Friday, February 13, 2015

Valentine's Day Blog Hop: The gifts of Love



We're celebrating love on this special weekend, with prizes and gifts to our lovely readers! Visit the Addictive reads main site to enter to win the main prize of  $50 gift card of dinner for two, or a $25 gift card (2 offers) for the digital reading platform of your choice, or a a 10 book digital prize pack valued at $35 by our romance authors.  Addictive Reads Main Event Page    And follow the other author's blog posts in this event to win more individual prizes offered on our blogs! Link to other blogs is at the bottom of this page. Happy Valentine's Day.

My gift to one lucky Romancing History Blog Visitor:  $25 gift card to Olive Garden from me (US residents only). To enter to win please leave a comment here about your worst Valentine Day Date. It can be one or two sentences if you like. Also leave your email address in the comments so I can contact the winner.  It's my gift  to help you make more romance memories.

True Story, True Love, Valentine's date becomes a disaster

My first Valentine's Day Dinner with my husband, (then just a boyfriend), ended up being a threesome. No, we didn't have sex with a third party. It was a little misunderstanding about who Dan was actually with that night.  It was a Church Youth Group Valentine's Day Dinner, and everyone was dressed in fancy gowns and suits. It was a formal dinner with music and fun. A prom date, sort of, for the Youth Group at our church.

my husband and I pre-marriage, 1980

Dan and I were dating for about six weeks by then. We had bought the tickets as a couple. I had a lovely long dress, a gunnie sack gown and Dan was decked out in a smart pinstripe suit of grey.  I was looking forward to this special date, our first Valentine's Day as a couple that would launch into a 35 year (to date) love affair.  The table for the dinner was a long one, being in a church hall. We took our seats, and were enjoying ourselves immensely, for about five minutes.

Darlene, a sweet older woman who was developmentally challenged, came to sit on the other side of Dan. She was alone at the party and she had a huge crush on him. She kept poking him on the shoulder when he was talking to me throughout the night, or if he were trying to hold my hand. I remember being a little frustrated at the time. Dan, being a true knight and a gentleman, was kind to her and we both just smiled through it. The situation became somewhat of a strain after an hour or so, as Darlene seemed to be under the impression that she was Dan's date for the evening. So, we endured that first Valentine's Day date as a couple, and now we look back on it and laugh, some 35 years later. To make up for the disaster Valentine's dinner that night, Dan took me out to very restaurant Villa Roma a few evenings later. True story, true love.

So, as part of this blog hop, we are all sharing things that make a great Valentine's gift. These would be my choices;

1. Trip to France to kiss at the Eiffel tower

2. An evening in an Irish Castle, with a roaring fire in the hearth, a candlelight dinner for two, with me in a silk evening gown ...... yeah, I know, I'm wishing pretty hard. A girl can dream.

3. A day and a night in the Caribbean, at an exclusive resort on the ocean.


4. A night at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center (PAC) to hear a classical concert or see a play. 
    >>> Notice I'm getting closer to home as we descend, and closer to reality. Fox Cities PAC is actually about an hour and 30 minutes from me, and Dan and I have been there a few times. 

5.  Dinner at an exclusive gourmet restaurant in Green Bay, like the Black & Tan on Walnut street.  Yep, been there too, many times for special events and it's really quite possible we will go there       again for V-Day. It's only a half hour or so from our home. The food is served as an art form so it is very elegant--and pricey!

Combine 4 and 5, you have a realistic heaven. 

So, yeah, I'd love a diamond necklace or a new Mercedes, too. Maybe a day at the spa ... 
Dreaming is good, as long as it doesn't give you a dissatisfaction with your reality. 

Don't forget to visit these lovely romance writer's blogs as part of our hop, as many are offering gifts of love as well. 

27 comments:

Anne said...

There wasn't a bad one, but many years with no date. Better no date than bad date. Worst gift was a silver wrench charm for my charm bracelet. It had absolutely no meaning. Why? I still wonder, why?

acm05atjuno.com

joye said...

WORST VALENTINE DATE WAS WHEN HE TOOK ME BOWLING. OF COURSE, I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING OUT TO EAT SO I HAD NOT DRESSED FOR THE BOWLING ALLEY. AND, I HAD NEVER BOWLED BEFORE. IT WAS NOT VERY MUCH FUN. HE EVENTUALLY DID TAKE ME TO DINNER ON ANOTHER DATE.
jwisley8@me.com

Unknown said...

The year a then boyfriend had planned a weekend getaway and at the last minute was offered work for the weekend and he took it. Needless to say we didn't last long past that

Unknown said...

