Hallmark Holiday Weekend

Ok, so I have a whole "Brain Dump" post in the works, but I'm also trying to eek out a draft of a paper before tomorrow, so this quick little mushy post will have to do for now. So sorry, I don't have any pictures either, because lately I have been much too busy to snap pics around the house. UGH! I only have 3 weeks of class til Spring Break and I am DEFINITELY looking forward to a quick break in the action!

Anyways... I'm NOT a Valentine's Day person. Yes, I tend to be a girly-girl, but I also tend to want to be 'different,' especially when it comes to mass-commercialized things including, but not limited to, Valentine's Day. I've been known to spend my single V-Days by myself at a movie, or treating myself to a pedicure. And I was completely fine with that. So, now that I'm in a relationship, I made sure Josh knew that I expected and wanted NOTHING for the pink-red-purple festival of loooove. (I'm not really as cynical as this sounds, but honestly, I'd much rather celebrate a day that actually means something to us as a couple, not just a day that was selected years and years ago for reasons that have been forgotten.) I made it clear to Josh that I did not want flowers of ANY KIND (I'm not a fan of roses - yes, they're pretty, but again, I like to be different. I want something that is unique. If I were to get flowers, I would want peonies or ranunculus or hydrangeas.) and I'm SO glad he listened to me :)

So, last week, I told Josh that we had a $5 budget for Valentine's Day. I told him all I really wanted was a card with something nice written inside by  him. I chose a nicely worded card and wrote a sweet note to him as well. But, the little sneak that he is, bought me something anyways. He thought he was supposed to, which was very sweet, but I honestly didn't want anything! So, what did he get me you ask? Only the MOST THOUGHTFUL GIFT EVER! I was almost moved to tears by the thoughtfulness of his gift. He filled in the gaps of the wine rack he got me for Christmas! And not only did he get me 4 new bottles of wine, he selected wine that actually had meaning! One bottle was my favorite Late Harvest Riesling from Chateau Grand Traverse, along with their Late Harvest Chardonnay, which he chose because it won the same award as the riesling. Josh knew how much I love that winery and wine and every time I see it at Meijer I swoon over how badly I want to go back! The other two bottles were from St. Julian's winery, which we visited last fall! It was our first and probably our only visit to a winery together and he chose a white, Niagara, and their Cherry Wine. He said he chose the cherry wine because it was made from Traverse City cherries, and he knows how much I love that town. I'm constantly campaigning for Josh to accompany me on a visit!

We planned on going to Soaring Eagle Casino for dinner with Josh's sister and her boyfriend on Friday night, which I said I would pay for. Then we were going to see a movie, which he would pay for. Well, we ended up scrapping the movie plan because of how late the show times were. It would put us back in Ionia wayyyy too late for Josh, who had to get up and work at 7am the next day. We all ate some YUMMY dinner and played some slots and had a good time. Saturday, Josh made me some filet mignon for lunch - one of the many perks of dating a farmer is that you have amazing cuts of meat stocking the freezer at all times! It was so nice to have a quiet afternoon together, even though all we did was homework. Saturday night we hung out with my mom and step-dad for a little bit and watched the Olympics. Sunday we went with Josh's parents to take his grandma out to lunch at Lamplight Grill in Ionia. They had a prime rib smorgasboard which was good, but not nearly as good as Josh's filet the day before :)

All in all, I'd have to say that my non-traditional Valentine's Day-Weekend was one of the best I've had. I cannot wait to drink my wine that was so thoughtfully selected, although I know Josh won't drink it with me!

(Oh- PS: After I saw that Josh got me something, I ran out to Wal-Mart and got him Couples Retreat because he had been talking about how he wanted that movie when it came out. So, I'm not a completely selfish girlfriend!)

I hope everyone celebrated (or didn't celebrate) in whatever way they wanted - that's what it's all about!