Valentine's Day Plans?

[mommax3]

Anybody planning anything good for their significant other? I love this holiday, although it has deteriorated to something pretty mundane around here.

We will be in Manhattan, KS over the holiday.....we are going up to my in-laws to meet my new little nephew, who will be one month old on Valentine's Day. His parents (DH's brother and wife) are driving over from Kansas City, since my in-laws' house has room for all of us and their house in KC does not. My in-laws actually won't be home, so no hope of Grandma and Grandpa babysitting but I am sure we will have fun hanging out and admiring the baby.

I told my husband he has been getting off easy.....we spent our anniversary in August at Six Flags with the kids! We USED to do romantic things.....hopefully someday we'll get back to it.

So if you are doing something lovey-dovey, spill it and let me live vicariously through you! And if you aren't, maybe you will get inspired by someone else's post!

Sally

[Auspicious]

Well, theatre tickets worked out so well as a Christmas gift that we decided to do the same thing for Valentine's Day. Broadway tickets are wicked expensive, but if you go Off Broadway or Off Off Broadway, they become much more affordable, and we prefer the smaller, artsier plays over the bloated musicals anyway. So we're going to see this:
un becoming
un becoming follows Emma Douglas as she struggles to see through manipulation, lust, and denial in an effort to get to the truth surrounding her impending surgery. un becoming is a play about the issues surrounding hysterectomy that explores how one can suddenly lose control of one's self when the voice of intuition is silenced.
I think it's about sinister doctors. It sounds like it's about both doctors' issues and women's issues, so it should definitely be fodder for conversation for us, whether we agree with it or not.


I would also like to get him a watch. It wouldn't be a Valentine's Day watch, it would be an engagement watch. (Yet another issue that started off as a joke for us, but then turned into a serious "Hey, why not?") We always joked about how it's unfair that only the girl gets jewelry to mark the engagement--plus, on the practical side, the man is 32 and the only watch he owns is a big sports watch. Just like every grown man should own a suit just on principle, he should also own a dress watch, IMO. Unfortunately I know nothing about buying men's watches, and neither does he. I'd like something stylish but classic enough that it won't look dated in ten years, and in the $150-$200 range. Does anyone have any recommendations of where to look for such an item, or stores or brands, if not specific watches?

[migirl]

I don't know what our plans are, my DH has something planned but hasn't yet told me what it is. I'm guessing we'll have dinner out at a nice restaurant, but I don't know what else.

I have a related sort of funny story... This morning I was checking our credit card account balance online (I do this pretty regularly to keep track of what our expenditures are and to keep an eye on the balance in case weird people ever got a hold of our credit card number - yes, I am paranoid ). Anyway, the balance was significantly higher than the last time I checked so I was looking over the most recent transactions and there was a fairly hefty charge to Tiffany's over the weekend! So now I am partly dying of excitement to see what he bought me, but also partly annoyed because it's not going to be a surprise anymore. I suppose there are worse things that could have happened to me.

Interestingly, though, this has happened before... Two Christmases ago I got a call from our credit card company saying that they had noticed some "unusual" activity on our card and could I verify a purchase at Helzberg Diamonds for such-and-such amount? "Uh, no, but it could possibly have been my husband." So there went that surprise.

Maybe it's time for him to get his own credit card.

[migirl]

I would also like to get him a watch. It wouldn't be a Valentine's Day watch, it would be an engagement watch. We always joked about how it's unfair that only the girl gets jewelry to mark the engagement

Julie,

I think this is a great idea! I actually did the same thing for my husband when we got engaged, although he had no idea that I was getting him an "engagement watch" so it was a huge surprise to him when I gave him the box with the watch in it right after he'd given me my engagement ring. I ended up buying him a Tag Heur watch, which he absolutely LOVES. He's had it for almost 5 years now, and it looks practically brand-new. It's a great classic but functional watch, he feels comfortable wearing it to the hospital every day as well as when we go out. No matter what brand you buy, I'd recommend getting one that has a sapphire crystal because it's scratch-resistant. (My own watch does not have a sapphire crystal and is all scratched to hell.) I chose the stainless steel band and casing for him because he was getting a platinum wedding band, you might want to think about getting something to go with the other jewelry he might wear. I don't know too much about the different brands other than the Tags. I bought his watch from a local jeweler who was able to get me the wholesale price, which was $400 less than the department store that I'd seen it in. 8O Good luck, I hope this helps!

