This one was tough… I wish you luck!
X- XOXO, Xian (Chinese Date Night), Xylograph (wood engraving)

Ideas:
Xian-  The capital of the Shaanxi province in China… a great lead-in for a Chinese Date Night.

Xylograph-  Ever tried your hand at wood engraving?  Me neither, but it might make for a cool gift.

RACY WARNING: Stop now, or forever hold your peace.

XXX –  You little vixen, you… how about some tasteful boudoir photos for your sweetie?

Happy Romancin!

Krista

Wild, Wii, Waltz, Want, Winter, Watch, Wallet, Woo, Woman, Wonderland, Wild West, Waiter, Walk, Warm, Wax, Weather, Wedding, Wheels, Wife, Wish, Written Word

Ideas:
Wild-  Do something you used to enjoy when you were in high school or before the kids came along.  Like when you used to go to the local track and watch the amateur drag races… or whatever your wild selves used to do.

Wii-  Have a Wii tournament.  Our personal faves are MarioKart and Wii Sports Resort.  Particularly the speed slice and sword fighting.  =]

Wonderland-  Have a “wonderland” themed date.  You could do winter wonderland or Alice in wonderland.  Get creative!  Snow cones, anyone?

Wild West-  Have a wild west date night.  Have ‘drinks’ at the ‘saloon’ (IBC Root Beers or Cream Soda?).  Play a few games of ‘hangman’.  Watch a cowboy and indians movie.  Pull out those Nerf dart guns and have a wild shoot out!

Wax-  Maybe I’m the only one that does this, but I’ll admit that, during the winter,  sometimes my legs don’t get the attention they do during the summer.  Ya know, shorts season.  Now, I’m not saying like 2 weeks of stubble, but sometimes I am guilty of just that.  Eek, right?  Give your sweetie a treat and get that all waxed off!  You’ll feel better about it too.

RACY WARNING:  Stop now if you’d rather not know.  Highlight the text if you would.

Whoopie, Wig, Water, Wrestle.


Whoopie-  Get in the mood with some Whoopie Pies.  Save any extra filling.  I’m sure you could come up with something to do with it…


Wig-  Spice it up a little… or maybe just grab a wash out hair dye.



Water-  Hot & Steamy Shower?  Or a warm soak in the tub?  Your choice.  Hot tub accessible?  Consider that too.



Wrestle-  Or whatever you wanna call it…

Happy Romancin’!

Krista

U-  Unforgettable, Unwind, Underwater, Ultimate, Unite, Utopia, Unique, Universe, Useful

Ideas:
Unforgettable-  Do something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time.  Bungee jump?  Skydive?  White water rafting (I suggest waiting until the ice melt in the river before you do this one though… =])? 

Unwind-  Take the evening off.  Go get your favorite take-out and forget about the pile of dishes in the sink or the laundry that needs to be done.  They will be there tomorrow.  Take the evening off and relax.  The whole household.

Underwater-  Last year My Mr Right got a certificate (handmade) for a trip to the hot springs about 1/2 hour from our house.  We didn’t get to use it… though.  We ended up moving before it was warm enough for me to venture out in my swimming suit. 

Useful-  Give a small, but useful gift.  Need to replace something that has been worn out.  Now is as good a time as any.

Happy Romancin’!

Krista

If you haven’t figured out that I’m trying to get through the ABC’s of Love, well, I am.  I’m feeling a little tied down to those posts while I have letters that aren’t finished.  So, I’m trying to get those all out and done so I can move on to other things.  Two months of nothing but love posts (well, almost nothing but love) has me worn a little thin and I’m sure I started repeating myself about 6 weeks ago, right?  Well, my apologies and thanks for sticking with me.  I have some fun posts planned for the next few weeks.

So, have you ever needed some jewelry for an event or occasion, but don’t have the budget to go out and get some?  A couple years ago, My Mr Right was working for the Army.  It was a civilian position, but he was required to wear his ACU’s to work (the camouflage uniforms).  And, because he had this job, he was also required to attend the Annual Military Ball.  At $20/ticket, we were less than thrilled.  However, it gave me the excuse to buy a new dress and shoes.  I spent thriftily (dress $20 and shoes $10) and borrowed what I could, but I didn’t have any jewelry and could find any I liked in my price range.  I walked down the beading aisle at Wal-Mart and the love affair began.  I love to make my own jewelry.  For about $10 I got everything I needed to make earrings, a necklace and a bracelet.  And there were leftovers.  Waaay cheaper than the jewelry I’d been looking at.  And I think it turned out nicely.

 
Ok, here’s the how:
1)  Gather your supplies.  You will need wire or beading cord, clasps, scissors or bead wire cutters, super glue and your beads of choice.
2)  Lay out or draw out your basic pattern.  At least have an idea of what you want.  I usually tie off one end of the wire and attach the clasp and just string one way.  But you can start in the middle and work your way out.  Just be careful about where the ends of your wire are.  There’s nothing worse than to string in on there and then pull the wire out and have to do it all over again. 
3)  Begin stringing you beads in the pattern you outlined in the previous step. 
4)  If you are going to do multiple stings, you will still need to string out the entire pattern, attach the other end of the clasp and tie it off so you have a single- strand, completed necklace.

5)  Decide where you want your multiple strands to start and end.  Take a piece of wire or cord (that is triple the length from your start point to your stop point) and loop it up through the bead that is at your starting point.  Pull it a third of the way through the start point bead.  String your beads in the desired pattern on both ends of the wire.  This should make two stands of beads. 
6)  Take the end of the wire that should be almost out of room and thread it through the “end” bead.  Secure it with several twists above the “end bead and a dot of super glue.  Let dry.  Be sure to avoid contact with the other beads or any other surfaces.

7)  Take the end of the wire that still has a lot of room on it and loop it through the “end” bead and the bead above it.  Loop the “end” over the second bead and back down through the “end” bead.  You should be able to string another strand on the rest of the wire, making four strands total.  Secure the end of this wire the same way you did in the previous step, but with the “start” bead.
You may want to tangle your strands together before you secure them for a more cohesive look.