Pickle: Quality time together? 5 Ideas to Try

My move from Virginia to Florida was one of mixed feelings for me simply because I LOVED living close to D.C but I am happy that we got to leave because that means that my hubby was going straight to flight training instead of getting deployed.

However, we arrived to Florida and moved into our new home only to have had to wait 3 weeks before getting our stuff from the movers and getting internet. It was annoying sleeping on a blow-up bed, sitting in patio chairs and watching tv from a small screen meant for a bedroom. However, it also was a blessing. In that down time, I had I learned a lot. The biggest being was how to really spend quality time with my husband. We actually get this down time, I have him to myself and I realized I was taking it for granted. I know there will be days in the future when he is deployed that I will look onto these 3 weeks and be so thankful.

I decided to turn my experience into a post to benefit you. I've been there, so I know that planning a wedding can easily spiral out of control and just consume everything you do. You probably read all the time to take a time out and spend quality time with your fiance.

The Pickle: Okay, so you go to take the advice, but what should you do? Go out on a fancy date? Go on a mini-vacation? With a wedding looming ahead, you can't afford to spend much money.

The Solution: In those 3 weeks without internet, I learned what quality time really was. The things we did together in that time gave me ideas that I will share with you on how to really spend quality time. How to really put each other first.

Walking around Dupont Circle in DC on our wedding anniversary just before moving day. He never smiles, lol.

1. Sit on the porch - We had really nothing else to do than watch tv, and that got boring, so we would go out and get some beer or wine and sit outside. We'd chat, uninterrupted by anything else. Or we sat silent and just listened to the outdoors. Do this with your honey to have a mini get-a-way.

2. Lay in bed - No, I don't mean sleep in! lol. Like I said before, we got bored with the tv so we would just go in our room lay in the bed and chat, talk, hold each other (sometimes that doesn't get done often) and play with the dog. It really actually felt liberating to get to lay in bed without feeling bad for not doing anything. Maybe you have a busy schedule but we all have lazy Sundays right? Get in bed!

Our little Mila playing in the blow-up bed with us.

3. Look for cars or houses - As an engaged couple, you probably aren't in the market for a brand new car or brand new home. (Maybe you are, but I sure wasn't!) It is always fun to window shop. We spent some afternoons just driving around to car dealers looking at brand new Ford trucks. My husband dreams of getting one someday, so we got to feel giddy at the idea of getting a new car together. Looking at new cars and homes just gets you in that zone of thinking of your future together. It feels real and exciting!

4. Text each other - We still had our phones and internet on our phones, but it got annoying browsing on a small screen that took forever to load! We could have just talked, we were right next to each other after all watching the same re-runs on our tv. But instead we texted to talk. I actually was fun because it felt like flirting. Give compliments, talk about dream vacations, talk about anything that doesn't come up in normal day-to-day talk.

5. Try new restaurants - We had no microwave, and no kitchenware. We couldn't make our own food so we had to eat out. We all know what the major national chains provide. We used the time to discover local places and try each one. We found new favorites and some not so favorites. All in all, it was an adventure not knowing what each place will be like. The next time you go out to eat, go eat somewhere you never been to!

Do you have some fun quality time things to do together? Do share!

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. - 1 Peter 3:3-4