Our Weekend of Japanese Fun!

Now I can do the reveal on our Valentines Day plans. On Friday night Big Daddy came home to a six pack of this:

The funny thing about that is that B.D. drank two and a half bottles and then dozed on the couch. The dozing was obviously unrelated to the beer but it just about drove me insane that he would sleep while he had half a beer left. I found myself arguing with him in my head, if you want two beers drink two. If you want three beers drink three. This two and half business is just wrong! Eventually I woke him up and told him to drink the other half. I didn't have any desire to drink the stupid thing, I just needed him to drink the stupid thing right! More confirmation that I need twelve steps and he doesn't. :)
We watched this: (Our review: skip it. The middle piece was just over the top wierd and kinda soured me on the whole thing. We don't mind subtitles but this was just a little too artsy and a little to challenging to stick with through for the long haul. The shame in it was that I liked the third piece the best and almost gave up before I got there. Big Daddy's review--Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

I had planned on renting different movies than I got. Blockbuster has really shaved down their stock and I was surprised to find that two of the movies widely regarded as classics were not available. I was hoping to get Seven Samauri and Shall We Dance (NOT the Richard Gere remake). Soooooo, if you're planning a theme night plan ahead on the movies because unless the DVD is relatively new, they probably don't have it.




 We ordered takeout from here:

And snacked on these:

The theme thing was a lot of fun, and Big Daddy was amused at my commitment to it. I informed him that we weren't going to look too closely at whether something was truly Japanese or actually Chinese because there was some overlap and it was intimidating enough to wander around the world wide web and the big asian grocery store without a tour guide. Speaking of grocery stores, I went to Asia World Market for some of my supplies. If you live in P-town you really ought to check out this place:

I love foriegn grocery stores (except for the meat department because I don't like food with faces) and this place is always buzzing with activity. The store is clean and filled with all kinds of stuff I find fascinating. There are also little shops around the big grocery store like a teapot shop, a cell phone store, a cosmetics place, a crepe shop and a store that sells asian kitch stuff.  Tomorrow I'll introduce you to my very favorite asian grocery store. More Valentine adventures tomorrow!

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

As a surprise for Big Daddy I went and picked out new cell phones for us. I was very sneaky about it and was far more excited to get big Daddy a non-hooptie phone than I was about my updated Blackberry. I am not in love with the Blackberry but I am relieved that there are very few changes from the old one to the new one. Learning a new phone is a pain for those of us who didn't teethe on technology. It took my forever to learn to text. I didn't quite figure out predictive text right away so my early texts were amusing. A friend used to say, "It's not just a text it's a puzzle!" I would have loved to go the full nine yards and spluged on iPhones for both of us but who am I kidding? I'm unemployed. We went with free and free.

Big Daddy is funny with new electronics because he's even less tech literate than I am. He bought an answer tone rather than a ring tone and couldn't figure out why he couldn't hear it when his phone rang. I installed Tetris on his phone too and I figure after all our add-ons, I suspect we successfully turned two free phones into a pending $700 phone bill.

I have gotten two pressies for Big Daddy's Valentines Day surprise. I know he's getting nervous that I'm plotting and scheming because it seems like he's going to wind up in trouble if he lets me pamper him. The truth is I've been fussy lately and have felt very guilty about the way I've taken my moods out on him, so I'm excited to get to give him a weekend that's all about enjoying himself.

We had our annual Superbowl pizza extravaganza on Sunday, and while there's always a turnover in personnel in our circle of friends, we still had a good turn out and a lot of fun. Spider Pig was a welcome addition to our festivities and I hope he'll become a regular. Stalker brought a new girl and I really like her, which never seems to add to the longevity of his relationships, but I do really like her. It was so funny, while I was getting my new phone set up it rang and the name on the phone was "Stalker" and the girl behind the counter looked very nervous and said, "Do you want to answer that?" For those of you who don't know, Stalker is my BFF from Waco. We met because he was calling me to speak at this thing and the first thing he said to me when he called to ask was, "I've been stalking you for two years trying to meet you and get your number." My response was, "I'm the kinda girl who's flattered by that." We've been besties from about that moment on.

