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| Heart-healthy produce in today's organic co-op box! |
Speaking of affairs of the heart, today is as good a day as any to ask yourself if you're taking care of your heart. I don't mean in the romantic way, but in the healthful way. Eat your vegetables, eat some fruit, eat whole grains*, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds and lean protein. Then get moving! If you don't have a regular exercise routine in your life.. GET ONE. No more excuses.. love yourself and just do it!
*Choose whole grains in their whole forms whenever possible to keep the GI or glycemic index low. Include grains such as quinoa, oats, farro (spelt), barley, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, wild rice, brown rice and corn in your regular diet. I'm working on this myself. :)
Okay, lecture over.
Today is a rosy kind of day in our home. My husband gave me a beautiful bouquet of a dozen red roses this morning and is surprising me with a special dinner out tonight. Aww so sweet.
After he and the girls left the house for work and school, I started to put the roses in a vase.. when they all started falling apart! The rose petals were literally falling off the stems with the slightest touch. I tried my best not to handle them so much, but alas, two roses were destroyed and the rest were more like rosebuds at that point. I thought about calling my husband to let him know, but I didn't want him to feel bad about it and buy me new ones!
So I made the best of this gift of love that was falling apart at the seams. I arranged what I could in the vase and scattered some of the rose petals on the table.
I put some rose petals on the window sill in the kitchen.
I scattered more petals in the foyer...
...and up the stairs.
marking a path of rose petals to my daughters' rooms.
.. And a few leading to the master bedroom...
.. to our bed. Ooo la la!
I think these rose petals made our home more beautiful and full of love than if the roses had remained intact!
Then I started thinking how these rose petals tell good lessons about love.
Love is delicate.
Handle love with care.
If the love you're in starts to fall apart or change shape, don't rush to discard it.
Work with it.. compromise..
Find beauty and joy in what you've got.
Be creative. Have fun. Love your partner as best you can.
Happy Valentine's Day. xo
Happy Valentine's Day!!! **hugs**
ReplyDeleteSo sweet--Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy your dinner out! :)
ReplyDeleteMarianaYou, too! **hugs back***
ReplyDeleteToo Fond Thanks! Hope you have a wonderful day, too! :)
I love he veggie heart and the gentle reminder to take care of it. I've been sick lately (bad flu) and although I eat healthy 80% of the time because of severe food allergies, it occurred to me that if I didn't eat well I probably would have gotten a lot sicker than I was. Which doesn't even seem possible because I was so, so sick. I love green veggies though!
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day! In Finland Valentine's Day is more like a day to celebrate friendships. We remember our friends by sending them cards. Of course husbands can remember their loved ones by giving flowers etc (if they are thinking it's a "Valentine's" Day), but it's not that common. Mostly it's a "Friendshipday" to us (that's a loose translation of what we call it).
ReplyDeleteLove the heart! Have a great love filled day <3
ReplyDeletePaula
We'll be eating more heart healthy once my dad moves in with us. More fish and less bacon!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely! Happy Valentine's day to you.
ReplyDeleteGood words! Happy Valentine's day to you too1
ReplyDeleteHappy St. Valentine's Day to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a lovely day - let me say... life is unexpected. What joy the rose petals provided. A gift! I also find joy in these little moments ~bliss
ReplyDeleteHoping to meet to midday coffee/tea next week or the week after. Let me know how you days look.
Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day! :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband surprised me with dinner at a quaint little Italian restaurant in a town in which we rarely dine (just because it's not very near to us) AND tickets to see a play at a local playhouse! What a treat! We don't usually go all out like this on Valentine's Day.. this year was a extra special because it was our 20th year celebration of our engagement. Yep. He proposed to me on Valentine's Day in 1993. Awww. :)
Ti Oh no! Sorry to hear you've been so ill! I had a bad case of the flu many years ago that turned to pneumonia so I completely understand being so, so sick. It was probably the sickest I've ever been in my life. Although having the chicken pox when I was 25 years old (and newlywed!) comes in a close second. I hope you continue to recover and feel 100% asap! And yes.. eating your greens will help! Do you have a juicer? Or a friend with one? It might help boost your immunity even more. *hugs*
Maija Hello dear friend! xo
I like the Finnish celebration of Valentine's Day. I think it's very sweet. Friends definitely greet each other here, too. It's very popular for grade school kids to exchange little cards and tiny candies with each other on Valentine's Day. I always try to do something special for my daughters, too. Valentine's Day always cheers me up.
Paula Thanks! Hope your day was great, too! xo
Linda That sounds like a great plan! I've been thinking about your dad.. hope he's recovering well.
Kwana And same to you! :)
Michelle Happy Valentine's Day to you, too. xo
Brandy Thanks! Hope you all had a great day, too! <3
Mari Life is unexpected, indeed.
I will get back to you with my availability over the next two weeks soon.. a midweek coffee or tea meet up sounds great! :)
AWw That was so sweet - lecture and all - loved the heart made out of produce!!!
ReplyDelete:D
Happy V-day
Lovely post Christine! I hope you and your husband had a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteHappy belated Valentine's Day, Christine!! How was the surprise dinner? I love that you made good use of the rose petals and indeed, it looked beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAlso loved what you did with your share of produce LOL.
Love it! :) Though, I'm sure if I scattered rose petals everywhere, the dogs would eat them!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I'm pretty sure you stole my cat! That or they're twins! :)
What a lovely post! Beautiful pictures and I love your interpretation of the rose petals and good lessons about love. Did your cat play with the petals? :)
ReplyDelete