mandaloo . com

i’ve been gone from mandaloo.com longer than i would like, but that’s okay. it’s called life, right?

some exciting things have happened the last couple of days. yesterday was valentine’s day. it was not a topic jeromy and i had discussed extensively, but we had decided on going to a hockey game that night. that alone would have sufficed in making a great day, but at work, i received two dozen roses. i was so surprised because jeromy has been so busy with work and everything else lately. apparently, the flowers had been in the works for a while… he is a good one, that jeromy. they are beautiful and oh-so very fragrant. i’ve never had such strong smelling flowers – they are wonderful. it was super sweet of him to do that and it made the day that much more special. i had sent jeromy some heart-shaped frosted cookies to his office, so he enjoyed all of those. we went to the stars game after work, but were both saddened when the red wings pulled through to beat them at the very last of the game. we then went to starbucks, where he got a white tea and i got a hot chocolate. a great evening, if i do say so myself. i’m fortunate to have such a nice valentine.

not to sound cheesy, but every day really is valentine’s with him… the guy is constantly doing nice things for me. granted, he’s not the type to regularly cook me a candlelit dinner or write some sonnet or eagerly volunteer to go to see some romantic comedy chick flick or anything – he’s a practical romantic. some people might overlook the every day acts of kindness and helpfulness as not being the traditional sense of “romantic” – but i have a different view. jeromy is always available with his opinions and thoughts on matters, which are always highly valued. the fact that he goes through so much to understand me as well as he does is unique. he takes care of me in ways i sometimes don’t even realize. he’s always on my team and a step ahead. before goinge on, i don’t mean to suggest that jeromy is all practical all the time - he opens my car door for me each and every day, and does tons of things that are chivalrous, but most of the time, “romance” from him comes in a practical approach.

one of the most memorable things jeromy did that illustrates my point was a recent experience a couple of weeks ago – i was having one of “those” weeks… where i had 240 hours of things to do but only 168 hours to get it done in. i was working late and still had to go shopping (among other things) for some supplies for a church activity i was organizing the next day. i was overwhelmed and then some – totally at my breaking point. without missing a beat, jeromy volunteered himself to run my errands and completed each task with a smile. instantly, a burden was lifted. it wasn’t only the fact that he did it – but the attitude he had while asking me what all i needed done. there was no resentment or annoyance – he purely had the best desire of wanting to help me out. i was super tired and mentally fried when i got out of work that evening (a 12+ hour work day i believe) and he had a dinner ready to heat up for me. his demeanor was tender and kind and he lovingly got me to relax.

there have been multiple times where he has acted in this fashion and looking back, those experiences speak louder than any act i have ever had done for me (and i’ve had quite a few over the top “traditionally romantic” experiences despite my rocky relationship history). carriage rides downtown, lavishly composed songs/love letters and slow dances under the moon are great and wonderful things – but in the long run, what means the most to me are the daily ins and outs. the affirmation that someone is there for not just the sunny days – but the stormy ones in between. the knowledge that you are secure and that your significant other is going to do all that they can to lessen your load – that’s romance. sadly, my ex husband was truly one of the most “romantic” individuals i knew – incredibly creative with his approach and knew exactly how to pull of stunts that movies could only scratch at. but the fact that he could be so “romantic” on a regular basis and turn around and do what ultimately ended our marriage went to show me just how much weight i should/shouldn’t put in all of that. he was not genuine with his love for me and i look back on it as a show. my perception and desires changed immediately following my separation from him.

the first time i looked at jeromy and thought he was sexy was when he was loading a trailer and helping out his mom and sister. from that point, i knew it’s what i wanted. it’s taken me some time and hard lessons to finally learn about different faces of romance, but it’s what i’ve come to (not to make it sound as though i don’t absolutely love the traditional, cheesy stuff on occasion). maybe “practical” isn’t as fluffy or exciting as the media would like romance to be. but to me, when my boyfriend calls and asks me what he can pick up for dinner so i don’t have to worry about it – it tells me that romance isn’t dead. when he goes the extra step like he did yesterday with my flowers, it makes me feel as if i can have my cake and eat it too (and for those that wonder - romance tastes yummy).

earlier this week, i received my red album for my portfolio and got that all assembled. yesterday, my moo cards came in and they are fabulous! they are of much higher quality than i was expecting and darling to boot. the couple of coworkers that have seen them thought they were great. i think they will serve me well for my budding business. i’m hoping to order some that are just for personal use soon. at any rate, i can’t wait to pass them out to promote red brick photo.

last week, i had an experience where i couldn’t get to sleep until 3 a.m. or so (i’ve been restless lately). in the course of three hours, i had three sets of nightmares. in the first one, i was driving and my alternator went out and i somehow lost control of my car. then in the second one, the doll from that old movie, child’s play, (chucky?) was after me. in the third dream, there was something wrong with my laptop and jeromy was packing it up to send back to the manufacturer but i was in a panic because i needed files off of the hard drive. craziness. i’ve always been a heavy dreamer, but that night just wore me out.

i miss having a house. there are a lot of things i could think of to do with some extra space. but that’s fine – at this point, i don’t have much of a choice but to continue my apartment dwelling. i am hoping some factors in my life change to where i can financially afford to get a house/townhome/condo to live in. maybe a couple of rounds of raises at work. or getting my photography venture off the ground. or something. i don’t know. don’t get me wrong – i’m thankful to have a place of my own – a luxury when compared to living in my parent’s office for over six months a year ago – but i like the idea of making a home (having room for an in-house photo studio wouldn’t be bad, either). it’s no biggie – i can keep doing what i’m doing for a while. i’m just impatient. i’ve been pushing the envelope these days.