When a man loves a woman

It's a big day at Chez Ragged. First and foremost, love is in the air. We began our Valentine's Day celebration on Sunday and continued it into today. (With this much love, we needed not one day, but several to fit all of the festivities in.) Today began with a morning dance to "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Michael Buble' and continued through to this evening with the ceremonial sharing of gifts. (Cynical had already received his gift, but was gracious to remember that and not feel left out of the exchanging.)

Cynical, sweating it up until the last minute, was relieved to see a package from amazon.com on our doorstep when we returned from gathering all of the necessities for a romantic evening for two.

We then worked together to prepare chicken parmesan. Yes, you are correct: chicken parmesan does indeed include chicken breast. Chicken breasts are indeed considered meat. But, we will get to that later.

After a bit of pretending that the box wasn't important, Cynical officially gifted me the amazon.com package. I was pleased to find three goodies tucked inside. First I discovered a copy of Patty Griffin's "Living With Ghosts"; if you haven't listened to her sing "Let Him Fly", you have not lived a full life.

As I dug further, I found a copy of "When A Man Loves A Woman" on DVD, probably one of the most romantic movies I have ever seen. Who cannot watch Andy Garcia cry and not weep along with him.

Then, weighting down the box was the "Post Secret" book. If you haven't visited the site, you are missing out. It's a peek into the deepest, darkest thoughts of people you may just know. There is a side of me that is interested in the thoughts that people don't share, the things that make them real and human. This book really feeds that need of mine.

I didn't spy a card and just when I was about to be disappointed, (I can't help it, I celebrate everything with a card), Cynical explained that my card was hidden and he was certain that I'd find it, if I just kept looking. Neatly tucked inside the laptop I found a pink envelope with a sweet card. Nothing says "I love you" or "I support your fascination with paper goods" like a sweet little card.

We ate our filling meal and followed it up with Ben and Jerry's. Nothing says "forever" or "I will love you even if you are fat" like Cherry Garcia.

OK, so now I will explain myself and all this talk about the chicken. I had decided about two weeks ago that in March I would begin eating meat again. In planning for our meal this evening all I kept thinking about was Cynical's famous chicken parmesan. (Famous meaning a big hit at Chez Ragged.) Seriously, this stuff beats the pants off the Olive Garden's attempt at cheesy chicken dishes.

So, I decided that why not make my first meat eating experience in nearly a year be one worthy of me giving up my resolve. Well, it's all over now. I ate chicken. I loved the chicken. I wanted seconds of the chicken.

I don't think I will go back to including meat with every meal, but I do know that I will partake periodically. It had simply gotten too difficult to find appropriate meat-free meals at local restaurants. We didn't have a lot of healthy options at our local grocery store. A lot of people think that being a vegetarian means simply not eating meat. But I am here to tell you that it's a lot more than that: it's a constant struggle for balance. It is a constant fight to find something more than a salad or a plate of veggies. It's a lot of work, and requires a lot of planning.

I had found myself tired and without energy, perhaps needing more iron. Maybe I needed more of that precious protein. For whatever reason, I knew that I had to rethink the whole "no meat" thing.

Then, I dreamed of sausage. That was the straw that broke the cow's back. I knew my body and my subconscious had made the decision for me. It was time to eat meat.

So, as Cynical's invitation via e-mail read today, I have rejoined the darkside. I am again carnivorous. Don't look for me to be slicing up a steak each meal, but you may just catch me eating chicken parmesan or maybe considering that pork chop occassionally.

It's a Happy Valentine's Day for me, but not so good for the feathered friend I just ate.

The photo at top is of my package of goodies gifted to me by my beloved. It was the best of all worlds: the romantic, the dark and the soothingly beautiful. The photo just above this caption is of heaven.