Happy Father's Day. :)

This has been a great weekend. It's impossible (as always) to convey the magic of it through this bloggy thing. Quite frankly, if you weren't there, then you just can't know, no matter how much detail I put here. If I was a great writer, you might get a better idea. But you still wouldn't know.

I spent all of Friday with nothing to do at work, waiting as patiently as I could, given the circumstances, for 4:30 to roll around so I could get out of there. And eventually it did, although it took its sweet time. But I raced away, sprouted wings and flew to Hamburg, lamenting the rain slightly but still looking forward to the evening. I got to Joe's in no time flat, transferred my stuff into his car, and we were on our way. The drive itself was a nice start -- since I started working we've mostly taken two cars, or not gone anywhere at all, and I've missed all those drives we used to take between Fredonia and Buffalo. Car rides are great for talking. When it comes down to it, our whole relationship started with a car ride, and we've had a lot of good conversations in that car. And besides that, it's always nice to be in the passenger's seat now and again. :) So I was happy to hop in and chat and kiss at the red lights and just enjoy the drive through the fog, across the bridge and over the border into Canada, where there aren't any lane markers so you can go anywhere you want, and you can't speed because the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will chase you down on superspeed demon horses and have you arrested. :D

I happen to think it's very interesting that in this year I have been to every country on the continent of North America. :)

Eventually our drive led us to the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, which isn't an overly spectacular city by any means, although it is way nicer than Niagara Falls, NY, and has a better view. :) Our hotel was pretty easy to spot (being approximately the tallest building in sight) and eventually we figured out how to get to it, and at some point after that we figured out where we ought to park. And then we checked in. That was a new experience for both of us, although I wasn't the one doing the checking-in, but this is the first time I've ever stayed in a hotel with someone who wasn't old enough to be my parent. ;) The girl at the desk was Asian and had an accent that wasn't always easy to decipher, and when Joe was giving her his name I thought he was spelling it wrong. *rolls eyes at self* You can't take me anywhere. ;)

Our room was on the sixteenth floor and up we went, and down the hall, and through the door, and... hmm. Well it wasn't the one we thought we were getting (and that's an understatement). It was pretty much your standard hotel room, except that it had a jetted bathtub and a view of the falls. And the bathroom had a mirror DIRECTLY across from the toilet. That was unnerving, to say the least. Every time I looked up, this perverted girl was staring at me. And where the hell are you supposed to look? Down? No, the goal is to NOT be staring at yourself.. At the ceiling? That's a [literal] pain in the neck. No, you look at the opposite wall if you've gotta look somewhere, which is why the opposite wall is NOT covered in a full-length mirror. I couldn't get away from myself. It was frightening. At least if I were a guy I could have been staring at the wall BEHIND the toilet, which did not have a mirror (I think it was the only wall that didn't). :P I started wishing I could pee standing up.

I digress... the point of that was basically to say that on Friday afternoon I realized I am not the type of person who would want a mirror on the celing over my bed. *shudder*

Anyhow, Joe was really not happy about the room, after all he was the one paying for it and it wasn't what we had been hoping for. I admit I was disappointed in it myself but I probably wouldn't have said anything, because I'm me, and because I'm hesitant about spending other people's money. But he called down to the front desk to see what they could do, and half an hour later we were upgrading to a corner suite on the twentieth floor.

WOW. This room had: sitting area with couch and fireplace (that didn't work), sitting area with two chairs and the tv, balcony, and bathroom with floor-to-ceiling windows (overlooking the falls of course) and a jacuzzi tub that was actually built for two people. There was room for Joe to jog (I don't remember why he was jogging, just that he looked really cute while he was doing it because he had a gigantic smile on his face) and we ran around and danced like fools and explored the balcony and looked at the falls (when the fog lifted enough to see them) spit over the railing and yelled "PUPPY!" and ordered room service (complete with tiny single-serving ketchup bottles that were so adorable I had to steal one) and basically just revelled in the fact that for a day we could be together, living like royalty without a care in the world, enjoying one another's company. Because when it comes down to it, it's not the room that made the trip what it was, it was the person I got to share it with.

I don't know how I got so lucky. When I think about it sometimes I'm ashamed, because I know there are times I forget, there are times I take him for granted and I wish I wouldn't do that. He works so hard so that we can do things like this and sometimes I don't know if I even realize that. What am I doing? Am I putting as much effort into our happiness and our future as he is? Sometimes I feel like I'm just sitting around waiting for things to happen... like all I'm doing is taking taking taking and I don't give anything back. Does he know how much I love him? Does he know what an honor it is to know that he would consider me to be his wife? Does he know that I would give him the world if I could? I hope so. He is everything I have always wanted, and that's the God's honest truth. I feel like I spent a long time kissing a frog, and when I eventually gave up and put the frog back in its pond, I turned around and ran right into the prince I'd been looking for the whole time. And suddenly I went from a common peasant to a princess overnight... and though every woman deserves to be treated like a princess, the trick is not to be fooled into believing you ARE one, because then you start EXPECTING princess treatment and that's not right. Be a lady instead, and make sure your prince knows he's royalty too, and then you'll live happily ever after even though you're really just a middle-class couple with a mortgage and car payments. (Advice from a world-class expert on relationships... hahaha, okay, no, it's from me, and I need to do a better job of taking my own advice.) ;)

Well.... anyhow, more highlights from this weekend... :) Getting the chance to relax in the jacuzzi (in spite of the scalding water fiasco). ;) Running out on the balcony in our swimsuits and towels, soaking wet, to watch the fireworks that we couldn't see because of the fog (isn't it nice that there were fireworks just for us on our four-month anniversary?!). :) Having dessert while watching the Simpsons in a bed which was big enough to accomodate three people, two dogs, and quite possibly a camel. Waking up on Saturday to that smile. *melts* :) Walking into the bathroom on Saturday morning and seeing Niagara Falls... lol, that was great, I gasped and made Joe come look out the window with me. ;) (Sidenote: that was a 1000% improvement... seeing Niagara Falls from the toilet, as opposed to seeing yourself in a full-length mirror... *shudder*) The conversation we had while he was trying to convince me I needed to take a shower so we could check out on time. Running out to the balcony and taking pictures before we left. Taking a walk down for a closer look at the falls before breakfast. Looking around the tourist trap of Falls Ave and not finding the Hershey Store. ;) Playing in the fun house: running in the 'hamster wheel' and realizing we'd make adorable dwarves. :D Playing the piano at the Brock Plaza Hotel. The old guy on the bike who had a trailer for his dog. Getting soaked and singing at the "Journey Behind the Falls". Hooking up the 'Leslie' and 'Joseph' keychains at the gift shop, and giving them their own private suite of hooks. :) Rainbows. Getting a malt with two straws at the Hershey store. Marveling at weird Canadian money. :) Exploring the Guinness World Records Museum where Joe played the world's largest pinball machine. ;) Taking a last look and a last picture before we had to head back to reality.

Now that I'm back, the reality is that I've spent way too much time writing in this blog, but I didn't really have anything else to do today anyway. ;) But anyhow, I suppose it's time to wrap up now...

Happy anniversary to my love, and thanks for an incredible weekend. :)