The Planned Vacation

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The can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be.  But I was told once that if you do all the work to plan a vacation even if it is simple it will pay dividends.  So I called my mother-in-law and arranged for her to keep the kids for 2 weeks.  Got online and booked plane tickets to Cozumel Mexico, and reserved a hotel, and then told my wife "I am taking you on a vacation for 2 weeks, we are flying somewhere special and you need to bring a swimming suit."  (I also booked it 4 months in advance and told her what I had done). For 4 months she was running around telling everyone about this trip I was taking her on... nervously excited about it.  

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In the end I got sick in Cozumel and she vacationed alone while I puked my guts out in the hotel room for 10 days.  But she still talks about the vacation and how great it was, and it cost me less than $1,500.

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Flowers and a Card

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Call your local flower shop and ask them about weekly specials.  Our local small town flower shop has "$5 Fridays" where they bundle some flowers that they are trying to get rid of into small groups and sell them every Friday for $5.  I've also noticed Dillons Grocery Stores do the same thing.

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If your wife likes gifts this will go a long way to let her know you are thinking about her, and you can even just write "I love you" on the little flower card, you don't have to be creative.

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Dr. Pepper and M&M's

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From time to time my wife substitute teaches at the local High School.  I appreciate her effort in trying to help provide the financial support that we need to live, and so one day she texted me from school talking about how rowdy the kids were and that she wasn't having a great day.

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I just happed to be in town and have a few minutes free so I ran to Sonic to get her favorite drink "Route 44 Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, easy ice" and then I stopped by Dollar General for a small bag of M&M's and off to the school I went.  

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After I rang the bell to get into the building I had to stop by the office, as I walked in and told them what I was doing they all in unison said "Ahhh I wish my husband would do that for me"... and I knew I was winning brownie points.

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Upon arrival to her room, I made a grand entrance showing the class the gifts I had brought for their teacher and made sure to tell them how great my wife is, and that they should behave.

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The simple gesture changed her mood and the atmosphere in the class that day.  As an added bonus I became know as the World's Best Husband by the office staff and they regularly ask her when she sub's "Is your husband brining you gifts today?"

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Order on the app at Sonic and pay 1/2 price. Total expense less than $5.

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Take the Kids to the Park

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If you have young kids it doesn't really matter what you do with them just take them away from her for a few hours.  When our kids were little the mall had a kids play place in the food court, so I would drive the family to the mall walk into the food court and tell my wife "Goodbye, go shop, we will be here when you get back."  

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Then I would grab one of those amazing soft pretzels with cinnamon and sugar, and a Pepsi from some store with free refills and the kids would go play on the playground while I sat and feasted on sugar and caffeine.  

** (of course the kids got some too).

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If your wife is shy about spending money even top it off by handing her some cash and telling her to buy something nice for herself... I had to do that or my wife would come back frustrated and empty handed because she struggled to spend money on herself.

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Another variation of this would be to drive your wife to Target and keep the kids in the car while she goes and shops.  Be sure to take some games or something to help entertain the children, because she will be awhile.

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IF YOU DON'T HAVE KIDS - GO SHOP WITH HER!! Walk around the store and hold her hand, pinch her butt and enjoy the day.  If you focus on the time you are spending with her and not how frustrated you are about shopping, it just might turn into a fun experience for both of you.  Don't think shopping could be fun?  Why not create a fun video on your time out like this CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO.

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The Card I Would Have Bought You

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Believe it or not this can be a lot of fun.  We were shopping in Target one time, I had our son and she took our daughter.  As we walked around board we passed through the greeting cards.  I found a juicy anniversary card snapped a picture and sent her note that said "If today was our anniversary, this is the card I would have purchased you."  It was even better because our daughter was playing with mom's phone and saw the picture first screaming "EEEWWW".

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Now that we are older we regularly walk down the greeting card aisle together and read / laugh at cards showing each other the best ones we find.  No need to pay the $5 / card, just read it laugh together and put it back. 

 

* I still buy my wife cards, but this is a great addition to a boring shopping experience for me.

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Text Message with No Agenda

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When was the last time you sent your wife a text message that read "I Love You... That's all... Hope your day is going great."

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When you were dating she was on your mind 24x7, but now with a busy job and all the responsibilities of providing for your family, we sometimes forget that we need to tell our wives how much we love them and think of them.  A small text message for no reason might be a great way to do it.  Consider even setting an alarm on your phone to remind you to do this every day.  

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(My wife and I share calendars, but I have a calendar not shared with her phone called "Notes and To-Do's" it isn't shared because it just gets confusing for her to see all my notes.  I put notes on my calendar to remind me to do certain things... one of those things on my calendar every month is "Call dad, and Call the kids" I schedule this on my calendar because if I don't months will go by and I forget I haven't talked to them in a long time). How do you remind yourself to communicate with those you love?