marriage

Make Healthy A Habit – Day Fourteen

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I signed up today for my first 5k walk!

My husband and I have been wanting to incorporate more health-based activities into our dates and daily life and this will be an excellent way to do that.

It’s not only something we can do together that’s beneficial to our health but it’s also an annual event in our community, so it will allow us an opportunity to be active with our neighbors. It’s held on the beach during a health fitness weekend expo so hopefully, we’ll also learn about health as well.

The thing is, I wouldn’t have discovered it  (or at least I haven’t up to this point) had I not been actively looking for local health-based events. And it’s less than a few weeks away…

Part of being healthy is being proactive about it.

And who better to share one’s health goals with than the one you love?

Make healthy a habit. #makehealthyahabit

 

**For the original idea, please visit here.

 

 

25 Days of Spreading Love – A countdown to Christmas: Dec. 12

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For the original idea, please go here.

13 Days till Christmas – spreading love through cooking.

I am one of those who believe in the power of food.

I’m Sicilian and my family has incorporated food into our very way of being, from the passed-down recipes to the regular Sunday afternoon dinners where pasta is the first course. Perhaps it’s in my blood but I adore real food and I adore it most when I am enjoying it with others.

Fresh vegetables and lean protein are two of my husband’s favorite things. He’s had a long week and has been working very hard.

Today, I want to spread the love toward my new husband through cooking. I know what he likes and I decided to put my love into food and prepare for him one of his favorite meals – beef stew. I’m also making some chocolate chip cookies for him to have as a treat over the weekend.

Showing one’s love through food is an excellent way to nourish both the belly and the soul. And when you do it for someone you love, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.

Spread the love. #spreadthelove

Spread the Love

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When I married my husband a few months ago, I glimpsed into a future world of love, a love that years ago I wasn’t sure existed. Every day he shows me what it means to love and be loved.

I can’t say I’ve always been particularly closed off to love but I also can’t say I’ve been the type to welcome it in with open arms either. I’m 38 so I know that I’m part of the group “who waited to get married.”

I used to think love was complicated. I used to think love meant pain. I focused more on me than on finding someone else to love.

Ah, youth. And my early thirties.

The universe smiled on me though, taught me some lessons and then introduced me to the man I’ll be with till, well… it decides to take him back I suppose. But at present, I’ll focus on the here and now. Which leads me to this blog post.

Though I have been given this gift, I sometimes fail to always recognize it and appreciate it. I’ve found myself taking love for granted recently. And I’ve had moments of feeling anger over stupid things.  I’ve spoken to people in my life not from a place of love but from a darker place and at times when I could have projected warmth and understanding, I chose distance and lack of care.

What better time to realize this and want to change it than during the holidays?

I want to walk the talk though. And I’d love to invite you along with me as I do another blog project. (For past ones, click here, here and here.)

Starting tomorrow, December 1, I’ll be counting down the days until Christmas with a daily blog post detailing a way I’ve spread love and put it out in the world.

I realize love can be defined in more ways than maybe any other word used but for purposes of this blog project, I’ll be using the word to mean expressions of kindness and good will.

We live in a world that is far from perfect. People get hurt and die every day, in horrific ways. That is the reality of life. So why not try to balance it with acts of love? And maybe if we begin to do it consciously, it will become part of the fabric of who we are.

So why not meet me here tomorrow (posts will go up at various times but will be daily) and begin this journey with me? Let’s spread the love!

Lessons From A Honeymoon

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My husband and I were recently married, as my blog readers likely know considering my surge in wedding related blog posts over the past six months, and we decided to hit the open road for a little shy of two weeks to explore western America. We began in Los Angeles and drove up the coast through Northern California and then headed into Oregon and then Washington, with a finale in Las Vegas.  We drove the entire way and clocked over 3000 miles. I will never forget it.

We like to explore and see things off the beaten path, things difficult to see when flying in and out of a city rather than driving in and out of one. Along the way, I learned more than I ever thought I would – about love, life and myself. And I learned about my new husband too.

As an independent filmmaker who also works multiple jobs, spare time is not something I typically have. Boredom? Don’t know it. Vacations? A rare concept. So for me, this road trip Honeymoon was all about spending time with the love of my life, turning off the technology that never seems to sleep and thinking of only the moment I was in. Spending days doing nothing but loving, being and exploring the world around me, along side my new husband. We took time to smell the roses and God damn, were they beautiful….

And now, I thought I’d take a moment to share 11 things I learned along the way:

1. Less is more.

2. Going thirty miles over the speed limit is incredibly easy to do, even if that speed limit is 70.

3. Trust and communication are absolute necessities. In all walks of life.

4. When you are upset with someone else, it often times has more to do with yourself than with them.

5. Nature is a pure religion, with its beliefs demonstrated in its being.

6. Technology has become too important. Perhaps a step away is always in order.

7. Don’t judge anything by its cover. Especially restaurants. The fanciest could be crap; a hole-in-the-wall could be a local gem.

8. Life moves fast. Very fast.

9. Marriage is two. Big decisions can no longer only be made by one.

10. Hotels with heated pools are smarter. They are.

11. The answer is love.