Six Words....

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. Whether you choose to partake in the festivities or not, there's probably a good chance you found yourself thinking about love at some point this week. The triggers are everywhere...cards, chocolates, long-stemmed roses, hearts, champagne, balloons, displays of your favorite romance books/DVDs....If you're not a fan of the holiday, it can be rather nauseating. Nonetheless, this girl is a hopeless romantic and a total sucker for a whole day dedicated to excessive romance, canoodling and pretty much every other lovey-dovey behavior there is.

This was our ninth Valentine's Day as a couple, but our first together as husband and wife. As much as I love my hubby, I also have a profound love for food so I must share a few details about the grub.  We chose to dine in, which seems to be a new trend for us. We started the night off with a red leaf salad topped with dried cranberries, freshly candied pecans, feta cheese and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. The main course was a buttery lobster tail grilled on a smoky cedar plank with steamed crab legs. These delightful creatures were accompanied by grilled asparagus and flaky garlic and sharp cheddar biscuits (inspired by this recipe). What better excuse for chocolate than it being Valentine's Day? I dipped plump, California strawberries (surprisingly sweet for this time of year) into velvety white and dark chocolate and dusted them with either Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies or pretzel crumbs. We both took turns raving about the flavors of the meal with each bite. It was perfect! After dinner plates were cleared, we refilled our champagne flutes with a sweet, icy peach mix (frozen peaches, blackberry brandy and a little sugar) topped with champagne (my take on champagne bellinis) and exchanged cards. I loved the fancy meal, roses and macadamia nut turtles, but my favorite part of the evening was my homemade envelope and card from my hubby. He has a way with words that makes me feel so special. I'll be laughing and crying at the same time and I love it!  Did I mention it even had a pull tab?!? He got mega bonus points for that!

I've pulled this tab at least 100 times since Monday and each time it makes me smile :)

I warned you, I'm a huge sucker for this sappy stuff and my hubby has learned this over the years (mostly through shameless hinting). We all have a different 'love language' and it is extraordinary when we know what works for our partners. There is an interesting book called 'The 5 Love Languages.' It explains the five primary ways that people express and interpret love: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch. We all tend to express love in the way we want to receive it. Let's be honest, what does it for me and what does it for my husband are different. This book helped us become more aware of what actions mean the most to each of us. My husband definitely had a primary love language and by knowing this, I can now communicate my love to him on a deeper level. However, my love languages were spread fairly evenly between two or three of the languages, making me "high maintenance" as he likes to put it. For more information on the love languages, check out Gary's site. You can even take the quiz from the book online. The great thing is that love languages aren't just for those in romantic relationships. Love languages manifest in friendships, families and pretty much every other human connection. There are profiles for wives, husbands, parents of teens, singles and children (I just learned about the language of apology, which I might have to check out next).

The "leave it" command at work, Lola with her iced doggy treat topped with lobster.
She devoured this and spent the next 5 minutes sniffing around the house for more 

 Today, I also read a quirky article about summing up a relationship in six words. What?? Six words, that's all I get? I have been known to leave 20 minute voice mail messages about things that mean nothing to me. How in the world could I describe our love story using only six simple words?? There were a few amusing attempts by readers, such as, "Love Hurts. Choose vodka or valium," "Loved her madly-then went mad" and "Note to self: avoid head cases." They all made me smile and the truth is no matter your current relationship status, whether you are happily married, divorced, dating, struggling or blissfully single. Love is important. We all need a little love in our lives and I'm not only talking about "romantic love." Love comes in all forms. Whether you are a mother/father, daughter/son, brother/sister, aunt/uncle, girlfriend/boyfriend, husband/wife, friend, pet owner or volunteer, it is important to have positive, loving relationships in life. Here's my attempt at our relationship in six words.

Compassionate. Respectful. Humorous. A forever love.

"It's always better when we're together"~Jack Johnson song, our first dance together at our wedding 

Growing together: Love, not pant sizes. :)

What six words would you use? Try it, it's harder than you think! Enjoy your day today and remember to spread the LOVE. Do something special for someone you care about today. Think about the different love languages and of new, creative ways to show you care.

Positive vibes...