hmmm, delurking to enter a contest. classy, no? Well maybe I'll be a first poster! I haven't had many valentines days yet but it always brings to mind late nights of me staying up and wrapping together little packages of candy for my friends in red tissue paper. I hope this counts!

I am trying to stay away from even thinking about my worst V-Days, so let's talk about one of the best.

When I first moved out on my own, I rented an apartment with a roomie, who happened to have a boyfriend. I, however, was very alone and reminded of it daily.

I was not alone in my singleness, however. Many of my friends were shall we say "between relationshps". And to be honest, roomie's relationship wasn't the shiniest of examples either.

And since several of us were struggling with the day, I decided to cook dinner. I sent invitations. I made party favors. I even cooked some edible.

And we drank wine and we relived sweet and sad love stories.

And as I was walking my last guest to the door, she (my dearest friend who had been adored by many and pampered like a princess each and every other Valentine's Day) hugged me and said, "This was by far the most meaningful Valentine's Day."

And I was touched and from then on out, I never thought of Valentine's Day as strictly for lovers, but instead for those you love.

Awesome pics, especially the kissing self-portraits! I'll be spending the 14th (& 15th) in meetings with a bunch of guys I work with (I'm one of two women in a group of about 200 men), none of whom is my very own sweetie, who will be at home, caring for our darling boys - feeding, clothing, and getting them off to school while I'm gone. Ok, so I couldn't ask for a better Valentine, I just don't get to spend the day with him :(

Best V day? Had to be when sweetie and I were courting and he sent a barbershop quartet to where I worked to Serenade me and bring me a rose. (The lads were so charmed to be on a Maternity Unit that they went round to serenade all the new moms as well) I still have the rose 12 years later. Otter
ps love the kissing self portraits.

Valentine's weekend of 1999 my boyfriend and I went to Spokane WA to stay the night at a hotel. We were at school at WSU in Pullman, but wanted to get away for an evening. We looked around the mall and ended up looking at engagement rings. He disappeared for a bit and then returned. We went to dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory and then went back to our hotel room. I wanted to take a bath, but the drain was broken, so I ended up taking a long shower. I got out of the shower and my boyfriend was looking really guilty. A few hours later we were laying in bed together and he started telling me this story about this couple where the guy wanted to propose, but his girl's father wasn't hip on the idea and so forth, but he proposed anyway. The more he kept going on, the more the story sounded familiar. And it was: it was the story of how my parents became engaged. He brought out the ring he had purchased earlier in the day and proposed to me. He had called his parents and my mom while I was in the shower. It'll be 8 years ago on Wednesday that he did this and we have two boys adn we're still together.

I've got one for you. My first serious love was my best friend from college. Let's call him J. We were friends for 8 years before we started dating. We had planned to travel to Mexico together and I left town first to go to my cousin's wedding. He dumped me a week after I left. This was in 2000. I just got married in August 2006 and J made our wedding cake!! Here's to forgiveness, lack of jealousy, and long term friendships...

My husband isn't a big believer in Valentines Day. 15 years ago, our youngest daughter nagged him enough that he went to the supermarket and bought me one rose. As this Valentines Day approaches, he is still complaining that he had to pay $3.25 for one rose! Not sure it this qualifies for the funniest or the saddest. After 38 years of marriage, I usually laugh when I tell the story. (And I have to admit that he brings me lovely jewelry whenever he travels without me.)

Hmmm... best Valentine's day... right now I would say 1991, because I was 15 and had just gotten my FIRST BOYFRIEND on Feb 13, making that my first Valentine's day with a boyfriend. But if you ask me this same question next week, I think I will say 2007, because our Valentine's day plan for this year is to go and buy rings for our upcoming wedding in May. They are all picked out, but we are saving them for Valentine's day!

My son was born on Feb 12 (5 years ago today) and I was still in the hospital on Feb 14. My hubby despite being pretty grubby after spending 3 days at my side without leaving, snuck away to buy me a miniture rose bush (which we planted in the yard) and pork lo mein which he fed to me while I fed our son. It was wonderful.

I once told my husband that I could care less about flowers on v-day. Which is kinda true, but oh how I'd love flowers on v-day! Good man that he is, he gets 'em for me anyway.

My husband doesn't care for Valentine's Day. He says he doesn't like the idea of being romantic because it is "the thing to do". However, he is one of the most romantic men that I know of. He always remembers the anniversary of our first date and the date that we got engaged, and usually plans something special. This March will be the 25th anniversary of our first date, and since that date was to the circus, he got circus tickets for us for this year (unfortunately the circus leaves several days before the actual anniversary, but...close enough!) So while Valentine's Day isn't too special, January 27th and March 27th of each year more than make up for it!

I intend to make this year a wonderful Vanentine's Day. After breaking up with my boyfriend just last week, V Day will be an official re-enty into the single world!

I guess I'll be a jerk and admit publicly that I don't much care for Valentine's Day, especially this year with my husband deployed. But I would like to say that your photos, despite the overcast and dreary weather, are stunning. The ones of you and G are especially cute.

Hi Cara,

First, it was so great to meet you on Friday night. Nice to put a real person to the blog. OK - best Valentine's Day: I had a dessert and champagne party at my New York apartment back in the mid-80s. I baked everything and had about 20 people. One person was very special to me then, but sadly we never married. It was a magical evening.

I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day, it's one of those things that I think is too commercial and puts too much pressure on men to get the women in their lives The Perfect Expensive Present.

But! You asked for the best Valentine's Day story, so here it goes. In February of 2000, my husband (then boyfriend) were living in seperate states and counting the days until he moved down (at the time, it was 14 and counting). (We were one of those internet couples, haha.) Since this was the first year that either one of us were seeing anyone for Valentine's Day, we decided to do it up right. He came down to visit, we got dressed up and went out to a fancy Italian restaurant. The food was well, meh, but being with the one I loved over a candlelight dinner for Valentine's Day for the first time wwas magical. Two weeks later he moved down and we never looked back. The next Valentine's Day, we celebrated by going to buy an engagement ring!

Years ago I hated Valentines Day. I always thought it was super cheesy. But February 14th is also my mom's birthday so thankfully my family never made a big deal about it because we celebrated her birthday instead.

3 years ago, a week before Valentine's Day, I found out I was going to be a mother. My husband and I told our families on Valentines Day. I've loved the holiday ever since.

My first valentine's day with my husband-to-be I was sick as a dog. He was a trooper, trying in vain to take care of me through my wretchedness. He attempted to cook for me and then, with all sincerity, said "Happy Thanksgiving anyway." 14 years later it's still saying in our house.

Part A: My senior year in college, I had been dating an "older guy" -- 4 years older -- for about 5 months. That means he was working and earning a salary and could take me places that a college kid could not afford. We went to a nice restaurant for dinner, but he was acting really weird and distant. The next day he broke up with me, and he told me that he waited until after V-Day because he knew how much I was looking forward to going out to this particular restaurant and he didn't want to spoil my Valentine's Day.

Part B: The "older guy" realized his mistake by about Feb 20th, and we got back together. We've now been together for over seven years and married for 2 of them. Even when he "broke up" with me and (temporarily) broke my heart, I still knew he was a nice guy for not wanting to ruin my V-Day.

My husband is far more romantic than he admits to being. One Valentine's Day, early on in our relationship (about 4 years in), he surprised me with a handmade wooden box that he crafted himself (he is a woodworker and carpenter). He marbled and stained the outside of the box and wrote our names in a heart he drew over it. It's my favorite present and sits on my bedside table today, 15 years later.

My worst Valentine's day was junior year in high school. The story is way too long for the comment box, but imagine maudlin high schoolers, and you're halfway there.

Absolutely amazing shots!

I can't really remember anything particular about any Valentine's day. I do remember that I tended to go out drinking with my friends since I was rarely in a relationship at that time of year. I have no idea why that was.

Guess I'll sit this contest out...

Welcome back!

Oh My! This doesn't have anything really to do w/ Valentine's Day, but LOVE - I LOVE LOVE LOVE that picture you posted of the beach rocks!!! LOVE, pure & simple!

One of my most favorite Valentine's Days was two years ago. It was a cold night, and my husband--who is an excellent cook--made filet mignon and creme brulee for me and our two kids (then 12 and 9). Sitting at our table, with our fancy china, candles, and a delicious, special meal, I felt so loved and fortunate to be not just part of a couple, but part of a wonderful family. I still feel just as lucky!

The Valentine's Day I would share is way back from my college days, about 36 years ago! My boyfriend (now my husband) was temporarily going to a different college close to his home, and I would probably not see him for months. (No internet or cell phones back then either.) He sent me a dozen red roses which were delivered to my sorority and all my friends drooled over how romantic it was. I cried because I missed him so much, and I'll always cherish the memory. Later we were reunited and finished college together, got married, raised 2 great kids and are now growing old together. That's what it's all about.

You're right - re-entry is a bitch! What gorgeous pics you've shared, though - and my fave is the last one, of G kissing you. Love your grin!

V-Day is kind of a non-event for me these days b/c my wedding anniversary comes 4 days before it, and we make a much bigger deal out of that. I have a really happy V-Day memory of my first kiss with a long-term boyfriend I started dating in college, but it seems sort of not right to think of old flames when I'm happily married.

