Movie and Popcorn

I thinking watching a movie and eating popcorn is a classic date night for most people.  It was no exception when my husband and I got married.  We lived in a college town and pretty close to a Redbox.  After scouring the internet for a free Redbox code, we went and picked out a movie.  I'm not a huge popcorn fan because the popcorn kernels get stuck in my teeth, but we discovered that we love puffcorn just as much, if not more.  Obviously, you can pick the treat to your own liking, but we really love the puffcorn because you can get it for two dollars at basically any place.  (We like the Chesters Cheese puffcorn because it says $2 right on the bag - they can't charge more, right?)  Tangent about popcorn = over.

I don't go to the movies much, but we love our movies at our home.  The new Star Wars was pretty great, guys.  Go Redbox that one if you haven't seen it.  If you're not into that, my daughter and I went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks:  The Road Chip while the rest of the family went to see Star Wars - The Force Awakens.  I thought it was good and I laughed out loud at a lot of things.  If you really want to save the $1.28 or whatever price a Redbox is these days, go to your local library and rent one for free.  We love doing that as well.  On our library's website, if there isn't a movie at our local library, we can request it from a 'sister' library and then pick it up when it comes in.  

Relationship reconnection:  Change up how you select your movie.  Let your spouse pick out a movie, the next time you can.  This act of unselfishness (even though it might not seem that way) can speak volumes to your spouse.  It shows them that you are willing to take an interest in something they like.  Or, you can pick out a movie that neither of you have seen before.  Discuss the movie and learn something new about one another.

Happy dating!

Questions

My husband and I had a short courtship and engagement.  We went on our first date and were married eight weeks later.  While this isn't the course for most couples, it worked for us and we couldn't be happier.  However, because of this whirlwind relationship, we didn't have the time to do things that 'normal' couples do.  (Did I mention that our relationship was also long-distance?)  However, after we got married, I noticed that there were a lot of posts on social media containing questions to ask your boyfriend/girlfriend before getting married - just to make sure they were an okay match.  One night, I saw one and clicked on it.  I started asking Jeff the questions, to be funny, but it ended up turning into a great date night.  We were poor college students (still are) and as newlyweds, it was a great way to find out more about each other that we may not have discovered until later in our marriage.

Here are a few different websites that I found that have a bunch of questions:

This one is for married folks:
http://www.intoxicatedonlife.com/2013/10/21/heart-heart-time-spouse-50-things-ask/#_a5y_p=2782670

Here is the one that we took shortly after we were married:
https://onlyartblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/100-questions-couple-should-ask-before-getting-married/

Relationship Reconnection:  I'm a huge advocate for good communication and many researchers tell us that 'communication is key.'  I agree with that and I think these questions encourage that communication and opening up that is crucial in any relationship.  One thing that these questions will allow you to do is open up to one another.  You'll share experiences and some deep, personal feelings.  This provides an excellent way for you and your spouse to be connected.  Perhaps it will connect you on a level that you haven't connected before.

Happy dating!

Getting to know you

Each time I hear the phrase "getting to know you," I think about the movie The King and I.  Growing up, that was one of my favorite songs from the movie.  Also, it's an appropriate title for my first post on this blog.  Let's get started.

My name is Sammi Fillmore.  I grew up in Wisconsin and after having moved to several different places, I'm back in the Dairy State with my family.  My husband, Jeff, and I will be married for 5 years in August and we have a 3 year old daughter.  I'm a senior at BYU-Idaho and am doing online school so that I can be home with my daughter.  I'm a Marriage and Family Studies major and I love learning about how to strengthen marriages and families.

I'm creating this blog for a few different reasons.  I want to use the knowledge that I'm gaining in order to help others find happiness in their marriages (and, by default, their families, too.)  I also love a good site for finding great, fun dates.  I know how hard it can be to continue to date your spouse once you've been wooed and wed.  I hope that you can find some great ideas for dates in the Wisconsin.  Don't worry, some, if not most, of the date ideas are applicable to those outside of Wisconsin. :)

Each blog post will be equipped with a "relationship reconnection" section.  Consider this to be part of the date.  This section will include ways to keep your relationship fresh and functioning.  I'm going to try and give you date ideas that I've done with my husband so that you know they are top notch.  I look forward to getting to know you.

Happy dating!