A local radio station set me up on a blind date. The morning dj's came and picked me up, then blindfolded me when we got to his house. He was also blindfolded. They took us out to eat, blindfolded, and then to the hockey game. during the second period intermission, I was taken onto the ice with a few other women without my blindfold, and then my date had to pick me out of the lineup, without his blindfold. If he picked me, and we decided to go out again, the station would give us a gift card, we said we would, he picked up the gift card, but I never heard from him again. Oh, and I also got car-sick between his house and the restaurant because I was blindfolded and so nervous. Not a good night, except I got to go to the hockey game for free.

books4me said...

My worst date for Valentine's day was a first date. We went to see a movie (I'm not telling the name as it'll date me...LOL) and held hands but we were both sweating so bad that when he let go, we both wiped our hands on our pants. LOL. Then my first kiss...a mess...we hit noses, tried again and hit noses again! SO he gave me a kiss on the cheek...and I never went out again.

books4me67 at ymail dot com

Stacey Joy Netzel said...

Yep, there are some doozy Valentine's dates here. You and Dan were so sweet to be nice to Darlene. Wayne and I don't do much for Valentine's Day. At first, because we didn't have the $, and as years pass, because it's just another day. I'd rather have a show of affection and flowers for absolutely no reason in the middle of April than on Valentine's Day when he's 'supposed' to do something. Today we shared a kiss, and said Happy Valentine's Day, and "The kiss is your card." We're both good with that. :)

Stacey Joy Netzel said...

Oh, and I forgot to say, I LOVE this: "Dreaming is good, as long as it doesn't give you a dissatisfaction with your reality."

Patches said...

Every Valentines is bad as I am single.

magic5905 said...

One of my exes broke up with me on Valentine's Day.
magic5905 at embarqmail dot com

bn100 said...

haven't had a bad one- don't really celebrate it

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

Beautiful Disaster said...

Worst one is when I had to be away for business and I wasn't able to spend it with my hubby and children :)
Lori
lorih824 at yahoo dot com

JackieW said...

Haven't been to the Caribbean so that would e my selection.
JFWisherd(at)aol(dot)com

Adria's Musings said...

My worst Valentine's Date? I don't think I've had one but the worst date involved me having to pay for my own dinner.

Adria
adria.rose_03@yahoo.com

lsilver60 said...

A silver wrench, that sounds odd. Probably the person buying it thought it was so 'cute'. But a gift should be something meaningful to the receipient, especially for Valentine's Day.

lsilver60 said...

That sounds like a bummer to me. Bowling? Fun, but it would be nice to be prepared so you dress appropriate. Hopefully you weren't in a dress.

lsilver60 said...

Really? What a dunce. I hope you've upgraded to a better model of boyfriend.

lsilver60 said...

That kinda sounds creepy. The blindfold thing. And what a jerk to keep the gift card and not keep his promise to you. Sounds like a disaster date to me.

lsilver60 said...

A kiss is the magic. If it's not there, no sense going on. Good choice for you, I hope. Sweaty palms, definately a romantic turn off. Reminds me of high school dates, or middle school. Let's move on please, right?

lsilver60 said...

Thanks for stopping by, Stacey. Yes, many years Dan and I do the same, a hug, a candy bar, a kiss. When you've been together for a while, you get that its not about grand gestures. It's the little things.

lsilver60 said...

Oh, sorry if this made you sad. Keep smiling and be positive. Positive energy attracts good things. Hugs to you.

lsilver60 said...

That's got to be the nastiest Valentine's Day memory. Hope you found a better person after that. Sometimes a bad thing can be the catalyst for a good thing coming to you in the future.

lsilver60 said...

Good to hear you don't have a Valentine's Day Disaster Date. And thank you for stopping in to say hello and leave a comment.

lsilver60 said...

Missing the family, definitely can relate. Our family's work schedule is so goofy that we often don't get together on holidays because most of us are working it.

lsilver60 said...

The Caribbean would be a delight for me. I've dreamed of going there for many years on a cruise. My honey just doesn't think a cruise would be fun.

lsilver60 said...

Oh my, what a cheat. Some guys just don't get it, do they? So much for romance there. Hope the dinner was very good.

Dana said...

Not having a date for Valentine's Day was my worst. carousel96@hotmail.com

barniebad said...

Over the years, I have learned that if I want something, I have to get it myself. I have forgotten what it is like to receive gifts. So, I treat myself! My husband is not big on V-day!

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