So I guess the V-Day memory I'll share is my first married Valentine's Day, which happened on my honeymoon. We went to Jamaica and My Old Man accidentally left the Valentine's Day card he'd gotten for me in our car back in the states. So on V-Day, he got a tube of my lipstick and wrote I

Best - the year my single girlfriend and I threw a lonley hearts valentine's day party and only invited single people. When you walked through the door, you got half a playing card and you had to find the other half at the party. We both hooked up that night, as did many of our friends.

Worst - my first with DH - when we were dating. He was self conscious about his present (which was the best I'd ever gotten - before and after!) and was in a foul mood. We went out, ate oysters and I proceeded to vomit for the next 8 hours. We laugh about it now, but at the time it was miserable.

Um, somehow my message above got truncated. What I tried to say was that my husband wrote "I heart U" (with a heart, though) on his chest with my lipstick, and presented himself to me as my Valentine's Day card. It was totally cute and goofy (though I was stupidly bummed about how much of my good lipstick he used up doing it!).

Add us to the crowd who would rather go out for a nice dinner some other night when it's not so crowded. But for the boys we usually have a fun dessert on Valentines day.

My favorite Valentines day memories are from back in college when a friend and I had sort of an anti-V-day tradition of spending it together making cookies, eating half the dough before we baked them, and watching "Shirley Valentine." Fun times!

My hubby proposed the week before V-Day and we spent V-Day at a wonderful resturant, Bainbridges in Chelmsford, MA. It was a wonderful day!

Yay! Great photos. I've been longing to do Big Sur in winter, and now I'm longing to do it even more....

It's all too easy to recall my worst Valentine's Day. I'd had a couple of dates with a guy named James, and he asked me out again for Valentine's Day. I was supposed to meet him at a restaurant near the university. I dressed up cute and got there on time, and of course the place was packed with students on dates. I waited. Waited some more. Kept waiting until it was quite obvious I'd been stood up.

The best Valentine's Day? Any day of the year with my husband. We don't officially celebrate Valentine's Day because we both have too many memories like the James story--and because we don't need the reminder of a holiday to give each other special treatment.

I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. But it now has a special meaning because on 2/14/00 I learned that I was pregnant with my first child. ;)

The very best one will be this year, because my husband is coming home from his LONG business trip a day early in order not to miss spending it with me. :-)

You and G are just so darned cute.

Very lovely pictures. Sounds like you had a great time.

Well I will stay on the positive side with this one.

My best Valentines day so far was in 2005. My Son was just a little over a month old. He was being so cuddly and snuggly all day. My husband made dinner for me that night after he got off work and we spent a nice time on the couch together as a family cuddled up under a blanket watching a movie. It was nice to spend a relaxing day/evening especially being a first time mom.

Hope you have a wonderfuly Valentines Day and that your boy gets home soon.

My best valentines will be this coming one. I married my hubby Aug 6 2006, so this will be our first married v-day. We'll probably drink champagne and eat pizza and just be happy. V-day is no big deal for us, we love each other everyday.

My worst V-day was with my first serious boyfriend, I was 17 and very much smitten.

The boy had mentioned once that he had always wanted a Mickey Mouse watch and I decided to get him one for valentines day. It took a few months to save up the $75 for the reproduction Mickey Mouse Watch which I nervously gave him along with a small heart shaped box of chocolates. He was thrilled to bits and gave me my gift...a faux wood jewelery box with a broken lid he found for .25 cents at a thrift store which he filled with $1.75 worth of "jewelery" and gum balls from the grocery store vending machine across from the thrift shop. I only know all of this because he boasted about how cheaply he "got out of V-day" to our friends in front of me.

I wish I could say this was my only crappy V-Day but sadly it served to just set the tone for future ones like the year that the Mother of the guy I was dating gave me some lingerie!!! After that I stopped celebrating it except to go to the stores the next day and buy a few boxes of my favorite chocolates at half off.

Best Valentine: Freshman year of high school, 2003. Made Biotines for biology. Mine was to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecelia" on "Cillia: You move me along." Made STD Poetry as an alternative, although feared that showing those to my teacher would result in her fainting. That evening, I was text messaging a friend (the times we live in), and "officially" started my first relationship.

This year: Finally happy being single, able to feel like an independant person. Making scandelous Valentines by cutting out the dirty passages of erotica novels and incorporating them into heart-shaped cards. Oh, and taking a music theory test and a German Prufung....

One of my favorite memories of Valentines Day is the year my best friends (two couples and my hubby and I) and I had an all-red party. We wore red, we drank red wine, we ate red meat and had roasted beets with red onions, and a radicchio salad, and ate red velvet cake for dessert. One of my friends even dyed her hair red for the occasion.

I moved away from these friends, and miss them terribly. I love them too, and was so happy to spend a Valentines Day with them.

i think one of my best valentines days was two years ago. my hubby and i had just gotten married, and right before that we had just re-located back to the u.s. after living in the u.k. for a year. my husband didn't have is permanent resident visa yet and couldn't work; i was just temping at the time, still looking for a permanent job. we were po'. so we didn't go out that night, but we broke out the fondue set we got as a wedding gift that we had kind of laughed about, and we melted some chocolate, got some bananas and oranges and apples, and had a nice little romantic evening in. we've certainly had more elaborate and fancy valentines days but i'll always remember that one because it was just us, getting through the tough times, and making the best of a situation together.

that doesn't mean i'm not looking forward to going out to a fancy restaurant this wednesday though!

I met my husband through mutual friends during my senior year in high school. The week after graduation, we started dating when he told me he wanted to marry me. I laughed at him and told him he was nuts. We joked about what we would name our kids. Six months later we were officially engaged. Four months later we were married. Two years later our first daughter was born. Her name is Violet - the name we picked on the day we started dating. We'll be married ten years this April.

I have a feeling this one is going to be my best Valentine's Day Ever! (But more on that later...)

Thanks so much for taking us on vacation with you. I feel so relaxed!

this isnt' a story about a love, but rather a tradition my mom started for us, for valentines.
she would decorate the kitchen and give us gifts of "red"--red cinnamon hearts, red candy and..wait for it..red underwear.
it started as a joke in highschool and continued up until college. i remember getting my package in the mail from my mom a box full of gifts individually wrapped in red and pink tissue paper.
i opened it in class and shared the candy with my friends. i totally forgot about the tradition until the last little package fell out and rolled across the floor.
everyone watched as i opened...red underwear.
i didn't share that gift with my friends.
my mom died 6 years ago and i always laugh when i think about the red underwear tradition.
maybe i'll buy some this year.....

One of my best Valentine's Days was the year I moved to Boston. I didn't really know anyone yet, but I was feeling very empowered by the changes I'd made. So, I made a Valentine's date with myself and went to see "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" with a big box of Junior Mints. My new roommate wanted to come, but I was clear that I was going solo. It still amuses me -- almost 20 years later -- to think of going to see that movie alone on Valentine's Day. Also, I've never thought of gazpacho the same way again. Tee hee. Glad you had a good trip!

Well this story has it all, funny (appernently for some), first love, worst valentine.

My boyfriend at the time was 7 years older than me and was old enough to enter the strip club, while I could not (under age and all). So on Feb 13th he went out with his buddies to the local joint. Fine, I was ok with that. Of course that was before he gave me his valentine. He thought it would be oh so funny to give me a picture of himself with the stripper and her personal message, "Happy Valentines day, Love "EX JERK" & "Bambi Big Boobs". Amazingly I never married him! Funny he still isn't married, go figure.

The two best Valentine's gifts ever, one is currenly taped to my desk at work where I can see it everyday "I love you mommy" from my most recent pre-schooler, and the other is on my shelf in my bedroom from my now 11 year old valentine.

Last year I was shopping with my husband a few weeks before V-Day, and as we wandered through the jewelry section of the store on our way to somewhere else, I touched a necklace and said, "I like this, it's pretty." He sneaked back and got it for me, brought it to my office on V-day and wrote Happy Valentine's Day on my whiteboard. Goofy, but I left it there until we moved to a new office.

Fabulous pictures Cara, thanks for sharing them.

I think my first Valentine's Day with my husband sort of put a pallor on the celebration of the day ever since. The first Valentine's Day of our married lives had him deployed in the CARRIBEAN and me digging out of a snowstorm in MAINE. While he was enjoying the warmth and sunshine (and the rum) in the Carribean I was trying to figure out how one raised in Florida navigated 30 inches of snow. Good times.

No Valentine's Day really stands out as the "best", so I'll tell you about my worst. We'd been together for four years already, but last year was going to be our first Valentine's Day "on our own". I was going to cook a special dinner for us and we were going to go to the movies, but the week before Valentine's he woke up covered in sores & what looked like the Chicken Pox. It turned out he'd (somehow, we have no idea how) caught Coxsackie. He ended up spending over two weeks in misery at his parent's house (our son was two and we were all terrified that he would get sick, too) and I spent Valentine's Day without my sweetie.

This year I'll probably try again, but I'm not making any decisions until the actual day arrives. I don't want to jinx it!

Oh, and those photos are so lovely! The last two are so sweet. :)

Oh, those are gorgeous pictures! I love that multicoloured sand/water shot with the brown and reds...I spy a design/colourway inspiring picture ;)

On the V-day front, I wish I had a story for you. I have never once had an eventful Valentine's day, nor even a Valentine dude to speak of. Most of them pass me by in a blur of attempted non-self-pity and hanging out with friends - but at the end of it I DO get to have the same candy at 50% off on the 15th, which is of course the most important thing ;)

I personally don't care for Valentine's Day. I don't like the commercial aspect, the pressure, and the busyness of every good restaurant in town on that night. My hubby feels the same way, so we don't celebrate it. One year however, he brought home a dozen red roses for me. I don't expect to get them again, but maybe sometime he will surprise me. He buys me flowers on lots of other random days though, so I really don't mind at all.

