Celebrations of Love by @BonnieEdwards #RomanceGems

Again, as I write this, I'm preparing for a trip to sunny Portugal where Valentine's Day is not celebrated in the same way as it is in North America.

While running errands surrounding our trip my husband disappeared in the mall. Not a surprise, plenty of men do this, particularly when -ahem- the wife decides she must check out the store with 70% off. By the time I came out of the store with a new camisole and leggings he'd gone on some mysterious quest of his own.

I found him in the card section of a store. You see, he won't be able to buy me a Valentine's card when we're away. Portuguese men are not nearly as well-trained on this celebration as North American men. A lack, I think, of foresight from the women in Portugal.

In fact, the only thing we'll be able to do to celebrate Valentine's Day (in public, anyway) is go out for dinner. Why? Because the restaurants have embraced the day reserved for love and lovers while card makers and touristy stores have not.

It's even difficult to find birthday cards! And wouldn't you know it, my birthday falls shortly before Valentine's Day.

So he had to find not one, but two cards that show his undying love and support of me: the wife.

Be aware please that I did not prod him to go card hunting before our trip. He wants to avoid all the tramping around from store to store he did last year. He's learned that if he wants the romance to continue, he needs to plan ahead.

Good man. Well trained. Is yours?

A quick update on my year's plan (posted last month): I'm working on adding words to Christmas to the Max! This is the Christmas story that I’ve set in Welcome, WA.

DH is a late sleeper and I'm an early riser so those couple of hours are all mine to write, after I do my short morning yoga practice.

If you enjoy a good second chance romance and feel like grabbing a bargain (who doesn’t?) you might check out my story Whole Lot o’ Love This is a book about a woman with a new start and an old love...and another old love... and it’s only 99 pennies.

Please don't forget to enter our Monthly Giveaway for your chance to win. You can also go directly to the entry form by clicking HERE.