the countdown is on...

yup, that's right. only 24 days until my absolute favorite holiday... VALENTINES DAY! I mean, seriously, who could not love this holiday? It's a great excuse to wear pink (not that I never need an excuse to wear pink, but still...). And besides that, there's love in the air, so much joy and happiness floating around.

Now, lets get something straight here. I don't have a boyfriend, nor have I ever had a boyfriend with whom to share a romantic candle-lit dinner on this most beautiful of all days. But I still love February 14. In fact, I love it BECAUSE I'm single. I'm convinced that it just won't be the same after I'm married. I mean, since my husband is going to treat me like a princess every day, constantly buying me flowers for no reason, Valentine's day will no longer be anything special. (Hey, a girl can dream, right?) So I'm enjoying them while I'm young and free. Because the real beauty of valentines day is not having somebody who loves you, but rather the possibility that you have a secret admirer out there somewhere. It's the anticipation I love.

Here's how a typical Valentines day goes for me:

1 week prior: mail valentines cards to all of my friends. be sure to include a comment about valentines day being my favorite holiday. this way, friends will still have time to send me a valentines card, resulting in a feeling of warm fuzziness.

5:00 am: wake up and check outside my door to see if my potential secret admirer has left a rose for me. because all good secret admirers know to leave the rose late the night before, so that admired girl will find it waiting for her when she wakes up.

5:05 am: go back to sleep until 11:00, then check again. because, although all really good secret admirers know to leave the rose the night before, sometimes there are holdups. and, yes, sleeping until 11:00 is necessary. that leaves secret admirer plenty of time to rush to a flower shop, find the perfect flower, and deliver it to my doorstep.

2:00 pm: check the mail. maybe said secret admirer has slipped the note in my mailbox. or maybe i have a long-distance admirer. find instead a package from my mom, which includes a very cute new outfit, candy, and a pink stuffed poodle.

6:00 pm: dinner with friends. make sure the porch light is off, just in case secret admirer is trying to deliver secret note and flowers while i'm not home.

6:30 pm: check door again, just in case secret admirer is a little late. hey, i'm not picky.

8:00 pm: try on new outfit from mom, call her to thank her for the gift, and make a paper chain counting down the days until next year's best day of the year.


Now, there are some strict rules for an ideal valentines day.
rule #1: Secret admirer is not allowed to reveal his identity, thus leaving me with a glimmer of hope that said secret admirer is my latest crush. (exception: if secret admirer actually is my latest crush, he is then allowed to reveal his true identity and confess his undying love for me.)

okay, so maybe there's only one rule that really needs to be followed. but it's an important one, that's for sure. Have you made your paper chain yet?