Choo Choo Choose you

Today be Valentine's Day. Once when I was 16 I was heard to say, "I hate Valentine's Day because no one ever loves me!" I was being facetious with a large grain of angsty teenage truth, but I said it in front of my best friend, who has remembered and repeated the quote to me ever since. When my mom heard it that year she was offended. "I always make you feel loved!" Ah, moms. But she did always give my brother and me Valentines.

This year the Dude and I are staying in to enjoy our sparklingly clean apartment. Man, it looks good. They missed some spots, but they were far more thorough than he and I have ever managed. On our agenda for the day is to watch some movies from the list. We only have 10 left. The Time Traveler's Wife will be on there. Also we're going to have my favourite soup ever, which is a concoction the Dude made up and has been perfecting over time. I call it Thai soup for lack of creativity. It's full of veggies, garlic, satay, coconut milk, chicken, chilli peppers... Oh God, it's good.

And the Dude gave me my present last night. Why last night? Because he can't keep a secret.

Now, I'm pretty good at stringing him along, misdirecting him and holding my tongue about what I get him for gifts, unless it requires prior planning and then whatever. Like the bag I got him for Christmas. I told him a lie about how I checked out the bags he had admired and they were several hundred dollars and I couldn't afford it. Or on his birthday I told him not to buy himself anything, and that if he tried to guess what his present was, then that wouldn't be it anymore if he was right, and I'd get him something else.

He tried to string me along a little. But he slipped. He said, "The lady said it doesn't expire." A-ha.

Me: It's a certificate of some kind.
Dude: Uh... oh... Damn it!
Me: Now, what sort of certificate could it be?
Dude: (Grumbling)
Me: It's a spa certificate isn't it?
Dude: Fuck!
Me: Gimme!
Dude: Damn it! Fuck!
Me: ^_^

I'm so utterly jazzed. I've always, always wanted a spa day and this certificate is for "the works". Exfoliating scrub, massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, and lunch. Oh boy! There are certain indulgences that make me melt, and spa stuff is pretty much at the top of the list.

I'm happy.

Sick and Valentines

Still sick. Had a woozy doozy of a day yesterday. Actually had to take the day off work, and when you work from home, that says a lot about how crap you feel. Today I worked and it took me forever as I hacked, sneezed, coughed and slugged my way through my job.

And now I have a glorious three days off. Recovery is ahead. Though tomorrow maid service is coming to clean the apartment and the Dude's stepbrother and his fiancee want to take the Dude out to a belated birthday dinner and I'm invited. I'd like to go, but we'll see how I manage with this nagging cough.

As for the maid service, it's my Valentine's Day present to the Dude. Past years I've sprung for a couples massage, or a hotel room at the Gladstone. Romantic stuff. This year I'm being pragmatic about what will bring us closer together as a couple. The Dude's been talking about hiring cleaners for over a year. He loathes to clean (Fancy that!) and so this is right up his alley. And in turn, it's also up my alley because although I am less adverse to cleaning than he is, I don't care much for it either.

My goodness, my throat feels like ass. Maybe a nap is in order. I'll grab Smokey. He's always up for a nap.