better late than never, eh?

i forgot to recap our valentine's day, such as it was.

i'd been hoping that the hub wouldn't drop big wads of cash on long-stemmed red roses as he always does (really! i was!). they're just so damn expensive for this day of luuuuurve, and because of the high demand, the quality usually isn't the greatest, and they die practically within hours. but i also didn't want to look like a total wank and actually say something about it, so i kept my yap shut and hoped for the best.

and as the day went on, my "no roses please" vibes seemed to work, as the doorstep wasn't darkened by delivery people. unless you count the mailman. that dude is grumpy, yo. i should give him some cookies or something.

i was planning on making lasagna for dinner, complete with homemade meat sauce from scratch, plus that clearman's bread i mentioned before. i'd already gone to the grocery store and bought everything i needed, so i was all set. i figured i could make everything during the day so that all i had to do was pop it in the oven and have it ready exactly on time.

but of course, that didn't happen. come on - this is me. shit doesn't go as planned. i wanted to find some little gifts for the hub and the kid, and i knew i had cards i'd made last year that i didn't get to use, but i had to dig 'em up. luckily, i knew just where they were. so anyway, off to the mall for the bean and me.

the hub had mentioned wanting some new brown socks to wear to work. oh, so romantical, yes? but we've been trying to tighten up the pursestrings lately, so i didn't want to get anything frivolous, and i knew he'd appreciate it for that reason, plus realizing that i really DO listen ;) so i stopped at nords and found several pairs and scooped 'em up. whoo! exciting!

i couldn't think of anything small to buy for the kid to save my life. so i ended up wandering aimlessly through the mall for a time, looking through several shops. and at express, i found the perfect thing: a little wristlet purse in leopard print. the kid LOVES animal prints these days, so i knew she'd dig this. and the best part: only $10!

my last stop was at borders. i'd bought this awesome cd - "baby goes new wave" - it contained some of my favorite '80s music redone in lullabye-style, like a-ha's "take on me," duran duran's "hungry like the wolf," depeche mode's "enjoy the silence." ha! awesome, right?

well, not so much. when we opened it and popped it in, we heard the unmistakable melody of "sweet child o'mine." and next, "every rose has its thorn." hell no! the kid pulled it out, turned the light on, and it turned out to be "baby goes HAIR METAL." i kid you not. i was bummed, but figured i could exchange it and get the right one on my next trip.

which was now. the girl at the register gave me a weird look when i explained my dilemma, until i opened the case and showed her that i wasn't talking out of my ass. i'd already gone to the kids' section and found another copy, and she said "you should probably open it here to make sure you get the right one." and then her manager walked by, she explained to him what had happened, and in a total deadpan delivery, he said "wow, way to go, baby goes records." hmm.

and wouldn't you know it, i opened that cd and found the same. exact. thing. more "baby goes hair metal"! ugh. i ended up taking a refund and leaving vastly disappointed not to have the opportunity to introduce the bean to the finest new wave that baby goes records had to offer. boo.

i swung into toys r'us to buy the bean's jumperoo and stock up on baby wipes (i had a coupon, whee!), and then stopped at trader joe's to buy some assorted dried fruit for the hub. it's been his only dessert lately, since giving up sweets for lent, and i wanted to give him a nice variety.

i had just enough time to get home and make that homemade meat sauce before i had to pick up the kid from school and bust it out to pasadena for tea time at scarlet tea room.

we drove home in bumper-to-bumper traffic (even in the carpool lane, ugh), with the bean screaming all the way. the kid crawled back to the rear seat to comfort her and try to give her a bottle, but she was having none of it. i couldn't figure it out - she didn't want food, i'd just changed her diaper, and she'd taken several naps throughout the day. but we finally got home, i plucked her out of her seat, and it turned out that all she wanted was some cuddling. poor baby. i strapped her up into the carrier and got to work on assembling and baking that lasagna. i was so far behind schedule, it wasn't even funny.

i managed to snap a couple of pictures of the table while the hub changed out of his work clothes:


i finally served up dinner at 8:00. oops. i'd meant to have it all ready by 7:00. oh, well. but i'm proud to say that my homemade lasagna was a huge hit, and so were the little presents. the hub appreciated his brand spankin' new socks and his "desserts" and the kid LOVED her leopard wristlet. everybody received sweet cards (which is really all i wanted anyway - i really cherish cards with handwritten sentiments from the ones i love), and that was the end of valentine's day 2008.