Best Valentine's Day? It's this one. Yup, the one that's two days away. I have nothing planned and won't be with my girl in person, but it's still the best because it's going to be the first one where we're 'together'. And I'm okay with us not being in the same space on Wednesday because I have never, ever felt so certain and so sure that I am loved and that I love someone.

Hmm.. I've loved reading your blog and this is my first time commenting.

Valentines day last year... was a little rocky, and hard to explain.

I can say I am still deeply in love with the man I met seven years ago at Narita airport. We met over the internet and he flew all the way to Japan to meet me for the first time and we've gotten along well since then. :)

I hope you have a happy Valentines Day!

my TWIN!! where have you been all my life? i had a fucking blast on friday. how is it that you have 48 comments already? good lordie. i miss you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! is that possible?

Big Sur is so pretty...my uncle secretly went and got married there a year or two ago!

My best Valentine's Day...Well the last two pretty much tie, as '05 was my first date with the boy and I knocked him out with my Chocolate-Chili Pots de Creme. Worked like a charm. '06 was our first anniversary, my first relationship anniversary ever (hey i was only 20). We got a bottle of Cliquot. '07? Might top them yet! Man, I am crazy about him.

Hrm. I'll do one of the best because I've had far too many non-existant ones.

When I was 18 I had just broken up with my boyfriend but we were still good friends. On Valentine's day he called and invited me to dinner. He cooked me (from scratch) a good Italian dinner and bought me roses and a box of Almond Rocha. After dinner he got his two best friends to serenade me from the front yard (and they were in choir so they sounded really good). And then the three of us spent the rest of the evening laughing and dancing and playing Monopoly. It was low key and casual and my best Valentine's day so far.

Those pictures are, as ever, beautiful. Nice to see the Pacific again, even in photographs.

my TWIN!! where have you been all my life? i had a fucking blast on friday. how is it that you have 48 comments already? good lordie. i miss you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! is that possible?
much love ~ no blog hannah

aw, cara - beautiful pictures!

valentine's day still isn't very big in norway which is just as well seeing as the husband is out of the country this week. hmpf.

Well, since I am currently going through a divorce right now, I am not especially looking forward to V. Day. In fact, I am dreading it. It seems like the whole world is in love when you are not.

However, after seeing your romantic pictures, I have hope that there is the right guy out there for me, one who is a hopeless romantic like me, who appreciates all the socks I will make him and buys me tulips when it is 30 degrees below zero.

I have yet to see what he's going to do this year, if anything, but last year my sweetie surprised me at work with a red rose and a stuffed daschund (I want a real one, he's not ready for a dog yet, so this was as close as I could get).

The one that got away:

He asked for a date, but he got a square. I didn't know how to navigate anything between friendship and couplehood, so I forced myself to play it cool. I wore an old t-shirt and bouncy ponytail in the early spring sunshine.

He wore a ribbed mock-neck sweater. It was burgundy. I was flattered by the date sweater, but it made me nervous too.

So I said: What is yellow and equivalent to the axiom of choice, and he immediately responded: Zorn's lemon. I thought: he knows my favourite, stupid jokes. This must be the man of my dreams.

But he was intense, more focussed than I, and I was moving across the country.

I have found love elsewhere, but I lost a friend when I pushed him away.

I am weird about entering blog contests - I generally avoid it, but I have news for this one. This year is the best. I quietly married my Brad on Friday. I don't think we need to do anything specifically this Wednesday, but it's just a happy time for us to celebrate love.

Sigh...no wonder it's hard to get back into the swing of real life. What a wonderful time you must have had!

You always think of the best questions for your contests! It's rare that I want to read through someone's comments, but your always bring out wonderful stories.

I'll try to keep this concise. V-Day 2004. I had broken up with a long term boyfriend the week before and was still feeling pretty crappy. It was a saturday night and my favorite monthly dance night was happening at a local bar; I had planned to meet some friends there. I was hesitant about going but finally decided that it would cheer me up to go. By the time I got there, it was late and my friends left shortly therafter. I was really enjoying the music, so I just danced by myself and let all of my thoughts fall away. Eventually, I noticed a really tall, gangly guy was dancing right near me. We got a little closer, basically started dancing with each other without making any physical contact. After a few songs, it was clear that he wasn't about to say anything, so I learned over to him and said "Did you have a good Valentine's Day?"
"No. Did you?"
"No. What's your name?"
It was really loud from the music, so I thought he said "Elmo." I asked him if that was no his name.
He replied, "No, it's Omar. Like Omar Shariff!"
I ended up giving him my number. Long story short, we now live together and we're looking forward to celebrating our 3rd anniversary on Wednesday.

Not a V-Day story, but one of heartbreak and love connections, for sure:

I went away for the summer to work at a place a few hours away from where I lived. I met a boy there and developed a huge crush on him. The problem was that I had a boyfriend I had been dating for 4 years and thought I was going to marry. On one of his visits we went to see "American Wedding" (his choice) and I realized while watching that silly movie that I didn't wany to marry my boyfriend.

I broke up with my boyfriend, and was quite happy after that with the new guy (we're still dating). The real kicker was this: my ex had bought a house in my neighborhood before we broke up, and I had to spend the next 2 years living 4 doors down from him. I don't recommend it!

Until I started dating my husband, I had never actually been dating anyone on a Valentine's day, a source of grumpiness for me. One year, my Mom and I were taking a mother-daughter trip to England, leavng on Feb. 14th. I remember the day before she gave me a card that said, "If Mr. Perfect hasn't shown up by Valentine's day, let's go to England!" It was so sweet because it made me happy to know that Mr. Perfect was not going to show up that year.

Since I've been with my husband, I really can't pick one V-day that's been the best because he is consistently wonderful every year. I am looking forward to this year, though. We're going to have a romantic overnight stay in La Jolla, CA.

Wow! Amazing photos!

My best valentines's day was my first year with my husband. He surprised me with dinner and tickets a favorite band for a show that night! Good times!

Many people wil say that "love at first sight" is just a myth. I often beg to differ: love at first sight may not guaranteed by any means, but there's got to be something to "interest at first sight".

I can still remember the instant my now-husband came swaggering towards my friend and I, sitting in a hall of our high school as we all cut an assembly, before I even knew his name. I remember his hiking boots and goofy large glasses. I remember how he was polite to me, and how talked with my friend about medieval warfare (he's still that kind of geek). I don't remember what I really thought of him then, other than that he was the cool guy who could teach us fencing. We met in the halls the next day, the lunchroom the next, for a fencing lesson with a few friends that weekend... and at least once a day for the next two weeks (including weekends). Despite me having a "boyfriend" at the time, we got together after about a month or so. A few months later we moved in together (yes, we were still teens). We stuck together through hard times, made mistakes, grew up together, made things work.

We've been together ever since, going into our 13th (!) year together, and were "legally wed" just last August. Did I love him at first sight? Maybe not. But I certainly love him now, more than ever.

16 years ago, looking at the Valentine's Day cards and feeling so sad because none of them applied to whatever it was that was happening with me and my husband. Fast forward 3 years: divorced, realizing that it had been premonition, those Valentine's Day cards. A new man in my life who is -- how to say it -- just my truest love, and ALL the cards apply to us and don't because they can't say it or say it just right. And today, married to him for 12 years it is still true. There is love out there. Don't stop believing.

Well I have a funniest V-day story.

So in college my roommate had a very cute older brother and we dated for a bit. Well valentines day he came down and we had a couple of bottles of red wine around so we thought we would toast and drink and enjoy eachothers company. We were about a bottle and a half in and he turns to me and says, "Stacy wow you are really red"
I return, "Oh I know I can get a bit flushed drinking"
BF, "No really you are RED"
Me, "Yeah I said I get flushed kinda weird huh"
This went on for at least 15 minutes.
BF, "Ummm NO I MEAN YOU LOOK LIKE A FIRETRUCK!"
Me, "WTF you talking about man" as I go to the bathroom to look only finding myself BRIGHT FREAKING RED WITH HIVES ALL OVER!!!!

So yeah the one year in many years I have a BF at the time of Valentines Day and I get no lovin' I am FREAKING ALLERGIC to red wine!!!!!! FREAKING ALLERGIC - HIVES and bad breathing for two days sick as a dog.

It was Lovely simply lovely.

Best Valentines...first v-day with hubster in maui 2 months after we met...but yeah I got the flu two days later...but v-day was rad!

I don't have a best or worst Valentine's Day, but I do have a hilarious story. My husband is a typical PhD (inorganic chemistry) - lots of brains but tends to miss out on practical details and tends to forget information not considered pertinent to his mental database.

One year in our marriage he gave me a really nice card with a caveman on it. Cute card, nice sentiment. The next year, he gave me the same card. Had no memory of buying said card the year before. Two years go by and last year - yep, same card. I pulled out the other two and he did one of those "aw shucks" moves and told me he thought it looked a little familiar. (And no, he isn't faking it just to be funny. He can't keep a straight line to himself.)

