Friday, August 6, 2010

Q and 001 Buymebarbies

A few questions have been submitted via the above “ask anything” button.
Just one answer on this post.

Question 001     From anonymous
"How long have you been married to buymebarbies, is she your first and only wife, how did you meet and how did she get her name (buymebarbies)? Maybe that's a subject for some more stories!"

Answer:
Although I do have plans for posts related to these subjects, I might as well dive right in now.  Buymebarbies (Paula is her real name) and I have been married for less than six years. However, we’ve been together for over 17 years. Between us we have five children.

At Sea World, many moons ago

Some of you know the girl on the far right.


The last time we were all together for group photo

Paula is not my first wife, but she is most certainly my last. We met at work when she was 19 years old. I thought she was pretty cute and she thought I was crazy and not her type. I thought I was everybody’s type. Hmmm, maybe that’s why she didn't like me very much. She was right; I was a mess in those days.  Although her soon to be husband was someone I knew, we never really became friends.

Age 20

Age 25 (yup, I'm a bit older)

Fast forward 15 years. We eventually married other people, had kids, and became divorced. We still worked at the same place, but our paths didn’t cross that much. I remember telling my friend that out of the 1000 or so people that worked in our plant, I thought she was the best looking. She never believes I really said that, but it’s true. The photo below was taken soon after we got together.

I know better than to insert her age

During that time period I was the Labor Relations Specialist for our plant.  One day she asked if I would come to her unit and help her with some union issues. I did so and there was clearly some chemistry during our meetings. The first outright flirting salvo was fired by me, a couple of days later. 

Paula was escorting an attractive (female) contractor to our maintenance department. The two of them were walking through a door just as I was about to walk out of it. Later Paula said “I saw you checking that lady out.” I responded with, “What makes you think she was the one I was checking out?” I then walked away. Darn slick, right?

It wasn’t long before we were dating and falling head over heels in love. I still am…

We both agreed that the “Brady Bunch” was pure fantasy and that raising a blended family together, seemed like a minefield. So we kept our own houses and raised our kids together, but lived separately. The seven of us went to all functions together, vacationed together, and spent a great deal of time together. We had a lot of fun on our trips, with the seven of us in one vehicle and hotel room. We agreed years earlier that when the youngest kid graduated from high school we’d get married and that’s what we did.

I’ve never known a couple that has so much fun, just being together as we do. In many ways we are not alike and we don’t always think the same way, but it doesn’t matter to us. We are now retired and loving it.

Paula got the nickname Buymebarbies because that is what she does. She has bought and sold tons of the stuff. I’m not into it at all, but I do have to admit that the vintage stuff is pretty cool. She needs to start selling a lot more of it, because it takes up a lot of space…


Vintage stuff


Designer and vintage stuff

In addition to these full cabinets, she has a large closet and several large plastic tubs full of the stuff.
Today





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46 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful wife and family! :)

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  2. AAAwww, what a great post, Pat! You two look great together, you're wife is very pretty btw! And such a beautiful love story!

    ps. Wow, her vintage collection looks so cool!!! I would love to put my hands on those. lol!

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  3. Such a lovely post...brought a huge smile to my face! :-)
    So glad you have found long lasting love and happiness!

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  4. You look so happy. Makes my heart smile!

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  5. Great story Patrick.
    Wish you live for another 100 years happily together...
    Costas

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  6. Wow, quite a story! I bet those barbies are worth some bucks...but I bet that is not the reason for collecting them.
    Good to hear more of you story!

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  7. These are some of the posts that make your blog so much fun to read. Not only is this a great love story, but there is food for thought here. Nice post. Nicely written, as always.

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  8. beautiful story! and i love the hair at 25. ^_^

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  9. This is very sweet, Pat. She is gorgeous. Of course, you are one handsome man too.

    I had assumed the buymemarbles referred to your GD's cute expression. oops.

    xo

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  10. What a wonderful love story! You make a great couple and you have a beautiful family. Love her Barbie collection!

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  11. Wow Pat I have so much to say on this post. First, I feel like you do about m u husband..we always have such a blast together and I prefer to be with him over anyone else. I still like him after all these years. He is my best friend. second...I think the way you raised your families was a great idea. I think being together and separate at the same time in your circumstances was probably a great way to blend and still keep everyone liking one another. Finally, my assistant is a barbie collector and is going to get a kick out of your wife's name. Juana probably rivals Buymebarbies in the number of barbies she has as well.

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  12. I want to keep my comment upbeat because you have what I always wanted.. so on that down note, I slide up to say what a joy it is to share a small slice of your life and family.. I wish for you the rest of your lives nothing but more joy and LOVE!!!!

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  13. That's a sweet and funny story. And that collection of Barbies... I'm sure there's many a jealous collector out there. lol

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  14. Aww, that is such a sweet story! Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Penny - Thanks so much!

    Biana - Thanks for the nice words. they all look like dust catchers to me!

    Nat - Thanks! I am indeed happy...

    MamaTink - Thanks! Glad to be of service.

    Costas - I second that wish! Thanks.

    Joe - As everything collectible, the value has suffered. She keeps some stuff and buys and sells others.

    Tapirgal - Thanks so much! Not sure about how nicely it's written though. I really need to learn how to proof-read my own stuff better.

    Vencora - thanks! Believe it or not, it got longer than that...

    Robyn - Thanks! I agree on what you said about her, but me? meh!

    Maguerite - Thanks so much!

    DrSoosie - I'm happy for you! It's nice to end up with someone you can truly call your best friend. We knew if we pulled us all together in one house, it would end in disaster for everyone. As it was, everybody had their own space and none of the kids could complain about the "others." Thanks again for reading and commenting...

    TS - Thanks! I wish one of them would knock on the front door right now....

    Lynne - Thanks for saying that. I truly understand what you're saying. My family and childhood posts pretty much explain where I'm from. I NEVER thought I'd get here. My wife and I both came from very poor and dysfuntional backgrounds. We just kept working at it. I've spent far more time in therapy than most folks...

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  16. Pat, did you photoshop that last picture?...Paula hasn't aged a bit, You on the other hand.....Just kiddin' as I have no room to talk...you two look great together. Nice family. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. Thanks to everyone for such nice words!! What a love story it was/is. We talk all the time about how it would've ended our relationship, had we gotten together back then. It works because we have similar backgrounds and can relate. I loooove my Barbie collection, especially the vintage stuff! I don't really mess with them too much these days, but know there are collectors out there, just waiting to get their hands on some of these. Thanks again!!

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  18. A great-looking couple. They say blended families almost never work out, or if they do, they take like seven years to iron out all the wrinkles. I think you guys did it right. It certainly seems to have worked for you. Congradulations.
    Rosemary

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  19. I enjoyed learning about your family and I think the name definitely suits your wife. What a beautiful lady she is!
    Great story. Keep them coming!!

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  20. Rachel - Thanks! My pleasure...

    Blue Wave - Thanks! I was going to start the timeline earlier, but it wasa getting to be too big of a post.

    Chuck - Yeah, I did photoshop it, I added about 100 miles of bad road to my face! (I wish I was kidding) Thanks Chuck!

    Rosemary - Thanks so much! You are right and we knew it wouldn't work.

    Buymebarbies - Can you get those toys out of the house now?
    just kidding dear.....

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  21. What a beautiful story!!! I loved reading this!

    You have a beautiful family. Your wife is drop-dead gorgeous. (I know you know that already).

    Thanks for letting us take a peek into your blessed life. :)

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  22. Awwwwww...I absolutely loved reading about you two! I am so glad that you both have such a love for one another and your children (and your barbies!). May you have a world of happy years ahead!! So proud for you both - and thank you guys for the inspiration that you are in so many ways.

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  23. That is my favorite post that you have ever done. What a beautiful family. I guess the gods do reward the good ones for the crappy childhoods they had. I admire so much the way you both made your families work and combined them into a unit beause of love. Good on ya mate.

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  24. Now i can finally put the names to faces. Wow! I cam see from the photos you certainly are a blessed man. BTW...nice 70s Easy Rider look!

