Honor Thy Husband, part 2

So in my previous post I mentioned 25 Ways to Communicate Respect to your husband. I covered 10 of the 25 ways. Tonight I'll cover ten more and tally up how I think I'm doing so far. In my next post I'll unveil the last five as well as plans for "Husband Appreciation Week" (or "HAW"). 

11. Eyes Only for Him - First, I just want to say that the only books I love to read (and have loved to read since my teens) have been romance novels. Not the cheap Harlequin ones, but the ones with meat. And I ABSOLUTELY LOVED 50 Shades of Grey. So much that I read it three times. I may look at other men and compare Ryan to them, but no book, actor, or other person will ever be my husband. He's real, handsome, and incredibly kind. I wouldn't trade him for anything or anyone. If you're doing it right and you have your soulmate, no matter who you look at - they never compare to the best thing you have right next to you. This one is definitely getting filed under "a little ridiculous."

12. Kiss Him Goodbye - The original post implied that you're kissing him goodbye when HE leaves to work. Well, I wake up every weekday morning and out the door about 2 hours before Ryan even sees the world for the day. So, yea...but I do kiss him every morning (generally more than once because he has adorable cheeks) right before I head out the door. I think I'm set with this - besides the fact of the sexist seeming remark that the woman should stay home and cook and raise babies.

13. Prepare His Favorite Foods - Ryan loves food, I know most of us do. But Ryan has a few favorites, namely chicken parm, and potatoes. Not together mind you but he could live off them. I thought that I was doing well with this one. I make sure we have chicken parm at least once every other week. But he's been itching for potatoes. The only problem is we don't typically keep them in the house because I don't like potatoes unless they're french fries. Ryan can't go through a whole bag by himself quickly, so the first bag we did buy went bad and we had to throw them out - which neither of us liked. But I think that I have enough potato recipes now (thanks Pinterest!) that we could go through a bag with some speed and not have any to go to waster. This will definitely be incorporated in "HAW."

14. Cherish Togetherness - Ryan and I have no animals or kids. So when we're both home it's just us. All the time. And whenever I'm home, Ryan's home. Ryan has some alone time after I go to work and I guess I may have an hour at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays now because of his school schedule. But, unless we do things separately on the weekend - and I can count on one hand how many times that's been since we've been married - we are always together. I love my husband but sometimes I just want some me time. To do that I go into another room and do my own thing on my computer. Sometimes Ryan will join me in the room and get on his computer. But we're perfectly fine with this set up - we're content to be together and do things separately. Sometimes too much togetherness can be a bad thing but perhaps I can look into this and see if I'm missing something.

15. Don’t Complain - I'll make this short and sweet: THIS I need to work on. I can complain about a lot of things and I'm sure Ryan doesn't want to hear it. DEFINITELY WILL BE IN "HAW."

16. Resist the Urge to Correct - Typically Ryan is really good with his facts and figures. He's exactly like his father with random trivia knowledge. Occasionally when I do hear him make a mistake I let it slide, especially if it's in a story where the details aren't all that important. But if he does make an erroneous comment, I'll ask him, "Are you sure? I thought it was [correct fact]." We might debate it but all in all no harm no foul.

17. Dress to Please Him - I think I could present myself a little better than I do most days, but it's not like I walk around like a slob. I think this can be incorporated though.

18. Keep the House Tidy - Working full time and taking care of the apartment is tough. Especially when I don't have help. For the most part it's clean and neat - the only disaster area is the den where our computers are and I think it's mainly because we have too much crap and not enough closets. A situation I am determined to rectify. But you better believe I'm going to have Ryan help, after all he lives there too. He's typically pretty good with helping but lately he's been doing other things when I'm cleaning which doesn't leave me too happy. Who knows. Maybe it will change?

19. Be Content - Sometimes I just want to buy things because other people have them and I want them too goddammit. The original post said, "Take satisfaction in the lifestyle he is able to provide for you." Not sure how that's supposed to work when I'm providing for both of us. I should be able to buy the things we need right? Well, I need a few things from Ikea. Ryan is very frugal which helps keep us both grounded but sometimes I just want to buy something and that makes me content. Is that so wrong?

20. Take His Advice - I often ask Rye what he thinks about things. Generally he doesn't care either way. When he does have an opinion I listen and take it to heart because if he cares enough to have an opinion it was worth the time for him to form it and feel comfortable sharing it. I value that and I appreciate what he has to say.

I feel that these ones were a mix of a lot of things I already do, with one or two I need to work on, and then of course a ridiculous one (or two). How are you doing so far? Where are you landing with these?

With twenty down and five to go, here's an updated tally on how I'm doing.

10 I need to work on (to be incorporated into "HAW")7 Already I'm doing (feel confident I do these daily)3 Are a little ridiculous (and most likely won't be incorporated into "HAW")