Good thing it's a good card.

I hear you on re-entry -- it sucks. So glad you had fun.
As for Valentine's Day, well, when I was growing up VD was a holiday at our house much like Christmas. My mother got gifts for all of us, plus candy. I always got a nightgown in addition to other gifts. And we'd have a very special dinner, too. I have great memories of those valentine's days with my family.

Worst: Two years ago, I proudly wore my Charlotte's Web to work, her maiden voyage off the needles. I went to a little Italian grocer to pick up some pasta after work. I took off my coat because it was 60 degrees or so. Put the coat in the car. (Charlotte was on under the coat.) Got back in the car. Started driving home.

Charlotte was GONE.

I raced back to the shop. No Charlotte. Back to work. No Charlotte. I cried. Cried and cried and cried. Got home to my boyfriend (now husband), who told me he had bought me fancy chocolates. It was the smallest box possible of Russell Stover's and I freaking lost it. (I had asked for GOOD chocolate.) I sobbed the rest of the night. Hands down, worst ever.

Aw, you two are so cute!! I'm glad you had such a nice break!!

I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day, being the mostly single type. My best v-days are usually the ones where I ignore that it's v-day, but I did have one fab one that I spent with two great friends, exploring DC and finding a disco bowling place where the DJ played the electric slide and everyone in the place got up and danced. TOO FUN!

welcome home cara!

well my best v-day thus far happened back in HS. We played a huge basketball game against our biggest rival and actually won. (we're talking a huge losing drought here, it was at least 7 years...) I then went straight after the big win to visit my boyfriend in college who gave me a brown paper bag (a la Shoprite) filled with silly gifts. He tried to spruce it up by drawing a huge heart with a red sharpie marker on the front. It was priceless. I thought then and now (still dating same BF, oh it's been 8 years now) that that was the best V-Day ever.

Haha, worst Valentines Day ever? I was dating a barista at Starbucks. He had told me the week before that he had the evening of Valentines Day off, and then the day of, he called to tell me that he instead had to close, but he would take me out afterwards. So I showed up at the cafe around 10:00 (when they close), and it turned out that the other person had to leave early for a date and bailed on my boy. He ended up having to stay til after 11:00 cleaning the place up. By the time he got off, he told me he was just too tired to do anything, and he had forgotten my gift at home anyway. So I just gave him his gift (a very nice box of chocolates and a hardcover version of Beowulf, his favorite epic story of all time) and went home. A very lousy Valentines Day all-around. :)

I have a worst one -

Three days before my wedding, the guy decided he wasn't "ready" to get married.

Yay another contest!

I think my best Valentine's Day was a few years ago when I was in teacher's college. I was going to school close to forty hours a week and working at a nursing home on the weekends. I was stressed out to the max. My husband and I decided to break the bank and go to a inn and spa in northern Ontario for a night. We had massages, excellent food and our company.

We don't get many chances to splurge on our relationship as he works for The Salvation Army and I'm a substitute teacher so I will always remember how relaxed and content I felt on that little trip.

Is it bad to say that my best V-day memory is with an ex and not my hubby?!?! I was dating a guy right after college, who was an ex of an ex roommate of mine, and he surprised me with tickets to see the Phantom of the Opera in Toronto! Train tickets up, overnight hotel, and dinner at a very romantic French restaraunt. It was just such a lovely little mini trip that I will always remember even if the guy faded away!!

Let's see...I'll probably be retelling this story on my own blog on Wednesday, but I don't mind giving a sneak peak.

My first Valentine's Day with Bradon, my now-fiance, was on a Friday. I came home from work for lunch and discovered a path of rose petals leading from the front door to the bedroom. Our bed (a huge, faux-wrought-iron canopy bed) was covered in rose petals and had a note on it that told me to pack an overnight bag and be ready to leave shortly after 7:00, when he would be home from work. There was a lot of squealing and (happy) crying as I stuffed a duffel bag with clothes and toiletries.

I was treated to an excellent sushi dinner and an evening in a suite in a very posh hotel downtown, complete with more rose petals and all of my favorite things. Up until that day, I'd hated Valentine's Day with a passion - now, I look forward to it!

I think the best will be this year. I am going to be cooking for the guy that I am dating a few days after valentine's day. I have quite a few bad memories of valentine's day so I can't wait to make some good ones with this new man! I'm still figuring out what to make, but I think it will be delicious and we will have a fantastic weekend together :)

The pictures are wonderful and it makes me want to take a vacation even more now!

Cara--I actually don't want any more yarn (the house might explode), but I just wanted to add a nice happy V-day story. My husband came and found me on a Valentine's day after searching for all the "Laura's" in our dorm in college. He had met me a few weeks before and decided that he had to find me and ask me out even though he didn't know my last name. And, he still asked me out even though I was doing homework on a weekend/holiday night.

Beautiful photos. I have some from a week I spent in Tofino with my parents back in 2002, and it was nice to be reminded of them by looking at yours! The image of the sand is beautiful. It's the kind where you're not sure if it's a close up or taken from an airplane, you know? I love that kind of abstraction. Don't you think that would make a nice colourway? :)

As for Valentines Day... well, I think this one coming up will certainly be interesting. I have been married 5 years, together for 10, and this year my husband is on vacation at an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic. With his buddy, our neighbour. Without me. The only thing that is making me laugh about it is that people will probably think they're a couple... If you knew him you'd find that funny too! I guess our son and I will have a nice dinner (well, as nice as you can with a 3 year old) and call it a party. Yee haw.

When I was in kindergarden, we always gave out those Snoopy(TM) cards with those crappy envelopes that never stayed shut, to every kid in the class. I had already done my duty and gone home and had dinner and gotten ready for bed when there was a knock on the door. My mom answered, and I came to the top of the stairs in my nightie. There was Chris Sullivan from up the street and his dad. Chris wanted to hand deliver a crappy Snoopy card to me in an envelope that wouldn't stay shut. When I opened it, after they left, I saw that he had written "i

I never acknowledged his 5-year old love for me, but I kept that card for years in the Top Secret box.

I don't have a best or worst Valentine's Day, but there is certainly a memorable one. My BF took me to a sushi dinner at one of the best places in town--authentic, run by a little old Japanese grandpa, and totally delicious. We let the owner talk us into ordering the special sushi of the day--sea urchin. Although the rest of the dinner was lovely, let's just say that sea urchin looks like a small orange brain, tastes like a small orange brain, and I'll never, ever eat sea urchin again.

Beware, I am a bitter bitter soul.

My best valentines day was 2 years ago. I'd never received any valentines (despite having a boyfriend... he just wasn't a romantic... or faithful) and that year I got a rose from my best guy friend. They'd already finished handing out the roses at school, so I figured I was safe. But alas, it was not to be.

He was basically the only person I really didn't want to get a valentine from. There was no name on the card but I knew, I just KNEW it was him from the quote. "We few, we happy few, we band of buggered" ( we loved the Vampire Slayer). I never spoke to him again after that (not my fault, mutual friends had a falling out and we chose different sides), but it was my best valentine because it taught me a lesson. It made it very clear to me that if you just wanted to be friends with a guy, he just wasn't going to get it. He was a nice kid.

My worst one was the day my boyfriend sent another GUY a dozen roses. EXCUSE ME?!

I am sure you can imagine what my comment should have said - maybe I shouldn't use brackets in my text, your site thinks it should be html. Anyway, "i [heart] you."

The vast majority of Valentine's days I didn't have a significant other. Then I had one, but he wasn't the right guy, and none of the Valentine's days really stand out. Now I have a *wonderful* guy (we started dating last June), but this February 14th he's in New York and I'm in Winnipeg. However, every day with him is romantic. Two in particular stand out.

The first is a day in June that we spent walking around Central Park. It was a perfectly wonderful day... he even rowed me around the pond. :) It happened to fall on our first "date" (which was actually around five or six days long... we define a "date" as being a time at which one of us is visiting the other, since we live far apart).

The second really romantic day was in November, the Friday after Thanksgiving, a few days before I had to go home from our third "date". We walked along Fifth Avenue, looked at Christmas displays, went to Rockafeller Center and to a Christmas market.

I feel like I'm in my own personal chick flick when I'm with my J. :)

I'm glad you had such a fantastic time on your vacation! Your photos are lovely. (As always. ;) )

That multicolored sand is AMAZING. Somehow or other, I must knit it.

My love story isn't about Valentine's Day. Go read this post (sorry, but ya gotta) and try to imagine how, in my place, you would have gotten through a single day of the last eight years without the sustaining warmth of your one true love. If you can do it, you're a better woman than I.

A Slim Jim once saved my Valentine's Day . . . and maybe my "life." Let me explain: back in 1991, the Flyer and I were celebrating our first Valentine's Day together, as well as the impending birth of our children. Something went a little wrong earlier in the week with my blood work and they asked me to come in for a full gestational diabetes test. I had to fast for 12 hours and then have close to one pint of blood withdrawn over the next five hours. After I was done, they sent me on my way without so much as a cookie or an orange juice. I would assume that the ladies in the clinic would have noted - "being tested for gestational diabetes, high risk pregnancy of twins" - but tha twould be asking too much. Silly me . . . I then went grocery shopping for a "romantic" dinner for the Flyer and our roommate, Bob. Standing in line at Kroger's was when the lack of food and blood hit me. My head started to spin, I broke out into a cold sweat, and grabbed the cart for support. The cashier, who saw all this, tore open a Slim Jim and literally forced it down my throat. A few minutes later and I was good to go cook really bad chicken, even worse rice pilaf and passable grasshopper pie. Not a Valentine's Day goes by when I am not tempted to Snap Into a Slim Jim.

