Love is Easy - Simple Anniversary

We like to do something we've never done before to celebrate our anniversary.  It can be something dramatic or something small, but doing something new makes us feel united and adventurous.  This tradition started 10 years ago with skiing.  Neither of us had much experience with downhill skiing so there was a lot of adrenaline, good fun, and to my amazement, no injuries.  Also, I don't know if there is any food on the planet that tastes better than a hot bowl of chili after an arduous day on the slopes.  Let me tell you, it is arduous when you have to pull yourself out of the snow 100 times.

Year 1 - Everything was new!

This year...


Location
We had a stay at home anniversary.  It could have been horrible.  Right?!  But it wasn't.  It was wonderful.  We just locked the bedroom door and let our kids catch up on Dr. Who.


Decor
I lit a candle in a mason jar...


Food
...and set out a cheese platter and some generous slices of Kermakakku and whipped cream.  It probably means love in Finnish ...or maybe it means Sour Cream Cardamom cake.  Nuance.  One of the benefits of an anniversary near the holidays is great leftovers.



Music
*New for me*  I made my first Spotify playlist [crowd cheers].  It's a musical chronology of our relationship from the "Nothing will ever happen between us" denial days to the devoted companions we are 19 years later, with some 80's love songs rounding it out.


Game
*New for both of us* We played a new game - Gifts  (I just made that name up.)  It's easy.  Each spouse needs a pencil and 12 pieces of paper.  Write one gift you would give the other if there were no obstacles.  Then exchange your gifts and take turns reading them aloud.  My favorite gift from Erik was "A big room w/big empty tables where projects can be left until done."  I don't know if his favorite gift from me was his "Caribbean hair," "Dinner and a jam session with Jack White at our house," or "All new rock climbing gear for a big wall assent."


Dancing
Then we spread our comforter on the floor, laid on our backs and listened to our "mix tape" just like we used to do (separately, in our respective homes as we were virtually unknown to each other) in high school when we had boom boxes with tape cassettes.  We laughed at our memories, made fun of 80's guitar solos and danced.


Presents
Already feeling awesome, we remembered we had other gifts for each other.  We ordered ebooks for each other from our public library.  GeekLove!  So, we downloaded our books and whether we actually read them or not is beside the point.  Also, I printed out a card  for Erik because I wanted to.

Year 19 - It just gets better.

Verdict

This was one of our best anniversary celebrations yet.  No commute.  No cost.  A little preparation and a whole lot of playful connectivity.


If this is love, love is easy!


I accidentally left that one off the playlist, so I'm sneaking it in now.  :)

Not Changing in 2015

I have often been tripped up by lengthy lists of well intentioned resolutions that don't last for many days into the new year and leave me feeling like a lame-o almost from the get-go.  In recent years, I've mitigated failure by selecting a single simple goal for each new year.  This year I'm improving on that tradition by making a list of things I do not want to change in 2015.  It feels great!  Just think about it.  What is something in your life that you do not want to change in 2015?

Here, in no particular order, are 70-ish things I do not want to change about my life in 2015:

incandescent bulbs 

real butter

journaling

walks with my husband

dinner chore chart

cub scouts

family work

Live Music Night

poop jokes

view out my kitchen window

blue, green, and every mix of blue/green

subway

temple

visiting family

asking questions

optimism

reading, reading aloud to my family

home schooling
campfires

laundromat 1/2 block away

Blendtec blender (shout out to my Dad who works there and gave us a blender when our young daughter broke her mandible doing pirouettes in the living room -curse you Angelina Ballerina!)

Friends

CeraVe lotion

meals from scratch

morning snuggles with my littles

hand writing notes

jewelry made by my kids

pajama days

toast

ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon

sugar 

yoga

weights

kale

hugs

collecting instruments

wool socks

playgrounds

hot baths

good neighbors

meeting new people

forests & mountains

simplifying

ponytails

paying off debt, living within our means, saving

sunshine

sleep

good health

paper calendars

starfall.com

bread

nail polish

hula hooping

hiking

library

lip balm

flossing

warm boots

my workout tank top

Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook

face to face time with people

one on one time with my kids

flip-flops

four seasons

my religion

my teeth

sewing machine

Spotify

emoticons

hot water

80's music

house dance parties

baking

being amazed by my husband and our children