Guess What!?!

 Thanks to all of YOU....we are a finalist in the Top Ten Marriage Blogs of 2010!  {SQUEAL!!}

We feel purdy special!  We would LOVE to continue on and hopefully be one of the actual top ten blogs....but we definitely need your help!  One more voting round....and we will be in debt to you forever!!  We PROMISE to come up with some super amazing date ideas....{WINK!}

Just copy our URL: http://www.thedahlingdatingdivas.blogspot.com/ and click HERE to be sent to the "Voting Booth".  Leaving a comment counts!  :) Just let them know that you are voting for The Dating Divas....

....and we will get RIGHT on planning those spectacular dates for ya!  :) 

The "CSI: Love Edition" Date

Being a teacher definitely comes with perks! We may not get paid enough....but getting free things here and there helps to "soften" the financial blow. {WINK}  A few months ago, Nevada teachers were given the opportunity to go thru one session of The CSI Experience in downtown Las Vegas for free.  I have never really watched the show so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Holy hannah...it was a BLAST!!

We were given the choice of three possible crime scenes to examine and solve.  We chose the most interesting one....a car that had driven through the living room of a house.

The driver was pronounced dead....but there were some fishy things about the crime scene, there were bloody handprints on the driver's door, some bloody footprints, some blood on the couch, and a dent in the hood of the car...that could or could not have been made by a human body.  It definitely looked like the driver had gotten out of the car...yet he was still sitting in it!?!

 

After examining the crime scene, we were directed to mini-labs in which we would do "tests" which slowly got us closer and closer to solving the crime. We examined the footprints, questioned possible suspects, examined the DNA evidence, learned about "blood splatter", and much more!

After the date, Jamie & I were amazed at how much fun we had!  I would never want to be a real detective - I don't think I could handle all of the horrible things they have to see....but I sure enjoyed trying to piece together what events led up to the {pretend} crime as well as how and why things happened.  

 

Jamie & I talked about how we could recreate this date for our friends....for FREE!  All we needed was a crime scene.....

 

OK, so I just have to say that I couldn't have pulled this off without my SWEET husband!  He kept coming up with the best ideas!  At one point...while trying to figure out "whodunnit"...we had our cute puppy as the criminal....and we were going to leave evidence like half of a doggy treat at the crime scene. Haha!! We were cracking ourselves up trying to think of what the crime was and who did it. :)  Thanks to my husband's inspirational ideas....I finally came up with a "fun" crime! :)  

 First, I created the invite, of course!  I always like a little suspense!  Even though my husband knew we were going to do a CSI date...I left this in his car the morning of...

You can download your free invite HERE.  I also created a "label" that said, "CONFIDENTIAL" in red...I placed a long envelope beneath it & held it up to the light so I could see the outline...and cut it out.  I then adhered that label to the front of the envelope (so it looked like it was printed on it).  I also put on some bright lipstick....and kissed the envelope a few times.  Jamie loved it.  :)

 

I sent the invite to a few of our friends....and we planned to have a homemade Cafe Rio night.  We tried the recipe that Lisa M. recommended in her Bear River Lodge date.  You can find that recipe here.  I assigned all of the girls something to bring.  Since this was the first time any of us had made this...we laughed when every girl showed up saying that she didn't think her part turned out!  :)  It turned out tasting delicious anyway.

 

I tried to make this date as easy as possible....and used items we had around the house.  I already did the hard part and created the entire crime & all of the handouts. {WINK}  Here is a list of all of the things you will need to gather for your date:

 

MATERIALS NEEDED:

*The FREE CSI Invite

*White balloons {1 per person}

*Pencils {1 per person}

*Clipboards - Optional {1 per person}

*The FREE CSI Downloads

*An old stuffed animal {the victim}

*Washable red paint

*White chalk

*Orange or Yellow crepe paper {or Police Line tape if you have any left over from Halloween}

*Four shoes that have very similar tread {I used tennis shoes}

*Nine Manila envelopes...depending on how many couples there are {or you can use regular white envelopes}

*Adhesive {I use scrapbooking tape because I don't like how glue wrinkles up your paper!}
*"Sticky Fingers" Activity - Optional
*Stamp Pad

 

Prepping for this was pretty easy and quite fun!  :)  

#1) First, gather all of your materials. 

#2) Printed off the free download(s) above, cut everything apart, and adhere all of the labels to manila envelopes. 

