Happy Anniversary!

OK, so I didn't take Wendy out on 52 dates this past year.  I think it was officially 38, which is probably 32 more than we went on the year before.  (Three of the dates would have been for birthdays & Valentine's day & the three miscellaneous dates.). We went on a few unofficial dates which would push the total dates over 40+.  

The easy part of this gift was the dates part...blogging about the dates was/is the tough part.  My goal for the coming year is to do a better job of posting the blogs of the dates.  

It has been fun to hear from so many people about this gift.  Hopefully a few have been inspired to do more reromancing of their spouse!  I feel that we have drawn closer and strengthened our relationship by going on these dates!

Happy 18th Anniversary babe!  Looking forward to another year of reromance!

Date 6: A little snow, A little pushing & getting caught up on our shows!

This will likely be one of our most memorable dates of the year, for all the wrong reasons, but one well look back on and laugh about!  I hope!  (And Wendy likes to point out, learn a lesson from)

It just so happened that we had one of our few heavy snows that morning.  The kids and I had fun playing in the snow and building not one but two snow forts in our front yard.  

All week we had talked about going to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and figured after a snow storm would be a good time to head out.  (I'm sure you know already where this is headed.)  Wendy had suggested just staying in and just asking the kids to leave us alone and maybe we'd sneak downstairs and watch a movie, but I'd seen cars going up and down our street so I figured our mini van would be able to make it! 

So we head out...down the street...I'm behind the wheel. We get to Bradfield and face a choice....left, right or straight.  Left heads south toward Sheridan (a couple blocks away) but is slightly up hill.  Right heads north a couple blocks to South street and is fairly level.  Straight is a couple of blocks to 27th street also fairly level, but where we got stuck after a similar storm.

So I don't really remember why I made the decision I did but it sure made for a memorable night. The van made it about a block and a half before it started to lose traction...and before I knew it we had lost all forward movement. Before we has left I had put the snow shovel in the van...just in case.  Well, we were a NO GO for the movie.  

I hop out, grab the shovel and start shoveling.  Wendy moved over into the driver seat. I clear out some of the snow and then we try rocking it out.  I'm an optimistic person and I know that I've been working out so I truly thought we get out and be on our way to the movie in just a few minutes.  My optimism, and Wendy's patience, were tested that evening.  Long story shorter...we spent the next 45-60 minutes, shoveling, pushing, shoveling, rocking, getting frustrated, shoveling, more pushing, more shoveling and more rocking and finally we get enough momentum to back out the way we came.  (We did have a couple that stopped to help push, but ended up leaving after spending about 10 minutes pushing.  We were also offered the use of a shovel by a homeowner.)

We finally get home, share what happened to the girls and decide to get caught up on some of the shows on the DVR.  Which was Wendy's suggestion for our date in the first place.  Lesson's I learned this experience:

1. Listen to Wendy.
2. Listen to Wendy.
3. In snow, get to the most traveled street as quickly as possible.
4. Having all-weather tires, doesn't necessarily mean you will have traction in 6" of snow.
5. Listen to Wendy. (Wendy will be quick to say that even though I may have learned this lesson doesn't mean I always apply this lesson.)

Date 23: A nice 6 mile run to Holmes Lake.

At some point I will get caught up on this blog!  Rest assured, Wendy & I are still going on our dates.  Not sure if this is actually date 23 or not...but it should be close.  I need to go back thru our facebook status's and check.

On top of Holmes Lake Dam half way thru the run!

So this turned out to be one of those practical dates...we wanted to spend time together and Wendy needed to get a training run in as she prepares for her 2nd half-marathon!  She's AWESOME!  This will be her 2nd half-marathon in 2012.  She just started running just over 1 year ago.  We are both amazed at how far she has come.  She is so into running now, she's got a subscription to Runner's World, bought some cute running outfits & has a favorite brand/model of running shoes that she gets from The Lincoln Running Company.    

On top of the dam...our footwear. Yes I wear the funny looking toe shoes!  I love 'em!

