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	<title>RatedGRomance.com &#187; Our Love</title>
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	<link>http://ratedgromance.com</link>
	<description>Blabbing about romance beyond the bedroom. Married 28 years and still looking for new ways to show her I love her.</description>
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		<title>At Depression&#8217;s End</title>
		<link>http://ratedgromance.com/2011/10/23/at-depressions-end/</link>
		<comments>http://ratedgromance.com/2011/10/23/at-depressions-end/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 06:05:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gregory Blake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Top Stories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Behavioral Activation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Depression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Evanovich]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paxil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephanie Plum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Switchfoot]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ratedgromance.com/?p=1780</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;I think I’m ready to try coming off my meds,&#8221; she announced, holding my hand tightly. I smiled as we continued our walk around the lake. “It’s funny you should mention it. I’ve been resisting the urge to suggest the same thing.” This was in mid-August. I am happy to say that, as of Tuesday, my lovely wife will have been off Paxil for two weeks. It marks the beginning of a new stage of our lives together; one, hopefully, now and forevermore, free of clinical depression. In February of this year, I posted about her stuggles – actually our struggles &#8211; in an article called “Our Valentine’s Day Victory.” To summarize, my heartmate has lived nearly half her life under the dark cloud of clinical depression and has been on anti-depression meds for the past 12 years. However, this year she started to show signs of recovery. I can’t tell you how momentous the progress has been. I had to update our story. I’m sure that everyone’s path to recovery will look different, but I believe the following, in a no-particular-order-often-overlapping way, played a huge part in my Mrs’ recovery. 1)      The desire to change “So, you don’t really [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<title>Poetry in Potato Chips</title>
		<link>http://ratedgromance.com/2011/08/10/poetry-in-potato-chips/</link>
		<comments>http://ratedgromance.com/2011/08/10/poetry-in-potato-chips/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:59:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gregory Blake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Top Stories]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ratedgromance.com/?p=1743</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[May 14th, 2011 was our 28th wedding anniversary. It was also the day that my wife blew me away with the most amazing romantic gesture I have ever received. It had everything an anniversary gesture needs. It was full of thought and planning, it honored the reality of our journey and connection, and it made me feel understood and appreciated. Frankly, it was perfect. What did she do? She bought me chips. I&#8217;m not sure if any guys out there can relate, but chocolates generally are not my thing, the only jewelry I wear is my wedding band (not even a watch), clothes &#38; ties are just practical necessities rather than gifts, and flowers&#8230; well&#8230; just no. But chips? Chips are me. They are my weakness. I am &#8220;savory&#8221; to the core. So not only did she get me something I like, she was also inadvertently telling me &#8220;You know what? I know you are a little soft around the middle these days, but I&#8217;m OK with that. I love you just the way you are.&#8221; She was also saying &#8220;I don&#8217;t care what the rest of the world might think. This gift is about you.&#8221; I doubt she was even aware [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Our Valentine’s Day Victory</title>
		<link>http://ratedgromance.com/2011/02/16/our-valentines-day-victory/</link>
		<comments>http://ratedgromance.com/2011/02/16/our-valentines-day-victory/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:26:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gregory Blake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Depression]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hope]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valentine's day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ratedgromance.com/?p=1458</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This Valentine&#8217;s Day something beautiful and wonderful and marvellous happened in our home &#8211; my Mrs. took over Valentine&#8217;s Day. I&#8217;m not being sarcastic and no I&#8217;m not trying to make some masculist statement about gender equality and romantic gestures. Rather, my wife’s efforts nearly brought me to tears as they marked another milestone in her climb out of the dark clouds of clinical depression. Before clinical depression hit our home, I would have been one of those uninformed people that thought depression and deep sadness were synonyms. I remember saying things like “you’ve got a nice home, a good job, great kids, and a husband that loves you. What is there to be ‘funked’ about?” Being totally vulnerable here, I suspect that one of the reasons I pursued romantic gestures in our relationship so vigorously was that I felt I might be able to make my Mrs. “un-depressed” by providing her with happy moments. In retrospect, that’s a little like thinking I could cure arthritis in a joint by massaging it. My efforts helped with the pain of the symptoms, for a moment, but I had no hope of curing the disease. Clinical depression is not simply accentuated sadness. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>27 Candles, 27 Memories</title>
		<link>http://ratedgromance.com/2010/08/11/27-candles-27-memories/</link>
		<comments>http://ratedgromance.com/2010/08/11/27-candles-27-memories/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:23:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gregory Blake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anniversary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[romantic gestures]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ratedgromance.com/?p=849</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I bought my Mrs. car parts for her anniversary. No, I am not kidding. It is what she wanted and I learned long ago that the first rule of gift giving is &#8220;give them what they want,&#8221; not what you think is proper or cool or romantic. Gifts are all about the receiver. So when she suggested that we re-chrome a number of items for her 1956 Olds that we are restoring, I was happy to oblige &#8211; at least I could say I got her something shiny for our special day. :-) However, while the pieces we had restored are a beautiful and pragmatic gift, the work did not come cheap. Implication? Our anniversary date would definitely have to be on a budget. So I started planning a picnic date. I found a lovely secluded location up a mountainside beside a small waterfall. It was perfect. But then, a week before our date, my Mrs. pulled her achilles tendon. Fortunately the ultrasound showed that it was just a strain, not ruptured or torn, but for obvious reasons there would be no mountain hike possible on our date and the terrain was just too rough for a wheelchair (I actually [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>In the Pit – Our Valentine’s Day</title>
		<link>http://ratedgromance.com/2009/05/18/in-the-pit-our-valentines-day/</link>
		<comments>http://ratedgromance.com/2009/05/18/in-the-pit-our-valentines-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2009 14:55:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gregory Blake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Romance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Valentine's day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ratedgromance.com/?p=85</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Now that the site is up and running, I just had to write up our Valentine’s Day. The Mrs. and I had a really special day.

The day started with me giving my Mrs. the black fuzzy scarf I had been secretly knitting for her. I’d been sprinkling gifts throughout the week (flowers, a couple books on making handbags/purses, etc.), but the scarf definitely got the best response. It was simple, mostly because I had just rediscovered how to knit.  I eventually had decided on a “no tassels” design to which I attached three heart shaped lockets with pictures attached. I also finally got to tell her about the knitting explosion in my class, so we got to share some laughs there. ‘A great way to start the day.

After lunch, the Mrs. did a little work over at her mom’s which gave me some time to Mapquest all of the sites, make up a romantic mix CD for the car, and get otherwise prepared for the day. This was our first attempt at a “surrender date” (i.e. all the decisions in my hands), so I wanted to be prepared if I was going to be responsible for everything.
]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>When a floor is more…</title>
		<link>http://ratedgromance.com/2009/05/17/48/</link>
		<comments>http://ratedgromance.com/2009/05/17/48/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2009 03:50:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gregory Blake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Our Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[anniversary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[romantic gestures]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://ratedgromance.com/?p=48</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was our 26th anniversary on May 14th and we spent the better part of the day upgrading our kitchen floor. We installed the new vinyl plank flooring I bought the Mrs. as a present.

Tres romantic, n'est pas? Normally, no. Household upgrades are not romantic for most couples.  However, for us it was. ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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