It Started With the Library...: A Love Story

Good afternoon sweeties,

Are you here because of the Instagram post cartoon of me & my husband?

Before we get into that, it's been an awesome weekend of romance and fun! We went out to see the live action Beauty And The Beast, which was just an awesome movie! And then we went bowling together where he went to the jukebox and played the song 'My Girl' for me (again) by The Temptations. We finished off our Saturday date with Dairy Queen because Spring has sprung and it felt like an ice cream day 🍨

And though we also had a nice date on Sunday (yesterday), I vowed that I'd still make a #Kawaii365 project for you guys for each day - and so here they are in order:

Based on the lyrics from the theme song - when they dance and become more sure...

I saw a spur-of-the-moment photo opportunity

And now some background story before we look at today's Kawaii project. Firstly I apologize for the confusion about the dates March 25 and August 6. We met on the 25th of March back in 2008, at a crew meeting. It was a McDonald's version of a staff meeting :)

I had recently begun working at a McDonald's restaurant in Calgary, AB around that time (I had only just turned 20 years old and looked very young).

It's hard to believe I'm actually 20 and not 14 in this picture (2008)

So my most clear memory of the day I met Rob at that meeting (which was held off site, at a club room that was rented for the day) was turning around in my chair to glance behind me, and meeting the warm, hazel eyes of this really cute man. When I say 'cute' that's an understatement! He was downright magnetic and I had a lot of trouble looking away!

Here is an older picture of Rob with his dog, Bear - that whole face is captivating...

My heart began to race and every few minutes (even during the speaker at the podium) I would turn around and look again. He noticed me looking! I felt giddy. I looked at his left hand for a wedding band and didn't see one, so I felt hopeful. I already knew he worked at the same McDonald's location as me (there were staff there from all over Calgary).

Then toward the end of the meeting, the speaker divided us into groups and I was disappointed that we didn't end up in the same one... And then daily life went on at work. Rob was a manager there so I couldn't openly flirt with him without other managers reprimanding me (or worse, him!). Because we both worked at different stations in the drive-thru, I often watched him from afar. He sure looked nice in those black uniform pants...

I went almost 5 months with a painfully silent crush - and then one of my co-workers mentioned Rob in passing while talking about increasing rent and how hard he had to work to afford his apartment 'as a single guy'. She had me at 'Rob is a single guy'. I almost fainted with joy!!

From that point on, I often showed up more than an hour early for my shift, just so I could see more of Rob (and verbally let him know I was single too). Then one day it happened - on August 6, 2008 it was a beautiful summer day. I showed up for my shift and Rob was in the crew (staff) room too and getting ready to go home. We began talking (and blushing) and then he said it: "I'd ask you out... but isn't that illegal?"

My heart stopped.

Did he just ask me out? But why did he think it would be illegal? Was it because he was technically my boss and we'd have to keep this a secret? So I asked what he meant. He admitted I looked underage and we laughed. I assured him I was 'legal'. So then I gave him my phone number and we took it from there... then we had our first date on August 11 (5 days later when we were both off work and had spent a few days chatting on the phone and developing an excellent bond). Then 3 years later in 2011, we had our wedding 💖

Image may contain: one or more people, people standing, wedding, suit, shoes, tree and outdoor

©Michael Scott Vincent Photography

And well now, it's Spring 2017 and this August will be our 6 year wedding anniversary already. So that means that 2/3 of our whole relationship will have been spent legally wed :)

So therefore our love story is the inspiration behind today's #Kawaii365 project; the words that started it all: