Love at 5 AM

Normally, we don't sleep in THAT long.  Normally.  But for some reason, I was feeling particularly tired last week, and daylight savings was coming up, so I was really looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday morning. 

Well, Friday evening Jason suggested we go to bed early because he would be taking me on a date in the wee hours of the morning.  Yippee!  There was a fleeting moment where I was bummed I wouldn't get to sleep in, but then it registered that my hubby was planning a sweet date.  So, what did we do? Duh, we hiked up a small mountain and watched the sunrise! And, it was glorious!

Jason was kind enough to let me know what we were doing on Friday night, so I was able to lay out some warm clothes and sleep in as long as possible.  In the morning, we jumped out of bed, got coffee at Starbucks, and grabbed some fruit from the grocery store.  We ended up hiking up Galbraith Mountain (which is right in town) where we searched for a spot to watch the sun come up over Mount Baker. 

Jason could not have picked a better day.  The moon was full and provided a bit of light as we started hiking in the dark, and the clouds had cleared up early that morning.  It was a bit chilly, but we didn't notice the cold until we sat down.

Once we found a little spot that was adequate, Jason pulled out a blanket and some light snacks, in addition to the coffee and fruit we picked up.  We set up on a cute little log, and waited for the sun to come up.  The quiet of the morning was so wonderful...the only sounds we heard were the songs of the birds.  I am amazed that we can feel so removed from the bustle of the city, while being so close!  As we waited for the sun to make an appearance, Jason read some bible verses relating to nature.  I thought this verse from the book of Psalms captures a morning like this well:

       On the glorious splendor of your majesty,and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.                                                -Psalm 145:5 

We didn't spend the entire time chatting. And that's okay.  I think there is something special about spending a few moments without the need to say anything at all.  Enjoying the beauty of God's creation together was more than sufficient to fill our silence.

Cost:
Coffee - $6.00
Fruit - $3.50
Nuts - on hand

The Dollar Date

Kim had a fun idea for our 8th date that cost us very little money.  After Crossfit on Friday we headed over to the dollar store.  Kim had figured out the cost, plus tax, of 5 items at the Dollar Tree.  She had separated this money into two envelopes, one for me and one for her. Kim's idea was we would purchase our activities for our date, and go back home for a relaxing evening at home. We had a good time wandering around the store looking at all the items $1.00 can buy.

We ended up with a chess board, a foam finger rockets, seed planters, a 500 piece puzzle, a book of Sudoku, large army men, a blow up hammer, a crystal forming tree chemistry project, a metal puzzle game, and play-doh. Really a bunch of junk, but super fun for an evening at home.  We started the puzzle when we got home, and finished it a couple of days later.  Those of you with kids at home will like what we did with the finger rockets and army men. We set up the army men on the table and then shot them off with the rockets! That was a good time.  We played another couple games of chess, Kim is getting better.  The crystal forming tree is pretty dumb, but after 48 hours we did have some colored crystal formed of the paper tree. Kim solved the metal puzzle by just pulling really hard, which I think is cheating.  Oh, and I hit Kim with the blow-up hammer a lot, because what else do you do with it,  We didn't get to all of our items that evening, but it was fun idea for a lazy night at home.

Cruising Date

As you may have read in a previous post, we went on vacation! It was wonderful. And, we were gone for more than a week, so this vacation also included one of our weekly dates! While most vacations end up feeling like a really long date, we were on a cruise with family, so we still had to be intentional about setting aside some time for the two of us.

Our vacation was a lot of fun.  We left home (with fresh pedicures) and made our way to Florida where we met up with Jason's parents, and our close friend.  Throughout most of our trip, we all ate meals together and hung out.  So, on Saturday, our last full day on the cruise ship, Jason planned our date.

The ship we were on had loads of entertainment, from Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil to dueling piano bars and The Second City comedy show.  In addition to the evening comedy show, The Second City also put on a Murder Mystery Lunch.  I have always wanted to do a murder mystery dinner, so this was a great time for us to try it out!

While it wasn't quite what we expected, it was entertaining.  The comedians followed a plot and certain parts were dictated by the crowd.  I thought there would be more audience participation and crime-solving action than there was.  For a couple hours of entertainment and lunch, it was a pretty good experience - and we tried something new!

