80 Creative Dating Ideas

Lately, I’ve been looking for different date ideas for my hunny and I to enjoy together. We’re working on our 15th wedding anniversary this year!!! So, I hunted up some ideas and decided to post them here for your reading … and dating… enjoyment.  Oh, and there's a few links to Baton Rouge places.

1. Sketch your dream-house floor plan and talk about the possibilities for each room.

2. Write the story of how you met. Get it printed and bound.

3. List your spouse’s best qualities in alphabetical order.

4. Tour a museum or an art gallery.

• LSU Museum of Art

5. Notice the little changes your spouse makes in his/her appearance.

6. Float on a raft together.

• Baton Rouge Recreation Boat and Canoe Rentals

7. Take a stroll around the block – and hold hands as you walk.

8. Stock the cupboards with food your spouse loves to eat. (But ONLY if he or she ISN’T on a diet.)

9. Give your spouse a back rub.

10. Rent a classic love-story video (or go out to a movie) and watch it while cuddling.

•  Movie Date ideas (these are really cool!)

11. Build a fire in the fireplace, turn out the lights and talk.

12. Take a horse-drawn carriage ride.

13. Go swimming in the middle of the night.

14. Write a poem for your spouse.

15. Remember to look into your spouse’s eyes as he/she tells you about the day.

16. Tell your spouse, “I’m glad I married you!”

17. Hug your spouse from behind and give him/her a kiss on the back of the neck.

18. Stop in the middle of your busy day and talk to your spouse for 15 minutes.

19. Create your own special holiday.

20. Do something your spouse loves to do, even though It doesn’t interest you personally.

21. Send your spouse a love letter.

22. Build a snowman together.

23. Watch the sunset together.

• 
  

24. Sit on the same side of a restaurant booth.

25. Picnic by a pond.

•  

26. Give your mate a foot massage.

27. Put together a puzzle on a rainy evening.

28. Take a moonlight canoe ride.

•  

29. Tell your spouse, “I’d rather be here with you than any place in the world.”

30. Whisper something romantic to your spouse in a crowded room.

31. Have a candlelight picnic in the backyard.

32. Perfume the bed sheets.

33. Serve breakfast in bed.

34. Reminisce through old photo albums.

35. Go away for the weekend.

36. Share a milk shake with two straws.

•  

37. Kiss in the rain.

38. Brush his/her hair.

39. Ride the merry-go-round together.

40. Dedicate a song to her/him over the radio.

41. Wink and smile at your spouse from across the room.

42. Have a hot bubble bath ready for him/her at the end of a long day.

43. Buy new satin sheets.

44. Tenderly touch your spouse as you pass one another around the house.

45. Reminisce about your first date.

46. Plant a tree together in honor of your marriage.

47. Go kite flying.

48. Attend a sporting event you’ve never been to together.

49. Take time to think about him/her during the day, then share those thoughts.

50. Drop everything and do something for the one you love.

51. Dinner on the beach.

52. Eat in a jail cell – preferably not because you HAVE TO!

53. Progressive dinner – have a 7 course meal, but each course is in a different room, or house.

54. Paint balling

55. Go on a scavenger or Treasure hunt throughout town (I think this is now called Geocaching!)

56. Watch movies blind folded.

57. Go rock climbing.

58. Go fishing.

59. Set up a table and eat in the bed of a truck.

60. Eat on top of a bridge.

61. Go to a driving range.

62. Go “House Hunting” and check out all of the open houses – pretend that you are looking for a house.

63. Go hiking.

64. Go to the zoo.

65. Go Christmas Caroling – in August.

66. Do charity work together.

67. Go to Chuck E. Cheese.

68. Go mini golfing.

69. Have a picnic on top of a roof. Check out the stars while you are up there.

70. Feed the ducks or pigeons (depending on where you live).

71. Get 2 disposable cameras and take pictures all over town, then get them developed and make a mini scrapbook of your date.

