All Things Love: Actions Speak Louder

While acknowledging your love for someone verbally is a definite must, the old adage 'Actions speak louder than words' applies as well. You can say something until your blue in the face but until you take the steps to affirm your words with actions, they can fall flat.


Which brings us to the funnest part of All Things Love week! The romantic gestures. Just a forewarning that although I've spoken a lot about that fact that love doesn't just have to be about a romantic involvement with someone, these actions are going to be more geared to the mushy kind of love because of Valentines Day. 

Source

Flowers
Guys, some women say that they don't like flowers because they always end up dying. For that I say, don't be dumb. Flowers are beautiful. Who doesn't want flowers? The only time that it is stupid to purchase flowers for someone is if you spend a un-Godly amount of money on flowers just for them to die. You don't need to spend a ton of cash on a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Another way to get around this is to purchase flower seeds or bulbs and plant them together. Watch them grow over time. Or pick some! It's a cute way to get around the money issue.


John of Young House Love seriously wow-ed me when Sherry posted that for Christmas, he was gifting her a bouquet of flowers every month for the next year. Keep in mind, that he didn't mean a huge $100 bouquet from a flower shop every single month. He meant a cute reasonably price bouquet from a grocery store or something to that extent. I absolutely adore this idea. I know that there at our local grocery stores, you can get a bouquet for about $5 to $10. So, in a 12 month period, you would spend $60 to $120 on a gift. Not only will she feel special every single month, but you also get the benefit of having fresh flowers in your house (if you live together.) Having fresh flowers/plants in your house has been proven to improve air quality and it boosts your happiness. Yes, that's what the study was on. Boosted happiness. Get over it. :)


That just reminded me. When was the last time I watered my plants? Uh-oh. 


Date Night
In our house, our go-to date night is dinner and a movie. Which is fine, since we love movies... and food. But sometimes that can get monotonous. Sometimes I wish Bryan would put a bit more effort into date night. Here are a few ideas to spice things up. 

• Take your lady to dinner and a play. It's more captivating, more romantic and you support local theater efforts. Plus, it adds a little bit of cultural flair to your life. 
• Take your woman dancing. When is the next rodeo? Or is there a local bar/club in town that has dancing nights? Is there a concert playing around town anywhere soon? Dig up some information, tell your lover to get cute and the entire time you guys are dancing, never take your eyes off her. Give her the full attention she deserves. 
• Speaking of dancing, are the any local recitals coming up? Does she have a cousin, niece or nephew in dance? Find out when the dates are and make it a point to take her there. Is there a comedy club near by? Everyone loves funny. And even if the comedian sucks, it'll give you lots to make fun of, in a nice way of course.
• If you want something more chill and low maintenance, grab a coffee and drive around. Look at houses, go out into the country and turn up her favorite songs. Take the time to learn some of the lyrics so you can sing them with her. Belt it out and have some fun. Stop somewhere in the country and dance with her under the stars. 
• Have access to a projector? Grab one of her favorite movies and go set up a movie area on the side of a house or building downtown. (Make sure to get permission, if necessary.) Invite her friends and family or just take her favorite snacks and take a load off. Picnic sandwiches for dinner for a low budget meal. 

Source

Remember, some of these plans can be easily switched out to be guy friendly. Girls, is there a truck show coming around? Take your man to it. Or get him two tickets so that he can pick a friend to go with. Are there any local sports teams that you can get tickets too? Grab a few beers and have him teach you the game (if you don't already understand the rules.) He'll love that you are interested and he'll definitely answer any questions you have. 


Make sure you tailor your plans to your significant other. If he hates water polo, don't take him to a match. If he hates the local basketball team, try to save up to attend a game of the team he prefers. If your girl doesn't like to dance because she's shy, don't take her to one. Take her to a coffee shop or a library or Target. It's important that you pay attention to the things she likes so that you can plan accordingly.


Small Acts
There are always small things that people have to do that they hate. Whether is a chore or an errand, everyone hates to do something. If you are wanting to do a small thing that is technically a big deal to them, here are a few ideas.