I told Wendy that I would be her body guard since we were starting the run at dusk after she'd run some errands and gone grocery shopping after I got home from work.  We enjoyed the beautiful cooler weather and virtually no breeze.  At one point, Wendy said we needed to run faster to make our own breeze!

After the run and during our cool down Wendy spilled the beans that all of my insurance talk allowed her to "zone out" and she was able to run further than she would have by herself.  (So basically I was boring her...she says I wasn't and that it's nice to have someone to talk so she can just run...I think she's being kind!)

We had a good time, got some exercise and it didn't cost a thing!

Had this thought after the date:

 "Life may not be a fairy-tale, but that shouldn't stop us from working to make it happily ever after!"

Here are some out takes as we tried to get the shot of us on the dam.

Accidentally zoomed in.

Still zoomed in & out of focus.

Killing time on a plane...not quite a date.

Just a quick update about the blog, since I'm stuck on a plane and need something productive to do (I've completed all of the levels on "Where's My Water."  Wendy and I are still going on dates...I just have not been as diligent in posting about them.  I promise to change :). Wendy has told me that I need to be less windy in my recaps.  I'll do that...it'll make her happy & it will be quicker for me to keep the blog updated. (So I wrote this a couple of weeks ago as we were traveling back from California. Just now getting around to posting.)

Date 4: Dinner and a monster!

This was one of the easier dates to plan...because I didn't really have to plan it.  We had bought tickets to see Young Frankenstein the Musical months ago, well before the whole 52 Dates was even an idea.

We dressed nice, because we're cultured like that, and headed downtown.  The musical was at the Lied Center so we thought we'd use the gift card we tried to use on our last date and have dinner at Spaghetti Works.  No such luck.  We cruised around downtown looking for a parking spot, looking, looking. It wasn't that look, but it sure feels like it when you're on a schedule.  We found a spot in front of the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center and walked over to Spaghetti Works.  As we're approaching the front door another couple beats us to it.  We follow them inside and find that it is STANDING ROOM only!  On a Saturday night in January!  Well, we're not using the gift card tonight.  The nearest options are Panera Bread, Five Guys Burgers and Qdoba.  Qdoba it is.

We walk around the corner to Qdoba, again another couple beats us to the door, but there is plenty of room and few people in line at the counter.  Now, what to order.  I like spicy food.  Wendy would tell you that I like "really" spicy food, the spicier the better.  I would agree, if I can get a nice sweat from my food, then you know it's spicy enough.  Gross, I know, but that's how I like it.  Beads of sweat rolling down my temples aren't quite what I'm going for tonight, I am on a date and kind of dressed up, so I go mild.

We enjoyed our dinner, tried to find a booth set off away from other patrons and I also didn't want to have a clear view to the TV.  We're here to be with each other and not for me to be watching the basketball game on the TV.  We talk about our days, Wendy's run, the kiddos, etc...  One of the guys behind the counter had a pretty sweet, ZZ Topesque beard.  We wondered how long it had taken him to grow it, eventually we was close enough for us to ask.  I don't recall specifically, but I'm thinking it was about 9 months.  We finish our dinner and head to the Lied Center to catch the show.

Young Frankenstein (the movie) was one of my favorite movies growing up.  My Uncle David had a laser disc player and we'd go over to my Grandpa Mar's house and watch movies.  It was the kind of humor that a 12-13yr old boy could understand and snicker at.  It has been many years since I'd watched the movie and I'd forgotten much of the story line, but I still remembered some of my favorite lines.  "Walk this way." "Nice knockers." I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the musical, but I hoped that those lines made it into the musical somehow.

We made it to our seats, in the balcony, but the nice thing about the Lied Center is that there really aren't bad seats.  We look over the programs.  Do some people watching.  And waiting for the light to go down and curtains up.  I hadn't realized that Mel Brooks wrote the musical also.  The creative talent of some people awes me.  The show was fun.  Amazing voices! And they worked "Walk this way" and "Nice knockers" into the musical!

