V4L Challenge 11 (ranty)

Why Valentine’s Day Sucks!

First, if you’re wondering (and of course you are) where challenges 9 and 10 are, no worries! You did not miss an exciting installment of Cupid + Chantal. I simply skipped those challenges due to math: the pesky 24 hours per day adding up to 24 yet again. Dammit.

Second, I actually like Valentine’s Day and think it’s a lot of fun to celebrate love cuz gawd knows we spend way too much time focusing on stuff we dislike, amirite? The day doesn’t have to be sad if you don’t have a romantic sweetie ~ it can be about other loves. Children, friends, pets. You can even buy a treat for yourself, or for me. 😍

However! I totally get why people hate Valentine’s Day. It’s stressful to be forced to demonstrate your feelings on demand ~ some people just don’t respond on cue, and I respect that. They don’t want to spend money on schmaltzy cards or buy pink teddy bears, jewelry, flowers, candy, etc. because it’s the fourteenth day of February. Whyyyyy? How is that meaningful? Unless it’s the anniversary of that particular couple’s first date or other special occasion, I can see people (especially men) feeling resentful of the expectation to produce tangible evidence of their relationship commitment on this random date.

What’s even more annoying is that women will go along with the above paragraph and then still be upset if the man ignores Valentine’s Day as they had previously agreed to do. She had probably agreed mostly to make him happy, but then when the day arrived she thought well he could have at least gotten me a silly card and a cupcake. That wouldn’t have taken so much time or cost very much. Then he’s mad that she’s upset. True story. 💔

I personally don’t like the pressure to make a huge fancy deal out of Valentine’s Day cuz that’s a lot of work, and who needs more work? I resent the idea that (when I did have someone), I was supposed to buy a gorgeous new outfit and look spectacular on Valentine’s Day, or else I’d disappoint my guy. Naturally he was supposed to make reservations somewhere nice, or else we’d have to plan to cook something special together. So much work! Especially on a weeknight. Ughhh.

But it seems like everything has to be extreme these days, all or nothing, love or hate. Why can’t we (if we have a romantic partner), celebrate Valentine’s Day in a fun, low key way? Do something special but not annoying or expensive? Maybe plan it for the weekend afterward if February 14th is a work night. If we don’t have a partner, there’s no reason to hate the day when we can treat a relative or friend to a little gift, or even ourselves. Gifts can be of time too.

Sure, it would be ideal to express our love every day of the year, to buy a gift exactly when we felt the genuine urge, not when ads told us to, or to give the special people in our lives extra time and attention at any random time just because. We certainly do not need a pink and red hearts day mostly concocted by greeting card companies to nudge us, right? But let’s get real. People who say that stuff mostly aren’t that loving. They’re cranky curmudgeons who don’t randomly make pretty, glittery cards for people or bake pink frosted cakes or jump up and say hey I’m really glad you’re in my life!

So pffft on them and their hatey poopery. They bag on Valentine’s Day because they like to be cynical about all things all the time. They don’t want to shop or create something handmade or give you extra time. They feel awkward about expressing positive, good feelings. Mostly I’m talking about the men I’ve met, since I’m more forgiving of women who are sad on Valentine’s Day because men are so hatey about it. But don’t be sad! We can buy our own candy now.

Sorry… but I guess I just don’t think that Valentine’s Day sucks. There are so many ways to celebrate love. 💖❤️💗

V4L Challenge 1

The Cherub’s Valentine’s Card

Cupid had been promoted to Project Manager this year and he took his new duties very seriously. He had reorganized the flowcharts and onboarded a new crew of arrowers for optimal solutioning. His Operations Director was so impressed that Cupid received a bonus on Valentine’s Day.

“Go out and have some fun with your new girlfriend,” the Director said. “I know you haven’t been able to spend much time together since your promotion.”

Oh no! Cupid had completely forgotten about his girlfriend. He thanked his boss for the bonus and rushed out of the office to the jewelry store, hoping to find a last-minute gift. But it was closed.

“Flowers!” Cupid said. He ran down the street to the florist.

“Roses?” The florist laughed. “Sorry, buddy. It’s Valentine’s Day. You have to order those in advance. How about a nice fern?”

Cupid didn’t want to give his girlfriend a fern. He suspected she might already be a tad bit annoyed with him for failing to make romantic plans in advance. He needed to give her something nice, to prove he’d been thinking about her, when he actually hadn’t been.

A pretty card and a box of candy! Girls loved chocolate. Cupid didn’t have time to go to the mall, so he decided to get candy at the drugstore. Chocolate was chocolate, right? He grabbed a extra large candy bar and a card that had a teddy bear on the front holding a glittery pink heart. Perfect!

Cupid paid for his treats and jogged to his girlfriend’s place. “Happy Valentine’s Day!” he said and gave her a big hug.