Awww, how cute are you two?? Seriously, so cute!
My favorite love story is from when I got engaged. It's here: http://fidget.prettyposies.com/archives/000113.html

I just reread it and felt really lucky, all over again. Happy romantic readings!

My worst V-day by far was exactly 10 years ago.I went out to a Japanese place with my then bf; we were having a fight, and then two hours later, he got food poisoning (I didn't). All I could think of to do for him was offer him saltines and pepto-bismal, to little avail. We broke up a little while after that when he confessed he'd accidentally gotten someone pregnant. Don't worry; I'm totally over it.

Your pictures are breath-taking.

January 1st 2006, I gave up my apartment to move in with my boyfriend. We hadn’t even finished unpacking all of my things when, two weeks later, he was unexpectedly called to active duty from the Navy reserves. He had thought that his unit was unlikely to be deployed any time soon. As it turns out, he was right. His unit wasn’t deployed. He had been plucked out singly because of his rank and qualifications to serve with the Army in Afghanistan. I was devastated.

We busied ourselves preparing him for training and me for managing the new household alone. Plus there were all the emotions of the impending separation. It was a chaotic time. We had talked about marriage both before and after the awful news. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him but I was still on the fence about getting engaged. Not because I questioned my love for him, but because of my obsessive compulsive need to overanalyze and plan every situation. On one hand, I didn’t want getting engaged to be just another item on the growing pre-deployment checklist. I wanted it to be special. On the other hand, it seemed utterly ridiculous to send the man I loved into harm’s way without some formal acknowledgement of our commitment to one another just because his deployment interfered with my storybook imaginary concept of what our engagement was supposed to be like.

Valentine’s Day was around the corner. He started dropping hints that he was going to ask me to marry him. He kept talking about the big Valentine’s present he had but was nervous to give me. That morning, he handed me a huge heavy box. It was an assortment of books and movies and music. The theme being things to keep myself occupied while he was away. It was very sweet and thoughtful but it was not an engagement ring. I was squirrelly all day at work, thinking the proposal had to be coming at dinner. Wrong again. I was disappointed and afraid that I had put him off with my waffling. Two days later, he proposed and I accepted. Valentine’s Day had been a ruse to throw me off his tracks. He was trying to preserve a shred of surprise for me!

This Valentine’s Day I am anxiously awaiting his return (just a few short months – fingers crossed!). Last Valentine’s Day was a little of the best and the worst. This last year has been difficult without a doubt, but it has also helped me to be thankful for the truly important things in life. We are so fortunate to have found one another. This year apart is just one tiny fraction of the lifetime that we will share.

I love all the pics of your trip and you and your honey. Thank you for sharing.

I guess my best Valentine's Day was the one right before we had our older daughter. My husband had been deployed the year before. I don't remember anything special that we did, just the joy of knowing my beloved was safe with me and that were about to begin a new part of our lives together.

First of all, I love the photos.

Best V-Day was actually after I broke up with my fiance in college. My b-day is 1-25 and we broke up that day (it was my 21st)and it was a hard b-day. I was in a co-ed fraternity and on Valentine's Day, my sisters in the fraternity and I all went out for dinner. And all of the brothers showed up and gave us roses. Those who had boyfriends or girlfriends brought them along and we all had fun together. I also realized that night that in the 2-1/2 years that my ex and I had been together, he had never done anything for either my birthday or V-Day. I got lucky in that way. I realized that year that V-Day is about being with those who mean something to you even if they are just friends.

Beautiful photos!

My best Valentine's Day was Valentine's Day my freshman year of college. I had just started dating my boyfriend a couple months earlier, so I didn't really expect much...Well, I don't even remember all that happened that day but I was treated so well the whole day. My boyfriend wrote a really sweet note and put a line of Hershey Kisses on the floor from the door to the bed and he sneakily tucked my favorite candy bar into my coat pocket. It was one of the most thoughtful, sweet, romantic Valentine's Days I've ever had.

I have a good "how I met my husband story". A bunch of friends and I were at our local bar planning our camping trip for that weekend, when one of the waitresses ran up to me and grabbed me by the arm and told me to follow her. I schlepped behind her to the men's bathroom and saw this guy completely covered in blood, with a large gash over his eyebrow. Turns out he was "Drinking and Walking" that night and decided to kiss the curb on his way home. Being a nurse, I quickly assesed the injury, and decided it should be stitched up, and looked at by a doctor at the hospital. This guy was completely drunk and was adamant that under no circumstances was he getting in an ambulance. I told him it was a possibility that he had a bad concussion, and that if he went home drunk to sleep it off, he might not wake up. He still insisted he was fine, so I turned to walk out and go home. A couple of steps away I realized it would be irresponsible of me to let him go home like that, so I went back and offered to take him myself. After about 5 minutes of convincing, he finally got in my car, and we drove to the hospital. As I suspected he needed stitches, and just about bolted from the bed when the doctor came in with the needle to freeze him up. He looked at me and pleaded for me to stay so he could squeeze my hand, cause he was terrified of needles (big baby ). I agreed, and sat there while he cut the circulation off from my right hand. When all this was done, the doctor informed him that it was best to make sure he was not alone overnight (since he had a concussion, and was obliterated). He had just moved to my town a month ago, and didn't know too many people. I agreed to sleep on his couch and make sure he woke up in the morning.
On our way out of the ER we were walking to my car, and he stopped me, looked me straight in the eye and said "Thanks so much for being so nice to me." And he kissed me on the cheek. The next morning he woke up, and made me breakfast. He asked what I had planned for the weekend, and I said I was going camping. "Do you want to come along?" I asked. He agreed, so I gave him my number and went home. Turns out, he showed up at my place that night with 40 long stem roses, and asked me if I would consider ditching my camping trip, and have dinner with him. The rest is history, we were married 2 years almost to the day we met. I love him more and more as we grow older. He always tells his friends and family that he really "fell head over heels for me." Had my husband not been such a clutz, we would have never met. Fate is a powerful thing I tell ya.

The Big Sur pictures are wonderful. They made my day.

Worst Valentine's Day:
My ex and I had filed for divorce at the end of December. Indeed, I had chosen that path because I couldn't continue to be the only one trying to save our marriage, but on Valentine's Day I was still grieving.

We ran a dinner train. He used his employee credits to have a family event on the Valentine's Day train. Despite the disparaging remarks by the on-board services manager, I worked hard during train prep to ensure that he had a nice event because it was the right thing to do. I sent his party a round of his favorite, expensive cordial. The "family" he was entertaining were the parents and siblings of his *GIRLFRIEND*. Essentially all of the staff knew, but they were trying to protect me. When I found out, I felt so stupid.

Best:

Every day with the love of my life, the man I consider to be my real husband.

How my husband and I met is a long, complicated story. To sum it up: I had a crush on him not knowing who he was and he had a crush on me not knowing who I was. The exact same day we both asked a mutual friend about each other, each having no idea about the other. The mutual friend introduced us a day later and we've been together ever since. 12 years last weekend. I think it was meant to be.

I haven't had a lot of chances to really fall in love. I tend to just pick the wrong sort of fellow to be interested in, honestly. But the strangest fellow was the one I asked out to the movies about three years ago.

Hellboy was out and I may be a good Christian girl but I like my action movies. Girly movies make me irritable and uncomfortable and so when B and I met outside the theaters, I figured that he being a guy would be happy to hear that I would be all for seeing "Hellboy". After all, it's the perfect guy movie, right?

Apparently not this guy's movie. He squirmed, he reddened, he said he would rather not see "Heck Boy" (as he called it) and suggested that we instead see the latest Scooby-Doo movie. It was a little hard to comprehend. How could he NOT want to go see Hellboy? But he balked and there was no way I was stepping into a Scooby Doo movie. So we finally compromised by watching Ella Enchanted.

Of course, Mr. Twilight Zone wasn't done astounding me yet. During the previews for Ella Enchanted they featured a Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie. And so I huddled down and did my best to endure it when I hear B go "Awesome! I can't wait to see this movie!" I turned and stared at him, absolutely baffled. "What?" "Oh yeah, I love the Olsen twins!" he said excitedly. "Oh. Okay." I said and spent the rest of the movie keeping my opinions and my hands to myself.

It was the most bizarre date I had EVER been on and though I still doubt he's actually gay, I do think he is the STRANGEST kid I have ever met.

Brr!

My fiancee and I celebrate the anniversary of our first date (2/8) rather than valentine's day. Our first date was coffee at Starbucks, were I had a grande nonfat caramel macchiato. On our three year anniversary last thursday, he brought me roses and a pink starbucks travel mug with the drink I ordered on our first date- a nonfat caramel macchiato. He remembered! I have the most thoughtful partner I could ask for.

I am in the don't-celebrate camp. I think I joined that camp from having my feelings hurt too many times in a previous relationship. So I just steeled myself and told the whole world that I hated Valentine's Day! My husband who is the love of my life has taken this to heart and knows not to get anything or schedule any special dinners. Now that we've been together forever, I'm starting to re-think my hard & fast I-hate-Valentine's-Day rule but can't really change my mind now without looking like an utter fool or, worse, a gimme girl. So there will be no big (or small) romantic gestures here on Wednesday other than the ones we make on a daily basis (and thankfully those are plentiful). Ain't love grand!?!

