The note: Let's capture some memories for future generations. Use the attached list of suggested questions to video record interviews of each other. SHMILY! Amy
The envelope: A list of interview questions that was similar to those found here.
Spencer: We decided not to video tape this interview date. This date was meant to make a record, but as we looked at the questions, it was apparent that the questions were meant for a young person to ask a much older person. Most of the questions were along the veins of, "What was life like when you were a kid?" Of course, Amy and grew up in the same decade, more or less. However, some of the questions were good. We ended up spending the night nostalgiaing (I now officially claim that this is a real word) with each other.
Amy: This date wasn't one of the best we've ever had, but we had a good time reminiscing with each other for an hour or so. This might be a more interesting date if we hadn't been together for so long and known the answers to most of the provided questions. That's what I get for not really looking at the what the questions were ahead of time!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Date 7: Spin the Wheel
The note: none
The envelope: Spin the Wheel - it landed on "her choice"
Amy: This one is cheating a little bit. My advisor had won an award and was giving a presentation at a banquet. So we hired a babysitter and headed to the banquet. Spencer doesn't know a whole lot about the technicalities of my research, but he at least got an overview of the type of work I do and got to meet some of my classmates. Afterwards, we headed to a local frozen yogurt place for dessert.
Spencer: From what I remember, several of Amy's advisor's students attended the banquet to give him moral support and hear his speech. I did not mind at all being there to support him, and although I am not earning a PhD in Environmental Engineering, I do have enough of a technical background to understand most of what he said... I think. It was good learning about what my wife has been doing and will be doing, especially since I can now describe it better to people who ask (and, trust me, this happens fairly often).
The envelope: Spin the Wheel - it landed on "her choice"
Amy: This one is cheating a little bit. My advisor had won an award and was giving a presentation at a banquet. So we hired a babysitter and headed to the banquet. Spencer doesn't know a whole lot about the technicalities of my research, but he at least got an overview of the type of work I do and got to meet some of my classmates. Afterwards, we headed to a local frozen yogurt place for dessert.
Spencer: From what I remember, several of Amy's advisor's students attended the banquet to give him moral support and hear his speech. I did not mind at all being there to support him, and although I am not earning a PhD in Environmental Engineering, I do have enough of a technical background to understand most of what he said... I think. It was good learning about what my wife has been doing and will be doing, especially since I can now describe it better to people who ask (and, trust me, this happens fairly often).
Monday, May 21, 2012
Date 6: Spin the Wheel
The note: none
The envelope: Spin the wheel - it landed on "YouTube Date"
Spencer: This week was the week of the big game, the SuperBowl. However, not being big sports fans and having no actual TV, we were not able to see the game. It was actually disappointing, because we DO like to watch the commercials! So, we decided to watch the commercials on YouTube! It was difficult to see which ones were actual commercials, because Doritos had some sweepstakes where people sent in their own amateur commercials, so YouTube was inundated with commercials that didn't quite make it. There weren't as many truly impressive ones, but a few did stand out. The most annoying commercial was one that had *gasp* a preview! For weeks, they were running an ad on YouTube that showed Matthew Broderick as a middle-aged man repeating the same lines he spoke in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, making everyone believe that there was going to be a sequel! But, as you can see from the FULL commercial... it is not quite so exciting.
My favorite video was of a little kid in a Darth Vader costume trying to use the force, but there was a Pepsi commercial with Elton John that was cute, too!
Amy: I would have loved to watch the SuperBowl if we had TV service, but watching the ads later as a date night was fun, too! I have to admit, SuperBowl commercials aren't what they used to be. We spent more than an hour on this date due to all of the "fake" ads Spencer mentioned above. The Coca-Cola company also had a bunch of commercials that had been posted for every conceivable (or at least it seemed that way) turn in game play. They were interesting to watch--not to mention interesting to think about how much time and money they spent on them--but I'm sure they were better if you were watching the SuperBowl. It was kinda like being left out of an inside joke.
