(I look for small victories in life.)

This last week had one of my favorite dares. We were supposed to buy something for our spouse to let them know we were thinking of them. For six days of the seven we hemmed and hawed over what on earth we could get each other. Especially given you know…Christmas.

(Diamonds may be nice, but obviously they weren’t the point of this dare. They so rarely go with Alex’s outfits.)

Anyway, on the last day it totally hit me. Alex loves ice cream. Don’t believe me? Check out my MIXING BOWL.

So since clearly Alex loves ice cream more than life itself, with the exception of his Jeep.

I thought, hey! Ice Cream says “I’m thinking of you!”

(But clearly not his waistline.)

One fancy schmancy card later and our freezer looked pretty jazzy. Best part of this whole deal? I got my own mini-apple pie.

Clearly we know the secret to true love.

(It involves your stomach.)

What would you buy to say “Thinking of you”?

Then at Easter the Easter Bunny also stopped by not just this year, but the year before as well!

So I’ve sort of set a precedent for the whole contacting the appropriate party for a fun gift thing and here we are  a week and a half away from Christmas.

I haven’t even managed to shoot off a proper letter to the red, jolly man in velour suit! (Well except for the one about a dadgumbreak!)

Since we just found out yesterday that Alex will shortly have a job. I could contact the miracle man.

(Quick pause for the heaven’s rejoicing and the loud thumping as I land in a rather ungainly head on the floor from jumping so high.)

Only, I have no clue what to ask for Alex’s stocking. I’m at a loss. Alex SAYS to not worry about it, but where is the magic in not waking up to at least an orange, some chocolates, and a small little stocking gift??

There is no magic to that is what I say!

So, I’m curious. What do you find from Santa in your stocking on Christmas morning?

Hillcrest Apple Orchard is one of the most popular orchards along “Apple Highway” in Ellijay, GA. It’s also the one with the moonshine museum which automatically makes it Alex’s favorite. Not that they actually SERVE moonshine. Because that would be naughty.

The museum did have some rather interesting stills. From the mud-packed ones, to the half buried ones, y’all gotta give hillbillies credit. When they want a little ‘shine they sure are gonna find a way to make it, hide it, and sell it!

Alex sure studied the set-up’s pretty extensively. (Y’all don’t think he’s got any plans do you?)

I mean, that’s what stock car racing (otherwise known as NASCAR i.e. a Sunday staple along with Football and Church) was all about when it first got started. They had this fun photo spot at the end where you could have your picture taken in a cut-out of a boot-legger and Alex very reluctantly agreed to take a photo.

I bribed him a little more with the offer of cider donuts and he actually stuck is FACE in the photo the second go-around. (The man will do dang near anything for these delicious, melt-in-your-mouth donuts. Which is lucky for me since I sure wasn’t getting into that photo!)

After wandering the festival area and the museum tour we headed off to the actual orchards. We wandered past Rome, Mutsu, Fuji, and Golden Delicious apples so I could get to my haven.

Granny Smith apples. YUM!

Alex went for the Golden Delicious and Rome.

We ended up topping off the bag with a huge mix of everything else which will be perfect for the apple pies I’m planning on making later this week.

Lastly we examined all of the jams and jellies they had inside. I had a few favorites, Tequila Jam being one of them. Alex however insisted on a jam that would (and did) make my boss cringe.

I wouldn’t let him buy it for her because well, I want to keep my job! (Plus I really don’t like wearing jelly and I’m pretty sure the jar would have been tossed in the air since Frogs are her nemesis.)

Now that we are back home with our TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS of apples I have a lot of baking to do. Alex, he’s just ready to head to the next festival.

Course it is the Moonshine Festival so I can’t say I blame him.

“Want to go catch the new movie ‘Sweeney Todd’?”

I thought it over, figured eh why not. Sent a reply and we picked out a date and time. Then I got another message asking me if Alex could join because evidently he was bored. (Somebody was lying….)Fast forward to the day of the movie and right as I’m leaving my apartment Robert kindly informs me that he can’t make it but Alex still wanted to go, did I mind? By this point I was feeling like it didn’t matter…I was going to go catch my movie!

At the movie Alex and I made small talk, as we continued to get along, until in the theatre about five minutes into the movie I burst into loud laughter as Alex quietly exclaimed, “This is a MUSICAL?!” I’m sure our fellow theatre goers were wondering what was up with the crazy chick who was laughing at the homicidal tendencies of Sweeney Todd.

After the movie he was a gentleman and walked me back to my car where we stood chatting it up in very cold temps before moving to his Jeep. More conversations ensued before we conceded that we should head over to waffle house. (I told y’all we were rednecks. And Southern.) At the WH we sat and ate, chatted, and in general had a blast making observations about everything you could think of until about 3 a.m. when we both finally called it quits. He headed his way and I headed mine.

This pattern of dating continued quite frequently (multiple times per week) for a couple of weeks until two big moments in our dating life happened.

The first was the night he met my parents. My Mom had always told me she’d start saving for my wedding when she met the man who not only held their door for me but that I allowed to hold the door. As we walked in he held the door. Several hours later I had to leave him behind. Yes alone, with my parents, while I left…because he was too busy enjoying spending time with my folks.

The second was after several friends gathered for dinner (mmmm tacos…chips…salsa) and I hitched a ride with Alex driving my car while we headed to one of the houses for movie time. Alex held my hand while he was driving and when we arrived and he parked the car he hopped out and headed to my side. As I got out, he looked at me and then finally said “Can I kiss you?”

HEART BE STILL!

That’s right y’all, the heart that had vowed NEVER to date again, the heart that had been thudding pretty hard when I left him with my family, the heart that trembled when I realized that he was holding doors and I wasn’t protesting stopped in that moment. God had sent me a true southern gentleman (albeit a redneck…but I kind of like it now. A lot.) who was tall, dark, handsome and most of all treated me like I was more precious than any gem in the world.

After this night things really kicked into high gear. And it all was triggered by the gun fight outside my door. But you’ll have to wait till the next installment to hear that story!

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Our Marriage Adventure is a true life blog detailing the life and marriage of my husband, Alex, and I as we deal with our two cats, trying to concieve a child, and working on our house. I love to share decorating tips, recipes, and things I’ve learned as wife and things we’ve learned as a couple.  We also like camping, traveling, anything to do with home improvement, cooking, and most importantly (to Alex) JEEPS!

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