A Year of Dates: February

I've posted a lot about all the wonderful things JSM does for me: the cards, the gifts, the gestures. I'm sure you are all wondering what in the world I do for HIM! As a matter of fact, I had given JSM a Christmas gift of "A Year of Dates". It really consisted of a basket with envelopes for each month of the year and inside each envelope was a pre-paid, partially-funded, or free "date" for us to go on that month. The idea is that it will get us doing things that we've forgotten about, put off, or otherwise, just haven't had time for and get to automatically spend some quality time together every month. You'd think that with no children we'd have plenty of one-on-one time to relax and recharge just the two of us.....WRONG! We don't even get a day together every week. I work every Saturday and every other Sunday and coupled with JSM's hockey games every Sunday we barely see each other. So, our dates provide more than just an evening out - they represent precious time we get to spend together.

January's date that we still have to go on.....

Our "Year of Dates" got off to a bad start. In January, I had planned for us to go to McMenamin's for dinner and ice skating at Mountainview Ice Arena or Lloyd Center. JSM has been begging to go to McMenamin's on the Columbia pretty much since we moved here and we have yet to go together. This would have been the perfect way to kick off the year, but we were both sick for 2 weeks in January and we never got around to our "date". That's sad, but we'll make it up! So, on to round 2....

February, as I've mentioned before, is our anniversary month and JSM is always really good about making plans for us to mark the special day. This year, he's been stressed about a lot of things so I decided to take the pressure off him and make plans for us. He loves a good foot massage (and usually they come from me!) Turns out I just happened to have an unused spa gift certificate lying around....wink, wink. So, off we went to the Rejuvenation Day Spa in Portland for a professional, hour-long foot massage. JSM was in heaven! 

Relaxing before the foot massage.....

Getting our feet done.....this is what he gets for letting me "ride in his side car" for 6 years and counting! I love him!

Somehow, things never really go as planned. And as you can see above we had a late lunch planned at Bamboo Sushi. Well, as you can tell by the photo my foot massage morphed into a pedicure and I walked out with painted feet and a pair of paper flip flops (Who always tries to be prepared, but somehow never really is? Me, of course!) And the flip flops barely withstood a quick trip into Williams-Sonoma before the left one broke leaving me with no shoes to go out to eat. We drove around NW Portland looking for flip flops trying Fred Meyer,Walgreens, and the Dollar Store before heading home to the Prairie for soup instead. So, no sushi for us, but a memorable afternoon (and anniversary) it was! JSM LOVED the date, but was disappointed, as I was, to miss out on Bamboo Sushi, Portland's only sustainable sushi restaurant which I hear is wonderful. Year of Dates vs McNally Family: 2 dates planned, a 1/2 date actually completed! But, we have lots to look forward to and extra dates in the months ahead. That means mandatory, built-in time for just the two of us!

Welcome 2013!

Out with the old....in with the new! Nothing says "welcome" more than a brand new front door mat!

Happy New Year!

I love January 1st! It is my favorite day of the year, full of intent, hope, and excitement for the year ahead. We welcomed in 2013 with the first snow of the year, a candlelight dinner of shrimp and grits, a fire in the fireplace, and 80's music on the stereo. Sadly, we were both in bed before the stroke of midnight, but, on the plus side we woke up refreshed and ready to take on the year :)

A snowy Arborvitae in our back yard!

Shrimp and Grits from January 2013 issue of Southern Living. This pacific northwest girl just can't let the Southern Living subscription go!

My wish for the new year and the world and the light by which we ate our New Years Eve dinner.

This year, I plan to focus on the things that are important to me: my career as a librarian, my husband, and my free time (which there isn't a lot of!) It may require that I give up some volunteer work, but it's important to me to focus on things that bring me joy and contentment (reading, spinning, church, and keeping house) and this requires a re-evaluation of how I spend my time. I am very excited to have been asked to be a small group leader in my church's new series titled "Faith Formation". I look forward to hosting this small group, getting to know more people in my congregation, and hopefully incorporating some daily contemplation. I can't make any guarantees about my ability to "lead" the group, but I promise to do my best!

I'm also looking forward to our "Year of Dates"! I gave JSM an unusual Christmas present this year which was a basket full of envelopes. Not really.....it was a year of dates! I got the idea on Pinterest, but I tailored it to our unique situation. We don't have a lot of time together given our work schedules and dinners out seem to take place because we have no other option. So I decided to make the most of it. I planned and partially (or fully) funded a date for each month of 2013. The idea is that these "dates" are one of three things: a place JSM has been wanting to go, an activity we can do together, or something free that doesn't cost any money. Since I took a lot of time to think about what would be fun and meaningful for us I am really excited for JSM to open each envelope which he will do on the first day of each month! We'll then put it on the calendar and we'll have something to look forward to each month. Yay! I'll keep you posted on our fun....

On a final note, as I was cleaning out our files in preparation for the new year, I came across a list JSM and I created back in 2011. It was a list of 50 in 50 (50 things in 50, days, months, years....whatever!) It was something we wrote down on the back of an envelope at a Mexican restaurant ( I remember that vividly!) and we promptly came home and forgot about it. As I glanced down the list I was relieved to see we had accomplished some of these things. In order to remember what's on that list, I share it here with you and look forward to crossing off a few more in 2013. It's fun to see how far we've come and how many things we have yet to do. A few of these things have been chosen for a date, but Shhhh! Don't tell JSM:

McNally Wish List

Remove 3 trees from the backyard

Grow our own pumpkins

Repaint and redecorate the master bedroom 

Build a home office in the den

Paint and decorate the half bath

Clean out and organize the garage

Repaint the house and/or front door

Find a church and attend for 3-6 months

Buy a 4-wheel drive vehicle

Plan landscaping for the front yard

Create a will

Update life insurance for KLM and JSM

Create a living will

Go on the Shanghai Tunnel Tour

Go to Peacock Lane at Christmas

Go to a square dance

Go to the Saturday Market

Go to the Japanese Garden

Swim in a river

Ride the tram from OHSU in PDX

Go to the race track track

Gamble at a local casino

Attend a Trailblazers game

Attend a Seahawks game

See the Mariners play the Red Sox in Seattle

Visit Mt. St. Helens on a day trip

Go on an overnight camping trip – maybe a yurt?

Go to Vancouver, BC for 3 days

Eat cart food from 10 different carts

Go snow-shoeing

Go on a Central WA wine tour

Visit some wineries in Oregon

See a concert in The Gorge

Oregon Symphony at the Schnitz

Go to Bend, OR

Go to San Francisco

Eat our only own veggies for a month

Get chickens

Keep bees

Adopt a sister from women for women

Spend a wintry night at Timberline Lodge

Plant a tribute garden (Grandma, Ed, Noni, etc.)

Ride a roller coaster

Sing Karaoke

Play trivia at a bar

Get pregnant (amended to: adopt a baby)

Run a 5K (KLM)

Bowl  a 200 (JSM)

Shoot a 76 or better at golf (JSM)

Read War and Peace (KLM)

Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity

Cook a meal at Ronald McDonald House

Set up a home library

Get bikes.....and ride them!

Make a batch of our own soap

Spend a weekend at Cedar Brook Lodge in Seattle

Frame KLM's Master Degree