Not Alone Series: Physical Affection

Linking up with Jen at Jumping in Puddles and Morgan at Follow and Believe.

Everyone has different ideas on physical affection and where their personal boundaries lie. What boundaries do you draw or expectations do you have for physical affection in romantic relationships? Have specific experiences led you to draw these lines?

Oh man. Big topic, Jen and Morgan!

Two things I want to share before answering: I've never been in a romantic relationship, and my primary love language is touch.

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Seriously, Jessie is pretty much me. 

Since physical touch is so important to me, I know that Mr. TDH and I will be discussing this in depth throughout our relationship. I want to honor both of us, glorify the Lord, and show affection without worrying about regrets later. That's it for me, really, because I don't think I can say I will or will not do a specific thing...too complicated! So glorify God while showing affection without regrets. Boom. 

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What do you think? Head over to Jen's for more posts on this topic!

Finish This: Week Forty-two

My mother would like to point out that there are less than 10 Saturdays until Christmas. Which makes sense, given that we are in Week Forty-two of 2014. Ei yi yi.

Linking up with the ever-fabulous Nicole at Three 31, Lisa at Coastlined, Becky at The Java Mama, and Jen at The Arizona Russums.

It took me a long time to realize that touch is my main love language and that I am not a freak for wanting to connect with people through an arm pat, a hug, a high-five, etc. I walked around high school for three years wondering why I wanted touch so much, and then my dad, while asking Dahlia what her love language was, gave me as an example: "Rebekah's love language is touch." I was stunned, yet it made perfect sense!

I surround myself with order, black-and-white {this color combo brings me so much joy}, adventurous friends, and fantastic wine {19 Crimes, anyone?}. 

This week's prompts are short and sweet because Nicole is helping us prepare for our Year in Review post, which is hella long, and we only have 10 weeks to finish it - yikes!

Thanks for joining! 

Not Alone Series: Social Media

Linking up {a day late} with the awesome Jen of Jumping in Puddles and Morgan of Follow and Believe.

Our lives tend to revolve around social media and knowing what's happening in everyone's lives. How has this affected your life? In your experience, has social media made dating easier? Harder? Example: judging or not judging a guy by what you see on Facebook or Twitter.

Oh, social media. The double-edged sword of blessings and curses. I love social media for its ability to keep people connected over time and distance. I hate social media for bringing out my tendency to compare. I love social media because I love people. I hate social media because I love people.

Since I've never been in a dating relationship, I won't speak to social media's ability to affect a relationship. This study is rather interesting, as an aside.

Personally, I get discouraged when I'm hanging out with people and they are constantly on their phones. My love language is quality time, and when your face is towards your phone instead of your friend {hint: I'm your friend}, I don't feel the love. Like Morgan, I really dislike hanging out with people who act like they'd rather hang out with their phones.

I try not to have my phone with me at all times; part of this must be a genetic gifting, because my mom is the queen of leaving her phone in her purse in the closet. My sisters and I call Dad and ask to talk to Mom, and he complains, "Why don't you call her phone?" And our response is always, "We did. She didn't answer." Of course, my dad only answers his phone when he wants to, so yeah. {If I sound slightly bitter about my parents' and their communication habits, it's because they're in the midst of 3 weeks in New Zealand and they didn't bring me. Boo.}

Have I ever stalked a boy on Facebook? Heck yes! My sister is actually a better and faster stalker than I am, and I'm always grateful {if not slightly embarrassed} by her mad skillz. Do I think a Facebook profile can predict the success of a relationship? Heck no! Quoting Morgan again: social media only shows one facet of who we are. I am much more than the movies I like, the books I've read, and the pictures I'm tagged in. Social media should be a small part of our relationships, as it is only a small part of our lives.

Not Alone Series: Bachelorette Party Ideas

It's inevitable that we'll attend or plan a friend's bachelorette party at some point or another, but how do we make them fun without all the raunchiness? Give us your ideas for fun things to do with a bridal party without all the crazy!

This is a hard question for someone who has never hosted a bachelorette party, but I'll give it my best go. As many wise ladies have said before me, make sure that the party you plan will bless the bride-to-be. The whole point of this time is to have fun with her before her big day. 

If she's outdoorsy, go on a hike or to the zoo. If she's into sports, attend a sporting event or play a game of...whatever. If she's into beauty treatments, plan a spa day. 

What is the bride's love language? If her "love tank" is filled with gifts, ask each guest to bring a small gift for the bride. If the bride loves words of affirmation, ask everyone to write a note to the bride. I'm sure you get the idea :)

For more ideas, check out the link-up hosted by Jen at Jumping In Puddles and Morgan at Follow and Believe. See you next week!

7 Quick Takes: Some Faves

1. Please allow me to point out that this is my fourth post this week. *pats self on back* Blogging is fun when you have such great readers! *pats readers computer monitor...awkwardly*
   
2. This is the song I've been falling asleep to every night. Get your tissues ready, Whovians!
   
3. Just found out about this kid named Toby and his goal to write a letter to every country in the world. Wow! Such a cool goal, and so awesome that he's close to accomplishing it!
   
4. Today is my volunteer day at Care Net. I'm really excited to go to the clinic and see who God brings through our door.
   
5. Last night I got the decorating bug and was inspired by my old dorm room:
   
   
   
   And so now a wall in my bedroom looks like this! {Pictures of my bedroom coming soon...} I think that notes and cards and words of encouragement are one of my love languages, because I keep almost every note that has ever been given to me!
   
6. Speaking of decorating, Pinterest has once again come to the rescue of gifted-not-artistically people like myself through inspiration from Martha Stewart.
   
7. My friend Laurie from the Frozen Tundra is coming to visit tomorrow! So excited! This means that Funny Friday may turn into Recap Monday, because we are going to be busy this weekend. We're going to be traipsing all over the western half of the state and playing tourists. Such fun! So in advance, happy Friday!

Love Languages

Has anyone read the book “The 5 Love Languages”? I have, and I like it, and I like knowing love languages, so here’s an opportunity for lots of comments- what is YOUR love language???? If you don’t know, you can take the test for free here!

My love language score is this:

• 5 Words of Affirmation
• 12 Quality Time
• 0 Receiving Gifts
• 6 Acts of Service
• 7 Physical Touch

To those who know me better than others, does this sound realistic?