Wednesday Oui: Date Night for Free!

I have spoken of date night many times on this blog and, I suppose, in "real life" too because everyone tends to acknowledge Monday night as "date night" for us. For example, if Nickie, Nicki (that's not a typo, I have two) or Hilary calls me on date night they will usually begin the conversation with, "Hey, I know it's date night, but I just had to tell you this really quick..." Or my in-laws will tease me and say something like "Oh, never mind, Monday is date night," (with a gooey emphasis on "date.") We love it. We love our date night and we have stuck to it, religiously. It's nice to look forward to a day that isn't on a weekend.

We have done some pretty amazing things for date night. We've been to expensive restaurants (ones we wouldn't normally go to) we've driven to a big mall or made a date night hike to Trader Joe's, we've seen a lot of movies on date night (Alice in Wonderland- 3D, The Lovely Bones, Valentine's Day and a few others) we've had game night and craft night at home, or spent time cooking together in our kitchen; we've been to the library for hours, or thrown the kayaks into the back of the truck and taken off for the afternoon; we've even just spent the night weeding our garden and talking.

 We elected Monday as our date night for many reasons: 1.) I can get out as early as I want on Mondays. 2.) Everyone hates Mondays. Many people view Monday as the beginning of the dreaded work week and therefore, live for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I think that's sad. 3.) Because Monday is the day most people are "getting into the swing of the week" people don't tend to go out and about so we have many opportunities to go out to eat or to a movie and it feels like it's just the two of us in the world. I love that. 4.) For me, it's a great start to the week.

Last Monday was probably one of my favorite date nights-- ever. We packed up the boys, our camera (which I contemplated throwing off the ledge and into the lake so I could rationalize buying my Canon Rebel) and laced up our hiking shoes. It was a gorgeous night; not too hot, not too cold and we hiked around the lake that we normally kayak in or, in the winter, snow-shoe. At the top we stopped, relaxed, talked and snuggled our boys. Free, beautiful, exercise, puppies, nature, quality time... oui...

I need to buy sunglasses for the pups. I've seen them online. 

Can you see camo-Bing? I spy...

At the end of the night, we dropped the pups off so they could nap and we ventured to a garden center to buy more landscaping "stuff" (my latest project/obsession.) Yay for plants!

 Okay, so the last part of the evening wasn't free but, I needed this stuff!

Top Ten Tuesday: Life is a beach

I know I have explained "date night" in past postings so, I won't elaborate again. On date night (or date day) yesterday we went to one of my favorite places in the world: York Beach. As a child, growing up on the Seacoast, we had the choice of several beaches; Rye, The Hamptons, and York. My mother and father always brought us to York. They didn't like Hampton for some reason so I can probably count on one hand how many times I have been to Hampton Beach. Their love for the sands of York definitely transferred to me.

We had an amazing day! For breakfast we stopped at one of our favorite local haunts where we shared a cinnamon roll and then headed to the coast of Maine! What a gorgeous day it was. The temperature was just under 50 degrees, making it a beautiful day for the beach and a ride too. I love car rides with Aaron, we have the best conversations.

Here are my top 10 favorite pictures from yesterday: (*Note* I know there are more than 10 pictures here but, I couldn't choose just 10. I was able to narrow it down to 20. This is my game; I can break the rules ;)

Boon Island Light House

Nubble Light

Treasures I brought home. FYI: I won't take anything alive ;)

We have spent quite a bit of time at this beach, including overnights; I don't think the views were ever as clear as they were yesterday- in the middle of February! The sun felt amazing on my skin. I drank it in; I needed it.

I love this picture, minus my "whales tale" LOL :( But, Aaron was accidentally pulling my pants down!

Aaron thinks this graffiti is Colonel Sanders-- I think it's the devil.

The place where we usually eat was closed for unforeseeable reasons so we ate at a place in York Village called Ruby's, another local haunt. It was so amazing. Aaron had a to-die-for steak sandwich and I had something called "The Big Kahuna" teriyaki chicken with cheese, bacon, and pineapple, OMG...

For me, there is something about being around water that I can't describe. I love the sea, but I love lakes and streams too. I gravitate toward water. Being at the ocean always makes me feel so humble. The Atlantic is so powerful, beautiful, and relentless; it holds many secrets beneath the waves. I love feeling humbled and reminded how big the world is and how lucky I am to enjoy it.

Wednesday, Oui?

I have a pretty amazing life and very little to complain about. One of the few things I do often complain about is my work schedule. Now let me add that I am so fortunate to have an amazing career. I love, Love, LOVE what I do and I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I'm lucky I have a job, a job doing what I love, I work with amazing people (colleagues and clients), I believe in the mission of the agency I work for, and I like going to work (most days). But, the hours SUCK!

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays I pretty much work until 8:00 PM. This, in case you haven't figured out, means that on those days of the week Aaron and I are merely ships passing in the night. Because of this we have instituted "Monday Night Date Night." I can see the eyes rolling now, but it's something I look forward to. We have to make the best of the hours we have together and find a way to connect outside of the "weekend time" that we are accustomed to. I want to publically acknowledge that Aaron sacrifices a lot of time with me so that I can do what I love to do. For that, I am thankful and lucky,

On "Date Night" I try to get out as early as possible (usually around 4:00) and we have a rule- no TV, no internet, no phones (sorry, Hilary- LOL- 243.) We have done some pretty amazing things for "date night" but one of my favorite nights, thus far, was last Monday.

During a nice dinner Aaron and I started talking about what his kids are learning in school; the states and capitals being part of the curriculum. It occurred to me after that conversation that I probably don't know them either (geography was not my favorite- I was a science girl- go figure!) So, we decided to have a competition to see who could name more of the 50 states with their capitals, correctly. Aaron kicked my butt, hard core, which for all those who have negative feelings about the public school system, I know of at least one great teacher!

After our little competition, we made rice crispy treats and ate them while we curled up on the couch sharing  the newspaper. It was really a great night, it didn't cost us a dime, and it's nice to be reminded of the simple pleasures in life. Oui?