So, last night the hubby and I got our first date night in roughly five years. Yes, you heard me right...five years! Now, we've done day dates while our daughter is at school but we haven't had a out at night date in five years. Our daughters Godfather volunteered to sit a while ago but for the past couple of months we've been training him and prepping him for babysitting her. Basically, just making sure that he disciplined her and that she would listen to what he would tell to do and not to do. Well, last night my husband made a statement of 'I wish we could go out to dinner tonight.' and our friend said 'okay.' Before you know it we were out and in a cab and on our way to the casino.

Now, they had recently done an overhaul on the casino. Its now a hotel/casino and we had gone there once since they had finished up the project of adding the hotel into the casino but it was in the afternoon and we didn't have that much time to spend there as we did last night. Since it was so long since we've been out at night we basically ended up having an adventure of being awkward and out of our element which is funny seeing as how back when we were newlyweds and bored we'd just go to the casino for a few hours. Anyways, we got there and we located the fancy restaurant and the bathrooms. We walked around and tried to locate where the blackjack tables happened to be now, where they had the slot machines, where the ATMs were located and then we spent a good ten minutes debating on if we wanted to eat now or later. Once we decided to grab an early dinner we walked over to get a table. They said our wait would be 20 to 30 minutes and they handed us a pager thing which my husband put in his back pocket. We walked around the casino for a bit and by the time my husband hit up the ATM the pager was going off. I grabbed the table while he hit up the ATM.

We ended up with a table inside even though there was patio but then again since the sun was setting it really wasn't a good time to sit outside and eat anyways. So yeah, my husband was a bit antsy during dinner.  He was mostly worried that our daughter was giving our friend had a hard time. He went outside a few times and went into the casino a few times. He did eventually calm down and have dinner with me. We got our drinks and we placed our order for dinner. Our food showed up and he ordered Lo-Mein. His only issue with his food was that there was a huge layer of carrots on top of it. He had to dig through to get to his noodles. I ended up getting the surf and turf.

Basically, that's sliced steak with shrimp, mushrooms, onions and green beans over rice. Clearly, we were eating at an Asian restaurant. I was very impressed with my food. The steak and the shrimp were done to perfectly and the green beans were perfectly steamed. I was very pleased with my dinner to say the least. Once we were done with our dinner we ended up playing in the casino. Of course, I had numerous piece of rice and such stuck in my teeth so I hit up the bathroom before doing any blackjack.

As requested by my husband: this is the artwork he made while I was finishing my meal. Yes, he cleaned up his area all nice and didn't leave it like this for the wait staff to clean up but still, he was channeling his inner child since we didn't have our own kid with us at the time.

Since I've had my teeth cleaned I keep floss in my purse now. I wanted to get the stuff out of my mouth so I went to the bathroom and took out the floss. Yes, I am that weird person with floss on me at all times. Anyways, I had a few strange looks from women in the bathroom but hey, with the amount of money that's been spent on my mouth I figure I better take good care of it. Once I was done with that I went to the blackjack table where my husband was waiting for me..

Well, I'm the one that's best at blackjack so I got to take the drivers seat here. For my first time back at a real table and not playing internet blackjack I didn't do too bad. We spent a good hour at that table and I turned a 10 dollar bill into 125 dollars. We ended up only leaving the table because there was a Russian guy there who was very serious and we were all about having fun. After that we walked around the casino for a while and we did end up getting lost since the place is now a circle and it all literally looks the same no matter where in the circle you happen to be.

We only had about four hours to play and mess around there but I think we made the best of our adult time out and about in the world after dark. At one point we sat down to people watch and some of the things that these women were wearing to the casino made me feel like I was overdressed. There were also people all over the casino taking selfies here and there. We bounced back and forth between certain blackjack tables and played some roulette. This time we really didn't do the slot machine thing mostly because it was a Saturday night and pretty crowded.

At one point we found a bar at the very, very back of the casino. Now, this is where we ran into the table of very drunk men. They started calling my husband Kevin Bacon and one of them hit on me at one point. We hung out there for a minute or two mostly because the bartender was busy and because the group of drunk men happened to be very fascinated by us for some reason..I'm betting it was booze. Once we were able to leave that area we hit up the gift shop. You know, just to make us look more like tourists.

