Saint Valentin

I just put “Saint Valentin” in the title because everyone else is writing “Valentine’s Day” and I wanted to be different. 😉

Other than making my husband’s favourite dinner, and wrapping little surprises for my kids, I’m celebrating this day by doing Old School blogging with friends Elaine at the miss Elaine-ous life and Tamara (pronounced like) Tamara Camera. You can join in by answering their questions.

How do you typically celebrate Valentine’s Day?  Hoping that my husband will remember to do something, despite the explicit request for flowers and maybe a few chocolates and the promise of making his favourite dinner. I think he has learned by now.

Do you like to get A)chocolates B) flowers  C) a sweet card or D) ALL OF THE ABOVE? I think flowers win. Getting chocolates depends entirely on how many sweets I’ve eaten lately. If little, chocolates are super appreciated. If much, then I’m sort of eh. Give me something salty instead.

Cards are hit or miss. It has to be just the right thing at just the right time; otherwise it doesn’t touch my steel heart.

Would you consider yourself a “cuddler”?  If not, would you at least cuddle on Valentine’s Day? Nope. Not a cuddler. However, I like massages. Can I swap a cuddle for a massage?

What is your favorite movie about love or with a love story?  Probably When Harry Met Sally. I’ve never found one that I loved as much as I did that one when seeing it for the first (or fourth) time. I’m pretty sure I moved to New York City because of that movie, and that is where I met my husband.

Do you believe in “love at first sight”?  Did it happen to you?  I believe it happens, but it didn’t happen to me, nor did it happen to my husband. At least not with me.

Do you believe love can conquer all things?  It depends on who it is doing the loving. If the person has a strong character, his/her love can conquer all things. If he or she has a weak character, it will not.

What is one of the main things you love about your S.O.(significant other)?  There are so many. But if I had to choose just one, it would be his insight into the human condition. This causes him to be a very compassionate man.

If you could have the perfect Valentine date what would you and your loved one do? Fly to the Riviera and eat bouillabaisse on a terrace overlooking the sea.

Tell me about your first crush!  I think his name was Al. He liked Van Halen so I tried to like Van Halen. It was a match so not made in heaven.

Favorite flower? It depends on the season and my mood, but roses, tulips, peonies and gerber daisies.

What’s the first type of chocolate you hope for when you reach into a box of chocolates?  That it will actually be chocolate and not, like, glazed chestnuts, for instance.

First thing you notice about the objects of your affection? I notice my husband’s square jaw and broad shoulders. I notice Juliet’s slender, muscular frame and mischievous grin. I notice Gabriel’s enormous baby blue eyes, which have not changed one bit since he was born. (Did you know that the size of people’s eyes does not change? The eyes only grow further apart as the face matures). I notice William’s  naturally comedic gestures and his longish canine teeth, which make his smile unique – his front teeth don’t touch.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever gotten for Valentine’s Day? My husband is king of last minute gestures (because he dragged his feet too long) and those are sometimes the best. One year he didn’t do anything, and so he took an old Limoges dish we have

and he cut paper into tiny strips. And then he wrote a bunch of questions on each one that we had to take turns answering over dinner. That was a total win.

And those are my answers to the Valentine’s Day questions! If you want to join in, don’t forget to tweet @elainea and @TamaraCamPhoto using the hashtag #OSBlog! And copy the question directly from them because I didn’t answer them all.

My father is coming to visit with his wife next week and it’s a good time to take a one-week break from blogging. I want to enjoy their time here, and maybe do just a couple of the things I’ve been putting off, like planting the tomato seedlings. It’s time, right? To plant the tomatoes indoors? And I also want to give my wrists and shoulders a rest. The carpal tunnel syndrome is not easily beaten. Or at least I’m having trouble finding the perfect posture so that it doesn’t get worse.

And then there is the general February slump. I will probably do well to just soak in life for a few days instead of writing about it.

You know what?

I was telling Matthieu in a recent meltdown that when I first started this blog, only one of my children was school-aged and none of them had after-school activities. I was not teaching 5 days a week. We were not hosting Friday night Bible discussions. There was no blogging schedule or other people’s blogs I felt I couldn’t miss. There was no book to market. My life was so much simpler.

I’d like to cut down on something, but I have no idea what. I do like my blog schedule (Mondays on faith, Tuesdays on food, Thursdays on France, Fridays on family), even though I sometimes think if I just wrote a faith blog, or a cooking blog, or a France blog, it would all be a lot easier. But I’m not just one thing.

I also like reading other people’s blogs. And I like our Friday night Bible discussions too.

I wouldn’t mind having a part-time cleaner and gardener, and giving the book marketing over to a professional, but none of that is feasible right now. So here I am in a (mild) February slump, taking a mini break to recharge my batteries.

Just thought I’d share. Happy Valentine’s Day – and see you Monday Feb 24th.

xo

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