Love, TGFS style

For Mr. Sweetypants's first birthday as a married man, and because he is an avid reader, I took him to Borders for a shopping spree. I reminded him to bring his Borders rewards coupon for a free slice of cake.

 And from that moment on, the joke was, "Don't forget your coupon!"

 So I planned ahead for the next one. I wanted it to be special and romantic, never one of my stronger suits, but his gifts to me were always mind-blowingly thoughtful, and I wanted to make him feel as special as he always made me feel.

 Mr. Sweetypants is a Limey and rabid West Ham (that's a socc-- um, "football" team in Engerlund) fan. I searched and searched E-Bay until I found a classic West Ham jersey from the 1980s, when the team's shirts were emblazoned with the Doc Martens logo (Doc Martens were manufactured in Steve's hometown of Northampton).

 He had also been wanting a 12-string acoustic guitar for his home recording studio. So I ordered one online and had it delivered to my friends Rex and Ray to keep for me until the big day.

 And so, on the morning of Mr. Sweetypants's 38th birthday, I got up early, snuck out to my car and retrieved his prezzies. Our quality time was sitting on the deck, smoking cigarettes in the morning before work, so I put the guitar in a deck chair with the rare West Ham jersey draped over it and gleefully woke him up with an exuberant "Happy birthday, Honey!"

 Steve got up and announced, "Today, I am no longer a smoker! I quit!"

 "Oh, good lord. Just go outside," I said.

 Five years later, Mr. Sweetypants is still cigarette-free. And he gets gift certificates from me for special occasions.