9 years of marriage and still counting...

I just celebrated my 9th anniversary with my wife (11 years total knowing eachother) and it still amazes me how much I love her. She no doubt can push my buttons and get me more mad than anyone in this entire earth but all I have to do is think about her beautiful blue eyes and smile and it is almost impossible to stay mad. Half the time I have to pretend to be mad just to save some face in the argument. She is the most wonderful mother I could possibly have hoped to find for my children. She has done a tremendous job raising and nurturing our 4 kids. Not only them I guess, me too. She has kept this family on financial track since the beginning and really doesn't get a whole lot in return. I love her strong willed nature and at the same time her vulnerable side. I love the fact that everytime she is sick or has a wierd feeling somwhere in her body she researches and comes up with some new potential disease or infection. I love that even though we do eat a lot of the same stuff for dinner (mainly due to my lack of desire to try new things) she always tries to make it more interesting in some way with some personal touch of something. I love that after 4 kids she can wear a bikini and look good doing it. I love that she still thinks she is 5 feet tall... 4'11" to be accurate. I love that she wakes me up at least a couple times a week talking in her sleep about random things. I love that she tries to give our kids the best life they could possibly have. I love the fact that I can't wait to leave work to see her and the kids. Most importantly I love the fact she chose to love me.

Catch Phrase volume 1....

I am going to hit on some catch phrases over the next few days that really tick me off. People use these to mislead us all the time yet there are no repercussions for using them... Here is phrase 1.

1. Work Life Balance - BS... If employers were so interested in this they would make a 4 day work week or flexible hours. Almost all companies sell this idea but very few actually live it. This is because most of the people in charge actually have no life but work so they expect the same... One of my favorite attempts are making you think you have work life balance is they throw you the "Jeans Day" occasionally and let you out an hour early because you know that helps you spend more quality time with your family. Or another good one is volunteer time or even happy hour events held after work. The last thing I want to do after work is spend more time with people from work. I want to go home and see my wife and kids. I work at a company that requires you work over 40 hours (of course we are salary) and if you work close to 40 that is a red flag to management you are not busy enough. Since when did this become a standard that is accepted??? I have had reviews for my associates (hint, that will show up in another blog) where the first thing asked by my superior is where are the hours worked... Really, does that matter? I could be the smartest guy on the team and get my work done in 40 but Joe Bob may spend 10 hours on the internet yet he logs 50 hours and that is seen as a plus? WOW!!!! Anyway, what companies need to do is give alternating Fridays off so at the very least 2 times a month you have a 4 day work week. I bet you would find this would boost morale more than any other attempt they make. This would make happier more close knit families which in tern makes happier more productive "associates" (employees).