Best Of 2012 Blog Hop

16 years ago today, this happened...

December 7, 1996

 
And today, this happened...

*This is full of cheese but that's OK because the husband is a fan of cheese. ;)

Once Upon A Time…

 

Once upon a time in a town called Sugar and Sass, there lived a Girl.  She had brown hair, dark green eyes and a snarky sense of humor.  Girl was full of hopes and dreams and she wanted what every little girl wanted… to find the secret to eating dessert 24/7 while always looking like a Barbie. OK, not really, but she did want to find true love. 

Girl had seen all the movies and even read a few books that told her if she just looked hard enough she was sure to find a real prince. The said he would be tall, dark and handsome, have a never-ending bank account, keep all of his hair and have six pack abs. (Girl liked the idea of "tall" because she likes to wear fancy high heels sometimes.) The stories also told her she would always be thin, never have to worry about zits or wrinkles and she’d never, ever have a bad hair day!  (This really excited Girl because her hair had a mind of it’s own and it wasn’t sane.)  Girl couldn’t wait to find her prince so they could ride off into the sunset and live happily-ever-after.   

So, off Girl went, into the land of Boy.  As she neared the entrance she could see that there were a lot of residents in this town which she took as a good sign.  From where she stood, she could see they all had hair. (another good sign)  It was all different lengths, textures, and colors; some of it brown, some of it blond.  She saw red hair, black hair and even blue.  She wasn’t too sure about the one with blue hair and figured she’d steer clear of him.  Convinced that her prince was down there somewhere, Girl gathered her courage and ran the rest of the way.  

When she finally reached the gate though, she realized this place was nothing like Sugar & Sass.  The first thing she noticed was the smell, and then the noises.  As Girl glanced around, she saw that these prince wanna-be’s weren’t exactly what she was expecting.  When she walked through the streets, they all just stared at her.  Or, maybe, glared is a better word.  One came up and asked her what she wanted? “I—I came to find true love.”  He huffed and then reached up, grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked, hard!  Girl screamed and watched as the boy ran away laughing.  Others laughed too and Girl couldn’t understand what was wrong with them?  She refused to give up though, deciding she must be in the wrong part of town so she dusted off her fancy shoes and went on her way.  

Girl poured her whole heart into searching for the tall, dark and handsome prince and even thought she’d found him, once, twice or ten times, but each one she kissed only turned into a frog.  (Some of them kissed like frogs too - gross) A couple of the frogs had treated her nice but more than a few made her feel like she was the one with webbed feet and green skin.  One wanted to know why she had brown hair and not blond?  Another promised to love her forever as long as she never got fat or cut her hair.  Others told her she was too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, and one said, she might be pretty if her eye color wasn’t so weird. This trip to the land of Boy was not going the way Girl planned.  At all.  Girl started to think whoever wrote those HEA stories were liar, liar, pants on fires because they were all wrong.  A prince wasn’t supposed to say mean things; none of the ones in her stories did.  This made Girl sad because she thought maybe there was something wrong with her.  She didn’t know what to do. Then she remembered the King that ruled over all the Land, maybe he could help?

Determined to get what she wanted, Girl returned to the land of Sugar & Sass and demanded an audience with the King.  Imagine her surprise when she was told she didn’t need to demand anything from Him, all she had to do was ask.  Girl decided to ask Him for a prince and He told her to make a list of all the things she wanted in a prince and to bring it back when she was done. She thought about the really important things like cool hair, a chiseled face and six pack abs.  She knew wanted her prince to be tall so she could wear her fancy shoes without getting an Amazonian complex. Girl looked over her list and was disappointed to discover that she’d already found these things in some of the frogs she’d been kissing.  Well, all except for the six pack abs, they’re pretty hard to come by or at least that’s what Girl hears.  So, Girl reworked her list and glanced at it one last time before presenting it to the King. He smiled as he read off what she wanted most; kindness, patience, a sense of humor, and a really good kisser.  She also wanted someone who would come and visit the King with her because none of the other toads would.  He handed her list back and told her, “I think I have just the prince in mind.  However, you will meet him in an unusual way and you may not recognize him at first.”  Girl got excited again and started dreaming about all the things she and her prince would do together, like dancing and eating cake! 

One day, a few weeks later, the King sent word about a celebration he was throwing in honor of his son.  On her way home, Girl ran into one of the older women in Sugar & Sass who excitedly told her told that a few of the prince wanna-be’s from the land of Boy were coming to the celebration too. Rolling her eyes, Girl said she didn’t think that was a good idea, but that wouldn’t stop her from going.  Who knows, maybe her prince would show up after all.  The woman told Girl, she happened to know of one who would definitely be there but when Girl asked if he fit her list, the woman just shrugged. She didn’t think he was necessarily tall, or dark but he was handsome from what she’d heard.  Girl wasn’t really interested but she humored the older woman anyway. On the night of the celebration, Girl put on her best outfit and her fancy shoes and headed out.  As she waited to see if this prince wanna-be from the land of Boy would show, she took in the setting, admiring the pretty lights and decorations.  She even thought this place would make a nice wedding venue but alas, she was still waiting to meet her prince.  Hearing someone call her name, she turned and there stood Boy.  The woman was right, he was neither tall, nor dark but he was cute and he looked pleased to meet Girl.  

