Happy Valentines Day !!!

First off, I am happy to report that I have lost close to 22 pounds since I posted my diet blog. This is the littlest I have weighed since my daughter was born,almost nine years ago. So yeah, I am happy about that. Strangely enough, I still cannot fit into that dress,some parts of me are taking longer to lose than others.....lol
So, this weekend, i am selling flowers at a flower tent, to help kids go to camp. I have done this for the past two years. This weekend, as you also know is Valentines Day. I always hated this day growing up,probably because I never had anyone special on this day. Luckily my Dad was born on this day, so i always had something else to celebrate......lol.What is the purpose of this day and here did it originate from? Why all the flowers and chocolate? Have you ever wondered that? Well, today it is my mission to answer those questions for you.
Its funny how when you first get married, you want the flowers and the chocolate,the dinners, the romance. Then the longer you are married the more practical you become. You ladies know what I am speaking of. For example,what do I want this year? Flowers? No, they just die. Chocolates? Nope, they make me fat. I want the most romantic of all gifts: a vegetable garden......lol. Cant get much more romantic than that. And that is after ten years of marriage, I can only imagine what kinds of exciting things my heart will desire in the years to come............new silverware, perhaps? Or how about a nice,romantic rain gutter.......lol.. Better yet, how about doing the laundry and dishes for me, that would send me on cloud nine. That is because acts of service is one of my love languages. What is a love language,and do I have one, you might be asking. Sure you do, and you can take this short quiz
to find out what it is.
So, how did this holiday all begin?

No one knows for sure,it remains a mystery,but here is the story I like the best: One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. In some stories he was sent to prison, and according to one legend,According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap"
So there you have it ,thats the story Im sticking with.

More Valentines Day factoids for you:
What are the most popular gifts?

• Roses rank number one.Red rose, which is commonly associated with passion, a pink rose, commonly associated with appreciation and sympathy, and a white rose, associated with friendship & peace. are popular gifts on Valentine's day.

• Last year Valentines Day spending topped 17 billion in the US , and it is expected to stay the same, possible even a little lower this year.
• The average consumer will spend 102 dollars this year,down 20 bucks from lasy year according to a national survey.

So, however you spend your day, I hope you have a Happy one surrounded by those that you love. And always remember,you dont have to wait for a holiday to do something special for the one you love.