72. Go to a video store. Walk in blindfolded and randomly choose a video off the shelf. Watch it.

73. Go out for ice cream.

74. Go get old fashion pictures taken.

75. Go to a fair or amusement park.

76. Go target or skeet shooting.

77. Dress up in Black-tie attire. Have dinner at McDonalds and go to a movie.

78. Get on a chat line together.

79. Get a tattoo together.

80. Make dinner together and eat it.

Hey - These are ONLY 80 ideas!  If you have any to add, please feel free to make a comment!  I LOVE Comments!

Fourth Grade Writings - The Headless Rider

The Headless Rider in the City

On halloween I will a headless rider. I will run around a subdavison and shout "I am the headless rider of Denham Springs." Everyone will come out and get so frightend they'll run back in a jump under the T.V., Their beds, couchs, hide in their gun cases and all that, when they come out on the porch they will run back in and start all over again. My Daddy will race after me on his mule, but he'll never catch up. But I know one thing, I'll stop at people's houses and get some candy and run as fast as I can. Oh, I forgot to tell you I'll be riding my horse. So long!

Fourth Grade Writings - The Haunted House

The hauted house that had a Ghost.

One night I went to an old, old, old house. behind it was a cematary. I had a freind with me. It was very haunted. My freind's name is Penny Ann Ballard. Well lets get out of that part. That night we were walking in the cematary. The wind was blowing, "Whoosh" the wolves were howling, "A-r-r-r-r-r-r-r". As we walked we saw a knife glittering in the moon-light. I thought we should go and see what it was. Then I said, "No we'd better not go, unless we want our heads choped off". In an hour my freind wanted to go over and see what it was. so I had to say "Alright, you go and I'll stay here". She wnet and looked she hollard, "Ra-Ra-Ra". The knife swung at her and chopped her head off.

I ran to get her mother, but the man got me and tied me up. Then he put me in the haunted house and when Goofus saw me he untied me and saved me. Thank to Goofus Ghost. Three cheer for Goofus, "Haray, Haray, Haray for Goofus".

The End

Fourth Grade Writings - Honk! Honk!

Honk! Honk!

Hi! My name Cynthia Twenty-two, my freinds names are Sonya Eighty-four and Carolyn Ninty-three. We each live in the country. One day they came to spend the night with me. When we went to the living room to watch "Spiderman" we had to turn it off the very minute we turned it on. We went to bed about an hour later. The next morning we made a plan to go hiking. We packed our stuff and started out the door. We didn't know it but we found out the street we lived on turned into a super highway. We went back in then we came back out and we were in the country again. I was glad to.

The End

Date Night, Pt 1: Charlie's

For our Date Night tonight, we decided to try out a local little hole in the wall place that we've know was there but we just haven't taken the time to experience.  So....off we went to dine at Charlie's over in Springfield, LA.   If there was a website for this little gem of a place, I would link it.  But they don't have a website.  They DO, however, have many reviews if you only Google it.

Charlie's seems to be quite the popular little place.  When we arrived, there was a waiting line!  We put our names on the list and were told it would be about 10 minutes or so before we could be seated.  Once our waitress got us settled and returned to take our drink order, she was also kind enough to snap a little picture of us to document our first visit to their establishment.



Me and my Dahlin'



The dining room

I was absolutely flabbergasted with our waitress' speed upon her return with our drinks.  When she set them down on the table, we told her we were ready to order.  She whipped out that little notepad that waitresses use and stood at the ready with her pencil in the air.  Once she got our order down, she disappeared again and before I could turn to say something to my husband, she was back with our salads.  Doesn't this one look yummy?

While we had both ordered salads, I wanted to try a cup of seafood gumbo.  What a treat!  I ended up giving the last half of it to Dahlin' because I wanted to save room for the entree.



Seafood Gumbo

After we enjoyed our salads and my gumbo, we were left to sit for a bit.  I fully expected the waitress to return with our plates of steaming seafood in the same quick manner she had previously served us, but that didn't happen.  Dahlin' and I conversed about the different plates we saw passing us by....humongous plates of stuff mushrooms, fried fish platters piled so high on the plate that it looked as if the tower of fish would topple right off and onto the floor.  We were salivating for what was to come.   

