The Best Valentine's Day Ever!!

I wanted so badly to tell my husband my heart's desire for Valentine's Day. But what I wanted even more was for him to come up with something thoughtful on his own...even if it was free! I wanted to know that he thought of something that I would especially like. So Valentine's Day came and went and he kept telling me, "I have something planned for next Saturday - a surprise that will be really fun!" In my head I'm thinking, fun for me or fun for you? He threw some deceptive clues my way in order to throw me off track (which totally worked). Saturday came and he finally revealed that a massage therapist would be coming over to give me a one hour massage. He would take our daughter and be gone during the time. What a shocker! Because this was my heart's desire! A massage to ease the discomforts of my pregnancy. I had dropped a lot of hints about this previous to Valentine's Day and I thought they had fallen on deaf ears. I was so pleased and felt so loved that my husband heard me and planned this special day for me.

In need of a little mystery?

Ever wonder about the darker side of Seattle? The paranormal? Check out this mystery tour by a former private eye around the Seattle area to haunted mansions, spooky legends and crime scenes!

Check out www.privateeyetours.com

The Thai Kitchen

The Thai Kitchen is located in upper Queen Anne, which has a beautiful neighborhood filled with old houses and cute little shops good for a stroll with your sweetie pie! The restaurant is in a house and family owned and run. And did I mention the food is da bomb (scuse the Seattle ghettoness)! Seriously everything is good! Plus the atmosphere is just perfect for holding hands on across the table.

2220 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
$$

Love & War

As we know, all is not fair in love and war. Are you in the middle of a domestic dispute? Please refer to the category, "Easy ways to say, I love you," on the right hand side of your screen to remember why you married that (cute) idiot in the first place. :)

Old fashioned

Send an old-fashioned telegram. Call Western Union at 800-325-6000 or visit www.westernunion.com.

-Gregory J.P. Godek

"You don't have to be rich . . ."

"you shop, kids play
Drop the kids off at the IKEA supervised play area and ballroom, and shop in peace. This way, everyone's happy."
IKEA also has a restaurant . . . dinner date anyone?

Does anyone have reviews on this date?

Study Date?

Josh and I had a fun, quick little date at Barnes and Noble after running errands the other night. We went into the store and loaded our arms with fun easy read books like interesting facts and jokes. Then we walked up to the espresso bar on the mezzanine (people take books up there with them all the time), found a table, unloaded the books, and headed over to the counter to pick out some YUMMIES. In their selection of treats, they have cookies, muffins, CHEESECAKE FACTORY CHEESECAKE, and all sorts of desirables. I went straight for the Godiva Chocolate cheesecake (which, was half the price it would have been at The Cheesecake Factory, just over $4), Josh opted for a gooey chocolate cupcake. Then we took our deserts back to our table with the books and sat and read while we ate. We went through all sorts of books and read things to each other that we found funny. Josh enjoyed "The Darwin Awards" while I was telling him blonde jokes from a joke book. In the end, we bought "1001 Ways To Be Romantic"... which I just noticed is missing from the shelf, so Josh must have it at work with him, trying to find some ideas :-)! Shopping while you eat and date... how multi-taskerish is that?

Romance Package

My friend gave this to me as a bridal shower gift but I think it could apply to any special or ordinary occasion:

A flower vase (can get at local thriftstore) containing:
*tea lights
*fake flower petals (available a lot of places)
*A label or tag that reads:
"Romance Package- To create a romantic mood, spread flower petals generously over bed. Tea lights add intimate lighting & create a setting fit for a night of loving" or anything you choose but make it romantic.

Prescription for love

Get an empty bottle of prescription pills. Fill it with green M&Ms. Create a custom label, something like this:

PATIENT: (your pet name for your lover)
MEDICATION: LIBIDO LIBERATOR- EXTRA STRENGTH!
SIDE EFFECTS: LOVE SICKNESS & HOT FLASHES.
DOSAGE: A HANDFUL OR TWO.
REFILLS: SEE PRESCRIBING PHYSICIAN ONLY!
PHYSICIAN: DOCTOR OF LOVE, (your name)

Additional idea: Convince a local pharmacist to dispense one of these creations to your lover! (taken from "1001 ways to be Romantic" by Gregory Godek)

Kailey, I couldn't help but think of you when I read this. :)

For Valentine's day take a big bag of M&Ms and put the contents into a Victoria's Secret bag. Then put lingerie into the empty M&M bag. For kicks make him open the Vicky's bag first!

Tempero do Brasil

This one is for all of you Brazil fans out there. I have been meaning to try out this restaurant for almost a year now. We finally did last Friday night. A comida estava excelente e deu saudades do Brasil. I loved it! They serve Bahian food. Although I was never in Bahia, what Ben and I got was typical Brasilian food. We had an order of Feijoada (served with white rice and collared greens) with Aipim Frito (fried manioc) and Faraofa (hard to explain but excellent with beans). Ahhhh, I was in heaven. The atmosphere, serving style and everything was very laid back--typical Brazilian style. I definitely recommend this restaurant to any of you missing Brazil or any of you who would like a taste of Brazil.

