Life in our Shoes

Archive for the ‘date nights’ Category

Yesterday I received a hand delivered (by my husband) invitation to the most amazing date I have had in a very long time. You are probably expecting something ridiculously extravagant, but in reality it was far better. My presence was requested in our very own kitchen at 9:30 and I was to dress fancy.

Around 8:00, I started getting the kids into bed, while The Squatch busied himself in the kitchen. Once they were all tucked in, I stayed out of the way in the office. As it started to get closer to 9:30, I picked out a dress that I had never worn. It was one The Squatch picked out and bought for me last year.

He called me downstairs at 9:30. I was welcomed by the delicious smell of baked spaghetti, the sight of a candlelit kitchen, and the soft sound of music from a mix he made for me. Including our wedding song “The Luckiest”, by Ben Folds.

I sat down and noticed a paper at each of our seats. It was a menu of the night’s meal. Italian bread dipped in olive oil, Italian salad, baked spaghetti, hand dipped dark chocolate strawberries, and some x-rated to wash it all down. Every menu item came complete with a full description.

I never had baked spaghetti before, but I must say it was delicious! The strawberries were by far my favorite, but I ate entirely too many of them.

We finished eating and cleaning up, when The Squatch grabbed me and pulled me close to dance. It was the perfect ending to a perfect date.

Who says you need to leave the house to have an amazing night together?

Let me preface this post by saying my breath stinks and my butt hurts. Now, that we have the important stuff out the way, let’s get to the rest.

We went to the Celtic Woman concert tonight. What better night to go than on St Patrick’s Day Eve?

It was a two hour drive to Hershey, PA, where all the streets were named some variation of Chocolate Drive. I could never live there, because I would totally crave chocolate every day. In fact, I want some now, but I ate like crap tonight and I shouldn’t top it off with chocolate. But, mmmmm…. OK, I’m getting off track.

The concert…
The first time I heard Celtic Woman was last year, in the Poconos. We were surfing the channels and stopped on PBS. They blew me away immediately and I casually mentioned I would love to see them live. The Squatch, being the amazing husband he is, remembered this and secured us tickets in amazing seats. Amazing is referring to the proximity to the stage. The actual seats were anything but amazing. They were hard and uncomfortable and I would have rather (almost) been sitting on the sticky stadium floor. Thankfully, there was a twenty minute intermission in which I could fight the crowds and stretch my butt. Just, ow.

What’s a concert without unhealthy, greasy food that you wouldn’t eat otherwise? It’s nothing, I tell you, nothing. We indulged in garlic fries and sodas at intermission. I don’t regret a single second of it. I do, however, feel bad for those sitting around us. (If you are reading this, sorry about that) These garlic fries were more garlic than fries. I’m not talking about garlic powder, either. I’m talking about big chunks of garlic. Everywhere. I love me some garlic. Again, I apologize to those around me. My breath? It’s awful. There isn’t enough toothpaste in the tube to fix this.

If I haven’t mentioned it yet, the music was outstanding. There are two highlights that stand out in my mind. First, Amazing Grace, with bagpipes. I love bagpipes and I love Amazing Grace. Together, if it’s done properly, I get chills. I got them. Second highlight, You Raise Me Up. I was unsure how I would feel about it, since I am partial to Josh Groban. But, yeah, they rocked it. Oh, three highlights. The fiddler. She reminded me of a hummingbird. She was flitting all over the stage. And she was tiny. And how on Earth does someone jump down three steps, in heels, while playing the fiddle, then spin in circles over and over (again, while playing the fiddle)?