Why I Don't Like Valentine's Day (and a few reasons I do)

I love my husband. I love birthdays, anniversaries, random dates and moments of romance...but Valentine's Day doesn't do it for me. When I was single I thought it was because I'd never had a boyfriend on February 14, but I don't think that's it. There are three main reasons I don't like Valentine's Day:

• All my favorite Valentine's Days activities happened when I was single. Nothing against Matt, but a Star Wars marathon with friends beats out dinner in a crowded restaurant or some other "couples" activity. Don't get me wrong - I love going out to dinner and "couples" activities, but February 14 is pretty much the worst day to go out to dinner or do something couple-y since it's so crowded.
• It seems obligatory. Because Valentine's Day is the time you're supposed to tell the one you love that you love them, it seems obligatory. A card expressing love to me would carry so much more weight in my mind on random days throughout the year than the one day everyone is supposed to give one.
• The jewelry commercials. They drive me crazy. Granted, I'm not your typical woman who likes jewelry and flowers, but an expensive necklace doesn't express love to me. In fact, the only jewelry that really does express love in my mind is an engagement / wedding ring, and that's because of what it symbolizes. Plus commercials like this are just creepy:

That being said, there are a few things I like about Valentine's Day:

• The treats! I guess the way to my heart is through my stomach...
• The day-after candy sales.
• Cheesy Valentines to/from friends.

I guess I just liked Valentine's Day the way it was when I was little, before it became expected for romance to enter in.

Another Year Older

I just had a birthday! The whole getting older thing isn't really a big deal to me, but it's fun to celebrate. I loved all the gifts Matt got me this year. On top of delicious goodies and expandable animals, he splurged and got me Firefly on DVD:

The shark (Schroeder) and octopus (Olivia) are already soaking and growing - I'm having so much fun with them! I'm also trying to ration myself on the sweets, and have been successful so far.


We were able to celebrate over the past couple nights, too - last night at Brewery City Pizza with some local friends and tonight with cake at our Life Group. There were a few very generous friends that gave me unexpected gifts as well - gift cards, flowers, cookies, candy, etc. It was so fun to spend time with friends, and overall a very good birthday!


This year's photo a day project has continued to go well (we're now on day 9). Here are a few of my recent favorites:

September 6, 2010

September 7, 2010

September 9, 2010

And this one wasn't one of my official "photo of the day"s, but I liked the way it came out: