I'm Picked On

So Charly and I are trying our best to save money. There are lots of things we are doing to save money but one of the things we do is we make sure to turn the thermostat off when we don't need it. It's great and we are pretty good at it. Our electric bill has only gone up a few extra dollars since winter.

One of the drawbacks though is that every morning when we wake up it is freezing in our apartment and so neither of us (actually mostly just me) don't want to get out of bed. The other problem is that my hands and feet are almost always cold... like so cold that Charly won't want to hold my hand.

Now in my mind, the solution is simple, I just turn the thermostat to 90 degrees every morning while I shower. It works great! When I get out of the shower the apartment is nice and warm, my feet are nice and warm, and my hands are nice and warm. Perfect right? I thought so.

However, for some reason Charly always turns the thermostat down to like 70 degrees... freezing... Does she not want to hold my hand? I'm not sure. It doesn't really matter though because I usually just sneak it back up to 90. Don't tell Charly I said that though.

Soap in a Bottle

The other day Charly bought some soap that was... inexpensive. She bought it because I told her that I wasn't picky about my soap. Well, when I started using the soap I learned that I actually was kind of picky, at least I learned that I didn't like this soap.

It made my skin feel like rubber...

So I did what any other husband would do in this situation, I started using Charly's soap. Of course I was only going to use it until I could get some good soap for me to use. 

One day however. While I was using the soap I knocked it down into the tub. The was in a bottle and I noticed a price tag on the bottom of the bottle. The soap was like $12! For a tiny little bottle of soap! What does it have gold in it? Needless to say I started using the rubbery soap again.

Charly has since bought me soap that I like that wasn't $12.

New Family Goals

Eat Healthy 
No eating refined sugars
Drink enough water for the day
Eat fruits and vegetables for the day

Budget Money 
No spending money without consulting the other person (excepting necessities)
No eating out, even when traveling
Plan date night expenses in advance

Exercise 
Exercise every day ... even if it's Just Dance together.

Two Dates for Me, One Date for Charly

Just kidding. It was really only one date but it was almost two. Here's the story:

"Thanks bishop!" I said as Charly and I walked back towards our apartment. The day hadn't been going so well even with the bishop's help. Charly had bought tickets to an improve show at BYU but we had missed it because our car Toothless had broken down. The bishop had gotten Toothless started, and back to our apartment, but it took quite a while.

"Well that was an interesting date," I said to Charly. I knew she didn't consider it a date and I was just joking when I said it.

"That wasn't a date," She said gloomily. We entered the apartment.

I knew Charly was frustrated because I can always tell. She was mad that she had paid for the tickets and we couldn't go, she was mad that we hadn't really had a date, and she was frustrated with the car.

You have to understand. Dating is REALLY important to Charly. She hates not having a real date on date night. A couple weeks ago I had been sick and so we hadn't gone on a date. We hadn't been on very many "actual" dates in a while. When Charly gets frustrated like this sometimes it just makes me want to leave the room, or just listen to music, or do something where we don't really have contact. I know she isn't mad at me but I don't like to see her frustrated and sometimes, I don't know what to do. I really just wanted to go lay down in bed, and go to sleep.

At that moment I knew that I needed to talk with her though. I don't know if it was the Spirit that told me, but I knew. I didn't want to. I still wanted to go to bed. But in my mind I thought, "Am I going to invest into this relationship or walk away? If I choose to walk away and avoid the tension now, how many other times will that happen?" I walked up to Charly, sat down, faced her, and said, "Talk to me."

She turned to me, lip quivering, and let everything out. She told me all of her frustrations of the day, how she felt about each one, how hard it was for her to not be able to go on an actual date.

I just listened.

Somewhere along the conversation we both ended up crying and hugging each other. It was a very spiritual moment. We both told each other how important the other was to us. I felt so good and I could tell Charly felt better as well. We ended up going to get some ice cream and seeing a movie together after, so we still got to have our date.

This is a very special story for me and the reason I'm sharing it is because I want everyone to know that in every relationship, you have to make a choice of whether or not you are going to invest in that relationship. If that person is your spouse you should always invest, whatever it takes. It might not be what you want to do at the time but you need to do it. I'm not perfect, not by a long shot, but I am 100% invested in my relationship with Charly. I will always choose to invest in her. I know because I chose to now.

When I Was Oblivious to Charly's Signals that She Wanted Me to Hold Her Hand.

I'm just an oblivious sort of guy. I know there were many times where Charly wanted me to hold her hand but I didn't. She probably gave me some sort of signal as well. I know all the signals now because she has told them to me. Before though, I had no clue.

I remember one night when we were at Charly's house and we were watching Robin Hood. During the movie I really wanted to kiss her. I don't think we were even dating at the time yet but I sure wanted to kiss her. I didn't though.

I remember another time when Charly and I were at the temple and I was showing her something on my iPod. She was holding the iPod so I used that as an excuse to put my hand under the hand she was using to hold the iPod. It was a small moment to everyone else but it was huge for me.

You see, I take any sort of physical statement very seriously. I feel that holding hands is something you should only do if you really like somebody. I know everyone will have different views on this but the fact is that most girls take physical attention as a sign of love and guys don't usually see it the same. There are exceptions to this but many times this is true. I think that men need to be careful. They might lead a girl on without even meaning to just because they don't see things the same way.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm actually a very physical person once I feel like I'm committed to a relationship but before that I'm very careful. I don't know if this is the best way to be while dating but it's the way I chose to be.

I know this was very frustrating for Charly but I didn't know this at the time... well, mostly. Charly has always been very patient with me and I love that about her. I know it drives her crazy sometimes. I guess when it comes to love crazy can be a good thing.