Valentine Day is upon us and what are you doing for your sweetheart? I always try to think ahead of the game and come up with something. We are not big into getting each other cards. Who wants to spend five or six dollars on a card that will just be thrown away?. I think a love letter would be better. Who wouldn’t want something like that. It is more personal.
I am not into flowers either. I can’t see spending all that money on flowers when they will die soon. In my case, “soon” is a couple of days because I can’t keep anything alive.
A great pair of shoes would be awesome — or a new purse, with me picking it out of course. Someone might say I don’t need more shoes or purses, since they go into my closet. But I say, “A girl can’t have enough shoes or purses.”
Girls are not like guys, we change shoes with every outfit. And for the purses, I don’t change with every outfit but it depends on what mood I am in.
Gift giving on Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be expensive. A date night in is one of my favorite gifts to receive. We have a hard time getting in anywhere on this holiday, so we often stay in for our “date.”
My husband has a specialty meal he cooks and it is one of my favorites. Steak, baked potato, salad and his famous french onion soup. Well, we will have to tweek it a bit since we are eating a bit different but that makes it all the more fun.
I like to think back on this holiday and remember all the things we did when we didn’t have the money to go get things. It is fun to come up with things that don’t cost you money or not much money, like a picnic on your living room floor by the fireplace. You could go for a drive and find a place to pull over and have a picnic. Another option is to watch a movie at home or even go out to the movies. Tuesdays are $5 in Ruston. Who says you have to wait until the actual day?
We also shouldn’t be waiting for this day to come around before we do some of these things. Nothing warms a heart more than doing something “just because” and when someone is not expecting it. You have to keep the flame burning. I understand if you have kids and little ones for that matter but you still can’t forget about who you are. You don’t want your kids to leave the house and you decide you have nothing in common because you didn’t work on your relationship the whole time. Don’t put your relationship on the back burner. Never forget why you got together in the first place. Find that first spark that drove you crazy when you first met.
Some people think we are crazy because my husband and I work together and then we love being together. We don’t do much without each other. We love spending time together. Most people don’t understand how we tick. We figured out what makes us work well together. The first thing is God. We keep Him number one in our lives. Two, we love each other and when you love one another you want to spend time together. Three, we believe in family. We are close knit. A family that serves God together will stay together.
Life is short. Love a little harder and forgive often. You never know how much time you have together.
Cheesecake stuffed Strawberries
2 8 oz cream cheese
Tsp lemon juice
1 C powdered sugar
Big package of Strawberries (Washed)
Hershey Chocolate bar
Get your cream cheese room temperature put in a big bowl. Add lemon juice and powdered sugar. Cream together with a mixer.
Wash the strawberries and dry on a towel. Slice the bottom of the strawberry off so they will sit flat. Cut a hole in the top part of the strawberry going down to the bottom but don’t cut through. You should have a nice whole in them.
Scoop you cream cheese mixture in a quart size ziplock and cut a hole out of the corner.
Squirt the cream cheese in the middle of the strawberries. Grate chocolate over the top of them and enjoy.
Tina Specht is co-publisher of the Minden Press-Herald. She shares her thoughts and recipes each Thursday.