Date of the Week: Eating Out

One of Matthew's New Year resolutions for 2012 was to take me on a date (or to at least have a date - taking not necessarily required, since we are cheap and lazy, after all) every week.

A few of his other resolutions, by the by, were to gain five pounds (i.e. "Be healthy"), get straight As (i.e. "Be smart"), and do a triathlon (probably the cheap, short one at the Orem rec center. When this goal was announced, Matt's brother dismissively said, "Oh, that one's easy. You could do it tomorrow." I managed to refrain from mentioning that we have been planning to do this for more than a year now and still always manage to come up with excuses/cramps/overwhelming amounts of homework during the fateful day).

But back to the date per week idea. I think this is a lovely idea. I also am skeptical about its realization.

Part of this is just because I am not much of a long-term resolutions type person. For example, right now I can't even fathom that the month of January will end in my lifetime. Has anyone else noticed how looooooong this month is? Will we ever get out? Are we all going to die here? The longest I can consistently focus on achieving a particular goal is probably over one semester, and even then I usually get burned out, stressed, exhausted, and bored. Especially if I am required to start my th*sis (it's too awful a word to spell out) that semester.

But dating is different, right? Dating should be fun, and frequent, and romantic, and awesome. I committed to marry this guy for eternity, so dating him officially every week should be no problem, right?

So this week: We went to Church on Sunday, went running on Monday, played games on Tuesday, went weightlifting on Wednesday, did absolutely nothing on Thursday (unless you count the few hours Matthew spent consoling me when I realized exactly how awful the semester was going to be), and then came Friday. I was ready to concede that going to the gym counted as a date and let the week slide by. But Matthew brightly suggested that we go out to eat. It seemed logical. We had received three gift certificates to restaurants over December and hadn't used any of them. Plus I had just sat through a 2.5 hour class on a Friday evening without any kind of food and I was starving. So I agreed.

Going Out to Eat

Step 1. We debated going to Applebees or Sizzlers. Matthew declared he knew where we could find Sizzlers. I looked up an Applebees. We decided to go to Sizzlers.

Step 2. We drove to where Matthew believed the restaurant was. Traffic was terrible. When we got there, the restaurant was missing.

Step 3. Matthew called his brother (Triathlon Expert). Triathlon Expert asked if he could call back.

Step 4. The natural result of sitting through a trying 2.5 hour class, being on campus for seven hours without a break between work and classes, cold weather, a headache, and food/sleep/cuddling deprivation occurred. Ruth began to cry.

Step 5. Matthew decided to roam Orem in search of Sizzlers. A miracle occurred and we found one within five minutes.

Step 6. We found the last parking space available and walked towards the restaurant, only to discover a line so long that it nearly led all the way back to the parking lot.

Step 7. See Step 4.

Step 8. Hungry, impatient, and reckless, we went to Wendy's, where we consumed a ridiculous amount of cheap, unhealthy, and delicious fast food, topped off with a vanilla frosty. Adults and children alike drew back from our booth with shock and fear at our atrocious manners, voracious appetites, and the number of times we went back for refills on ketchup.

Step 9. Home for a small treat (fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts), a movie, and cuddling. By far my favorite part of the night. I love my husband.

So the date per week thing is off! Stay tuned for more drama, tears, laughter, and romance next week! It's all on this blog. Hmm. I may need to stop watching The Bachelor.