It's only fair

This meme has been going around, and I thought it would be an important one to share since Noah provides so much fodder shows up on this blog so frequently. (I've seen it on Dooce and She Likes Purple, by the way.) So without further ado: The Story of Us.

What are your middle names?

Kaleena and Matthews.

How long have you been together?

Since early childhood. We started dating in October of 2002. A little fast math, and that equals...going on 7 years. Sheesh.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

We met the first day, first class of college. Our official courtship commenced a year and a couple months later.

Who asked whom out?

I asked myself out on his behalf. He was beating around the bush, wondering aloud about whether or not I liked "foreign food" and what I was doing the next weekend. I finally just asked, "Is this a date?" to which he replied, "It can be, if you choose to accept my invitation."

How old are each of you?

Noah will be four years shy of 30 in December and I am a vibrant, youthful 25. (That's a riddle, by the way.)

Whose siblings do you see the most?

Noah's younger brother, Adam. His older brother, Nick, lives in Florida. My brother, Kyle, is at school in Oklahoma City.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?

Noah's job. Parenting and poorness have also been challenges.

Did you go to the same school?

Yes'm. He proposed on campus, on the hill overlooking the baseball field. Lipscomb University.

Are you from the same home town?

In a way. We were born and raised on opposite ends of I-40 (I was born in Los Angeles County, Torrance to be exact; Noah was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and moved to Winston-Salem in kindergarten). We met in the middleish, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Who is smarter?

That depends on how one defines "smart." Noah retains a tremendous amount of useless nerd trivia (stuff about Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, mostly), but we both can quote The Office with startling and pathetic accuracy. We've both been known to read a book or two, and we've both taken graduate level classes. We both graduated with honors, but I matriculated first (by way of alphabetical order), so I'd say that puts me ahead by a nose.

Who is the most sensitive?

We were married for about three years before I found out that Noah does, in fact, have emotions.


Where do you eat out most as a couple?


Carrabbas is kind of our "place," but we don't do much eating out these days.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

New Mexico, I do believe.

Who has the craziest exes?

Me.


Who has the worst temper?

Uh, that would be me again. I once started an argument about how Noah refused to argue. I actually convinced him that never arguing is worse that sometimes arguing.

Who does the cooking?

We both cook. Noah cooks by the book; I cook from the heart. We have both had culinary successes and failures.

Who is the neat-freak?

Let me answer that question with an anecdote. When we were sophomores in college, Noah got sick with mono and had to go into the hospital. I went to his dorm room to clean it for him before he came back with his weakened immune system. It took about four hours to clean the 10x10 space. In the tiles above his bunk, I found 3,000 Starburst wrappers, a couple empty cans of Mountain Dew, and a ceramic mold of his teeth.

Who is more stubborn?

Me again!

Who hogs the bed?


Let me make this perfectly clear, while he's not around to argue: NOAH. Most of our fights have taken place while making the bed, because there is always incontrovertible proof that he's a bedclothes hog.

Who wakes up earlier?

He does because he has to. If we're both given uninhibited sleep-in time, I wake up first.

Where was your first date?


Carabbas, then hanging out at The Parthenon in downtown Nashville.

Who is more jealous?

I am. Noah had only ever really dated a couple girls before me, but about 50,000 young ladies confessed that they had crushes on him after we started dating. Why they felt the need to disclose this information to me, other than to ramp up my jealousy quotient, I do not know.


How long did it take to get serious?


After our first date? About 4 minutes.

Who eats more?


Noah got used to doling out equal portions when I was pregnant, but he always tries to sneak the lion's share. My eyes are bigger than my belly, so he gets my leftovers anyway.

Who does the laundry?

Neither of us, which as you might imagine presents a problem. When we're out of clothes, whoever is home and has some free time will start the process. Which means we both get really busy and markedly less fashionable every three weeks or so.

Who’s better with the computer?


Hardware-wise? Noah. Software-wise? Noah. I'm good at blogging.

Who drives when you are together?

Mostly Noah. Especially now that I've wrecked both of our cars.