While we waited, we noticed a row of lights above the doors leading to the kitchen.  Each light was a different color....red, yellow, green, and white.  We also observed the waitresses who seemed to be assigned a particular light color.  When the green light would shine, a waitress practically ran to the kitchen and came out with her arms piled high with food.  It took a few moments before I realized that OUR waitress was apparently assigned to the red light.   It lit up twice more before she came to our table with our dinner.   I thought to myself, "What efficiency!"

Dahlin' order Charlie's Seafood Platter and as you can see from the pic, it was LOADED!  I should've gotten a shot from the side so you could get the perspective of just how tall this was!



Charlie's Seafood Platter

I played it safe with four grilled catfish fillets, six grilled shrimp, two hush puppies, bread, and fries.  I also immediately asked for a "to-go" box because I knew there was no way I was gonna make a happy plate.

Grilled Catfish and Grilled Shrimp dinner

In the end, this entire meal costs $48 and some change (minus the $6 tip we left).  I would venture to say that given today's restaurant prices combined with efficient wait staff, our meal at Charlie's was worth every penny.  They serve generous portions as well as tasty entrees and appetizer's.  Compared to Baton Rouge's Brunet's Restaurant, they seem to be just as good (minus the atmosphere) and in a safer urban location (see my post on Date Night: Robbery Excitement).  We will DEFINITELY be going back to try out some of their newer additions to the menu.

Fourth Grade Writings - The Deadly Cave

Here's another one.

"The Deadly Cave"

One day my freind and I went in a cave. We thought it was an ordinary cave so we went in. My freind, Darla, and I Cynthia, were not afraid. But an hour later our batteries ran down. We didn't know but there was a door on the end of the cave. The door shut and we were traped. We were afraid then. We heard some spooky sounds. We went to see what it was. There was another vally called "Weirdo". Some little people were daning around a king. The(y) shut us up and never fed us for ten years.

The End

Fourth Grade Writings - New Worlds to Explore

New Worlds to Explore Underground

One of the most interesting discoveries was in Lascaux, France. There, in the year 1940, four boys were walking across a field, as they often did. With them was their pet dog. Suddenly, he disappeared as if he had dropped into the eart. They shouted and whisteled, but the dog did not come. They looked and looked but still no dog. Then at last they found the answer to the puzzle: there, beside a bush, was a small hole. The dog really had dropped into the earth. Down they went after him, and found themselves in a deep cave. One of them had a flashlight. Immediately they started to explore. Almost at once their flashlight showed them stags and herds of horses painted on the walls and on the ceiling.

Fourth Grade Writings - That Burn Me Up

Here's another of my 4th grade essays from 1977.

"That Burn(s) Me Up"

What makes me made is my sisters and my brother. My brother always hits me, he thinks he's smart. What I do is I take his knife away from him. He tries to get it back and I kick him down and I run away from him. He gets up and follows me to hit me. I climb a tree. He doesn't look in tree's cause last (year) I couldn't climb trees. He still thinks I can't climb tree's. I hide in trees and I sist all day in tree's and it's fun.

The End

Fourth Grade writings - My Horses

I was digging through some old boxes tonight and was excited to find some writings that I did in the 4th grade (many, many years ago). I'm stunned that the paper held up so well! This one is titled "My Horses". Just in case you can't read the photo, I'm going to type the essay here; complete with misspellings, after all, I WAS in 4th grade!

But before I do, let me share a thought or two. As I was reading these, and doing a little time travel, I was astounded to remember and know exactly what it was I was writing about! The other thing I noticed was how my handwriting changed so much in such a short time period. I thank my mom for keeping these papers for so long!

I'm gonna share an essay a day for the next few days. And now, My Horses:

My Horses

I love to ride horses it is fun. I have one myself, and her name is Gypsy. She is a good horses. She does not kick. You can walk up to her she will not run away.

