For Valentine's day

For valentine's day, I thought I'd fill out this survey on me and Sam. I always like reading these things about other people, and I was sent this one on myspace and found it suiting for Valentine's, so I saved it for today's post.

1. What is his name? Samuel Aaron Burkman

2. How long have you been together? We started dating in february of 05 (this upcoming weekend marks our 3 year mark) and we were married in august of 05.

3. How long did you date? We dated for 3+ months and were engaged for about 3.

4. Who eats more? Probably sam, though he has competition now that I'm in my third trimester.

5. Who said I love you first? Sam did. I had been taking care of him as he recovered from surgery to correct a deviated septum and he was hopped up on percocet at the time. He looked at me with a drugged-up expression and gave me squishy hug and said, "Lori, I love you so much" with a big goofy smile. I responded, "Is it weird if I tell you that I love you too, even though I'm not doped up on pain killers?" and he said, "just because I'm on painkillers doesn't mean it's not true. It just makes it easier to say". I laughed at his response and I was satisfied. I knew he loved me, but Sam's a guarded boy and doesnt say anything if it isn't for keeps, so I wasn't surprised that it took a bottle of percocet to give him the guts to say it.

6. Who has more speeding tickets? Ummm, maybe me. But neither of us have gotten one in the last few years.

7. Who is smarter? Depends who you ask :) We're surprisingly well-matched in intelligence. It's one of the things that makes our relationship so fun, always someone to keep you on your toes. I can't even say "oh, i'm good at english and he's good at science", because we both rather enjoy both fields. I'm better at the actual rules and names of parts of grammar, but sam's got a great mind for writing and english, which is rare amongst techies.
The only places I think we obviously outdo one or the other are that I have a MUCH better memory for names, faces, and dates; and Sam's MUCH better at taking tests than me. He is an amazing test taker, and I just suck at multiple choice tests. I know the information and I can explain any point, but I over-analyze bubble sheet options and usually psyche myself out of choosing the right answer due to some trivial sub-fact... it's just a mess. Sam's also much better at getting As in classes. I was the queen of A-s and B+s, but that was mostly due to poor attendance.

8. Who is more sensitive? In all honestly, I'd bet that sammy is. He's such a sweet boy, I couldn't ever do anything to hurt his feelings, I'd feel too bad about it. Me, (when I'm not pregnant) I have a thicker skin usually. That or I just ignore the fact that someone hurt my feelings so I dont have to deal with trying to calling them on it.

9. When there is a fight who usually wins? We honestly haven't ever fought, we've barely even had conflicting discussions. If we were to fight though, I doubt either would win. We'd probably see the other person's point and both wind up conceding to an extent, then compromising.

10. Who does the laundry? I definitely am the laundry-doer. Though if I ask sam, he'll do it without complaining, he just rarely thinks to do it on his own.

11. Who does the dishes? I usually do, but sam definitely does his fair share. He tends to get distracted half-way through though and I have to remind him to finish.

12. Who sleeps on the right? Facing a bed, I sleep on the right of it and sam sleeps on the left.

13. Who pays the bills? I am the official payer of bills and maker of longterm spreadsheets, but we're both involved in our finances.

14. Who mows the lawn? Our landlord for now, but once we have our own yard, I bet we'll trade off. We both like yardwork, gardening, and landscaping.

15. Who cooks dinner? We both do. Sam has a higher affinity for cooking though. He wants to be Alton Brown when he grows up.

16. Who drives when you are together? Sam always does when it's the two of us. I think it's a boy thing, but I don't mind.

17. Who is more stubborn? Again, I think we're equally matched here. We do our best to compromise and whatnot, but when either of us are sure we're right, we aren't about to just let it go.

18. Who kissed who first? Sam kissed me first, but I immediately responded with an even bigger kiss right afterward.

19. Who asked who out first? Sam took all the first steps. He sent me some text messages, then we started talking online, then he asked me over to hang out, then asked me on what turned out to be a date, though dinner and a movie hardly feels like a date. We weren't really thinking "romantic interest" when it all started though. It was all really just "hanging out with a friend from vancouver" more than anything else. The rest all just snuck up on us.

20. Who proposed? Sam did, he wrote me a really great song on the guitar and sang it for me. I was impressed on both a musical level (because I didnt know he could play/sing so well) and on a romantic level. It was perfect.

21. Who has more siblings? I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Sam has one brother and one sister. We're both middle children and have the common traits that go with being a middle child.

22. Who wears the pants? I think we both have one leg in on each side of the marriage pants. I don't think that either of us really runs the show.

Getting married to sam was the best choice I have ever made. I never knew that marriage could be so happy and fulfilling. He's the perfect man for me in every way and I'm so glad he loves me as much as he does. I'm a lucky girl and I'll never forget it. I'm ever-so-excited to have our first baby together too, he's going to be an adorable father I just know it.