• Does your man always have to get the oil changed in the vehicles? One Saturday, wake up early, take the car or cars to a local shop and get the oil changed for him. Let him sleep in or enjoy his morning while you do this task for him!
• If you have a day off from work, surprise your man/woman with lunch. Food is always a good way to go. ;)
• Leave a note on her windshield with a flower secured by her wiper. Girls love love notes. They also like surprised. This is a win-win. Girls, men like notes too. Sneak out while they are taking a shower and place a note on their dashboard where they will see it in the morning. Write something sweet (or naughty if that floats your boat.) 
• Does your other half always get the mail? Mail him or her a letter so that it'll be there when they get it. Stamped and processed by the postal system. It'll show forethought and that you acknowledge the fact that they do this task every day. 
• Bills. Someone has to pay them. If your lover does this tedious and stressful task, make it easier on them. Set everything up that they need. Organize all the bills and file everything away when they are done. Brew them a cup of tea or coffee or grab them a beer and some chips. While they are doing the bills, don't sit there and watch TV. Do something productive like cleaning the kitchen or a bathroom. Make them feel like they aren't the only one contributing.

Grand Plans
I used to commute to work every day. Anyone who is anyone knows that sometimes, this can get tedious. Even when you usually like the drive to clear your mind, sometimes you just don't want to do it. If your man/woman is a creature of habit, I always thought that it would be really awesome to do any of the following:

• Have your friend drop you off half way through the commute at a stop-light or sign (make sure your friend waits there in case this ends up being the day that she has to work late or run an errand after work.) with a sign or some way to get his/her attention. Move her to the passenger seat so that you can drive her the rest of the way home. They'll be stunned that you organized such a simple task for her. 
• Better yet, if they work far enough away that it's considered a commute but close enough that one of your friends could drop you off, let him/her find you leaning against their car with a treat (favorite soda, coffee or smoothie) and offer to drive them home. 
• Guys, grab a blindfold and take her to the place you met her. Get mushy for a second and tell her what you first thought of her and what you think about her now. (Once, Bryan did this. He took me to the house where we met and we danced in the street. It was ridiculously cute.)
• Take him/her to get a massage... or better yet, a couples massage! Its a great way to relax together. After, if the place is downtown, drink your water while walking around and window shop. Make sure to hold hands. 
• Surprise her with a day trip to the coast. Make sure to go to a yummy seafood restaurant and go thrift store or yard sale shopping with her and don't complain when she wants to buy some crazy item, like new dining room chairs. Expect that it'll happen. Then, when you get home, help her paint them or stain them and go along with her crazy idea. You might be surprised when it works. :)
• Ladies, take your husband to the coast and rent a quad for him. While you tan on the beach, he can go race around and do boy things. Even better? Rent two and make him teach you how to ride it. Then, spend the day riding around and exploring together.

Some of these things are costly... and some of them are free. But all of them will give you a return that is priceless. Keeping the romance and intimacy in a relationship alive is the most important thing you will ever do. If you don't have anything to bond you together, you'll just be two people passing each other in the hallway or getting ready side by side in the morning to live your separate lives. 

Source

Love is worth putting yourself out there. 'Nuff said.

All Things Love: The Romance Bubble

I'm going to be candid. I am not in the mood to blog about love today. Honestly. That man that I love really just burnt my bacon last night and as much as I want to tell you to grab a frying pan and hit your man over the head with it, I shan't. Because violence ain't cool, yo. That is the opposite of what I am going for during this here All Things Love week.


I suppose that the above is another type of love. It's doing things you don't want to do for the person you love. It's showing grace and love throughout the hard times. It's keeping on when life gets hard and you are in a valley so vast that you can't see a hill in sight.


So, this post will be about showing love in spite of circumstance. Even if you feel disconnected from a loved one, even if your husband hasn't paid any real attention to you or even if your wife hasn't flirted with you lately, you should not use this as an excuse to bottle up your love. Quit being stingy. What ends up happening is that this widens the gap between you when a simple act of love could bring you two closer together. You just have to be the one to take the leap.


