HAPPY HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

Ha! That should be extra special from someone who really tries to ignore Valentine’s Day. A couple of things conspired to make this an extra special day for me. First, a friend and I planned to get together today. It wasn’t because of Valentine’s. It was just a day that worked for both of us. Then, Cammy wrote an excellent post about treating yourself well on Valentine’s Day. And then I read Anne Lamott’s post on Facebook about “Occupy Valentine’s Day.” (I really love Ann Lamott. Anyone who wants to be a writer or an artist would be encouraged by listening to her talk. Here’s the latest interview I listened to.) So I decided to enjoy the day. And it was just one of those days where every single thing fell into place just right.

First thing in the morning, I was skimming through my Oprah magazine, and there was an article about how getting rid of clutter could make your whole life feel lighter. So I decided to tackle my “cupboard of shame.” LOL. At least half of the containers and pans and old baking sheets went in boxes to the thrift store, along with more than half of my cookbooks (because really, I get ALL my recipes off the internet these days.) And I cleaned all the shelves, washed some of the dishes, and put them all back so nice and neat. I can get to everything without having a fit and throwing pans everywhere (not that I ever did that…)

Out the door, and I had just enough time for a quick session on the bike at the gym before meeting my friend for lunch. I chose a place that makes the most delicious fresh food, and my ulterior motive was that I knew they had truly wonderful baked goods there, and I had decided that I was going to get myself a special valentine’s dessert for tonight. The salad I chose was so delicious that I ate every single bite of it! Baby greens with apples, dates, bacon, bleu cheese, and walnuts, with poppy seed dressing. That’s a combo I’m going to have to remember!

Back to my friend’s house for a little more visiting and stitching. And then I headed to the Kitchen Store. I’ve had an issue with coffee ever since I came back from Haiti. How come these people in third world countries can make coffee better than I can? I consulted my  coffee guru (Lori) who pointed out, among other things, that it was really important to use water that was hot enough. Ever since then I’ve been making my coffee with my little pour over thingie. Which has made very good coffee. But after knocking it off once and COVERING myself and everything else in the kitchen with coffee grounds, and then knocking it off a second time, and very nearly burning my hand badly, I decided I needed something a little sturdier. They sold me on this little guy (Aerobie AeroPress,) saying that it had beat out much more expensive machines in a blind taste test. Its similar to what I’ve been doing every morning with my pour over, but if I tip it over, I won’t spill coffee grounds or hot water on myself.

THEN, I headed over to Redbox to get my FREE movie for tonight (thanks for the tip, Jill!) And while I was there, I decided to go inside that store and get a quarter pound of dover sole for dinner. Oh. My. Goodness. It is hard to beat good dover sole. Besides the taste, I get to feel virtuous because it is very low in calories.

So that was the best Valentine’s Day I’ve had in a long time. I’m off to drink my tea (TJ’s Candy Cane Green Tea) have my special treat, and watch my movie. I hope you all treated yourself well today and enjoyed yourselves thoroughly. If you did not, tomorrow is not to late!