The last time we came to the casino the gift shop wasn't as cool. They added potted plants(which since we have a garden now my husband wanted one but I wasn't about to carry that around the casino or even in the cab), they added jewelry, little trinkets and dresses. Yes, I love dresses! I got this really cute pink and white dress and my husband grabbed a cowboy hat which yes, made him look even more like Kevin Bacon from "Tremors". Anyways, shortly after that we ended up leaving. We could have stayed later but our friend had to be up early the following day.

We got home from our awkward night out after the dark and our little one was still up which yeah, isn't a big deal since we've let her stay up late more than once to watch a movie that and it was  a Saturday night. Sure enough, everything was fine while we were gone. Our little one got to play hide and seek, Uno, they tossed a ball around outside and had some pizza for dinner. Needless to say the last time we had a date night we didn't leave until after she was in bed since she was rather young at that point and now she is highly independent and not as hard to handle. Yeah, we're going start doing this date night thing at least once a month so that we actually have an idea so that we have a better game plan. Lesson learned: Even though you are married, try to go out on dates. I swear, most of the time neither of us had any idea of what to do 'on a date' but hey, we're married so we're allowed to be fumbling and awkward. As an added bonus I don't have to worry about eating like a rabbit to make a good impression. Yep, there's my ramblings for today.

Okay, so this morning I saw someone post something on Facebook and basically, it turned into more assumptions on how if you are skinny or built a certain way that you must anorexic. I did have to speak up saying I'm naturally thin and anyone who knows me understands that I don't have an eating problem of any sort and get offended when people think that just because of my build.

Yes, I'm skinny and yes, I eat! Calling a thin girl anorexic is not cute or even funny. So, please don't do it. Personally, I come from a dance background and I've recently gotten back into dance on a more consistent level. Those calories burned while dancing is well, a lot of calories. I've also personally never been one to eat junk food. All my life as long as I can remember I've always been into fruits and veggies. One year my Mom even made me an Easter fruit basket instead of the normal candy and stuff most kids got for the holiday. Also, seeing as how I have a dance background I do tend to still eat like a dancer which is basically small meals through out the day. For example: Today, I've had a greek yogurt, a salad and in a little bit I'll have an apple with a follow up salmon for dinner. I naturally crave the good for you foods. I have in my entire life never been on diet either which I know makes certain people angry.

I do at times feel annoyed with the fact that I have to constantly defend myself on my eating habits because I'm thin. Yes, I do admit I can still shop in the juniors department if I wanted to and I'm 33 years old. I ran across this some card pictured on Pinterest and it does rub me the wrong way. There's tons of these meme's out there that straight up skinny shame too and it drives me crazy. I eat and I do so in a healthy manner and no, I am not hungry. If I am hungry I'll grab an apple or half a bagel. I know how to listen to my body and contrary to what people may believe or think because of my thin frame I do eat. Do I eat pizza? Yes, I eat pizza. In fact, I just had three slices of pizza on Tuesday. I eat sweets every once in a while too but I don't go overboard on portions.

I hope one day people wake up and realize that shaming anyone's body regardless of why is harmful. I know I've had to deal with it all through my life and I look at my youngest who is basically taking after me and I know she'll deal with the same amount of huff as I have. My youngest is tall and thin. She also naturally goes for the fruits and veggies. I know she'll probably deal with the amount of crap from people and I figure I'll have to help her through it as my Mom did but still, I wish people weren't so mean and rude at times.

So many people think being thin is socially acceptable but I disagree. Anyone on either extreme ends of the spectrum will have to deal with comments from other people and shaming. I again state that we should just encourage people to be healthy and not be so infatuated with their body type(whatever it may be).

So, last night as I was getting my little one ready for bed an interesting story started trending. Here it is here: http://www.700wlw.com/articles/national-news-104668/boy-gets-bullied-for-having-my-12161277/ Basically, this little boy is being bullied because he carries around a Rainbow Dash lunchbox. Instead of the school trying to stop the bullies and punish the bullies they tell the little boy to not bring his lunchbox to school. Now, anyone who knows me understands that I'm all about encouraging our kids to have their own identity and be their own person. The fact that the school is taking away the lunchbox is disturbing to me since they are basically bullying him as well which is not fair in the least. All he wants to do is carry around the thing that he loves, not only are the kids giving him a hard time about it now the school has taken away the thing he loves..Now, I'm going to go into detail here on how many levels this is wrong. I will try my best to not turn this into a novel.