That can be scary. Loving someone and feeling disconnected from them but not wanting to be so vulnerable that you put your heart out there IS scary. I can tell you that feeling this way is completely reasonable but highly unproductive. What do you have to lose? If they are already with you, then there is a reason for it. Remind them of it. If they aren't with you, then you don't have them to begin with. Trying will only help the situation, I say.


Instead of going on and on to convince you do to something, I'm going to consider you convinced! Congrats! You made the right choice. Now you are wondering what to do to reconnect. Aren't you? Tomorrow, we'll get in to examples of things you can do. Today, we need to gain a bit more knowledge before to understand where we're at in our relationships. Where we are at will help determine where we need to go.

All Things Love: Thought Process

Love is the most powerful feeling in the universe. I'm not talking about a specific kind of love. I mean in general, the act of loving any thing or any one is an entity that is so powerful it can cause immense happiness and intense discontent. Love can start wars and heal old wounds; It can harden a person emotionally, or soften up a big bully.

Source

What I feel is the most amazing thing about love is that it is not taught. It is instinctual. Whether you believe in Christ or evolution or nothing at all, it is written in your DNA to love and be loved. To protect in the name of love, to let go in the name of love, to die in the name of love. Every persons story has a theme of love in it. Whether they can recognize it or not. It doesn't matter what type of love it is. Love is not just an act of being "in love". Love is the conscious effort of loving someone. It is a feeling but also an action.

Source

I used to hate Valentines day. It was such a bummer for me. I didn't have many great ones but the great ones I had were fantastic, which made the not so great ones even worse. Such a waste of time. I mistakenly bought into the Hallmark holiday and the way they tooled it do be a day about 'love between a man and a woman' instead of just about love. Valentines does not have to be a reminder to men and women every where that they aren't in love. Valentines day should be a sweet reminder of the love you DO have in your life. Whether you buy a bone or some catnip for a pet, or you give your best friend a big hug and a bag of chocolate do a little something to someone you love and care about. It can be anyone. Give a tiny expression of love to brighten someones day. That is what Valentines should be about!

Image: HTC Incredible

To kick off the first day of All Things Love here at  Embrace the Crazy I challenge you to change your thought process on Valentines day. Dare yourself to embrace all of the levels of love you share with people in your life and relish it. It is so ridiculously precious. Handle it with care and the reverence it deserves.

While loving is instinctual, letting yourself love is an entirely different matter. Take a moment to realize how serious and important it is that they chose to let themselves love you. It's moments. Revel in it and try to keep yourself from taking it for granted.

Source

Excuse Me, I Have An Announcement

You'll have to wait for it though. Torture? I know.

Lately, I have been reading Hollywood Housewife and I've been enjoying it. It's a blog about a small town girl who moved to LA after getting her heart broken with a friend she barely knew. She got a job, which led to another job, which led to her meeting the man that she married, who happens to be a quirky director. She's a sweet girl with a good writing style and I enjoy it. 

As I was reading, I stumbled upon this post about a homemade vitamin E oil and salt scrub for her face. She mentioned that her face is always dry and she used to rub vitamin E oil on her face to help it out. So, of course, the other night when Bryan and I headed to the world of Wally to pick up some things I loaded up on vitamins for the Hub, Fish Oil pills and vitamin E oil. I put it on my face last night and when I woke up this morning? WOW. My face was like a babies bottom. It was so soft I had to make myself not touch it. After my shower, I washed my face and it was still pretty soft, and I continued to use the light moisturizer that I always have. My face FEELS better. Like my cheeks are not going to crack when I smile. I'm digging it. 

I tried to get Bryan to take one of the fish oil pills with me and he's prissy and said no. He was like "I have to research it!" I had already done this but to each his/her own. I wanted to take them because they help with many different things like heart and mental health and what have you. When I read that it also helps with depression I was like, hey! Maybe that is why fish always look so happy? And also I figured that I might suffer from a small case of depression and why not? 

Interestingly enough, I did not have any issue with a fish burp. Which I have heard of and am glad to not have experienced. I am also taking a one-a-day woman's multivitamin and I think that also has to do with my weirdness sometimes. We are not the healthiest eaters and I know for sure that I don't get all the vitamins that I should. Hopefully this helps. 

