The Power of Veto!

Hey, is that allowed?

This is a first for us...using the power of veto on a date idea.  I'm not sure that this should be allowed...hmmm.

Planning for May, for some reason, has been a struggle.  Maybe it's because it's Spring, maybe it's because I have so many ideas bumbling around in my head and the Pandora's box has been opened.

So, here was my idea...singing!  Yup.  But not just singing, getting a little lesson on a song we both loved and then going to Blue Frog Studios to tape our foray into the vocal art world and have something to keep for prosterity. 

My husband is terrified.  So much so, he evoked the power of veto.  Huh.  Although this would be a fun idea for some people our date nights are not meant to scare, intimidate or cause us to curl up like an possum and play dead. 

I learnt something about PJ today. He has a great singing voice but he doesn't wish to share it.  I get that.  I respect that and him for saying something.  And, in honesty, I feel like we had an extra date night because of our discussion and getting to know something about each other we didn't know before. 

I'm proud of PJ.  For being open and honest, for saying how he felt in a way that honoured me but looked after him. 

Am I disappointed?  Nope, because there's more ideas rolling around to choose from. And this idea, well, here's a hint...

May is on its Way

well not quite yet, but it's time to plan May's date night. 

Hmm.  I have so many ideas. 

May is so busy.  There's birthdays, anniversaries, a long weekend.  But I want to make our date night stand out and be special rather than roll it into the other events.

Should I pick plan A or plan B?  A is outside and weather dependent but FUN. B is inside but equally fun.  Hmm. 

What would PJ like? It has to be fun, around 2 hours long, something we can experience but not "master". 

Stay tuned...I'm leaning towards B.

Boston Marathon

PJ and I are still in shock about the events surrounding the Boston Marathon. It has struck a cord with us because we have attended races before, both participating in them and cheering from the sidelines, experiencing the joy and exhilaration of the moment.  Being a part of the action, being there to support our family and friends as they achieve their greatness.  To see the devastation of bombs going off at such an event saddens us.  To hear of families' losses and people's injuries is tragic. We question why? and we don't have answers.

We watch the footage and within this shock and devastation we had to find a glimmer of hope; we saw love.  Love of the first responders, love of volunteers, love of passers by.  Evil will not win, cannot win. Love trumps all and brings hope and brings peace, even if right now it's a glimmer.

We send our prayers of love and peace to all of the families, we send prayers of thankfulness to those who gave selflessly to others and we send prayers of strength to those that are bringing justice to this event.

This event reminds us once again how truly important our loved ones are to us.  We took a moment to hug, to look in each other's eyes and say how much we appreciate and love each other.  We are thankful for our dates, our memories and our times together and hope others can cling to their moments as well. 

Peace be with you.

A Little History...

Hi again,

Our date nights started when in a very short space of time, I lost a great friend to obesity, another friend is passing away from cancer and my father found out he had cancer as well.   PJ already had lost both parents to cancer.  It stopped us in our tracks. Were we taking our lives and relationship for granted?

We met 6 years ago, online.  My friend signed me up on a dating site and conveniently neglected to let me know. PJ signed up to play a joke on a friend and this site ended up matching us up.  As you can imagine, my friend Mary had to tell me that this amazing guy had emailed me and wanted to chat.  I was SO embarrassed but once we got talking, it was as though we had always known each other.  A year later we were married and we've been married for 4 years.

We both work full time and PJ is completing his Masters and I'm completing my diploma so life is busy.  We go out for dinner and walks but it's always the same places and life has started to be, well, consistent. We can't go away as we have a special needs dog.. more on him later.

It was my parents (who have been married for 54 years) that gave us a gift at Christmas....a date.  They felt we should be spending time together, quality time.  So, we took it a step further...

Here's the details:

• I organize one month, and PJ the next. 
• It's a secret for awhile, the other person can ask questions and guess.  We have to say when/if they guess correctly. 
• If the other person doesn't guess, then we can tell them a few days or hours before the event.  We realized anticipation is a necessary part of the fun.
• We cannot repeat an activity or experience.
• We cannot go to the same restaurant, we have to try new ones.

So far we have

• January - shooting at a gun range (me)
• February - a night time owl prowl (PJ)
• March - glass blowing lessons (me)
• April - night at the theatre on Manet's art and then private painting lessons (PJ)
• May -me...stay tuned for hints and guesses

I am attaching a BBC 2 minute video that I just watched.  It is truly the essence of our date nights.  It's a wonderful world that we live in, and when we share it with someone we love we get outside of the everyday issue and problems, work and school and connect with each other.  I hope you enjoy it.
www.youtube.com/embed/auSo1MyWf8g?rel=0

April's Date Night - An Evening of Art

What a wonderful evening.  It was PJ's turn to plan date night this month and it was a 2-parter!

Part I was Thursday night at Colossus Theatre.  We watched streaming video at the Royal Academy in London, England where various artist historians spoke about the artwork of Manet. This collection was brought to England from the US and Ireland.  It was a stunning way to view up close the masterpieces of a Modernist artist.

Part II was a private 2-hour lesson on acrylic painting at Monika Blichar's studio, MAB Ventures Inc.  http://www.monikablichar.com/.  It was wonderful.  We arrived at 7:00 PM and as we were going up the stairs she had lit candles, setting a very relaxed, romantic mood.  Inside the studio Monika had music playing and had our canvasses set up ready to go.

We each got to choose what piece of art we would paint; mine was a van Gogh and PJ's was a Monet.  We both thought these were huge projects to fit into two hours, but at the same time, because it was 2 hours there was no pressure of perfection. 

Monika had us sketch out our drawings and went over color mixing and painting on canvas.  She had the perfect blend of helping us and leaving us to just play. There was no pressure to "learn" or have her hover over us, rather it was a wonderful evening of creative fun and enjoyment in a space that was calm and relaxed.

We had absolutely the best time EVER.  We have now proudly hung our original pieces of art on the wall and we are enjoying the memories of a great evening.

STAY TUNED FOR MAY'S DATE NIGHT...hints will be posted...let's see if PJ can guess what's coming soon.