Valentine's Thursday

John and I have an unspoken agreement that whenever we can go out in the near vicinity of Valentine's Day counts as Valentine's Day. We try to avoid the actual day, or in this case, day before, because the restaurants are so crazy. This year the Thursday before was the day. We have a standing babysitter on Thursdays and there was no school the next day so it worked out well for us.

And this year John was kind enough to work hard and win an employee award for extreme "competence" which came with $100 in restaurant gift certificates. There's nothing better than getting to go out for a nice dinner without having to pay for it. John and I chose to go to Ruby River and it was really nice. We got to sit in a booth which I love and talk for a long time. Our food took a little while to come, but I got a shrimp cocktail, my favorite, so that pretty much covered any subsequent sins. When the food did come, it was really good.

One funny side note to the dinner was that while we were there, the hostess sat about 8 huge guys across from us in the same size booth that we were sitting in. I'm not sure why but I've honestly never seen that many guys sit that close together. And they looked like rugby players. Interesting.

One of the highlights of my night was my gift. John always surprises me. He had been building up his gift for about a week. It came in the mail early in the week and I was warned not to open it. I really had no idea what it was. John told me that he was inspired by his friends at work, which I wasn't too sure about. I know his friends at work and that didn't inspire me with a lot of confidence, but they did good. John got me the dvd of the new Emma that Masterpiece Theater just made. I've really wanted to see it and I didn't even know it was out on dvd. Good work, my man.

Speaking of guys at work, Thursday when I went to pick up John, a guy at his work asked me what he should get for his wife. The question caught me off guard. I know his wife but I have no idea what she wants for Valentine's Day. He said, "Do flowers and chocolates cut it? or do I need to be more creative?" I responded, "I wouldn't mind flowers and chocolate. But I'd get her something she wants." "Oh, so a gift is the expectation. I get it." I don't know, I thought. That's my expectation. John said it was tough, because I wasn't getting flowers and chocolate. I don't mind. I love my Emma dvd. And he did get me chocolates later. Anyway, I think if you have to ask some other lady what your wife wants for Valentine's, you're already in big trouble. I hope it all worked out for him.

All in all, I'd give Valentine's Day a thumbs up for the year, even if it was on Thursday.