Day 283: Your Night Out

Since you found out about the blog, you’ve dropped hints here and there about what acts of love you want me to do. Well, on Saturday you told me exactly what I would do. You said that I was going to watch the kids while you went out to coffee with your best friend. You didn’t sound demanding and I didn’t mind being told what to do. In fact, I was overjoyed. I really had no idea what act to do that day, so you made things very easy.

On another note, I let you take a look at the blog a little while back. Well, you really, really, really loved it, but you only read about ten posts. After that, you said that you wanted to wait until the blog was finished to read the rest. That’s fair. I think I jumped the gun by showing you. That’s because I’ve been itching to show you for months.

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Day 280: Breakfast on the Fourth

I made us a special breakfast on Wednesday in honor of the Fourth of July. Here’s your plate:

 

My Man Break

I recently had a breakdown due to all the pink in my life. To help me through this, my cousin (with your cooperation) surprised me by taking me to see The Avengers.

While the evening afforded me an excellent man break, it didn’t start out very manly. When we stopped for coffee before the movie, I ordered the light roast, I drank it with cream in spite of my impassioned promise to drink it black, and I talked about the fitted polo I recently purchased from Express (for Men).

But once I snapped out of pink mode, things got really manly. We talked about glocks and police chases. We drank our coffee in gulps. We propped our feet up on the theater chairs in front of us. And we cheered as the Avengers obliterated enemy aliens and demigods using NYC as a battleground.

What a night! It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie in which so many things get smashed and broken (unless you count broken hearts . . . but those are always mended in the end). A good man break was just what I needed to weather the storms of pink in my life. Thanks, Francine, and thanks, Cousin.

Day 248: Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino

We went to the beach today. Our oldest daughter was so brave to go boogie boarding while we were there. As her reward, I promised to buy her an ice cream.

Later that night, when I took her to redeem her reward, I stopped by Starbucks to get you a Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino. I pretended to drink it when we got back. “Want a sip of my coffee?” I asked you. “Sure,” you said, without complaining that I got myself a drink but not you. “Actually, it’s yours,” I replied. With that, you hugged me and said, “You’re so nice when your cousin is around!” Maybe you’re right. I hope, though, that I’m also so nice when he’s not around.

Day 206: Homemade Starbucks

You love Starbucks, but neither of us loves to spend $5 for a cup of coffee. So instead of buying you Starbucks, I made it for you at home. I blended coffee, milk, coffee ice cream, and ice together, then poured the mixture into a Starbucks cup:

It was quite unfortunate that we didn’t have whipped cream on hand. But what the drink lacked in whipped cream, I made up for in sprinkles (though in truth, nothing can replace the former):

I even wrote your name on the cup to simulate authenticity:

I think I took this picture after I'd sampled some of the drink, which explains the fact that there's less coffee in the cup than in the other pictures.

Perhaps I should’ve given you the full-blown experience by calling out your name when your drink was ready.

Day 198: A Date

On Friday, we traveled to a camp near Malibu for our church’s annual retreat. The day’s activities ended with a cookie-and-coffee social, but we thought we couldn’t go because two of our kids were asleep and we couldn’t leave them alone in our room. However, I found someone to watch our kids so we could go. We made it into a date, taking our time walking down there, grabbing some cookies and cappuccinos, and enjoying the night air as we bonded over dessert. It felt like a real date and we were thankful for our friend who was willing to help out.

Day 177: Coffee Surprise

On Friday, I graded tests at the Starbucks near your parents’ house. Before I left, I talked to Rose, one of the employees, to see if it would be okay for me to buy you a drink that you could pick up later. She thought that would be fine, so I paid for a Mocha Frappuccino and left a note that said, “just because I love you.” While you were out with your mom, I called you and told you to stop by Starbucks on your way back to your parents’ house and ask for Rose. When you did, Rose made you your drink and gave you your note. I saw you a few minutes later and you were giddier than ever. Looking back, I’m not so sure it was a good idea to excite you with a surprise, then pump you full of caffeine and sugar.

Day 129: Coffee Date

On Saturday night, I watched the kids while you went out to coffee with one of your good friends. You came back giddy, which made me happy.

PS: You loved the secret message I left you in your magazine. When you read it, you had the girls sit with you and help you figure it out. They laughed at the part about raising goats.

 

 

Day 110: Coffee Card

Per my commitment on day 107, I brought back the wildly popular five-dollar coffee card yesterday. Each time I’ve bought you coffee or a coffee card through 365, you’ve showered me with gratitude and affection. Last night was no different.

I needed to do some work after dinner, so I went to my office. Afterwards, I stopped by Starbucks and bought you a five-dollar coffee card and grabbed an empty coffee cup. I put the card in the cup, then came home. When you answered the door, I said, “I know how much you like Starbucks, so I brought you this paper Starbucks cup for you to put coffee in. Do you want me to make you some right now?” “Oh, thanks! I’ll use it for the hot chocolate I just made,” you replied with a comically exaggerated smile. I handed you the cup. You saw the card and shrieked, jumped up and down, and flung your arms around me, hugging me tightly.

Day 87: Morning Coffee and Hot Chocolate

When I took our oldest to the store on Friday, she wanted to buy you something special, but I had to tell her no. So on the morning of Christmas Eve, I woke up our older daughters and asked them if they wanted to do something special for you. Both of them shot up in bed with a huge smile and said, “Yes!” We went downstairs and prepared some coffee and hot chocolate for you. Then I cut out a heart from red construction paper and the girls and I wrote you a Christmas note on it. We put everything on a plate and took it upstairs, woke you up, and gave it to you.

After we were done, I took the dishes to the kitchen. On the way there, I dropped one of the larger cups and one of the smaller cups. They shattered on the ground. Good thing these cups didn’t have sentimental value. The larger one was only a cup we got when we were first married and use only for special occasions and the smaller one was only a cup in a pair of special cups we got for our daughters. That was a close one! [I thought you knew not to let me carry anything breakable. Will you ever learn? 😉 (Seriously, though, I’m so sorry about the cups. I feel terrible!)]