After the show Jason and I headed across the ship to the library, with a candlestick.  Just kidding, we found a chess board and he challenged me to a game (I had just learned how to play chess a few days before!).  We spent some time talking about our trip, and read through another chapter of proverbs.  Looking back, I think my demeanor wasn't as perky as it should have been for being taken on a date on vacation.  I think I was a little bummed that our time away was coming to an end...and I was a bit exhausted from all the FUN we were having!  I couldn't tell you which one of us won the game of chess, but it was nice to have some time relaxing with my favorite guy.

While our date was not the only instance when we spent time alone on our trip, that very easily could have been the case. Even on vacation it is important to be intentional with your spouse!

Cost:
Cruise - expensive
Chess - free
Murder Mystery lunch - $15 each

Don't forget the Polish

Date 6 happened on Friday the 13th. This date was the night before we left for a 7 day Caribbean cruise.  I'm a little late posting this because the sun tanning on our trip interfered with my blogging ability.  Kim decided to take me to 13 nails in Fairhaven for a pedicure.  Oh yes guys, pedicures are actually really nice.  Do you think that women would keep going if they sucked?

There is a good story behind this date.   A couple of months back I was working with a Ninkasi beer rep and we decided to stop into 13 nails because they indeed sell beer and wine.  The Female Ninkasi rep talked me into getting pedicures while we were there.  Sometimes you have to take one for the name of business!  This was my first pedicure and it was awesome.  They rub your feet and take care of all that gross extra skin. After hearing of my positive experience Kim was very excited to go with me.  What a great date right before wearing flip flops for 7 days.  This was a very relaxing date and is a great time to talk with each other.  We talked about all the activities that we looked forward to on the cruise.

After our pedicure experience we heading back home to pack.  This was a great relaxing quick date.  Don't think your date time has to be an all day or evening event.  To close the night off we prayed for our trip and safe travels.

Throwback Thursday - Photo Scavenger Hunt

Thursday night- I get home from work and immediately Jason tells me we have to get ready to go. I have no idea what we are doing. So, I end up asking Jason about attire for the night, and eventually the conversation ends up like this:

Me: so, I don't have to look cute?

Jason: you always look cute

...and gentlemen, that is your lesson for the week.

In all seriousness, last week was a little rough for me. I had been busy at work, was moody, cranky, tired and overall unpleasant...and of course, poor Jason has to put up with me. This was one of those weeks where I was feeling a little worn out and exhausted, and it ended up reflecting in my attitude. Really, I just wanted to crawl into a ball on the couch and spend the evening with my friend Netflix.

I am so lucky because Jason has an abundance of love for me. I knew doing this weekly dating thing would be challenging, I just didn't realize how quickly that would happen. I'm not sure how to explain it, but during this date I caught myself thinking about other things going on rather than being present in the moment with my husband. It was awful, because that is not what I want in my marriage.

Anyway, it took me a few minutes, but once we got dinner (taco truck for the win) and got to our destination, I started to feel a bit more enthused.  Then, Jason revealed the evening activity - photo scavenger hunt on Western's campus. And it was awesome. Don't worry, you will get to see our list in a minute, but first I must give you the highlights:

- running around campus taking photos was fun. It's that simple. 

- we reminisced about things from our university days. It's almost been 5 years since I have had any class at WWU, and that's weird. Where did the time go?

- we actually searched for books in the library, and had an amazing time exploring and discovering biblical literature. We found what we are looking for and got cozy on the library floor and pointed out passages and interesting books to one another. We did not get a photo of that time, but it was special, intimate, and very memorable. I needed this. 

I really adore my husband and loved spending time being goofy, wandering around campus enjoying each other's company.  I don't think I was terribly rude or anything, but once I allowed myself to set aside the other things on my mind, my attitude completely changed.  Sadly, that tends to be more difficult than it should be....and I know that it helped me to have more fun! 

Anyways, we had a list of 25 tasks, some of which included finding:
-a book about cats
-the largest classroom
-the smallest classroom
-a science lab
-graffiti
-the campus quad
-ride a shopping cart
-goofy writing on a white/chalk board
-man/bear sculpture
-art building
-garbage building (?)
-walk through a skybridge,etc.

