Anti-Valentine???

While shopping recently I noticed that there was a section in the card aisle for anti-Valentine's card. Not really sure what that is all about. I can only speculate that some grouchy single person thought it would be a good idea to make and sell anti-Valentine's cards. I also understand that some people don't like the idea of being told "when to celebrate their love."

As for me, I like Valentine's but then I'm pretty much a sucker for romance. I know that my Dad has said that he felt that hoildays are too commercialized and pretty much all about making money. (Daddy did you start the anti-Valentine?...lol).

Anyways, I think that Valentine's Day is really special. I love red...it is one of my favorite colors so I like seeing all the red hearts and beautiful Valentine's stuff. Greg and I always celebrate Valentine's Day. We've chosen to keep it simple to keep the focus on celebrating our love and showing our appreciation for each other and not on trying to "wow" each other with outlandish gifts. I agree that you should always look for ways to celebrate your love and appreciation all year round so Valentine's Day and every other holiday can just be for extra loving! I'm all about the loving too because I am a hopeless romantic.

Last year we bought each other DVD's that we both wanted and of course we went out on a date. Greg usually gets me flowers, chocolate and balloons (one year it was a singing balloon, singing "How sweet it is to be love by you!" It was really cute!) I think that the biggest thing for us right now is to be able to go on a date. We love spending time with each other but it's not always so easy with 2 young children and getting a babysitter can be really costly. So, last night we decided to go out on our Valentine's date. We've learned that staying away from restaurants on Valentine's Day is a great idea...they are usually way too crowded and the food is not as good. Last year we went the day after Valentine's and it was still pretty crowded. Greg also got food poisoning so we haven't been back to that restaurant.

Yesterday we got my friend to baby-sit for us and even though it was rainy and somewhat cold we still went out on our date. We ate at Bonefish Grill in Wesley Chapel. Bonefish is one of our favorite places to eat but we hadn't been to that location before. It was very nice and cozy. It was also fairly empty. The service and the food was great. We had the bang bang shrimp (appetizer). It is abosultely delicious and we have it every time we go to Bonefish. It is a must have! Then I ordered the Atlantic Salmon with Mango Salsa. This is my first time having that dish and it was amazingly good. I love Salmon so I always like to try it when I go to restaurants. The sauces are always different. I also like the Miso salmon at Cheesecake Factory.

The most important part of the date was being able to sit with Greg and having a conversation without interrruptions from the kids. It felt wonderful...I love going on dates with my husband. I actually met Greg at the restaurant after he left work. It kinda felt like when we were in college and dating and we would meet up at wherever we were going since we lived in opposite directions. Then I would hate it when it was time to go because we would have to get in separate cars and go our separate ways,

Believe it or not I thought about that when we were getting married...about how great it would be when we would actually get in one car and go to one house together. That has always been special to me, even now I don't like when we have to drive separate. I enjoy our conversations during a car ride. Some of our best and most meaningful conversations happened during long car trips.

Needless to say, you will not find any support for anti-Valentine here, although I am sympathetic towards singles. I'm all for celebrating. You know me, always love a good party. I also happen to LOVE my husband a whole lot. And I will shout it if I have to. Greg and I have had some very memorable Valentine's dates. In fact, I still remember our first one. Greg came over to my parents house to pick me up with beautiful red roses and a teddy bear. We went to a Italian restaurant and went back a year later and the restaurant was no longer opened. Bummer! After that date, I coiled the name "Teddy" for Greg and I've used it to affectionately call my husband for all these years. So, here's to you Teddy. I love you now and always. Will you be my Valentine?