I'm not very creative...now what?

So my 13th anniversary is coming up in less than a month I still don't have a clue what to do. My husband and I aren't your typical couple. We prefer the tried-and-true to the new. Okay, you can just call us boring and that's fine. Not only that, but if we ever do something out of the ordinary, I generally have to plan it. That works for me because I generally don't like big surprises and I really do like working out logistics. It is the "coming up with an idea" part that is challenging for me. So today as I was searching aimlessly on the internet for something that is outside of our routine, but not outside our comfort zone, I came up with a formula for planning this and future special occasions. Perhaps it will help get those creative juices flowing! Formula for planning a great occasion:

1)Delivery. How are you going to tell your sweetheart about the occasion? Some often used methods are: treasure hunts, cards or a meaningful number of multiple cards (like 13 in our case), messengers (a friend or family member perhaps), phone calls, text messages, or emails. Or you could just do what we normally do: "Hey what do you want to do for our anniversary? ...I don't know, what do you want do do?"
Hmmm...maybe not.

2)Time. How long is this event--a few hours, overnight, several days?

3)Venue. Will most of the occasion be at a single location or several? Your home, your bedroom, a hotel, a restaurant, a cave, a garden, a mountain, a fair, a marketplace, any place could be romantic if something about it is a little out of the daily rut right?

4)Transportation. How will you get to your destination? Walking, hiking, rental car, your own vehicle (maybe even dressed up a bit), a limo, an airplane, a sailboat...

5)Mood/Theme. Setting a mood can be as easy as getting the right music. If you want to create an even bigger impression, change the decor to match your desired theme or mood.

6)Budget. How much money do you want to spend, at most? What kinds of things will you be able to do with the amount of money you have planned? Having lots of money available for your occasion is fun, but often not the case. Fortunately, you can still do tons of great things for free. One idea is to plan most of your occasion for as little as possible and then splurge on one important thing.

7)Activities. Think about the things you like to do most with your sweetheart. A few ideas to get you started: shopping at a flea market, going to a festival, riding roller coasters, listening to an audiobook, watching a movie, getting/giving a massage, service for others, playing video games, walking in the moonlight, horseback riding, telling silly stories, playing games, rock climbing.

8)Food. Dining out, driving thru, eating in? Maybe the food isn't a whole meal but just a dessert or a strawberry milkshake. You could even plan your date to include fixing a special menu together.

Don't feel like you have to do these in any particular order; sometimes coming up with just one aspect of your plan will allow the other parts to come together more easily.

All right, I better get planning. I'll let you know how it goes!

The Proposal

When my husband asked me to marry him I was a little disappointed simply because he had always been so creative.  However, I didn't really think he would actually go through the motions and even ask me since it had already been established that we were going to get married.  In fact, I had purchased his ring before he purchased mine.  So I was thrilled that he asked me at all.

The night was pretty cold, it was Dec. 1st and there were no clouds in the sky so the stars were shining brightly.  He took me to a place that had beautiful landscaping and we sat together on a bench.  I could tell that he was nervous about something (which boggles my mind since we both already knew that we were going to tie the knot!) but he wouldn't admit to anything.  Then after a while he knelt down and asked me to marry him.  His words were sweet and I will always remember that day fondly.  

There have been so many creative proposals and I always love to hear them.  The time and effort that some people put into this event can really get the imagination going.

Please share yours!!!
In the comments section below please post your special night so that others can be inspired.

Around the clock

I am not sure if that is what the title is or not but I found the idea on pintrest and loved it. It is what I am doing this year for Matt and can certainly be altered for how many years you've been married etc. Send your sweetie to work with a stack of envelopes each labeled with a time separated by an hour. ex: 8:14, 9:14, 10:14, 11:14--the idea is 14 for Valentines day. Anyways, he will look forward to opening a new surprise every hour and you can do really simple and inexpensive to more elaborate and pricey. The idea is that you will have 24 envelopes or packages for him to open. If you don't want to do that many pick how many you want to do. 

Some good ideas are:

• favorite candy bar
• gift card to favorite restaurant (you score on this too, hopefully)
• gift card to store
• free back rub or foot rub
• coupon to sleep in
• coupon to get out of chores for a day
• a mix cd with his favorite songs
• a framed picture of you and him or your family for his office
• a simple note or poem expressing your love and how much he means to you
• movie tickets
• honestly do I have to say it, sex! (That is my grand finale, because lets face it, it's all he really wants anyways!)
• ...etc.

Please share more ideas with good gifts, either no cost, cheap, or expensive; all work and are appreciated!

Try this!

Next Tuesday is Valentines Day!   Does anyone have some ideas that would be fun for Valentine's Day yet? Please share!

My husband and I switch planning for our anniversary and Valentine's day every year so that one year my husband plans out one and I plan out the other.  Then the next year we switch.  This is one way that we are able to remind each other (with out being bossy or pushy) that it is coming up AND that the other person had better be planning something!

