I arrived home after work today craving some time in the sun. Luckily this little girl was more than game to go for a walk with me and enjoy the outdoors.
We walked around our neighborhood while I caught up with my friend Carrie on the phone.
Once we arrived back home, it was time to prep dinner.
I got to work popping some beans (possibly the most tedious activity in the world) and my hunger started raging.
What’s a girl to do but grab the nearest peanut butter jar and go to town?
I think Sadie was more than happy when I polished it off because she got to be the designated “jar cleaner” before I tossed it into the recycling bin.
She went to town!
While Sadie was polishing off the peanut butter, the green beans were roasting in the oven and gradually morphing into green bean fries.
I served the green bean fries alongside two pieces of pizza toast that I made with Nature’s Pride hearty wheat with flax bread that I received through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.
Pizza toast and English muffin pizzas are such delicious throwback meals!
The bread made great pizza “crust” because it was hearty but still soft and full of flavor.
Now I’m hoping to accomplish a couple random things around the house before Ryan arrives home from work. He’s stuck at the office late tonight (boo!) and I think Sadie is wondering when her roughhousing buddy is going to walk through the door. I’m hoping soon!
Long Distance Relationship Post Idea
Before signing off for the night I wanted to share an idea that I had late this morning when I saw how many of you are currently in long distance relationships. I think it might be neat to compile a list of tips for maintaining a wonderful long distance relationship in a blog post on PBF. If you have any pointers, please, please share below!
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I love your blog Julie!
My boyfriend and I dated long distance for a year while I was traveling as a consultant for my sorority. We started our own little book club, and would read the same book and talk about it over the phone. Then when we got to see each other (once a month), we would see the movie that was made from the book. We did the Time Travelers Wife, The Reader, Candy Girl, The Blind Side… so many good ones to choose from! We just revisited our book club by both reading the Hunger Games over spring break, and we can’t wait for that movie to come out now!
Skype dates! We would set up a few nights a week to skype, and it was so nice to see each other AND hear each other’s voices.
We also like to plan fun activities to do when we were together. It gave us something to look forward to and made our time together extra special. It doesn’t have to be big things. We would go out for sushi or go snowboarding for example.
Yum pizza toast looks good! Back when my hubby and I lived about an hour and a half apart we did a lot of online chatting throughout the day (this was before skype). We also planned a lot of special dates. Communication is key!
I am in a long distance relationship! i think things that help are skype dates, sending pics of what were eating so it feels like were together, always having something to look forward too – a date to see each other next, a move date or a trip!
I do that too!!! Good point, meal pictures via text are PERFECT! It makes me feel that much closer to him!
Great idea! My tip: don’t hang up mad! You don’t always know when the next time you’ll talk on the phone/internet/skype will be, and it is draining to walk around upset and anxious. If you absolutely can’t settle your issues during your conversation, plan a designated time to talk next when you’ve had some time to cool down. That way, you can take the space and time you need without worrying when you’ll be able to make up. I wish I had realized that when I was in a long distance relationship!
-Talk daily on the phone, skype, etc. (but not too many times in a day)
-Don’t forget to say I love you before you hang up
-Take turns traveling
Sadie loving peanut butter is just too cute for me to handle because…like mommy like doggy!
Honestly, you have to have a healthy relationship. Most couples that see each other every day don’t even have one.
I believe a healthy relationship is (but not exhausted of):
-Communication:
+communicating your relationship values as a couple and as an individual.
+communicating what you’re schedule is
+communicating feelings (good, bad, AND importantly indifferent)
+communicating current events in your life
-Honesty/Trust: I put these two together because I don’t think you can have one without the other.
+be honest about your feelings and all points of communication listed about
+be open to trust and to provide a platform for the other to trust you back
-Facetime: I didn’t put this in communication because I mean this literally not as figuratively as communication
+skype
+text/email
+call
+visit
-Never inhibit the other from doing the things that are vital for them. In other words, don’t stop the other from doing the things they need to do to grow and become a stronger person.
Honestly, the most important thing is to recognize that each relationship is different and you two are unique to you… there will never be a relationship just like yours ever! This means play by your own rules, feel out what works for you. Create your own schedule, your own communication, your own lifestyle and be open to change… very open.
