N is for Nature

Welcome to the A to Z blogging challenge where for the month of April we post everyday except Sundays, corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. I've chosen to blog about keeping the romance alive in a relationship along with ideas for married couple dates. Each post will also have a romantic song for you to listen to whilst you read.

We're into the third week of the challenge and this is the letter that gave me the most trouble so far, including for a romantic song. Finally I have chosen a real blast from the past - I saw this band live in Tasmania many, many, many years ago.

Today's song is If I Could by 1927 - this song is from 1988.

By now you may have realised that my beloved has some very odd suggestions for our A to Z posts, and I think he's outdone himself today. His suggestions were; neverending, nuptials, nudity, and nipples!!! I don't think anything more is needed to be said about that except that he suggested naked in 2016 as well.

Today N is for nature. The joy of taking a walk together in nature is a really great thing, and there is nature everywhere, even in big cities. It's another of those occasions where you need to turn your phones to silence and cherish having moments of peace and tranquility.

You may want to take a picnic to the local park, or you may have a balcony or rooftop that you can sit on to take in nature's beauty, even if it's just watching a sunset together. Yesterday we went for a walk in a local forest and I read Scottish poetry to my beloved as we sat and relaxed - my version of the Scottish accent was dreadful but Ken seemed to enjoy it.

One great place to enjoy nature in big cities is in old graveyards (I knew I could get graveyards into a romantic post somehow). In London there are seven Victorian Era graveyards that are now seen as nature reserves and are really lovely to wander around - lots of wild flowers and if you're lucky, some local wildlife.

Why don't you do something this week to celebrate mother nature, and spending it with a special person would be even better.

Today's quote:

Pamela & Ken
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Previous A to Z posts:

2017 = Nairn

2016 = Nature

M is for Moments and Memories

Welcome to the A to Z blogging challenge where for the month of April we post everyday except Sundays, corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. I've chosen to blog about keeping the romance alive in a relationship along with ideas for married couple dates. Each post will also have a romantic song for you to listen to whilst you read.

Today's song is the hauntingly beautiful I've Loved You Before by Melissa Etheridge - here's an example of the wonderful lyrics.

When I think of how you know me, 

no doubts no thinking twice.

When your smile can be so soothing,

a familiar paradise.

When there's no one else that makes me whole.

I never wanting more.

I get this feeling.

I know I've loved you before.

Whether you've been together one year or seventy years, then your life is full of moments that have created those wonderful memories of shared moments together. There will also be those moments that weren't so great for whatever reason, but those have also shaped you into the couple you are, and I know for us it makes us even more grateful for the strength of our relationship.

Sometimes they can be big moments, like sitting at the Oyster Bar on Sydney Harbour with the iconic bridge behind us.

Or they can be really funny moments like the photo that reminds me that just after I took it the bird on Ken's head decided to poo on him.

Take time to reminisce together over your shared experiences, especially when life keeps getting in the way. Remember that those moments aren't just the big ones, it may be something as simple as the time my beloved hid a toy unicorn in my overnight bag when I had to go away for work (I'm a bit obsessive about unicorns). A small moment that whenever I look at that unicorn instantly makes me smile.

Today's quote - truer words were never spoken:

Pamela & Ken

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Previous A to Z posts:

2017 = Maggieknockater

2016 = Mojacar (a Spanish escape)

L is for Letters and Laws

Welcome to the A to Z blogging challenge where for the month of April we post everyday except Sundays, corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. I've chosen to blog about keeping the romance alive in a relationship along with ideas for married couple dates. Each post will also have a romantic song for you to listen to whilst you read.

Today's song is from Lonestar - Amazed. I love this song and the words are so special;

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I wanna spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

When was the last time that you wrote your special one a letter (and no, notes about things you need at the shops do not count)? Did you ever write each other letters before you were married or committed to each other forever?

Letters don't have to be posted, but this is a nice surprise if you post them to arrive when you're not in the house. A letter left on a pillow, in the fridge, or tucked into the pocket of a coat can all be really lovely ways to make your person's day.

Before we got married I used to write a law according to Pamela J and leave them for my beloved to find - he kept all of these so a few years ago I typed them all up and put them in a photobook for him. We  have both kept all the letters, cards, and poems that we've been given by the other over the last two and a bit decades.

Why don't you take the time this week to write an actual letter rather than send a text, e-mail, or instant message. It doesn't have to be on plain white paper, you can choose any colour paper you like, and any pen you like, including ones with sparkles in them. You could even leave a little love note on a mirror written in lipstick.

Today's quote is something that I hope is true - lets keep the handwritten letter alive.

Pamela & Ken

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Previous A to Z posts:

2017 = Loch Ness

2016 = London

K is for Kissing

Welcome to the A to Z blogging challenge where for the month of April we post everyday except Sundays, corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. I've chosen to blog about keeping the romance alive in a relationship along with ideas for married couple dates. Each post will also have a romantic song for you to listen to whilst you read.

Today's song is by the gorgeous Ronan Keating - If Tomorrow Never Comes.

As some of you will know, my first instinct for the letter K was to talk about my beloved Ken, but as I did that in 2016 I thought I should do something different. I've chosen kissing as it's such an important expression of romance and can convey so much emotion.

