sometimes i can be spontaneous. for real.

It was Sunday and since we've been enjoying Thursday evening gatherings that our church does in the summer, we had a big expanse of day in front of us.

I had this urge to make the most of the beautiful weather and to try out my new swimsuit, so I suggested to Michael that we go for a motorcycle ride to Birds Hill and go for a swim.

So, we suited up, packed our towels and headed off.

Not sure what he's doing here.

The always popular arm shot, made easy because Michael has such long arms.

This was taken with the timer and a carefully placed camera (on the trunk of another car in the parking lot, with BC plates!).

The ride was good. The water was perfect.

mmm, change in perspective

	BETTER MARRIAGE TIP
	Women often complain that they feel like their husband’s mother. But understand that God made men to need women. The Bible tells us that God saw it was not good for Adam to be alone. He needed a helper, so God created Eve to be his helper. That implies that he needed her help to do things. And I bet it wasn’t lifting the fallen trees in the garden. Maybe it was more along the line that Adam didn’t notice that fig leaves all over the ground that needed to be swept up or that peaches needed picking and the pantry was empty. What if it was God’s original intention that Eve was created to be the one to remind him, to ask him, to help him out, to guide and direct him? Would that change the way you see your role? Would you feel less like his mother and more like his wife?

another great date night!

It started with a trip to a dirt place. Michael built me some more garden boxes and they needed dirt.

Then we went for a picnic. We ended up at the cathedral inSt Boniface (we couldn't find parking at the Forks).

We admired the bridge (note sarcasm). We also had to sit on the steps because the water was so high that the path and benches were under water.

We went to Staples because we both had stuff we needed to pick up. This is where I scored my new sleek and invisible iPod case for a whopping $4. Sweet!

Some cool clouds on the drive home.

Mark Gungor

This past year, our Lifegroup worked through a series called Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage. It has really helped Michael and I learn a few new things that made this last year one that I say has been great. We took the Flag Page Test personality thing, which has been a great tool and helped us to keep laughing despite our differences.
Just yesterday, Michael was building a couple more garden boxes. I came out with some cookies and to check on the progress and noticed that he had put the end on one backwards. He asked me if it was a big deal and if he needed to actually take it apart and fix it. Instead of the usual argument that would ensue, I just told him that in 'perfect country' (which is where I'm from and Michael is not), if the end isn't on correctly then he may as well not even bother building them. Just being able to talk about it this way meant that Michael didn't feel attacked/criticized and that it was really that big a deal to me and that yes, in a year from now I would still notice it. So, he fixed it. No argument, just a couple of giggles about the fact that I'm not from the land of "ungefehr" (german for close enough/approximate, pardon my poor spelling).
Anyway, all that to share a tip I got in an email the other day (again, I can't believe how true these words are, it has had big impact at our house).

BETTER MARRIAGE TIP
	Too many men don’t realize that a quick “I’m sorry” doesn’t cut it when they do or say something to hurt their wives. It’s like they drop an atomic bomb and don’t realize that there is a fallout beyond the initial explosion that they will have to keep cleaning up and dealing with. Men, when you hurt your wife and you see she’s still feeling it, don’t you dare turn that around and put it on her. You look at your wife and say, “I see you are still hurting. I understand this is still painful. I realize I did this to you. I’m sorry.” Then shut up! Don’t defend yourself, make excuses or blame her. Every time you see it, you own it. Even if you have to do it 100 times. That’s just the way it is.

cheapest sacred date ever

Michael had this great idea to have our supper picnic style at the Leg (pronounced like ledge if you're from Winnipeg). So, that's what we did. Then we headed over to the Bay Downtown:

We went to the 6th floor to check out an art exhibit where one of our friends had stuff on display. Totally cool.

Then we explored all the other floors, looked at china, furniture, etc. I happened upon this nice silicone spatula with a bamboo handle. Michael offered to buy it, I said forget it, thinking it would be seriously over priced.

Nope, it was $4!

Awesome! The whole date cost $4 and I had a great time and something to remember it by! Sweet!

ice skating

For our sacred date, Michael took me ice skating at St Vital Pond.

It was such a gorgeous day I'm wearing my vest. Not a jacket, a vest!

A classic arm shot. Though michael has such long arms they're usually not as dorky looking as my attempts.

Our Little Christmas

Michael and I did our Christmas on the 23 this year. Between work, and other family events it was the only way to fit it in.
We enjoyed a nice Supper Central meal and then headed off to go ice skating for the first time of the season.



I enjoyed the community centre, it was snowing lightly and the weather was mild.
When we got back, we made hot chocolate. Yum!



I was still working on Christmas presents that I was sewing, so our upstairs was a total disaster. We also didn't put up a tree this year, I just didn't have the time or inclination to do it. So, we borrowed the tree downstairs!

Presents under the tree.

Unwrapping the gifts.

