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This year I have only three goals. One of them is to be there for my wife as she pursues her dreams. She has recently had a renaissance in her life and has expressed to me her desire to accomplish certain things. It is easy, when someone reveals their Big Dream, to express dismay and doubt that someone can accomplish something that big.

I think that the way that I can show her I love her is by being there for her, encouraging her every step of the way. I can’t do these things for her, or even really give advice on how it’s done. Instead, I must resolve myself to always be positive, never doubt her.

While the physical resources that I can provide her are limited, I will do what I can in that area.

The emotional resources, however, I can provide far more of. I can pick her up when she’s down. I can be excited and enthusiastic when she shares her successes. I can listen, refrain from giving advice, and offer a shoulder to cry on when she shares her failures. While I can’t make all the hurt go away, I can certainly be her safe place to land. I can make sure I never hurt her more than the world will already hurt her.

Very few women are as spiritually and emotionally strong as my wife. Her strength has been forged through years of trial more difficult than most people can imagine. I can give her this gift in the New Year - I will be there for her.

Last week my laptop got a virus…and some spyware…and a worm…and probably anything else that a computer can catch.  Then my wife caught the flu.  Then I caught the flu.  I blame it all on SurftheChannel.com - if they hadn’t enticed my wife and I with episodes of Star Trek TNG, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.

When you and your spouse are sick, here are recommendations for what to expect (and perhaps what not to do):

• Your meal plans are shot. That carefully crafted menu that your wife spent time planning, shopping, and preparing for? Forget it. Soup, soup, and more soup.  When you can’t take anymore soup - Taco Bell.  Why Taco Bell?  Because it’s three blocks from your apartment and cheap.
• You will understand that piles of tissue in the oddest places are part of the new decor that your wife has instituted - and you won’t care (as if you did before, guys).
• Your wife will be interested in strange hobbies that she never showed any interest in before.  That board game that she hated when she wasn’t sick?  She’ll play it with you for hours before bed time simply because it will take her mind off of the illness that she is suffering.
• Of course, if we don’t own a TV, and you can only read for so long when you’re sick, so at some point, roughly your fourth day of illness, you will become certifiably insane from the lack of any sort of outside stimulus.  No television, internet, music, or human interaction for four days makes the modern couple a little strange.
• Don’t make plans for the weekend.  Those 24 hour virus(es?) don’t really last for 24 hours - they last until they have made life as inconvenient as possible.  Then they go away when you’ve finally given in and cancelled all your plans, leaving you with nothing to do.
• Things will go wrong at work.  Someone will file a sexual harassment lawsuit against you or your immediate supervisor, and you will be called into the big boss’ office to give a full report.  Be sure to wear a suit and bring an extra box of Kleenex.

The laptop finally got fixed today.  After hearing from all of those Mac peeps out there, I broke down and bought a new Macbook White yesterday.  My cold still hasn’t completely gone away, but it’s getting there.  I’m hoping that with the advent of my laptop getting better (and who knew it took a full week to get a laptop fixed!!) that means that my sinus passages will finally stop producing enough runny substances to fill in as Slimer’s trail in the new Ghostbuster’s VI: Attack of the 50′ Slimer.

I now fully expect:

• Several comments to the effect of “huh?”
• Mutliple comments letting me know about all of the cool things I can do with my Mac.  You people are evangelists in the true sense of the word, and I expect the Light of the Gospel of Jobs to be fully shined on my soul.

Let the comments commence…and honey, please bring me the Kleenex.

How do you turn an American Redneck into an English gentleman?  Apparently you shave the handlebars off of his Mo, comb his hair, and put a bow tie on him.  That’e me, there to the left, and this is me last week, showing my redneck roots.

Movember has been a fun thing for me to participate in.  While other men have probably raised far more money than me, I’ve raised a little bit, and it’s been really good to see.

There are all sorts of health problems out there besides Prostate Cancer.  I’ve had allergic asthma for about 14 years.  This type of asthma is more common among young boys than it is among girls for some reason, but I keep it under control by taking a daily inhaled steroid, and by exercising.

Now, I don’t know how much the average man exercises, but if it’s like me before I got motivated to take care of my asthma, it’s probably about once every 10th or 20th time he feels guilty about his physical shape.  Sound about right?

Turns out that while most men benefit from exercise, it’s actually vitally important for me to exercise, or my lungs stop working properly.  No oxygen = very cranky Good Husband.

What kind of exercising do I do you ask?  Well, for those new readers who don’t know, I have been engaged in the wonderful activity of commuting by bike to work.  I ride about 10 miles each way, morning and night.  I really enjoy the ride, it gives me time to think, listen to Olberman’s podcast, or just rock out to some great tunage.

Speaking of podcasts, I was thinking of starting a podcast.  Would you listen?

Remember, you only have two more weeks to donate to Men’s Health Research.

This is me, early this morning.  As FussyPants would say, “Fight the Frump!”

So, here we are on day seven of Movember.  I can grow a pretty killer ’stache in just six days, yes?  Let’s not talk about the hair.

People are starting to ask me about the facial hair, so that means it’s doing it’s job.

