Archive for March, 2013

Day 204 and Counting… Finding a New Loft!

Posted: March 26, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Sometimes, when things happen, they happen quickly.  Today was one of those days.

For some time now, I’ve been hoping that maybe Ceecee would be willing to look for a different place to live.  Where we are now is a great place in many ways, don’t get me wrong. 

We picked it out together, even though we were splitting up at the time, and it has a really cool floor plan and a great view.  Ceecee has done a great job of decorating and setting it up to be very stylish, and it has her personality all over it.

On the other hand, the walls are paper thin and a lot of the people who live here party at night and sleep during the day, so that doesn’t work well.  Beyond that, there’s just the constant reminder of the painful part of our recent past, and I’d really like to just start fresh in a place that we picked out to share together and has always just been ours.

We’ve looked at a few lofts, and even started to fill out an application on one, but never really felt like any of them were exactly what we wanted.  Today, I was browsing online and found out that one of the more desirable properties that rarely has available units had one come up. 

I made an appointment to see it, and while we were there, Ceecee whispered to me, “I think this is the one!”  I took the application, filled it out on the spot and went straight to the office and turned it in.  It’s going to be ours!

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Day 208 and Counting… A Long Awaited Reunion!

Posted: March 26, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Last night, for the first time, we got to meet Rachel, Ceecee’s daughter that she gave up for adoption!  Rachel and her boyfriend drove out and are staying at Angie and Ian’s.  Angie had already met her, but we had only talked to Rachel over the phone and a little bit on Facebook.

We went out to their place last night and just sat and talked.  It was pretty surreal, but very fulfilling.  For almost as long as I’ve known Ceecee, she’s talked about this happening.  We couldn’t do anything to bring it about.  We’ve just had to wait.

Through the years, there have been times when we thought it would happen soon, and times when we wondered if it would ever happen at all.

They are going to be here for a few days, so tonight, it was just very casual.  We didn’t stay very long and didn’t want there to be any pressure or expectations.   We just wanted to get the initial meeting out of the way and then we’ll just play it by ear after this.

Today, I have to work at Macy’s and Ceecee is going with all of them to spend some time together in Branson.

Day 202 and Counting… A Long Ride and A Prostitution Bust

Posted: March 23, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Took a 30 mile ride on my “new” Bianchi road bike with Ceecee this morning.  I actually bought it a few months ago, but have barely ridden it over the winter.  We had a great time, but part of it didn’t quite go the way we planned.  

We rode from our loft out to the trailhead for the Frisco Line Trail, which is about 7 miles, and we planned to take the trail for an indefinite distance from there.  This is the trail where Ceecee ran the half marathon right before our marriage fell apart

According to the map, it runs for about 43 miles total and we were just going to ride until we were ready to turn around.  What we didn’t realize is that it turns to gravel after 8 miles.  Since we were on road bikes, we turned around there.

Even so, it was a fun ride and it was by far the longest I’ve gone on my Bianchi since I bought it.  

On a much funnier note, we were checking out at a store later and saw on the front of the newspaper that a prostitution ring was apparently busted in the building right across the street from our loft.  Who knew?

Day 198 and Counting… If I Could Bottle This Up…

Posted: March 19, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

We haven’t done one of Old Chicago’s mini-tours on the World Beer Tour since the Halloween mini-tour last year, but tonight we’re going out to start the St. Patrick’s Day mini-tour.  They have a lot of Irish beers that sound good, and they’re having a kickoff party with free corned beef and cabbage tonight, so you can’t beat that.

To make it a full date night, we’re going to the movies first to see Gnomeo and Juliet.  It seems silly and it might be stupid, but it looks funny.  My wife loves kids stuff and she’s really just a kid at heart.  

Since we’ve been back together, that has really been something I’ve grown to love and appreciate about her.  She can be silly and have fun, and she still has that childlike wonder about her.  She’s very much a woman, don’t get me wrong.  I love that about her, as well.  It’s just that the fun and the laughter have returned to our relationship and it’s like we have the best of everything right now.  We have the fun and excitement of dating, along with the love and security of marriage.  

If I could bottle this and sell it, I’d be a very rich man, indeed.

Day 194 and Counting… No More Borders

Posted: March 17, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Ceecee came up to the mall and had lunch with me today.  I had to work all day at Macy’s, but we got to spend a little time together.  

The big news is, she found out that Border’s is closing.  If you love books as much as she does, that’s a big deal.  It’s her favorite bookstore, so much that even where we’re travelling, she wants to go to Border’s stores in other cities and states.  

She’s pretty bummed out about it, and of course she wants to go while they are having everything on clearance.  She also has a kobo, which is the e-reader associated with Border’s.  Who knows now what will happen with that.

Day 193 and Counting… Sushi Date Night

Posted: March 11, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Friday, February 18. 2011

Had a fun date night last night.  There’s a Japanese steakhouse with a sushi bar not far from where we live called Nakato.  My wife has been there before, but I haven’t.  She took our son there once and really liked it.

For me, sushi has been somewhat of an acquired taste.  At first, I didn’t like it at all.  Over time, I’ve tasted a lot of different varieties and have come to enjoy some of them.

We planned on me ordering an entrée and Ceecee ordering sushi and working it that way, but we ended up just going to the sushi bar instead.  I was up for the adventure and figured it might be fun.

We got a bottle of Riesling and just ordered a whole bunch of different things.  I’m not sure what they all were, but I liked most of them, and I especially liked this spicy sauce that they served in little bowls that you could dip your sushi in.  We had a lot of fun.

Day 191 and Counting…First Korea, Then Italy?

Posted: March 10, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Taylor got his orders today and he’s going to Korea.  That was a bit of a shock.  I mean, we had no idea, and he could have gone anywhere, but Korea?  Wow!  I guess it’s only for a year, and then he says they are going to let him go to Italy, so I guess I would have taken that deal if I was him.

Day 189 and Counting… Too Much Love For One (Valentine’s) Day

Posted: March 8, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Monday, February 14, 2011

Today is the actual Valentine’s Day, but we already celebrated and made this the most epic, multi-day Valentine’s Day ever.  This is the restoration tour and anything else just wouldn’t have been in keeping with the celebratory nature of our whole relationship right now, anyway.  

The play was wonderful yesterday.  The dinner was pretty amazing as well, if I’m allowed to brag on myself.  Oh yeah, it’s my blog, so I can do whatever I want on here!

We have an urban grocery store called the Bistro Market downtown near our loft and they have a good seafood counter, so I got everything there.  I also picked out a good white wine and served her in courses.  My favorite were the steamed snow crab legs, but all of it was very good and my wife LOVES seafood.  

Today, we had to work (darn Monday) and I had flowers and a box of chocolates delivered to her, but that was just the formality.  The weekend was our day – wait, two days – to revel in the joy we’ve found.

Day 188 and Counting… Valentine’s Day, So Far, So Great!

Posted: March 7, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Sunday, February 13, 2011

So, last night and this morning went even better than I could have predicted, and we haven’t even gotten to our actual Valentine’s Day celebration yet!  

I told Ceecee after dinner that I had gotten the ebook about relaxation massages and that I wanted to give her one.  I did everything just like it said.  I warmed up towels, warmed up the massage oil, lit candles, and put on a cd of relaxation music.  I told her to just lie down and I would take care of everything.

Later, after she went to sleep, I spread the confetti all over the loft and placed the piece of paper with the “Official Notice” on the floor as though it had been slid under the door from the outside.  I knew she would find it in the morning and she did.  The idea was that she would get up, find the confetti everywhere and feel happy.  Then, she would pick up the notice and get scared that it was something bad, but quickly realize what it REALLY  was.  

That was exactly how it happened, and she loved it, but she playfully gave me a hard time for scaring her.  It really did look like a court paper at first glance.  

Later this afternoon, we are walking over to the theater to see Beauty and the Beast, and then I’m cooking at home tonight.

Day 186 and Counting…Planning an Amazing Valentine’s Day!

Posted: March 6, 2013 in Love and Marriage
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Friday, February 11, 2011

It’s been extremely slow at Macy’s.  Part of it is the weather.  Part of it is the time of year.  Part of it is that I work the evening shift and most of the furniture sales happen during the day shift.

That’s ok.  I’ve been using the time to get ready for Valentine’s Day.  

While it’s slow, I’ve been searching websites for creative Valentine’s Day ideas and I’ve found some great stuff.  I don’t want to do the usual card, flowers and go out to dinner this year.  I want to do something in keeping with the changes in our lives and our marriage.

I want to show my love to my wife in a deeply personal way, that touches her soul.  I don’t want to just do the obligatory, “It’s Valentine’s Day, so I have to try to impress her with what I buy,” I want to give her a gift of myself.  I want to make a memory this year.

One site I found is www.theromantic.com.  This is Michael Webb’s website, and I found him through Mort Fertel.  He has all kinds of great romantic ideas, not only for Valentine’s Day, but for any day of the year.  He also has a number of ebooks for sale, and I bought and downloaded some.  

One of them tells specifically how to give a full body relaxation massage.  One of them is a collection of romantic coupons that can be “redeemed” throughout the upcoming year.  I sweet talked a lady in the jewelry department of of one of the little metal watch boxes that say, “you and me” with hearts on the sides of them.  You’re supposed to get one when you buy a certain kind of watch, but I got one to put the coupons in.  

I printed them off on some red, pink, and white sheets of paper and cut them out.  I took the leftover parts of the paper and made some confetti out of it.  The best part, though, is the idea I found of serving her with an “official notice.”  

On a heavier stock piece of paper, I typed “Official Notice” in large, bold print at the top.  I then tried to make it look like a legal summons by stating, “in the matter of the marriage of…” and starting each paragraph with “whereas.”  Each of those paragraphs was actually a declaration of one of the many reasons why I love her.  

Valentine’s Day is on a Monday this year, so we’re going to mainly celebrate it on Sunday, instead.  We don’t like to fight the crowded restaurants and we love to cook, and Ceecee has asked me to make her a seafood dinner this year.  We are also going to a theater production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” on sunday afternoon at our local University.  It’s my wife’s favorite Disney movie, so the timing is perfect!

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