Valentine's Day

I know I probably say this every year, but I LOVE Valentine's Day! It's falls right around our half year anniversary, and this year it was the same weekend as President's Day--the holiday weekend when we went on the infamous snowmobile trip that kind of started things off for us. So its a happy time of year, with a lot of good memories for us.

This year, we didn't go out and do anything exciting, but instead spent the four day weekend mostly at home, just being together. Honestly it was perfect. 

The Thursday night before the big day, Brian walked through the door after work with this gorgeous bouquet of pink roses. Two dozen of them. I was so surprised! It's been a while since he's surprised me with flowers (there's not usually room in the budget for them, and although I love getting flowers, I realize they're not the most practical purchase, so I don't encourage him to buy them for me). They smelled heavenly, and I actually had a real vase to put them in this time instead of the Ziff Davis water bottle I used in NYC. They lasted over a week, and every time I glanced at them or took a minute to breathe in their scent, I couldn't help but smile and feel loved.

Brian took Friday off because we had our first appointment with an infertility specialist. We've been super nervous about jumping into this, but feel that's its time, and that we are finally in a position to be able to pursue this because of our move out of NYC. I don't want to go into much detail right now, but just mention that it happened. The consultation went really well, and we came out feeling a lot less nervous about the whole thing and now have a plan for going forward. This is all very good.

After our appointment we stopped for lunch at In-N-Out and then went grocery shopping. My big present to Brian for the holiday was to make him a German dinner--much like the one we had for Oktoberfest. Once we got home we unloaded the groceries, and fell asleep. Haha! We'd been so emotionally charged and anxious about our doctor visit that we were a bit exhausted.

That evening we made rotkhol-- red cabbage with onions and apples cooked in vinegar, bacon fat and seasoned with cloves (among other things). It's amazing, and best when prepared a day ahead. I knew I needed Brian's help to get the flavors just right. I'm still a newbie when it comes to all of this, but I'm learning. So he helped me adjust the ingredients as needed as the cabbage cooked, and it turned out so good. We were quite proud of ourselves for getting it about right on our first time. I thought the cross section of the head of red cabbage we used was so pretty, so I had to snap a picture.   

The cabbage takes a while to cook, so while it was simmering, we mixed up a batch of Layne's sweet hot mustard. Brian took point on this. This stuff is so delicious, and that's an understatement. It's just amazing. And it's not complicated to make. After it was finished and poured into jars, Brian tasted it. After realizing that it tasted just like his Dad's, he remarked, "today I become a man." Haha!

On Saturday, we spent the entire today doing things together. It was just low key and so fun and relaxing. I know it's just the two of us right now, so when we are home it's just us together, but during the week its different. Brian is tired from work and has Elder's Quorum stuff to do (he's serving as the the hird counselor right now), and works on other projects he's got going. I've got a lot of stuff on my mind like dinner and cleanup, the week's schedule, my latest knitting project, lesson prep for callings, etc. So even though its just us together in the evenings, we aren't always together if you know what I mean. It was really nice to reconnect, and have a whole day where we were just focused on each other. We try to make most Saturdays our day, but this year has been so busy that its been too long since that's happened.

That evening, I started cooking our German feast. Brian had actually fallen asleep, so I let him sleep while I got the potatoes boiling for potato salad, mixed up the dressing for the cucumber salad, and got the bratwurst cooking. I wanted to have it all done before he woke up, but when it came time to open the jar of sauerkraut, I needed help. I tried every trick I could think of to loosen the lid, but it just wouldn't budge. So I gave in and woke him up to help me open the jar. Of course, once he realized that dinner prep was well underway, he got really excited and wanted to help. While we finished up the last couple of dishes, we listened to some German Folk Music to put us in the mood for our meal. It was great.

At last, everything was done and we sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor. It was so good. I tell you, eating a bite of bratwurst with the sweet hot mustard is a heavenly experience. We didn't talk for the first part of dinner, because the food was so good and we were savoring every bite. Suffice it to say, I think Brian loved it and I did too.

     

After dinner, we cuddled while watching a movie (I don't remember which one). It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

After church on Sunday, we had a lunch of leftovers. They were even better a day later. Since it was officially Valentine's Day, we exchanged letters that we'd written to each other. Brian is such a sweet, loving, and kind man. I'm so blessed that he's my husband. 

Since Monday was President's Day, Brian had the day off as well. It was so nice to have such a long break with him, and I was especially happy that he was able to take some time off and get a breather from work. It was good for him to have some down time at home. 

It seriously was the most perfect holiday weekend, and I wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way or with any other person.