Reason #200

She knows that while the road has been bumpy at times, this was all meant to happen.

Reason #199

She drops everything to help me with the last word on Twirl.

Reason #198

She has no problem enforcing boundaries.

Reason #197

She is very helpful.

Reason #196

She makes me laugh. "Who you goan dis-co-neck, biiiiiiiitch?"

Reason #195

She has a positive outlook on life.

Reason #194

She shovels snow without being asked.

Reason #193

She likes to use her hands.

Reason #192

She is creative.

Reason #191

She has an impressive vocabulary.

Reason #190

She doesn't mind that I sometimes finish her sentences.

Reason #189

She is willing to make sacrifices.

Reason #188

She is trustworthy.

Reason #187

She shares the burdens.

Reason #186

She sticks with her commitments.

Reason #185

She isn't afraid of you.

Reason #184

She is willing and able to compromise.

Reason #183

She is proactive.

Reason #182

She means well, even when she only succeeds in turning down the heat in the car.

Reason #181

She does not commit deliberate acts of contempt.

Reason #180

She is all for new traditions.

Reason #179

She is a survivor. I'm so glad you're ok, babe.

Reason #178

She helps make memories.

Reason #177

She makes icing that looks great on carpet.

Reason #176

She makes my favorite kind of Christmas cookies.

Reason #175

She puts up with shit she really doesn't have to.

Reason #174

She remembers to point at the Spaghetti-Os from time to time.

Reason #173

She finds things in Gmail that I didn't even know were there!

Reason #172

She makes quite the cute little farm.

Reason #171

She knows that I'm sweet, no matter what people might think.

Reason #170

She's a rollerskating fool.

Reason #169

She don't take shit from nobody.

Reason #168

She helped me carry in the air conditioner.

Reason #167

Her accent reaches an almost unintelligible severity level after she talks to her mother on the phone. I love it.

Reason #166

She sees last night as a great victory.

Reason #165

She makes a damn fine wedding video star.

Reason #164

She has the best tattoo ideas.

Reason #163

She understands the big picture.

Reason #162

She doesn't get too upset when I call her a million times in one day.

Reason #161

She makes great bloody cupcakes. I'm sure all the 4th graders will agree.

Reason #160

She appreciates the jerk in me.

Reason #159

She is a fan of Napolean.

Reason #158

She tailgates like a pro.

Reason #157

She complains about the headset but secretly likes the convenience it affords.

Reason #156

She helps keep me from repeating old mistakes.

Reason #155

She is very likeable. If you don't like her, I assure you that you are in the minority.

Reason #154

She, myself, and the kids make a great team.

Reason #153

She is very practical.

Reason #152

She likes going to open houses to get ideas for what we will want in our next house.

Reason #151

She admits to not personally liking my news shoes, but at the same time she loves them because I do.

Reason #150

She values good customer service and does something about it if the service she receives is not acceptable.

Reason #149

She had a great idea for a tattoo that I will likely end up getting.

Reason #148

She has confidence in my ideas and doesn't stand in my way.

Reason #147

She finds great new places for us to go for lunch. Add a great Lebanese restaurant to the list.

Reason #145

She doesn't care that this one is out of order.

Reason #146

She has an excellent sense of smell.

Reason #144

She helps with the hard talks.

Reason #143

She is early to meetings. Sometimes very early.

Reason #142

She finds great, informative articles to read and passes them on to me.

Reason #141

She has a lovely singing voice.

Reason #140

She reads the fine print.

Reason #139

She makes damn fine chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies.

Reason #138

She eases my worries.

Reason #137

She has a natural motherly instinct.

Reason #136

She has a great (disorder-free) personality.

Reason #135

She is very innovative.

Reason #134

She is good at making new friends--especially ones you might not expect.

Reason #133

She makes a damn fine tomato & cucumber sandwich.

Reason #132

She looks out for the people she loves.

Reason #131

She minds her own business.

Reason #130

She helps the poor.