#3) Take the shoe that supposedly belongs to the criminal, paint the bottom with washable paint, and carefully "stamp" it on the Footprint Analysis paper. If you use washable paint...and you are quick...it will wash right off the bottom of the shoe.  {HINT:  When you are finished washing the paint off...if you are anything like me...you will have gotten the shoe wet in the process.  If your date takes place shortly....then you won't want a wet shoe for everyone to examine.  Just swap it out for the other half of the pair.}  

#4) Place all of the suspect statements, the handwriting samples, the fingerprint analysis, and the "Whodunnit?" paper into their correct folders.

#5) Place the Crime Scene Evidence into it's folder as well.

#6) Place the strips labeled "Owner of Shoe"  into four shoes....with the word "Owner" sticking out.  Make SURE that the strip that says, "Lois Price" on it is stuck into the shoe that stamped onto the Footprint Analysis paper.

#7) Cut apart the "Crack The Case" cards & place them in a jar along with pencils or pens.

#8) OPTIONAL: Download the "Sticky Fingers" Activity & place the Student Worksheet in the CSI Training Folders - 1 per person. I had couples share a folder.  Also place balloons in the folders.  
{HINT: I would also use a stamp pad when doing your own fingerprints.  The "pencil trick" doesn't work that great.  Just read the instructions on that paper and you will see what I am talking about.}

#7) Create your crime scene.....or in other words....place the victim & his injury {washable red paint} preferably where your guests & spouse will see it first.  :)

We have a great group of friends that are always game to go on our crazy group dates with us.  When they showed up, they were greeted by the actual crime scene!!  Everyone loved it...and it was the perfect way to kick off the evening.

Poor Jack Tupp had been killed!!

Great start to a fun date.  :)  After eating our yummy homemade Cafe Rio Pork Salad....we got down to biz-ness!

I handed out the CSI Training Envelopes - one per couple.  Inside was the "Sticky Fingers" activity and a "mini-crime" to solve.

{Include balloons & pencils}

 This is an activity I found online for teachers to do with their students.  I found it SO fascinating....how different every fingerprint is....that I thought it would be neat for the couples to take their own prints to see what they look like.  You basically place your fingerprints on a balloon...using ink....and then blow it up to see an enlarged version of your prints!  THEN...each couple tries to solve a crime that happened at a local bakery...at which fingerprints were left behind.  It's pretty interesting.  This part is totally optional!  You can do this to get everyone "warmed up" to solve the real crime...or skip right to the action!  :)

When your group is ready to start the actual solving of the crime...

Read aloud the "Crime Scene" & the bios of the Possible Suspects.  {This is on the first page of the download.}  Then - get the "Suspect Statement" envelope & hand out the statements to different people to read. The people in our group were HILARIOUS when reading those statements!  Cute Lynsie started it off with an funny accent that cracked us up...and then after that everyone changed their voice up in some way.  Anjuli was last...and I loved her expression when we told her that she had to do an accent as well.

I then pulled out the Crime Scene Evidence Envelope & everyone looked at that stuff.  {You will need those items for the rest of the investigation.} We continued on going through the different envelopes....checking out the evidence and talking about it each step of the way.  I would suggest doing it in this order:

#1 - Suspect Statements
#2 - Handwriting Analysis
#3 - Fingerprint Analysis
#4 - Footprint Analysis
{This should be the most obvious...so save it for last!}

Since you will know who did it as well as all the details....you can slightly "prod" everyone else and make sure they are on the right track...by asking questions, pointing out details they may have missed, suggesting they go back & look at certain things, etc.

After the LAST analysis is finished, hand out the "Crack the Case" slips, have everyone fill theirs out, and then read aloud the paper in the "Whodunnit?" envelope.

NOW...this can be a group date OR a date with just you and your spouse.  Whatever floats your boat!  :)  You could then end the night by watching the classic movie....CLUE!!  :)

I found a few other websites that had CSI related things on them....some were even interactive Murder Mysteries. They looked interesting...but I didn't play any of them so if they don't "pan out"....lemme just say they aren't officially "Tara-Approved"!

CSI Odds & Ends
**"On The Run"  - Interactive Crime Case
**Choose a Crime - {There are five.}
**I found an extremely creative KID'S murder mystery party HERE!
**A bunch of educational & fun CSI activities HERE.
**SUPER creative party supplies if you want to go ALL out on this date...HERE!
**Another crime you can download & solve....about a morgage company & shredded documents....click HERE!
**A virtual crime you can solve...I am not sure if the entire thing is free...or just the first "session". Go HERE!
**BBC Radio Murder Mysteries (You download the clues/papers that go with it and listen to the play…and then figure out who the killer was.)