Wendy introduced me to musicals.  Fun the things a guy will do to be with a girl.  I grew up thinking the musicals were "girly" and that as a masculine jock, I was too good for musicals and plays.  Now, I enjoy going to them and think that it would be so fun to be on stage, feeding off the energy of the crowd.

One of the things that I love about Wendy is she can sing!  I loved listening to her sing to our children when they were babies.  It is a talent that I wish I had.

I sure hope someone is working on turning "the Gods Must Be Crazy" into a musical.

Cost:  Dinner $17.  Tickets $96.00

Date 3: Dinner and a Movie

Well, thought I'd take advantage of being snowed in and get caught up on blogging about our dates.


So, I know I said I wanted these dates to be original and all, not just dinner and a movie every week.  Well, that's exactly what we did for this date.  I had asked Wendy about going to dinner and roller skating, but she wasn't up to it that night...so we'll save that for another date.  Maybe we'll make a theme date and dress in our best 90's outfits for that one.  Anyone else in?  I've been stretching as part of my workout routine, so I'm might have a shot at winning the limbo.

So we had received a Spaghetti Works gift card/coupon ($10 off your $25 purchase) in the mail, so we thought we'd head downtown for dinner and a movie.  We ran into a bit of a babysitting snag as Maddie and Molly wanted to go watch our nephew Payton's basketball game and so we needed to find a last minute babysitter.  After some last minute calling around, we were able to make arrangements with our neighbors daughter.  The only hiccup was that she had volleyball until 6:00pm and the movie started at the The Grand @ 6:50pm.  We figured we'd still have time to get a quick bite and still make it to the movie.

You know what happens when you are on a tight schedule...the schedule just seems to get tighter & tighter. I got home from work shortly before 6pm and didn't really have time to change, not that I really needed to...it was Bow Tie Friday! (For that don't know, I have begun to wear bow ties to work on Fridays.)  Well, the clock just seemed to be moving soo fast toward the start of the movie, we were hungry but we didn't want to eat, because we were going out.  But the babysitter wasn't here yet.  We kept waiting, waiting.  Finally about 6:30pm she gets here.  I don't complain because without her we wouldn't be going out at all.  We give her some quick directions (she's babysat for us before and knows Whit & Si well) and head out.

We get in the car and start off toward downtown.  We know that we don't have time for Spaghetti Works so we discuss our options and then Wendy thinks to check the show times at Southpointe.  The movie is playing there and it starts 20minutes later!  So we make a left instead of a right and head to Southpointe.  The drive to Southpointe took less than 10minutes and I didn't even speed!  During the drive we decide to eat at Panera Bread.

Surprisingly the parking lot was not yet full and we found a parking spot fairly close.  We hustle to Panera Bread and find it to be standing room only!  The only other option was movie theater food...we decided we still had enough time to order and if we needed to, we'd just eat standing up.   We ordered and I started cruising the tables looking for someone who was leaving so that we could take their table.  I spotted a couple getting up and asked if they were done.  The gentlemen said no, but that they were just splitting their table so someone else could use the other half.  I thanked them and put my coat on the back of the chair to claim the table.  Wendy came back to the table shortly after that and we waited.  Thankfully the food came out pretty fast.  We enjoyed a good, albeit fairly quick meal.

We choose to see Mission Impossible.  It was a fun movie, and lived up to the other Mission Impossible movies...with as Wendy said, many "no way" and "yeah right" moments.  That Tom Cruise is crazy...he does his own stunts and to see him running, climbing, falling, ect... on the outside of the tallest building in the world was nuts.  Say what you will about the man, he does make some entertaining movies.

One thing about dinner and a movie, is that it's a solid standby and it's better than nothing.  The challenge is to make sure that you make an effort to connect.  It is an easy date where you can just go thru the motions. One of my goals thru this journey is to learn something new about Wendy in each date.   Wasn't that the best part of first starting to date your significant other?  If you are looking for ideas of how to get to know your significant other better check out this site, it has 50 Questions to Ask your Spouse on a Date Night.

