An Unusual Favorite.

For those of you who know me fairly well its no secret that Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday.Yes, you read correctly-favorite. I am endlessly made fun of for it too. I enjoy it more than my Birthday, Christmas, and Thanksgiving... maybe even combined. Now, before you let out an exasperated and cynical sigh hear (read?) me out. I'm not hitched so it has nothing to do with getting gifts. I'm not some huge sap who melts at the sight of fluttery red and pink hearts or Justin Bieber lyrics. No, I love Valentines for two reasons-the chaos it ensues and the collective act of selflessness it encompasses.

My parents own a flower shop and I go home every year, rain, snow, hail, tornado, or meteor shower...nothing can stop me from working on Valentine's Day. The phones are constantly ringing, the arranging of flowers is endless, directing the 5 delivery drivers to the hundreds of various delivery spots is more intricate than stinking circulatory flow charts, etc. There is a constant rush pulsing through my body, which for those of you who me well, know I thrive one this kind of rush. But what makes it so so worth it, is all the ridiculous questions and card messages I hear and see. My favorite question this year, which I was shocked to be asked on numerous occasions, was “will the flowers be pretty?” My initial reaction is to laugh and ask "are you freaking kidding me?" followed with the most cynical response I can only long to say...“Actually no sir, we do incredibly ugly arrangements here and I was thinking a nice brown and rotting one would be perfect for you. Normally flowers smell great but Ill be sure these smell horrid just to make your hunny feel extra special.” But of course I simply say “Oh yes, very beautiful!” I chalk it up to men,our main clientele on Valentines, are just being men and forget till they see the massive "Don't forget Valentines!" sign hanging outside our door. They know the bear minimum about flowers and assume its better to receive confirmation from the florist herself that the flowers will, in fact, be pretty. (Sorry guys)

We had some interesting cards this year. My two favorite were actually quite sweet. One guy asked his girlfriend to marry him. He filled out the card "Will you marry me? Check yes, no maybe." Another bought his girlfriend a ticket to go on a cruise with the card message reading "you need a bathing suit...were going to MEXICO!" I like these creative cards more than the "Happy Valentine's Day. Love ya." ...maybe I am somewhat of a sap?

However, all silly cynical customer service and adrenaline junky-ness aside...I really love what Valentines stands for. I don't know the full extent of Valentines history but know some of it is centered around secret

marriages, forbidden love, prison, etc. Real romantic stuff. I love Valentines because in the span of about 72 hours I see hundreds of doting husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, wives, explicitly loving one another in front of the entire world. If your one of those people who is thinking "shouldnt they show their love every day?" "Valentines is a hallmark holiday" ...you hold some validity but sorry I say screw you. Some people call Valentine's day a selfish holiday but I think its the opposite. The majority of our customers are coming in to order flowers for their significant other because they know how happy and encouraged it will make them feel, not out of obligation. With that said...showing your love everyday is always a nice gesture.

While I don't agree with those who think "Happy Valentine's Day" is an interchangeable phrase with "Happy Singles Awareness Day", I am sympathetic. I can fully understand it exploits the fact that you don't have

a significant other, but I think those people are closed minded. Valentines is not merely between romantic-intimate relationships, its about sharing your love with anyone. A vast majority of our orders are from parents to their kids, dads coming in to get a single pink rose for their 2 year old daughter. I can guarantee that single rose will make that 2 year old girl feel like mommy and daddy's little princess.

I am fully aware that working in a florist shop for 6 years and having a flower shop be your families sole source of income can make one grossly biased. However, I really love flowers. I love that they can make an excruciatingly sad occasion a tad less sad, I love the fact they bring beauty to an already beautiful and happy event, I love that they can instantly make someones day go from drab to splendid, but what I love most are the simple "just because" flowers. It is a way to encourage and lift someone up...a truly unselfish, loving, and considerate act. So, to my cute little blog readers...Happy late Valentines Day!

(Me and my sister, Abbey, at the shop.)

Am I really posting this?...

