Valentine's Eve

I made a mistake tonight.

I went shopping.

At the mall (where I'd hoped to find a Benix store & buy a pizza stone for school...forgetting that Stone Road is pretty much the only mall on the Canadian planet without a Benix.)

Sorry, where was I? Oh yes.

I went from work to the mall. And as I walked in the doors, there were two guys arguing over where to shop. That was my clue number one. Then, a few steps further, I glanced into Metalsmiths & saw a sales lady helping a guy choose out a necklace. Clue numero dos. Then I stopped into RW&Co & was browsing through the rack when I guy walked from outside straight up to the counter and asked for a gift certificate.

By then I'd clued in. Tomorrow is February 14. Lovers' Day. St. Valentine's Day.

I was aware that it was going on. I'd gone out to dinner on Saturday with a friend. We went early & still had to wait to be seated. And the Valentine's decor was a not-so-subtle hint. And Saturday night I was chatting with friends & we came to the conclusion that places were busy b/c it was Valentine's weekend. The Vow came out in theatres. Romdram always comes out for V-day. And I also have a friend coming over tomorrow so we can watch The Help and eat good food (in celebration of what she likes to call "Singles' Awareness Day" or S.A.D., for short.)

But after a long day at work, I hadn't quite clued in to the whole pre-v-day salesation I was going to run into on Monday the 13th. I figured it out.

After visiting Dollarama for some birthday favours - and being the only one standing in line without Valentine's themed something (I didn't even have anything red! OR pink!) - I decided this holiday, while good in theory, is over-commercialized. Instead of putting heart & thought into it, people were scrambling for tacky dollar-store cards to express their 'love.' Since when did heartfelt go out of style? (I suppose you can still write a heart-felt sentiment in a dollar-store card.)

And finally - why I still thought this was a good idea, I don't know - I went to Walmart. I had to pick up some groceries for school. By the time I got to the cashier's station the ice cream was soft and the frozen fruit mushy. Good thing the rest was a little hardier.

But good news, y'all!

I picked up supper at Cultures - delish. I had the grilled chicken & avocado sandwich with 2 salads. (Fruit. And veggie.) I'm pretty sure avocado is my new favourite food. LOVE it! And, it's sooo good for you! (In moderation. Always in moderation.)

And, I picked me up some flowers. Yellow tulips. I've been seeing tulips all over lately. And I love them. And there was this one-night only stand in the mall, run by what HAD TO BE people of Dutch background (they looked it.) And the tulips were only $4/bunch!!! You weren't gonna find a better deal anywhere else. V-day usually isn't a good time to find deals on flowers, but what the hey. I like treating myself to flowers every once in awhile. They make me happy :)

Pretty, right!?