Ha! I love those pictures of Sadie eating the PB! So funny! That Pizza toast is such a good idea! I’m definitely gonna have to try that one out! 🙂
I’m sure these have been said but these 3 things were the MOST helpful:
skype a couple times a week…even if you’re both doing separate things, just looking up and seeing his face is amazing
call and say goodnight
text good morning when you wake up
My now-hubby and I did the long distance thing for THREE years! We were on different continents, then different coasts, different states, you name it! My tips are: Communicate. Use the phone, internet and skype. And write real letters. We used to send each other awesome care packages and letters. That personal touch is crucial. Also, give each other space. When you live so far apart, you’ll each have your own hobbies, friends and schedules, be patient with each other. We used our time apart to grow stronger and more confident with ourselves, and that made our relationship thrive. Also, it helps to have a timeline of when the distance will be over. We were able to get through it because we knew that in so many years, months, weeks we’d be together again. Sorry, that was long!
And don’t smother each other. That’s key too. And don’t be jealous or envious. That never ends well. 🙂
I have been in a long distance relationship for 2 years so far. I used to get a little envious seeing my roommate get ready for dates with her boyfriend so I decided to turn our skype time into real dates. I shower, do my makeup, and pick out a cute outfit. I even bought a little box of conversation topics and questions (for the beginning of our relationship). Lastly, he will call and ask about a time for our “skype dates” which makes me feel like I am still being pursued, even if from many miles away (this also helps him feel like he gets to plan dates)
Remember how lucky you feel to be with that person, especially when the long distance gets frustrating. You are learning great communication skills early, which is something lots of couples don’t get to do!
That is so cute!
My boyfriend and I did the long distance thing for 1.5 years, and we’ve been together in the same place for the past year, and we’re about to go back to long distance after I finish grad school and he stays to finish his degree. I wouldn’t say we have it down to a science, but we’ve definitely had our share of ups and downs doing the long distance thing.
My biggest advice is to create fun traditions/things that make being in a LDR special. For example, my boyfriend and I used to trade off calling to wake each other up in the morning, depending on our schedules. Because we often couldnt talk frequently throughout the day, we would both send afternoon “daily digests” (as we called them) with all of our random thoughts/observations that we normally would have shared with the other person. Small things like that made it the long distance thing easier to deal with, because we were still doing special “couple-y” things.
Wow you are probably the best dog owner! I wouldnt evengive an empty peanut butter jar to my my mom to polish off! I love my oats in a jar a tad too much haha 🙂
I posted my tips for long-distance success in your earlier post, but here they are again:
I’ve been in a long distance for over a year and a half now and it’s been tough, but through the wonders of Skype/FaceTime it’s been much easier to manage.
Knowing that I can see my [now] fiance with only a click of the mouse is very helpful, because I need face to face communication often.
We’ve also stuck to a pretty regular visit schedule wherein he drives to see me every 2-3 weeks, for a weekend, and, since I work full-time and am working on my masters degree, when I’m not busy with weekend graduate school work I’ll take off of work to visit him on a long weekend.
Long distance isn’t for everyone, but it works for us!
We had english muffin pizza for lunch today too! So tasty on homemade english muffins! :} Yum!
I need to try your green bean fries…they look great!
Hah! Mine failed terribly. One month after I left to UK, my then-boyfriend realised he doesn’t love me anymore and started planning for a break up.
Anyway, I did all I could. I was the only one putting in effort by calling him, sending him cards, Skype, etc. I agree with Stacie (comment #1) it has to be from both side.
I believe long distance is a test for couples. It shouldn’t stop you from taking the opportunity in your career or studies, but rather as a challenge to reevaluate your relationship.
Ooh. I forgot to mention. Me and my ex boyfriend were together for 6 years. We met each other when we were 15 and 16.
Funny how things turn out. We were both so confident and definitely didn’t see it coming.
Things happen for a reason. We were just not meant for each other.
Awesome idea!
First of all, you have to be confident in your relationship, in your partner and yourself. Confident you are strong enough and that your love is strong enough. If you start panicking, it won’t help, it will always make things worse.
Skyping, chatting, writing letters, sending care packages, those are the things that help get over the distance. Also, planning visits and trips together is a great way to speed up the time 🙂
Great idea, Julie!
