't right. On to the next.

My third boyfriend. He was my world. He had me laughing from day one. He was a manly man. A guys kind of guy. I was emotionally invested in number 3. I could have married number 3, had he not already been married and fathered a small tribe of children. The third dress I tried on was amazing. It was beautiful. I stood in front of the mirror, with my best friend and bridesmaid standing beside me, and I looked at myself and cried. The ugly cry. Where you cant stop the horrendous look on your face or the amount of tears from spewing out. It wasn't because the dress was THE ONE, but because I had never looked in the mirror and thought "Damn Michelle, you are stunning." Not until that moment. I had a serious moment. I needed a few tissues. The people outside of my dressing room all gushed over me. They all thought my dress was perfect. But I knew, much like boyfriend number 3, it was close, but not perfect.

My muffin. He is my fourth and last boyfriend. He is the man that asked my father to marry me. He is the man that I've built a home with. He is my home. He is the one that has helped me time after time, is always uplifting, has never once put me down. Muffin, he's perfect for me. And so was the fourth dress. After having such a moment with the previous dress, the sales consultant was sure I'd buy the 3rd dress. But I told her I wanted to try on one more. I'm so glad I did.

She had me step into the dress and before she was able to fully put it on me, I knew. This was my dress! It was perfect. Everything I had ever wanted. The 28 years I've spent dreaming of the day I'd be a bride were now a reality. I had found the most beautiful dress for me and with a sound mind and heart, I said YES to the dress!

Up until this point, my blog has been about men who tried to be the one. All the dates, the stories, the jokes, all the words in this blog had a purpose. To lead me to my Muffin.

I'm not going to lie, sometimes I do wish that my life was still as wild and crazy as it used to be. Sometimes I wish I had more to write about. But at the end of the day, I've never been happier. I've never been more sure that I'm doing something great with my life.

To all of those looking for love.... You might have to go on a few (or several hundred) bad dates to find your one and only. And when you do find them, you'll look back and be grateful for every single one of the freaks who tried to win your heart.

Lesson Learned:

Don't hate on the uglies, the weirds, the freaks, the awkward people who come into your life - they will all lead you to your one and only. But also, don't hump them. That would be gross.