My husband,

Every day with you is like winning the lottery. You are truly God's gift to me and through your love I can really experience His richest blessings. You are a rarity and a gem amongst men. You are not the norm. Your wisdom, you intuitiveness, your depth and your love only come around once in truly a blue moon.

On my worst days when I am cranky and irritable you respond to me with warmth and compassion. You understand how I'm feeling; what I'm feeling and what I need and then you go to work. You daily remind me that I am your queen. You never let me forget that I am the prettiest girl in the world and your best best friend ever.

For you I am so grateful. With you life takes on a different hue. Our sorrows and our times of challenges become easier to deal with. Those times of passion and bliss are even more sweeter when we share them together. You are my heart and next to God you are the center of my life.

Our children are so blessed to have you as their father. Our community is enriched because of your selflessness and humility.

My love, my husband, my very best friend...I just can't wait to continue every twist and turn of our journey. Together we have everything we need in life and then just a little bit more.....we are more than lucky. We are blessed.

Loving you forever,
your darling wife, egypt

I guess that should read, the day my husband and I got into a disagreement; but I realized it was my ego that did the attacking..and thus I blame her!

Here's what happened and how I was able to slay my ego and save the day...

I have been vegetarian for almost twenty years. I made a "logical" decision to become vegetarian when I became old enough to decide what my mother could not make me eat. My very vivid imagination had always led me down a path of destruction and in the area of meat in was no exception. Each time I would imagine eating a piece of turkey I could see "that little garble thing on its neck" and that would GROSS me out! I never had a lofty and noble reason for not eating meat; it was just nasty to me.

My son is not a vegetarian. He was breast fed up until almost two years old. He never drank formula and he never liked baby food. When I think back it seems he went from breast milk to broccoli to.....chicken nuggets. That's right....chicken nuggets. My ex husband who was a staunch vegan at the time decided it was time to start eating meat again and I came home one day to hear my son had eaten chicken. I didn't make a big deal out of it because I'd never made a real significant decision either way when it came to him eating certain kinds of meat.

Fast forward to the day in question when my ego and my husband got into it. My husband is also vegetarian. He hasn't always been but for the past year or so he has. He wants Yums to also become vegetarian for the sake of uniformity in our home in addition for a healthier lifestyle. Despite the fact that eating meat is not a big deal to me I vehemently opposed this idea. In my opinion my son eats healthy already and a healthier option would be incorporating more organic meats into his diet. We went back and forth on this....if I were a fly on the wall it would have been pretty comedic. After all, I'm a vegetarian so wouldn't it stand that my son would be one too?

Eventually I saw the culprit in this disagreement. It was my overly fed and gluttonous ego. The ego is fixed on ideas that it believes in and has difficulty being humble enough to entertain any other idea. It is grandiose and narcissistic and loves nothing more than to be right; this is even at the sake of learning something new or trying something different. Once I stopped listening with my ego and listened with...the intention of what my husband was saying...I could hear clearly. He would like for us to explore a healthier lifestyle; as simple as that.

If we really think about it and if we're honest enough to admit it, most of our disagreements stem from our pesky ego. We have an addictive need to be right all of the time and this can lead to misery and mayhem.
In the end I kicked my ego's butt and my husband and I were able to lovingly resolve our disagreement. The next time my ego raises it's narcissistic head I'll recognize it before it has time to disturb the peace in my home.

Little things help when it's rainy out and in.
I probably shouldn't allow certain things to bother me so much but I guess it's because of my sensitive nature that I do.

Here are a few of my most treasured pick me ups...

• Jill Scott...any Jill Scott
• Lavender essential oil
• Lemon/ginger Tea
• Musiq SoulChild - my favorite is his last album, onmyradio
• A hot steamy cup of coffee brewed strong
• Fresh flowers of any type
• Open windows for fresh air
• A red velvet cupcake
• Fred Hammond [i love gospel music]
• My husband. Always my husband.
• Nag champa Incense
• A clean home and uncluttered work environment
• Hearing my son say...hey mama [melts my heart every single time]
• A clear head
• A balanced perspective
• The ability to start over....

My husband knows that I get down in the dumps sometimes because of my boring attire at work. Because I work from home full time my daily wardrobe consists of sweats, tee shirts and socks. Sometimes I may jazz it up a bit and put on my "fancy" sweats but that's about as exciting as it gets! My hair is usually pulled back into a ponytail; I have on my librarian glasses and the only makeup I have on is some lip gloss. I look fair at best.

My husband knows that I LOVE dressing up though; he's aware of how much I love dresses and tights and pretty shirts and big earrings and my absolute obsession with mascara! But I only get to indulge in these things on the weekend. So today he suggested I choose one day a week where I get fully dressed. Dressed, as in makeup, a dress, my earrings...the entire shebang. I contemplated this and decided it was a great idea! It would be such a morale booster; it may make my work day a bit more interesting and give me the extra boost while completing my assignments.

So this is one of the reasons I love this man and married him. He pays attention to my needs, whims and desires. He observes me and understands what will make me tick; what will put a smile on my face and what keeps me happy. He doesn't just observe though he acts on his observations. I couldn't have been more blessed if I won the lottery. He is my prize each and every day and for this I am so grateful....

That's right. That wasn't a misprint. My husband loves me the way I LOVE a tall soy caramel machiatto from Starbucks. I really enjoy a good cup of coffee but I adore my tall soy caramel machiatto! There is nothing in the world like it to me. I don't need it in a larger size...I don't need it with a different type of milk. The way I order it is the way I like it and it's perfect to me.

Today as my husband looked at me doing my usual goofy antics and making my routine corny jokes I realized..this man loves me. Like he really loves me just the way I am. We laughed together and he listed all of the things that he laughs at me about.....my over dramatic expressions...my clutziness....my inability to use the bathroom without turning the water on...my extreme paranoia about natural bodily functions...the fake falsetto voice I try to carry a tune in...my two left feet that finds it hard to catch a beat...

And he adores me.

I'm his tall soy caramel machiatto. I'm perfect for him. I'm made exactly the way he likes it. There is no other that he'd rather have.

Just Me.
Just the way I am.

Sunday evenings are my favorite day of the week. During this time the clothes have been washed and put away. The home smells like fabric softener. The kitchen is clean asides from dinner dishes. The candles are lit and the house smells like lavender, mango and a hit of nag champa here and there. Usually there is something old playing on the radio. Yes, the radio. Not the Ipod. Everyone is still and ready for the week to begin. I'm at peace although Monday morning looms around the corner. My son is at home and happy. He's had a good weekend with fresh memories. My husband is loving me and kissing me on the neck as we make dinner. All is well in my world.

This is the picture my husband has saved as his screen saver on his phone. He says it's to remind him of the way i looked at him the day we were married...i hope I'm able to continue looking at him this way for years to come....

That I love my mate. I love HIM.