Six Green Bay Date Ideas

If there is one thing I know about relationships, it's that they're hard. The older and busier we get, the harder they are to maintain.

Man Friend and I are both incredibly busy people. Between my job, a Mary Kay business, and volunteering, and his job and schoolwork, we barely have time for ourselves, let alone each other. About a year ago, we realized we had been making time for everyone and everything else in our lives, and not for our relationship. Despite living together, we were not spending quality time together. When we did have date night, we found ourselves in a deep rut doing the same thing over and over again. It became predictable. And boring. Between our booked schedules, and the lack of excitement in our lives, our relationship was beginning to suffer.

So, being the problem solvers that we are, we came up with a plan. Monthly "Special Dates," for lack of a more interesting name. And, like any good Rule Follower, I put a few requirements in.

1. These dates must be scheduled. This is the most important piece of the equation. At the beginning of each month, we pick a day that works for both of us, and mark it in our calendars. Barring any extenuating circumstances, that date sticks and other plans are made around our date. Picking a day and dedicating time to your spouse or significant other is so crucial to making time for your relationship. Just like I schedule time for my Mary Kay business, and Chris sets aside time for homework, we make plans to enjoy each other's company. After all, isn't that why we're together?
   
2. We must stick with a monthly schedule, to the best of our abilities. Sometimes, life happens. We had a ridiculously hectic summer, which was preceeded by moving. So quite a few months did get missed during the warmer season (though we made sure to still set aside time together at things like the Farmer's Market), but that was a decision made by both of us, and had been discussed. Letting the dates go off to the wayside is not an option - because we'll be back to where we started.
   
3. We must rotate out months of "whose" date it is. Every other month gets swapped for who gets to plan the date. It is important not only to do things that your significant other enjoys, but to find things that you both enjoy doing together.
   
4. We must plan the date to do something out of the ordinary. Maybe it's something we've never done before, or maybe we haven't shared it together. Maybe we've both done the activity, but it's not a normal outing for us. It doesn't matter - it just needs thought behind it. Usually, we try to surprise each other. This is much easier for me to be the surpriser. I am not good at being surprised. Like, how do I dress? What do you mean "casual?" Yoga pants and a tank casual? Jeans, flippies, and a band shirt casual? A nice top, jeans, and boots? Will I be inside or outside? Will I be walking? See, not good at it.

I assumed that if we were struggling with date ideas, we could not be the only couple in this boat. So I decided to share some of our Special Dates with you. I hope it gives someone some fun. And, at the very least, it allows you to explore your own city. These ideas are centralized around Northeast Wisconsin, but are absolutely adaptable for any area. Enjoy!

• Take a day trip to Door County.
•  Any time of year is beautiful, but Fall really is ideal. There is so much to see and do, you can find something for everyone. Our trip last Fall was our first day trip alone together, and was one of the best moments in our relationship (for me, anyway). We went to a wine tasting, explored through Peninsula State Park, shopped in the little stores along a main strip, and enjoyed lunch in a cute diner.

• Go bowling. 
• Maybe this is pretty run-of-the-mill for some couples, but it wasn't for us. Chris used to bowl quite a bit, but it was never really something I got into. I'm pretty terrible, and have been self conscious of it since becoming an adult. I didn't want to go for the longest time, but with just him, I felt comfortable enough that by the end of our games, I was ok going again with friends.

• Visit the Garden of Lights.
• If you haven't gone to the Botanical Garden in winter to experience the Garden of Lights show, make it a priority to do so. It is such an extraordinary display, and a beautiful experience. And the photo ops are endless.

• Take a brewery tour.
• If you're even remotely interested in the booming craft beer scene, this should be a must. Especially in the Wisconsin area. There are countless breweries in Wisco, but NEW itself has a significant number. Locally, we've been to Titletown and Badger State so far. It's very interesting to learn about the brewing process, and what's different with each company. Plus, you get to try some beer after (or during!) the tour. How could you turn that down?

Titletown

Leinie's during our trip to Rock Fest

Leinie's taps

• Go on a picnic.
• Is there a better season that Summer? Of course not. If you say it's Winter, we're done being friends. Pack up some food, and head to a park with your honey, and enjoy the beautiful weather. Whether you go actual picnic style with a basket, sammies, and a blanket, or you pack up the grill and brats, you can't go wrong. Pamperin is always a good option.

