Day 262

Today was a beautiful, warm, almost summer-like day.  And what screams summer more than burgers?

 Burgers and crinkly fries!

What do you put on your burger?  I like mustard, ketchup, lettuce, onion, and dill pickles (we only had sweet relish but it's close enough for me!)

John is a very good burger cook and these were delicious, but I can only imagine how delicious these will be once we get a grill!

What other foods make you think of summer?

Corn?

Fresh tomatoes?

What does it for ya?  I want to know.

Day 257

Happy Mother's Day to my amazing Momma and to all the Mommas out there!

Today we went apartment hunting.  The apartment we're at now is great: great location, great amenities (even though we don't use any of them) and great price for what we get.  The place is really nice but they're increasing our rent if we renew the lease so we're looking to see what we can get for our money at other places.

We looked at one place that would be closer to work for me (Oh yea, I'm working with Nestle on contract!) but it's farther from John's work and from downtown.  Plus, there's tons of things right around the corner from where we are now while this place doesn't really have much.  It would be a great safe and quiet area, but we'll see.

So in between looking at this place down in the Denver Tech Center and going to the next place, John decided he wanted to go to Shepler's, a giant Western-wear store.  Why did he want to go?  I nearly fainted when I heard this..

He wanted to look at cowboy boots!!

I never thought I'd see the day that I got this New England boy to put on, much less buy, cowboy boots.

To make things even better, he was wearing a pair of Ralph Lauren plaid shorts.  Those and cowboy boots don't exactly make the best look.

He was pretty excited about them and I made sure he was going to get real boots.  None of that Ariat stuff.  Tony Lama is the only way to go.  Plus, I decided these would be the large chunk of his birthday present.  So here's what the final decision was:

Mmmmmmmm.

 A little info on Tony Lama and the boots J picked out: Tony Lama has been making boots for ranching, roping, and riding since 1911. Over the years, Tony Lama boots have evolved into technically advanced, fashionable footwear that sets the standard for the western lifestyle. They are proud to introduce the 3R buckaroo. It's handcrafted with a rojo bridle leather foot under a 16" ivory baron calf leather shaft. Shaft features fancy stitching, inlay detail, and easy-on pull holes. 3R embroidered logo detail. Square toe. Unit heel. 1/4" spur ridge. Single stitched welt construction.

But then this shopping trip got a little bigger.  John, while tall as is, doesn't have the proper jeans for cowboy boots.  Ya gotta have 'em super long and they've gotta be Wranglers.

Whew.  He looks like he could actually fit in at a barn.  I told him I'd make a country boy or cattle rancher outta him yet.

Mmmmmmm Wranglers and Tony Lamas.  I was beside myself.  Still am.

A pair of boots, the necessary tools to keep them well taken care of, two pairs of Wranglers, and a hysterical bought with the boot jack later, we made it out of there.  Starving and satisfied our day's work, we went to Jason's Deli for lunch and didn't go look at the other apartment.

Now he's just got to wait until June 4 to wear his boots and jeans.

Day 249

Also in my Easter goodie-box that my parents sent was two bunnies that you wind up and the hop.  My sister and her husband also received these bunnies with which we, per my mom's request, had a few bunny races.  Many of them weren't finished due to the bunnies getting snatched up into the mouth of Dallas.

John found a different use for our bunnies.

This made me smile.  So cute.  So sweet.

Day 168

I learned something about John not long after we had been dating.  It was big.  A huge difference between us.  John came home to Summerfield with me one weekend my freshman year, his junior year, of college.  We probably went Friday after we were both done with classes, so this was probably sometime Saturday afternoon.  I don't remember the specifics of it, but it probably went something like this: John and I were sitting on the couch in the living room and were alone for a minute and he whispered to me, "You guys don't snack."  Being caught off guard, I looked at him and gave him that "what do you mean" look.  Getting him into the kitchen, I told my mom what he had said.  "What do you mean?  There's apples, clementines, cheese and crackers, and veggies.  There's plenty to snack on."  

But that's not what John meant.  John was looking for some starch.  Oh how this boy loves his starch.  He meant pretzels, chips, something made with flour.  

That was something no one in my family was used to.  We grabbed apples.  So it was always sweet and a little funny that whenever John and I would come home, my mom would go to the grocery store and buy pretzels and cinnamon raisin bread.  That's all John needs to be completely happy.

So this Christmas, John's little (and by little I mean younger; Mark plays football for UNH and he is by no means little) brother bought him the perfect Christmas present: an OXO container for pretzels.  I make sure this is never empty.  However, it had reached that dreaded emptiness a few days ago.  "What am I supposed to snack on," John said.  I responded with, "there's some clementines and vegetables."  But today, seeing as I love this guy, I went to the store, came home, and sent John this picture.

John came home, gave me a hug, and said, "Thanks for the pretzels."  He makes me smile. 

Day 138

This morning we got up and went furniture shopping.  We were looking for a dresser, mirror, and a chest of drawers.  We found them!  Yay!  Now we'll await their arrival on Tuesday.  After a day of shopping and watching football, John, like many guys, was ready to play Call of Duty (COD) Black Ops.  He probably won't like this picture being up, but ladies, if you have a man that plays COD, you know this picture:

Hah.  They love this game!  That okay, it gives me time to pick up some stuff around the apartment, hunt for jobs, and look over at John and giggle because suddenly him and his colleague he's playing with are talking on their little head sets with each other.

Day 52

Tonight I surprised John and told him that we were getting together with two of his best friends that he grew up with in Holliston.  This picture pretty much describes how the night went.  It was so much fun.  As they reminisced about times long passed, I got to hear crazy stories about John when he was little.  In my head, he was this sweet, shy kid.  Boy was I wrong.  John was crazy.  I can't even think of a story that I could do justice by putting it up here.  John, Jeff, and Peter (from left to right) definitely enjoyed finally getting together again.  I think this will have to be at least a once a year tradition!