The New Dating

So, Cory and I have an analogy about making friends after you get  married. It really is the new dating.

So, let's outline the steps of starting a relationship.

First, it starts out with some attraction. You see the couple at church or something and think, "Hey, they look cool, we should be friends with them!" (Note: be careful with this. Just like in dating, some weird couples look all too normal).

Next, you might try and casually get to know them. Maybe you introduce yourselves, find out where they're from, what they do for a living, etc. Hopefully this leads to the big hurdle: the first date: So, you give the couple a call or go up to them, and invite them over. For a movie, dinner, games, something fun, whatever.

Now, sometimes the couple is busy and can't make it to the original first date. So, maybe you ask them again. And, maybe, if you're a sucker like Cory and me, you might even ask them several times.

Or, they accept! So, you go on the date. You try and make a good impression, like, hey, just so you know... we are really fun people. But, here is where you might compare this date to other dates. Is this couple as fun as that one other couple? But, even more, you wonder...do they like us back?

So, maybe they could come over for that first date. So, then you invite them over for a second.

Will they call back? Is this relationship one sided?

At some point, you realize you are indeed that awkward guy that can't take a hint. So, you decide that you'll stop inviting them over and see if they reciprocate. This is when you realize that they're just not that into you.

But, every so often, you find that gem of a couple. You know the one. They invite you over as much as you invite them. The wives like each other and the husbands like each other. They are fun. They laugh at your jokes, you start to get really comfortable hanging out, and before you know it, you have a couple friend. 

Cory and I invited two couples over for dinner today. Both were epic fails (they were both busy). Are we weird?

Oh well, we have a fun night planned anyway. We had a great dinner where we talked about some traditions we'd like to do with our future family. Now, when Cory finishes planning his observation lesson (by the principal...but he's not even fazed. he's awesome), we'll go on a long missed Sunday walk and watch Harry Potter 3 (and maybe 4, or Iron Man 2).

The End of Football!

Although it has been fun watching Cory start his first coaching job, it has been a major time commitment. So, although it was disappointing to not make the playoffs, Friday night's game marks the beginning of...weekends off!

So, on Cory's first Saturday afternoon off, we finally organized our garage! We are storing some extra furniture in our garage that won't fit in our house. Plus, we have all of my school stuff since I don't have my own class this year. So, we put together our shelving units and organized everything. It felt so good to get it done and be able to park in the garage again!

The next project is cleaning out the mini fridge my parents gave us for Cory's classroom.

Saturday night, we used our first Groupon at Los Vaqueros. Cory and I absolutely love going out to eat. But, we like to stay within a certain restaurant budget. So, I've been looking for Groupons at Fort Worth restaurants. 

I know that many people think that going out to eat is a total waste of money and they don't factor it into their budget. I totally respect that. But, for us, eating out is a way that we love to spend time together. For us, it is an investment in our relationship. We know that we could have date nights that involve free activities, but eating out is our date of choice. 

Last night at dinner, we were talking about why we love eating out so much. A huge part of our friendship was going out to eat together every Thursday night for pretty much a whole semester. This gradually bled into a weekly Saturday night date. We continued the tradition when we started dating and we've gone out most weeks since we've been married. It makes us still feel like we're dating. It always give us a chance to sit and talk about what has been going on. We always laugh and enjoy each other's company. It's so much fun.

The restaurant had some old carnival games (guess your weight, etc.). We started out the night by getting ripped off by the"Sex Appeal Meter." I had the camera ready in case Cory got "blah" or "clammy" :) He said that would be ridiculous. He said it was no surprise that he got "burning."

Because that particular light bulb looked a little more used than the others, I said it was broken and that it always tells people they're burning. He insisted we blow another quarter to test it.

So, it was a good thing that it was broken (or that we're just ridiculously attractive), because I think my self esteem would have gone down if I had then gotten "blah" after Cory got "burning."

We enjoyed our chile rellenos, sour cream chicken enchiladas, and strawberry sopapilla! It was a great night made more affordable by Groupon!

We finished the night off by picking up a fire log and snagging some Halloween stuff for 90% off. We had a great evening hanging out in front of a fire in our fireplace. We've never lived in a place with a fireplace before, so we were pretty excited.

Cory is loving having his weekends back. Right now, he is chilling downstairs on our couch watching a BBC Robin Hood (well he might be napping by now...) in none else but our...SNUGGIE! This was a gift from Tristan for...well, I think it was just because we're awesome.

In his words, "I can wear a blanket and still have my hands free!" Yes, yes, we know it's sexy. Back off girls, he's mine.