I have to agree that the Volkswagon commercial with the Darth Vader kid was the best. I think that's because I can see my cousin doing the exact same thing (and maybe even my daughter some day!). Here it is, for your enjoyment:
The envelope: Spin the wheel - it landed on "YouTube Date"
Spencer: This week was the week of the big game, the SuperBowl. However, not being big sports fans and having no actual TV, we were not able to see the game. It was actually disappointing, because we DO like to watch the commercials! So, we decided to watch the commercials on YouTube! It was difficult to see which ones were actual commercials, because Doritos had some sweepstakes where people sent in their own amateur commercials, so YouTube was inundated with commercials that didn't quite make it. There weren't as many truly impressive ones, but a few did stand out. The most annoying commercial was one that had *gasp* a preview! For weeks, they were running an ad on YouTube that showed Matthew Broderick as a middle-aged man repeating the same lines he spoke in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, making everyone believe that there was going to be a sequel! But, as you can see from the FULL commercial... it is not quite so exciting.
My favorite video was of a little kid in a Darth Vader costume trying to use the force, but there was a Pepsi commercial with Elton John that was cute, too!
Amy: I would have loved to watch the SuperBowl if we had TV service, but watching the ads later as a date night was fun, too! I have to admit, SuperBowl commercials aren't what they used to be. We spent more than an hour on this date due to all of the "fake" ads Spencer mentioned above. The Coca-Cola company also had a bunch of commercials that had been posted for every conceivable (or at least it seemed that way) turn in game play. They were interesting to watch--not to mention interesting to think about how much time and money they spent on them--but I'm sure they were better if you were watching the SuperBowl. It was kinda like being left out of an inside joke.
I have to agree that the Volkswagon commercial with the Darth Vader kid was the best. I think that's because I can see my cousin doing the exact same thing (and maybe even my daughter some day!). Here it is, for your enjoyment:
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Date 5: Painting Pottery
The note: Get fired up! We're going to be kiln time painting pottery. SHMILY!
The envelope: In the envelope was a gift certificate to a Japanese restaurant next to the paint your own pottery studio. In a perfect world, there would have also been a gift certificate to the pottery studio.
Spencer: To be honest, I misread the note and thought we would be both making AND painting pottery. While I would still love to make my own pottery, we definitely did not have the time to do both on this date. The night started with dropping our daughter off with a babysitter. Although we were rather worried about how she would behave, it turns out she had as good a time as we did! Next, we went to a little shop that had a whole bunch of primed pottery just waiting for paint. Choosing just one was a rather difficult decision, but eventually I settled on a ring holder; it looks much like a dish with a spire in the center. Not only was it unique, but we've needed one for some time. The store owner showed us some books to help get the ideas flowing, but in the end I settled on a design of my own. Around the spire of the holder I painted celtic trinity knots, and used all the colors of the knots to spiral up to to the tip. It was very fun, and I actually would like to go back again, though next time I will try to come with an idea already in mind (and I probably won't try to do celtic knots). It took longer than we thought, however, so we had to rush next door for our dinner before the restaurant closed. I have to say, this was a very good date idea.
Amy: We were almost afraid that this date wasn't going to happen, at least not on the night we had originally planned for. Although we had a babysitter all lined up, I was summoned for jury duty that week and was chosen to serve on a jury. The day of our date was deliberation day, so I though there was no way I would make it home in time for our date. Thankfully, that wasn't the case, and our babysitter was still able to watch our daughter. Good thing, because this was a great date!
I chose to paint a frog that sits by the kitchen sink and holds a scrubby. The hard part for me was choosing the colors I wanted to use. I remember going to a paint your own pottery store when I was growing up and having a pretty narrow selection. The place we went to was very different. In addition to many different colors and even many shades of each color, they had special paints that were multicolored or would "crackle" when fired to create a texture. Who knew painting pottery was so advanced?!
The envelope: In the envelope was a gift certificate to a Japanese restaurant next to the paint your own pottery studio. In a perfect world, there would have also been a gift certificate to the pottery studio.
