My Awesome Husband

Okay, this story needs a little bit of background. Lately things have been kind of tight for us financially. There have been a number of reasons for this, but part of it was due to some things going on with Nick's job. As many of you know, Nick is an automotive technician (or mechanic for us laypeople). This means that he works on commission. And while he is an extraordinarily talented and hardworking auto tech, working on commission means that if the work isn't there, then neither is the pay.

Anyway, some of the background: Nick has worked for a certain guy, we'll call him John, at 3 different dealerships over the years. When John moved to a new place, he took his favorite employee (Nick) with him, because he knew what a terrific worker he had in him. Now Nick and John both worked (at all 3 places) for a higher up guy - we'll call him Mark. As Mark got bigger and better positions at different companies, he took John along with him, and therefore Nick.

Now John is a very good immediate boss, and while Nick has gone with him several times, other workers at these places have soon followed, just because of what a great guy John is to work for. This sort of ability to attract the best is what has made John so valuable to Mark. So anyway, the last dealership that Nick was at and the one he's at now are both part of the same company. Mark is over both dealerships, and John was below him, running the higher end store. A couple of months ago, John got an offer he couldn't refuse to go to a competitor, and he's been dying for Nick to join him. And because of John's reputation for taking the best techs with him, the management at Nick's dealership came around when John left with a big speech about how they didn't want to lose anyone and wanted to keep everyone happy where they were.

At the time, everybody said, okay, it's been slow - we need more money. Well, obviously John had a replacement - we'll call him Henry. Now Henry was new to the company, and he didn't want to go to his new boss (Mark) and ask for more money for everybody. So he told them that it wasn't in the cards right now for a plethora of reasons: their quality scores (customer ratings) weren't as high as they should be, they had too many come-backs (cars that didn't get fixed right the first time), and their tech notes weren't being done well. (Tech notes: each time a car comes in for work, it gets a ticket, an invoice if you will. The servicing tech is supposed to write detailed notes on what was done and anything else that needed to be done).

Anyway, as far as the team as a whole went, there was some merit to this answer, so, not wanting to rock the boat, Nick let it go. But then, as things began to get pretty tight around here, he realized that he couldn't let the whole team affect his future with the company.

Now, I'm going to brag on him a bit, but everything I'm saying here is completely true. Nick is absolutely the best worker they have. He's the first one there every morning, the last one to leave. His tech notes are meticulous. He never has come-backs, and he fixes everybody else's without complaining. He very consistently turns more hours than anyone else there, by quite a bit. He's been taking online courses, and they're sending him to school next month for further training in this dealership's specific products. He will do any job they hand him without complaining, but since he started there he's gone from doing relatively simple stuff while he learned the product, to rebuilding engines and pretty much everything else that comes through the door.

So all of that is to say that not only did we need more money, but he had definitely earned a raise. Okay, so John has been asking Nick to come work for him again. And he gave him a firm offer of considerably more than he's been making where he's at. Here's the thing though - as much as he enjoys working for John, he loves where he's at. The people are great, he loves the product line, and they have the nicest working facilities in the area. He has also put in the time taking online courses, he has school next month, he knows the product, and he has two weeks vacation starting this year.

So two weeks ago, he went to Henry and presented him with all of this and a request for a raise. Henry said, okay, he'd get with Mark and get back to him. So a week later, last Monday, Nick went back to him to see what the answer was. Henry said, "Oh, I haven't gotten to talk to him, but I'll be doing that here in a few minutes." At the end of the day, Nick went back to him, and he said, "I talked to Mark. We have to run some numbers, and I will get back to you on Wednesday."

Wednesday, Henry cut out early, and Nick didn't get to talk to him. Same thing on Thursday. Friday Nick actually left at lunch time to go get his tattoo finished, and Henry was already gone. By this time, the people Nick works with on a day to day basis knew a bit about what was going on and that Henry was being awfully unavailable. So the guy who works right beside Nick actually tracked down Mark in the parking lot after work and told him that he was going to lose Nick if he didn't get it together and pay him what he was worth. (This guy doesn't beat around the bush). Turns out that Mark didn't know what he was talking about. Henry had never said a word to him.

So today he called Nick into his office, apologized (in front of Henry) that this had all gone on without his knowledge, told Nick how valuable he is to him, and matched John's offer on the spot.

God has been so very, very good to us, and I am so proud of my husband and the hard worker he is. Congratulations, baby - I love you!

Happy Easter!