I live in Austin, Texas & my boy goes to the Air Force Academy in Colorado. I send him care packages with homemade granola and other little gifts and he sends me lengthy letters written out in cursive 🙂 Texting & phone calls are great, but there’s something romantic and exciting about snail mail.
what an interesting idea Julie~ps: does the empty pb jar mean you don’t get to eat OOIAJs?! 😛
My fiance and I have been long distance our whole relationship (coming up on almost 9 years) and have lived anywhere from an hour and 45 min to 4 hours from each other. Some of our tips that work for us:
-We take turns traveling, and try to sketch out the upcoming weeks to see who should be where depending on what’s going on (ie. family parties, committments)
-We talk many times during the day, and not just one big convo. It keeps us connected all day with funny stories and check-ins
-We get excited about our next visit way in advance, planning what we want to do
-We talk about the “big picture”, a time when eventually we’ll live together and have a “normal” (whatever that means!) relationship in which traveling to each other won’t be an issue
I gave up peanut butter (& chocolate) for lent and I SO want to pull a “Sadie” right now. How many days until pb?!?!?!
My husband and I were long distance for a year. We made it by SKYPING and talk to each other right before we went to bed. We traveled about twice a month to see each other – good ole’ 8 hour car drives 🙂 I also made sure he knew what was going on during my day….we talked like we were 5 minutes away from each other – not 8 hours.
I’ve been in a long distance relationship for a total of about two weeks…;). , so I’ll be reading these comments. Great idea for a post!
I definitely need to email you about this new development!
Oh and I suppose I should mention this…we actually started a little blog together…not really for anyone else to read but ourselves. So, we post things about our day…pictures from our day…funny, random observations. Funny Youtube videos to make each other smile–talk about something new that we learned–I’ve been doing a sort of “series” of posts on there about how we met 6 years ago, and our “story.” Heck, I even went through Facebook back to 2006 on and did screen shots of all the goofy things we said to each other during our friendship so many years ago. That’s been a really fun aspect of our LDR.
This may be the cutest thing in the world! I think I saw your new guy on your Facebook page but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. 🙂 excited for you!!
I spent probably the longest year and a bit of my life in a long distance relationship with my college sweetheart AND a seven hour time difference. It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. He’s American, I’m a Brit. We made the decision that he should come over here for a while, so we offhandedly applied for a visa.
We were desperate to continue our relationship, but we were waiting on a visa application, which was a lot of money and no word on it beyond “Wait and see” from the authorities. Whenever I went to America to visit him, I would be questioned by Border Control – and I know they are doing their job, but there are ways you can do the same job and not reduce people to tears every time.
The strain was palpable as we got closer and closer to the visa application due date. It got to the point where we couldn’t bear to talk about the future, just in case it didn’t happen. And then, he got the dreaded call – his visa was refused on a technicality. Fortunately we argued it around and it was approved later that same day!
I’m pleased to say we’re happy as clams now, living in a tiny apartment in the UK in bliss! It worked out really well for us, I guess what I want to say is don’t underestimate the strain the visa process puts on a couple. There are some great tips here to keep an LDR going, and if I had a do-over I would definitely do Skype cooking dates, as suggested by Melissa. Nothing beats video chatting, and with a time difference make a point to set a time you can both stick to (and look forward to!) and make sure you’re there.
Sorry for the long comment, this topic has got a lot of people giving great advice, great idea!
I have been in a long distance relationship for about 2 years now, and in the last 3 months I’ve been in another country (UK, so 5 hours ahead of the East Coast) as well. For us what’s important is contact AT LEAST once a day. That means emailing if we’re going to be at work when the other person is around to talk online (neither of us can talk online at work), texting when possible (google chat cell phone texting is great, and can be done internationally) has been really important for us, and doing Skype at least once a week so we can just see each other and hang out and chat. But the biggest thing is daily contact whenever possible, and focusing on the positives (like when we both have a day off at the same time, or when he’ll be here). And of course being willing to sacrifice to make it work, but it getting a little less sleep to stay up or get up early, making it a priority to write an email every day, etc.
i know what I want for lunch!! THAT IS THE CUTEST photo of SADIE!! my dog does that too but his mouth is like 100 times smaller so he defintely dont got the jaws that sadie does!
For me, Skype was great. I was away from my boyfriend for 6 months and we would Skype every day. I would Skype him while cooking, while I was in the bath (Not in a rude way!), or when I came in from work. I was able to walk around with my laptop and show him my house, so he would feel like he was a part of things. Sometimes I would Skype him while at work with my webcam on silent and just wave or blow a kiss at him. Other times a simple phonecall could feel more intimate. I was able to concentrate more on his voice and what he was saying instead of worrying about what I looked like or getting frustrated over a bad connection.
Communcation was key and both you and him have to make the effort. If he isn’t calling as regularly as you are it will only lead to arguments.
