Impromptu Date Night

Life outside the nation's capital is quite fast and busy at times.  There is always something going on.  Just so you have an idea of what's been happening in the recent lives of me and Mr. Man, I'll give you a little breakdown.  He works in security - I work in HR.  We live not far from where we work, which around here is a godsend.  I like to run and have recently started a running club with our church.  We do that every week.  We try to have date night once a week, and since getting married in November, we have only spent one Saturday at home with no plans at all.  (Yes, if you are wondering, that has been one of my favorites.)  We  have a great, wonderful, beautiful yellow lab, who - although loyal and adoring, is not the smartest tool in the shed some times.
Recently, we have had a roommate.  While you may be thinking - ahhhh!  Roommate for the newlywed couple in their tiny two-bedroom condo = nightmare... we have enjoyed it.  Roomie is only sticking with us until about July 5 weekend since she is in the area for a super awesome internship at a local international hotel chain's HQ.  I have known roomie for - LITERALLY - her entire life.  She is my best friend's sister, and so is an extension of my family. 
Another thing you should know is that Mr. Man and I are excited to try to save enough money over the next year to get out of debt and buy a house.  In the meantime, we are learning to watch our dollars, but still want to enjoy our time being young, single, and free.  So when we both have a long day, get stuck at work, and don't get home until 7:30 or 8pm.  First thing we do is apologize profusely to the pup, and then make plans to let someone else do the cooking for us.  So we headed out to Rockville yesterday for some fine dining at Founding Farmers.  If you are in the area - I highly reccomend that place.  They have fantastic brunch, a nice bar, and they promote the ever-struggling family farmers and are select about where they get their food.  We were seated outside - which was perfect for a clear night in the low-70s.  I opted for a Chardonnay paired with my Scallop and Risotto dish.  Mr. Man got a MEAT salad (seriously... you had to dig under 1/2lb of meat to find the lettuce!), and a sweet tea.  I thought I was full enough to skip dessert, but when our waiter brought out Mr.  Man's carrot cake slice that was as tall as my head - I guiltily gave in.  It was a fantastic way to unwind after a stressful and frustrating day for both of us, and we were able to laugh, joke, reminisce, and then mosey over to an outdoor firepit after dinner.  Summer is here, and so is summer dining, and since the cicadas aren't taking over this particular area, that let's us people swarm around outside.  Mhmmm summa nights are the BEST - especially when your dinnertime sunset is as beautiful as this:

The week I tried to poison my knight in shining armor...

So... married life.  People keep asking me how it is.  Obviously, my husband is the love of my life, and the first three months have been quite an adventure.  I am really looking forward to the next 11thousand.
But it has definitely come with some learning moments.
But pinterest has given me this confidence.  Of course I can make the most delectable meal, work out, make my house look great, and conquer the world with inspirational and witty quotes in the process.
So I found a wonderful recipe for beef stew.  I excitedly bought some stew beef chunks, and pinned the best recipes.  I breaded the beef, cut up the additional ingredients (even had the foresight to cut the carrots and put them aside so they didn't get to smushy in the slow cooker), and left the stew to cook for a couple hours while we went off to watch the superbowl with the in-laws.
Monday night we were ready for some delicious beef stew.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) I had bible study, so I left Kev to enjoy the beef stew while I had dinner with some great girls.
Monday, I got a message from Kev that he quarantined himself in the apartment.  At first we thought it might be the stomach bug that his brother and sister in law had last week, but then when I came home and didn't get sick, and then we noticed the smell coming from the crock pot - WE KNEW.
Fast forward to Thursday night.  As I was coming home I pulled toward the end of the street and realized there was no further spaces, so I go to put the car in reverse.  It wouldn't move.  So I put on the parking brake, shift back and forth a couple times, and no dice.  But because my car is an automatic, I couldn't get into park either.  I call Kev and he tells me to try to turn off my car and turn it back on.  Well unfortunately, I tried to turn off the car and it wouldn't turn all the way off.  It also decided to not turn all the way back on.  So here I'm sitting, blocking in at least 3 cars, and my car won't turn off, won't turn on, and won't shift.  So I am sitting here freaking out, having images of the bill for towing our car, getting it fixed, etc... I am waiting for my battery to die, the people who I'm blocking in to suddenly need to leave, and all other ridiculous thoughts.  I can't leave because my key is stuck.  Finally Kev shows up.  He gets in the car, I toss him the manual, and say - Help!  He shifts.  Just like that.  Car turns on.  Just like that.  Enter riotous laughter from my husband who is then joking about being my knight in shining armor.
I learned an important marriage lesson this week.  If you poison your husband, he will plot for your car to betray you.  Clearly, there is no other explanation.

Also, I am giggling because of the occasion (ok... occasions) that I missed the f in shift.  It's a funny story either way.