pink lipstick and sunflowers. ya.

happy valentine's day!!!!!! is it valentines or valentine's? does the day belong to valentine? was that a person? i can never remember. wasn't he a saint or something? saint valentine? imagine having a day named after yourself. maybe in 100 years they'll be saying "happy carolyn's day!!!" and having the same dillema wondering if carolyn was a person or not.

valentine's (i've decided to keep the apostrophe on the incling that valentine was, infact, a person) day can be so controversial among the singles crowd. you know the whole "i don't have anyone to buy me flowers" sob story. or the "i just broke up with my boyfriend, i don't want to be reminded of love" tears. blah blah blah. i LOVE valentine's day. always have. and i don't think i've had a boyfriend on this day since i was....um....have i ever had a boyfriend on this day? oh yes, i think when i was 17. i got candles and the movie "when a man loves a woman." (i thank God everyday that i'm not 17 anymore...) but each year it comes around, and each year i love it just the same as last year. you get to wear pink, make cards with enough hearts to make you want to gag, wear bright pink lipsticks (all of which i did today), and best of all, it's the greatest excuse to tell those closest to you just how much you love them. i have never found anything about this day exclusive to only those in relationships.

i also wanted to teach a song about love to my kids today. my mind drew a complete blank and the only one i could think of was the song they sing at the end of barney. you know..."i love you, you love me, we're a happy family..." it was either that or whitney houston's "and IIIIIIIIIII-EEEE-IIIIIII will always love YOOOOUUUUUU" and i was afraid my kids may not have the lung capacity.

so today i was in costco on my lunch break, talking to katie in grand rapids, and as i was checking out, i was telling her that i just went past the flowers section and maybe i should get someone some flowers today. she said "we could buy ourselves flowers and have them be from each other..." and before i knew it, i was explaining the different flowers they had and we were deciding which ones she would like to "buy" for me. we settled on sunflowers. i was so happy! i just got flowers from my friend on valentine's day from across the world! tomorrow, she will be getting daiseys with some colorful flowers thrown in. (or that is what i suggested.) see, this is why i love this day! you would never do that on any other day!

the downside of talking to someone on the phone while you are grocery shopping, is that you don't realize how much you are buying and whether or not it is carry-able. i had to leave my bike and walk home (i tried to steal a cart, but i couldn't get it through the pillars outside--they are very clever those costco people...putting the little pillars just close enough together so as not to let any carts through), all the while talking to katie, trying not to completely squash my new sunflowers she had just given me. a walk that normally takes me about 3 minutes took me nearly 30. i had to walk ten feet, and then take a break and sit down and catch my breath, and then walk a little further, and then sit, and so on. my hands have rope burns from the handles of my bag. lesson learned: buying in bulk and talking on the phone do not compliment each other.

happy valentine's day to all!!!!