That should give you enough ideas/references to put together a FUN and memorable CSI night with your sweetheart! :)

Love Story: Charlene & Nathan

Where to begin, I guess I would have to say… ONCE upon a time, Fall 2005 to be exact, I saw Nathan for the very first time in church. He was sitting 3-4 rows in front of me, waiting for the meeting to begin. Nathan was sitting down on the bench turned almost all the way around saying "Hello" and greeting everyone. (This is one thing I LOVE about him, he treats everyone the same. It does not matter who they are.) He had the biggest, most sincere smile, and was so excited just to be there. The first thought that came to my mind was, “He doesn’t even know he is going to marry me.” I thought I was so funny seeing how I had never even talked to him before and not to mention I had a boyfriend at the time.

A few months later my roommate and I had a huge super bowl party and Nathan, like so many others from the ward, were invited. This was the first time we officially met but did not really talk.

A few months later a group of us went on a hike up to Bridal Veil Falls.

On the way home one of the three cars full of college students broke down. As the group of us waited at the gas station for the men to fix the car...there was a car parked next to us that had the windows down and was playing country music. Nathan took my hand and asked if we could dance. I look at him and said, ”WHAT! Here? Right now, in the middle of the day? In the gas station parking lot?!”  He said, “yes...” Pulled me into him and we began to dance. He dipped me, and swung me around and taught me the cowboy cha cha. Right there in front of everyone! Embarrassed as I was… I secretly loved it! From that moment on Nathan and I were BFF’s. Hung out as often as our busy schedules would allow. Listened and downloaded music together. I’d cook for him, he’d sing to me. Sat with each other at church, started meeting each other’s family… but we were JUST FRIENDS. Best friends - nothing more, nothing less. Our relationship was like this for a little less than a year. Then I woke up on a Monday and decided I LOVED him and wanted to be with him FOREVER. On Wednesday I wondered why I didn’t have a ring. Then on Saturday, he proposed!!!

We were married February 10, 2007.

And lived happily ever after…

Or wait, I mean…. then REAL life began. Dishes, diapers, compromising, patience, laundry, diligence, juggling work, school, and family……. really it’s a beautiful life. Together we are discovering, what the TRUE meaning of LOVE is. We work together daily as a team to improve our already beautiful/almost perfect marriage.

Don't Miss THIS Black Friday Deal!!

First of all, the divas hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!!  We all did....and we all have SO much to be grateful for....including all of our readers!!  We truly appreciate your encouraging words and fun ideas!  It definitely helps keep OUR motivation up!  :)
....we are all out hitting up the Black Friday sales....prepping for Christmas!  Gotta love these sales!!  Jamie & I were able to get ALL of our Christmas done our first year together by researching the Black Friday deals...lemme tell ya....those presents were HITS, too! {lol} Since then....we tend to lean more towards homemade presents as well as presents from the heart....which is why I was SO excited to hear about another Black Friday deal!!
Remember THIS post??  

My BEA.U.TI.FUL canvas that I surprised Jamie with? Well, we just found out that Canvas People has a FABULOUS deal starting TODAY!!  They are offering 50% off your ENTIRE order and.....wait for it.......wait for it.....
...FREE SHIPPING!!!!  These are great Christmas presents...and I already told you why I LOVE having pics of my sweetie and I all over our home!  :)  Click HERE to take advantage of this great deal!  It's a limited time offer....so don't miss out!  :)
Happy Black Friday Shopping!!

A Perfect Pedicure for "Pretty Feet"!

Well, we are officially well into Fall and on our way to Winter. So I decided to give you something a little unexpected. A post about your feet! True, in the Fall/Winter we are usually wearing boots and so our feet are covered up, but guess who still sees them? Your HUSBAND! I bet he would LOVE if you kept your pretty pedicure all year long! So I am going to give you five easy steps to PRETTY FEET! You can repeat these once a week to keep your feet pretty and soft, and that way you will have nice toes and feet without breaking the bank!

Step # 1 - PREP

This is the part where you use a little olive or cuticle oil, and gently push back your cuticles. Then clip your nail STRAIGHT ACROSS. I emphasize that because it is the best way to cut your toe nails and avoid getting any ingrown toe nails. Make sure not to cut them too short either. Then file to make sure everything is even...but make sure to file in one direction horizontally across the tops. 

Step # 2 - SOAK

Fill a basin with warm water and add at least a cup of Epsom salt. Epsom salt is amazing! It helps reduce stress and relieves muscle and joint pain. It also softens skin. So USE IT! Stick your feet in and let them soak for about 10 minutes. 

