I sort of fell off the planet for a couple of days! Sometimes blogging feels like an obligation, andlike so many of you pointed out, it should never be a chore. I have been spending a good deal of time on the computer researching a couple of things we are working on right now at our house. All that reading and researching hasn’t left much time for blog reading or writing. I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying a lovely Valentine’s Day with the special people in your life.
My Valentine got me several little gifts that I hope to share with you soon. He also wrote me a sweet poem. He has writeen me a poem every year for Valentine’s Day and each year, it makes me cry! He got that romantic, sweet gene from his dad. My father-in-law has written poems for each of his children each year for Valentine’s Day. Now that Dave and his sister are married, the spouses (Me!) get poems of our own. My father-in-law called earlier to read each of us our Valentine’s poems. My sweetie grew into the sweetheart he is because of the amazing role model he had in his dad. He was very lucky, and now, I am too!
We went to see the movie Valentine’s Day today. I am a complete sucker for romantic comedies. Some people absolutely hate them, but I am such a romantic (got that from my mom!). I thought it was a really cute movie. A lot like Love Actually, with several intertwining storylines. It was a nice way to spend a chilly afternoon. Next weekend is our real date night….we are going to dinner and then seeing The Lion King! I can’t wait! I’ve been waiting to see this show forever!
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we had a sweet dinner. Dave made his waffles with maple syrup and peanut butter. And I had protein pancakes, topped with my very favorite topping….apple, pumpkin and raisins!
In the pancakes, I put: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/4 cup egg substitute, 1/4 cup almond milk, a sprinkle of xanthan gum, and a 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. All blended in the Magic Bullet, and heated on the griddle… it was a perfect protein-packed dinner!
Some people don’t like Valentine’s Day. But even when I was single, I loved this holiday. My mom would give me chocolates and my dad would send me a bear from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company (I can’t begin to tell you how many bears I have!). Of course, we should show those we love how much we appreciate them and treasure them each and every day. But it is all to easy to to get overly focused on the daily to-dos and the stresses in life. I love Valentine’s Day for the same reason I love Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, and anniversaries…its a day to stop, take a breath, and count your blessings. I’m counting mine!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you all. I hope it has been a special day for you! 
Sounds like a very romantic day
I love Valentine’s Day. People who don’t are just lame. You don’t have to have a boyfriend to celebrate either. My best V Day was out eating cheesecake with a bunch of my friends. People can be Scrooges when it comes do VDay, but they need to lighten up. I’m so glad you enjoyed your day!
I totally agree with you about Valentine’s Day- I love it no matter if I am single or with someone. My fiance and I do not make a big deal of it (today I kind of forgot it existed since I was on a plane) but I think it’s nice to have another reason to say “I love you” to everyone. I send my friends valentine cards and give my kiddos at work valentine’s. It’s just fun
I LOVE the movie Love Actually so I am definitely going to have to see Valentine’s Day now.
We saw Valentine’s Day today too!! I thought it was great!! I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day too!! Even when I was single I’d eat my favorite dinner and lots of chocolate and my parents always (and still do) gave me a gift. To me Valentine’s Day is about love – whether it’s being IN love or loving your best girlfriends or loving your parents, whatever, and it’s lovely to be able to celebrate that!!
Aww, I’m so glad you had a nice Valentine’s day Shannon. Nick needs to work on his romantic side, but so do I. In fact we bought books over Christmas about being more romantic, haha. The funny thing is that as we are reading this book, we realize that we do most of what they suggest! So we are like, “are we already romantic, but just don’t know it?!” . IT’s funny.
The pancakes sound great. The Lion King will be AWESOME. Nick has seen it and said it was one of the best shows he has seen. I would love to see it if it came back to COlumbus ever.
Have a nice day!
What a great Valentine’s Day!
It’s so romantic that he wrote you a poem. I can’t wait to hear about seeing The Lion King!
I have always always always wanted a Vermont Teddy Bear!
My favorites took us to visit the factory in VT, but I wasn’t allowed to get one. Isn’t that cruel?!?!
favorites? I meant *parents. wow, my mind is running in too many directions!
How cute – Dave wrote you a poem!?!
You will love Lion King – I saw it on Broadway a few years ago. So amazing!
I also loved Valentines day – even when I was single. It was nice to send cards and get a little chocolate…