• Eat at Happy Joes - or some other place from your childhood.
• Life is just too damn short to be stuffy. Have fun in your relationship! Be kids for a day, and let loose a little! We each got personal pizzas (Taco Supreme is where it's at) and played the games to our little hearts' content. It should be stated on the record that I kicked ass and got more tickets - but Chris gave me his extra tickets so I could get an extra prize. We traded in our precious tickets for Airheads and Laffy Taffy, because duh.

Other things we've enjoyed, but not for scheduled Special Dates:

• Downtown Farmer's Market
• Pokemon Go play
• Taking a leisurely walk together
• Going to Packers Practice
• Going to Bay Beach, Wildlife Sanctuary, or NEW Zoo
• Pumpkin carving, Easter egg decorating, Christmas cookie decorating

What have you and your significant other done to keep your relationship fun? I'd love to know! Share your (PG) date ideas in the comments below!

Those Darn Millennials

Guess who's back. Back again. Steiny's back. Tell a friend.

It's me. I'm who's back.

At Rock Fest, one of  my Fest friends made a surprising revelation to me. She shared with me that she had followed this blog for a while, and had actually tried looking for it when I stopped publishing it regularly. I was pretty floored. By the time I had lost patience with Purple Heels, or blogging not as a professional in general, I honestly didn't think anyone had read it outside my family. I heard a few times that people enjoyed reading my posts, but I didn't think much of it. I never expected someone who wasn't related to enjoy it enough to seek it out. She fueled my desire to pick it back up. I don't know if I'll ever have the patience to keep up with it at the caliber I once had, but I am hoping to update on a semi-regular basis.

My new-found motivation, paired with getting one of the biggest doses of inspiration I have had in quite some time, I found myself furiously scribbling notes on post-its at my desk today to make sure I didn't forget anything important before I got home from work. So here were are.

Working in social media marketing, I read about Millennials a lot. Like A. LOT. Every single day I read an article (or at least a headline) about how to market to Millennials, What Millennials are like as buyers, How to cater to Millennials in the work force, What Millennials expect in a work culture, How to join snapchat to reach the Millennial audience. It's to the point that I feel like people think, and then have team meetings about, "how do we get an article to go viral on LinkedIn? I know! Let's write about Millennials!" This is not a Marketing strategy. I repeat, this is NOT a viable strategy in your business.

I've also read ad nauseam how Millenials are the lazy and entitled generation. Each article I have read with those words has gotten more and more under my skin. I can not let this roll off my back any longer. I have decided to share my two cents. Will it make any difference? Of course not. But I cannot bite my tongue any longer.

I have a very important question to ask, and that is simply "Why?" Why are Millennials considered lazy? In fact, why are we known as the generation that embodies laziness? Because we desire a good work/life balance? Because we value our time as more than working our lives away? Perhaps I'm biased here, but Millennials are most certainly not lazy. We value education, and are career driven, and are passionate about our communities and the future of our nation and world. As a Millennial myself, I know very few of my peers who are only working a 40 hour week job. Almost everyone I know, in addition to working 40-50 hours behind a desk, is also in school, or working a second job, or running a direct sales business, or volunteering, or parenting, or a combination of several of these things. We may spend our free time Faceswapping in Snapchat, or hunting Pokemon, or binge-watching Netflix, but that is because that time is just that: our free time. These mindless activities come after all those other responsibilities.

Another buzzword that gets thrown around with Millennial is "entitlement." Honestly, that word makes me want to puke. That word has become one of the ultimate insults, and gets tossed out to describe just about anything. And while I certainly agree that we have as a society have grown significantly more entitled in the recent past, I am sick of hearing that the Millennial generation is the root of this. Because, quite frankly and bluntly, working in a call center for three years taught me that every other generation acted far more entitled. They were the ones who demanded all the time. Do you know how many grandparents called in demanding compensation, or to talk to a manager, or using the words "I deserve?" (By no means is this an insult to grandparents. I love mine immensely, and this is a simple observation). So, why are Millennials considered the entitled ones?  Because we want, and expect, to have a say in our options professionally? Because we want to take the best path for ourselves and our futures and refuse to settle? Because we won't back down when faced with adversity? Because we want, no expect, to be treated equally - in gender, sexuality, race, and age? If that's the case, then hell yes we're entitled. Entitled to the best lives we can ask for ourselves. And you know what? Our parents WANT that for us.