Doug's gone to Vegas till Sunday. So of course I miss him. Probably more intensely because I know I can't see him till then. We're not very good with separation.

It makes me think of the things that Doug introduced to me. And I smile.


I dunno why I had never had Life cereal before. We had Kix, Cracklin Bran, Honey Nut Cheerios, and of course various sugar cereals. But never Life. And it is good stuff! I buy it whenever I see it on sale!

Doug bought me a Nintendo DS for my birthday one year. We both really got into Brain Age and Super Mario Brothers. And of course Sudoku. It's great for trips and we can play together on our separate DSes

This is Doug's favorite movie. Our movie tastes are very different. He likes war and intense movies. I like more drama and good chick flicks (cause there are a ton of junk ones out there.) He was shocked that I had never seen it before though so of course I had to watch it. But I liked it. Every time it's on tv at my parents or wherever we end up watching it. Even though we have the dvd.

I'd never driven a truck till I drove Doug's (unless you count Hume's 80s work trucks without power steering). I remember how it felt like driving a boat and I was always so scared when I had to drive it! But I also liked driving it. Now it feels no different than my Jeep, although much longer than my Jeep.

Oh Halo. I had never even played xbox until Doug and I were dating. We spent many many afternoons in my parent's library as we played through the first, second, and third Halos. We did the campaigns, and then he trained me to play multiplayer so I'd be able to hold my own when we played against friends (and when we braved the online scene.) I got good at fragging and sticking. Now we have ODST and Reach. But those first three are special. Lots of good memories as we bonded over something that was a big part of his life.

Another video game. Although Doug didn't exactly introduce it to me. But it was his. He tried to get me to play, but I was too much of a coward. I was scared of making a fool of myself and being just terrible. So one afternoon when he was at work I picked up the controller and played by myself, just to see if I could do it. He called me on his break and I said, "You'll never guess what I'm doing right now." He didn't, either. But when I told him he laughed and said it was awesome. We played later together and many nights after that. We got Devonna and even Joe into it. We even split the drum set with them.

Dates. Doug introduced me to dates. Although I had had boyfriends in high school, I'd never been taken out on a date. Dressed up, hair curled, doors opened, man pays and drives, the whole deal. He was shocked when we first started dating and aske me if I wanted to go on a date down the hill with him (We were living at Hume.) I love that Doug treated me how I had re-learned I deserved to be treated during my time at Hume. And I love that we still go on dates! It's something that should never stop in a relationship.

Like movies, our music tastes are a little different from each other (although I think I've influenced him a bit.) This is a band that he introduced to me though. They played at his work one night and he couldn't stop talking about how good they are. Their style is a little different, but close to the music I really like. I like most of their songs. My favorite is "Cheers to Loving Me." Any time I listen to them I think of Doug, but that song especially.

Aaaand, another video game. Hey, like I said, they're a big part of him! (At least I'm not playing World of Warcraft...yet). This is Zombie Apocalypse and it's an arcade game; I'm not sure where he heard of it. We played with our friends mostly but we'd play for hours (especially the 7 days of hell mode.) It was really fun, and really addicting. And because of this game, there are thumb nail marks in his xbox controllers (sorry!)

I love that Doug has such a heart for God and loves his ministry and his work. I just miss him when he's gone.