Crazy little thing called Love. And broken fingers.

February Review

Ok, let me take a stab at this blogging activity though I don't think I could top my girlfriend's writing style with the dashing touch of humor she imparts in her version of the stories.

My girlfriend and my dog winking on Super Bowl Sunday. Can you tell them apart?

February 3rd - Super Bowl Sunday- After being asked by family and friends if I would throw (what has now become traditional) a Super Bowl party in my mom's basement, I of course knew I had to and thought this was a good, not-so-hectic time to bring Cheryl into my world of growing up in North Jersey.  I took her on my usual route from Bernardsville to Hackettstown going on nice back country roads into Mendham, Chester and eventually my hometown Long Valley while pointing out various meaningful landmarks along the way which I catch myself doing again and again as if she wasn't in the car the first time.  Brought her to the house I grew up in and to one of my favorite local spots, Long Valley Pub & Brewery, where we picked up Buffalo Wings for the game to accompany Cheryl's delicious homemade Buffalo Chicken Dip and Guacamole, both of which were the highlight foods of the evening.  I had a blast having some of my best friends and family members -- and now my new beautiful girlfriend -- watching the game, laughing at commercials and of course commenting on the memorable 20 minute stadium blackout.  It was rather an uneventful but fun evening and went pretty smoothly and later on we decided to go "Facebook official".  I must admit that one memory that sticks out about this night for me is the fact that Cheryl and I picked up just about all supplies for the party that -- this year -- I nonchalantly threw together, from no place better than... Walmart!  It was at this point that it became crystal clear to me that Cheryl and I were from two different universes of New Jersey.  She said she's been to Walmart a handful of times in her life while when I lived in Hackettstown, you went to Walmart a handful of times in a weekend!

Taken at Dublin Pub -- one of my favorites of Cheryl

February 6th - We took a day off and had all these great plans to get up bright and early and head into the great city of New York for a day of fun activities.  Well, things didn't quite turn out that way -- the great city we ended up going to was... Morristown, NJ! Nothing wrong with that, Morristown is a great place.  We ended up having a nice lunch at Dublin Pub (where one of my favorite, if not THE favorite, photo of Cheryl was taken)  Given that it was February, it was still cold but just warm enough for us to take a quick stroll after lunch through "the Green" (see page background picture).  We didn't really have any plans that day but I did mention to Cheryl that I had a burning desire to start cooking steaks at home which led to our brilliant idea: why not check out what cast iron skillets Bed Bath & Beyond has  and Cheryl lovingly gave me her 20% off discount to use towards it (See appropriate Old School reference)  Remember those fun activities of us exploring the great city of New York I told you about in the beginning of this paragraph?  I know Cheryl is still waiting for me to cook her that steak on that skillet she gave up her coupon for.


February 12th - Cheryl breaks her finger by, as she likes to put it, "taking the short way down the stairs"..  Ut-oh, Valentine's Day is right around the corner!

February 13th & 14th

Our first Valentine's - The Grain House

Valentine's Day - I struggled a bit about what to do for Valentine's Day and what I came up with was that for dinner I would take Cheryl back to The Grain House -- the place that we both consider to be our first significant dinner date.  However, this wasn't your typical Valentine's Day, especially given the broken finger. The comedy in this is that while we were in Morristown on the 6th (prior to the broken finger incident) we passed by the Mayo Performance Arts Center (MPAC) and noticed that Straight No Chaser were playing on February 13th and Cheryl mentioned having liked the a capella group. I made a mental note and bought tickets as part of a Valentine's Day surprise.  Seating options were limited since I got tickets late.  But since I wanted to make it a surprise, I told Cheryl (prior to the broken finger) to keep February 13th clear because my sister wanted us to go bowling with us.  The funny thing is even after she broke the finger, I stuck to the bowling plan and so did she (she's a trouper!).  "Eh, I broke the left pinky, who needs a left pinky when you bowl righty anyways?" was her thinking. She still insisted on bringing her bowling ball and I thought well this could be a funny twist so we loaded the bowling ball into the car when I picked her up and off to Morristown we went for dinner before bowling.  Before dinner, I took Cheryl by the MPAC and said, "I have a surprise for you. We're not going bowling, we're going to see Straight No Chaser".  We had a delicious meal at Millie's Old World Meatballs and Pizza and went to the show.  The seats we ended up with were against a back wall which was convenient cause Cheryl was able to keep her arm raised on the back of my chair (or on my shoulder) to help reduce the swelling of her pinky.  We watched most of the show with what might have looked like Cheryl giving me bunny ears the whole time.  And yes, her bowling ball was still in the back of my car.


Cheryl gets sick - February was a rough month for Cheryl but she definitely got through it like a champ.  After breaking her finger, one night she gets deathly ill with fevers and inflammation of the throat.  I took her to the emergency care the next morning when it became clear she needed antibiotics to help reduce the swelling in her throat.  Feeling helpless in the emergency room with her while she was getting pricked by needles, I thought I should offer her to find her something soft to eat.  As she's getting drugged up with the good stuff, I nonchalantly asked her, "Do you want me to get you a banana?"  Apparently this was a hilarious question.  I didn't think there was anything particularly strange about it but looking back on it now I guess it was a little out of the blue.  Just a little.  So... I played it safe and ended up getting water for her instead.  We left the emergency care and went straight to the pharmacy where I got a kick out of watching Ms. Zombie traverse the aisles almost motionlessly except for her feet moving as if they were on auto-pilot.

The other fond memory I have during Cheryl's visit to hell and back was coming to check in on her either later that night or the next night.  I walk in the door and there she is laying on the couch, in a hoodie with blankets and wearing ... EARMUFFS. INDOORS!  I don't know that I'll ever have a chance to see that sight again but it is forever burnt into my memory as one of the funniest, yet cutest things I've seen.  It was then I knew this relationship was gonna be a fun adventure.