I love her she loves me. My brother and I we ride her a lot. We have mule and she is mean. Her name is Sugarfoot. We like her but she hates us. Yesterday she kicked someone. My Daddy goes coon Hunting on her.

The End

Well, there ya go. My Horses. :D

Date Night: We Saw Dead People!

Naw, not really. DH and I were looking for something different to do for date night. Usually, it's dinner and a movie or something. I'd read about this production in a newspaper article last week and thought it looked interesting. Since my husband is a history buff, I decided to surprise him with this date activity.

I told him prior to leaving the house to dress comfy and be prepared to leave the house by 6:30 p.m. He gave me a strange look and replied, "Ooooookay?".

So, we hit the road and were on our way. About halfway to our destination, he asked where we were going. I responded by asking what he thought was the fastest route to the corner of Florida Blvd. and 22nd street. He turned and said, "That's the cemetery! What are we going to the cemetery for? I'm not spending the evening doing geocaching. If that's what you've got planned, let's do something else."

I was like, "The cemetery? Really? That's where it is? Now, just how is it that you KNOW the address to a cemetery!? What's the deal there?"

Now, I don't know if he had also previously read the same article I had, but I had a sneaky suspicion that he already knew what was up. However, he kept quiet, which was nice since I was trying to spring this surprise on him.

At approximately 7:15 or so, we finally arrived at our destination where the annual Magnolia's Memories was being played for the 7th year.

We were admitted to a "staging" area where attendees could browse book and CD vendors, enjoy a bowl of Shrimp and Corn soup, imbibe in a fine wine, and listen to some outstanding bluegrass music provided by Thibodeaux's Mosspickers.

The "staging" area is also where we waited to be angelically escorted into Baton Rouge's old Magnolia Cemetery which is where the major action of the August 5, 1862 Battle of Baton Rouge took place. Many of Baton Rouge's prominent citizens are buried in this fascinating place.

My sweet hubby patiently waits his turn to "cross over".

Once we were escorted to the other side (meaning the cemetery across the street from the "staging" area), we were greeted by Mr. Charles Rabenhorst. (Okay, so it isn't REALLY him but a local actor - Robert Wilson - who is portraying him). Mr. Rabenhorst regaled us with stories of how he came to the U.S. as a 14 y.o. boy, met and married his wife, and lived his life. He also enlightened us as to how he came into the funeral business.

When Mr. Rabenhorst finished his 15 minute monologue, we were then escorted by one of several individual musicians strategically placed throughout the cemetery. Each one played some sort of period instrument and a respectful melancholy tune.

At our next stop, we "met" siblings Henry and Sarah Morgan who grew up in Baton Rouge as children of Judge Thomas Gibbes Morgan. The family lived on Church Street which is now called 4th street. There is a historical marker located at the home site which is now the Chase Bank building (I think). Sarah also wrote a diary called "A Confederate Girl's Diary" in which she wrote about the Union troops garrisoned in Baton Rouge at the time.

We also "met" Cecil Morgan, who led the fight to bring about the impeachment of Huey P. Long as governor in 1929. We were entertained by the political bickerings of early Baton Rouge mayors James E. Elam, Henry Schorten, and Leon Jastremski. A funny moment happened when Schorten and Jastremski were loudly bickering and Elam interuppted them with, "Fellas, we don't have forever."

Schorten and Jastremski stopped bickering and slowly turned while gazing at their surroundings. They then turned their attention back to Elam and said sarcastically, "Really?"

A more recent honoree of the evening was Bill Long, a talented Baton Rouge photographer who was just getting his business started when his life was cut short by a heart attack.

Our final stop of the evening was at the tombstone of Joshua B. Hare. Captain Josh Hare was the first chief of police in Baton Rouge. He also holds the "honor" of being the first Baton Rouge police chief to be killed in the line of duty. He and his widow Clara, shared stories about their lives in Baton Rouge during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

After the Hares' dialogue, a string band approached as the Hare's walked off into the distance while holding hands. The musicians began playing a haunting tune called "You Will Be My Ain True Love".

