This is as romantic as it gets

This weekend was so insanely hot. I'm not really complaining. 

We moved our bedroom to the basement a few nights ago because it was just too hot in our room. I love our new bedroom. I think the bathroom (2nd floor) is a little too far away from the basement, but otherwise I'd consider staying down there for good. 

I had all day Saturday and Sunday to myself. It's been awhile. I wanted to clean up a bit, but it was just too hot for that. So I went to the mall. We have some extra money, which should go towards important things like our wedding and filling our oil tank for the winter, but since I've been struggling so much with stress and such, I said 'eff it'. I wasn't going to worry about money. If I really wanted/needed something, I was just going to buy it. So I got two super comfy tank tops (already wore them both), three new pairs of underwear, two bras, and some of Chloe's birthday supplies. I didn't buy anything extravagant and unnecessary, although I could've lived without the shirts and bras for now. I'm tired of worrying.

As I was hanging out alone all day, cleaning, shopping and watching some Sex and the City in the basement, I just really really wanted to be able to hang out with Eric. Alone, and outside of the house when it was nice out. 

Chloe was with her father, so I put up a hopeful Facebook status asking if anyone wanted to hang out with Madi for a couple of hours while she slept. I expected it would go ignored, but one of Eric's friends offered shortly after. I immediately texting Eric asking if that was weird, or would we be able to let him do it? Eric was okay with it, but we both thought the friend was joking until he private messaged me. 

He did end up coming over and babysitting. We were able to leave home around 8pm, and we were home by 10pm but it was one of my favorite nights out ever. 

We drove down to the beach and just walked. The water was so nice, so we walked in the water a little, then sat for a bit and just enjoyed it. Except the bugs were insane. That was a bit of a mood killer but oh well. 

I had a surprise bottle of pink champagne in my bag, and two of the girls little cups. I pulled out the cups and gave one to Eric - he had no idea what I had in the bag. We ended up walking and drinking champagne due to the bugs, but it was still nice. The constant itching, not so much. 

Most people don't believe that we have a nude beach around here, but we do. When you first walk into the beach, if you go to the right, it's family-friendly, if you walk a bit to the left, you might come across naked people. I'm a believer because I've seen these naked people. Eric is now a believer because someone left a message in the sand "<3 nude PEI". 

We told our babysitter we were on our way and went home. Which was when Eric spoke up and said we should've waited to tell him, and gone parking - something we've both never done. 

Romance is a rare thing in our relationship. Drinking cheap champagne out of children's cups while being attacked by bugs on a nude beach, talking about having sex in a car really is as romantic as it gets. 

Are You With the Right Person?

Someone posted this on Facebook, without any credit or anything. I'm not going to say too much about it, but I do like the message that it sends. Let me know what you think. 

[ via ]

During a seminar, a woman asked,"How do I know if I am with the right person?"

The author then noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so he said, "It depends. Is that your partner?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?" Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind
replied the author.

Here's the answer.

Every relationship has a cycle… In the beginning; you
fall in love with your partner. You anticipate their calls,
want their touch, and like their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet."Picture the expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few months or years of being together, the euphoria of love fades. It's a natural cycle of EVERY relationship.

Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship; you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your partner might start asking, "Am I with the right person?" And as you reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you
may begin to desire that experience with someone
else. This is when relationships breakdown.

The key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the person you found.

People blame their partners for their unhappiness and look outside for fulfillment. Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes.

Infidelity is the most common. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your relationship. It lies within it.

I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.

Because (listen carefully to this):

The key to succeeding in a Relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the Person you found.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. You have to work on it day in and day out. It takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it demands WISDOM. You have to know
WHAT TO DO to make it work. Make no mistake about it.

Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your partner), Just as there are physical laws Of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. If you know how to apply these laws, the results are predictable.

Love is therefore a "decision". Not just a feeling.