                               Idea of the week: Start a love journal

 This would be a journal about your sweetheart that would incorporate sweet thoughts that you have about him each day.  If it was a bad day and you are feeling resentful, perhaps you could write down some of the characteristics that you find attractive or simply appreciate.  If you have the foresight, this would make a great anniversary gift.  A lot of times it is hard to know what your loved one is thinking about you.  This would give your sweetheart the opportunity to keep these thoughts as a treasure so that when he is having a hard day he can simply open up the journal and get some loving affirmations right then and there!        

Get your sweetheart thinking!

There are so many people out there hoping right now that their significant other is thinking about what to do for them for V-Day. Unfortunately, even if he/she is contemplating options it may not be something that you would like.
Have you considered that your SO (significant other) doesn't have a clue of what to do?  Even if you have been together for years and he knows what you like, there is still a possibility that he is afraid of rejection if he does something out of the ordinary.  But I am confident that he still wants to impress you!


Try this to get ideas going in his head:
Write down 10-20 things that you love about your sweet heart.  It can be anything from a physical attribute that you can't resist to the way he laughs.  Also, write down the things that you would love to do with him.  These could include restaurants that you would like to go to or movies that you would like to see, or even sitting by a pond feeding ducks together.  Any activity that you think would be fun to do with him.  If the two of you once did something that you would enjoy doing again write that down.

Try to interlink the two.  Here are some examples:

If your SO gives great hugs and one of your activities is a picnic you could say:
"I've always thought it would be romantic to take an evening picnic in the park.  Your amazing hugs could keep me warm in any weather as we watched the stars come out.

If you love the way he laughs and one of your activities is watching a movie, you could say something like
"I love watching movies with you and hearing you laugh!"

If you have always wanted to go to the Melting Pot and you love his lips,

"We should go to the Melting Pot sometime so I could see your perfect lips get covered in chocolate!"

Obviously these are cheesy but it will be a lot of fun.  Everyone loves getting sincere compliments.
If I were to write them for MY husband I would say things a bit differently (if you know what I mean).  Nevertheless, you get the drift.

Write these down on something other than notebook paper (my style would be to cut out hearts and write it on the hearts). Hide these hearts (or whatever you choose) in places he will easily find them.  For instance, on his pillow, in a book he reads every night, if you pack his lunch throw it in there, tape one to the steering wheel of his car...etc.  Make sure that you do it at least a few days in advance so that he has some time to prepare.  You can do one a day or all in the same day.  Either way, he will look forward to the next message and hopefully it will inspire something other than flowers and chocolates for Valentine's day!

Keep in mind that the goal here is to improve your relationship regardless of how Valentine's Day turns out!

Fun Ideas!

Do you have any great ideas for Valentines Day this year? If so, please post them here!  If not, here are some basic ideas that might get you thinking:

1. Take a hike (if weather permits) and take your camera.  If you and your sweetheart enjoy games try doing an A-Z scavenger hunt...it is SUPER hard.  You will find yourself making stuff up and being goofy together.

2. Create a map (kind of like a treasure map) that leads your partner to your desired destination (could even just be the bedroom).  Have something out of the ordinary set up.  The obvious would be candles and maybe rose pedals, but try to be more creative...think twinkle lights,  perhaps glow in the dark stars, silk trees (if they are available), maybe a table or blanket on the floor that is set up with dinner or desert.  Even if it has just been cleaned or rearranged it will be more exciting for both of you than if you just lead your sweetie to your normal bedroom.

3. Blow up an air mattress and put it in your back yard.  Use your iPod or burn a CD that has some romantic music and enjoy some star-gazing cuddled up together.  If you have a projector you might consider watching a movie on a sheet.

4. Buy some fruit (bananas, strawberries, apples, pineapple, raspberries...etc) or anything else that is fun to dip in chocolate and some of the fondue chocolate.  You can often find fondue chocolate in the produce section.  If you do not have a fondue set just buy some skewers and microwave the chocolate on low.  Make sure your fruit is washed and refrigerated prior to dipping.  This is a great activity by itself or in conjunction with something else.

 5. Write a romance story (fictional/fantasy) that revolves around something in your past (if you are married, try something from when you were dating).  For instance, if your boyfriend had to go away on some type of business trip write about the business trip and then toss in some fictional events.  Perhaps you followed him and...well, use your imagination!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching!

If you are like me you are probably wondering what to do for Valentine's Day to make your sweetheart feel loved and appreciated. Every year I try to do something different. It seems like this time of year we are always so tight with money from Christmas and all the birthday's so we have to come up with something that doesn't necessarily cost a lot.

Our first Valentine's Day was pretty unmemorable. But one night in the first year of our marriage, my husband surprised me out of the blue. I worked late most weekdays so our evenings were generally pretty time limited since my husband worked very early in the morning.

However, one night when I walked in the front door I found a sheet hanging up from the ceiling that sectioned off a small area. After putting my stuff down I saw a gift box. There were instructions to open the box. I already had an idea of what was in the box...but it was exciting nevertheless. I opened the gift and found something pretty and lacy.

The instructions then had me go through the sheet where I found my husband sitting on a picnic blanket with soft music, candles, and dinner (that he made!). We ate our food and enjoyed the change. Even though we have had many more creative evenings than that, his efforts still made an impression.