  

Step # 3 - SCRUB

Take one foot out at a time, and use a gentle exfoliating scrub. I like my Mint Melon & Sugar scrub from... guess where?? Target! Scrub the bottoms of your heels because HELLO, isn't that where our feet take a beating. Then take your file and smooth your heels going with the grain of your foot. This will keep your feet smoother.

  

Step # 4 - Paint

This is the hard part. The first thing is make sure your nails are clean and dry. Start by painting a strip right down the middle of your big toe nail vertically. Then another on either side until your whole nail is covered. This will just be the first coat so don't worry if it doesn't look perfect. On all of your other little toe nails paint a thin layer horizontally. Now paint the toes on your other foot while the first nails dry. After you finish the second foot apply a second layer to all your toenails the same way that you started. Then the second coat dry, and then apply a think layer to just the top half of your nail. This a GREAT little TRICK to keep the top part of your nails from chipping as fast. After you let all your nails dry for about 20 min. Apply your clear top coat, and let that dry.

 Step # 5 - Soften

The last step is to apply a heavy lotion or healing cream to your heels. I like Aquaphor but anything like that will work. Apply a pretty thick layer and put on COTTON socks. Cotton socks will help you absorb the lotion even more. Now go get some BEAUTY SLEEP! When you wake up, you will have super soft, super pretty feet, and heels. The only thing you will have to do is touch up your polish a little when it chips, but your AT HOME PEDI should last about 2 weeks. Try to do the lotion and sock trick at least twice a week though. Just to keep those heels soft. This way when Summer comes around again, it will be a lot less work for you to get your feet "sandal ready". Plus as girls, we sometimes get the urge to wear peep toe heels to special events like...a Christmas Party! 

That's it!  Five steps to beautiful, perfect feet! My husband always notices my feet, NO he doesn't like all feet he just thinks mine are cute. So it has always been important for me to keep them pretty. How your feet look says a lot about how well you take care of yourself. SO give yourself this quick and easy at home PEDI tonight! Your husband will be even more likely to give you that FOOT RUB!

PS. My nail color is O.P.I. Light My Sapphire. If you haven't noticed, I like O.P.I.  a lot!  If you want to try some of their nail colors you can go here and try some of their nail colors onto a hand that you can adjust the skin color to see if you like it and if it works on you, BRILLIANT! BTW my husband totally commented on my CUTE SOFT FEET after I painted them. It works GIRLS, your hubby will notice, and he'll also notice that you saved some money! 

The SPOUSE Christmas Countdown

Are you ready for the hustle & bustle of Christmas to begin?? Oooohhh...I am!  I absolutely LOVE Christmas time!!  *sigh*  OK...."observation time".....I feel that when the Christmas season hits, we usually tend to focus more on the kids….don’t you agree?? Of course, the wonder and joy on their faces when they experience a FABULOUS Christmas…definitely HELPS. {lol} 

 If you want to make sure your spouse knows how much you adore him/her during THIS holiday season…and doesn't feel neglected....have I got an idea for you!  Cuz ya know….Christmas isn’t JUST for the little ones.... ☺

Two years ago, I decided I wanted my husband to have something FUN to look forward to when December hit….so I created the FIRST set of “Jamie’s Christmas Countdown”. Twenty-five days of L.O.V.E. just for him!  I am going to show you my original Countdown...and if you are SUPER busy.....{Who isn't, right?!?}.....there is a "quick" version that you can instantly download!  :)

I grabbed a spool of beautiful cherry red ribbon, 25 clothespins, some removable clips that you can put on your walls….without ruining them. :)  They are pretty cheap and you can purchase them anywhere - I got mine at Walmart.

I then sat down....numbered a piece of paper from 1-25 and went to town planning my countdown!  I put stars next to the nights that were Fridays & Saturdays....since those were the nights that I KNEW we would have time to either do a date night or stay up late.  Next to each number I wrote one of three things:

• A Compliment - something I LOVED about him {this made up 2/3 of the countdown}
• A Service - something I was going to do for him  {this was 1/2 of the last 1/3 of the countdown}
• A FUN Christmas Activity - something we could go and do together....having to do with the season {this made up the remaining 1/2 of the last 1/3 of the countdown}

  I made sure that they were ALL mixed up.  BTW - don't try to book every last weekend....things will come up, so make sure your schedule is flexible!  Also - HE might secretly be planning fun things for you...so make sure to keep some of your weekend nights open.  I would let him know in advance what particular nights you have "set" plans.....just mark put a heart on those days on your family calendar & tell him that those are nights he should keep open.

