Pinch My Salt

Food, Recipes, and Photography

Happy Valentine’s Day. I really mean it this time!

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Heart Shaped Cappuccino

Some of you might remember that I was somewhat bitter on Valentine’s Day last year. And it was with very good reason. But I made the best of it with that yummy Carrot Ginger Soup and I got on with my life. Well, it turns out that I am alone once again this Valentine’s Day. *Sigh*

All of you military wives are nodding and thinking, “yep, been there, done that.” It’s just part of military life. But I really don’t care much about spending Valentine’s Day together. And no, I’m not just saying that because I’m sitting here alone at Starbucks. It’s enough for me to know that, even though he’s not in the same city as me right now, he’s not in Iraq.

You know, I loved valentine’s day when I was a kid. The week before the big day, we got to create our own valentine’s boxes and decorate them with brightly colored tissue paper and paper doilies. I can remember devoting an entire day to our creations. Then, on Valentine’s Day, we walked around and delivered valentines to all of our classmates. The elaborately decorated boxes were filled with little paper valentines from each of our classmates. Everyone felt special that day. It was a day about celebrating friendship and, of course, candy!

I want to feel that way again about Valentine’s Day.

I want to make cute little valentines for my friends. I want the thrill of receiving a valentine from that cute boy in the class that would otherwise never give me the time of day. Because it didn’t matter that classroom rules required that he give one to me (and every other girl and boy in the class) or that his mother probably forced him to sign his name. What mattered was that for one day, we all felt special.

Unfortunately it’s a little late for me to make those special little valentines for all of my friends this year, especially since they all live far far away. And the chances of me making some local friends by the end of the day are pretty slim thanks to my decidedly anti-social ways.

But, there’s always next year.

This year I think I’ll just treat myself to some homemade cookies and give some old friends a call.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! See, I do mean it. Treat yourself to something special and tell your friends you love them.

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Comments

  1. Susan says

    Nicole, A further note on Valentine's Day in Mexico. At our lovely dinner last night we were served a salad of diced jicama and tangerines with a light dusting of chili powder, a squeeze of lime and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. I thought, "I've seen this salad somewhere before! Does the chef read Pinch My Salt?" There are inventive cooks everywhere, even in this seedy little seaside Mexican village!
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  2. Andrea says

    Happy Belated Valentines day to you! I am not a military wife, but a wife of a sales guy, so him coming home at around 8pm last night with Take Out was all I needed. Hope your day was filled with warm cookies and great laughs, from old friends!
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  3. Moowiesqrd says

    Happy Belated Valentine's Day, Nicole! I hope those homemade cookies turned out fabulously. I have to agree with Leah's comment above that there's plenty of foodies around here that would love to hang out and share a meal with you. While I have yet to meet the SDChow group, they sound like a lot of fun and, if you'd like, I could pass along the info on how to join the list (that is, if you haven't already :)). Did you have a chance to talk to your husband yesterday? Hope he had a happy and safe V-Day, too! Take care! Happy Friday and a great long weekend to you!
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  6. Haley says

    I definitely know what you mean by bitter V-day. It's not really a holiday I have put a whole lot of stock in in the past, but the holiday is much more challenging to get to when your fiance is in Iraq. The present he sent was great, but I'd much rather have him home :(. I'm looking forward to next year!
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