This morning my church put on this skit. This is not my church in the video, but it was so powerful to me that I had to share it here. I hope it reaches someone.

So Apropos

Holy crap! Two posts in one night! I know, I know. But I was over at His To Spank, His to Love, and I found the perfect sign for me and my life! Perfect, huh? I so need one to hang over my washing machine!

Hooray! I slayed the Laundry Monster!

Yippee! The laundry is all done! So I did get spanked on Monday night, as I expected. And I really did work hard, but there was just no way it was going to get finished in one night. Nick used his hand again, but apparently he decided that since he was only going to give me 25, his hand could handle spanking as hard as he could the whole time. Yeah, that hurt.

Tuesday I was not finished, but Nick gave me a pass on the spanking, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I had a huge amount of it done by the time he got home. Second of all, Monday night we had to go to my Mom's house to pick up Morgan (who at first was going to spend the night again, but then got homesick), and we ended up spending a couple of hours there. That didn't get me out of that night's spanking, because even without the time at Mom's I wouldn't have finished that night, but I might have made it by Tuesday night if we hadn't had to go get her the night before. Plus, putting up all the laundry entailed going through all of Morgan's clothes already in her room to get rid of what didn't fit so I'd have room for what did, so that put me behind too. Also, I was having kind of a blue day, having been through some of my grandparents' stuff when I went to pick Morgan up after work, and he could tell that I needed some understanding.

He let me know however, that there would be no such stay of execution if I didn't get it all done by Wednesday night. Fortunately I finished it all up. So now I just have to keep on top of it.

On to silly spanko stuff - I found this Bar Soap Generator via The Generator Blog, and I couldn't resist:

This is a very quick post...

...because I have lots to do. Okay, I know you won't believe it, but I got spanked again last night. Seriously! I know you're shocked, because I sure am - I mean, it hasn't even been two months yet!

Saturday Nick told me to unload the dishwasher. Now I heard this, processed it, and even planned to obey it, but immediately after that it fell out a hole in my head. I actually looked at the sink full of dishes several times on my way past them during the day and thought "I should really load those dishes here in a minute" without ever remembering that I'd been told to do just that! When bedtime came, Nick pointed out that they were still in the sink, and all of a sudden my memory started working again.

Unfortunately it was too little, too late, and he promised me I would be spanked the next day. Morgan spent the night with my mom since she's on spring break, and when bedtime rolled around again, he turned me over and yanked down my pants. This one wasn't as bad as the last one by far, but it was definitely an attention getter. I got somewhere around a hundred with his hand. I keep forgetting that the reason he doesn't punish with his hand more often is that it hurts his hand, not because it doesn't hurt my bottom. Cause let me assure you, it did. He must have built up some serious strength swinging that paddle last week.

Anyway, here's the really shocking part. Barring a miracle, I'll be getting spanked again tonight. The vast majority of the laundry is done. Really! But there's also an astonishingly large display of clean, folded clothes in the den, and a few more loads left to wash. So until that's finished and put away, I'll be getting spanked every night, starting with 25 swats and going up by 5 a night until I'm finished. I don't expect to get more than maybe two nights, but that means that I have to wrap this up pretty darn quick.

And he's letting me choose the implement. I'd love to be able to pick this:

Sadly, I don't own it. And I have to go with something substantial, or he'll make the choice for me. Sigh...

Anyway, Happy St Paddle's Day! Off to wash and fold!

More fun from Photobucket

I had so much fun with the first Photobucket survey that I decided to do another one!

1. Go to www.photobucket.com (don't sign in)
2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box
3. Copy the html and paste for the answer.

1. What is your name?


Seriously! That was the first picture that came up! LOL!

2. What is your relationship status?



3. What is your favorite color?




4.Who is your celebrity crush?



5. What will you do tomorrow?



6. What is your favorite Disney princess?



7. What would you splurge on if you won the lottery?



8. What was the last thing you bought?



9. Where is your dream vacation?



10. What cell phone do you have?



11. What do you want to be when you grow up?


12. What do you love most in life?





13. One word to describe yourself?



14. What drives you crazy?



15. What is your favorite food?



16. Least?



17. Something you're really good at?



18. Random picture:



Actually, this is totally me.

19. Biggest fear?



20. Favorite dessert?

Back in the swing of things

First of all, I want to say a huge thank you for all the wonderful comments, emails, and prayers I've gotten from you guys over the past couple of weeks. Trust me when I say that they were a comfort during a very difficult time.

