Lodging Review: Arroyo Vista Inn- The antidote for civilization
September 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
My swubby works very hard running his business. And, I work just as hard running mine. For now, This Marriage Thing is my hobby, but shortly it’ll be my retirement business.
Our days are long, and there are calls to make, even on vacation. So, when we do get a few days to ourselves I’m fairly particularly about where we spent them and with whom. Especially since all our vacations now have an added ‘mission’- to find the right place to relocate in two years. You can imagine how much research I put into finding a relaxing oasis for our week in Southern Pasadena, as we combined some R&R with dropping Miss Thang off at Occidental.
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Duh! Did he say that?
What role does loyalty play in marriage?
If you love to give to your partner, are you depriving them of the joy of pleasing you?
February 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Gift-giving is a complex task that has been the subject of a number of research studies. I did my own informal survey on whether people in relationships felt more comfortable as the giver or the receiver. I notice that most people felt they were better givers. There’s was tremendous joy, pride, accomplishment gained in being able to bring pleasure to your partner. I get that. There’s nothing better than seeing my swubby’s grin and knowing I’m the reason.
Still….
I’m learning that by not receiving I’m actually depriving <b>him</b> of the joy of pleasing me. For Valentine’s Day we visited Stir, the demonstration kitchen of America’s foremost chef Barbara Lynch, where we had the most scrumptious six course meal prepared right before our eyes.
This meal easily makes it into my top 5 meals of all time list (Thanks- Colin Lynch and Caitlin Champagne!) Any meal that starts with oysters and champagne is very likely to be yummy. My absolute favorite dish was the Eggs and Soldiers- velvety eggs with lobster ragu, vodka creme fraiche and caviar- because the flavors and textures were so well balanced. I’m a huge, huge foodie (well, my interest-not my waist..yet) so the chance to learn professional cooking techniques, question the chefs and eat remarkable food was heaven. I beamed. He beamed more knowing how pleased I was.
Each time I gush to someone about it he gets a little smirk on his face. He’s thrilled. It’s almost like we gave a gift to each other. Realizing this, I’m determined to receive well in the future.
<i>Why do some folks find it hard to receive?</i>
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