I so totally understand the feeling of missing your man when you have to spend a few hours apart after you got used to having him around all the time! My boyfriend and I are both freelancers working from home, so we spend all of our days together. Last fall, I had a one-month contract for which I had to work out of home five hours a day, and I was missing him so much! The contract was great, but that was one of the reasons why I was happy when it was over!
A Valentine's Day story? Well, I guess there are a couple I could have told, but all I have in mind right now is the one coming, and I'm thinking about what an ordinary day it will be for us. And, thinking of it, I just realised it will be just like any other day precisely because every day here is like Valentine's Day! Really, this is how it feels like over here! I know, I'm a lucky girl...

Oh, and I meant to say, Cara, your photos are wonderful (as usual). I especially love the Schindler's List-ian one of the rocks. And of course the ones of the 2 of you. Very cute. Do you mind telling what camera you use?

i would have to say the best valentine's day was before i even knew it was for "lovers".

i was in 4th grade, and we had to make "pockets" for the front of our desks - you know, so we had a place to receive our valentines! anyway, i had been pretty sick that school year (ear problems that continue to plague me really) and i missed the pocket construction day.
the night before valentine's day, my mother was up late finishing a red satin dress she was going to wear on a date with my stepfather,(My mother is still the craftiest woman i know) and of course, i was trying to fashion a pocket out of notebook paper and markers. as she was struggling with the zipper (don't we all!) she looked over at me and said - "let's make you a pocket miss priss!"

she gathered up scraps from her red satin dress, and found some red velvet scraps from christmas, and (staying up all night to do it) proceeded to make me a quilted heart pillow pocket, complete with white lace ruffles and gold trim.

i not only used that pillow pocket (to the envy of the rest of the class) the next day, but i also slept with it on my bed for many years to come.

thanks mom.

she never did get that zipper in.

happy heart day y'all!

robin

I have a pretty crazy love story to share with you. My sophomore year in High School I met this boy. The first time I saw him I thought he was cute and asked about him. I learned that he was a Senior and what his name was. After a few months we started dating, up until graduation and I went home for the summer (this was a boarding school).

We kept in touch the next couple of years until he got married a few years later. We lost touch for a couple years until we were both in a couple of friends' wedding. I had traveled over from Europe to the US for the wedding. We then exchanged email addresses and went on our way. We wrote back and forth once in a while just to keep in touch.

4 years later in the fall, he separated from his wife. I encouraged him over emails and try to help him keep his spirits up. He learned that I was going for a few days to Barcelona and asked if he could join me (a week before the trip). I guess he really needed a vacation! The vacation was amazing, we got along so well! But I never thought I'd see him again.

2 days after we parted, me back to Switzerland and him back to the US, his job asked him to go to England for a week. I met him in London 2 weekends in a row. The second weekend we just couldn't part.

We met again in Canada that Christmas and 6 months later I left Switzerland and moved back to North America.

We were married a year and a half later... My first love became my one and only love, my husband.

Looking at the wonderful pictures of you and G; you so happy and knowing what you went through is the best Valentine's story! I have to work every year waiting on people having romantic dinners, that's the worst! But my husband always runs me a bath and rubs my back at the end of the night and that's also the best!

I met my husband at my former workplace. We are both accountants. I met him on my first day of work and I was like "That guy is the cockiest guy I have ever met. I can't stand him." I used to call my mom all the time and complain about things he did or said. Well we ended up getting together shortly after my 1st busy season. And it's been love ever since. We were married this past August, and this Valentines Day is our first as a married couple. We ended up celebrating this past Saturday because we'll both be pretty busy on Wednesday. I still haven't figured out whether being in the same profession as him is a good thing or a bad thing though... luckily he is supportive of my knitting so I can't ask for more than that :)

Way back when I was a senior in high school, my boyfriend (soon to be husband) snuck into the school the night before Valentine's Day and rigged my locker. When I opened it, several firecrackers exploded. Freaked me out big time! Inside, he had decorated the whole thing with pink and white hearts, spelled words from conversation hearts, put a vase and red roses and a huge heart-shaped sugar cookie. It was so much fun, and very romantic to my young 17-year-old heart. There were a lot more great Valentine's Days to come (and, let's be frank, some not so great), but this was our first and was very special!

So, one year I was without a sweetheart for Valentine's Day. A thoughtful co-worker left me a little stuffed kitten on my desk as a present since there was no guy to give me a gift! It was so cute. It is many years later and I still have that stuffed cat. I smile and remember her sweetness. Lucky me to have her as a friend!

My favourite Valentine's Day has nothing to do with romance. In my senior year of high school I was tired of not having any reason to celebrate, always unattached. So my friends and I decided that we'd reclaim the holiday. My unsuspectingg French teacher was the victim. He hated anything remotely resembling holidays and had a bit of a reputation as a scrooge. So the night before we got together and made tons of hearts, heart streamers, heart mobiles, etc.. and got the janitor to let us into his room. We covered it from head to toe in hearts and especially his doorway. It was hilarious in the morning seeing him standing in the hallway,arms crossed, looking dead serious but surrounded by hearts. Come class time we came in all dressed in pink, heart shaped baking, music and told him we were having a Valentines Day party. He had a soft spot for his class of girls though and we somehow got away with it. We continued the tradition for a few years after graduation.

I met my husband at a frat party on February 2nd. 12 days later on Valentine's day he gave me 3 candy hearts. I kept those hearts in my change purse for years -- years I say! One day upon inspecting my wallet my sister asked me the story behind the gruby candy hearts. She listened, shruged, and ate them! We laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Thank goodness I have my sisters to keep me in line.

It was really fun meeting you and hope your trip back was uneventful! I look forward to watching your bow-tie squares develop.

My favorite Vday was last year when I took the day to appreciate who I am and spent the whole day doing things that I wanted to do. :) My worst Vday was when I had mono. A kissing disease on the kissing day!

My hubby and I don't make a huge deal about this particular Hallmark holiday, but we do mark the occasion in some way. Here's my WORST V-day ever:

My Husband and I knew each other in college (he was my best friends' boyfriend), but just tolerated each other. However, when we re-met 4 years later, everything was different...he actually asked me to marry him after we'd been dating all of 2 weeks! We spent most of a year engaged and 15 hours away from each other (before email, so we had quite the phone bill!). Anyway...after we were married we lived in Chicago and it took 3 months for me to get a decent job as a research technician. The guy I worked for was NOT a good people person, and it turns out that I wasn't doing what he wanted me to do (um, it was legal, just he wanted more self direction in experimental design that should have been expected from someone at my level). So, he FIRED me on Valentine's DAY! AAAHHH! My hubby had dropped me off in the morning so he could pick me up at the end of the day and go to a romantic fondue restaurant we'd been wanting to go to, and finally had the money for because I had a steady job - HAH! So, not only was I upset and could only tell him quickly in a whisper on the work phone what was going on, I had to wait around until he could come pick me up! No romantic dinner for extremely upset me, cause we had just lost that oh-so-important second income!

SO, fast forward 15 years, I've had wonderful jobs as I move around the country with my academically upwardly moving hubby - this job was HORRIBLE and I am GLAD now that I didn't have to work 1 more day with that man! But, this definately qualifies as a really crappy Valentine's day, especially when it was the 1st one I was in the same city as my DH.

My best Valentine's Day will be this one.

My StepDaddy has inoperable lung cancer. Because there is only the ability to delay the inevitable and not cure the cancer, our family knows that we need to make the best of things. This Valentine's Day I will be standing up for my mom and my aunt for my stepdaddy as they get married.

Mom and Him usually do not celebrate Valentine's Day in a big way. There are little cards but that is about it. For them to do this on V-Day is both cute and endearing. Plus, he will then always be with mom on this day. She will always have a positive memory of the Man she loves on a day when it can be rather depressing to not have a loved one around.

This is special for me as I get to be a part of this moment. One I will always cherish. After the passing of my dad a few weeks ago I am looking forward to my step daddy being "official".

Ok so this isn't the happiest but it is still happy for me.

I don't have any good Valentine's stories of my own (sad but true), but I DO have a good story. See, my mother's birthday is ON Valentine's Day, so in my family, the day's always been about her--as it should be, naturally. (Well, she is a pretty terrific Mom.) But--the first year my sister was dating my now-brother-in-law, she was torn. She finally had a serious boyfriend she wanted to do the romantic thing with, but, well . . . Mom's birthday! So, she compromised with herself. She bought Mike some chocolate and a card and one of those big balloons with streamer hands and feet--you know the ones? They have faces, and the attached appendages are just enough weight to hold the balloon down, so it kind of bobs along, looking happy. Well, she decided to run over to Mike's office or apartment or wherever he was going to be that morning before work, but she had one, last stop to make. She parked her car, opened the door, and a gust of wind came along at JUST the wrong moment, so that the little Valentine balloon person swept out of the car and up, up, up into the sky, with my sister practically in tears in the parking lot, watching it float away. It was a sad day for all of us, really--she'd had it at the house the night before and we all got rather attached. Our hope is that it found romance with the Big Balloon in the sky . . .

This would be my worst Valentine's day. It's pretty funny now but I was right pissed about it all at the time.

