10 Valentines Date Ideas + A Special Offer

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

What's better than a day solely devoted to telling those you love that you really do love them! Sometimes we just don't say it enough or we get to the point in our relationships that you figure they just know, but heck I know I like to hear it every now and again! And let it be known that my husband needs and likes to hear me say it too... mmmhmm thats right ladies, guys are mushy gushy too! So go tell your man you love him... no really go do it... like NOW!

Another great aspect to Valentines Day is you get to spend some quality time with your better half! And I love any reason to go out on a date with my husband. So sticking with the theme of spending time together I've created a little list of fun date ideas for those of you who are stumped or just simply forgot to plan something. And if your single, some of these ideas are good enough to do with your best friend, so whoever you are, whatever your relationship status, get out and have a fun, loved filled day!

10 Date Night Ideas

1. // Couples Massage // This is an amazing time to relax with your special someone! And bonus many spa's offer Valentines specials so you don't have worry about breaking the bank. Groupon and LivingSocial are great sites to get deals too!

2. // Go For Coffee // This is so simple but a great way to reconnect. You can add a little twist by writing out some "get to know you" questions and maybe you'll learn something new about one another. (you can also use this list)

3. // Mini Golfing + Go Karting // Unleash your inner kid and have fun competing against one another. Heck you can even throw in a little wager... loser owes the winner a massage when you get home!

4. // Fancy Night Out // You'll definitely be splurging with this one, but sometimes it's just worth it! Get all dressed up and go out to a fancy restaurant. If your doing this last minute make sure to call ahead to make a reservation, otherwise you might end up all dolled up but eating at your local diner (that could be fun too though).

5. // Reenact Your First Date //  Did you ever think you would end up where you are now? Let those butterflies and sparks fly again as you go back to where it all started.

6. // Go For A Walk // Remember when you used to hold hands, do that again, and then just enjoy one another's company! Don't forget to stop and cuddle up on a bench for a bit and if you want to make it a little more romantic plan to go out around sunset.

7. // Go Out For Dinner // And don't just go anywhere, go somewhere you've never been before! 

8. // Bubble Bath + Gelato + Wine // .... need I say more?

9. // Go For A Drive // Make a playlist of your favourite songs, or songs from your wedding and go for a drive with no place in mind.

10. // Dinner + A Movie // This you can stay in or go out for. And ladies this is your one night you can make your guy watch that chick flick you've been dying to see, take full advantage of it! 

There, some last minute date ideas for Valentines... or any night for that matter! Have a lovely Love Day!!

Oh! and be sure to take advantage of our 25% off Valentines Special for all ad space available on O&M! (special is on now till the end of February)

Check out this months fabulous sponsor:

God Doesn't Make Junk

I'm gonna get right to the point, no sugar coating, no nothing, this past month has been a tough one! 

This past week especially has felt like I've hit the wall, i am: emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted! I recognize I have a choice...to sit where I am (which is a sucky place to be), I retreat and ignore it all (which will put me in a worse state I'm sure), or I tried to climb, hit, go around, do something to get past this blockage and move on with life!

Thankfully I have a husband who is understanding and has given me this morning to take a time out and just be. Be alone, be me, be with God.

I have spent the last couple years losing a pieces of myself, very important pieces, my joy and love for life. My once extroverted carefree personality has shriveled into itself. My excitement to try new things and live life as an adventure has dried up. I'm tired, I'm impatient, I'm a perfectionist, I worry too much, I think WAY too much about what others think, and I have no aspirations or dreams to strive after. (sad? yes...this much I know)

Currently I feel like I'm in a place where I'm over sensitive (and no not because I have raging pregnancy hormones), that because of this I can take something someone says or a look they give and turn it into something wildly negative. I feel like I'm unlikable, inept at everything, and have an uncanny ability to do/say things wrong at all times. It makes me nervous, shy, and yes right now I believe I am junk! (This video nails how I feel, especially at 7:05 onward)

I'm trying to have the perspective that these things are just lies, and in my head I know they are lies, but in my heart they are truth and have been for a long time ... thus the reason why I'm stuck in a rut and can't get out...at least by myself.