Did you know that the average man’s life span goes up SEVEN YEARS when he gets married?  Part of that is attributed to the fact that most guys can’t cook, so single men just give up after a while…but in all seriousness, married men live longer because they are less likely to engage in risky behavior, and more likely to GO TO THE FRICKIN’ DOCTOR and get checked for things like Prostate Cancer.

Cancer is the number two killer (behind heart disease) of men in the USA.  Prostate cancer is the number two cancer for men (behind lung cancer).  If you’re over 40, go get screened.  If you’re under 40, stop eating Krispy Kreme hamburgers.  They’re bad for you, and that’s just disgusting!

Please donate to Prostate Cancer research.

I shaved this morning.  I normally maintain a 2 - 3 day scruff, so it feels a little odd to be clean shaven and then posting that on the interweb, but here ya go.  Also, yesterday when I mentioned that I’d be posting pics, I conveniently forgot that my camera is broken, so I’ll be posting cellphone pics until I get a new camera.

If you care to donate money to fight Prostate Cancer, please click here.

Did you know that most men spend an average of 2 - 5 minutes with their doctor when they visit, and that men visit the doctor about half as much as women?  We may be tough, but apparently we’re also a little stubborn.

Go get screened for Prostate Cancer! Especially if you’re approaching your mid-40’s.

Did mention I’m a hairy beast?  I sent Tyler at Building Camelot an email with a formal challenge.  I told him that I can grow a bigger moustache than he can.  I think he’s chicken and won’t respond to my challenge.

Charlie Kondek, awesome planner of vacations for men, is the one who turned me on to Movember.  Let’s see if he can lay it down.  Charlie, haven’t heard from you in a while.  Where you at?

Hey, you other Mo Bros out there: anyone else want to take me on?  I bet I can grow a bigger moustache than any of you.

The month of November is official Prostate Cancer Awareness month.  To promote this awareness, a bunch of bloggers in Australia started an event called Movember.  A “Mo” is Australian slang for moustache.  Movember participants grow a moustache to raise awareness for men’s health issues.

And I’m participating.  That’s right, I’m growing a moustache.

And I’m challenging you to do the same.

I’ll be starting by shaving tomorrow morning, Movember 1st.  I’ll post pictures tomorrow and once each week so you can see the progress of this beautiful face.

I encourage you to grow your own Mo.  It can be any style, and size, but if you participate, you can create your own donation page on the official Movember website.  If you want to participate by donating money, you can go to this page.  Enter Cory Huff as the person you are donating on behalf of, and give money for men’s health!

Some facts about Prostate Cancer:

What is it?

Prostate cancer occurs when the cells of the prostate begin to grow uncontrollably. When caught and treated early, prostate cancer has a cure rate of over 90%.

More than 186,000 men in the US will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is a small gland about the size of a walnut that sits under the bladder and in front of the rectum. The urethra, the narrow tube that runs the length of the penis and that carries both urine and semen out of the body, runs directly through the prostate; the rectum, or the lower end of the bowel, sits just behind the prostate and the bladder.

What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?

If the cancer is caught at its earliest stages, most men will not experience any symptoms. Some men, however, will experience symptoms that might indicate the presence of prostate cancer, including:

- A need to urinate frequently, especially at night;
- Difficulty starting urination or holding back urine;
- Weak or interrupted flow of urine;
- Painful or burning urination;
- Difficulty in having an erection;
- Painful ejaculation;
- Blood in urine or semen; or
- Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs.

Because these symptoms can also indicate the presence of other diseases or disorders, men who experience any of these symptoms will undergo a thorough work-up to determine the underlying cause of the symptoms.

What are the treatments for prostate cancer?

There is no “one size fits all” treatment for prostate cancer, so each man must learn as much as he can about various treatment options and, in conjunction with his physicians, make his own decision about what is best for him.

For more information about available treatment options at each stage of disease, order a copy of the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s free guide “Report to the Nation on Prostate Cancer: A Guide for Men and Their Families” from http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/guide

For more information about prostate cancer, please visit the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s website: www.prostatecancerfoundation.org

Come back tomorrow for updates and pictures, and subscribe to A Good Husband’s RSS feed (or email delivery) for future automatic updates.

So yesterday my post on what men think makes a good husband hit the front page of StumbleUpon. For those of you who don’t know, StumbleUpon is another one of those sites that allows you share your favorite websites with your friends, vote the site up in popularity, and can potentially send a ton of traffic your way. AGoodHusband has always done well on StumbleUpon, so if you like this site, you might want to give us a thumbs up. Find the little icon at the bottom of this post that says “share this” and click on it.

On Monday I told you how I was going to drink a lot of water in support of the doctor’s directive given to my wife. So far it’s been a little bit of an adjustment. 3 gallons is a lot of water.

Monday = 7 Liters (1.85 gallons)

Tuesday = 5 Liters (1.32 gallons)

Wednesday = 4 Liters (1.06 gallons)

As one might surmise, drinking a ton of water is a little bit challenging. I have found, however, that drinking room temperature water is easier than cold water, soup counts, and eating salt makes you thirsty. Wifey has done a little better than me, but still not regularly at 2 gallons. We’re working our way up, we say.

Oh, and tomorrow is my birthday. Yay.

Query: What was the best birthday present your wife ever got you?