First off, this little boy is being bullied because the kids believe Ponies are for 'girls'. This is problem number one. Anyone who has a child starts to see the gender gap that we start our kids learning at a young age. Case in point: My own daughter was obsessed with the movie "Cars" from the time she was three to about five. She wanted to watch it once to twice a day and wear McQueen clothes. The problem with that is well, McQueen was put into the boys section. So, she naturally was wearing a lot of boys clothes. She also in that time frame liked Thomas which again, you can't find girls Thomas clothes. The media sets this out for us as parents- girls must like pink, tea parties, Barbies and playing dress up. Meanwhile, boys must like blue, cars, trucks and basically anything that's fun and messy. From the point our kids are born we teach them what they are suppose to do and not suppose to do because of their gender. There's nothing wrong with a girl playing with cars and there's nothing wrong with a boy playing with dolls. So, this little boy likes My Little Pony. There's tons of grown men who like My Little Pony's, there is nothing wrong with him and the schools need to tell the bullies just that but of course, they won't instead they take away his lunchbox. Our kids won't learn to accepting of things they don't understand as adults if we don't teach them how to be accepting as kids.

Secondly, if you watch the video he is clearly upset that the school won't let him bring his lunchbox to school. He is clearly attached to it which well, kids of his age do. Kids naturally get attached to objects. This object is part of him since its something he likes. Now, again..I am all for kids gaining their own identity which is why the hubby and I make sure our daughter goes to a school just out of district so that she doesn't have to wear a uniform. Yes, I've heard the arguments for uniforms BUT here's the kicker with this story. This is a bag that the kids are making fun of him for and in uniform schools you are allowed to bring in bags of your choice and coats of your choice. Even if this kid was in a uniform school he would still be made fun of for it. This proves the fact that kids will find something to make fun of you for and even certain adults will find anything and everything to make of someone. The school clearly isn't dealing with by taking away his lunchbox. The bullies still get to go on with no consequences to their actions while the little boy gets a slap on the hand and told to not bring his lunchbox to school. No, you deal with the bullies. What in the world are you thinking? Give this kid a chance to be himself and not have to blend in because of what other people think.

Thirdly, I was bullied in school and so was my husband. My husbands case is vastly different. He was bullied because he's missing fingers. In his case, the school couldn't simply tell him to 'bring other fingers to school' to stop the bullying. I was bullied for being the only redhead in my school, I was tall and my last name. I was a hand jester for most of my Junior high experience. I remember at one point my Mom went to my Junior high to discuss what the other kids were doing and as a result they sent out counselors to each and every health class to discuss bullying. I wonder how this school would handle this situation if it was something about the boy that couldn't easily be taken away to put a Band-Aid over the situation. The school says they take bullying very seriously but I question that with the way they are handling the situation. The kid being pushed around is the one that gets punished and not the kids that are causing the issue. This little boy is almost bursting into tears in the video because he can't bring his lunchbox. Come on, that just isn't right at all. He's been through enough. Now, deal with the bullies instead of bullying the child more so.

Of course, there are some people(jerk people) who will say he had it coming knowing that he was bringing a pony lunchbox to school but seriously, he likes Ponies! Not every parent will tell their little kid that 'oh you can't play with that since its for girls!'. I know with my daughter I don't do that at all. If she likes it then she's allowed to like it. He's a kid and he as a kid just wants to bring something to school with him that he likes and that expresses what he likes. These little expressions also do at times help kids make friends with each other. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've seen my daughter make a friend at the park just because they bond over a SpongeBob T-shirt. Kids don't do things with the thinking of 'gee, this will get me made fun of if I do this.' No, kids just do what they like and are into what they like. Sometimes it is just that simple. The effects of being bullied are also felt to the child whose being bullied. I know for myself it took me numerous years to be comfortable with who I was because of being bullied. It isn't just a magical fix either and can haunt you into adulthood and even smash your confidence from time to time as a young adult. No one should have to be ashamed of who they are and what they like. No one should have to hide what they like either because they may be made fun for it at the end of the day.

