A Year of Dates - Part Two

I don't mean to brag, but so far I'm 2-for-2 with my 2015 New Year's Resolution. I'm a little behind on the writing part, but last Tuesday I went on my second "date" of the year. February was a no-brainer just like January. Kristin Tuckey is one of my nearest and dearest friends and she celebrated a pretty important birthday on Feb. 28th. (We won't mention what number it was or anything.)

We actually had made plans to get together a week earlier than we did, but a sick kiddo changed things up. We were determined to get it done in February so we rolled with the punches and bumped it one week later.

The original plan was to do some shopping, eat lunch and then go for a hike or walk before the kiddos got home from school. But then the temperature dropped to non-Kristin-approved levels so we stuck with the indoor activities.

After I dropped Eli off at school, I headed to Bubbletown to pick up Kristin and then we headed to the outlets in Gettysburg. Of course I hadn't actually checked to see what time they opened so we were a little early - one of the only times in my life that I have been early for anything. But that just gave us more time to catch up. It had been way too long since we have taken the time to check in so the catching up was good for the soul.

Then the stores opened and we got to work. It was so refreshing to be able to take our time trying on clothes and not hearing the whining voices outside the dressing room asking if we're almost done. (And that's just what Matt and Jeff sound like - I wasn't even taking into account the children.)

We tried on lots of stuff and made some excellent purchases - although we both had to say no to the shorts we tried on. The shorts themselves were awesome, but it's hard to get a clear picture of what they are going to look like when you're wearing knee socks. And did I mention it was cold? For those reasons we just couldn't pull the trigger.

We loaded the van and started talking about where to eat. We consulted the GPS for suggestions and headed toward Dobbin House Tavern, or so we thought. Mrs. GPS was a little off, but we decided to follow our memories instead and finally arrived.

Photo credit to Stefanie Sweger

I had seen the sign for the restaurant, but had never actually eaten there. Kristin thinks she did, but can't really remember. So basically neither of us knew where we were going. We wandered around the parking lot and house before we found the door that led to the dungeons steps to the Springhouse Tavern. It was the perfect mix of creepy and cool as we descended into the tavern.

The atmosphere was cool, the food was great and the company was even better. After the delicious meal we climbed out of the dungeon and started the drive home.

Although we haven't seen each other in awhile, we picked up like we had just talked the day before. I love having friends like that! It was a great day and a little hard to return to reality. We don't plan to wait a year to get together again...and we might even let the husbands and kids join us next time :)

A Year of Dates - Part One

I think we've already established that I'm awful at New Year's resolutions. But I'm also persistent. So I'm giving it another shot in 2015. This year I resolved to make a "date" at least once a month to spend quality time with one or more of my favorite people. I figured it gives me at least 28 days every month to make this happen.

When I told Jeff about it, he immediately moaned and groaned that he would only get one date in the next year. So I have since amended my resolution to include (at least) a monthly date with my loving husband and an additional "date" with someone else near and dear to me.

As I was looking at January, it really was a no-brainer who I was going to choose. My mom's birthday is in January. And since I wouldn't even be here if not for her, she pretty much had to be first.

So last week we started tossing around ideas of what we could do. After a few misses, we opted to go to Sight and Sound in Lancaster to see Moses.

Mom had already seen it once, but was more than happy to see it again. Every other production I've ever seen there was amazing and Moses was no different. I'm always wowed by how they do some of the things they do. For instance, when Moses' staff turned into a snake and then back into a staff - how do they do that stuff??? It was creepy and cool at the same time. For only getting our tickets last week, I was pretty pleased with our seats. We were 3 rows from the front of the balcony smack in the middle of the stage. It was a great view of the production and of the ushers reprimanding the people who touched the camels as they passed by their seats. Good times.

After the show, it was time to eat. I told Mom to pick the place. She toyed with the idea of going to Olive Garden since that's pretty much her favorite place on earth to eat. But then she remembered we were in Isaac's territory.

We enjoyed delicious soup and sandwiches and each other's company. I dearly love my children and other family members, but it was fun to just be able to talk with my mom for a good part of the day. It's not something we get to do very often. It is a day I will cherish forever.

So I would say that Date No. 1 of 2015 was a huge success. And although some people doubted my gumption to follow through (Don), I did and I'm looking forward to 11 more dates this year!