A Case For Valentine's Day

Just to start out, I want to say that this post is not directed at anyone who reads this blog.
I have been reading about a lot of hate on Valentine's day on different websites, so I thought it would be fun to post some arguments in favor of it.

Argument #1:  We should tell our family/friends/spouse/boy or girlfriend/etc that we love them every day, therefore Valentine's day is stupid.

Response:  I completely agree with the first half of this statement.  We should tell our loved ones that we appreciate them regardless of the date.  Valentine's Day is just a special time to recognize those we love.  That's really what all holidays are about... Should we just not celebrate anything?

Argument #2:  Valentine's Day is a holiday created by Hallmark/other businesses to make money, therefore February 14 is just another day.

Response:  Although card companies and the like do probably profit from V-day, they did not in fact invent it.  It was actually created to honor Saint Valentinus (and a bunch of other guys, but that's another story) who, "was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell." (taken from a Wikipedia article, linked here). Geoffery Chaucer was the one to push St. Valentine's Day towards the romantic date we recognize today (including giving cards), in the 18th century, well before Hallmark was established.

Argument #3:  Girls are so materialistic and only want expensive presents.  AKA-I don't have to spend a lot of money to show my love.  Therefore, Valentine's Day must be stupid.

Response:  While there are some people who prefer gifts, to say that all women are that way is a blanket statement.  There's this cool book called The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.  It basically says that there are five different ways to show your love to someone and that each person prefers a different combination of each.  (If you want to, you can take the quiz to find your love language here).  Thus, by buying your significant other gifts, you may not even be speaking their correct love language.  Also, I have found that a meaningful gift means much more than an expensive one.

Argument #4:  Valentine's day is too much pressure for me, I'd rather just (insert activity here) so therefore, the entire holiday is stupid.

Response:  There is no right or wrong way to celebrate it.  Single, married, dating, etc all people can choose to participate (or not) in any fashion they decide.  Watching romantic comedies, musicals or just your favorite TV show and eating some yummy food is just as acceptable as going to a fancy dinner and eye-gazing.  YOU choose to valentine the way YOU want to.  I think all humans can agree that chocolate should be somehow involved in your celebration though.


Whoa, this kind of turned into a long post!  I hope that you weren't offended by anything I said.  This wasn't my way of saying that I'm some kind of an expert, or that my opinions are the only valid ones.  They are just that, my opinions.
































Thanks for reading!



Love,






Courtney

Valentine's Day 2014

This year we decided to stay in the Thailand room at the Destinations Inn.  It took me a loooong time to choose which one I actually liked.  (I have a difficult time making decisions sometimes.)

We had a nice lunch at Olive Garden before we went to the hotel.

The hotel had this cute little cafe area.  

Here is the view from the stairs.  The shower is right next to the door.  It was an aromatherapy shower, which was amazing!  There was this button that you could press for it to produce steam.  Otherwise it was just a normal shower.

Here is the projector/tub.

This part of the room had a really pretty mural with branches that jutted out of the edge.  It was a cool effect.

I love this sink!  

Here is a better picture of the mural with the branches.

Cameron standing at the cafe.

I love how they put the step pyramid type thing on the wall above the bed.

The area under the bridge is covered with water!  It was so awesome!

This was the breakfast that they provided.  It was yummy!

Oh, this is what was behind the projector.  So pretty!

Our fourth Valentine's day together :)

This was the control that changed the lighting.  It also adjusted the level of the lights strung around the umbrella/canopy.

We had an amazing time!  It was great to get away from the stress of school and work.  Can't wait to see what next year brings.

Love,

Courtney

Days of Valentines Past Part 2

I really thought that I already posted about this, but apparently not.  If I did and I'm just crazy, please let me know.  This year we stayed at the Destinations Inn.  We chose the Paris room because, well, I love France.  

This cute dresser thingy hid the mini-fridge and the microwave.

One of the coolest features of the room, an Eiffel tower shower.

The view from above.

This was the cute little cafe table that had cider and glasses.

I love this fountain, seriously.  So pretty.

The room had gorgeous murals all over it.

The view to the bed.  The flowers are so pretty. 

Me standing in front of the cafe part of the room.

The mondo tub that had a cool light thing in it. It made the water change colors.  They called it chromatherapy I think.

They brought us this yummy breakfast in the morning.

A side view of the middle of the room.

The pretty mural.

I took a picture of this because I wanted to remember that everything in the room was remote controlled.  The projector, the lights, and the music were all controlled by remote!  So awesome.  This year we are staying in the Thailand room, so look forward to that post!

Love,

Courtney

Days of Valentines Past Part 1

I was going through some old pictures and realized that I never posted about Valentine's Day 2012 and 2011.  So, 2-3 years later I am going to post about them, starting with 2011.  Feel free to skip :)

This was in our first apartment in Rexburg.  It was teeny tiny.  And yes, those are snowflakes left from Christmas in the background.

Squished face selfie.

Cameron made the entire dinner by himself.  It was so yummy!

Sigh, yep that's a Christmas tree.

Cameron bought these because we had them on our honeymoon.

The setup.  Speaking of setup, Cameron told me that we were going to a special restaurant and drove me around Rexburg for about 15 minutes and brought me back home.  

Making the food.

Cutting up chicken with kitchen scissors.

All done!

Chicken Alfredo, YUM!

Fun With The Bishops

A few weeks ago I went over to my aunt Alysa's house.  I had a great time.  Let me tell you, those girls are a whirlwind of activity.  One of the things we did was decorate the window for Valentine's Day.  

See, it says Happy Valentine's Day!  Besides that banner, the girls put up the rest of the hearts all by themselves.  

A closer picture of the window.  

They colored most of the hearts all by themselves.  

A little collateral damage.  Seriously, give these kids some crayons and they will color EVERYTHING in sight.  They are destined to be artists.  I wish I could have taken a picture of them coloring, it was crazy.  

We also watched Meet the Robinsons because they hadn't seen it before.  The kids loved it!  

Here is a picture of cute Ms. Mirren.  

I had a great time over there!  We are glad to have them here in IF.  The rest of you are missing out!

Love,

Courtney

Valentine's Heart Attack

This year we decided to "heart attack" Heidi, Cameron sister, for Valentine's day.  It was so much fun!

The finished product.  Cameron arranged the hearts and I cut them out.  

Cameron writing on the card.

A closer view of the door.

The other decorations that we brought.  We had to put them up there because the cat would squish them if we left them anywhere else.  

Heidi will be moving to Pocatello soon and we will miss her. 

 I hope you had a great Valentine's day!

Love,

Courtney