All-Day Date!

Marcel isn't even a real teacher yet and I already LOVE the schedule of being a teacher's wife.  There are SO many "no school" days!

Last night, around midnight, Marcel suggested a trip to Boise, which for us is very special! 

• We went to get our rings cleaned, something that was long overdue.  Even Marcel has been asking for awhile when we'll go get sparkly rings again.  I love how much he cares about showing the world he's taken.
• We went to Joann's and ended up not getting anything for me, but did find 2 clearanced ring-bearer pillows for Hannah's wedding.  $2.97 is a steal!
• We enjoyed delicious drinks at Moxie Java.
• We saw No Strings Attached, which we loved.  It was a really funny romantic comedy.  And Regal's facebook page had a coupon for $2 nachos so that was our lunch date.  I can't believe they normally sell them for $6.25!
• We spent some time at Guitar Center and Marcel even got some new drum sticks, thanks to some "surprise" money from giving drum lessons.

Then we came home and got ready for an at-home dinner with Megan & Astin, before sending Marcel to the bedroom so we could have girl-time!  It was a great day.  Can't wait for the next "no school" day!

Valentine's Day

Marcel and I decided not to exchange gifts for Valentine's Day and instead save the money for our upcoming cruise.  Even if it is June or July when we go, we decided we'd celebrate Valentine's on the beach somewhere and that would be way better than anything we could have done here.

I'm here to admit that I broke the rules, but just slightly!  We received a $10 coupon to Old Navy and even though I tried extremely hard to spend it on myself, I just couldn't find anything I wanted/needed, but of course there is always so much for Marcel.  After their clearance prices and the coupon, I paid just $0.63 for 2 new sweaters to add to his "teacher wardrobe", besides they weren't specifically for Valentine's Day, but I decided to save them until Valentine's.

Our day looked like this (minus all the boring stuff we did a part from each other, like me being at the dentist and Marcel being at work)

--Dinner at Taco Bell!  I know it is so romantic, but we had coupons for free tacos that were expiring so we were able to eat for $2.50 and that is budget friendly.
--Ice cream at Baskin Robbins!  I had a buy 1 cone, get 1 cone free coupon and decided that Valentine's Day was the best day to go out for ice cream, especially since we've given up all eating out for above-mentioned cruise fund.
--We then came home and watched Valentine's Day and Salt, which we rented for free thanks to Redbox's free promo codes.  We still have Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps to watch today when Marcel gets home from school.

And now to the pictures:

The BEST date ever

I LOVE how giddy I look in this picture.  It's like you can see the love I have for Marcel

Thanks to "The Dating Divas" for this idea!



Close-up of Marcel's love note



We spent the weekend leading up to Valentine's Day at home playing a lot of games.  Friday night, I went 2-0 in skipbo and 1-1 in Phase 10, which is great considering Marcel almost always wins.  Saturday night, we played Racko & Sequence.  We went 1-1 in Racko and Marcel beat me so many times in Sequence I didn't keep track, but I did beat him once!!  It was a HUGE success in the Bailey house, because we're approaching having been together 5 years and I have NEVER beat him at Sequence.

Playing game has never been more fun!

I got the camera out to take a picture of my winning board, but Marcel messed it up, because he didn't want it to be all over facebook that I finally beat him!

14 Things

Thanks to another friend, I have another Valentine's inspired post:

14 things I love about Marcel!

1. He has a great relationship with God, and encourages me daily in my walk with God.
2. He has such a heart to serve.
3. He longs to see each of his students succeed and becomes so distraught when they aren't reaching their full potential.
4. He desires nothing more than to provide for us (which is hard, financially speaking, as a student teacher that pays to go to work).
5. He will be a fantastic father one day.
6. He works hard at everything he does: student-teaching, school & homework, church....
7. He'll listen to me whine and complain when I've had a rough day.
8. He supports me in everything I want to do.
9. He always seems to help around the house on the very day I need it most.
10. He puts up with my crying.  Seems most real, heart-to-heart conversation, whether happy or sad, brings me to tears and he looks past them.
11. He gives up his rare Taco Bell visits so we can put that money in our cruise fund. 
12. He always says, "I love you, pretty girl" at just the right time
13. He knows a side of me no one else does.
14. He loves me.

14 Days of LOVE

I was inspired by a friend (thanks Jenny!) to post one thing I love each day until Valentine's Day.

February 14
I love Valentine's Day!  I still think it is a pretty silly holiday, because people shouldn't need reminded to treat their loved ones extra special, but it is a good excuse to spoil Marcel!  It's nice to have a day where it is okay to be extra lovey-dovey and have a great date night.

February 13
I love flip-flops!  Yesterday it ws 61 degrees in Boise and I didn't wear flip-flops, but this morning I woke up and was so excited to have the chance again.  It was colder than yesterday but still warm enough that I made it to church in flip-flops.  Plus, I went a few days ago and finally redeemed the gift certificate Marcel got me for my birthday for a pedicure, so my toes are so pretty!  It just makes me so excited for warmer weather, when I can wear shorts & tank tops with my flip flops.

