Meet my ‘MVT’ – Most Valuable Tevis

More to come on how I met Tevi but, for the record, we’ve been dating for 9 years! There have been multiple bickers, a few heated moments, 1 childbirth with another coming soon, 9 trips to Mexico, 6 road trips, 1 Tevis family vacation, endless happy hours, hundreds of boat days, plenty of fish house dates and probably a million movies … but only about 3 fights. Our relationship is pretty fucking awesome. I want, Tevi gives! He’s cute, he’s quiet, he’s smart and a “we can go get a beer after” will get you a long way with this gem. He’s almost the complete opposite of me. I’m off the wall, high energy, early bird, planner girl, super organized, living life in a rush, positive vibe, spirit junkie, family first, people-pleaser with countless goals and ideas… And then, there’s Mr. Tevis, slow motion for me, slow motion for me, chill as a pill, no plans needed, why talk when you can listen, why run when we can walk (really slow), don’t sign me up for that, stop posting, I’m a private person Marcus!

They say opposites collide! And boy, did did we collide and together we conquer, divide and have all the fun!!

Tevi’s famous lines for me:

1. You need to learn to relax! (Me: Yes, honey I do. But right now I’m too busy to fucking relax!)

2. When it doubt chuck it out. (I toss everything! He’d save everything.)

3. Does this make sense? (My response, “I’m not dumb!” I think he says it to make sure I am really listening)

4. Under-commit, over-deliver (Regarding making plans for anything, even 1 hour from now, he always says “We might make it!”)

5. Let’s think about this. (Think, think, think, research over and over and over again-that’s his philosophy with everything. Me? I, only see the shiny object with a figure-it-out-later mentality.)

Those 5 sentences alone describe everything I’ve learned from Tevi; they are all of my flaws turned into valuable life lessons. The Universe sent me Tevi for so many reasons. Obviously Tevi has helped me make a cute baby, tackle DIY projects and build empires but the list is really bottomless, like the amount of beer he can drink!! Marcus has been nonstop support, encouragement and the wind behind my sail for almost everything over the past almost decade. When I tell him a plan, he truly listens and then thinks … while I keep talking, talking too much. He makes me develop the plan. Which I usually do, and then he researches and executes. I show up with the drinks, a smile, the energy and steal the credit. It works well! In private I say, “Thank you!

Everyone always asks “What does Marcus think of that?” My usual answer is he thinks but doesn’t say a word until it’s too late. As we tackle this DIY kitchen redo we got into our third fight. Tevi had a clear system labeling cabinets so they could easily go back to – and into – their exact spot (something I thought nothing about). I did the work of sanding, priming and painting those fuckers. During my many hours with the cabinets, I took his labels off and put them on “their” bucket. Easy I thought, when he goes to put them up, look at the bucket for the sticker (See I’m smart too, I didn’t throw them away.) I get home from SIU, the doors were now drying in the house and guess who was completely pissed off? I mean sticks and stones break bones but Tevi’s words were lit up. I couldn’t say anything. He was a rocket of negative energy and so heated I was getting hot in the kitchen. I just looked at him and then said, “Didn’t you look at the bucket? The labels were on the buckets.” I just stopped talking, and he kept going and going. He even said, “I never get mad, but I’m mad.” I could see he was mad. I was kind of laughing inside because I honestly didn’t think he would carry those damn doors into the house without me. I finally said “Sorry.” He just goes, “Why didn’t you say that right away?” (Well, because I wasn’t). I didn’t say that but just said ‘sorry’ again and then moved past the conversation of labels on to cooler topics like Ruby. The fight was pretty little, but since we don’t fight much this will leave a memory –like most DIY projects do.

Home improvement projects sure do bring out the best in people!!! Our kitchen is looking bomb; I can’t wait to show you the before-and-after photos coming soon. Tevi did a great job bringing my vision to life. He’s a great guy and I’m happy to have him star in my life as SIU’s VP, Ruby’s baby daddy, my more-than-two-year fiancé, 9-year boyfriend. He’s truly my main squeeze, partner in crime, “stop taking pictures of me” guy. I told him we should start our own show on HGTV and he thinks that’s a terrible idea. Any guesses: will we get married in 2020? Yes or No? Comment below!