The Box...Happy Valentines

Valentines

7:30 am - Ric and I woke up and I presented my gift to him....a box of different envelopes! Yep I could see the excitement on his face...haa! (although he loved the box and kept talking about it, which made me soo happy!(you will see why in a minute)

He knew that I had something planned for the entire day but he didn't know what. 

I told him that everything else stays in the box until later that night except the stack of envelopes tied with the hounds tooth ribbon.

*Each envelope is numbered and inside is a card...the front of the card has a clue for where we are going and inside the card is the answer and  a dollar. I told him to hold on to the dollar until later.  (he was intriqued by the dollars!) Ha!

Clues!

Answers!

Below are the clues and answers:

1. Biceps don't grow on trees....started the day off at the gym (arms day) We had been out of the gym for awhile so this was day 1 back....it felt so good to be back...we both love to workout and just don't function well without it.

 2. The grass is always greener where you water it......time for a shower. (details are for us only)

3. Morning has broken and Mr coffee has spoken.....breakfast and coffee at Starbucks (soo nice just to take your time and talk over coffee and breakfast)

4.  Dear Stress and back pain, lets break up Love,R&S.......1 hr couples massage at Natural Body Spa (Ric has never had a massage and I have only had one ever... and I will tell you that Ric was really nervous. He is not a "invade my personal space" kinda guy and he does not like his feet touched, but it was probably one of the best things we have ever gone and done together. We were in the most gorgeous room with candles and rose petals on the floor  and when it was over Ric looked at me and said "I don't wanna leave" ...it was much needed and a definite regular thing for us to do for ourselves from now on. Plus, they gave us a gift of massage oils so we can use at home (YAY!)

5. One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,  if one has not dined well......lunch at Carrabas- (which we had a gift card for from Christmas....it's so nice to go out for a nice meal and it's free!)

6. Let's almost get kicked out again-(wink-wink)......Going to the movies! (Explaination for clue: Ric and I's first movie date was in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday and we were the only ones in the entire theater, so we were kissing and someone shined a flashlight on us from the booth behind us...haaaaa! Good times!) 

7. Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards.....Dessert time! (we had talked awhile back about how we both had never had a cannoli before, so we went to the bakery and picked two up)

8. Kiss me, tease me, touch me, hug me, cuddle me, tickle me, love me.....livingroom campout fireside.

So, we are back at the house sitting by the fire on our livingroom campout bed, eating our cannoli's and drinking sparkling cider,

and now it's time for part 2 of the box....

"Meet Ric and Susan Stanford"

In each envelope are a list of questions entitled "I wanna know you".   No matter how long you have been married, there are probably things about your spouse that you don't know.  As we grow, we change...and I want to know as much as I can about Ric.  This list is a combination of questions I wanted to ask...each envelope has the same list. Some are funny and easy to answer and some are more serious and difficult, but it is important to ask these things and learn from the answers. 

Here are the questions:

1. What are your 3 favorite foods? (we found out that we have a favorite food in common and it's a food we have never eaten together...so it is on the list for a Stanford family recipe for this food.....Chicken N' Dumplins

2. What are your 3 favorite restaurants? 

3. What is your favorite color? (found out that Ric's favorite color is silver...he is the first person I know that has that favorite color)

4. What is your favorite sport to watch and favorite to play?

5. What sport were you best at growing up?

6. What did you dream of being when you grew up? (found out we both wanted to be Architects)

7. What are your 3 favorite hobbies to do in your free time (if we had a lot of free time..haa)?

8. What are your favorite type of gifts?

9. What is your favorite song? (we then played the video of both our songs and sang to them..ha!)

10. What was your favorite subject in school?

11.What do you fear the most?

12. What do you consider are your strengths?

13. What do you consider are your weaknesses?

14. What acts of affection do you like the most?

15. What acts of affection do you like the least?

16. What action of mine provides you the greatest sexual pleasure?

17. What other things stimulate you sexually?

18. At what times do you need assurance of my love the most? How can I show you that love the best? (we realized that we had the same answer for this...but oddly never respond to one another in the way we desire the response for the same need.)

19. What concerns you that does not seem to concern me?

20. What things do I do that irritate you? (this one was actually fun!)

21. What desires and dreams do you have for your life?

22.What is your favorite thing we have done together so far in our marriage?

23. What one thing do you want to do before you die?

24. What personal habits do I have that you would change? (he said brushing my teeth a million times a day...haa! I have total OCD when it comes to brushing my teeth)

25. What makes you feel loved?

26. What is your favorite beverage?

27.If you could learn any skill what would you want to learn?

28. What makes you cry? (we both answered with the Extreme Homemaker show and the humane society commericals)

29. If you could be friends with one famous person who would it be?

30. What is your least favorite household chore?

31. If you could have one superhero power what would it be?

32. What was your favorite tv show as a kid?

33. What is your favorite tv show now?

34.. What do you want to teach or experience with our kids before they are grown?

35. What is your favorite article of clothing that you own?

 We had an absolute blast with these...as we sat on our campout in front of the fire we took turns asking these questions. We decided since this was so fun, that we would look at them every Valentines and see if  we have the same responses.

Now we are down to part 3: The explanation for the dollars....

I read a story a few months back about how this couple had taken a trip to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. This trip was 10 days long, all expenses paid (including airfare) and was paid for by the money from their "box". The box was a collection of dollars....dollars for every time they made love.  My heart literally skipped a beat! What an amazing way to celebrate your marriage!  I knew right after reading this story that I wanted a box for Ric and I.  I immediately picked up my phone and sent Ric a txt ..."If you could go anywhere in the world on a vacation where would it be?" ...within seconds I received a response..."Hawaii"    I was beaming...he read my mind!  :)   Now that our destination was set, next was to find the perfect box.  It's going to be in my home for a few years so I wanted to find one that really represented "us".   I finally found the perfect box at Hobby Lobby (love that store).....It's a little rustic,  a little classic , with a little old world charm, imperfections everywhere, gorgeous distressed paint, aged leather straps and brass stud accents....it's perfect and it looks like a suitcase! :)

Next I had to think of how I was going to present this to Ric.  So, I wrote a story....a story similar to the one I had read months ago...a story about Ric and I years from now, and in the enevelope I included a dollar.

Our Story 

"This morning a couple celebrated their wedding anniversary, and boarded a plane for a long-awaited trip to Hawaii. They were as excited as if it were their honeymoon! When they married , they had only enough money for an overnight trip a few miles from home. They made a pact one Valentines that each time they made LOVE, they would put a dollar in a special box and save it for a real honeymoon in Hawaii. The husband was a manager at Home Depot and the wife was a loan officer. They lived in a modest house and did all their own renovations. Raising three children was a challenge, and sometimes money was short. But no matter what emergency came up, the couple would not let each other take any money out of the "Hawaii account"

This couple was always very much in love. They would often come home and tell the other, "I have a dollar in my pocket." wink-wink! The other would smile and reply, "I know just how to spend it" The couple never said how much money they managed to save, but it must have been considerable. Before they boarded the plane, the wife winked at her husband and said, "Tonight we start saving for St. Lucia"

You don't have to spend a lot of money to enjoy time together. Just enjoy each moment you have...slow down...live in the moment and enjoy the simple things....like talking to your spouse and really getting to know them!  This was one of the best date days we have ever had! The details of the rest of the night are for Ric and I only but I will say it was "money well spent"  ~Happy Valentines!