*busted*

Today J. discovered my secret.

You see, when I was picking out his wedding band (over a year ago) I really wanted to get it engraved with the word that represents something he taught me about true love. It is unconditional. 

But the band he really wanted (and I really wanted to get for him) I could only afford in a metal that is impossible to engrave on traditionally. After a frustrating failed attempted to have it engraved before the wedding, I gave up. I figured I could always have it done later. 

As our first anniversary is coming up (see my previous blog about that), I decided this would be a great opportunity to have it done. But how would I get the one thing my hubby almost never takes off without him knowing?

I sneaked (in writing this I learned that "snuck" is not a word) it into my pocket while he was showering, the only time he doesn't wear it.

I went running errands around town with him for hours with it right there in my pocket. I was so afraid he would figure it out. When we got home he looked and looked for it but didn't tell me what he was looking for. 

Later that day, while he was at work, I took it to the jeweler. She said she could engrave it, so I left it there. While I was in her shop, I met a man picking out his second wedding band. He got a little emotional when he was telling me how blessed he was to have found another woman who just as wonderful as his late wife. I was touched, and thought to myself that if I go first, I hope Scott is as fortunate as this sweet old man. I left the store with a great feeling about the sneaky decision I had made.

Anyway, I learned today that my husband had been looking frantically for the ring almost every time I wasn't home. I had no idea he was that worried about it. Usually he tells me when he's lost something, even for a few minutes, but this he determined to find on his own and admitted to "turning the house upside down" in hopes of recovering it.

Not until a week later, when I asked him about it, did he tell me he couldn't find it. 

I got the ring back the day after he told me it was missing, but couldn't figure out how to have him find it without seeming suspicious. 

I was so excited about it that this afternoon I just gave up on cleverness and made up a weak story about how I found it in the cup holder of my car. 

He bought it at first. I thought I had pulled it off, even with my weak story. He did seem a little suspicious, but he was trying to reason through it on his own. "Maybe I took it off while I was riding with you and wasn't thinking about it," he said.

I tried to be convincing in agreeing with him. I said, "that could have easily happened." And other things like that. 

He really seemed to be convinced by the time we got home, but apparently he was not.

He called my cell phone shortly after he got to work and accuse me of  being a sneak. Right then, I knew the jig was up, but I wasn't about to incriminate myself. 

"What are you talking about?"

He had found the inscription on the inside. I thought it was subtle enough that he wouldn't notice it until I pointed it out. But I was busted.

He was surprised and pleased, all the reactions I had hoped for, but I had failed in my sneakiness. The excitement of the surprise gets me every time. 

The moral of the story, ladies and gents, is that when you are most excited about your sneakiness you should occupy yourself in another way, wait for it to wear off, then proceed. 

Keep calm and sneak on.

Maybe I Should Buy Some Frosted Flakes Just in Case

I can't believe how quickly this semester is coming to an end. What an interesting one it has been.

I feel so relived that I'm almost halfway through my graduate program. I think I should also be getting excited about the prospects of finding a job, but I'm not quite close enough to graduation to see the light at the end of the tunnel just yet.

This summer I'll be starting some education classes to get a minor in that field. Part of me is really looking forward to this, but in another way not knowing how these classes will compare to the ones I'm already taking is a little unnerving. If anyone has much experience with education graduate classes I would be all ears. All-in-all though, I think it's going to be a great experience.

One of the ads from Sunset Magazine
that I found in my research.

I'm excited about this summer in other ways too. The weather change is a motivator for me. I'll have early classes so hopefully I'll have time and motivation to do a lot of extra things I haven't put on my top priority list in the regular semester like working on my thesis seriously, working out regularly, and volunteering somewhere. Mostly I'm excited that this is putting me one step closer to being done and moving forward with my career. Also, I'm excited about being done so J can move forward with his career.

So here goes the home stretch! I only have about 20-25 pages left to write this semester a handful of books to read and a presentation to prepare and present. By May 15 I should have it all behind me and have a couple of weeks to myself before the summer sessions begin. Wish me luck!

Homemade Date Night!

Last night J sent me a message saying he wanted to do something fun tonight. So we tossed around a few ideas.

