happy hallmark holiday greetings

it's that time of year again when flowers miraculously triple in price and become almost impossible to find, the cards at hallmark are completely picked through, hotels are booked solid, reservations at restaurants are impossible, and men begin to frantically tear apart their homes for the gift list their wives gave them at christmas... "there's gotta be SOMETHING on that list i didn't get her!" so burton and i decided awhile ago to do away with the gifts on valentines and anniversaries. as we get older and start spending money on things like diapers and doctors appointments, perhaps we'll reconsider the rare opportunity to splurge on each other, but in the meantime... we've simplified. rather than spending money and time trying to find the perfect gift for each other (which, by the way, isn't even part of traditional valentines day observence anyway... traditionally, it was simply intended as a day to express love and affection for your significant other... we can thank Hallmark and the diamond industry for the new tradition of gift exchange), we decided to put the money towards doing something fun instead. usually a fancy dinner and a cool hotel... and the traditional breakfast at Denny's, of course. he usually still buys flowers and the typical monkeys in lingerie cards are exchanged... but other than that, it's just a fun night on the town.

happy valentine's day.

helpful hints for the men:
flowers - yes / something for the kitchen - no / card expressing your sincere love and appreciation for your wife - yes / no card - no / day at the spa - yes / tickets to the nba playoffs - no / gift card to buy new clothes - yes / new xBox - no / reservations at a nice restaurant - yes / "oh... i thought you were going to cook something special?" - no

helpful hints for the women:
flowers - no / something for the bedroom - yes / mushy card gushing with pink and purple flowers - no / a card with something funny about sex inside - yes / tickets to the opera - duh! / tickets to the nba playoffs - duh! / gift card to buy new clothes - no (unless we're talking about my husband, then "yes") / new xBox - yes (unless you want to stay happily married... then "no") / reservations at a nice restaurant - sure, why not? / "oh actually... i was planning to cook you something special" - yes (if you can cook, and it starts with an "s" and ends with a "teak")