Again, I state if we want our kids to grow up into accepting adults then we need to teach them early how to be accepting as a child. Girls don't have to like everything that's labeled for 'girls' and boys don't have to like everything that's labeled for 'boys'. Its okay to step outside your gender role and we need encourage our kids to step outside of the gender role they are being handed. If a boy wants to play with dolls and ponies then so be it! Maybe, he'll learn compassion from the girls toys and possibly learn how to be a good father from playing with the dolls. Don't be afraid of your little girl wants to play with cars and figure out how things work. I know personally thanks to my daughters outside the box thinking she's doing second grade Science now. Also, kids sometimes make fun of her now because she's a girl and good at Science which is 'weird' because a girl isn't 'suppose' to be that smart. Instead of taking things away from our kids how about we give them the option to think outside the box and understand that people think outside the box. If we don't want a new generation of judgmental busy bodies we need to start teaching our kids how to accept that everyone is different. Let your little boys play with dolls and your little girls play with cars! There's nothing wrong with that at all.

 Okay, so I'm browsing my news this afternoon and I ran across this: http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/hollister-photo-thin-model-airbrushing-164022678.html No one will say if this is air brushed or not naturally but still...what if this girl is just naturally thin and everyone is simply saying 'eww' and calling her names. Also, mind you when you look at the clothes they put her into that could also be helping her look thinner than she actually is in real life.

People skinny bash/thin shame and don't even realize that they are doing it on a daily basis. As someone whose always been on the thin side I've heard it all and most of the time people don't even see what they are doing. The example I always use it is that its okay for someone to walk up to me and say 'eat a cheeseburger' but if I respond with 'maybe you shouldn't eat so many cheeseburgers.' I'm the bad guy yet the person said pretty much the same thing to me. Both statements are negative at the end of the day but of course, since you are saying it to a thin person who you think has it easy its perfectly acceptable.

If we want our little girls to not have body issues we need to showcase many different body types, the curvy girls, the thin as a rail girl, the kind of curvy girl, the toned girl..you get the idea. We shouldn't be picking ONE body type to rule them all, we need our young girls to see numerous body types in women and know that regardless of what you are born with that its your body and you should be happy with it. There is no need to make one set of girls feel great about themselves while putting down another set of girls.

Every little girl and every woman should feel represented somewhere. Right now it appears as if being skinny is 'out' and we are automatically unhealthy since we are skinny. They could, I don't know leave the imagine alone and add in other types of models so that the message is there that we are all built differently and that's okay.

As someone whose skinny and eats and trust me, I eat...I've been eating more than my fair share since I've gotten my teeth fixed. I think we all need to stop assuming about someone because they are skinny. We should encourage our little girls to be healthy.....period! In fact, here's one of the comments on the article: "What of she's just naturally skinny teen? I was skin and bones in my teens and filled up only by the age of 25. People come in all shapes and forms, there's no need to insult her, in my opinion. Those reactions are idiotic." I completely agree! Stop insulting and start encouraging. There is no one 'right' body type and there is no need to put each other down. There's really no reason to shame one another. Also, in case you are wondering...Never tell a skinny girl to eat something, its offensive. I know for me whenever someone says that to any girl I grumble and roll my eye's. Think before you speak especially to a skinny girl.

Being my typical self I end up finding the cool shows LONG after they have been canceled. Yep, I just finished watching "Ugly Betty". Mind you, for some reason in season four there was an entire episode I had watched but other than that I never really had any interest in it when it was on the air. I also didn't know that the show would really remind of "The Devil Wears Prada" which mind you is one of my favorite movies, ever!

Anyways, I see why the show has a cult following. It is this sweet little show that keeps you interested. The characters are all very endearing and the writing is genius. This is one of the shows that got caught up in the writers strike too and they did rush a story arch along a bit for obvious reasons but they did plan it out nicely and placed all the characters on vacations for a set amount of time so it worked with the story.

I have to say that I do have a few favorite episodes in there. I do love her sisters wedding that leads up to the finale and the tooth fairy episode where her dentist leads her on a journey of what life would be like if she was born with perfect teeth.  A lot of my favorite episodes ended up landing in season four which is funny since that's when they started losing ratings. They could have even continued the show(at least in mind) with it NOT being "Ugly Betty" and just calling it "Betty". There was just still so much potential there even if the original idea had been slightly changed and rearranged. Each character is also constantly changing and evolving. Someone for sure put a lot of thought into each character and each event to each character.

