Secret Surprise Dates

FAQS of Life



My life in "frequently asked question" format.



Today's Topic: Secret Surprise Dates


Q: What, pray tell, is a Secret Surprise Date?

A: A secret surprise date is a festival of fun wrapped in romance. It's the pinata of date nights.

Q: What does that mean in English?

A: When Amy and I were courting, we went on some elaborately planned dates. We coined the phrase "Secret Surprise dates" to describe them.

Q: Do they have to be secret?

A: No, the other party knows the date is going to happen and who the date is with. They just don't know what is going to happen.

Q: I am still not wrapping my mind around the concept, could you give an example?

A: Yes.

Very funny! I'm waiting!

When I lived in South Carolina, I used to frequent a donut chain by the name of Krispy Kreme. Now, when I came back to Illinois to court and subsequently marry Amy, they did not have any Krispy Kremes in the Chicago area. When Amy heard that one had come to the area, she blindfolded me and drove me to the Krispy Kreme. I was so shocked when I got out of the car and breathed in the aroma of the Mecca of donuts. This was truly a secret surprise!

On another occasion, I blindfolded Amy and drove around for an hour finally stopping at the Hinsdale Oasis of the Illinois Tollway System 10 minutes from our apartment. There we sat,ate dinner, and watched the traffic drive beneath us.

Q: Are blindfolds mandatory?

A: No, but they can add quite a bit to the overall effect.

Q: Are Secret Surprise Dates expensive?

They can be, but don't have to be. The Krispy Kreme date cost less than 10 dollars. Last Saturday night, I drove Amy about an hour north of our house to a nice restaurant just over the Wisconsin border. We had great conversation on the way there and back and an excellent all-you-can-eat meal in a quaint atmosphere. The entire cost of the evening including babysitting was under $50.00.

Q: I am more of a visual person, do you have any pictures from these excursions?

A: Yes.

Q: You are not pulling that joke again, are you?!!!

A: Yes. Before you get all upset, here is a picture of Amy outside the restaurant on Saturday night.

Q: So, it sounds like Secret Surprise dates work for you, is that accurate?

A: It certainly is. They really help us to keep the fun alive in our relationship. To see what works for other people click here to be directed to the Works for me Wednesday site at Rocks in my Dryer.

Next Time: Randomness

Because they're nouns....

A noun is a person, place, or thing!

Next Time: Secret Surprise Dates!

A Simple Plan

In a previous post I talked about my goals for 2009. If you missed that riveting piece of blog-o-journalism click here

It is all well and good to set goals, but if you want to reach them, you need a plan.

So I reviewed my goals and have made a plan of how to reach those. I share them with you now.

1) Yell less at children.

I notice that I yell at them more when I have been lax in disciplining them. Consitent discipline should keep their behavior in check and certainly my frustration level down. I have been putting this method in practice and see the yelling going down.

2) Communicate better with my wife.

My plan is to spend more time at the front-end making sure we understand each other. Also, we have been bringing back date nights and spending 1 on 1 time outside the friendly but hectic confines of home, is helping the communication as well.

3) Growing in my relationship with God.

My goal is to do 2 things I haven't done in a while:

A) read through the bible in a year
B) keep a prayer journal

4) Minister as a family.

My goal is to make a list of potential service opportunities as a family by the end of this month and pick one by the end of next.

5) Bring back the perm for men.

No hair raising plans in place, as of yet.

6. Write a letter a week in 2009.

There have been 2 full weeks this year and I have written 1 letter. I plan to write a 2nd one tomorrow and a third one sometime this week. I have a list in my mind of people I plan to write and will put that list on paper soon.

7. Be funnier in 2009 than 2008.

I already have received more compliments about my humor on my facebook page in 2009 than I did in 2008. I didn't have a facebook page in 2008, but that's not important.

Funny is as funny does so I am not worried.

So you've seen my goals and now you've read my plans. I'll give a quarterly update. Mail me a quarter and I'll give you an update.

Next Time: Because They're Nouns

Unbelievable (No Child Left Ahead)

I recently received the following e-mail from a college friend who is employed as a school psychologist (She's also my wife, but I digress):

Dave,

Here's a post idea for your blog:

I was observing in a middle school social studies classroom today. After talking about the topic, students were instructed to read the chapter and take Cornell notes (a specific note taking system.) One student sat there quietly looking at his book. The teacher asked him, “Why aren’t you working?” He said, “I did it yesterday.” She said, “Why?” indignantly. He said, “I was bored.” She said, “Don’t do that again, it messes everything up! Go to the Internet and take the quiz then.” The student spent the next 30 minutes unsuccessfully trying to sign on to a website and take the quiz. He asked the teacher for help several times. Each time she responded, “Don’t do this to me again. Do not work ahead.” She would not help him sign on. She repeatedly reprimanded him for working ahead in the chapter. What do you think this student learned?
Love,
Amy

Thanks for sharing that Amy. That teacher was probably upset that students were getting in the way of her teaching. I recognize myself in that teacher. Having all these great things I want to teach my kids and getting very frustrated when my children get in the way of that. Seeing my foibles demonstrated by someone is very instructive on how to handle such a situation when it comes up again.

Check out other Home School Blogs at this weeks edition of the Carnival of Home Schooling hosted this week at About.com bt clicking here.

Next Time: A Simple Plan

This Chicago electrician was an angel

I recently saw on the blog of the Illinois Christian Home Educators (I.C.H.E) that a father of a home school family recently passed away. I was moved by the article that was written about him in the Chicago Tribune, shortly after his death. Even though the article does not mention home-schooling it does give us quite an encouragement to live out our faith for others to see.


Click here to see the blog and the article.

Next time: UNbelievable!