I thought I’d start a new line of posts today.  A mini-questionnaire of sorts.  Just two marriage/relationship themed questions.  Two questions seems like just the right amount to answer.  If you have questions you’d like included in the series, post them in the comments, share them on my Facebook page, or send me an email. 

Who drives?

We take turns.  I usually drive in the morning–say to the gym or to the bookstore on Saturday mornings.  We joke that that’s my “shift.” Mike usually drives otherwise.  Unless we’re going somewhere that I know how to get to and he doesn’t.  I get a little impatient and would rather just drive us there than give directions. When we go home to PA, Mike usually drives.

Where do you eat dinner?

We usually eat dinner while sitting on the couch and hunching over the coffee table and watching TV.  While this is not ideal and we both acknowledge that we talk a lot more when we sit at the table, most nights by the time we get to eat we just want to veg on the couch.  At this point dinner is more about feeding ourselves than it is about connecting.  I hope that at some point we’ll make dinner more of a ritual and a time to reconnect rather than zone out in front of the TV. I definitely want dinner time to be a family thing and our kitchen to be a warm place where we all connect. I want Mike and our future kids to come home from school/work and ask what’s for dinner and hang around while I cook.  I want this to be a special time for all of us.  Right now Mike and I have some of our best conversations in the kitchen.

Your turn:

Who drives in your relationship? Where do you eat dinner?

If you’re not in a relationship, what do you hope your future relationship will look like in either of these areas?

Mike went home this weekend for a fantasy football draft. I feel kind of bad saying this but having the apartment to myself the last 24 hours or so was glorious.

After I dropped Mike off at a friend’s apartment, I got a sandwich from Jetty’s and had a quick lunch before prepping for my second vision board party.  I moseyed around the apartment vacuuming, baking, and cleaning while listening to MarieTV.

My guests arrived and we spent almost three hours together.  I’m telling you, the right women always show up to these things.

For some reason I was exhausted when they left so I got into some comfy pants and a sweatshirt and took a two and half hour nap.

I woke up and ate half a leftover sandwich for dinner. I got in bed to read and it was lights out by 9:30.  (Two things here:  I often feel guilty that I go to bed so early especially on weekends.  When I say lights out, I mean the whole apartment was off for the night. No guilt, and complete dark and quiet, yahtzee!)

I slept in the middle of the bed.  With the windows open. (We live on a busy street so it gets kind of loud and Mike probably would’ve been too hot.)

I stayed in bed until about 7:30 this morning.  Got up, made some pancakes and coffee and sat in front of my computer to write a little bit. (This I could do with Mike here but I usually wait for him to get up before deciding on breakfast.  We often go get coffee and bagels at a local coffeeshop/bookstore.)

I did the dishes from breakfast and the ones from the party.  (I like doing the dishes on my own terms.)

I talked on the phone while roaming through the apartment. (Being on the phone is tough in a one bedroom apartment when we’re both here.  I feel confined to one room.)

I went to get a pedicure with Emily.

I didn’t feel like spending money buying lunch so I came home and had some cheese and cinnamon sugar pita chips with a side of strawberries, and now I’m settled at my kitchen table writing.

I hear a little bit of traffic outside, the cars a little louder than usual beause of the rain on the road, the clock ticking and the hum of the refrigerator.  And that’s it.  It’s totally quiet.  The TV isn’t on in here or in the other room.

I’m free to sit in silence or listen to music or watch TV and I don’t have to worry about bothering anyone.

Mike is super laid back and super easy to live with but still, there’s something different about being home alone.  Something so fulfilling about having time to myself with nothing else to do. It’s the freedom to do things on my own time, on my own terms.  It’s peace.

I’m excited to give him a huge hug and kiss when he walks through the door in a little while.  

But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to relish these next few hours of Jo time.  

In fact, mid-way through this post, I put my sweatshirt back on, have moved into bed, and am watching OWN while I finish up.  I imagine I’ll be napping in about 15 minutes.