Have a Better Life

I must confess that Valentine’s Day 2009 it’s not a day to remember. The day started with a box of chocolate and later with a destroyed garden. Let me explain.

We (the four of us) had decided that Saturday would be a gardening day. My husband was going to buy strawberry plants early in the morning and I would plant them. So he got up really early, went to the local market and bought the strawberry plants and a box of chocolates as a Valentine’s gift. I love chocolate and I loved the surprise.

He said he was going to clean the garden (remove old leaves and nasty plants) with my daughter while I went out with my son to buy soil and seeds. When we arrived home, besides the old leaves, old plants, etc. most of the garden was just…not there. My husband decided to remove everything I planted last year, that in fact was burned from the cold nights but that would flourish in Spring. I was in shock and really upset with his attitude.

As I’ve been really down lately I just couldn’t handle it and I burst in tears. I lost all my strength, my will to build the garden and I just spent a few minutes planting the strawberries and went to cook lunch.
After lunch my son asked to play with a few neighbors, my daughter wanted to stay in the garden with my husband so I just grabbed the car keys and drove without destiny.

I drove along the cost for about 45 minutes, always crying and crying, not only because of the garden situation but because of all that has been happening lately. 1,5 hours later my son called me asking where I was and 3 hours later my husband. Although he knew I was mad, he never said a word, this is something that bothers me a lot, he never asks anything, for him it was a normal thing to destroy everything without even telling me what he intended to do.

At 19.30 I was in bed because when I get stressed I get very tired and I can barely walk because everything aches, and I only woke up the next morning at 9. At 13.30 I was again in bed and only got up at 17.20 to go to my in laws for dinner, where the subject was brought up.

Of course it is “just” a garden but it’s our garden, I spend some time taking care of it so I guess I have the right to know if it’s going to disappear.

This whole situation affected me a lot as well as my kids because I just lost all my energy and couldn’t give them the attention they needed because I’m two tired.

Do you do everything as a couple or sometimes you also have this type of “surprises”?

Coming tomorrow a post about my physiotherapist appointment – back pain.

KIWI

This week I decided to look for a healthy and easy kid’s friendly recipe. Who doesn’t like pancakes? I do. I promised my kids to make Pancakes tomorrow for breakfast, probably I will make with peach once I don’t have blueberries.

Let your kids help you out making the pancakes, they usual love to help in the kitchen, only take a close look and keep them away from the hot pan.

Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

* 3/4 c. flour
* 1 tbsp. sugar
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1 tbsp. margarine
* 1 egg
* 3/4 c. milk
* 1/2 c. blueberries, washed and drained
* extra margarine for the pan

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
2. Melt the margarine in a small saucepan.
3. Crack the egg into a medium-size bowl, then add the milk and melted margarine.
4. Whisk until everything is well mixed.
5. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk again until both mixtures are blended together.
6. Put extra margarine in the saucepan and heat it on the stove top on medium heat. It is hot enough when the margarine starts to bubble.
7. Use a measuring cup or a small ladle to spoon the batter into the pan. Put some blueberries on top of each pancake.
8. Cook your pancakes on medium heat until small bubbles appear on the top.
9. Use a spatula to see when your pancakes are light brown on the bottom. When they are, flip them over with the spatula.
10. Cook for another few minutes until the pancakes are light brown on the other side.
11. Remove your pancakes and put them on plates to enjoy!

Serves: 2 – Serving size: 3 or 4 medium pancakes

I found this recipe in the kidshealth.org site.

Photo at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smitten/2704321844/

I’ve said that before, my son is not a sporty boy. He tried Judo, Funk, Soccer and he gave up everything. The school program includes swimming as an additional activity to 4th grade but he doesn’t want to attend those classes. As it is an extra activity my son is not evaluated or graded for the activity so I made a formal request for him to be removed from the team.

Although I think sport is a very healthy part of his life, I feel I don’t have to force him to go and hear everyday that he wants to quit. Of course this is not an example of life, if one day he refuses to go to a certain class at school of course that is not even discussed.

Next school year he will go to 5th grade and he has physical class that he has to attend so next year there is no excuse and he just have to get used to go.

He’s a very active boy, he plays a lot of soccer during school breaks and after school, he runs and he plays other activities so I guess for now he just looks at sport class as an obligation and not pleasure. He even asked for sports gifts for his birthday and although he didn’t get want he wanted, he was pleased with a car race video game. He says it’s also a sport!

He’s 10, he is in 4th grade with only one teacher, next year he will be in 5th grade with around 10 different teachers. I guess this year I’m going to let him skip sport because next year responsibility will the king and time to play will be shorten. For now he is very into video games, online games and some traditional games.

I love this article so I really have to publish it. I could highlight most of the text because it is so deep and beautiful.

Author: Michael Douglas

Love is in air, romance is ruling everyone’s mind and the markets are flooded with chocolates, cute stuffed toys, mushy greetings cards and other goodies with lovey-dovey messages. Yes, it’s the day of lovers and friends, the day to express your love and affection to someone very special and to celebrate and spend time with someone who means the world to you – your beloved, your valentine!

Valentine’s Day is here along with the season for cards, roses and chocolates. But sad is the fact that not many of us know its true importance and the reasons for the widespread celebration of this day. Today, it is just another excuse to celebrate, to exchange gifts and for the card and chocolate companies to make some quick money.

Youngsters view the day as the reason to go out on some extra-special dates, to propose to their crushes and to make some new girlfriends or boyfriends. But the very beauty and importance of the day has been lost in this commercialization.

