Old School Blogging: Valentine’s Day Edition

Elaine of The Miss Elaine-ous Life is at it again with Old School Blogging!  This time she has partnered with Tamara of Tamara (Like) Camera (I love saying the name of her blog - do it, you won't be sorry) for a special Valentine’s Day edition of #OSBlog.

I have to admit that Valentine’s Day isn’t my favorite holiday of all time.  I want to love it.  I do.  Paper hearts and chocolate and professions of love and all that.  It’s a simple little holiday.  I love love.  Why not have a day to celebrate it?  But there are some things about Valentine’s Day that are just plain annoying.  These things sort of ruin the love for me.  So step it up, people.  Let’s be better about VD.

Anyway, Elaine and Tamara asked some questions about Valentine’s Day that I figured might get me more in the mood for celebrating the big day, even though I haven’t done one thing for it and I need to get my act together already.  Here we go!

How do you typically celebrate Valentine's Day?  My husband wakes me up with a tray of cookies and cakes and a steaming pot of French press coffee, which I consume leisurely as he massages my neck and feet simultaneously.  Then I take a nap.  He leaves with the children for a few hours, having hired a staff to get me ready for the day.  They always provide me a whole new wardrobe from the best designers, and I have lost ten pounds overnight and everything fits perfectly.  A beauty team does my hair and nails and buffs my skin to a youthful glow.  My family comes back and we enjoy a gorgeous lunch.  We spend the afternoon at the theater and laugh and all get along perfectly, exchanging gifts and telling stories and having a wonderful time.  We come home and the house is sparkling clean and everything that is broken or worn is fixed and/or replaced.  There is a piece of new art on the wall.  Dinner has already been made for the kids.  Keith and I go out to a fabulous restaurant and all our favorite people are there and we have dinner and dance until midnight.  There’s usually a celebrity or two there, and the party is always on the house. We go home and kiss the children goodnight, and I get ready for bed and there is a piece of diamond jewelry on my pillow.  I drift off to sleep and nobody touches me or breathes on me at all.

Do you like to get A) chocolates  B) flowers  C) a sweet card or  D) ALL OF THE ABOVE?  Yes.

Would you consider yourself a "cuddler"?  If not, would you at least cuddle on Valentine's Day?  I am not a cuddler.  Please don’t touch me.  Except for those times when I want to cuddle with you.  Please don’t touch me.

What is your favorite movie about love or with a love story?  I love romantic movies, especially romantic comedies.  My favorite is The Notebook, of course, mainly for the Ryan Gosling factor, but also because I like happy endings.  Get your mind out of the gutter.

Do you believe in "love at first sight"?  Did it happen to you?  I totally think that there can be an immediate connection between people.  Sometimes, you just click at first glance.  It didn’t happen to me, but it happened to my husband, with me.  Obviously.

Do you believe love can conquer all things?  No.  I believe that hard work can conquer a lot, but even then, not everything.  Keeping love afloat is hard work.  Did you hear me?  HARD WORK.

What is ONE of the main things you love about your S.O. (significant other)?  I love that he’s a kind person.  I love that he wants to do what’s right all the time.  I love that he puts up with my shenanigans. That's three, but they're all kind of the same, hmmmmm?

If you could have the perfect Valentine date what would you and your loved one do?  I have the perfect Valentine date every year.  Please read my answer to the first question.

Tell me about your first crush!  Oh boy.  This is going to be embarrassing, because there are probably people who will read this who know this person.  His name was Tim, and I met him in kindergarten Sunday School, and I remember thinking he was the cutest boy I had ever seen in my whole life.  Later we went to school together and I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world to go to school with him.  Dark hair, dark eyes.  Total babe.

Do you have any embarrassing or horror dating stories? Everything I do is embarrassing.  Next.

Favorite flower? Tulip.  No – rose.  No – peony.  No – lilac.  No – jasmine.  No – lily of the valley. 

What's the first type of chocolate you hope for when you reach into a box of chocolates?  If you get me anything other than caramel then I’m positive that you don’t love me enough.  If it's not milk chocolate then you're dead to me.

Favorite love song?  I love 1970s folk music, so I’m going to say Paul Revere by the Beastie Boys.  Either that, or Feel Like Makin’ Love by Bad Company.  No, wait.  My favorite love song is Moves Like Jagger.  No, wait. It's Is That All There Is? By Peggy Lee. Sing it, Peggy.

What is the best breakup song?  I’m serious about breakup songs.  For No One by The Beatles.  I used to hole up in my room as a kid and play this song over and over, almost like I couldn’t wait to grow up so I could break up with someone and play this song and sob.  I was a dark little kid.  

Favorite celebrity couple?  Me and Christian Bale.  What?

Overall, are you pro- or anti- Valentine's Day?  I love Valentine’s Day because I get a kick out of referring to VD all day long.  I hate Valentine’s Day because of elementary school and the neverending saga about parties at school and by the time we get around to buying Valentines all that’s left are Transformers from 2008 and ones with lollipops and we aren’t allowed to send food into school anymore so now we’re stuck with all these lollipops and my kids bring home 15 pieces of junk and it all goes right into the garbage.  I also hate it because VD becomes all about sex. OMG so much pressure about sex.  It makes my head explode.

If someone did that "Say Anything" boombox thing outside your window, would you be into it, or call the police? Dude.  If some guy had a boombox outside my window I would be checking my garage for a time machine, because I’m pretty sure they don’t even make boomboxes anymore.  And what would this person be playing on it?  A cassette?  Do they still make them?  Can this person come with me to Antiques Roadshow?

First thing you notice about the object of your affection? Clean hands, pants, and mouth.  If he’s been eating Doritos I don’t want to know about it.

What's the best thing you've ever gotten for Valentine's Day?   I remember one Valentine’s Day growing up and I came home and there were like 25 helium balloons floating on the ceiling.  I never forgot that – balloons were such a treat, and it was so unexpected.  I tried to duplicate the magic for my kids one year and they were all I WANT THIS BALLOON NO I WANT THAT BALLOON and they fought over all the balloons and it sucked.  These days I love Valentine’s Day cards, especially the ones my kids make.  That, and all the diamonds I receive.  Naturally.

So there you have it – my answers to Elaine and Tamara’s #OSB for February!  It was fun, and kind of put me in the mood for the holiday, even though it isn’t my most favorite.  I hope you enjoyed reading my answers.  Feel free to adopt the questions yourself, and post them on your blog for Valentine’s Day!  After all, VD is always better when it’s shared among friends.  Don’t forget to link up!  For extra fun, tweet it up with @elainea and @TamaraCamPhoto using #OSBlog!  Wheeee!

Happy VD!

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Have you entered to win a copy of Sonia Marsh’s Freeways to Flip-Flops yet?  Sonia has graciously offered to send two lucky readers of my blog a copy of her amazing memoir. 

Go here to read my review and enter for a chance to win the book!  Hurry up, because the giveaway ends Friday!  It’s so easy; I promise you don’t have to promise your first-born or anything to enter. 

My goodness, no.  We definitely don’t need another child in this house.

Good luck!