We were then escorted out of the cemetery and hubby mentioned that he was hungry. It seems the Shrimp and Corn soup just wasn't enough dinner for him. Looking at the clock, we realized that most restaurants were probably closing. We chose to visit a Waffle House on the way home and rehashed the evening's events.

What a wonderful change of pace from our other date nights! Hubby even mentioned that it stirred up the history bug in him and now he has the urge to do some personal research! I think I might rent that movie, "All the King's Men" to watch this week. :D

December Recap

What a busy month!!! I apologize again for leaving ya'll hanging all this time! I have been neglecting all my bloggy duties! But I have an honest excuse. I've been busy!!! However, I am here now for a brief synopsis of what's been going on in the lives of the Oxbow Gang.

On November 27, the girls, DH, and I went Christmas Tree hunting. We found this cute little tree that the girls insisted on helping to cut down. We got it home and immediately decorated the bottom half of it. As the girls slept later, I went in and put more decorations in the blank places.

The next evening, we gathered around a large bonfire at my dad's house, sharing stories and hot cocoa. Then we wrapped the evening up with some stringing of the popcorn for the tree.

Dec 3 - The Teen performed a Christmas Concert with his high school band. Earlier in the day, I was at the school to practice with the high school choir. The band director and I talked a bit. Upon realizing that I could not be there that night for the band performance, he invited me to sit in the class while my son went through the songs they were playing. I thoroughly enjoyed the private concert! What a cool teacher to allow me to observe!

Dec 4 - Little Bird performed in her first local Community Choir concert where she learned to sing a couple of songs in German and Spanish! I'm so proud of her!!!

Dec 6 - Little Bird AND Kangaroo both performed in the church's elementary and preschool choir Christmas program. It was Kangaroo's FIRST choir performance and she was such a pro! My chest is just busting with pride for both my girls!

The weekend of Dec 12/13 was my church's Christmas production of "The Splendor of Christmas". It was performed in our Christian Activities Center. The church provided a dinner of Vegetable Beef soup and Ham and Cheese Sandwiches accompanied by a big glass of iced tea and followed by a plate of Red Velvet cake. Yum Yum!

On Dec 14, Kangaroo and I went to the local library for some Christmas storytime and fun. While we were there, Santa came by for a visit! Kangaroo got to sit on his lap and tell him all about what she wanted for Christmas. She was so happy!

Dec 15 had us at the Boy Scout meeting hall for a Christmas party and Court of Honor to see The Teen receive some more merit badges for all his hard work. Soon, he'll be sporting that Eagle badge!!!


Dec 17 was Little Bird's FIRST school Christmas Program where she participated in a skit about the "Gingerbread Man" and sang "Must Be Santa" and "Jingle Bells". She was so cute!!!

The weekend of Dec 18 - 20 had the family dealing with the flu and other ailments. Little Bird was out of sorts and kept a fever for a few days. Kangaroo also had a fever but she's always so happy and it's difficult to tell when she's feeling bad. During this time, I went to Walmart and purchased one of those little Gingerbread House in a box kit to try and cheer them up. When the girls began feeling better, we decorated it. I had added too much water to the icing mix, making the "snow" slide right off the gingerbread roof. We ended up eating it as fast as we could decorate it!!! Yummy!!



Christmas Eve had us all down at the In Law's for vittles and gifts. One of the cousins had organized the gift exchange game where you draw numbers and then choose a gift with the cooresponding number. Before you open/unwrap the gift, you must first decide whether or not to keep it. If you don't want it but spy another one that was previously opened, you can then take the gift from that recipient and give them your unopened gift in exchanged. If all the gifts are gag gifts, then this is even that much more fun!!!

Cousin Blaine looks around for a gift to steal.

