It’s here again. As much controversy as there is about this holiday, I just can’t help myself. I love it. I spent too many years not loving it and I’m back on Cupid’s love wagon. Not that I don’t have to remind myself a lot that I have so much to be thankful for. I mean, I have a LOT of days like the ones pictured below. Sometimes I look for my reprieve in the bottom of my wine glass. Joking! (not joking).
I’ve done some cool things for Valentine’s Day. Again: To me, Valentine’s Day is about surrounding myself with my loves. This year, I upped that mind set to also branching out and making sure that I partake in some super fun activities for myself as well. This added bonus actually worked, and allowed me to appreciate the little nuggets that much more.
Writer’s Block Bookstore: – Oh my. I am in LOVE with this new found spot. I dragged my mom along to a book signing at this quaint spot where the Florida writer, Tim Dorsey, was signing his new book: “The Pope of Palm Beach.” I’m going to be completely honest here. I am new to this whole circuit. I do realize that I am not a spring chicken. More like a fall squirrel. BUT, at least a sister is trying. I heard he was coming to this venue, that he was a Floridian novelist and that his books were really funny. I texted my mom and told her she was coming with me, and the rest is history. Actually, she didn’t get it. At all. She thought there was going to be this grandiose marble mansion table that sat 50 people where he would be giving us writing tips and telling us what his inspiration was, and maybe at the end of all of this earth shattering information, he would sign our books and spend 15 minutes with each of us, confessing more individual infinite wisdom. What really happened was the author was set up in this small (this is where I would usually diplomatically use the word QUAINT) room, had his books stacked nicely on this quaint table, and then there was a quaint line of people (because we did get there 15 minutes early) and the line moved in a quick fashion, where he spent a quaint amount of time with each of us. What my mom doesn’t realize is that this is my dream arrangement. At no time do I ever prefer to sit with a famous person, a fly on the wall, a flower on the wall, a freakish talkaholic or even an introvert like myself. Because I don’t do the small talk, walking up when it’s my turn, him asking my name and me barely remembering it because I am ready to pass out because I cannot handle being in celebrity presence or regular people presence, is the best possible scenario for me. Would I have liked to hear him talk about his book in a relaxed setting in mixed company? Eh,I guess. But, this was not that kind of shindig.
Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine: Before the book signing, me and my mom ventured over to explore some new restaurants. Restaurants that my bland taste bud immediate family members would not dare enter. We thought we would try out this neat looking Turkish restaurant, and we SO were not disappointed! I ordered the
Do I even need to say it? My day of love will NEVER be complete without my 50 Shades trilogy. I went to see this the other night with some friends, and that crazy Jamie Dornan – He just gets me. These books/movies are definitely my guilty pleasure, and I can’t wait to read my book: “Darker” that I got for Christmas but haven’t read yet because I’m in the midst of a 700 page Stephen King conundrum! However – I don’t know what I am going to do for upcoming Valentine’s days. It’s become a tradition that we go see these movies. I cannot imagine anything on this planet that will ever put a side smirk on a sister’s face in the future. Sigh.
It’s really hard to segue into this, but I will try. So in the morning when my kids wake up, they’ll have their special heart plates adorned with a special breakfast and little Valentine’s treats. Also, they will receive little gifts from the school book store this year that will be delivered to them in class, making them feel like the rockiest of stars.
It’s pretty obvious how much I love this day. I think surrounding yourself with people and things you love is what the day is all about. Sometimes you have to force Cupid to shoot his arrow in a certain direction. And if there’s a little bit of Christian Grey sprinkled on top, then I’m not ever going to be mad.