I was dating a real loser (but at 19 I was fairly clueless) but I took Valentine's day off anyways so we could spend it together. He was jobless and broke so I knew I wasn't getting anything. As we went over to a friend of his appt we noticed a bunch of cops around. We went in and his friend and roommate were getting busted for growing pot. After the cops left, I got the "Are you a nark" interrogation multiple times, "because if you're a cop and we ask, you gotta tell us".

Being young and stupid, I stayed with him for probably another 6 months.

I think one of my best valentines days was when a coworker I had been crushing on surprised me with a roses and candy. It was just so unexpected and sweet.

We aren't a romantic couple. However it makes me happy to know that every year, I will get a handmade card. Since MR is a graphic designer, he always takes the time to create a one-of-kind. It's funny because he never knows what to write on the inside, and he always apologizes for it. Someday I'll get a card with a UPC that plays a song. On that day, I'll be sad.

When my husband and I got together the first time, we weren't married, didn't get married, I had three children all of whom he took to his heart, we were young, things didn't work out, we split up but he wouldn't let me take 'his' children from him, so for 20 years we raised our children,albeit under different roofs...but then after 20 years of remaining very good friends that 'spark' ignited again, we got together and officially wed on 1-23-04 which was actually 26 years after we first got together....on our anniversary this year (we don't observe V-day in that *every* day is V-day) he came home with cashmere for me. BTW, our children were tickled when we made it official.
Your contests are so much fun!
Your romantic getaway sounds and looks delightful, and I'm glad it was wonderful for both of you.

Beautiful photos!!
I was a senior in high school. Every year the student council would sell carnations to raise money. They cost $1 and were delivered to homeroom first thing in the morning, anonymously. If you wanted to know who sent it you had to pay $1 a lunch time. I was shocked to receive one since I didn't have a boyfriend. I wondered if maybe my crush sent it or some other cute guy. All morning long I wondered if he had seen me with my flower and I wondered if he would say something or if he expected me to pay the dollar and then thank him. By lunch I was out of my mind with curiosity. I went up to the table and paid my dollar. They handed me the slip of paper with the name and to this day I wish I hadn't opened it.

I don't have any good Valentines Day stories to tell...

But, the fact that I knit is directly tied to my first love. A few years ago, my then fiance cheated on me with my brothers fiance. Needless to say, I ended things, but I was completely devestated. My friends wanted to take me out everynight, try to get my mind off of it, but I just didn't have the energy. At the same time, I didn't want to sit home feeling sorry for myself. I decided I needed a hobby.

I don't know why I picked knitting. But it seemed like a good idea. It would distract me, and I remembered seeing yarn at Wal-mart, really cheap!

A few years later, and I've learned quite a bit. First, that yarn isn't all that cheap, and second, that knitting heals me. To this day, knitting is my therapy.

Amazing pictures! I love Big Sur, have camped there twice and it's always stunning. Also, yay for sock yarn contests!

I don't have a fantastic V-day story, but instead the story of my first anniversary celebration with my guy. We were spending the weekend in his home town, and he wanted to take me to a restaurant he'd loved as a little kid. I said ok (he has great taste in restaurants), and we walked downtown. When we got there, we were shown a table, and he started looking around kinda nervously. We drank a little water and ate bread, and when they brought the menus, he took one look at them and told me what was bugging him: The place had changed hands since he'd been there last, and he assured me it wasn't going to be what he'd wanted. I took one look at the menu, realized there was nothing on there that I wanted to eat, and that it was quite a bit outside our college-student budget. We snuck out the back, walked down an alley, and went to a pizza joint instead, where we got the best deep-dish pizza I've ever had. I love that restaurant, and we try to go whenever we're visiting his family.

We don't really "celebrate" V-day at my house; I usually get a couple little treats for the kids, and the hubby and I exchange cards. One year he told me he forgot my card at the office, and it didn't matter because it was a "Schlock" holiday anyway, made up by the greeting card companies. (I never did see the "forgotten" card. I'm pretty sure he just "forgot" to buy one.)
I've never been a huge fan of the day since then.

Ah, I LOVE Big Sur. Your pics are gorgeous! I am sooo MISSING Northern California right now. Here's my first and only "traditional" Vday.

I am sentimental, but not romantic, so it never bugged me that I was never in a relationship around Vday. However, my hubby is a total romantic. The first year of our relationship, he started planning our Valentine's evening months in advance (required in order to get a reservation at a hoity-toity restaurant in SF ~ where we were both living at the time). I wasn't so into it (eye roll), but I didn't want to disappoint him.

Two days before the 14th, we both came down with a kick-in-the-tookas cold. Still not wanting to disappoint and cancel, I medicated myself up. It was a prix fixe 7 course meal with 3 or 4 different wines. All I can remember is that I couldn't taste the food, I could barely hear because my ears were sealed shut and I had to go to the lady's room several times to blow my nose. Hubby (then BF) practically fell asleep in his plate cause his medication choice was nyquil (not a good paring with red wine). Oh, and a wandering violinist came over to our table and wouldn't leave ~ probably because my eyes wouldn't stop watering from the cold and he thought I was crying with joy/love/happiness. Oi!

All we wanted to do was go home, put comfy clothes on and curl up in bed...which we did as soon as we paid the bill. I think the night set him back financially for quite some time. OUCH! Hubby has agreed to minimize the extravagance and we celebrate at home (9th year) with a quiet house (kid asleep) and a piece of really good chocolate cake.

I have a romantic story that ties into your vacation destination - Hubbo proposed to me on the beach in Monterrey, and then we continued on our trip to Big Sur, as his great-uncle lived there until he passed away last year. It is a gorgeous place - his uncle's house was right on the cliff and absolutely breathtaking. But the Valentine's tie-in came much earlier - two years before we were engaged (and I was dating someone else), he gave me a cute, hokey Cinderella valentine (left over from his daughter's box for her pre-k class), and told my best friend that he thought he was in love with me. She, of course, being a good best friend, told me and it motivated me enough to get out of the awful relationship I was in.
I'm glad you enjoyed Big Sur - it really is a magical place.

I never really cared about Vday. My girlfriends and I normally hung out and did something really cool. The last single bash I had was at the Ram in Portland. About 30 of us showed up to party and dine away the night.

It was awesome but I think I will value last years the most. My husband of 9 months went all over our little town looking for tea spoons for me. Being a southern gal and all, I wanted a proper length spoon to stir with. Well none was to be found in our town. He decided to get me something for the kitchen. An onion dicer. Now every meal that I make, I think of his love for me as I dice onions without crying or needing help because chopping onions with a knife scares me. This onion chopper has taken a beating and still keeps working. It has been patched and had pieces replaced but it does the job just great.

It resembles our love. We have problems but they get fixed by our hard work. Things don't always fit so we replace the bad attitudes. We don't like doing things but out of love we do them for the person we love most. We keep giving ourselves to keep the love fresh and new.

my boyfriend and i have been together for 6.5 years and we have never celebrated valentine's day. you know, i'd just rather spend every day of year loving him. he's my one true love and is so sweet and rotten and not romantic, not even a bit. but that's ok because he loves me and that's what matters. i'm leaving you with one of my most favorite pictures taken of us... just this weekend, we were at the beach too. :D

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkli/386133734/

happy vday, cara!!

OK worst Valentine's Day for me went a little something like this. My ex-boyfriend's b'day is on Feb. 14. We'd been together about a 2 years and I had planned this huge, special birthday with all his favorite things. We drove to the big city near our little base and I took him go-cart racing, target shooting at our favorite range, the children's museum (so we could play with all their toys) and then to his favorite, expensive restaurant where I gave him his gift of a car stereo and his favorite CD. We usually went all out for birthdays and Xmas and I spent over $200 dollars on this day. The next day, he told me he was thinking of seeing other people. I told him not while he was living in MY house and I told him to get his shit and move out. As I was removing my key from his keychain, I asked him why hadn't he mentioned this yesterday. He said he wanted to see what I'd had planned for his birthday and he wanted his gift. I took the stereo out of his suitcase and told him to take a good look at it, as that was as close as he was going to get to it. I later had it installed in my car!

Almost 18 years ago, after a five year verbally abusive relationship I decided to join the living again. I had taken 6 months off after licking my wounds. I went to a Medieval and Rennaissance event. As I entered the room, looking around tentatively for the lady I did know I saw a fine looking Lord across the room. (He states that as I entered the room the hair on the back of his neck stood up). I noted that he appeared alone at his table and was very, very cute. He turned and saw me framed in the light of the doorway and decided to find out who I was.

We ended up being introduced by the lady who I did know and talked well into the evening, in fact, well into the morning. The next day we spoke on the telephone for hours until I finally invited him to my home and we talked some more.

I haven't stopped talking to him yet and it will be 18 years October 14th of this year.

Love at first sight brought us together. Nothing will tear us apart.

