Love and Brownies

February, by virtue of Valentine's Day on the 14th, has now become casually referred to as the month of love. I've never placed any specific importance on celebrating Valentine's, but I've never hated it either, even when I was single. I'd taken the opportunity to do little things for my family and friends, like writing them little notes or giving them small tokens. 

My boyfriend and I also celebrate our anniversary on this month, so we've been extra appreciative of one another these past few days. He gave me flowers and new charms for my Pandora bracelet, and I baked some Chocolate-Strawberry Truffle Brownies and prepared a strawberry-white wine sangria for the weekend.

Chocolate Brownies with Choco-Strawberry Cream Cheese Ganache. Recipe from Taste of Home. I love this because it has some of his favorites: coffee, strawberry; and some of mine: chocolate, pistachios.

I modified the recipe slightly by putting some slices of strawberry before the final layer of ganache, and topped it with roasted pistachios.

 

Sangria made from white wine and fresh strawberries; in a champagne flute because why not!

My initial, and his enabling of my cherry blossom obsession

Beautiful bouquet wrapped in pink and green (can anyone tell me what those long, pink flowers are?)

What's so interesting is, we were both subconsciously aware of each others' love language, and these were the best ways we thought we could make each other feel special. If you haven't heard of the 5 Love Languages yet, it's based on a book originally released in 1995 that talks about ways people receive and express love. The author, Gary Chapman, claims these love languages are gifts, acts of service, words of affirmation, quality time, and physical touch.

Brief descriptions of the Love Languages. This screenshot is how mine were ranked when I took the quiz on his website.

While I love the gifts themselves, I appreciate his acts of service of taking time out of his whole days at work (sometimes even 24 hours,) and how he knew what kind of flowers I'd find pretty, and what charm would be significant. My act of service was preparing food I know he loves (strawberries!) Both of us blocked off an entire day to just hang out, watch movies, and play with the dogs. 

I find these love languages to be helpful, not only with him, but with friends. It's nice to know what makes people feel valued, and on the flip side, good to be aware of what could damage a relationship if not nurtured. 

This month, I'm going to choose love every day, and hopefully it becomes a habit that I can keep up for the rest of the year. Happy Sunday!

Win of the Week: Rope Climb

Made it more than halfway! Photo from my friend Aly (who climbed all the way to the top!)

Only on my second day back at CrossFit Greenhills (after a month-long hiatus,) and I conquered the rope! I tried this once late last year, and couldn't understand the footwork; but took a mental note to pursue it as a new goal. Earlier today, with my Morning Crew, and with the help of "unusually-perky" Coach Stephen, I managed a few squat breaks (will double check this term) and almost made it to the top! I probably could've done it, but I belatedly realized that it was a bad day to wear shorts. 🔥 I got rope burn on my thighs! 

As with many skills, this can't be done by anyone at just any point in time; but it can be done after some training. I'm proof of that, and that's why I love CrossFit so much: I always win at something after I put in the work. 

Wanna try the rope climb? Here are some of my tips as a newbie climber.

1) Wear pants!

2) Put the rope between your legs, and twist it around one leg once (refer to picture.)

3) Clamp the lower end of the rope with the other foot.

4) Position your hands slightly higher than your head and engage your arms for a pull. (The boys said they engaged their lats.)

5) Scooch your legs up closer to your butt, like a reverse squat (or a ballet plié!) without losing your feet's clamp on the rope.

6) Stand up from the squatting position to hoist yourself upward.

7) Repeat from #4.

That's it for my Win of the Week (I should launch this as recurring theme.) Off to work! Happy Tuesday!

P.S. It's my first time to post from my iPad, and there aren't many formatting options!