Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

I wish I had beautiful photos of a Valentine's Day pancake breakfast to post for you, or even shots of the handmade heart-photo wreath I had in mind to make, but alas. All I have to show for myself is a pile of dirty laundry and black rings under my eyes. In fact, if you want to know what I had in mind for today, just read Kate's blog. My plan was almost identical, except I was going to serve roast beef instead of lobster.

I told my DH that I REALLY wanted to hold off and pretend that Valentine's Day was next week. I've been house-bound for 2 days and didn't get a chance to get him anything at all. And I had plans for a romantic meal that we could eat by candlelight after the kids were in bed. But to be honest, I'm just not in the mood.

Drat that man, do you know what he did? He left me a present anyway. I have another (private) family blog full of photos of my kids and little stories about their doings. It's my way of keeping in touch with our spread-out family and recording special childhood moments. I've been keeping it for almost 3 years and it's quite big. Anyway, DH has been covertly copying the blog into Word, re-formatting it, printing it out, and inserting it into sheet protectors in a lovely black scrapbook. Can you believe him?

I was so happy, and also felt like such a loser at the same time. I wish I had thought of such a nice, thoughtful gift for him and had been working on it for weeks, instead of waiting until the last minute.

Before I sink into a full depression, I will share two things making me happy today. One is the packet of art stuff I ordered from this Etsy site. She has so much cool stuff- cool Japanese stuff! It's worth checking out. Brother has been fascinated with all these little pieces for the better part of the day- a huge help while Sister is still so sick.

A closer look at the coolness...

And yesterday I found this site where you can download recordings of old records! I have fond memories of listening to records when I was little, and think it is great for the imagination. But I never knew where to start for my kids- everything is so TV oriented these days. We'll be using the site a lot in the future.

OK- I've got to go make some red jello for Sister. That's as Valentine's-ey as it's going to get around here today.