Tempero do Brasil
5628 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
University Way just before Ravenna Blvd.
Hours: Tue-Sun, 5-10 pm

Telephone: 206-523-6229
www.temperodobrasil.net
$$

Experimental College

So Century Ballroom was a good way to bet bitten by the dancing bug, but I want to learn more without making a major commitment. The Experimental College offers all types of classes in a wide range of subjects: Dancing, Arts & Crafts, Finance, Culinary Arts, Yoga etc. Most of the classes are on UW campus, but you do not have to be a student, although you do get a discount if you are. The classes are often in the evening or on a Saturday, and they vary on how many times the class meets, some meet just once, others 4 etc. Bob and I are going to take a Salsa class that meets four times and it costs $54 per person. I'm excited about it, this guarantees us 4 weeks of consistent dating, and if you break down the cost over 4 weeks, it isn't that bad of a price for a date. I'm taking a drawing class right now through EC, and I really enjoy it, but we'll see how the dancing class goes :)

Here is the link for the EC main page
http://depts.washington.edu/asuwxpcl/

Check with a local college near you, most of these offer beginning Ballroom/Salsa classes.

Century Ballroom II

Not only does Century Ballroom have bands that come and perform, but they also have dancing with a DJ every night, and it's a lot cheaper. Every night they feature a different style of dance, salsa, tango, swing, waltz etc., and 30 minutes before the real dancing begins they offer a short lesson on the basics for the dancing impaired. Bob and I did this last week for salsa, and it was so much fun! We went for their salsa night, it was $7 each for the lesson and dancing from 8:30 till 12:30 pm. I thought they could have taught more during the lesson, but it was enough to keep us going for a bit and we picked up some more moves from people around us. The dress was all over the board, some people were in dresses, others were in jeans. Overall it was just fun to be out doing something active and learning something together. It was cheaper than a movie and we were working out a bit, rather than sitting for two hours, eating popcorn and getting fatter!

Fun Messages

When Matt and I were newlyweds, we would leave messages for each other. My favorite was when I came home from work and the entire living/dining room area was covered in balloons! Matt left instructions to pop them to reveal a message. He had taped "I LOVE YOU PUNKIN" to the floor. Though "Punkin" was a nickname that is no longer with us, it was so cute and it was such a nice suprise to come home to!

I think other "high school" type things like this would be really fun now--like covering the bedroom floor or any area of the house in hershey kisses and leaving a note saying that you kiss the ground your spouse walks on.

You can also write messages with an expo pen on the mirror and it will come off just fine.

Fun Valentines Gift

I am going to be out of town for Valentines this year, so I came up with a fun gift to be delivered to Rob on Valentines Day. I had so much fun putting it together, I thought I'd share in case anyone else wants to make one, too! Minus the tacky red bow, I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Here is the recipe:

From Dollar Tree (on Aurora and about 140th, in the same parking lot as Burger King)

• bucket or basket
• shrink wrap with pull-bow
• tissue paper
• yummy treats
• fun Valentines goodies
• a romantic card

From Walgreens/Target:

• Lucky Lovers Message Dice (had to spice it up somehow)
• his favorite foods - for Rob it includes Wheat Thins & Tostitos salsa
• a $1 stuffed animal - he will appreciate it just because it's out of the norm

I also went to Half-Price Books on Roosevelt and got a Jackie Chan VHS from their Clearance section -- everything in that section is $1-2 and they have a huge variety of books, movies, etc. (turn left as soon as you go in) Lastly, I included a Half-Price gift card since the poor guy is going to be bored while I'm gone. :)

You could do this very cheap and personalize it with some fun things. Plus you get to keep the cute container! ;)

Shhhhh.................don't tell Rob! It's a surprise!!

Here is a close-up:

Getting to know you...

Been with your spouse a little too long and think you already know everything about him or her? Or has it been not long enough and you want to know more? Or are you preparing to audition for the newly wed game and need to know some useless things about your spouse? Josh and I made up a little game that we like to play if we are together and have already told each other every FASCINATING thing we have to share or talk about. We call the game, "Would You Rather?". I am sure we aren't the first to do this, nor will we be the last. But in playing this game, we have had some good laughs, found out some interesting things about each other, and started some interesting conversations. It's not hard to play at all. Each person takes a turn coming up with a "would you rather question" such as, "Would you rather be dumb or ugly?" The only rule is that the other person HAS to answer with one of the choices you have given them, even if neither seems appealing. You can decide if each person is allowed to pass on one or more, or if there is some sort of penalty for doing so. I suggest kisses or 10 minute foot rubs for any passed questions. But decide ahead of time if you are going to do this. This game is not intended to start arguments. The nice thing about this game is that you can take it and play anywhere whenever you want 'cause it's all in your heads! Also, unless it does result in some sort of a fight, there is no clean up!!