I also tried to save my money so I could visit him at least once a month.
My fiance and I have been long distance for a year and it will probably continue for at least another year or two depending on the time he spends deployed. The biggest thing that helps us is ALWAYS having another trip planned- even if it’s a short one. We get creative and have even met in cities that required him driving 5+ hours because it was an easy flight for me. It’s fun having adventures and exploring new places together, and really helps us connect.
We also go out of our way to surprise each other. The military has made us good letter writers but I will randomly send him a card or package, even if it’s something silly so he knows I’m thinking of him.
I agree with Skype but for me and my fiance, we are very independent people so Skyping every day isn’t realistic. We both try to stay busy to help the time pass and plan specific Skype dates where we can have each other’s uninterrupted attention!
Hi Julie!
Long time reader here I just LOVE your blog!!
Any whooooo I have been in a long distance relationship now for 2 years with the most wonderful man in the world. He is a Marine and was home on leave when we met, we casually grew our relationship over skype while he was in Japan and then when he came home 2 July’s ago for another leave it was instant love. He is now stationed down in SC( talk about easier for us) and we take turns traveling once a month to see each other. I actually leave next thursday to head down there!!!!
When people told us that this was going to be hard we never imagined it was going to be THIS HARD! I miss him every single day and we have our doubts sometimes but all it takes is to sit down and discuss it and remember that this isn’t permanent. He will be out of the military in July 2012 and I am more than looking forward to it.
Some tips for LDR—man where to start
C.O.M.M.U.N.I.C.A.T.E!!!! That is my #1 rule. Make the time to hear (or see on skype) your person at least once a day….texting is great but it makes a huge difference to verbally check in once a day. In an LDR you have to be able to discuss things. My bf is famous for not wanting to bring up how hard of a time he is having because he doesn’t want to upset me. But when he doesn’t it never fails….we spiral out of control and hit a breaking point….then all it takes is to sit down and talk about it and every time he’ll say “man why didn’t I just talk to you about this earlier” talk talk talk about everything!!!
Trust-A person who is easily jealous or untrusting will never succeed in a LDR you have to know that even though you are not there you can trust your person.
If possible…Travel-This is actually the longest that me and my bf have gone with out seeing each other because we had to wait for him to add up more leave so we have no seen each other since christmas and let me tell you…it makes it tough. A normal relationship has the factor of touch and when you are in a LDR you have to sacrafice not being able to feel, touch, kiss, smell, hug, yeahhhhh nooo….your person and being able to at least see each other every few months or more if possible takes that pain away a little bit.
Take your own advice. This is a huge one for me because it seems never ending that the two of us hear about how a LDR can’t work. and for me being who I am….that makes me want to make it work more. But it tend to really get to my BF. you can only hear something so many times before it starts to have an effect. You need to just remind yourselves that this is what you want and you love each other.
Do things to remind the other how much they mean to you- We have made a routine out of sending care packages to each other. (not that this is for everyone it can be expensive) but it can be little things like i’ll send him his favorite beer that is hard to find, and he’ll send me my favorite candy. Just little things to let the other know that you are thinking of them. I got the flu last week and he sent me balloons…its stuff like that that reminds me of why I love that man so much….
Sorry for the long post Julie Its a topic I have a lot to say on 🙂
Julie, GREAT post Idea! I dated my husband for 4.5 years long distance. 6 months of those were half way across the world while I was out of the country. The key for us was continually going out of our way to make each other feel like we were still top priority even if our lives weren’t being spent side by side. Little notes from Tom, or emails to wake up to in the morning.
Back then, they didn’t have skype, so we used webcams. HA! It kept things so fun and interesting! It helps to have a visual and see each other. I’ve never admitted this to other people, but sometimes we would keep it on overnight so we would be the first ones to “see” each other in the morning! I’d just roll over in my bed and look at the screen and see him peacefully sleeping!
Now for the past 3 years of marriage, I get to do that every.single.day in real life, and it’s even more amazing.
Skype movie dates. it sounds soo corny, but I swear, watching the same movie at the same time and getting to laugh together and comment on the movie kind of makes it feel like you’re together!
I also used to LOVE sending James packages of homemade goods.. and he’d love eating them! 🙂 I’d make a handmade card and a ton of his favorite cookies.
this is a hard thing to think about. i’ve been in two LDRs and they were both really hard i must say. the first one was harder because i was used to seeing the person every day and then i only saw them every so often but the second relationship started out long distance so we didn’t really know any other way. you have to be invested in the relationship for it to work. if you like the other person enough to resist the temptation of easier local relationships than it works. it’s also easier now with all the technology we have, texting, skype, e-mail.