Now, the ending is pretty fitting as well and as with the current trend of bringing back shows that were canceled I hope we at some time get the rest of the final story with Betty and Daniel. Come on, they are bringing back "24", "Heroes: Reborn" and there's a "Veronica Mars" movie coming out..Now is the time for the writers and the actors to come back and give the movie that was being discussed when Betty got canceled. Everyone else got their stories tied up in a nice little bow but we are left hanging on what happens with Betty and her former boss. Its really not fair at all. Yes, they did a great job with the ending but it leaves you wanting more. We can even go a few years in the future and do flashbacks so we can see what happens in London. Come on, give us the movie!! I demand it! I want more!!

Why do we as parents hate each other? Does it have something to do with what we watched as we grew up and the media's own input on lack of parenting and bad parenting. As I was sitting down this morning to my morning coffee and my daughter sitting beside me while she watched "Max and Ruby". This spawned a discussion on Facebook of how these two bunnies have no parents present..ever! They have a grandmother who lives down the street but no sign of their parents.  A lot of the movies I watched growing up had lack of parents in them. Disney is known to kill off parents in their movies especially Mother's. In fact, we watched "Frozen" last night which was a good movie but still..the parents forced the girls to live in isolation.

Another movie I loved growing up was "Land before time". My daughter spent most of last year obsessed with those movies. Do you know what? The parents in that movie just kind of let the kids run off and it takes them at least an hour to realize that they had gone and run off..Really? What parent takes that long to notice that their kids aren't present and where they are suppose to be. Again, another example of the media making us parents look like dim wits and yet we wonder why parents spend most of their time attacking each other on everything under the sun. Maybe we're defense because of what we see in media and how we as parents are portrayed to the world. I don't think every parent is that clueless but seriously, we all have to make our own calls with our children and some of those calls won't be popular with everyone..

After the "Land before time" obsession my daughter had she went into wanting to watch "The Lion King" which was one of my favorites growing up. Mufasa is a great Dad and the first part of the movie Simba has a wonderful family until like clockwork like what Disney loves to do one parent is killed and the kid runs off. Again, painting a picture that you as a kid don't need your parents and in order to learn some massive life lesson you have to run away or have a parent be killed.

Is it just considered bad writing to put in parents? Of course, when it comes to Max and Ruby they say that they are alone and solving their own problems to show that kids can solve their own issues..Okay, that's great and all but at least have the parents make an appearance somewhere in there. I know in the "Cat and the hat" TV show on PBS at least the parents say its okay for them to go off with the Cat and explore. Sure, every time they get to leave and I secretly want the parents to say 'No! You can't go. You didn't do your homework yet!' but at least the parents are there to an extent.

Yes, I'm rambling but my thought is that maybe we as parents are constantly at war with each other because the media basically shoves it into our face that parents are indeed fumbling idiots. Sure, we as parents don't know what we're doing ALL the time but I don't think we're all just a bunch of buffoons.

Yes, I've been with my husband for a decade now. Yes, a DECADE! We have a tenure now. Its pretty impressive considering that my last relationship before my husband only lasted three years. If you haven't guessed yet, this blog is just all about the decade we have been together.

To start things off, lets take a look back at what was happening in the world in 2004:

-Facebook had just launched.

-Everyone was on this thing called Myspace.

-Nipple gate with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake had just happened at the Super Bowl.

-Paris Hilton had her own reality TV show.

-Ashley Simpson got caught lip-synching on SNL.

-Pat Tillman(Arizona Cardinals football player) was killed in the line of duty.

- Shrek 2 had just come out in the theaters.

-Bush Jr. took his second term as President.

-Britney Spears hadn't gone crazy yet.

-Ken Jennings won 74 games and 2.4 million dollars on Jeopardy.

-Cell phones weren't 'smart' yet.

-In November of that year, a little MMO called World of Warcraft would launch.

- Jessica Simpson and Nick Lacey were still married and on TV with a reality show called "Newlyweds".

Yes, we are officially an old married couple with being married this long...that being said its time for me write out the meat and potatoes of this blog. Here's ten major things I have learned over the 10 years of being together that and its my own personal nuggets of wisdoms to any newlyweds or new couples....So, here we go!