“Thanks, Cupid!” she took the gift bag. “You shouldn’t have. I didn’t get anything for you since we’ve only been on two dates.”

“I just wanted to let you know that you’re important to me,” he said. “I hope you like chocolate!”

She took out the bar and started to open it. “Oh, my God this candy has nuts.”

Cupid stared in horror as she began to wheeze and cough. He called emergency and they came immediately.

“Didn’t you see her peanut allergy bracelet?” one of the EMT’s asked Cupid on the way to the hospital.

“No. I mean, I thought it was one of those New Age things.” Cupid sure felt stupid. He had the bag with him, in case they needed to test the candy.

But they didn’t and his girlfriend ended up fine. He held her hand as she rested in her hospital bed.

“This was an unexpected way to spend Valentine’s Day,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” Cupid said. “It’s all my fault for not being prepared. I threw the chocolate away, but I still have a card for you.”

She opened it. “I will be beary happy if you will be my Valentine!”

Cupid was a little embarrassed. This was a child’s card. He had made things worse by giving it to her and he should have just thrown it away. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Next year I’ll–”

“Don’t be sorry!” she said. “This is adorable. I’ll be your Valentine if you don’t bring me any more peanuts.”

“It’s a deal,” Cupid said.

💖💖💖💖💖

Furious News Barrage [IOW]

Three of today’s prompt words wrote themselves into a title today.

Don’t you love it when that happens?

It’s so delicious, like a secret treasure candy stash you forgot about in a cookie tin.

In any case, I try to stay away from the furious news barrage and stick with prompts and games.

I find that so much better for my emotional state.

30-Day Song Challenge [3]

Welp, Days 5 and 6 certainly go together in my book! As you know, I’m not one for loud music, but like everything else… there are exceptions. Billy Idol’s songs are in that category, amirite? Turn up the volume for his cover of “Mony Mony!” 🎶🎶🎶

https://youtu.be/IAmgTNATJkk

This next one, also with a double title, not only needs to be played loudly, but also who can resist dancing to “Sugar Sugar?” Not me! 🍭🍫🎶

https://youtu.be/h9nE2spOw_o

Cannoli Canoe [SOCS]

Can I get through Halloween without eating too much candy? Quite candidly, if it wouldn’t cause a scandal, I’d prefer a cannoli, which I discovered late in life and have not eaten nearly enough of. Boohoo, light a candle. Other peeps may lament the fact that they never joined the mile high club on the flight to Cancun or traveled the Amazon in a canoe, but me I’ll just be whispering on my last breath… I wish I’d eaten another cannoli… send me through the volcano and dump my ashes in a canister… and all the while I’ll be thinking of this pastry filled with bliss. Can you dig it, toucan?

Blue Sky

No, this isn’t about Breaking Bad or the ELO song. It’s a pile of questions I found here on an open tag game, and I’m just grabbing them without following the rules or using the banner cuz that’s how I roll. If any of the questions annoy me, I’ll delete them and possibly substitute my own. Then it’s your turn to play. Or else. 🔥

~*~

1. What country have you never visited but would love to, and why?

– I want to visit England and see majestic old crumbly things like the Queen and have tea and cucumber snadwiches and browse in bookshops and hear men speak in sexy British accents all day (swoonsies).

2. What person in your life (not including family members) has most shaped who you are today?

– Probably my ex-husband of 21 years.

3. List three things that make you happy?

– Kitties, poetry, tea.

4. What’s your favorite genre to read?

– Romance.

5. What time period in history most intrigues you, and why?

– That time when whales walked on land and then went back into the ocean and lost their feets. I haz questions.

6. If you could add a new talent to your repertoire, what would it be, and why?

– Repertoire, lol. I would like to have a sense of direction, thx.

7. Where is your favorite place in the world, and why?

– Anywhere with both my daughters, all of us having a good time.

8. What animal best describes your personality, and why?

– Hermit crab. I like to be home alone, and I’m crabby.

9. What’s your favorite recipe (and please share it)?

– Tea and c00kies. You make some tea and get some c00kies from the c00kie package. Serve with a napkin. Hope that wasn’t too technical.

10. Hiking boots, sneakers, heels, or flip-flops?

– Eh? Cute boots or loafers. Occasional heels but not high ones. Sneakers for long walks. Long meaning over a mile. 😂

11. Would you rather have tons of love and little wealth, or tons of wealth and little love?

– Wealth, tons of. Then watch the love roll in. I know how it works.

12. What’s your favorite flower? Any special reason?

– Yellow roses edged with pink. Also sunflowers and orchids. I love a super colorful bouquet 💐 most of all. No reason.

13. What word do you find annoying, and you hear it all the time?

– It starts with T.

