I decided to do something really special for my wife for Christmas (2007).  She has been going through alot of emotional turmoil lately.  The house she grew up in, for 20+ years, was being sold.  And to add insult to injury, the buyers were going to tear it down instantly and build a $4,000,000 mega-mansion in its place. 

In the process, she lost one of her favorite places in the whole world.  Right outside the window to her room was a huge crape myrtle tree, and under that tree, a bench.  Her father bought it years ago, and now it was rotting and rusted, but she still loved it.  She would sit and listen to the cicadas in the summer, or just watch the cars go by.  It was simple, and perfect.

So my friend Dan and I went to the house the day before demolition and stole the bench, and I spent the next few months refurbishing and rebuilding the bench so that she might keep a little piece of her childhood intact.  Sounds romantic, but in reality it was a whip.  I learned alot in the process, though, and I think the end product is pretty awesome.