So I've been seeing this girl for 10 months now. We're both in the same location over summers, but for the rest of the year we're 400 miles apart (Providence to Ithaca) and see each other, on average 3 times every two months. Overall, the relationship is great, the fact that we're so far apart makes the more intimate aspects pretty unbelievable when we get to see one another and we're both pretty crazy about one another. We're both driven college students, and while being with one another is great, both of us also have social lives outside of that, so there's a nice balance struck there.

The one let-down is the long distance bit. We've made it through 7 months long distance thus far and have no problems with communication (webchat 3-4 times a week and text frequently). Obviously the minor problems that arise from being so far apart- the infrequent visits, the slight hurdle of not being able to reconcile disagreements face-to-face, and occasional periods of being down about one another during the longer periods between visits.

That's sort of the background of my relationship. My reason for starting this thread is that we're going through one of those slightly rough patches where the time between visits and both of us are kind of down about it. I'd really like to be able to do something for her that shows her how special I think she is (going up there isn't a possibility) and I was looking for suggestions, since frankly I've never had to do this kind of thing in a long-distance relationship before. I guess if I'm allowed to be picky, I'd prefer it be something lower budget (not out of my own concern, but just because it makes her feel uneasy if I'm spending a lot of money). Any thoughts? I welcome all advice, and if you want to chip in relationship pointers, that's always welcome too.