I am in such a good mood. This week has been such a positive and uplifting week and its only getting better. However, that's not the point of this post. If you watch Greys Anatomy you'll know that the characters will "dance it out" if they had a stressful day or are tense, etc. See below...

So! This brings me to present time...studying for my first Neurophysiology exam. I feel really good about it but I was also feeling like I needed to jazz up my afternoon, even if it was for a few minutes, so I could study harder. I decided to take a break and well...just look.

Believe me, I am fully aware of how incredibly goofy and ridiculous I look...but nonetheless, I felt like my head was ready for more studying! It was actually alarmingly euphoric...I was even more chipper than before! Plus, I believe this crosses one of those New Years Resolutions off my list!

Fantasitcal Friday Faceless Photos

Happy Weekend!

Swimming in an open ocean.

My intention for this blog has never been to be super serious or have a plethora of insightful thoughts. However, this particular post may contain more "heavy-ness" than previous ones. Mainly because right now an amazingly fantastical transition is going on and I'm extraordinarily excited about it.

I've never been a super religious person but definitely a spiritual one, and yes I do believe there is a difference for me, and really for every individual. I see religion as a way to redemption. I find it to be more structured/organized, more traditional, more routine and ritualistic (I hope that's a word?). Spirituality on the other hand, is the driving force behind believing what I believe. For me its a more personal and unique experience. I think you can have a God or a greater power in both and it varies depending on the individual. I find a lot of my peace and joy in nature and (currently) Starbucks. I find a lot of my belief in God in nature and in science. Of all the science related classes Ive encountered I find myself asking questions like how is it possible this little microscopic life form just sporadically appeared and these molecular processes just happen? Living in Colorado I looked at the mountains that encompassed my life and wondered how anything other than something bigger could create them. I believe in maturation, evolution, progression etc, and to each his own, but this nature/science thinking is where I personally find my belief of God.

A great deal of my time spent in my prayer journal is asking questions, challenging ideas or messages I have previously been taught, asking for help, seeking comfort, etc. I can confidently say much of my church experience or searching for God can be summed up into one word -confusing! That is until now. Don't misread that last sentence- I have by no means nearly figured everything out, but I've also never felt this connected. I feel like God has removed a lot of my safety rafts in order to leave me swimming in an open ocean with him as my only lifeboat. My safety rafts being friends/family, open ocean being life and God as my lifeboat. Fun analogy ey? Rather than feeling lost or lonely I feel peaceful, comforted, enlightened and utterly blissful!

This all comes full circle in my prayer journal and one particular book "Walking with God" by John Eldredge. I realize there is a chance I may be biased to this book because John Eldredge is from the wonderful state of CO:) This book is a little out there at times for my taste. It has moments where the narrator literally hears God speak and tell him to hunt or not, to read or not, etc, which I have never experienced...but the underlining message(s) are fabulous. Here are some of my favorite lines:

"Don't let your experience of God up to this point limit what you might enjoy with him in the coming years."

"Let go of the pressure that says you have to hear from him right now or things are not right between you."

"The first major awakening in our journey of faith is coming to realize that God exists. It can be quite a jolt"

"It causes you to mature, for you have to be intentional and deal with assaults directly. No more dodging. I want to stop avoiding disruption"

"When it comes to crisis or events that really upset us, this I have learned: you can have God or you can have understanding. Sometimes you can have both. But if you insist on understanding, it often doesn't come. And that can create distance between you and God, because you are upset and demanding an explanation in order to move on, but the explanation isn't coming, and so you withdraw a bit from God and lose the grace God is giving. He doesn't explain everything. But he always offers us himself."

"I felt that life was up to me (that was my wounding). I resolved to live life though it were up to me"

I could go into great detail as to what each of these particular quotes means to me but that's a much longer post. I hope I'm not coming off as being this uber spiritual believer because believe me I have my reservations, my questions, my challenges, etc. All in all...Its especially comforting personally to know and believe that there is someone else planning and helping me through the vast ocean of life, always there waiting and willing to offer me the lifeboat. It is quite exhilarating!