1- You should’ve made OIAJ! I always look forward to an empty nutter butter jar so I can indeed clean the entire jar out 🙂
2- I’m currently in a LDR- we’re 3.5 hours apart but we see each other EVERY weekend. There are 3 different places we meet, each other’s place & his parents (middle ground) that we rotate every weekend and it helps reduce the driving.
My tips are:
– trust
– communicate- we talk as often as possible, whenever I get on my lunch I call, he texts, etc and it helps just entertain each other and it gets me through the day to hear his voice
– we talk about whats going on that day, what we have the next day, anything just to know what we’re up to
– planning weekends- sometimes we have things going on (this weekend a cake show next weekend Circe De Soliel) and other weekends we just lounge.
– it’s hard but always remember that it’s a good thing it’s so hard to be apart from each other, if it was easy…that’s sayin’ something!
only 2 more months and we’ll have our own apt!! 🙂
I am in a long distance relationship. I am in Georgia, he is in NYC. Honestly, the best tip I can give for any long distance relationship is communication. Communication is key in any relationship, regardless if you live together or on opposite sides of the world. But it is especially important in a long distance relationship.
Communication isn’t just about calling every day but the way you actually communicate with each other. Most of my time with my boyfriend is on Skype or on the phone. Skype makes it easier to read and understand some of the things he says or helps me to guage the seriousness of some of the topics we sometimes discuss or need to talk about. When you’re on the phone, it can be difficult as you don’t have their facial expressions to pair with their words. But clear and concise communication takes care of that problem.
Also, making a commitment to see each other as often as possible. I understand finances may be an issue as one or both cannot afford the plane tickets, gas to drive, etc but having a solid plan keeps you positive during the more difficult times when you are missing that other person. I know my boyfriend and I always plan our next visit while he/I are visiting the other. That way, we have no excuse and no reason to not have something to look forward to!
Long distance relationships can be difficult but are definitely worth it if communication is there and if you truly love the other person. 🙂
i think one key with communication while you’re long distance (my husband and i were long distance during our 1 year engagement) is to treat phone calls like you’re together. so don’t sit and play on facebook or scan blogs, the mail, cookbooks, etc. when you’re on the phone with the other person. initially we did some of those things and then the other person would feel hurt because the level of attention the phone was minimized. it’s easier to multi-task when you’re together because body language indicates if you aren’t paying attention. losing that level of conversation can really hurt you if you let it… so i guess to sum it up- set “rules” for what is appropriate to do/not do when you’re on the phone. this may vary for different people but having expectations helps!
My bf, of nearly 2 years, and I started out long distance. Only other long-distancers understand when you cannot deny chemistry, even 2,000 miles away from each other. In addition to a lot of the other points mentioned like communication, skyping (halelujah!), and regular emails, I would leave little touches around his house before I left. Such as leaving a note in the bathroom drawer reminding him of our toothbrush dancing (seriously a great time to be a little silly) and a piece of jewelry on his nightstand. I know he loved it because he keeps a stash of my little notes to this day. Now I carry the tradition on whenever he travels by tossing in a note about how much I miss and love him. We’re both a little silly and a little mushy so the notes work for us. The key is to find some way of reminding the other person you care on a regular basis without physically being there.
I’ve been in a relationship for 3 years and a few months right now, and the first 2.5 years of that were long distance. I’ll agree with most of the other things that folks said:
-communication
-planning/knowing when you’ll next see them before you’re apart again
-skype dates
But also, a great thing I’ve found is becoming friends with their friends far away. When my beau didn’t feel like he had to ditch his friends entirely for a weekend when I visited, he seemed much more comfortable, and I KNOW I was happier when we could not only spend time together alone but he could see who I spent time with when we were apart. Knowing that your significant other is surrounded by good folks can make a huge difference in feelings of trust!
What awesome comments/advice! I just did a post recently with LDR advice… http://www.eatsloveandhappiness.com/2011/03/444-miles-my-long-distance-relationship.html
(It’s weird that our long distance relationship was BEFORE skype…we’re old timers!)