Have you suffered enough? Probably. 

Here is my big announcement! 

In a week from Monday it will be Valentines day! 

Oh, you knew that? 

Well... next week at ETC, we will be hosting an All-Things-Love related week! 

Have you vomited yet? Good. Hold it in. Don't worry. This isn't going to be cheesey or annoying. For all the zero guys that read this, I am going to be writing tips and tricks for you to woo your lady and for the ladies, I'll be posting ways to not hate Valentines day! 

It'll be fun. I promise. :)

In Which I Trick Myself

As you know from yesterday's post, I just started reading a new book that is the first in a series. My gracious friend Anna let me borrow her paperback book and I read some the other night before bed. I can't say whether or not I am impressed yet, since I'm only about 30 pages into the novel but I'm intrigued which is good. 

However... If you know me (as my husband knows me) I am easily intrigued. Yesterday, I was watching Sex and the City on some random TV channel that I paid no attention to and after Kourtney and Kim Kardashian's new show about New York came on. I'm not a huge reality TV fan. I can't even think of one show that I like that is "reality." Oh wait... Kendra. I love me some Kendra. That girls laugh makes me laugh. Hilarious. Okay, so I like one reality show. Whatev.... I have watched the Kardashian's show (well, one of them. They have like 50 billion shows!) a few times and the three sisters dynamic reminds me of my sisters. Anyways, I got all caught up in watching this New York show about their new store and after, I was like WHAT. THE. DEUCE. I spent a half an hour of my LIFE watching this dumb-dumb show. I could have been doing a myriad of other things and yet? I did not. 

Are you wondering if I have a point? I do. 

As I said, Anna lent me her books. While we have the same taste in books, we don't have the same views on caring for books. Anna like pristine books. I like loved on, worn in books. But, her book, her rules - no problemo.. But that also means that taking her book to the gym is impossible. I do not wish to risk it. Especially since it is a paperback. No bueno. 

Last night, I grabbed my Nook, arrived at the gym and started my workout on the bike. I quickly downloaded some random book that look okay and I read. (PS. I did 5 miles in 15 minutes on that bike. My thighs hate me.) And then I worked out my arms and my abs, and then I did 20 minutes on the treadmill. I read as often as I could because I AM NOW HOOKED ON THIS NINETY-NINE CENT BOOK. 

I started thinking later that evening that I had stumbled upon the perfect plan. I shall only allow myself to read said Nook book if I am 1. at the gym or 2. have gone to the gym. Like last night, after I showered, I read the book for another half hour or so as a reward for my hard work at the gym. 

And guess what? I cannot WAIT to get back to the gym tonight. Oh, how the tides have turned. 

Hunger Games

Yesterday after work I was feeling pretty yucky so I came home to rest. After an hour or so I headed to Denise's new apartment and spent a little time with her before heading home to hit the gym with my hub.

Unfortunately a few poorly chosen words sparked an intense fight/discussion and I felt it best that he go alone. I ended up going for a long walk to workout and clear my head. When I returned home, I decided to pop in an old workout dance video. Does anyone else feel impossibly silly when working out alone in a spare bedroom with a judgemental cat watching your every move? I ended up giving up. Instead, I pulled out my old workout routine from my senior year in weight lifting. I thought I would die! I can't believe I used to do all that. Now I'm even more determined to get going so I can do that routine plus some!

Right before bed I started The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Its the first of a three part series! I've heard lots of good things so I'll report back and let ya know how it goes!

A Little Bit of Everything - Updated

Updated: Sorry for the formatting issues today. That is the price I pay for having a lot of different interfaces working together to make this blog happen. It's a lot like me and Mexican food. Sometimes we just don't agree with each other. ;)


There are a few things I would like to say before starting my weekly goal wrap up.

