Post Valentine's Day Pukefest

*Warning:  It's about to get real up in here.  Those with a weak stomach need not read on.*

I'm awoken by a sound that everyone wants to hear first thing in the morning.  Is it chirping birds?  My husband saying he loves me?  The gentle pitter-patter of rain?  Nope that's my husband blowing chunks into a Walmart sack next to me.  I glance over at my phone.  It's five AM.  Good morning world!

Now, typical Chelsea at five AM would have growled, grumbled, and rolled back over and fallen asleep.  In this case, my mama bear nurturing instincts took over.  I leapt out of bed, ran and got him a bowl and a fresh garbage bag.  Next thing I knew I was tying up Philip's puke-sack and throwing it away.  I proceeded to get a rag and some disinfectant and attacked the area of the incident.  Finally, I sprayed everywhere within a mile of the throw-up with enough Febreeze to suffocate the both of us.

Everyone in my house had taken turns getting sick.  And I mean real sick.  Like can't-stray-too-far-from-the-bathroom sick.  Philip and I thought we had both bypassed the virus.  But alas, it finally got him.  He got the worst of it and I had to take my poor husband to the doctor.  My time was spent holding his hand while he got shots, whispering comforting words in his ear, helping him to mosy around the Dr.'s office.  In fact, my entire day revolved around him.  I waited on him hand-and-foot.  As totally illogical as this is, I felt closer to my husband during these shenanigans than I had on our romantic adventures the day before.

Picture this:  My husband was puking, and moaning in pain, and basically pooping his pants and all I could think about was how much I loved him.  How do you explain that?  I can't, except that perhaps love looks much more like this than the pink and red swirl of chocolates and flowers and fancy dinners of the day before.

I think that love is less about the mushy-gushy googly-eyed stuff, and more about moments like this.  Moments where you get to choose to die to yourself, and put the needs of the one you love first.  Maybe this is true love.  When the other person is at their worst.  When they have nothing to offer you, and in fact they need something from you.  Maybe true love gives.  I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day, than an opportunity to remind myself how much I truly love my husband.  For better or for worse.

Valentine's Day Outfit: Things that make me feel pretty.

This Valentine's Day I decided to wear an outfit that made me feel pretty.  I know I am supposed to wear something that my hubby loves on me, but the truth is he thinks I look good in everything.  While that's sweet, it is less than helpful.  I think, ultimately, he wants me to feel good about the way I look more than anything.  It is also freezing here in the Pacific North West so I wasn't about to slip into a sleek dress for our date.  Instead my outfit of choice included tights, wool socks, boots, and a scarf.  I put together a combination of a few of the things that make me feel pretty:

Dress:  JCPenney's.  Flannel:  Target.  Boots:  Macy's.  Headband:  Maurice's.  Scarf:  Pursuit of Craftyness.  

1.  Tulle.  Tulle is the stuff of princesses.  This is a dress with tulle at the bottom, but I really want one of those ballerina-esque tulle skirts.
2.  Glitter. Especially this sparkly headband that makes my eyes light up.  One of my colleagues told me that I look like a 20's movie star when I wear this.
3.  Tall leather boots.  They are sleek and sassy and sophisticated all at once. I feel like they complete just about every outfit.
4.  Red lipstick.  I like to say that, "Red lipstick covers a multitude of sins."  Meaning that you can have a lot going wrong with your appearance and add red lipstick and all but salvage the look.

And in case that was too much girliness for one outfit, I paired it with a flannel shirt and black details like a scarf and tights.  We went on a little outing to celebrate the holiday.  First we went shopping.  I bought a dress.  Philip bought a book. Then we went out to PFChangs for some din. I can't say enough about how delicious that restaurant is!  We got the two-for-$40 deal which included  soup, appetizers, entrees and a dessert to share.  That plus two mojitos made for the perfect meal.  I loved everything from the ambiance, to the service, to each yummy course. By far the highlight of the night was the chicken lettuce wraps.  Who knew meat, sauce, and lettuce could taste so good?

What makes you feel pretty?  Did you do any St. Valentine's celebrating?

The Vows

I display our vows in our home.  Mr. and I take that promise we made in front of God and most of our family and friends seriously.  I like to re-read what I said to remind myself that I vowed not only to stay with Philip but to enjoy him, to respect him, to follow him, to encourage him, and (probably the hardest) to extend grace to him.  We got these picture frames as a wedding gift.  My first thought was to put a picture of him in the blue one, and a picture of me in the pink one--original, I know.  But then I decided they would make the perfect home for our vows.  So I "aged" the paper (to make it look like an important historical document) using tea, then I broke out my hot glue gun.  The kind of crafts I enjoy tend to be easy and mindless so the hot glue gun is my best friend.  Using my trusty glue gun, I added some scrabble letters reading "Mr." and "Mrs." to the top of the frames.  (If you don't want to mutilate your board game, you can buy yours on Etsy from tons of different shops).  We keep them bedside.  So there they are every night reminding me to reflect on the way I'm treating my beloved, and to be thankful that he's mine forever and always.

They aren't in a fancy font or anything, because these are the actual copies we were clutching in our quivering hands while we tied the knot.  I think that makes them more special.

 One of his favorite photos of us (which may or may not have to do with the fact that I'm wearing a bikini?).

One of my favorite photos of us.

How do you remind yourself to keep the commitments you've made?