Ah, Valentine's Day...a day to celebrate those you love, and of course eat lots of chocolate :-) But for Dan and I, Valentine's Day also brings with it lots of wonderful memories of our very first (official) date which took place way back (okay, 4 years ago) in 2004 when he asked me to go with him to the Ballroom Dance at NWC. In fact, it was so long ago that neither of us had a digital camera back then so I can't even throw up a fun picture from that night for this post - wow, we must be getting old (okay, now I'm being fecicious...)! Here's a pic from the lessons a year or two later:
Okay, so moving on...this year we talked about it several times and really had decided on not doing much for V-Day. Neither of us really felt like fighting the crazies here in Nashville who would be willing to wait in line for hours for a nice meal I could probably fix in less time, so I thought I'd just make a "fancy" dinner and we'd be all set. But Dan insisted that he wanted to make dinner for me, and I finally agreed. So I went to bed on Valentine's Eve (that works, right?), reminding myself to make a card in the morning so I'd have
something for my dear husband, and hoping we might even look through a photo album from our first year together and reminisce for the evening. Then I woke up to this:
Isn't he sweet?! I cracked up when my second pancake was added, and rather than a heart I got Mickey Mouse! I guess he messed up a little and thought he'd just be creative :-) They both tasted pretty good to me!
So I went off to work with a full belly and anticipation of what the evening would bring. After a busy day with the Dove Press Conference, I finally got home and opened the door fully expecting to be met with a wall of delicious smells. Instead, Dan stood grinning mischeviously in the kitchen with no food (or smells) in sight, and this on the counter:
Instead of cooking, he surprised me by taking me to our favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Nashville! So we dressed up (a little - nothing too fancy) and headed out, and when we arrived we were seated right away (apparently Mexican isn't the cuisine of choice on V-Day). And after we gorged ourselves on a delicious meal involving WAY too much cheese (or is there even such a thing as too much cheese?), we headed back to our cozy apartment, cuddled up on the couch, and watched several episodes of "The Office" - what more could a girl possibly ask for?! Oh, and we even got to flip through a few pictures, too.
Feeling completely spoiled, I decided to return a little of the favor on Saturday and cooked Dan a meal I knew he'd love: Steak (which we never have), garlic mashed potatoes (complete with 4 heads of roasted garlic), some yummy vegetables (zucchini & egg plant), and some sourdough garlic bread.
Oh, and I topped it off with a chocolate pie! He was one very happy boy :-)
So there you have it - our Valentine's Day extravaganza(s)! It's been a lovely weekend, and I'm so thankful to have had 5 wonderful Valentine's Days with Danny boy...here's to a whole lot more!
I just finished reading this book last week and had to tell you all about it. It's absolutely fantastic! It's a novel that unfolds over nearly 4 decades in Afghanistan and follows the lives of 2 women whose stories become inextricable. I learned a great deal about the political climate of Afghanistan from the 1970s to the Soviet take-over in the 80's, to the terrible civil war in the 90's, the horrific reign of the Taliban at the turn of the century, and finally the U.S. "invasion" that has finally lead to a bit of peace, fragile though it may be. The (fictional) story of these women is both heart-breaking and inspiring -- and I know that sounds cliche, but I really mean it! If you haven't already, please get your hands on a copy of this book. You won't be sorry. 
