The holiday of L-O-V-E

I feel like we kind of made Valentine's Day a big deal this year.  I think it was because Willa got to celebrate at preschool and that got her kind of revved up for it.  Usually, aside from my love of the colors red and pink together, I'm not a huge fan.  (If any of you reading ever lived in Babcock Hall from the years 1998-2000, do you always on Valentine's Day picture those cut-outs in the bathroom that were from "the magazines"?  With the strategically positioned construction paper flaps?  I do.)  

Anyhooters...this year was fun!  On the Monday before Valentine's Day, we had a family date downtown.  First, we got coffee at Indigo Bridge, then we made stuff at Paint Yourself Silly, then we had ice cream at Ivanna Cone, and then we had dinner at Bison Witch's.  All fun stuff.  Lots of good food.  I swear Willie was having more fun than it looks like she was having.  She painted herself a little duck and also helped with Brad's pencil cup.  I think she has figured out how OCD I am about certain things, as she didn't even ask if she could help with my spoon rest.  She knows I would freak out if she painted out of my lines.  And today, she wouldn't let me play Monopoly with her, as she said I would make her play it "the right way."  Damn straight, child.  

Wednesday night, we made brownies.  And we ate a lot of frosting.

Thursday night, Brad brought home Noodles and had flowers and wine awaiting us:)  Note that he has learned that I do not think that roses are pretty flowers.  No picture, but I bought him some spicy garlic sauce from BW3s.  And some pink sea salt.  A tasty gift, but I did feel a little lame when another gift arrived for me the next day and it was this little guy that I have been wanting and wanting and he cost much more than wing sauce...

See?  Cute little guy.  Ready for a cute little plant, when I find the one that I am imagining.

All in all, it was a very nice holiday.  But Easter is my favorite and it is next.  And again, I have sworn off excess/refined sugar from Valentine's Day through Easter.  So Friday morning, I gave away the leftover brownies and have been saying no to all my favorite things ever since.  No, that was pretty dramatic but I did order black coffee at Scooters while Willa ate red velvet cupcake ice cream with M & M's on top the other day.  And today while we were snowed in all day, I may have mixed a lot of unsweetened cocoa powder with peanut butter, honey and banana and eaten it like yogurt.  I'm really blurring the lines of what is acceptable, natural sugar and what isn't.  Honey?  Really?!?  I was desperate.  Brad is giving up soda.  I am so proud of how well he is doing.  We stocked up on many flavors of green tea to get us through.  Tosha gave up meat again.  She is discovering the joys of Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs.  We are all suffering together:)  Except Willa.  She is getting a really sick kind of pleasure out of my inability to eat candy.  She went so far as to rub my back with a little bag of Valentine M & M's the other day, singing to me about how they are made of sugar.  Mean, mean little creature.  Its fine.  I'll get her back on Easter Day.  The Easter bunny might bring her a basket with only candy wrappers.  Wrappers from reece's eggs, starburst jelly beans, and sweet tart bunnies and chicks.  I really like Easter.