14. What bends your mind every time you think about it?

– The first person who figured out how to make bread. It’s so freaking complicated with a bunch of steps and not something that would have happened by accident.

15. What is in your fridge right now?

– Bread, whale feets. The usual.

K, I’m done. Deleted the rest. Now you!

A Return to Normalcy

I always say I like the routine of the workweek. I enjoy getting up early with a sense of purpose, knowing I can’t laze around too long because I have to get dressed and go to the office soon. I wouldn’t want to work at home in sweatpants, since I like having a reason to dress nicely and, most importantly, have a collection of shooze in various colors and styles. Not to mention boots! If I worked at home, I’d never wear adorable corduroy skirts with cute sweaters and boots. The horror.

Plus the workweek makes the weekends so much sweeter. You schedule fun plans (or no plans!) and look forward to seeing friends, going to cool events, watching movies, or just blissing out in peace when Saturday morning rolls around.

That said, for over a week last week I hibernated with my daughter up in NorCal and really really enjoyed it. I drove her car to the store twice, and we took short walks around the neighborhood. But other than that, and letting her doggie outside in the back, I stayed in, wore sweats, and pretty much did nothing but read books, blog, color, eat various carbs, snack on candy, etc. I also kept checking the online news too frequently, blech!

Point is, I quickly forgot how much I allegedly love the routine of getting out of the house and going to work in a cute outfit, and I immediately adapted to shlumping around like a retired brown bear. Didn’t realize how adaptable I am. What a nice trait to discover so late in life. (Pats self on back.) (Ow.)

But today I’m back to normal.

A Perfect Day for Candycornfish

I did this last night and this morning. After I colored a few fishies, I decided they looked like candy corn (appropriate for the season); however, my daughter and her fiancé think they look like one of the Pokemons. Either way, I’m submitting it for October Coloring Club. 🙂

Flower Power [SOCS]

Flowers are a funny thing… I used to tell men (dates/prospective dates) not to get me flowers, that I was allergic, or that they’d trigger migraines. I’d sometimes simplify this all to “I’m not really into flowers.” I’d make sure to say this if it was around Valentine’s Day, the holiday that men dread. (I’d also say I didn’t care about V-Day too.) 🥀

All that was a lie. I love flowers! Of course I do. 🌺🌼🌸 Flowers are beautiful and awesome, each one different and special. I love them singly and in bouquets, in arrangements and in gardens. My favorites are sunflowers and orchids, plus all the variegated roses, especially pink to yellow. I also adore African violets. My mom used to have a lot of those.

I told men I didn’t like flowers so they wouldn’t spend extra money on me. I was trying to be helpful and kind. But it all backfired anyway as several men who paid for dinners and such criticized me for that later anyway. I’ve experienced a lot of criticism from men I’ve dated and had relationships with. I don’t know if this is normal or if I attract these kind of men, or what the deal is. It’s probably the biggest reason I’ve quit dating. Not only do I fail to find someone, but then I have to listen to a pile of whinery. My favorite: “you didn’t bake me cookies!”

Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to be helpful and kind. Maybe I should have said hell yeah I like flowers and candy… and I love to be treated to a super special night out for Valentine’s Day. 🌹💋🍷Then I would have ended up dating a whole different class of men, and that might not have been a bad thing. Or it could have been much worse!

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut [SYW]

Sometimes you don’t!

Share Your World questions from Cee:

Do you prefer eating foods with nuts or no nuts?

Complicated Q. I love peanut butter. In fact, I recently rediscovered my taste for crunchy PB, after declaring I hated it for decades, only because Target was all out of Jif smooth (I’m a choosy mommy). Yes, I know that peanuts aren’t technically nuts. 🙄🙄🙄 Sometimes I enjoy snacking on almonds, cashews, etc. I love marzipan and any pastries made with it. But the nuts stop there. I don’t want my c00kies, brownies, ice creams, etc. adulterated with nuts. So annoying! (Of course chocolate candy can have nuts; that’s entirely different.)

Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?

My preference is closed, to keep monsters and ghosties safely shut away, but my cat has other ideas and often opens them in the night to hang with the otherworldly beings.

Are you usually late, early, or right on time?

Almost always early unless I force myself to be on time or deliberately late. Is just my way of avoiding the stress of worrying about being late. I can always sit in my car and read something if I’m ridiculously early. Also, I tend to get lost, even with GPS, so I need to build that in.

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.

So many things! I had a great week and hope I don’t jinx myself by saying so. Last Monday I was still spending time with my lovely daughter and we were having fun painting to vids from YouTube. Tuesday I saw Crazy Rich Asians and enjoyed it a bunch. Wednesday I had a delicious free lunch at work courtesy of the landlord. Saturday I had a blast playing board games with friends. Yesterday I just chilled with Mr. G watching Monk all day… home sweet home!