Love is the feeling that you feel.

"LOVE"

Meatloaf would do anything for it.

Phil Collins says it can't be rushed.

Mariah Carey says it takes time.

Leona Lewis is bleeding it.

Beyonce is crazy in it.

Def Leppard thinks it bites.

Jennifer Lopez's doesn't cost a thing.

Ne-Yo is so sick of songs about it; and

The Black Eyed Peas don't know where it's gone.

It's Valentine's Day today. I know people who sit at both extremes on such a day (for and against), but many remain somewhere in the middle, like myself. Husband and I don't usually 'do' anything for Valentine's Day, because we celebrate our wedding anniversary the very next day (which happens to be our 11th tomorrow).

We do enjoy clearance chocolates and flowers, though ;)

I don't know about you, but I had romance planned for today. This plan included surprising Husband at work (on the other side of the city) with baked goods and a gift, arriving just in time to take him out to lunch. Why would the woman do this for her man, you may ask? Isn't Valentine's Day supposed to be about the man showering gifts onto his wife/girlfriend, leaving hundreds of lovely rose petals for her in a moment of passion, not thinking about who's going to clean them up afterwards??

Well, from the 11 years (technically tomorrow) I've been married, I know for certain that Husband is a gift person. When I'm asked what I would like, responses usually include: a sleep-in, a day off, getting my hair cut, someone else to clean my house for me, etc. Once you realise someone's Love Language, it becomes easier to love them. I am an Acts of Service person... Or, perhaps because I'm a stay-at-home, I jump at the thought of someone else doing my housework for me!?

Well, I'd like to announce that I succeeded in surprising Husband today! It was so much of a surprise showing up at lunch time, that he had already left the building and was in the next suburb ready to bite into the chicken burger he'd ordered...

Clearly, I need to re-think how I 'plan' these romantic gestures into the future.

I quickly caught up to him, and we did manage to eat part of lunch together. We then wandered the streets and ate gelato. It was lovely, and I was glad to have surprised him in yet another day of hectic chaos at work.

I was also (well, I thought I was) sneaky enough to leave a gift on his desk for him to have a second surprise when he returned from lunch with me. Straight from the delightfully local store, Chok Art:

The baked goods that I'd brought for his colleagues were made with love in mind. No matter where you sit on the Valentine's Day spectrum, how can you say "No" to shortbread biscuits? :)

Apart from having a similar sad/madness (which was also just as unnecessary) about the icing not being RED red, I pulled my emotional self together and wrapped them up:

Of course, it's important to remember that when you have that much royal icing on top of a biscuit (there was a lot), you need to wait until the icing is set before you put it into the cellophane bags! Otherwise, well, this happens (which led to sad/madness #2):

Perhaps these were an excuse to practice for an upcoming wedding I've been asked to make heart-shaped biscuit bonbonniere's for, BUT, I still made them with love in mind!

If I wasn't so impatient getting them wrapped (before Husband came home from work yesterday so that he wouldn't figure out the surprise I was planning), I may have added a little white arrow underneath the "xoxo" on the heart... But, I was impatient, so there's no point dwelling on what I could have changed.

If you're eager to know more about what Husband is like, he's recently started up his own comedic murder mystery blog. I doubt there'll be anything about gorilla toys and love biscuits in it, but there is something about cheese. And blood, which is red...

What is love like?

Happy Valentine's Day :)

xoxo