Dah dah da-dah, dah dah da-dah…da-da-dah-dah…DA-DAH!  Your mission, should you choose to except it...take your wife on a date a week for a year!

Cost:  Dinner: $17 @ Panera Bread, Movie: $12 (I had previously purchased some discounted tickets thru a work benefit.)  Babysitting: $24

Date 2: A trip to Pink Nails & Spa

One of my goals for this journey is to have new experiences with Wendy...well this was definitely a new experience (for me at least). I mean we could do 52 dinners & a movie, that's not really original, but it would be better than nothing.  There will be dinner & a movie dates in this journey because 52 is a big number to try to come up with 52 different dates.

So, the idea for this date came to me while I was driving home on our anniversary.  I knew that I was going to be needing a number of date ideas.  It just so happened that earlier that day Groupon had deal; $12 for $24 of services at Pink Nails & Spa.  As Gru from Despicable Me says "Light Bulb".  Here we go...date #2.  (I know what you're thinking, but Matt you are so masculine.  I know, I know, but I do have 5 sisters & 3 daughters, so I know how to get in-touch with my feminine side.)

I told Wendy about my idea for our date and she was game.  So now it was time to figure out what exactly had I signed up for?  I asked some of the gals at work what tips they had for me.  I got everything from ask for the "golfer's treatment" (a male pedicure) to pay attention to the hand signals (to deal with potential language barriers).  I learned that a pedicure was much, much more than getting your toenails painted.  The most common response was "I've always wanted to take my husband to get a pedicure."  Wendy said we'd probably need an appointments, so I set the appointment.


We dropped the Whitney and Simon off at my sister's house and headed to the appointment.  We got there a few minutes before our appointment and checked in.  Wendy was directed to pick out the color she wanted her toenails painted.  I looked around the salon and whataya know...I'm not the only male here.  There is a gentlemen sitting in one of the chairs with his jeans rolled up and feet in the bath.  We relaxed on the couch for a few minutes.

One of the things that I discovered is even though we had an "appointment" it really didn't mean we were getting into the chairs at 4:30.  I didn't really mind, I was enjoying spending some time in a new setting with my sweetie.  I found out that if you are a regular, you get your own little pencil case with "your" private tools.  There was a little round table, where the ladies stuck there toes, in those toe organizers under the blue light and gossip.  On the table is also a variety of sugar scrub "flavors."

We were called to our chairs.  First order of business, remove your shoes and socks.  Done.  Next, roll up your jeans.  (My 1st tip, be sure to wear looser fitting jeans...I was trying to look good for my wife and wore my "skinny rocker" jeans.  Not such a good idea, just sayin.)  Then you put your feet in the bath. (Tip #2, don't be afraid to ask for the water to be hot.  My water was lukewarm.  I had forgotten that one of the gals at work had told me to tell them to turn the hot "all the way up".)  Oh, did I mention, the chair that you sit in the entire time is a message chair!  I had that thing going the entire time!
 

Isn't she beautiful!

After letting your feet soak for a while, they got to work on your feet.

Clip & file the toe nails, hang nails & cuticles.  Pumice stone scrub your heels & feet. (I only jumped a couple of times from being ticklish.)

 

They massage your feet and calves, then came my favorite part of the entire experience...the exfoliation.  It began with the sugar scrub and then they put this blue lotion on your legs and wrap your legs in hot, damp towels.  The blue lotion has a tingly, warming sensation.  It is during this time that they'd paint your toenails if you were so inclined.

We had an enjoyable time.  There was plenty of time to just chat while our feet soaked.  The other gentleman in the salon was also there with his wife and told the gal working on him "You women have kept this (pedicures) a secret for too long."  I would agree, it felt wonderful and I don't feel like I had to give up my "man card" to do it.  It most definitely is something that I recommend all guys do with their girls.  (Ok, I admit that I don't think I would have gone and got one by myself.)  And my toes have never looked better! 

My foot is the one on the right.

Cost of the date:  $34.00 (2 $12 Groupons and $10 tip) and again utilized free babysitting!