Happy Valentine's Day. :o)

Valentine's Day. It's a day that I love to hate, but admittedly, I hate to love it too. I've always thought it to be a made-up day, created by Hallmark, to boost the economy of cards and stuffed animals, but have secretly enjoyed a gift, if done cleverly (you may recall my downright hate for stuffed animals and carnations-grrr.). I am always stuck in the middle between despising the commercialization of red hearts and doilies, and just...loving love. Why do we need a holiday to tell the one we love that they are special? I laughed at the lines of men at the store today, buying crappy boxed chocolates and tacky bear-in-mug-with-fake-rose gifts. But then I also smiled at the sight of couples, who seemed to be walking a little bit closer together today, and the occasional red heart balloon tied to a mailbox. Sure, it's a dumb holiday, but all of this is also nice to see.

Even nicer to see were all the fun surprises I got, which of course make this holiday that I am oh-so-cynical about seem a whole lot cooler. Thanks Anna, for the Ninja Turtle valentine. Thanks Rox and Cindy for the glittery card. Thanks dad, for the Sesame Street card (WHICH I can flip over and color the back of!). Thank you Cheyenne for the fun yellow flowers. There was an unexpected delivery of sushi to my door yesterday that I'm going to bunch in with those gifts, too...since the note read Happy early Valentine's Day. (And, as I was typing this, Horseshoe called to wish me a happy V-day, so that was a nice surprise, too!)

So...as a single woman, who is both gagging at the sight of the red roses AND somewhat wishing I had someone to make a stupid valentine for, I decided that I was going to enjoy Valentine's Day exactly the way I wanted to. I got a large, unsweetened iced tea. Two lemon slices AND a bendy straw. I went yard saling and stumbled upon a retro estate sale, where I sifted through old jewelry, books and costumes and scored some old magazines. (My favorite: a cake decorating magazine from 1978 that featured the Big Bird cake pan my mom used for my first birthday). I got some Cold Stone Creamery ice cream and strolled downtown, trying on shoes and dresses. I bought myself a new cute jumper. Then I got a tuna melt (oh yeah, I said tuna melt!) and drove down some windy roads through funky, intertwines trees and found a few spots to picnic on rivers and lakes. I let myself get lost, and lazily made my way home on the very sunny afternoon.

And now, I'm going to go throw on my new jumper and head to a "Screw Valentine's Day" dance up the street. I just heard word that the DJ is going to be spinning old school Michael Jackson hits—tuna melts AND Michael Jackson? I know...I am crazy!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!