Valentine’s Day has been connected to various stories. Legend links the day to a Roman priest, Valentine. It is believed that Emperor Claudius II forbade young men to marry as he felt that unwed men made stronger soldiers. Valentine disobeyed the emperor’s orders and solemnised the marriage of the young couples. He was apprehended and the emperor condemned him to death. St Valentine suffered martyrdom on 14 February 270 AD and, ever since, Valentine’s Day has been celebrated on 14 February.

Today, the meaning of the day might be confined to expressing love to your boyfriends or girlfriends but the day is made for you to express your feeling and warmth to all those for whom you care, anyone can be your valentine – a friend, a soul mate, your parents, your siblings or just about anyone who occupies an important place in your life. It is the day for sweethearts – be it your lover, fiancee, wife, husband, brother, sister or anyone with whom you share a special bond.

Different people feel differently about the hype that surrounds Valentine’s Day. Some wonder why the expression of a special emotion should be confined to one single day. Love is like magic and the day it comes into your life, that day becomes even more special than Valentine’s Day. There is not something that you can plan.

On the contrary, for a few, it is about keeping one day apart for the whole of society to come together to make their loved ones feel special and worthy. Valentine’s Day celebrates all shades and spheres of love. It is the celebration of love of all kinds. Even if you are not in a relationship, you can celebrate the day with equal zest.

No matter what your age is or to what part of the world you belong to, if you value love, togetherness and heart-felt emotions, it is the day for you to celebrate. Besides the gifts, cards and lovely red roses, it is the day to lock some wonderful memories forever into your heart. It is about celebrating a special bond and to appreciate someone in a very unique and exclusive manner.

And just remember, feelings are beyond the fragrance of the flowers and the mesmerizing words on a card. Someone’s wallet does not measure the love he or she has for you.

Everyone has a different perception of the importance of Valentine’s Day. If you truly love a person then the whole year is as special as Valentine’s Day, say some people. But there are others who wait the whole year to say those three golden words to someone, “I love you.”

NO PLANNING FOR LOVE
For Laura, every moment that she spends with her loved one is special. She does not need a special day to express her love and gratitude to someone whom she holds too close to her heart, although she feels that Valentine’s Day gives one another excuse to party or have a nice dinner with family and friends. You take time out from your hectic work schedule to spend some valuable moments with your loved ones. But that is where her definition of Valentine’s Day ends.

Aryan has a similar opinion. According to him, love cannot be planned. It can happen any time, on any day, at any moment.

He does not think that it would become more special or everlasting if you express it on Valentine’s Day. You might take the day as an opportunity to reassure someone of your love for him or her. It is just like any other day when you tell your sweetie how much he or she means to you.

For Jim and Stephanie, Valentine’s Day has double importance. It is the day when the two of them got married 15 years ago. At that time, they were not even aware of such a day, so it is not very special one for the two of them.

There are some who believe in spreading love every day while, for others, Valentine’s Day is as special and important as the other festivals we all celebrate. Some find stuffed toys that say, “I Love You” or “You are special” really cute while, for others, they are the most stupid things to gift someone. The perception of Valentine’s Day is different for every individual. Valentine’s Day is a day solely devoted to love, warmth, affection and togetherness. It is the day to raise a special toast to a relationship that means the world to you.

But, in recent times, it has just become another way for people to make money. It is kind of hurting to see the day and a beautiful emotion being measured and judged in terms of material presents. Probably this is the order of the day, as we see that even other festivals have become all about exchanging expensive gifts.

True love does not need a bouquet of a hundred roses or a sparkling diamond. It is more about the depth of your love for someone.

And for those friends, who do not have a valentine, don’t pull a long face. You can indeed have loads of fun even if there is no one special in your life to whom you can dedicate this day.

CELEBRATION TIME
Just go out for a party with all your single buddies and eat, drink, dance and make merry. No one says that you can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day if you don’t have a date. And you never know, you may arrive back home with the one you were looking for.

So go out and explore. Plan a get-together of all your old buddies. Spend the day watching a movie and just hanging out with friends. And if you are feeling bad about the fact no one is there to shower gifts on you, just gift yourself. Buy some cool stuff for yourself.

Decorate your room with flowers, candles and pictures of the most memorable moments of your life. And if you are good with words, just go ahead and write something special to make the occasion special.

Just make yourself feel exclusive. Celebrate the day by pampering yourself and making your surroundings pleasant and beautiful.

Valentine’s Day is not about confining love to one day or measuring the depth of someone’s love and affection in material terms. It is just about devoting a day solely to all your loved ones.

It is like giving everyone a common platform to celebrate the happiness of being with someone, dedicating 24 hours to spread, express and celebrate love and the emotion that has the power to overshadow all realms of life.

About the Author: Michael Douglas is a relationship expert and he is the webmaster of Love-Lectures.com where he provides more tips and advice on how to celebrate valentine day, valentine day gifts, romantic ideas, romantic getaway, romantic vacations, trips and much, much more…

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/dating-articles/valentines-day-should-we-confine-love-to-one-day-108472.html

This is a Truth, Dare or Chocolate Board Game for Couples and it’s a Romantic Valentines Day Gift Idea for both Men and Women.

This game can be called a seduction game. Ideal for a game a two, this old Spin the Bottle game was released with the chocolate version.

Contains:

• Board game
• spinners
• two jars of body frosting
• soft brushes
• truth, dare or chocolate game cards and instructions.
• a lot of seduction and love

Have a great Valentine’s day or night.

This is a gift a lot of men will love. Although it has not a very attractive appearance (in fact it looks like a barcode scanner to me) it can be very handy for a lot of man.

This is a Philips Norelco T780 Rechargeable Vacuum Trimmer with steelwave technology. This model is very easy to use, it has a great design giving a sense of comfort while in use. Another idea for a Valentine’s Gift.