Valentine's Day Continued

So, at the Coulston house we don't celebrate any holiday for just one day. We really enjoy celebrating and enjoying every minute of a special occasion. For instance, this Thanksgiving we began making/eating Thanksgiving food on the Monday before and enjoyed a whole week of being thankful. Christmas was an even bigger deal. We decorated the house the weekend after Thanksgiving and didn't take down our tree until nearly February. Now, I know what you're thinking. "How lazy." But we're not! (Or at least not this time.) We just LOVE Christmas. :)

Wonderful flowers from my wonderful husband

Anyways, Valentines this year was no different than the other holidays. I began with making supper and such on actual Valentines Day. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself. Then, that weekend Paul planned some fun filled days of Valentines activities, too. I knew that he was making plans for the weekend, so all week I was so anxious and excited to see what was up his sleeve. 

On Friday he took a half day from work so we could spend some time together. The weather was beautiful and we went for a walk around the VA. It's beautiful with a pond, huge oak trees and historic buildings. It's a great place to "get away" right in the city. For supper that night we went to a BBQ place that had been recommended to us by almost everyone since we moved to Johnson City. So, we took the quick journey over to Bluff City for some Ridgewood BBQ. It wasn't our favorite but it was good to check it off our Johnson City bucket list. It reminded us of how much we miss a few things from Scottsboro, including Tate's BBQ. 

On Saturday we had the most fun of all. Paul made me a wonderful breakfast and then we got ready for a busy afternoon. We packed up the car with waders and fishing poles because Paul was taking me fishing!! Now, this girl has really been missing fishing. (Another perk to Scottsboro, by the way.) So, we grabbed some KFC along the way and had a picnic by this picturesque river where we were going to fish. The weather was gorgeous with blue skies, warm sun and a cool breeze. After lunch we geared up and went in the water. Paul was very manly and taught me how to trout fish, as this was my first time. He was a very good teacher considering I caught the first fish! He was cute. And I suppose the fish was, too. :) On my last cast I got another one, a big one. It was a fighter and felt much bigger than my last. So, I'm reeling that sucker in and as it comes out of the water we see that I've caught a stringer...with someone else's fish on it! Turns out he wasn't as big as I thought he was going to be. We laughed and laughed. Poor fish had been caught, strung, got away (sort of), and then caught again! 

You see? My hook caught the yellow string, which happened to have a fish on it! 

After our fishing adventures we went to the movie theater and watched This Means War. It was cute; romantic but full of action scenes. A good mix of funny and sweet. After the movies, we headed home so Paul could make me supper. It was delicious and one of my favorite meals of all time. We had teriyaki chicken, macaroni and cheese and crescent rolls. Paul had to order the teriyaki sauce I like off the internet because we can't find it anymore in stores. Now, that's love. 

After supper, he made me leave the house so he could set up his surprise for us. I went to the store for a few minutes to give him some time. When I came home I discovered the Jeep in the garage strung with Christmas lights and a pallet made in the back. It was stocked with board games and blankets with soft music playing in the background. All of the songs were songs that have had special meaning to us over the years. It was incredibly romantic. 

It was a wonderful weekend. So, here's to more years of over celebrating holidays! And the best is yet to come. My birthday is a 2 week event! :)

Love and Happiness,

Bethany

Valentines as a Mrs.

So, our 1st Valentines Day as a married couple was a success!! Since Paul worked and I didn't, we decided that I would take over Valentines responsibilities and he would make plans for this weekend. (I can't wait, by the way, to see what we're doing Saturday!!)

Our agreement was to not give any gifts this year. So, in efforts to follow the rules, I prepared a romantic meal of spaghetti with meat sauce, Caesar salad and french bread. I slaved over the stove for at least...30 minutes! :)  Quite possibly the easiest "holiday" meal I've made since being married. 

But, I think the end result turned out quite nice! Over our romantic meal we spent some much needed time catching up and talking about the good times we've had over the past year. It was nice to put some time aside to love, respect and appreciate each other, especially on a Tuesday! 

And in true "old soul" fashion, we capped dinner off with a rousing game of Yahtzee! He won 1 game and I won the next. Trying to subdue my competitive nature, we called it a tie and proceeded with the night.

It wouldn't be Valentines without some hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries, so earlier that day I prepared some fresh. They were delicious. I also made Paul a crunchy, sweet/salty snack to take to work the next day so that he remembers that I love and appreciate him all days of the week...not just on Valentines Day. 

And now it's Wednesday but I already can't wait for my man to get home so we can re-enact yesterday with left overs, laughs and love. :)

Love and Happiness, 

Bethany

Searching For The Perfect Gift

Why are men so hard to shop for?


Let me re-phrase: Why is MY man so hard to shop for? Our 1 year anniversary is coming up next month and I've been racking my brain for the perfect gift. So far, no luck.  I want to give the perfect gift. A gift that is special and romantic. A gift that says "I love you" or makes him think, "Man, my wife is awesome." A gift that can withstand time...you know, like our love! :) 


Now I've had some ideas but they all seem to flop. I mean, I want to give him something practical since we're tight on money but come on, the man has some not-so-romantic interests. Example:

• Construction: What about a hammer? Or a level? Or a tool belt?
• Now, that screams romance...right? Not exactly! 
• Fishing: What about a new rod? Or lures? 
• Maybe I could write, "You sure were a great catch!" Get it? Ha ha, not quite what I'm going for. 

Now, I do have one idea (my only decent idea, I might add) so I'm not going to share that one in case it works out. It has involved lots of sneaking around and secret emails/phone calls so Paul won't figure me out. If it all comes together correctly I think he'll enjoy it. (I know I would!)


Regardless of  what we buy, we're going to exchange the best gifts of all on our anniversary weekend: The gift of fun time spent together. I'm already counting down the days to our Gatlinburg getaway weekend!! That's all for now! 


Love and Happiness,
Bethany