1. You will go to bed angry- When we were newlyweds I always did a silent eye roll when someone would give us the advice of not going to bed angry. Yeah, you know what? This is real life and you WILL go to bed angry from time to time. This isn't a sitcom or even an hour long drama TV show. Sometimes things can't be fixed in a half an hour, an hour or even two hours. Sometimes it is just better to get some rest and then go about the issue the next day with fresh eye's.

2. Your spouse is on your side- This is one of those things that a lot of couples lose sight of and its easy to do so. Your spouse is your home team and the one who is rooting for you regardless. You should be able to depend on each other in both good and bad. Don't go around thinking your spouse is the enemy. My husband is my best friend and I would on most days hang out with him over a whole lot of other people. Don't lose sight of each other and remember, you are the home team.

3. If you are about to go for the night and your spouse looks at you and says 'what is that horrible thing you are wearing?'. Seriously, don't get upset just go upstairs and change into something else. You are suppose to impress your spouse and be attractive to your spouse. If an outfit, hairstyle or anything makes you unattractive to them, simply change it. I can't stress that enough. There's no need to throw a hissy fit either....Again, one of your main goals should be to remain attractive in the eye's of your spouse. Along those same lines: Don't be afraid to try out new things like cutting your hair really, really short. Sometimes change can be a good thing.

4. Have a third party you both trust- I got this one from my friend who is a psychologist(thanks Deb). Pick a third party that you both trust, its someone who you both can talk to about things. If you need to complain about each other this person is the one you can go to that way not everyone on the face of the planet hears you complaining. In certain cases the third party can help fix fights. Yes, we have a trusted third party. He's had to come and be the middle man in a few fights and he's also the Godfather to our daughter. The next number also has to do with this number so...

5. Don't air your dirty laundry to everyone- This one seems like common sense but with Facebook and social media its easy to end up airing your laundry all over the place. I've been told by numerous people that it appears that I have a 'perfect marriage' which I smile at silently because that means I'm doing my job right online. People don't need to know that you and your spouse are fighting over something or even what your last fight was about....When you do that all you are doing is giving cheap entertainment to the on lookers and some of which I'm sure would love to see you fail as a couple. Keep your dirty laundry in the basket hidden from the public.

6. Once you are married you are your own family so make your own traditions- Yep, this one the hubby and I run with and A LOT. Sure, some of our traditions come from my family, some come from his and some of them....Well, we just made up on our own. Case in point, met our friend Jacob! He's our mouse and we decorate him for Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc etc..I think you get the point but yeah, he's the first purchase we made as a couple and he's our own little tradition for the holidays.

7. Make time for each other- this one should be common sense but to some people it really isn't...Just because you are married and you landed the girl/guy that doesn't mean that you should stop courting your mate. Go out on dates especially without the child(ren) in toe. You were a couple before you had kid(s). Once your child(ren) move out it will just be the two of you so you mine as well make sure you still like each other at the end of the day.

8. Don't sweat the small stuff- Really, it doesn't matter if the toilet seat got left up, or who ended up doing the laundry this week....That's really small fries. It's not sense in having fights over the small things that go wrong in your life. Save your fights with the big issues and not the small ones. If you waste too much time fighting over small stuff...Well, you'll waste a lot of time you could be spending together and being happy.

9. Don't lose your own identity- Just because you are married doesn't mean you have to be the same person. Keep your own interests that are separate from your spouse. Even still, give each other space when needed. A couple nights a week of you two NOT sleeping in the same room is a good thing too. Sometimes its nice to have the bed all to yourself and be able to stay up late reading, watching a movie or catching up on TV shows without disturbing your partner. You are married and don't have the joined to hip thing too far. Give each other space and don't give up hobbies just because you have a spouse and kids.

10. Remember why you started dating the person and WHY you wanted to marry them in the first place- Every couple has tough times and certain times and that being said, sometimes you need to just sit down as a couple and remember WHY you wanted to be with that person in the first place. Don't lose sight of why you wanted to be with that person in the first place.

So, there you have! One decade down complete with good and bad times. We've weathered many storms in these past ten years and we are still together. In today's world where people leave each other all the time, I'd say us staying together is a pretty big accomplishment..Cheers to the ten year milestone.