Spencer: To be honest, I misread the note and thought we would be both making AND painting pottery. While I would still love to make my own pottery, we definitely did not have the time to do both on this date. The night started with dropping our daughter off with a babysitter. Although we were rather worried about how she would behave, it turns out she had as good a time as we did! Next, we went to a little shop that had a whole bunch of primed pottery just waiting for paint. Choosing just one was a rather difficult decision, but eventually I settled on a ring holder; it looks much like a dish with a spire in the center. Not only was it unique, but we've needed one for some time. The store owner showed us some books to help get the ideas flowing, but in the end I settled on a design of my own. Around the spire of the holder I painted celtic trinity knots, and used all the colors of the knots to spiral up to to the tip. It was very fun, and I actually would like to go back again, though next time I will try to come with an idea already in mind (and I probably won't try to do celtic knots). It took longer than we thought, however, so we had to rush next door for our dinner before the restaurant closed. I have to say, this was a very good date idea.
Amy: We were almost afraid that this date wasn't going to happen, at least not on the night we had originally planned for. Although we had a babysitter all lined up, I was summoned for jury duty that week and was chosen to serve on a jury. The day of our date was deliberation day, so I though there was no way I would make it home in time for our date. Thankfully, that wasn't the case, and our babysitter was still able to watch our daughter. Good thing, because this was a great date!
I chose to paint a frog that sits by the kitchen sink and holds a scrubby. The hard part for me was choosing the colors I wanted to use. I remember going to a paint your own pottery store when I was growing up and having a pretty narrow selection. The place we went to was very different. In addition to many different colors and even many shades of each color, they had special paints that were multicolored or would "crackle" when fired to create a texture. Who knew painting pottery was so advanced?!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Date 4: Brewing Beer
The note: Hoppy New Year! I know you've wanted to try to brew your own beer for some time now, so we're off to shop for homebrew supplies. SHMILY!
The envelope: In addition to the note, a gift certificate to Grape & Grains and a printed out issue of Zymurgy (the journal of the American Homebrewers Association). [Note: when you sign up to receive the American Homebrewers Association e-newsletter, they provide a link to a free download of Zymurgy]
Spencer: This was definitely a fun one! The original plan was to go to purchase the equipment and then look up how to do the brewing itself in books and online. But when Amy started to look at the company, we discovered that they have 2 classes on brewing beer (as well as a class on making wine): an extracts class and a grains class. So we decided to take the classes first. At first, we were supposed to be in an extracts class with other people, but the other part of the group had to change their date, so it ended up being just the two of us. The couple that owns Grape & Grains is very nice and knowledgeable. We learned about wort, gravity, extracts, equipment, and more! Essentially, he took us to the back room, where they had some burners and things set up, took out a brewing kit (the hardware), and chose a holiday brew kit (the ingredients). It had everything in it and even instructions on how to brew. It was rather easy, and during the downtimes we got to talk with the owners, even try out some amazing home-made wine! Afterwards, we learned how to experiment with different things in the brew, such as adding certain unique ingredients. The beer was put in a fermenter and set aside, where it still waits to become full-fledged beer. When it is done, we will get to try out our little libation and have a chance to purchase some brewing equipment for ourselves! There is another class later where we learn how to make the extracts that we used from actual grains. Can't wait!
Amy: I thought this was a really great date, especially since it wound up being a personal class. I always thought of brewing beer as this big, complicated thing that was really easy to mess up. Maybe that's because of the "Chemistry of Brewing" lectures I've attended. But I digress. Brewing beer is not hard at all, it just takes some time. I only wish we had remembered our camera!
If you're in the upstate of South Carolina, make sure to check out Grape & Grains. We want to make sure this unique business stays in business!