Monday night was a time of reckoning for me. Nick decided that the time had come to deal with all the stuff I had let pile up going far back before I got sick and my papaw died. And he also knew that I needed to release some of the stress of the past few weeks. Morgan fortuitously (?) fell asleep early that evening, leaving hours free for me to try to come up with some effective way to talk him out of it. I don't know if it was just because it had been so long since I'd been spanked (we seem to have gotten into a two month cycle here), but I was very, very scared about this one, to the point that my stomach hurt thinking about getting it.

But, as always, Nick could see that I really needed it, and that I would feel better all around when it was done. He took me upstairs, and I curled up on the bed, feeling very much like I wanted to escape through a hole in the floor. He offered me the option to choose my own implement, but when I balked at doing anything at all to help the event progress, he pulled out the Buster Paddle from Leather Thorn. He nudged me onto my stomach, gave me one good whack over my jeans, then pulled them down, along with my panties. He got a good grip on me and began to spank me in earnest.

I was a big baby about the whole thing. I was crying hard almost from the beginning, and at one point I managed to fight my way out of his grip. That's never a good idea, and he started counting. This always makes me feel like a little kid, but I was back in position before three, knowing from experience that I didn't want to cross that line. I got about 500 swats, bawling the whole time, and when those were done, he informed me that my little break for freedom had earned me an extra 20. Okay, disobeying during a spanking is not a smart thing, and those 20 were some of the hardest I've ever had.

I spent at least as much time sobbing into my pillow afterwards as I spent getting paddled, and Nick held me and let me cry it out. Eventually he got up, told me he was going downstairs, and that when I got myself together I could pull my pants up and join him. Very soon I followed that advice, although it was a while before I was collected enough to stop sniffling and start being a reasonable adult again. When he got me to smile again, Nick said, "There's my little butterfly." That got a raised eyebrow, and he smiled and explained that when I'm in need of a spanking I curl up in a cocoon so to speak, and it takes me a bit after I'm spanked to really open back up again.

He's right of course, but afterwards I'm always so embarrassed for several reasons - that I did something to earn a punishment, that I'm thirty years old and getting spanked on my bare bottom, that I didn't handle it with dignity and dry eyes, that despite kicking and screaming, fighting and crying, begging and promising, I'm still overcome and spanked hard and thoroughly. When it's been a while since I've been in that position, I start to think, Hey, this whole thing seems pretty silly - what am I thinking asking him to spank me for stuff? Who does that?

The answer of course is that lots of very cool people do it, awesome people who happen to be my very good friends. And the thing is, it never seems silly to me when I think of Eva, or Grace, or PK, or Cassie, or all the awesome folks I've met online. It seems perfectly natural that they do it. It just seems silly for me, because these are my needs, and well, I'm a little weird, right? When I tried to explain this to him, he had a very simple answer that was exactly what I needed to hear, and pretty much closed the door on it: "Don't apologize for who you are."

Nick has been so amazing with being a DD husband, and I can feel how very far we've come since he agreed to give this a try a little over four years ago. I've managed to mostly get a handle on my insecurities, and that's absolutely due to his support and acceptance and willingness to meet my needs in our marriage, even if they weren't always a comfortable fit for him. I'm very, very blessed to have such an incredible husband.

I'm still feeling a bit sore, and I've got a pretty good bruise on the outside of my left cheek where the edge of the paddle was landing, but I feel so much better in general, and so much more able to get things with the house back under control. Thank you, sweetheart, for loving me the way that you do.

Sad news and spanko stuff

Last night my papaw passed away. I'm afraid it wasn't an easy passing. He spent the last few hours of his life gasping for breath. He had been diagnosed with emphysema several years back, and the last few months he'd gotten progressively worse. He came down with pneumonia a few weeks ago, and he just wasn't strong enough to fight it off. Right now I'm still sort of in the numb stage, although I know it will hit me soon enough.

On the DD side of things, I very definitely have a "seriously, look at this house" spanking coming, although I'm sure it will be postponed until we get past this latest crisis.

On a lighter note, I came across a couple of really cute spanko things. I got this reversible blindfold in Target's Valentine's Day merchandise. (Sorry for the blurry photo quality - one side says "I like it spicy" and the other side says "I like it sweet") It came with four chocolate bars, two sweet and two spicy. The spicy ones had chili powder in them, and let me just say, in this case "I like it sweet." Chili chocolate is not for me!

And in the "I can't believe I found it at Wal-Mart category", I picked up this awesome St. Patrick's Day card. I'm dying to wear the button on the front of it!