-It makes me feel bad about myself when my cat kneads his paws on my stomach.
-Apparently, being skinny is not enough incentive for me to get my lard-butt to the gym. Hmph.
-Downloading new music gives me a rush of happiness that is hard to describe.
-Ditching FPU to go to Olive Garden with two of your favorite people in the world makes for a ridiculously entertaining night.
-There are few things more relaxing than cuddling with my cat when he's purring.
-The walls are much too thin when I am listening to music and type-type typing on my keyboard and I can still hear and make out the words from the TV that Bryan is watching. Must not forget this nugget of information should guests ever stay in our living room. Awkward!

On to the weekly wrap up! I have to say, I kicked major buttocks this week. You should be proud. Hell, I'm proud and that is all that truly matters. Last weeks goals were:

Week of January 24, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack at least 5 boxes

-Tidy the beach room

-Finish decorating the master bedroom

-Organize Items for Yard Sale

And I ended with:

Week of January 24, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack at least 5 boxes

-Tidy the beach room

-Finish decorating the master bedroom

-Organize Items for Yard Sale

Can you hear that?  It's the sound of me patting my own back. Four out of five? What WHAT! So proud. I definitely continued to launder last week. And as you saw in my previous post, I unloaded way more than 5 boxes. I managed to clean up the beach room as much as I could with my own muscles. Will need husband to help move heavy things. While unpacking, I also managed to set aside and sort a ton of clothes and other items to be sold. That will continue to be a goal as I unpack boxes. I want to purge!


For the this week, my goals are:

Week of January 31, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack another 5 boxes

-Steam the master bedroom curtains

-Hang the master bedroom curtains

-Organize Jewelry

This week is a rather light week because my husband and I have big plans, so I'll have to spend most of the week preparing for that. Also, Denise moved into her new apartment so I'll be over there to help her get settled in to her new place.


And now, for the part of the post that you probably weren't expecting! The month-end wrap up of my yearly goals!

1. Get fit & get active

2. Challenge my marriage

3. Walk with God

4. Get unpacked and organized

The above four items were the main points in my life where I wanted to challenge myself as outlined for what I like to call 2011: My Year! Every month at the end of the month, I want to go over each one and how I did.


1. Get fit & get active
I'm going to be honest - I was more active in the fact that I didn't just sit on my patootie and watch TV. I was really busy this month. It helped that I challenged myself with weekly goals with things that were more active like laundry and unpacking boxes. When it comes to the gym though,  I get a big fat fail grade. I went once. I worked out on my own maybe twice. Unacceptable. Will need to do much better in February.


2. Challenge my marriage
Does having a grocery stand-off count? Because other than facing off about normal married problems and about my lack of desire to go to the gym, there hasn't been much challenging going on. I haven't even picked up the Love Dare book. Bryan and I haven't had a date night in God knows how long and we've been bickering more than we have been loving. However, because of how busy we have been busy, we've had more than a few stolen moments of long kisses and extra cuddling in the mornings on the weekends which has been nice. I hope that we can turn the tides so that we have much more love going on and much less bickering.


3.  Walk with God
This is area where I have failed the worst. I know that this is the most important item on my yearly goal list. I know that a relationship with God will give me the encouragement to get healthy and to have a happy marriage that can withstand anything. In my life, the times that I have stood with God have been the times that I have been the strongest. I am so weak and difficult, and His grace soothes and simplifies life. In an effort to fix this lacking area of my life, Bryan and I will be attending a weekly bible study at his mom's house with a few other couples. I'm really excited about it and I'm hoping that this can give me a big push in the right direction.


4. Get unpacked and get organized
I am feeling a whole lot better with this item. Things are certainly not where I want them to be when it comes to the house but I am definitely on the right track. I haven't done a whole lot of decorating but I have a decor closet that I have been organizing everything in, so when the time comes and more boxes are unpacked I can take a look at my inventory and know what I have to work with. This will help us to save money and it's a great incentive to keep unpacking!


I can say that when I started my yearly goals I hoped that I would be further along in some area and I am a tad disappointed that I didn't try harder. Looking back, I could have tried harder. But, instead of berating myself because I am human and endlessly flawed, I look at February as a new month. I can mold it to be what I need it to be and I can always do better. And I intend on doing just that.