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  25. dot - Thanks so much!

    Marlene - Thanks! I am a fortunate man!

    Andrea - We are pretty darn happy! Thanks so much for the kind words.

    Kal - Wow! Thanks Kal. Yep, I guess we some stuff built up on the good side of the ledger. Thanks again my friend!

    Jesse - You are correct, I'm pretty darn happy and lucky!

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  26. wonderful post , it's heart warming to see such love stories out there, thank you for sharing this gem with us.

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  27. What a lovely couple you make. And talk about the voice of sanity, having the wisdom not to force two families to grow under the same roof together. It speaks volumes how you put the kids first, and is sooo romantic that you went ahead and wed BECAUSE YOU STILL WANTED TO, so many more years down the line.

    You have a beautiful family, and are obviously great parents.

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  28. She is beautiful, and the two of you make such a handsome couple! I won't "wish" or "hope" that you have many more happy years together, because I KNOW you will.

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  29. Warren - Yup! It sure is...

    Nippy - Thanks! My pleasure!

    Shrinky - Yes, it would have been a disaster! Thanks!

    Margaret - Thank you my friend!

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  30. You are certainly full of surprises and very interesting tales.

    Darryl and Ruth : )

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  31. What a marvelous family and I think it is so meaningful that your and your wife and kids just sorta' grew into each other. She is a prize.

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  32. Interesting and good story, Pat. I like it when things are a bit unconventional and work out well. Good luck to you both.

    Oh yes, a piece of trivia for your wife. A thousand years ago when I was in college, my mother convinced me to GIVE AWAY my baseball cards and SIGNED GLOSSIES of ball players (back then, we wrote flattering letters to them and often as not they'd send us the pics).

    Imagine what they'd be worth now--and I've a heard a lot of guys with similar stories. So, while I don't envy you the barbies, I'd never urge either of you to get rid of them.

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  33. And here you have the happy ending for the book (or movie) that I've been re-reminding you about over and over.

    After all the crap that seems to have landed on you in your life, its good to know that you've had some bright, happy spots as well.

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  34. What an awesome story. You have a beautiful family, and as the commenter before me noted, with all the stuff you went through in the earlier years, it's nice to know that good things DO happen to good people in the end! - G

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  35. awwwww heee mee mee..... =) although i was impatient as a child and wanted you guys to marry much sooner, i am glad you guys did everything that you did and got married.... i couldn't be more blessed to have you in our lives. you have been a WONDERFUL role model, father, and grandfather.... you sometimes believed in me when no one else did.

    i love you for that.... i love you for YOU!!!!

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  36. D & R - Thanks! I've experienced a lot, that's for sure...

    Jerry - Thanks so much! It worked for us.

    Banjo52 - Thanks! I'm lucky enough to still have some of my childhood bb cards. Thanks for commenting!

    Neil - Thanks Neil! I really am in bright and happy spot now!

    Georgina - Thanks! They make me look better, that's for sure. I appreciate the nice words...

    Ashley - Awwwww heck! Thanks Ash!
    It's been my pleasure! I couldn't love you more, had I birthed you myself... huh?

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  37. So i am a bit behind in reading blog posts lately...but am so gald I am catching up. This was a Wonderful post Pat! Thanks for sharing it...it was beautiful. Nothing like a good love story:) You have a beautiful family!!!

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  38. Dawn - Hey there! Thanks for the nice words!

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  39. Look at you Pat =) Your wife is a beautiful lady.

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  40. Minoccio - Yep, she makes me look better in photographs! thanks!

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  41. Nice to hear how happy you are after all these years and the "blended family." Good things do happen to good people!

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  42. You, dear man, are a true romantic, it's just that the two of you weren't ready for each other in your earlier lives.
    I am always touched by genuine love, appreciation and respect. What a beautiful family you make together.
    Thank you for commenting and joining my blog. I'm glad we met through Vencora's blog.

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  43. California Girl - Thanks so much! Some folks thought we were nuts at the time, but it worked for us!

    One Woman's Thoughts - Why thank you! I happy to say that we have those things. You are welcome for the comment, right back at ya!

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