milestones

92 days to go! TheKnot.com provides me with a constant reminder of how quickly time goes by. Next week, we'll have been engaged just two months and yet the wedding in Playa del Carmen is just three months away. I wish it would get here sooner. I'm so ready for our destination "weddingmoon."

Valentine's Day was rather low key being our third. Rick had a minor outpatient procedure on Friday afternoon, so he was delightfully drugged up with Valium that evening. It was pretty funny to hear him say on Friday night, "I had a dream that the nurses were feeding me chocolate pie." And I'd remind him, "That wasn't a dream honey, I was feeding you chocolate pie in the recovery room." And then the next day he had no recollection of the chocolate pie at all on Saturday morning.

Zoe got me up pretty early on Saturday and so I took the opportunity to sneak down to the grocery store and pick up some ingredients for breakfast. I decided to make Rick some waffles with chocolate-covered strawberries and bring some flowers and a card up to him on a tray. I definitely got some brownie points for surprising him with flowers. :)

For dinner we headed over to a favorite Italian restaurant for some scrumptious Sicilian dining. Great ambiance, and even better food. By the time we got home, I was ready to snuggle up in bed and watch the news (my nightly ritual) and I heard the garage door open and the car leave. Half an hour later, Zoe came running into the room with a mylar balloon and bag tied around her neck bearing a card and some gifts from my sweetie.

I really like having these little milestones - birthdays, anniversaries and holidays as an excuse to say "I love you." In relationships, I'm a big card giver. For me the fun is in the hunt for the perfect card and/or gift. And since Rick and I started dating, I've put away every single card I've given him over the years.

For our wedding gift, I'm sticking to sentimental gestures and I'm making him a book -- a collection of blog posts (in some cases censored) that chronicle our relationship over the last few years. I'm nearly done -- just a few finishing touches with photographs and then onto proof reading and formatting. I plan to give it to him when we're down in Playa del Carmen and am adding a page at the back for our friends who join us in Playa del Carmen to sign. I'm so excited to get the final book in hand and then insert the cards I've given him for our special occasions.

I've realized that sometimes it just isn't about expensive gifts like jewelry, but making the time and giving a gift from the heart that matters the most. And I'm so grateful I've had this forum as a way to capture and document "our story."