You make a fantabulously handsome couple! K here goes... and believe me I don't share this one too often... (funny eh! I won't share with brick and mortar people but feel free to share via the internet...go figure) So....my hubby whom I've been with for 26 years....dating plus marriage time and I did have a parting of the ways about 16 yrs ago...before marriage. Anyway... broken hearted yes, but necessary... soooo as I said went our separate ways.... my happiest/saddest valentines day are 2 in 1... In the year we were no longer together, I met dated, and was actually proposed to by another gent...it was on valentines day... he had the super let him in to my apt. and filled it with flowers balloons, stuffed animals (UGH!) and had a lovely dinner waiting when I returned home from my late night at work. He proposed .... i said yes.... it was a happy time for all... but so terribly sad for me.... alas.... I knew he wasn't the one for me... yadda yadda yadda my hubby and i reunited shortly thereafter and the rest is ancient history... :)

Valentine's Day has been rather uneventful for me in previous years. Although there was one great year when I didn't have a sweetheart to share it with, that a few of my friends went and got burgers and milkshakes. We had a fab time.

This year I'll be spending it with my honey, but nothing crazy. Just enjoying each other's company. :)

Not about valentines day..... will my first kiss do?
In 8th grade, I had a huge crush on Rick. So did my freinds... well, except for his sister MaryBeth.
In 9th grade, the crush remained. He was, however, now among the group for friends who hung out together generally. I walked to school with his sister and little brother every day. Every morning, I'd come in through their kitchen door, say good morning... everyone said Good morning... except him. He'd grunt. Every single morning it was like this.

Then, one spring day, I said good morning, and he said good morning back. He spoke actual words to me! And though I wanted to talk about that, I coudln't say a word to his siblings. You know how siblings are... they'd never let him live it down if I told them that I thought he just might like me....

About a week later, we were all over at a street festival type thing when it became time for me to head home. My mom's rule was that I had to be home by dark. We were all goofing around, and he said he'd walk me home... we were tickling each other back and forth... reaching our arms around behind each other to tickle the far side...
then we were walking guardedly with our arms around each other prepared to tickle in force if the other tickled first... very guardedly.
then we were just walking with our arms around each other. It was so nice! I was in heaven.

When we got to my tree filled neighborhood, it was suddenly much closer to dark. oops.
We walked through the park that our house looked onto, and he stopped in a copse of trees, turned, still holding me, and leaned down to kiss me.

He was gentle, and sweet, and a wonderful kisser.
And despite being a year older, didn't try anything more. Just held me and kissed me for a few minutes, then walked me to my door.

sigh. He set a pretty high bar.
I still wonder what might have happened if we'd not moved away that summer.

your pictures are just wonderful!!!
i and mine are not very romantic. we have been married for 27.5 years. and if we make it to the 15th he'll be the big 50.!! we just had a big scare--he went to the doc.(not feeling quite right) and i get a call from her asking me to come and get him and take him to the ER,she thought he might be having a stroke. and i'll be $#%%$@% if he didn't. not a bad one but things like that make you sit back and go "oh shit". So i guess i got my v-day present to day. my husband. can't ask for a better one than that.!!
lori

C - it was awesome to meet you this weekend -- now when I read your posts, I can hear your voice telling me what's going on!

I've never actually been in a relationship on Valentine's day and neither has my best friend of 10 years, so, of course, we always spend Valentine's day together. Chocolate, foreign films and take out pizza were the order of the day. Such fun to spend a holiday (that can so easily lend itself to self pity) with someone who is practically your sister. I, honestly, do not know what I would do without this woman that I'm so very proud to call my best friend. Which is kind of what will make this Valentine's day so hard. This year, she is in Korea following her dreams and teaching english. As much as it will suck a lot to be alone, I'll be watching a foreign film and eating chocolate and pizza for the both of us.

My best V-Day: My first with my husband. He knows that lobster is my favorite food in the whole world (good thing I live in Maine) so he decided to cook me a lobster dinner for Valentine's Day. I'd told him before that when I eat lobster I like it steamed, with butter, and I don't really care to eat too much else. Just two lobsters (small ones) or one two pounder. Yum, yum! He obviously misunderstood, because he thought I wanted two two-pound lobsters. So he bought four HUGE lobsters for dinner. They all wouldn't fit in the pot. Needless to say, there were leftovers! But they were the best lobsters ever, and he was the sweetest to buy them, cook, and clean up the mess.

on my first or second day back at work this year, i received a meeting invite from my boss. it was for february 14th. since i was only january 2nd or 3rd, i thought he made a mistake and that the meeting was really january 14th. so i accepted the meeting but basically said that in my reply. he said that no, it really was for february 14th. and that he wants me to be at the meeting in person, not just call in. well, the boss man works at an office in a non-descript mid-western city. i work at an office thousands of miles away on the west coast. my love is also (finally) in the same city on the west coast. we've had some tough times over the past few years, but we're really trying to work things out. but alas, no valentines day on the 14th for us this year. i will be hanging out by myself in a midwestern city, drinking or shopping or hanging out in my room at a generic business hotel. sometimes work can be really soul sucking!

Um, my best V-Day has to have been my first semester at Washington State University with my best buddy from middle school. We were both single and sad because we hated the boring environment. On V-Day, she surprised me with a stuffed animal and chocolate. In a panic, I told her I was waiting to give her her gift later. I ran over to the bookstore and bought her a stuffed animal in opposite colors and something with Mickey Mouse on it (she LOVES Mickey).

Needless to say, her thoughtfulness that day really made me happy and it's one of the reasons why we're still friends to this very day. Down in the dumps, and still thoughtful enough to think of her best friend. That's what love is all about! :-D

Ok, I'm not big on Valentine's Day (stupid commercial shit, if you ask me), but I do have a cute-ish story about how I met my boyfriend.

I was happily involved in a 3-year relationship with a boy I'd gone to high school with when I met R in my Ecology class. He complimented me on my David Bowie shirt and we became friends and kept ending up in the same classes (we were both English majors and Japanese minors but had never met before).

A year after we met, he and I and my boyfriend went on the same study abroad trip to Japan. While there, my boyfriend (who I thought I would marry) decided that he "just doesn't feel like being a boyfriend right now" and went off to drink his way around Kobe and Osaka and flirt with all the pretty laydeez on our trip.

So R and I hung out a lot, as he was my only friend on the trip. He listened to me complain, talked to me like I was an actual person (shock!) and we spent the next few weeks sightseeing together. Before I left Japan (he was staying for an extra month) he expressed his intentions to win my heart. And he did.

De-lurking, not to enter the contest (can't stand v-day, sorry), but to say that it was really great to meet you on Friday! It was so fun to get together with knitters and hang out on a Friday night. Glad you were here!

Ok, so i know you're all going to roll your eyes at my seventeen year old naivete, but just listen first. i just fell in love for the first time, and now i really get what that means. I've always been a little skeptical about love, for various reasons, but as soon as i met M, someone who understands me and connects with me and listens and thinks i'm funny, it became clear that all those rock songs and chick flicks aren't making it all up.
I know that nothing lasts forever, but right now, it's enough to have someone who let me believe in love.

My first Valentine's Day with my current boyfriend, 3 years ago we went into Boston to stay overnight in a hotel. Clearly we weren't thinking and didn't make plans for dinner. We went to the Prudential center where there was a 3 hour wait at the Cheesecake factory. We tried a few more restaurants and ended up eating at the only restaurant open in the food court. It was awful! Then we got take out cheesecake, which made up for it, a little.

My first love, in high school. Also the first boy I ever kissed. I still miss him and the Valentine we spent drinking Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine.

No lie!!

WORST VDAY CARD EVER RECEIVED - Front: Big Heart saying "Every other thought is of you!" Inside says: Titty Bump Titty Bump Titty Bump. WHATTTT??? That guy was a total creep needless to say. Sorry to say Vday rates right up there with Ground Hog Day at my house.

Also delurking for a contest :) The pictures are absolutely beautiful

Every year on Valentines Day my husband buys too much candy, and we eat chocolate until we're hyper like little kids. Usually we get a good bottle of wine and some take out, nothing too fancy. I haven't ever been a super huge fan of Valentines day, but I look forward to it every year since it means one of my favorite days is approaching - the Daytona 500. This year I have a new Valentine - my 7 month old daughter!

I'll bite.

My worst Valentine's Day - I had been dating a man long distance (me in Washington DC and he in NYC) and had, after three years, moved to NYC. The first year was impossible and I was broke so much that I was working three jobs seven days a week to pay my rent, the bills and eat etc. He was playing the "starving artist" and barely working and I was enthralled with everything - NY, him, the whole nine yards. Man was I hooked. Did I mention that he was the first man I truly loved. (It was a complicated relationship)

So the first Valentine Day that we are in the same city rolls around - and he doesn't make plans, there are no flowers at work, nothing. So I buy a long red rose at the florist and walk over to his apartment after work and knock on the door - oh it was raining too - and he opens the door and I hand him the rose. I don't remember what he said but I ended up going home alone and ... well by the next Valentine Day we were no longer together (although it took a therapist four months to help me see why this relationship wasn't working.)

I can still remember his face at the door and me standing on the stoop and wondering what I had done wrong. (let's not even go there right now, I am listening to LA TRAVIATA and crying enough already)

No Valentines stories. But dang, that shot of the rivulets in the sand brings the smell of the Pacific Ocean back to me. Now THAT"S heartbreak.

My best valentines day was when my bf at the time took me to the beach for what I thought was a normal stroll... but instead to find out he had been there hours earlier picking up rocks and carefully placing them to make a giant heart in the sand in our exact favorite spot we always went to. It was a good surprise because it was so different and thoughtful.

i have a rather bittersweet story. summer romance stories are always bittersweet, aren't they?

it started as a crush...a long, drawn-out crush. i couldn't shake the magnetism i felt w