Reason #129

She rules so much that some of you can't wait to get home and read about how much she rules.

Reason #128

She is accountable for her actions.

Reason #127

She does the dishes at midnight.

Reason #126

She doesn't hide from people.

Reason #125

She pays attention to details like you wouldn't believe.

Reason #124

She has stamina.

Reason #123

She takes care of things.

Reason #122

She sings happy birthday to people on their birthday.

Reason #121

She doesn't have thinly-veiled ulterior motives.

Reason #120

She would never use her fingers at the salad bar.

Reason #119

She is supportive.

Reason #118

She doesn't talk in cliches.

Reason #117

She doesn't sweat the small stuff.

Reason #116

She likes playing the Where's Baldo game.

Reason #115

She is worth getting to know.

Reason #114

She is popular even with people that she's not so popular with.

Reason #113

She is very adaptable.

Reason #112

She would never turn her back on the people she loves.

Reason #111

She follows certain blogs because she likes the content, not because she likes to get herself worked up for no good reason.

Reason #110

She is tolerant.

Reason #109

She puts together an excellent impromptu birthday celebration.

Reason #108

She does yardwork.

Reason #107

She makes excellent blueberry pancakes.

Reason #106

She helps people in need.

Reason #105

She has a great ass. And she's married to one!

Reason #104

She has no problem laughing at me when I drop baked goods. Asiago cheese scone, how I miss thee.

Reason #103

She has a lot of great friends. One of them (a professional and well known photographer) took our wedding photos, and they are AMAZING.

Reason #102

She not only enters contests, sometimes she wins.

Reason #101

She is going to reveal a mysterious wall containing signatures of times past!

Reason #100

She cleaned all 197 records from that garage sale all by herself.

Reason #99

She knows how important this post is.

(I'm aware that I've posted this same thing before--this is a different post number, now isn't it??)

Reason #98

She can tell the difference between HD and non-HD TV. Finally.

Reason #97

She isn't grossed out by chocolate and baked beans.

(this is one of those inside jokes that those of you reading this that don't know us just won't get. Sorry, that's your fault)

Reason #96

She "gets it".

Reason #95

She is resourceful.

Reason #94

She is clever.

Reason #93

She has a contagious, jovial laugh.

Reason #92

She helps me keep my priorities straight.

Reason #91

She likes to look at records and often finds great ones.

Reason #90

She is friendly. In fact, her friendly nature is directly responsible for us getting our kitty back tonight.

Reason #89

She knows that there are always two sides to a story.

Reason #88

She finds gems at garage sales.

Reason #87

She is an excellent multi-tasker.

Reason #86

She doesn't always have to be the one taking pictures.



photo by the Wiccan

Reason #85

She is very confident.

Reason #84

She loves meeting my old friends.

Reason #83

She wants our kitty back even more than I do, if that's possible.

Reason #82

She is tricky.

Reason #81

She has a wonderful, loving family.

Reason #80

She is very comforting.

Reason #79

She walked through pouring rain with me to the steps of Graceland in her wedding dress.

Reason #78

She unpacked the car while I was napping.

Reason #77

She is now my wife.

Reason #76

She is the best packer I have ever seen. I wasn't sure she'd be able to get it all in the car, but she did--with room to spare.

Reason #75

She takes it all in stride.

Reason #74

She made me feel love.

Reason #73

She doesn't hold grudges against people.

Reason #72

She thought to hold the mail while we are going to be gone.

Reason #71

She and I belong together.

Reason #70

She is sticky.

Reason #69

She likes this post for obvious reasons.

Reason #68

She is kind to others. We just laugh about the people later.

Reason #67

She is a stickler about homework.

Reason #66

She is a sucker for old love songs, just like me.

Reason #65

She helps make my father's day wonderful.

Reason #64

She likes going to crawfish boils, but doesn't actually eat crawfish.

Reason #63

She wants things to be better with my family.

Reason #62

She doesn't melt in the rain.