The envelope: In addition to the note, a gift certificate to Grape & Grains and a printed out issue of Zymurgy (the journal of the American Homebrewers Association). [Note: when you sign up to receive the American Homebrewers Association e-newsletter, they provide a link to a free download of Zymurgy]
Spencer: This was definitely a fun one! The original plan was to go to purchase the equipment and then look up how to do the brewing itself in books and online. But when Amy started to look at the company, we discovered that they have 2 classes on brewing beer (as well as a class on making wine): an extracts class and a grains class. So we decided to take the classes first. At first, we were supposed to be in an extracts class with other people, but the other part of the group had to change their date, so it ended up being just the two of us. The couple that owns Grape & Grains is very nice and knowledgeable. We learned about wort, gravity, extracts, equipment, and more! Essentially, he took us to the back room, where they had some burners and things set up, took out a brewing kit (the hardware), and chose a holiday brew kit (the ingredients). It had everything in it and even instructions on how to brew. It was rather easy, and during the downtimes we got to talk with the owners, even try out some amazing home-made wine! Afterwards, we learned how to experiment with different things in the brew, such as adding certain unique ingredients. The beer was put in a fermenter and set aside, where it still waits to become full-fledged beer. When it is done, we will get to try out our little libation and have a chance to purchase some brewing equipment for ourselves! There is another class later where we learn how to make the extracts that we used from actual grains. Can't wait!
Amy: I thought this was a really great date, especially since it wound up being a personal class. I always thought of brewing beer as this big, complicated thing that was really easy to mess up. Maybe that's because of the "Chemistry of Brewing" lectures I've attended. But I digress. Brewing beer is not hard at all, it just takes some time. I only wish we had remembered our camera!
If you're in the upstate of South Carolina, make sure to check out Grape & Grains. We want to make sure this unique business stays in business!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Date 3: Word Date
The note: Let's be a little spontaneous! This week's date will be planned around a word that you choose right now. Make it a good one! SHMILY!
The envelope: Inside was another piece of paper with the following.
Word:
What will we...
...wear?
...eat?
...do?
...talk about?
Where will we go?
What about a treat?
Spencer: The basis of this one was to pick a word and use the letters in it to determine what our date was going to be like! Amy and I have always had a word that, if you haven't noticed yet, we use with each other regularly. SHMILY! It is an acronym that means See How Much I Love You. So, since this is a date night of ours, I chose SHMILY for the word! It just happened to fit perfectly for the date!
What will we...
...wear? Scarves
...eat? Hotdogs
...do? Music games
...talk about? I spy
Where will we go? A nearby town that starts with "L"
What about a treat? Yogurt, frozen.
There were essentially two parts of this date. For the first, we went out to a restaurant that we had never been to in a nearby town. It was a small family-owned diner. There were enough pictures and objects in the place that we had fun playing I Spy with each other, trying to stump each other! We must have looked a little silly with the scarves on, but that's alright. Afterwards, we went to 3 Spoons to get some frozen yogurt, then headed home and played SingStar (Queen edition), a karaoke game for the Playstation. It was actually a rather fun date, and we could take our daughter with us, so that made it easier on us, too!
Amy: To be honest, I don't remember where I got the idea of this date from, but I think it turned out really well! It was a little hard to come up with each of the categories at first, but it wound up being a good combination of activities. Wearing scarves was a little weird, especially since it wasn't that cold outside, but the family-owned restaurant we went to was one we'd never been to before. The food wasn't anything special, but was good enough. I have to admit that Spencer's hamburger was probably better than my chili dog. Playing "I Spy" really put us in touch with our inner child and I think both of us are looking forward to when our daughter is old enough to play. It worked out that we were able to make 3 Spoons, our favorite fro-yo place, a part of this date. We like being able to pick our own combinations of frozen yogurt and toppings. We also enjoyed playing SingStar: Queen after we put our daughter to bed. I did all of the singing while Spencer played the guitar. I think we even earned some trophies!
The envelope: Inside was another piece of paper with the following.
Word:
What will we...
...wear?
...eat?
...do?
...talk about?
Where will we go?
What about a treat?
Spencer: The basis of this one was to pick a word and use the letters in it to determine what our date was going to be like! Amy and I have always had a word that, if you haven't noticed yet, we use with each other regularly. SHMILY! It is an acronym that means See How Much I Love You. So, since this is a date night of ours, I chose SHMILY for the word! It just happened to fit perfectly for the date!
What will we...
...wear? Scarves
...eat? Hotdogs
...do? Music games
...talk about? I spy
Where will we go? A nearby town that starts with "L"
What about a treat? Yogurt, frozen.