Do you remember your first kiss? Me - 11 years old but I won't say who. Do you remember your first kiss with your special person? I do, I had giant, scary butterflies in my stomach as I was hoping that my beloved would kiss me but it's also the fear that it won't go well - you can only ever have one first kiss.

A kiss before one of you leaves the house, a kiss for no reason, and definitely a kiss before you go to sleep at night - really important moments of connection. Of course kissing is also great when it's out of control and passionate and leads to other wonderful parts of a relationship.

We were kissing in a supermarket once and a man walking past muttered that we shouldn't be doing that in the fruit and veg section - I should have asked him which section of the supermarket would have been appropriate. Another time we were kissing at a festival and some teenagers made gagging noises about 'old people kissing'!

Today's quote captures exactly how I feel about my beloved;

Pamela & Ken
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Previous A to Z posts:

2017 = Kessock Bridge

2016 = Ken (the gorgeous one)

J is for Joy and Jaffa Cakes

Welcome to the A to Z blogging challenge where for the month of April we post everyday except Sundays, corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. I've chosen to blog about keeping the romance alive in a relationship along with ideas for married couple dates. Each post will also have a romantic song for you to listen to whilst you read.

Today's song is from Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up.

I'm going to share the workings of my beloved's mind again today - when I asked him what I should do for the letter J he suggested jock strap or jaffa cakes!! You may note from the title of this post that I have gone with one of his suggestions - more about that later.

One of the most joyous days of my life, apart from our wedding day, was the day after when I woke up and realised that it wasn't a dream, I really had married my best friend and soulmate. Do you have moments like that which when you think about them make you smile? I hope you do, and make sure you think about those moments together as the remembered joy is an important part of the couple you are.

I love this photo as it was taken the day after our wedding when all our friends and relatives came round to mum and dad's for the day and really captures that feeling of joy - this is the two of us with my best friend and bridesmaid, Kierstan.

Now to the jaffa cakes. Before we travelled from the UK to Australia, a friend in London gave me a wrapped present and said we weren't to open it until our honeymoon. Two days after the wedding we went to Cradle Mountain Lodge for a mini honeymoon of three days, so decided to open our present there. Inside was a tube of jaffa cakes with a little note that said, "to give you energy for your honeymoon". This is me sitting on the balcony of our cabin enjoying our gift.

Today's quote is an important reminder - don't look for joy in objects or possessions, look for it in yourselves as a couple.

Pamela & Ken

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Previous A to Z posts:

2017 = Jemimaville

2016 = James - a Scotsman and a Convict

I is for Intimacy

Welcome to the A to Z blogging challenge where for the month of April we post everyday except Sundays, corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. I've chosen to blog about keeping the romance alive in a relationship along with ideas for married couple dates. Each post will also have a romantic song for you to listen to whilst you read.

Today's song is from the fabulous INXS - Never Tear Us Apart.

I is for intimacy and no I've not decided to become R rated in this post. If you look up the definition of intimacy the words that are used for the synonyms really describe what I think of when I hear this word; closeness, togetherness, affinity, rapport, attachment, and familiarity (reference link)

Part of keeping the romance alive in our marriage is often the little things, like holding hands when we're out and about, a spontaneous kiss on the cheek, or the warmth of a hug in the middle of a shop. Please don't be embarrassed to show affection in public, just enjoy the intimacy of the moment of togetherness.

I think that knowing each other is also an important part of intimacy, and my beloved is definitely my best friend, knows all my secrets, and is the one I want to share my failures and my triumphs with.

A good idea for date night conversation is finding out more things about your special person by asking them questions about their likes and dislikes at different stages of their lives. There is always something new to learn about each other.

Quote for today;

Pamela & Ken
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Previous A to Z posts:

2017 = Inverness

2016 = Indalo Man

H is for Hope

Welcome to the A to Z blogging challenge where for the month of April we post everyday except Sundays, corresponding to each letter of the alphabet. I've chosen to blog about keeping the romance alive in a relationship along with ideas for married couple dates. Each post will also have a romantic song for you to listen to whilst you read.

Before I head into the post, can I ask someone to remind me next year not to book time away in April where there is no wifi - thank you so much to Tamara at Part-time Working Hockey Mom for linking me up for my G post.

The sign for the wifi where we were staying

Today's song is Whitney Houston - I Believe in You and Me.

I'm guessing you're wondering what hope has to do with dating and romance in marriage. I want you to take a moment and remember the feeling you used to get when you knew your special person was taking you out on one of your first dates. At that point you had no idea that they would come to be your whole world, or, maybe you're one of those lucky few that knew the moment you saw each other that you were going to be together forever.

Capture that feeling in your mind, the anticipation and the hope for what was to come. It may just have been hope that the person you were going on a date with wouldn't turn out to be a jerk, but hopefully it was hope for a nice date, and then hope for the potential of where this date may lead.

Wouldn't it be good to have that feeling of hope again about a night out together. Maybe you need to find a way to bring that back, ask your love out on a date, something unexpected, and make a fuss of each other. Maybe even go out and come back to pick them up like a real date - it's just a thought.

Do you remember the feeling of hope for the future on your wedding day? I'm sure a part of that hope was for romance to stay alive through your marriage, so make sure you're doing something about that.

Today's quote is by the amazing woman that was Maya Angelou.

Pamela & Ken
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Previous A to Z posts:

2017 = Highland Cows

2016 = Holy Island - a dream come true