February Love

Those of you who’ve read my blogs for awhile now know I love February, everything about February as its my birth month and Valentine’s Day and President’s Day and everything pink and red and sweet and sentimental.  I love Valentine decorations and how wonderfully short the month is compared to January and March.  I love that you get days that hint at March and Spring.  I love Valentine’s Day itself, smack dab in the middle of the month, and a day I make about the family and heart candies and fun, loving cards.

I haven’t put up my usual Valentine decorations this year as everything is boxed and streamlined so that the Bellevue house will show properly.   As of yesterday we are also homeowners in San Clemente, California.   It wasn’t the seamless closing I’d hoped as Bank of America had refused to wire out the money from my checking account on Thursday due to the fact that I have several names from my previous marriage and my pseudonym.  (I’m legally Elizabeth Jane Porter but have always gone by middle name, Jane, not Elizabeth.)  It took endless calls, my California bank branch phoning in, too, plus faxing endless documents like my former marriage certificate, my son Jake’s birth certificate, my old will, my sons’ social security numbers (!!) to get the bank to finally put the wire through.  It was emotionally exhausting and nerve-wracking, and by the time we closed, I was kind of done.  But then my real estate agent in San Clemente sent me this photo below, it was of sunset just hours after we closed.   I know it was her way of reminding me that all the stress and hard work was worth it.

I’m writing today, at my desk most of the day since I lost time working this past week trying to finish getting my Bellevue house ready to go on the market.   Ty Gurney arrived from Hawaii to help me this week with Mac and kids so I can get revisions on The Good Woman wrapped up and return to Kit’s book before we head to California for winter break.  We’re taking the boys to Disneyland for the weekend of my birthday and then to see the house in San Clemente, which is only 35 minutes from Anaheim.   So excited to take Mac to Disneyland for the first time.  He’ll be three at the end of April and loves Peter Pan and pirates and rollercoasters and rides and parades…Disneyland is so magical through the eyes of kids!

But you know, when I think of this week and everything that’s happened, I keep remembering Ty Gurney’s amazing sandwiches.  Yes, his toasted turkey, avocado, swiss sandwiches.  They are so good.  He’s very generous with the avocado and I’ve never tasted a sandwich this good.  Even better is that he makes it for me every day for lunch.  I love that.  It’s such a comfort thing.  Makes me feel loved.  And when I think of the book, Love Languages, and how it says everyone has a way of feeling loves (through a gift, through an action, through a gift of time, etc) I know for me I feel loved when someone spends time with me, and someone does something for me.   But time…having time with someone is probably my favorite.  Time watching TV.  Time to go for a walk or a drive. Time together.

Do you know your love ‘language’?  Have you heard of Love Languages?   If not, you can find out more here:

http://www.5lovelanguages.com/learn-the-languages/the-five-love-languages/

as well as take the test to see what your love language is.  I think its fun to know, and useful for spouses, family, friends.

Share with me your love lanuages in the comment section below and you’ll be entered to win my special Valentine’s Day Love Box.  It’s a one day contest really.  I’m posting it now and will draw the winner’s name Sunday night by 9 pm PST.  The winner will have until Monday noon PST to send me their address, because I must get box in the mail Monday afternoon.  If I don’t hear fromt he winner,  I shall send the prize box to someone randomly off my reader mailing list.  So share your love language and fingers crossed, you’ll win!