When we got home from the In Laws on Christmas Eve night, I sat down at my computer and discovered that Santa had sent my girls a very special Video email!! They were very excited to hear from him and see their names and photo in his big book of good little boys and girls. I read the Christmas Story of the Nativity to the girls, said prayers with them, and they went straight to bed and fell sound asleep without another peep!!! It had been a long and beautiful day. DH and I made sure that we assisted Santa before we turned in for the night.
Christmas morning dawned bright and early with the girls waking us at 6:30 a.m.! They were so excited that Santa had brought them each a beautiful little bicycle and other goodies. After a breakfast of monkey bread and hot cocoa, we dressed for comfort and warmth, loaded the new bikes into the surburban and drove up to the park (where there are paved paths) for a bicycle test ride. The girls did great on their first ride! Hubby and I got some much needed exercise while The Teen jogged along to fill in where we couldn't (as we stood aside gasping for breath). We old folks are sooooo out of shape! (note to self: must make new Year's resolutions!)

On the day after Christmas, my sister showed up with her 2 kiddos. We loaded the entire gang (and their bikes) up and went to the St. Tammany Trace to get some much needed playtime and bike riding in. We then decided that since no other activities had been planned for the next few days, we needed some R&R.


So, on Monday, Dec 28, we packed up and headed north to Hattiesburg, MS where I had reserved a lovely little cabin at the Paul B. Johnson state park. There will soon be another post and more pictures regarding our little mini-vacation. We returned home on New Year's Eve, just in time to ring in 2010!

Happy New Year and may the King richly bless each and every one of you!!!!

Broken Tooth

My Little Bird began losing her baby teeth in January of this year. Right after Christmas! Eleven short months later, while climbing down the slide ladder during a park play day, she slipped and hit one of the steps with her permanent tooth. This was her second tooth to give to the Tooth Fairy when she began losing teeth.

It broke. I felt so bad. I should've been right there to catch her...but I wasn't. As we exited the park, I was on the cell phone with the dentist informing them that we were on our way in for tooth repair....mud, dirt, and all. Little Bird would not even close her mouth for the entire ride. When she spoke, it was quite funny as she didn't want to close her mouth or use her tongue to form words.

The dentist was great! He took us right in and got us settled into the chair. His assistant came in and got Xray's of Little Bird's teeth to see if any damage was done to the root. He tells me that the tooth is still forming and that the root hasn't finished developing yet. It is because of this that he can't put a "cap" on the tooth. He chooses instead to put a filling on it. The same sort of filling that they use to fill cavities.

He explained every little thing to Little Bird. Every time he touched a tool, he explained to her what it was used for, let her examine the tool, and even let her touch the end of it. I was severly impressed!!!

Since he had to numb her mouth in order to work on it, he explained to her that he would use a special numbing gel that tasted like bubble gum. As he placed that on her gum, he talked to her the whole time! I was concerned that she would go ballistic when she saw the needle but he had a system all worked out so that she never saw it!

He had turned to get the syringe, but held it down below her line of sight while at the same time, reaching up for the light above her to adjust it so that it was in her eyes...causing her to close her eyes. At the same time, he made his move.

When I brush her hair at home, I encounter tangles that are sometimes so bad it causes her to cry. Sometimes she'll even scream. So, we've developed a technique where she will squeeze my knees with her hands when it hurts instead of screaming out loud. As the dentist was giving her the novacaine injection, he was talking to her the whole time. I was holding her hand and also telling her to squeeze when it hurt. She was so brave! What a trooper!!

To make a long story a little shorter, she now has a little filling on that gap you see. It looks just fine, like nothing happened but because it isn't a real tooth, it isn't as strong and now we have to "baby" it. No more biting right into an apple or baby carrots and such things. :(

Field Trip: Pumpkin Patch

Today was my Kangaroo's Field Trip day to the Pumpkin Patch. We joined up with a different homeschool group from our usual group. This was our first outing with this particular group. We met some new friends and just enjoyed the day out in the country at the pumpkin patch.

Getting pumpkins painted on the face.

See the green shrubs behind the pumpkin coach?

Turns out that it's cotton! Wow! This is a big pumpkin!!

Lunchtime!

Yum! Yum!

After lunch, we went to the corral where there were some animals to touch.

Photo op!!

Nothing says "Autumn" like a bunch of pumpkins!