Monthly Musings: Love & Valentine's Day

It's the first Monthly Musings of 2022!!! Holly, who blogs at Pink Lady, and Patty, who blogs at Good Better Best, host this most fun link up every month. You should really join them for 2022, if you aren't a regular already :)

1) Favourite Valentine's memory?

I shared this one last year and I really think it's still my favourite :) One year when I was in university, I commented how much Valentine's Day sucked as a single person. My friends went out of their way to make that day special for me. They gave me chocolates, made lovely cards, and I just remember feeling so loved. They honestly hosted the original Galentine's Day way back in 1993 just for me and I loved them for it.

 

2) Chocolate, flowers, both?

 

I am not the world's biggest chocolate fan unless it's some of the special chocolates we buy only around Christmas (Toffifee, Turtles) or Lindt balls. I LOVE Lindt Balls and could eat them year round. So if you're buying me chocolate, make it Lindt balls, and not the fancy flavours either. Make it milk or dark chocolate and I'm yours :)

In terms of flowers, well, I'm always up for a good bouquet of flowers. Although I really enjoy buying my own, I also love when friends give me flowers. You can read this post here for the birthday when my friends all spoiled me with flowers.

I guess, to answer the question, this makes me a "both" person :)

3) Favourite romantic date?

I'm realizing that dates aren't my love language. Hahaha! We just don't spend a lot of time going on dates. That is partly due to Covid and partly due to the fact that it's hard to think of places to go on dates. I guess just being with Dave is my favourite romantic date -- having a low-key evening for just the two of us, and if we get to experience something new, that's even better.

This picture is from last year when, after five weeks of lockdown, Dave and I had a Valentine's Day "date" to the grocery store. It was the first time we'd been together, just the two of us, in over a month. Very romantic :)

4) Any Valentine's traditions with kids?

We used to go to McDonald's, or order it in, but our kids don't really like McDonald's anymore so we'll have to find a new tradition. We always make their Valentine's cards for school with them but Sam hasn't given them out the past few years...

 

left: working on Valentine's cards * right: One year, Sam made cookies instead of cards to share with his class. 

I look forward to reading your posts to find out about some new traditions we can incorporate.

 

5) How do you show love?

 

I show love by showing up, usually with a bouquet of flowers :) I want my people to know I am there for them when they need me.

 

6) Do you decorate for Valentine's Day?

 

We have a special tablecloth, I usually have pink or red tulips, and we eat off the pink or red Fiestaware. And we have a Valentine's banner we made one year which I'll hang. So I do low-key decorating.

Left: our Valentine's supper table * Right: the banner the kids and I made, which we still hang

 

7) Do you wear red or pink on Valentine's Day?

 

 I don't own a lot of pink or red clothing but I usually try to wear what little I have.

 

8) Valentine's Day -- big deal or small remembrance?

 

Small remembrance. I feel like Valentine's Day is a commercial holiday and, if I'm only celebrating love on one day a year, that's pretty sad. (I realize that this is only my own opinion though.)

 

9) Favourite idea for school Valentine's parties?

 

Canada doesn't have school parties so I have no answer for this. I do sometimes envy all the school parties parents get to attend in the States though.

 

10) Have you ever had a secret admirer?

 

Not really. I mean, every once in awhile I've participated in "secret friends" sort of stuff where you do special things for each other for a week, or something like that, but I've always found out who they are at the end of the week, or month. I've never had one where they weren't "assigned" to me and where I had no idea who they were. Does that make sense?

After reading my answers, I think I might be a bit of a Valentine's Day party pooper. Clearly I need to read the rest of the blogs in this link up to get into the spirit a little more :)