I just got an email from my algebra prof reminding me about my test so that seems like a sign that I should get back to my homework! More later, and love to all!

How to Heart a Husband???

This morning I nuked the leftovers from yesterday's coffee and sat on the couch to google Valentines Day ideas for Big Daddy. This is our first married Valentines Day and I really want to do something special without blowing the bank because there's really no bank to blow. While I'm a pretty creative person, I rarely come up with an original idea. Nine times out of ten I borrow inspiration and tweak it to fit my taste and my style but this morning I found myself getting frustrated with the same old ideas I've seen hundreds of times: chocolate covered strawberries, rose petals on the bed, candle lit dinners and the ever popular do-it-yourself massage. I'm not saying those things don't have merit, I'm just saying that none of that seems like something Big Daddy is going to do backflips over. I just don't know many men who wish their gals were sending them flowers more often. Romance is something women crave. Guys like fun. Right? So what's something Big Daddy would really enjoy doing that wouldn't involve plane tickets or a second mortgage on a house we don't even own?

So here my guidelines for planning a special day for Big Daddy:

1. As simple as it sounds, I want to do something that is all about HIM. At Christmas I noticed that almost all of his gifts were things he needed and would use but there just wasn't a whole lot of fun in those packages. I am probably the worst about deciding what he ought to want (like nicer clothes and better shoes) instead of really considering what he would truly enjoy.

2. I want to plan something we haven't done. When Big Daddy and I were dating we went on lots of fieldtrips we enjoyed. I know he likes going to museums and great restaurants. (No REALLY, he does!) I think it's cheating to revisit those same places for Valentines Day.

3. We need to stay out of the way of the hot spots that will be over-crowded and over-priced because it's a holiday. If I were Oprah Winfrey I'd be buying All Star Game tickets and booking my table at 560. The limo would be a given and Big Daddy would be grinning from ear to ear without any worries about how much I spent but I don't live on that planet.

4. I know it's cliche, but it IS the thought that counts. I don't have a lot of money but I do have time to plan something that will let him know how much I care about him. Sometimes big "I love yous" come in a lot of little packages.

5. Consider the "WOW value." When I was younger and broke, I subscribed to a newsletter called "The Tightwad Gazette." I learned a lot about how to save money on the small things so that I had the money for big things. One of the most important ideas the newsletter taught me was about "wow value," and how that value is different for different people. If carrots taste the same whether I buy them at Whole Foods, Kroger, or Sprouts, why would I buy my carrots at Whole foods when they are on sale at Kroger? If I save twelve dollars shopping at Kroger for most of our food, I don't get in a twist when Big Daddy wants to spend twelve dollars on pate at Market Street. Along those same lines, if the pate from Market Street makes him happy why go to a restaurant and pay twice as much for half as much pate unless the ambiance and service is worth the pricetag? If I save money on one or two ideas that are still thoughtful and fun, I can indulge a little more on a gift that he'll really appreciate. The other thing I learned about frugality is that being careful with how money is spent doesn't make one endlessly cheap, it provides opportunities to be more generous!

6. Get personal. The most important thing I need to do really think about MY man and really think about what would make him feel spoiled rotten. As I've been writing this I've been thinking about ideas he's run up the flagpole that I've never saluted. I need to remember that romance is showing him that I hear him, I know him and I love HIM. I need to take some time to think about the things he loves and incorporate those things into my master plan. Perhaps it's time I explore sushi and anime or consider bowling and baby backs because romance isn't just leather or lace, flowers and candles, or chocolate and wine--it's learning a new language and finding a new way to both show him and tell him that HE is the man I love.

I don't have a master plan yet, but I think I'm on the right track. The first thing I need to do is make sure that my plans don't interfere with any plans he will be making. The good news is that this year Valentines Day falls on a Sunday so if we need to, we can do a his and hers days without a problem. If you have any great ideas to share PLEASE leave a comment!