February 12
I love the present!  It seems we talk so much about the future: Marcel's graduation, our cruise, moving (if necessary) for a job, babies, etc... but I absolutely love where we are right now!  It's so wonderful to just be the two of us.  I wouldn't trade it for anything!

February 11
I love games & movies!  This morning, Marcel said, "let's stay home, do nothing except play games and watch movies."  It is such an awesome date night, especially since it's budget friendly.  It's just about having some dedicated time together!

February 10
I love kids!  Today, Lilli and I went to our church's "Mommy & Me" playday.  I had never seen Lilli interact with other kids.  They were all quite a bit older than her, but that didn't stop her from building blocks and playing balls with them.  She even made her very own valentine, which I know her mom will adore!  It also reminded me that kids are so honest and really do say the darnest things.  A little girl who's parents led our home group for church asked me, "When are you and Marcel going to have your own baby, not Lilli, so you can really be married?"  What a loaded question for a 4 year old!  And to think she thinks we're just pretend married for now since we're not mom & dad.

February 9
I love Sisters!  First, it means I love Emily and Hannah, just wish we didn't all live so far apart.  Secondly, I love my church's women's ministry: Sisters.  It is always such a great night of great fellowship and support.  I always leave the event refreshed and reassured of my many roles as a woman.

February 8
I love being healthy!  Today, Marcel is home sick and it reminds me that, in general, we're fairly healthy and I'm so glad for it.

February 7
I love Marcel!  It didn't really take 7 days, we just had a great day together today.  It is so wonderful to be married to your best friend and have him supporting you every step of the way.

February 6
I love coupons!  I'm headed to a friend's house shortly to teach her all things coupon.  We have been so blessed with how coupons have allowed us to stretch our budget.  But besides the food & toiletries, it also allows us to get cheap movie tickets, clothes and other entertainment.

February 5
I love marriage!  I spent time at a wedding show today and it is so consumeristic (is that a word?)  A wedding is fun, but over in a day, and what is truly important is the relationship you have with you spouse!

February 4
I love my mobility! I've spent the day with my sister, Emily, who is on crutches and wearing a brace from just below her hip to nearly her ankle after a skiing accident. She's realizing fast how much we take our legs for granted.

February 3
I love being able to pray! As Marcel and I started a marriage class at church last night, I was reminded of the fact that my marriage can only be as strong as my relationship with God, and that comes with spending time in His Word and through a great prayer life.

February 2
I love having a chance to sleep in! It was only until 8:30am, but it was still very enjoyable.

February 1
I love how helpful Lilli has become.  She helped me move all of the clothes from the washer to the dryer and then handed me all the clothes from the pile for the next load.  Granted, I could probably do it much faster without her help, but she wants to help!  And she gets so proud of herself when she's done and we start clapping for a job well done.

Girls Weekend in Portland

I was able to fly to Portland Thursday night and spend a wonderful night with Allison, Kelly and Kelly's family. 

We spent a little time at Pacific University, which was very weird.  Like my home away from home that really isn't that for me anymore.  It will still always have such a special place in my heart!

Kelly, Allison and I did a lot of walking around stores, to pass the time for Amy to be done with work.  Target, Best Buy, Sports Authority, Michael's, Old Navy, Barnes & Noble, which was the most fun!  That night we all went to Macaroni Grill and were unhappy to find the calorie counts printed next to each item. 

We enjoyed breakfast at Elmers, even with the worst waitress I've probably ever had.  We watched Inception and The Social Network.  Then Kelly went back to her parent's house for a birthday party and Amy, Allison & I went to Chipotle for dinner.  It was delicious, as always, and I ate way TOO much of it, as always.

Sunday, we went to the church we all went to together in college and were blessed to hear Phil Joel (old member of the Newsboys) speak.  He was fantastic and spoke the message straight to my heart.  We then spent some time cleaning up the house we stayed in (Amy was house-sitting and they agreed to letting us all stay there.  It was like a dream house, a house I'd love to have but realize is probably too grand for us!)

Monday, Kelly & I met up with Amy in Portland for lunch before I had to get on a plane.

Intermixed between all those activities, was plenty and plenty of girl talk, which we all so desperately needed and wanted.  It was such a simple weekend, but perfect just the same, as each time we get together it is like no time has passed and we pick up right where we left off!

Now to the pictures!

This is the 1 picture I took!  We were headed to Chipotle and decided since we were only going to pick it up, we didn't need to change out of pajama's, which we wore pretty much the entire weekend.  But the only shoes we all had were dressy ballet flats.  We got to Chipotle to find the parking lot very empty, which excited us, but as soon as we got out of the car, so did 5 other car loads of people.  I'm sure we got some very interesting looks, but we were gone as fast as we got there!

We did manage to get 1 group shot before we parted ways but it was on another camera and I don't have it yet!