Today I've decided to post some of the things that I think make my wife super-cool. This is by no means a complete list, but just a short sampling of a few of the first things that made me really start to like her. I mean, I know how cool she is, but here's some stuff you guys might not know. And, despite what you may read here, she's not made of steel nor does she have any bionic parts.

OK - let's begin, shall we?

She once won $50 playing "Money the Hard Way".

What's "Money the Hard Way", you ask? It's when they attach a yellow ribbon around the horn of something called a Mexican Fighting Bull (whose name alone terrifies me) and put it out in the middle of a rodeo arena, where people try to pull the ribbon off the horn without being killed. Mexican fighting bulls look like this:



And they do things like this:



My sweet wife pulled the ribbon and won.

My wife once had another bull knocked her down, stomp on her leg and mangled her knee. She got up and went to the bar afterwards. I would have died on the spot, I think.

My wife can ride a horse, train a horse, and race a horse through barrels without falling off. I'm afraid of horses, because they're huge and you never know what they're thinking, and they can stomp on you or kick you - both of which have happened to her, in addition to the being bucked off and bitten. Horses suck.

(Ugh..... save your comments and e-mails. I know horses don't really suck, I'm just not a "horse person", and they scare me. It's a control issue on my part, I know.)

My wife's jaw is held together by 16 metal screws. I haven't even broken a bone.

My wife has a degree in Emergency Management, and has had courses in terrorism (both foreign and the home-grown kind). She's written the mass-caasualty disaster-response protocols for towns you've actually heard of, and done them well enough to have them adopted. (This was very important in the writing of the Zombie Contingency Plan.)

She was the key witness in a felony DWI case and personally put a repeat drunk driver behind bars.

She's gone through tactical EMS training, where she learned to do things like start IV's and intubate (put an air tube in) patients in complete darkness - and - while being shot at.

In her ten years as a paramedic, she's worked cases as a paramedic that would give the rest of of nightmares, and in some pretty terrible places and under some pretty terrible circumstances, including one where the killer (shooter) was still on the loose and still in the area. She saved her patients lives in the process.

When one of her patients (a prisoner) took a swing at her, she blocked the hit - just like she trained to.

She was trained as a rescue diver.

She was a firefighter, and actually worked accidents and fought fires. And she wore the whole firefighter uniform when she did it, too. Big coat, helmet, boots, air mask - the whole getup. Those things are heavy, man.

She's worked through some stuff on a personal level that frightens most people badly enough that they spend their entire lives trying to avoid it.

When she took her CHL class, she easily qualified with a gun she'd never fired before, and only the second time she'd ever fired a handgun for real. She did it with numb and freezing fingers, in 20-degree weather, with the sun in her eyes.

She looks beautiful all dressed up.
She looks beautiful in jeans, flip flops and a t-shirt.
She can make awesome beef enchiladas.
She cries at the Key Ceremony in Mexico.
She beats me almost nightly at chess. And rather badly, most of the time.
She loved drum corp.
She pitches in and helps me work.
She loves my daughter like her own.
She supports me in everything I do.
She encourages me daily.
She prays with me every night, and reminds me when I forget.
She is going to go with me to the dentist 'cause I'm scared.
She can take care of herself, but still lets me take care of her.
She likes my cooking.
She is financially responsible.
She compliments me all the time.
She is always honest with me about everything.
She makes it safe for me to be 100% honest with her.
She has two cats that love my cat.
She forgives me when I mess up, no matter how badly or how often.
She bakes wonderful desserts and makes great pies.
She promised to make me fudge for Christmas.
She doesn't quit when times get rough.
She holds me accountable, but does it lovingly.
She is sweet and kind.
She likes "King of the Hill"
She has a sense of humor just like mine.

She's never - EVER - spoken a harsh word to me, even when I've SOOOOOO had it coming. That's a big one. too

I think that's a pretty good list, for starters. I think I could probably do this all day, too. I think I probably will, too - just not here.

See you guys on Monday.

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