Our first Valentine's!

 Nick at the Cheesecake Factory with our leftovers!

Me with my flowers and ipod (I named it "pinky" as I am the "brain").
A better picture of me, but you can't see Pinky the ipod that well.

So you may find it hard to believe, but throughout our on-again/off-again relationship we have never been "on" for a Valentine's Day...until now!  It was truly our first Valentine's Day together and it was fabulous.  :)

It was glorious to have it on a Saturday as we were able to sleep in together!  It was actually a good thing that we slept in so late because we were there to answer the door.  I was terrified of who it could have been so I sent Nick to the door.  He came back with a long box for me- it turned out to be a dozen long-stemmed red roses!  In his dilemma of not knowing if he could sneak away to get flowers on Saturday (since he knew I would be like a leech!) he had them delivered and it was perfect!  

We decided late in the morning to go for a jog even though we didn't really feel like it- well I didn't feel like it.  We compromised and just took a quick, short run.  When we got back to the apartment we took turns showering and making brunch- Nick stirred up the batter and got the waffle iron ready while I jumped in the shower and then when I hopped out I proceeded to cook the waffles and some eggs plus get all of the toppings ready while he cleaned up.  We had a beautiful breakfast of waffles and eggs with strawberries and whipped cream and bananas and syrup and butter and powdered sugar and some juice in our champagne flutes to top it all off.  Nicholas cleaned up the kitchen while I did my hair and got dressed.

Then, because it was Valentine's and Nicholas loves me, he took me to see Confessions of a Shopaholic at the theatre.   I will admit that it wasn't as great as I was hoping and it did not make me want to live in New York and wear fabulous clothes (as those types of movies generally do), but it was cute and fun to be there with Nick.

We made a quick stop home to grab a jacket and trade our sandals for closed-toe shoes and then we headed off to the Galleria Mall.  The mall is just about a mile from Nick's office so it was a normal commute for him- except this time I got to be in the car and talk the whole way and sing along to his ipod.  We sat in traffic for a good while close to the mall- the Galleria area is infamous for its bad traffic and plus it was a holiday!  We finally made it to the mall and snagged a great parking spot in the garage close to the doors.  

We walked straight to the Cheesecake Factory to put our names on the list (they don't take reservations) and it was SO busy!  We waited in the wrong line for awhile but finally figured out how to get our name on the right list.  The girl told us to come back in a half hour to get a pager and then from there the wait would be another hour.  Uhh...not ideal but I wanted that cheesecake!  So we walked around the mall for a half hour- looking in stores that we would never buy things in, looking at things we would buy that were way more pricey than we would ever buy, and looking at the ice skaters (there is an arena in the center of the mall).  Finally it had been a half hour and we went back to the restaurant.  

I had thought that it would be easier for Nick to wiggle in himself and pick up the pager, so I stood outside reading the menu.  After awhile I was getting nervous and so I wiggled in through the crowd to find him.  I looked all around the restaurant and couldn't see him.  I would have called him, but his phone was in my purse.  So I started to wiggle back out to the mall area when I saw him charging at me.  He was pointing into the restaurant saying "Go! Go!" and so I turned around and began the wiggle back in.  It turns out that when he went to pick up the pager they were out and a different lady than before had found us a table right then.  Nick was in a panic to get me so they wouldn't give it away and we rushed back to it. 

The table was actually an ideal one- in a room closed off from the rest of the busy and loud restaurant, covered with windows so you could look out to the city.  We both ate the bread like it wasn't going to be there in a few minutes while we looked at the menu.  I decided on a classic hamburger- not really dainty or fancy, but what I felt like none the less- and Nicholas chose the Thai Peanut Pasta or something like that...it was really really really good.  We had a fabulous waiter named Francisco who was very amicable and competent.  We really enjoyed our meals- their fries are so salty but are pure heaven none the less.  Then again, I haven't met a french fry yet that I haven't liked!  

At the close of our meal we decided collectively on a slice of Lemon Raspberry Creme cheesecake and a slice of Adam's Peanut Butter Ripple cheesecake (or something like that- it had a chocolate crust, regular cheesecake with peanut butter, caramel, Reese's and Butterfinger).  Nicholas had actually ordered the Lemon Raspberry Creme a few years ago when we went to Las Vegas but we took it to go and when we opened it up it was some white chocolate raspberry flavor and he has been craving a piece of what he actually ordered for quite some time now.  It was good to have both a chocolately/rich taste and a fruity/lighter taste.  We took leftovers of everything home.

When we came home we opened presents- my khaki shorts for Nick did not come close to the pink ipod shuffle he bought me!  I am so excited to have an ipod of my own!  (And I am sure Nick is too- I kept borrowing his!)  It is adorable and tiny and bright pink to match my new running shoes.  He is so thoughtful!!!

The weekend ended great as well- good talks in church and only a half hour to teach my primary kids.  Then a good meal at my parents and some cuddle time while we watched "The Ultimate Gift"- a dvd my old roommate left in my dvd player!  Unfortunately I woke up Monday not only sad that the weekend was over but sick as well...nothing more than just a cold, but nonetheless it is making the work week seem even more brutal!

I guess I will just have to look at my flowers, listen to my ipod, and wait for next year!