Just Us

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Justin and I have a bunch of different Christmas celebrations to attend but we always have one that is just us. Justin is the ultimate romantic. On all of our special occasions he plans out an amazing event and includes a present that is beyond romantic... It is heart melting. When I say all of our special events (anniversaries, dates, holidays, etc) he literally plans them all. My gifts for the different occasions to him are very nice and thoughtful but more practical than romantic.













I decided for our Christmas Eve celebration and personal Christmas, I would prepare the date. That means I found all the places, paid for all the meals, drove the car and offered tons of surprises. Basically, what he always does for me.














Our itinerary:
1. We ate brunch at Moonshine. I chose this place after an hour of searching for the perfect restaurant. One, because it was open Christmas Eve and two, because it was upscale while still relaxed, pricey without being exorbitant and their buffet menu online had me salivating for the chance to eat their.













It was wonderful. There was a slight wait when we arrived there. Justin had eaten dinner at Moonshine but never their renowned brunch. We had pomegranate mimosas, ate a variety of amazing brunch items, such as green eggs (there's pesto in them), sat be a window that looked out on a scene of plants.













When we parked, left the car and began to walk, Justin was completely puzzled. He kept repeating the phrase, "I have no idea...". He saw Moonshine and began to tell me that Amy's (his ice cream company) had hosted the managers' dinner there and how interesting the food was. He had no clue we were actually eating here. I asked him how they entered the place. He pointed to the walk way and I walked up it. He stood at the bottom a second and then began to laugh.

2. Our second stop was Zach Scott Theatre where we saw A Rockin' Christmas Party. It is a booty shakin' party with performances of tons of Christmas songs.













3. After the musical we went ice skating. We were both pretty good at it. I spun in circles a lot and Justin skated on one foot. He did fall down but he is a risk taker, so it was expected. We took timed photos on his 1972 camera which requires manual focusing (I stink at that... if all our pictures turn out blurry it will be my fault) and manual light adjustments. It had a timer but the only signal it was taking the photo was the "eaaeaeae" sound it made winding down. The problem was we couldn't hear it from where we were standing and with the music playing on the rink.













We would race out to our spot, slipping in our skates, pose and freeze (both meanings of the word). Everyone on the rink would wait, which was very sweet, while we stayed in position. After several awkward moments we would unglue ourselves and say, "I think it took it".













4. We returned home and opened presents together. I gave Justin the animation series The Tick and a really nice graphic novel that he wanted but deemed to expensive to buy himself. We had a fifty dollar limit and we both exceeded it. I guess we're cheaters. Justin gave me a bike rack for my car and a multi-picture frame. If you can't tell I adore photos and memories. Maybe because my memory isn't very strong, I appreciate a photographs ability to keep them alive for me. At 80 I can look back on these images and recall my life.













Justin also gave me the movie Little Miss Sunshine, I recommend everyone watch it. The problem is, his brother already got me the movie. He beat Justin to the punch. It was awesome that Stephen knew me so well that he just knew I would like that movie and Justin simply wrapped it up and gave it to me anyway. He said he had lost the receipt. I laughed and we decided to re-gift it to Mom and Bob. Then Justin very casually suggested I open the movie. He gave some reason that I can't remember at the moment but I bought it and opened it up not expecting a necklace to be inside.

This is a necklace that I have been in love with for over a year but is so pricey I would never consider buying it for myself, ever. In fact, I never even told anyone that I wanted one. I never mentioned it to Justin. When we were Christmas shopping for people, I suggested it as a gift for someone else and somehow Justin read my mind and realized how much I wanted it. It is shaped as a leaf and says "Be fearless" on one of the leaves and on the other it says, "Choose love".

I was going to avoid sappiness and not say "I did." But what the hell. I did.

This is the adventure/date story of Christmas Eve 2006. I'll post pictures of the event when I get them.