First, we thought about doing a movie marathon, but neither of us were too excited about that this time. So we elected to do that on another day maybe this summer.

Next, we thought about renting a video game we both have been wanting to play, Harry Potter Lego 5-7. (Yes we are uber-nerds!) But I was craving something that would allow us to talk more, so we set that aside for another day.

At this point in our conversation, I start googling for ideas. Since I kinda shot down one that he was so excited about I wanted to come up with something he could get equally excited about that would give me the interaction I was looking for too.

Several sites I visited mentioned twister. Light bulb! I told Scott I thought we should go out and buy it, but he had a better idea, make it!

All we did was cut construction paper into circles. There were six of each color, blue, yellow, green and red (we didn't have red so we used pink) and laid them out on the floor in a grid. Viola, instant twister! Yes, they did slip and slide on the carpet but that made it exponentially more fun and challenging. We took turns calling out colors for the other person. It didn't take long for us to discover that neither of us are very good at it, but we had a blast. I can't wait to play again.

Our plan was to also make brownies. Since I bought a mix last time I got groceries we didn't have to leave the house for that either. We found that brownie breaks were necessary throughout our twister game, and there was no guilt because we were burning all the calories we were eating (well some of them anyway).

Finally, I saw on Pinterest.com someone suggested making a blanket fort. This was one of my favorite things to do as a kid so why not relive that with my husband? But by the time we were done playing twister we were not up crawling around on the floor anymore, so I'll put that one on the 'For Later' list too.

Here's a sampling of other date ideas on the For Later list:

• Draw portraits (in our case more like caricatures) of each other.
• Paint something abstract on canvas together. 
• Fly kites in the park
• Cook dinner together--make something we have never made before
• Star gazing in the country
• Go camping
• Try "Painting with a Twist," a Lubbock art studio with amateur classes
• Ice or roller skating
• Six Flags

Maybe some of our ideas will inspire you for a fun date with your significant other. Have fun!!!

Reflections on my First Year of Marriage

Today, I'm planning for my first anniversary, on May 6. I can't post anything I've done yet since J. will be looking at this before May 6 most likely. But I am very excited. This year has been a whirlwind, and I can't believe it's already almost gone.

A lot of people told me before I got married that the first year was difficult, and in a sense they were right. But mostly I feel like they were very wrong. This year has far and away been the best of my life.

There is nothing so comforting as knowing there is one person on this earth that is going to love you, stick by you and do his best to make you happy no matter what else happens. I love that I can come home and it doesn't matter what stupid thing I did at school, what someone else said to hurt my feelings, how badly windblown my hair is, he is going to wrap his arms around me and make me feel beautiful, smart and loved.

That's what J does for me every day. He makes me feel appreciated and valuable. I wish that for every woman I care about in this world. There is nothing like it.

I have to go now to give him a hug and some food; he just got home from work.

I hope you all get to know a love like mine!

*face-palm*

So I'm going to admit it here and now...I'm a failure as a blogger. I have blogged once and dropped it just like a million other things I intend to do and never get around to.

Now let me make an excuse for myself that is no excuse at all--I have been busy.

There it is, that evil one-liner that everyone says whether or not it's true. So from now on when I think I'm too busy for this or that, I'm challenging myself to ask, "busy with what?" Busy with school? That one might be legitimate, but when I find time to read all the Hunger Games books, watch a couple of Harry Potter movies and browse Pinterest for several hours, I know that can be it.

Busy, for me, is just code for no self-discipline.

It's not that I don't want to do all these things I set out to do. It's that I get distracted. I find myself lost online or enveloped in  something that isn't necessary not remembering how I got there in the first place.

What I need to be working on this weekend. 

So starting today I'm going to be focused and goal-oriented. I'm going to get stuff done.

I think I need a plan to make this a reality:

1. I'm going to do things on purpose, and continuously ask myself throughout the day if what I'm doing is worth my time.
2. I'm going to keep better track of time throughout my day.
3. I'm going to get up earlier.
4. Use study breaks for productive endeavors--Pinterest and Facebook do not count as productivity.
5. Read Proverbs 31 every morning to be inspired by that model of time management.

For me more than 5 things to keep in mind is too many, so I'll stop there.

If you see me slacking, help me remember to stop failing at life!