Gifts from my parents:

I had a really wonderful Christmas this year!

date ideas

I posted a while ago looking for date ideas. I actually have some readers that shared some ideas...

skating or biking. I love to go to London and ride through the bicyle paths because you see the city in a whole new way. Stopping for a latte or a wrap is of course part of the bike ride. My favorite place to go skating is outdoors, or to an arena that plays the old time rock and roll--just for the nostalgia

from Betty

One of my favorite dates is a night hike...tho it's getting colder there I'm sure, exploring at night with a couple of headlamps can be super fun. Also, taking a drive and getting a disposable camera and take all the pictures that night of random things...you in random places and whatnot...that's always fun too. Then maybe get it developed the following month and look at them while enjoying dinner or something

from aimee

ice skatting, walk in the park with a starbucks, bookstore, read a comic book together. Randy and I really enjoy the Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley and of couse the classics calvin and hobbs and good old Garfield. tv disc sets are great for quiet evenings we like how i met your mother, and big bang theory.

from Michelle

Thanks guys! We actually did go skating on an outdoor rink just recently. It was snowing just a little and reasonably warm. It was magical!

anniversary adventures

Michael and I celebrated 6 years of being married this year. We had a little downtown gettaway, stayed on the 20th floor of the Place Louis Riel. Michael plays basketball with someone who works there, so he got us one of the nicer suites for a great deal.

Those are shots of the view.

We also went to see the Bodies Exhibit. Had dinner at Resto Gare.

In the morning we had breakfast at a place called The Don. I had this thing called quak, it's some kind of cottage cheese patty seasoned with dill or caraway. It looks like a hash brown patty, it was pretty unique.

It was a great little time away from home.

happy 13th!

Every month on the 13th Michael and I do a date night. We call it 'sacred' date night. We got married on November 13th, that's why we have date night on the 13th. We try not to let anything else interfere with this (except right now, Michael's classes have landed on sacred date night, then we plan a rain check date).

We're starting to run out of ideas...and I'm looking for suggestions from those of you who read this. We also tend to find a way to pick a fight over date night, so it'd be nice to use someone else's ideas, hopefully simple ones that we can pull off without too much planning and a small budget.

I can hardly believe that we will be married 6 years in a month. It's so exciting and amazing. I never imagined we'd be where we are today on our wedding day, I can only image where we'll be in another 6 years.

husband of the week award

...goes to Michael!

I got these fabulous flowers at work today. The card simply says 'because I love you'

Isn't that awesome?
In case you missed this older post about flowers, you should read this one about when to give flowers and when to give chocolate.

knives

It may be the case that I kinda 'forced' Michael into buying this lovely set of knives. Since I played on his difficulty of passing up a good deal (50% off!) and made him feel guilty about not letting me get them. But, I think things have worked out ok. Having new knives has inspired my work in the kitchen again...

What's not to love about that knife? Doesn't it look lovely? I went on a major salad kick, just so I would have a reason to enjoy chopping veggies! I cannot believe how much fun it is when your knife is so sharp it just melts through things! Michael even made the comment, and I quote, 'If I had known how much you would love the knives and want to use them and work in the kitchen, I would've bought them the day we got married!'

Michael's first pair of hand knit socks!

Ok, so Michael has been hesitant to let me knit for him, in case he ends up not liking it or wearing it (he's scared that I might get mad at him, which is probably not an unreasonable thing to fear). I knit him matching mitts, scarf and toque when we were dating and he only wears the mitts, and I do give him a hard time about that.

He is even more scared of letting me knit socks, because he might get a hole in them the first time he wears them or something equally disastrous.

In Germany last year, he found some sock yarn that he liked, so I said I would buy it make him a pair of socks out of it. He reluctantly agreed.

This is the finished product. I even managed to find an embellishment to keep myself interested and him from feeling emasculated.

Pretty nice looking socks, eh?

And Michael found out that hand knit socks really are awesome and comfortable! (I also promised not to get mad at him when they wear out.)

5th Anniversary Getaway - nice

It's hard to believe, but Michel and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this year. So, we decided to capitlize on the long weekend and do a little get away. We tried to find a place sort of like where we spent our wedding night & 1st anniversary (check out this place). So, we went to a place called Pinewood Lodge. Which was also very nice.

A bed with rose petals, nice.

the inside of the chalet, bed in the loft.
The living space.

The weather was beautiful, even though it was the middle of November, so we went for a walk, and ended up spending a good chunk of time on this bridge throwing rocks at the frozen ice. Not the kind of thing you would expect from to married adults, but that's what we did.

Another view of the inside.

It was so nice to get away and just be not at home, where we could forget about the pressures of life for a few days and totally veg out (how on earth should I be spelling that?). It was hard to come back to the real world.

another checkmark on the list!

One of those places in and around Winnipeg that I've never been (and apparently Michael hadn't either) is Birdshill Park. It kinda reminded me of Cultas but on a bigger scale with more sand and better trails around it.

We had Roger's pick up for the weekend so we packed a picnic lunch, our bikes and headed off to explore Birdshill.

I don't have a lot of great photos of what the place looked like, but it was great. A beautiful fall day, with a nice breeze, not too many people.

Michael enjoying our lunch (I know it doesn't look like it, but he did, I promise).

We rode around the trails, and then enjoyed laying in the grass under a tree and chatting. A lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon!