go out on "date nights" with my spouse on a regular basis

Friday morning, after dropping Isak at pre-school, we drove downtown and hit the A1 (an old-time greasy spoon on Granville Street) for breakfast. I don’t think either of us had been there in 20 years. I had surprisingly tasty blueberry pancakes and he had their special. It was a sunshiny morning, so after our brunch we walked around looking at the old buildings and the new changes downtown.

Even if we haven’t headed off for a glamorous and exotic vacation, we’ve been enjoying Markus’ week off work, and have managed to fit quite a bit of us-time in.

We’ve been craving some live music, so we picked up tickets for Reverend Horton Heat, but that’s not for a while yet (although we’ve set up very advance kidcare) and are trying to wrangle a friend’s birthday soiree later this month. Things to look forward to.

My parents took Isak for April 7-8 so we could go out for my birthday… we weren’t feeling like doing anything fancy, just dinner & a movie, but both were thoroughly wonderful. It was absolutely pouring out, but we managed to stay dry under our cocoon coats and it was pretty seeing all the bright downtown lights reflected everywhere.

We went to the Lennox for dinner (I had a delicious smoked turkey & swiss sandwich on rosemary flatbread with cranberries and a few glasses of naked grape, he went for the beef dip and a pint) and then we hustled through the raindrops to the theater.

It was nice to have a less busy theater for a change, the rainy weeknight meant we didn’t worry about getting seats. We’d been wanting to see The Runaways, and both really, really loved it – we left (back into the bluster) with lots to talk about, teenage flashbacks to trade, wet hands to hold.

Saturday afternoon my parents picked Isak up to spend the night with them, and the plan was to indulge in a dusky candlelit Earth Hour then go out for dinner and a movie. We’d planned on seeing The Runaways, but both theaters where it was playing were completely swamped. We checked the venue showing Chloe, but it was opening night and they were full, so rather than waiting in line or shelling out to see something we weren’t that interested in, we decided we’d have a leisurely dinner and then rent something to watch at home.

We went to Anton’s for a late pasta dinner and uninterrupted conversation, then picked up a tub of microwave popcorn and Inglourious Basterds, making it home around midnight to kick back together on the couch. We also managed to go for dinner and a movie (Alice in Wonderland) the previous weekend, and had a breakfast date at a café on Monday when Markus had the day off and Isak was at pre-school, so we’re on a bit of a roll with this goal, which had been most enjoyable.

Nothing quite like indulging in beloved company without watching the clock or having to edit your affection and entertainment choices.

Saturday Isak had an overnight visit with his grandparents, so we were free to do whatever we wanted. It was a dreary night out, so we decided to make dinner and then catch the late showing of Shutter Island. The movie was quite good (and different than I was expecting, although I’ve tried to avoid reviews), but even just being able to go out together was nice – to kick back with cokes, popcorn, and a big screen in a packed room.

We left the theater sometime after 1am and drove home in the rain, made a pot of tea, put on some music and enjoyed the rest of our night alone. I’m glad we’ve been managing to get out together more lately.

^{Next date-night movie? Alice in Wonderland (can’t wait! can’t wait!).}

We had a lovely, unfancy Valentine’s Day together. After exchanging a few thoughtful presents earlier, Markus made a very nice brunch and then we drove out to White Rock to drop Isak off with my parents for a few hours.

Instead of going out to a movie or a meal or packing a million things in like last time, we took a peek at an open house and then followed unfamiliar country roads and strolled around the bay. We came across a little airport, a few other people, and a number of eagles and herons, but for the most part it was just us quietly walking and talking and enjoying the tail end of a beautiful day, stunning sunset included.

I loved being kissed under a purple sky and all the moving water and unrushed space around us.

Last night we had a fantastic date, absolutely chock full of good fun! It started mid afternoon after my parents picked Isak up for the night. We kicked back with some coffee and music for a while, took leisurely baths, and went out to wander the neighbourhood.

We went to thrift stores, curio shops, and bookstores (whatever looked interesting), bought a few interesting things and then stopped off for a slice of pizza before heading home and getting ready to go out for the night.

We took the bus downtown (anticipating beverages) and walked around for a while before going to the Railway Club for dinner and a pint. Our friends were throwing a birthday party and had rented the lower room (complete with pink flamingos, Cadillac balloons, and an Elvis birthday cake), so we said we’d return later and headed off to catch a movie.

We went to Tinseltown to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (which we both loved – fantastical and visually delicious), then dropped by the Ayden Gallery to see their current art exhibition before they set up for February. Then we headed back to the Railway for live music, pints, and Elvis cake with friends, old and new.

We sat with a couple we’d just met (friends of our friends) who were also on the lam from parentland and enjoying the freedom. We forgot ourselves a bit, but it was fun to cut loose and not feel any pressure to get home before we turned into pumpkins. Laughter freely filled the room as we refilled our glasses (although when our host sent over limes and tequila shooters it might have been more clever to decline) and told stories, stole kisses and had ridiculous amounts of fun.

We left sometime after 1:30 and had unfortunately missed the last SkyTrain, so we caught a cab back to our neck of the woods and walked the rest of the way to get some fresh air before hitting the wee morning hay. Wonderful. I still have a little blue paper umbrella tucked in my hat.

When we picked Isak up today they’d all had a wonderful time too – he even got to go swimming and play with other kids and paint… he apparently went to bed early without a fuss and behaved beautifully. They’ve now suggested we drop him off for the night at least once a month, so we’ll be enjoying another date night soon.

ˈVu̇n-dər-bär!

I haven’t kept proper tabs on this goal lately, but we’ve continued to grab alone time whenever we can swing it (despite someone’s recent somewhat disparaging and uninformed comment to the contrary, although I bit my tongue at the time).

This summer we’ve had to be more creative, as the majority of our kiddo watchers have been out of town, and we’ve had moving madness as of late, but since my last entry we’ve managed to catch some great live shows, a few films, had some lovely meals alone, even pulled our first all nighter at a fancy hotel. I don’t sneeze at the obscure late night movies curled up on the couch, star gazing or sneaky kisses by our proposal tree either.

Friday we capped Markus’ week off (which was supposed to be utilized for a family camping trip but got sucked up by the straw of moving house instead) by using Isak’s pre-school hours for a delicious brunch in a little jukebox garnished café and wandering Main street hand in hand, poking about in whatever little shops struck our fancy. Casual. Wonderful.

I look forward to our family and friends’ return which will allow us more grown up time alone, but my real goal isn’t to ‘ditch the kid and go for dinner and a movie’, it’s to keep our connection polished, and I think we’re doing a fine job. Yup.

Tonight we’re going to a big holiday dinner/Xmas party for Markus’ work, the type of thing we’d usually love to go to but can’t make. Fortunately, Jojo offered to babysit for us, so we’re getting ready and heading downtown to the Pan Pacific Hotel for the festivities. It’ll be the first time I meet the people he works with too. Oooooh… where’s my red lipstick?

^{Post-party update here.}

Today we had a very nice “we’re flying by the seat of our pants so let’s enjoy the view” date. Rather last minute we decided to go to White Rock, dropped Isak off to go bird watching with Grandpa and Grandma, and departed in search of sustenance.

The cafe we’d initially wanted to try was closed, so we drove around until we found a place that looked good, settling on a restaurant by the water called the Sideshow. It was empty of people and full of local art, decent music, delicious food, and a killer view. We had big meals with a pint and watched the sun do interesting things over the water while we talked.

Afterward we went for a hike into the gorge, stopping on a nice little bench to stare at the sky and catch our (my) breath. This was a place he used to go when growing up, so he shared a lot of stories about the spot. We saw a bald eagle doing a loud dance in a treetop and caught the sun going down like an orange ball through the trees, striping them with golden orange light. By the time we got back to the car the sky was purply-blue with pink smudged clouds. Beautiful.

We even had a chance to shop a bit & check out a little gallery, finding some wonderful paintings of Vancouver and the surrounding areas that we loved (I’m going to search for a print of one showing a rainy downtown evening on Granville Street in the 50’s).

We picked up Isak, had a quick visit with my parents over ginger ale and mandarin oranges & headed home. A very nice and unexpected outing.

We’ve been trying to squeeze time for ourselves in. Sometimes it happens very late at night – putting a dvd on after Isak’s asleep (we’ve been doing that lately, with plans for tonight too) or both realizing we’re wide awake at 2am and talking or… whatever.

Norm’s been wanting to see Isak, so today we dropped him off where he had a fantastic time honing his painting skills, playing with vintage toys, posing for photos, and running around excitedly with a rat puppet on his hand. Knowing he’s having fun with her lets us relax and have fun too.

We went downtown and had some rainy day cafe food at a favorite old haunt of ours, hit the music store and picked up a new CD we’ve been waiting for, walked around noting all the city changes in the last 20 years, whatever we felt like. We’d planned on a movie, but were having a fine time without it and wandered around instead. Very nice.

A few hours later we picked up a happy boy & Norm begged us to go out more often, so we really, really should.