There were essentially two parts of this date. For the first, we went out to a restaurant that we had never been to in a nearby town. It was a small family-owned diner. There were enough pictures and objects in the place that we had fun playing I Spy with each other, trying to stump each other! We must have looked a little silly with the scarves on, but that's alright. Afterwards, we went to 3 Spoons to get some frozen yogurt, then headed home and played SingStar (Queen edition), a karaoke game for the Playstation. It was actually a rather fun date, and we could take our daughter with us, so that made it easier on us, too!
Amy: To be honest, I don't remember where I got the idea of this date from, but I think it turned out really well! It was a little hard to come up with each of the categories at first, but it wound up being a good combination of activities. Wearing scarves was a little weird, especially since it wasn't that cold outside, but the family-owned restaurant we went to was one we'd never been to before. The food wasn't anything special, but was good enough. I have to admit that Spencer's hamburger was probably better than my chili dog. Playing "I Spy" really put us in touch with our inner child and I think both of us are looking forward to when our daughter is old enough to play. It worked out that we were able to make 3 Spoons, our favorite fro-yo place, a part of this date. We like being able to pick our own combinations of frozen yogurt and toppings. We also enjoyed playing SingStar: Queen after we put our daughter to bed. I did all of the singing while Spencer played the guitar. I think we even earned some trophies!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Date 2: Spin the Wheel
The note: none
The envelope: Spin the wheel - it landed on "Video Games"
Spencer: This week was simple. I spun the little wheel Amy made for me, and it landed on "video games." Now, I have a decent number of video games to chose from. Amy likes to watch me play sometimes, so finding one that she would play with me narrowed down the possibilities quite a bit. On alternate Sunday nights we have been hosting a get-together with friends, and last Sunday we played a bunch of music games (Beatles Rock Band, etc.), so this week we decided to try a game we hadn't played in a while - Little Big Planet.
Little Big Planet is a "platformer," a game where you control a little dude (a "sackboy") and make him jump onto different platforms to solve a puzzle. You can also customize how he looks... or flirt with your wife by attaching cute buttons to her character. :D We decided to try some levels that other players made, something we'd never tried before. It was pretty fun, but certain levels can be either very easy (and boring) or impossibly hard (and... frustrating). I think if we land on video games again, I would like to try a music-related or story-based game.
Amy: I really enjoy Little Big Planet, but I have very little patience with it sometimes. Spencer really likes to earn all of the trophies for each of his games, and we were able to earn some new trophies by completing sections that are meant for two players. Some of the user-created levels were interesting (and some were not).
The wheel itself is from The Dating Divas and they have a printable so you can make your own, too. Their version is prepared with velcro so that you trade activities in and out. For us, I chose six activities to remain permanently. Apparently, Spencer has been plotting what to do when we land on "his choice."
The envelope: Spin the wheel - it landed on "Video Games"
Spencer: This week was simple. I spun the little wheel Amy made for me, and it landed on "video games." Now, I have a decent number of video games to chose from. Amy likes to watch me play sometimes, so finding one that she would play with me narrowed down the possibilities quite a bit. On alternate Sunday nights we have been hosting a get-together with friends, and last Sunday we played a bunch of music games (Beatles Rock Band, etc.), so this week we decided to try a game we hadn't played in a while - Little Big Planet.
Little Big Planet is a "platformer," a game where you control a little dude (a "sackboy") and make him jump onto different platforms to solve a puzzle. You can also customize how he looks... or flirt with your wife by attaching cute buttons to her character. :D We decided to try some levels that other players made, something we'd never tried before. It was pretty fun, but certain levels can be either very easy (and boring) or impossibly hard (and... frustrating). I think if we land on video games again, I would like to try a music-related or story-based game.
Amy: I really enjoy Little Big Planet, but I have very little patience with it sometimes. Spencer really likes to earn all of the trophies for each of his games, and we were able to earn some new trophies by completing sections that are meant for two players. Some of the user-created levels were interesting (and some were not).
The wheel itself is from The Dating Divas and they have a printable so you can make your own, too. Their version is prepared with velcro so that you trade activities in and out. For us, I chose six activities to remain permanently. Apparently, Spencer has been plotting what to do when we land on "his choice."
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