[SuzySunshine]

My husband is cooking us a nice dinner at home, starting Monday he is off for six weeks. We're saving for a house when we move so there won't be any extravagant nights out! But having the house to look forward to helps!

I think we're going to get a night out! Friends of ours have an annual Valentine's Day party that we will go to. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stay awake, but the plan is to put Bryn in bed, have a sitter come over, and head off for the party (with baby).

Ah, I feel the jealousy. Being in a long distance relationship, we're doing absolutely nothing. I'd like to be able to be there, and I know he'd love that. It's just not an option. It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would, because we're on the countdown to Match Day and moving in together and that in the long run is more important.

[SueC]

My in-laws are in town, so we at least have free childcare. Also, they are known to slip us a $50 or $100 bill if we are going out!!! Our usual tradition for V-Day is to eat at Planet Sub (a spin-off from Yellow Sub that we love, if you are a Jayhawk you know what I'm talking about) which dates back to our poor days (actually we're still poor now that I think about it!). I imagine we'll exchange cards, but we don't usually do a gift. I'm just excited that we'll get out together since this is my husband's crappy ICU month and he has been sparse lately!

[Phoebe]

We will be spending Valentine's Day with the in-laws as well. I can think of nothing more romantic! (insert sarcasm!) I am gearing up to be criticized by my MIL and probably spend the weekend watching lots of TV or reading a book. The upside is the weather will be warmer where we are going.

I hope everyone has a fun-loved filled weekend whatever you are doing.

Jennifer

[SuzySunshine]

Sue, Planet Sub sounds like a great way to spend Valentine's Day to me. My husband and I make a point of eating there every time we're home - YUM!

[twinsmom]

Valentines Day is going to start very late at our house - hubby is on call until 10 or 11 that night (but at least he won't have to sleep at the hospital). I have a lot of making up to do from last weekend... it was the med schools HUGE formal of the year, and dh was in charge, so for the first time in four years we actually got all dressed up and went (well, went at 11:00 pm, that is, after he flew in from a conference). It had been a completely CRAZY day for me, so by the time we got home at 3:30 am, I was beyond exhausted, and just when he was ummm... geering up to go (so to speak ), I fell into a deep sleep. Needless to say, I have been shopping the lingere (sp?) stores this week to try to make up for it this weekend . Is there ANY type of lingere that doesn't make you look like you have way more 'curves' then normal?! I don't know if I can handle any of it!!

Well, that was maybe a wee bit more then you wanted to hear - sorry . I hope you all have great Valentine Dates!!

Jen B.

P.S. Could March 18 come ANY SLOWER??!!

No, March 18th couldn't possibly come any slower, Jen. I've basically put my life and job search on hold waiting to figure out where we're moving to because I don't want to get too involved with anything here.

Everyone's plans sound very nice!

My husband is lucky because my birthday is Feb. 16 (I'm turning 30!!) so he sort of gets a two-for-one, though this year I seem to be having a three-day celebration. I'm really excited about Saturday -- somehow I got him to agree to go to a special Valentine's Day couples yoga class at my gym! I can't wait to see him in yoga positions and breathing properly. I think it will be great fun and a nice relaxation break for him. On Sunday we're going to this really nice romantic French restaurant that is supposed to be really good. And on Monday I'm getting a facial and a massage for my birthday and then we are meeting friends out for drinks. It should be very fun.

For V-day, I got him a small book of poetry - it's called something like "the 100 best love poems." One of the poems is a poem by ee cummings that was read at our wedding.

The kicker is -- he better get his act together. I know for a fact he hasn't bought anything, and he's got two occasions to buy for! I know he's busy but he better produce!! (I haven't see any Tiffany's charges on our account!!!)

[Auspicious]

Jill, which e. e. cummings poem did you have read at your wedding?

"i carry your heart" - we had one of the groomsmen read it, and we had my opera singer cousin sing "one hand, one heart" from west side story. have you starting planning your ceremony?

here is a link to the poem on some random site if you are interested:
http://www.elise.com/quotes/poetry/eecummings.htm