Girl introduced herself to Boy and was thankful she’d worn a pair of fancy shoes after all so she could gage whether or not she was taller than him.  She wasn’t, but it didn't really matter.  Her true prince would be tall.  Boy said very little to Girl but watched her through sky colored eyes, the smile never leaving his face.  When it was time to go, Girl said goodbye and went home.  A few days went by and there was still no sign of her prince anywhere.  Frustrated, Girl almost threw her list away but she remembered what the King had told her …

Another few days went by and she came home to find a message…from Boy, asking if she’d like to go dancing.  She agreed and when the day of dancing arrived, Girl went and waited for Boy to show up. And she waited. And she waited.  Girl’s feet hurt and she was having trouble dodging a big bulky frog who kept insisting he was her prince, and she hadn’t even danced yet. This night was not going the way she thought - it was like her trip to the land of Boy all over again. Just as she was about to give up and go home, she saw Boy.  He came over and apologized for being late, explaining that he too, had run into a little trouble with another girl who was certain he was the prince for her. Boy asked Girl if she’d like to dance and she accepted.  When they made their way onto the dance floor, the music suddenly changed and Boy and Girl were left to dance to a song all about safety and going where they wanted to go and leaving their cares behind. No, this was definitely not the kind of song from her stories but Girl didn’t mind, too much. When that night ended and Boy asked if he could see Girl again, she said yes.

The more time they spent together, the more Girl realized that Boy must be not be a true native of the Land of Boy because he was so different from all the rest.  He was kind to her, always friendly to strangers and he’d even met the King before.  Best of all, Boy brought Girl cake!  When she asked him why cake and not flowers?  Boy said it was because he knew how much Girl loved it and he liked making her smile. Boy and Girl started spending a lot of time together and pretty soon, Girl decided she liked Boy.
 She also discovered that, while he wasn’t much taller than she was, Boy had some unusual markings on his skin that Girl found she liked very much. Boy was also a good kisser, a really, really, good kisser and sometimes when Boy would kiss Girl, she would forget her name.  Then one day it hit her…Boy, THIS Boy was her prince!  He didn’t look the way she imagined her prince would yet he was exactly what she wanted and needed. The King was right after all.

When Girl realized Boy felt the same way about her, she almost couldn’t believe it. They began talking about happily-ever-after and pretty soon plans were being made.  Plans that involved a pretty dress, fancy shoes and of course, cake!  One day when Boy came to meet Girl, he was acting weird.  He said he wanted to show her the covered bridges he’d found but each one they came upon had people there and only made Boy mad. Girl didn’t understand what was wrong?  Giving up, Boy took Girl back home and it was then she knew something bad was going to happen.  He told her he needed "to talk" to her and she thought for sure he was about to turn into a frog, but he didn’t. Boy told Girl how much he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.  Shocked, Girl couldn’t think of anything to say. (which was the real shocker) Then Boy handed Girl a marshmallow. Wait, what? Why is he handing her a piece of food?  When Boy put the marshmallow in the Girl’s hand, she realized it wasn’t food at all, it was a box and when she opened the lid, she saw a rainbow of light dance off the prettiest ring she’d ever seen. Boy placed the ring on her hand and awaited her answer.  Girl responded by smacking his arm and pushing him down onto one knee.  (She is from the land of Sass after all)

A few months and a few weeks shy of the day they first met, Girl and Boy were married and they lived happily-ever-after!  And by Happily-Ever-After, I really mean, they both learned that fairy tales don’t exist.  Boy had to learn not to eat the cookie dough straight out of the freezer (without checking with Girl first) and that Girl has not, nor will she ever be, a morning person.  Girl had to learn to share and that Boy possess many talents but mind reading is not one of them.  They’ve both learned to be more patient, how to say, “I’m sorry” and that they don’t always like to do the same things but that’s OK.  Girl likes to read and really loves to dance but Boy?  Not so much.  Boy prefers to do things outside while Girl prefers to stay inside unless she’s at the beach.  

Girl and Boy have experienced extremely happy times, like when their two princes-in-training were born and a few sad times too.  They’ve even had to go to the King a few times for His help but through it all, they’ve learned that a real Happily Ever After takes work and choosing to love each other each day even if they don’t feel like it.  

Girl knows that no one else would love her as much as Boy and for that she is grateful, even if she doesn’t always show it. (She has issues) But Girl would like Boy to know that she loves him very much and hopes they get to spend another, happy, healthy 16 years together!

The End 

June 1, 2012