Over the last couple weeks I've felt like God has been trying to teach me about love, and originally I thought it was to help me to learn to love His people the way He loves them, unconditionally and wholeheartedly not dependent on works or social status. I'm beginning to think the purpose of this is more for me, to recognize I'm am the one that is loved unconditionally and wholeheartedly, I am NOT JUNK, I am an original masterpiece set apart to do amazing things, its a truth and I need to believe it. For it is when I accept this I can begin to love myself and love others again.

So I've read through the gospel of John highlighting the word "love" and found it is used in one form or another 54 times (at least by my calculation...)! My next step in this study was to see which form of love (in Greek there are a few different variants of love) is used and in context to who and then going a little deeper to how all this love relates and applies to my life. I've started journaling through these things as well as trying to write down one thing a day I'm grateful for, recognizing the reality that there are things in my life to be happy about, & there are people who actually love me.

Slowly but surely I believe God is chipping away at my feelings of perpetual inadequacy and showing me what it is to love again. To love me, love life, and love others. I have been resting on this verse, and see it regularily as it is the first page of my journal...

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)

7-11 A Day To Remember

Today is a very important day...

let me enlighten you...

wait for it...

...Today is the day 7-11 gives out free slurpees!!

Ok, ok, that's not why its important (although it is pretty great!), today is our anniversary, third anniversary that is! Its wild to think its been three years...in some aspects it feels likes its been forever and in other ways I find myself saying, "where has the time gone?"

Over Canada Day weekend we took off for a little getaway to celebrate! It was a well needed break and time to reconnect before we take off on our big adventure! (Thanks Grandma's for babysitting!) We booked a hotel down in the inner harbour of Victoria with airmiles, right down where all the festivities were taking place! The first night we stayed in enjoying the pool and hot-tub and getting a good nights sleep (at least I did, I was out by 9pm!). The second day was Canada Day so we went down and joined in with the sea of people wearing red and white, we walked through the markets and did a little shopping for our trip before going to Monsters University! For lunch we hit up Floyd's Diner and then back to the hotel for a swim and rest until the evening. We came back out to set up camp along the waterfront to watch the fireworks, which were short but pretty great. Our last and final day we had lunch with Sevio's mom and slowly made our way back to the ferry to reunite with our Rylee-bean!

One of the nights while we were out for dinner we asked each other, "what is your favourite memory from each year we've been together?" which I thought was a neat way to recap our three wonderful years together!

The First Year...

Sevio's best memory was our honeymoon, and specifically when we were on the island of Santorini, in Greece, where we rented a quad and rode all over the island taking in the sights. 

My best memory was our first anniversary, where Sevio surprised me with a night away at the same B&B we stayed at for our wedding night and took me off island the next day. (sorry no pictures)

The Second Year...

Sevio's best memory was the birth of our daughter, Rylee Peyton!

My best memory was our trip to Las Vegas, riding roller coasters, seeing the Blue Man Group, Cirque De Soleil, walking endlessly down the strip, and I can't forget the amazing seafood buffet at Planet Holleywood!

The Third Year...

Sevio's best memory was all our "Dates Around The World" (my second anniversary gift I gave to him). He liked it because we got to try lots of different ethnic foods (what's that saying..."a way to a man's heart is through his stomach"?)

I had the same best memory, but I narrowed it down to our Italian date night where we made homemade pizzas and bruschetta, ate gelato, watched a slideshow of pictures from our honeymoon, and finished the night with me snoozing through the Italian Job.

And there you have it... a brief overview of some of our favourite memories to date, here's to many many more and especially so in this next year!

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Happy Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!

Of course on the one day of the year where we get to spoil each other silly with love, Sevio and I are an ocean apart!

This is the first (and last hopefully!) Valentines we have been apart since we started dating, I know, I know it's a sad day! I'm not an overly mushy-gushy kind of girl that needs flowers and chocolate, but I do think it's important to value a day that is all about cherishing the one you love, it will not be a day we miss but rather postponed till a later date.

Until then, Sevio, I love you and miss you and wish you were here, or I was there. I love you, I love you, I love you! Your the most patient, loving, and forgiving husband a girl could ever ask for. To infinity and beyond...

Let me play my favorite game and dedicate a song to you...

Your my sweetheart, I belong with you, and you belong with me!