Reason #61

She enters sweepstakes even though she knows it is mathematically moronic.

Reason #60

She can dance better than people that have taken lessons for years. Be patient and you might get to see for yourself. As for myself, I don't care for dancing. Why? Because it's stupid, of course.

Reason #59

She has nice penmanship, especially when using a pen with gold ink.

Reason #58

She is my true love...

Reason #57

She volunteers her time for things that are important.

Reason #56

She is articulate.

Reason #55

She isn't afraid to ask for help.

Reason #54

She likes to do research with me.

Reason #53

She is part of the solution.

Reason #52

She can spit with the best of them. It doesn't break apart or nuthin.

Reason #51

She is childhood friends with a famous blogger.

Reason #50

She is the girl of my dreams, and I'm never letting her go.

Reason #49

She has beautiful hair. Plentiful and thick, just like I like it.

Reason #48

She is an expert on many things.

Reason #47

She can see the future. The picture below was taken by her - three months before we met. See if you can find me.

Reason #46

She has stepped into the role of (almost) step mom so perfectly.

Reason #45

She won't back down. Ever.

Reason #44

She and I think exactly alike. It is actually eerie sometimes, but in a good way. I was looking in the mirror the other day and thinking "damn, I sure am a handsome devil", and she blurted it out! Ok, that didn't really happen, but I'm sure she was thinking it too.

Reason #43

She knows that I'm her man (even considering what Harlan says at the beginning of the clip).

Reason #42

She can be subtle when she wants, but usually isn't.

Reason #41

She is an entertaining writer.

Reason #40

She is going to marry me soon.

Reason #39

She makes my dreams come true.

Reason #38

She has beautiful eyes.

Reason #37

She can sew. Do you know how much curtains cost? Not nearly as much if they are homemade. So far she has made curtains for the living room and both kids' rooms.

Reason #36

She rubs my back/hands/etc.

Reason #35

She reminds me to think before I speak. It doesn't always work, but I'm much better than I used to be.

Reason #34-D

Two words: Great cans.

Reason #33

She has a great smile. Not only are her teeth perfectly straight (thanks only to good genes), her smile lights up a room like nothing else can.

Reason #32

She is a hard worker. Give this girl something to get done, and gets it done, and done right.

Reason #31

She and I work well together. We're often juggling several projects or issues at one time, and sharing a brain is highly advantageous.

Reason #30

She is a good driver. If you know you me, then you know my (mostly accurate) generalization that women are terrible drivers. Windy is an exception.

Reason #29

She doesn't like oatmeal raisin cookies. More for me.

Reason #28

She likes to try new things.

Reason #27

She has an awesome accent. Who doesn't love a cute southern drawl?

Reason #26

She likes to go for walks with me. Now that the decent weather has finally arrived, we are venturing out and admiring all of the beautiful homes in our historic neighborhood.

Reason #25

She will not be forced to move away, no matter what some of you want. Face it - she is here to stay, whether you like it or not.

(personally, I like it, and so do my children).

Reason #24

She is frugal. Don't confuse that with cheap, because they are not the same.

Reason #23

She is not obsessed with the lives of others, particularly people she doesn't like. People like that are so pathetic.

Reason #22

She has a great sense of humor. Can YOU appreciate a the genius of the line "stop licking my hand, you horse's ass"?

Reason #21

She is very organized. Her meticulous organization rivals my own need for order, and I love it. Want to know where to find something in our house? Think about where it belongs, and that's where you'll find it.

Reason #20

She doesn't expect me to be somebody I'm not. She knows me far better than anyone alive, and she likes ME for ME.

Reason #19

She knows the importance of this post.

Reason #18

She is considerate. I told her she could pick anyplace she wanted for her birthday celebration today and she chose a place the entire family would enjoy. Personally, I think she's just addicted to Skeeball.

Reason #17

She likes cheesy, sappy music too. We do indeed have impeccable taste in music for the most part, but we also both enjoy a good sappy song now and again. On your birthday babe, this one's for you...