Without boring you further, I will give you some of our scavenger photos:

Total Cost:
-Taco Truck - $12.00

Big Rock Park

Last Saturday, January 31st, Kim planned a great afternoon of getting to know each other better.  We started at our house and headed up the hill on the railroad trail. The weather was perfect, no rain and a little bit of sun. It's always refreshing to take a break from the hectic life schedule and enjoy nature and each other.  Kim had the great idea of asking get-to-know-each-other questions while we walked. We talked about if we ever wanted to move and where to. We talked about our favorite foods, dream neighbors to move to, and many other fun life question.  I forget that there is still a lot I don't know about Kim. After many years together you may think that you know everything there is, but trust me there is a ton more if you ask.
Our walk took us to Big Rock Park on Alabama Hill.  Bellingham folks, have you ever been here?  I had no idea this really awesome sculpture garden was right in our backyard. This is truly a hidden gem of Bellingham.  What a great date idea, because you learn a ton about a person in how they response to art.  Kim and I had fun time trying to figure out the meaning of each one.  We found a great bench in the park where we sat down and prayed together.  On our way back home we explored some of the neighborhoods on Alabama Hill.  Kim and I really enjoy looking at all the cool, and not-so-cool, home designs.  Here is to 48 more dates!

A Night In With Crayola

This weeks date was a fun one, and something we have never done before.  On Thursday evening we went to the gym as usual and then made dinner at home.  After dishes were put away date night commenced:

Jason pulled out black plastic, set up a makeshift table using some sawhorses and wood, and brought out two hairdryers (where did he find a second?).  Then, he brought out two glass doors and...

Aha! Crayon art!

Jason and I aren't the most artistic people, so this was bound to be interesting!  He had already pulled up some examples of artsy ideas, so we looked at those and did a quick pinterest search.  If you haven't seen crayon art, check it out.  There are some really fun designs out there.  I liked the one of a couple under an umbrella with the wax dripping on them like rain - but, we decided it was a little bit cliché.  Instead, we decided to create two separate pieces that would (hopefully) complement one another.  In addition, Jason already had an idea of using an existing photo that we had on hand.  

We melted wax on the back of the frame,
 but taped the edges to protect the wood

Jason cut out a photo for us to use, so I did my piece using a picture of Jason, and he used a picture of me.  Also, it turns out that we don't print photos very often, because the ones we had on hand were from engagement photos taken more than four years ago!  It was fun discussing how we wanted to coordinate, and how we wanted them to be unique.  We put our pictures in different spaces on the glass, and we each chose a different color scheme.  Jason also decided to drip his wax 'upside down' for a contrasting effect.  It is pretty interesting to see how we both differ artistically.  

There was a lip from the frame to glass, so I started mine on the
ground to avoid some splattering

Jason has an easy time visualizing what he wants, and making that happen.  So once he started melting the wax it was a pretty quick project for him.  He seemed to have an idea how it would look before he began, and I think he was pretty pleased that it turned out within his expectations.  I, on the other hand, have a very difficult time visualizing the outcome. I started mine several minutes before he did, and only barely finished at the same time as him.  

Jason's duct tape crayon contraption

I won't go over the details of how to do this project, but it did involve double sided foam tape and a hairdryer (if you want more specifics check it out on Google or Pinterest).  Once the crayons started melting a few of them fell off, so I ended up just holding up individual colors that I wanted to use (this didn't work great, because the wax already on the glass continued melting, and my fingers got hot!).  Once the crayons began falling for Jason, he used duct tape to make a little pack...far more efficient than my single-crayon-at-a-time effort... After knowing someone for so many years and being as close as Jason and I are, I often see how we think similarly, and forget just how different we really are!  This is one of the things I have always loved about Jason - sometimes he gives me a perspective I never would have noticed on my own.

Like I said, we are no Picasso's, but we had a lot of fun learning about one another's artistic preferences, being creative, and a little bit messy together.  Afterwards, we set our frames up to dry, left our mess for tomorrow, and curled up on the couch to continue reading through proverbs.

Cost:

Crayons - $5.89

Tape - $3.79

Glass doors - we already had these on hand!

Second hair dryer - borrowed from a friend

Finished products - backside

Finished products - front side

there it goes!

Jason melted a lot of wax quickly for a thick layer up top

Lots of wax on the kegerator.  I *think* wax splattered
when one of the crayons fell off my frame...from 5 feet away...