Date Night, Take 2

I had the whole week to dread this night.  Sarah gets this look in her eyes whenever she's being crafty.  It's positively sinister whenever she knows she's going to push me outside my comfort zone.  There is this childlike glee she takes in making me uncomfortable.

I hate it.

That said, she knows that I keep my word and we committed to each other to go on a date every week.  This week was her turn to plan it.  So, of course, she gets our friends involved, because where's the fun in just turning up the pressure a little bit?

What does she choose?  Face paint.  The actor in her chooses face paint.  Not just anything, though.  Animals.

For our entire marriage, I have been her teddy bear.  So naturally, that's what I get to be.  Now, with that said, Sarah is actually a fairly darn good artist.  It's a talent that she is starting to develop in several ways and I'm excited to see what comes out of it.  She's using it to make new friends, and it helps her connect to her grandmother who has passed on, another talented family artist.  Anyway, even with a rough canvas like my face, she can do a passable bear.  That's what I call talent.

Then it was my turn to do her.  Now, I can't draw anything on my own to save my life.  So I scoured the internet looking for something that wouldn't require me to paint her WHOLE face (less opportunity to screw it up) and was fairly simple to replicate.  We came up with a peacock.  It still felt like it took hours.  I suppose, however, that it didn't turn out too bad.  The smile, however, makes all the difference.  The peacock doesn't hold a candle to the smile.

Our friends opted for a lion...

...and a raccoon.

At that point, we went over to their house to do some karaoke, some of which even sounded like singing.  I learned that I haven't sung in a VERY long time.  Apparently, it's not quite like riding a bike.  You actually have to consistently practice.  Who knew, right?

All of the songs had to relate to our face paintings.  So the Lion chose The Lion Sleeps Tonight, by the Tokens.  The Bear chose, Bear Necessities, by Baloo the Bear.  The Peacock chose Wind Beneath my Wings by Bette Midler.  Last, but not least, the Racoon chose Who Let the Dogs Out by Baja Men (because YOU try and think up a song that has a raccoon in it...).

After karaoke, it was decided that we would play a game.  Now, normally, when we get together with this particular set of friends, the games are pretty amenable (board games of all types, etc...).  Not this time.  Oh no.  THIS time, we were going to play a "social" game.  The game was Fluffy Bunnies.  It sounds innocuous, but it is actually an insidious game designed to punish those who hate marshmallows.  Honest.

First you place a marshmallow in your mouth and hold it there.  Not the minis, a big one.  Then, with this marshmallow still in your mouth you say out loud and clearly distinguishable, "One Fluffy Bunny".  Everybody takes a turn.  Then you add a second marshmallow.  And still holding it all in your mouth, you say out loud and clearly distinguishable, "Two Fluffy Bunnies".  And so on, and so on, until you cannot understand what the person is saying.  Now, I hate marshmallows.  Not dislike.  Not have a slight lack of fondness for.  Hate.  The Lion, king of the pridelands, managed to eat four Fluffy Bunnies before we could no longer hear her roar.  The bear followed.  Upon reaching seven, I could not hold any more of the vile morsels in and had to recuse myself.  The peacock followed at eight.  And true to his scavenger/hoarder nature, the raccoon ate nine Fluffy Bunnies and had room for more.

So, for an uncomfortable face painting, a pitiful display of acoustic skill and a run in with evil treats, I got to see a smile on my beautiful bride's face (and a peacock too).  All in all, that's probably a fair trade.  Until next time, when we see what other craziness she has in store for me.  I'd better get used to living outside my box. :)

- Josh                     

Date Night, Take 1

One of the things Sarah and I are working on this year is to go on dates more often.  With a 12-year old in the house who wants practice babysitting so that she can start earning her own money, this is an opportune time.  She can watch Jacob, and we can go out on dates.  The catch: I, Josh the unromantic, have to plan and execute HALF of them.  When we started talking about this, I was thinking 1 every 3 months or so and she'd do the rest because she's better at it/more creative.  Whoa no.  Not a chance.  Half.  And not only that, I got volunteered (amazing how that works in a marriage isn't it?) to do the first one.  So I did what any good engineer would do when tackling an unfamiliar and bizarre problem: Google.

What I came up with was a list that was not nearly as long as I would like it to be, which means that in about 3-4 months, I'm in trouble.  For now, though, the truly clever or different ones that we do, we'll post.  For the first date, I sent her this:

We then had a list of 6 things that we did in Hastings.  They were:

#1 - Visit the COOKING section & chose a recipe that you would like to make for your spouse.

#2 – Visit the MAGAZINE section & find a quiz in a magazine that you and your spouse could do together.

#3 - Visit the CHILDREN’S section & find a book that was a favorite when you were a child or that holds a special memory for you…and read them to each other when you meet back up.

#4 – Visit the JOKE section and pick out a HI-LA-RI-OUS joke to share with your spouse.

#5 – Visit the TRAVEL section and find a picture or information on a place you would like to visit someday.

#6 – Visit the POEM section and find a poem that describes the way you feel about your spouse.

We spent roughly 2 hours in Hastings, talking and finding out even more about how different we are.  I am still amazed by this woman that agreed to marry me.  Best move of my life.

- Josh