Reason #16

She is appreciative. I know that she trusts me to choose things that she will like, and so far she has never returned any gift I've given her.

Reason #15

She is honest. There is nothing that pisses me off more than dishonesty. I have had my dealings with extremely dishonest people in the past, and it is infuriating. When you're in a relationship with somebody it is sometimes difficult to tell if they're being honest about things. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that, because Windy is as honest as it gets. Never ask her what she thinks unless you really want to know.

Reason #14

She picked out a great kitty. Ok, this is more about the fact that our cat is the smartest and most awesomest cat that ever lived. He survived a near-death experience, which makes him even better.

Reason #13

She loves to go to the movies. I must admit, we really miss our cheap-ass movie theater in our old town, because we saw a couple of movies a week when we lived there. I can see just about anything for $2.50 a ticket.

Tonight we took the kids to see a real stinker of a movie - "Nim's Island". DO NOT GO SEE THIS MOVIE. I probably would have loved it as a kid (and my kids did love it), but as an adult it was excruciating to watch. Lizards to not talk in response to human speech, sea lions do not fart on command, and pelicans most certainly do not fetch things Lassie-style.

Reason #12

She is very easy to talk to. If someone had told me a couple of years ago that I would log nearly 10,000 cell phone minutes in the first month I knew her I would have laughed in their face. Fast forward to now, and we still talk constantly...and about EVERYTHING. There is literally nothing we can't discuss, and just when I think we've discussed everything, well, something else comes up. If I had a nickel for every time I looked at the clock before going to sleep and saw 2AM, then I'd have a lot of fucking nickels. How many nickels does it take to pay someone else's cable bill, anyway?

Reason #11

She loves my children.

Reason #10

She loves to read. I once mentioned a certain series that I was very fond of and she read the lot of 'em in a couple of weeks. We're talking several thousand pages....in a couple of weeks.

UPDATE: she read this a few minutes after it was posted and claims it was less than two weeks. Apparently "precision" needs to be the topic of a future post...

Reason #9

She is one hell of a photographer. The pictures you see here were taken during Gonerfest 3, in Memphis, Tennessee. Photos printed by permission, Windy Mayes Photography, Copyright 2006, All Rights Reserved.

Reason #8

She has good decorating taste. More importantly, we have similar decorating taste.

Do YOU have a huge clown head on top of your refrigerator? We do.

Reason #7

She can do a cartwheel. That may not seem very impressive, but can you do one???

Reason #6

She loves good music. It was this common interest that brought us together in the beginning, and it continues to be a strong bond we have.

Plus, we're soooooo cute together at shows (37 seconds in)....



(save yourself time trying to track down what band this is - it's the Reigning Sound, and the video was taken by moi on 12/31/2006 in Memphis, Tennesse)

Reason #5

She is an excellent shot. Just yesterday she managed to land a chewed-up biscuit right between my eyes. It was a moment that will likely never be forgotten in our little family.

Reason #4

She can cook. Maybe it's because she's southern and her dad is a World Champion BBQ competition winner, but damn - this girl knows how to make some good food. It never ceases to amaze me when she comes up with some new combination of ingredients that translate into a delicious meal. Sure, we have a whole room in our house to store butter, but doesn't everybody?

Reason #3

She is patient. If you happen to know me, you probably know that I have occasionally told the same story more than once. Hell, who am I kidding? I do it all the time - but my stories are fucking great, so what's it to you? Seriously though - Windy listens to my stories and very rarely gives me the [finger twilling] get to the fucking point, or even tells me that she's heard it before. She's done it before, sure, but it's not very often, and I would probably smack myself if I had to listen to me.

Reason #2

She is smart....like REALLY smart. I have learned that I really can't be with someone without superior intelligence. Her logical reasoning, memory, reading comprehension, etc. are all OFF THE MOTHERFUCKING CHARTS.

Reason #1

She says what she means, and means what she says.