I typed up all of my different cards & scrapbooked each one.  I went overboard that year and decided to do them ALL different themes/colors/sizes.  Yep, I was crazy...in love!  haha....I know, I know....cheesy....

Here are a few of the "Compliment" cards:

Go Ahead & Click On The Pic To Read Text....

Go Ahead & Click On The Pic To Read Text....

Make sure you take this opportunity to point out to your spouse ALL of the wonderful things that you love about him/her!  You can NEVER compliment a person too much!!  Let them know how much you adore the funny quirks...that only YOU know about!  :)  I had so much fun reflecting on our years together and jotting down the things I loved about him.

NEXT - the "Service" cards! Here's an example of one of mine:

Go Ahead & Click On The Pic To Read Text....

One night he came home to a trail of rose petals leading to our Master Bathtub where a candlelit bubble bath waited.  {Wink}  ...thus the term "bubbly"....

Think about things your spouse would REALLY enjoy...and then use those as your "sevice" cards!  For example, my husband LOVES back scratches...and I give super "wimpy" ones.....or so he says.  :)  In my defense, uhhhhh....ok, so I AM a wimp!  {lol}  Anyway, I promised to give him an AMAZING backrub!  I also don't love to cook....please don't judge me, all you CHEFS out there....so I made the ultimate sacrifice and told him I would create ANY dessert he wanted.  {That was a HUGE sacrifice on my part....and do you know what he "ordered"??  Apple pie!  You better believe I made it from scratch! Longest five hours of my life.  J/K...maybe it only took me three?!?}

You get my point, right?  Remember that December is going to be a CRAZY busy month for you...so don't promise anything you can't deliver on!  :)

 LAST but not least are the actual FUN Christmas activities that you will do together.  I chose to keep them all a secret and use the cards as "teasers".  Here are a few of mine:

Go Ahead & Click On The Pic To Read Text....

Go Ahead & Click On The Pic To Read Text....

Some other activities I planned for us was a Christmas "Movie-a-thon" & watching all of our FAVs while eating our favorite Christmas treats, checking out the lights at Temple Square {this was when we lived in Utah}, planning a night under the stars {we camped out by the Christmas Tree on a blow-up mattress}, going to the Festival of Trees with his family, etc.  They don't ALL have to be Christmas-related!  We had an entire night of Wii games.

There are SO many fun Christmas things you can do together!  This is where you can also involve the whole family!  Have a "make a gingerbread house" night or decorate Christmas cookies or go caroling to your neighbors.  Just make sure they are all activities that he {or she} would enjoy!

THEN - you, of course, need to end the Countdown with a LOVE note!!

Go Ahead & Click On The Pic To Read Text....

Now - if you are thinking....TARA!!  Are you crazy?!?  When am I going to find time to scrapbook 25 cards??  No worries!  I found a pre-made cute Christmas notecard that you can download to use for YOUR cards.  Just So Scrappy has super cute digiscrapbooking kits.  She created a FREE {ooooo...and we LOVE free....} download that would be perfect for this countdown idea!

  Just scroll all the way to the end of that post and the download is at the end.  You can place the card png image on a Word document and size it to be ANY size you would like!  I would suggest printing these on white cardstock....as they are in color.  Cut them out and if you would like to make them "pop", adhere them to Christmas-colored paper.  Click HERE to be sent to that post.

  I also typed up the numbers #1-25 in my FAVORITE font....that you can download & cut apart. THEN - instead of putting your cards in an envelope, just flip them over and adhere the numbers on the back.  Click HERE for that free printable. Wa-LAH!  You are done!

Oh yeah....don't forget to jot the actual "script" on each card!  :)

I then put up the removeable hooks in our entryway, strung the festive ribbon along it, and clothespinned the cards up.  It looked FAB-U-LOUS!!

I made sure to put it up the last day of November....before he got home from work.  He was extremely surprised to come home to this and was SO excited when I explained that he would get to read one each morning for the entire month of December!

If you still have children at home, you can involve them by letting them "help" Daddy read his card each morning.  You could make this countdown something for the whole family....but in my humble opinion...I think your spouse would be pretty touched if you did this JUST for him/her!!

...AND....this was one of our most "commented on" Christmas decor!!  All of our friends and family LOVED not only the idea behind this....but how festive it was and how it completely dressed up our entryway!  :)

Have fun creating your OWN Christmas Countdown!