Its been 5 years since me and my other half were long distance (thank goodness), so i kind of forget what it is like but my best friend is curently in one and she has a cute thing she does to keep the spark alive. They have thursday night date night! They call eachother on the phone at a specific time and watch a movie together thats on TV, while talking and just trying to feel connected. This allows them to have together time while not spending every night of the week on the phone doing the “I miss you soo much” over and over. It really works for them.
My boyfriend and I were long distance for the first year of our relationship and he actually bought a book on how to make long distance relationships work! Some of the ideas were super cheesy but we did start a notebook which worked well. He would write in it before coming to visit me and then leave it with me when he left. I would have something fun to read and remind me of him whenever I got lonely or was thinking of him. Then I would write in it and give it back to him at our next visit. We joke now that we’ll tell our grandkids about “the notebook”…or maybe it will be made into a movie 🙂
Also, I totally agree with the comments on spending your time enjoying each other instead of fighting, planning your weekends together in advance, and of course lots of communication!
Luckily, it’s been a few years since my BF & I were doing the long distance thing in college, but I think my best advice is to practice trust. I really don’t think our relationship would be where it is today if we didn’t learn how to trust each other at separate schools. As much as it sucks to be apart, I think being long distance actually strengthened our relationship, and it makes being together now that much better! 🙂
I’ve been long distance with my boyfriend for almost a year (he’s in law school…one year down, two to go!) and I think the biggest tip I would have is to be understanding that every phone call won’t be a great phone call. Sometimes my day is really boring; sometimes my boyfriend doesn’t have a lot of time to talk because he’s got a study group. But that doesn’t mean that things aren’t working, and you shouldn’t read too much into it. It’s easy to over-analyze things when the other person isn’t around to give you a hug.
Oh, and I definitely agree that future visits need to be planned in advance! I get really anxious if I leave and don’t know when the next time I’ll see my boyfriend is.
I would say that the most important thing that I learned from my long-distance relationship, was communication. I know it sounds cliche… but when all of your communication is on the computer or phone, things can get misinterpreted or misunderstood. Plus, not having each other there in person to be able to gauge feelings is hard. Be sure to communicate clearly and not play games. Don’t make assumption and if you’re unsure of how to interpret something ask for clarification!
I was in an LDR for my first 2 years of college with my high school boyfriend. Unfortunately lack of trust and communication turned to jealousy and eventually ruined the relationship. I swore off LDRs forever and avoided relationships for a very long time after.
However, as fate would have it, I met my current boyfriend 10 months ago while he was vacationing in the US. At this point, we’ve been 10 months strong in a my new LDR, him in London and me in NYC. I learned a lot from the first relationship gone bad, and while I never thought an LDR could actually work its amazing to me how strong of a relationship I’m in now. Trust, communication, skype dates, emails, snail mail and planning trips are key! Its the small things that make a world of a difference.
Hey Julie,
I am in a serious long distance relationship (Texas vs. New York) with my boyfriend. We’ve actually been long distance for the entire year and a half we’ve been dating, but we somehow make it work. I just recently wrote a whole post on this:
http://howdyfromnyc.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-survive-long-distance.html
Have a fabulous day!
Kelli
My boyfriend and I were dating for a year before he moved 12 hours away to Nashville to pursue his career. Since I was in my senior year of college in Pennsylvania, we knew that we were in for a tough year of a long distancing. One of the best decisions we made when it came to our relationship was a rule that we came up with. We decided that we would never abandon doing things with friends/family in order to spend time on the phone/computer together. He always encouraged me to spend time with my friends, even if it meant not chatting with him one evening, and in turn, it gave me the freedom to encourage him to do the same. It really gave us the chance to make the most of our opportunities without feeling like we were neglecting each other. I think this helped us maintain healthy boundaries; it’s easy to spend more time just “talking” in long distance relationships than you actually would in a normal relationship, and sometimes, “talking” so much can get to be a drag. Now, 3 years later and no longer in a long distance relationship, I’m so thankful that we were able to set that boundary!
Popping beans? I am so glad to have a cutting board and a knife. 😉 Otherwise I’d never make green bean fries!
Oh! I love to send my boyfriend pictures from my camera phone of me doing exciting stuff when I go out with friends, but also just doing everyday stuff, too. I send my boyfriend pictures of me and friends when we go somewhere fun, but also sometimes when I’m just brushin’ my teeth! It’s simple and quick, but they are so fun to receive! It has definitely helped Jake and I feel more connected in our day to day lives. We don’t always have time for skype dates, and so this is a nice way to see each other, too.