Happy Valentine's Day

We had a cold spell on Tuesday of last week...even some snow on Pusch Ridge! Ok, well, maybe it was only a dusting, but it was the white stuff!! This is a view from our back yard. It was a bleary day, and it was cold. Alisha and I walked Sabino, it was maybe 47F...perfect walking weather!! By Thursday it was back up in the 60's. Today was sunny, blue skies, and upper 60's with a slight cool breeze! Gorgeous!

Glen and I don't exchange gifts, not for Christmas, birthdays, Valentine's Day, etc. We just don't. Early in our relationship, we agreed that we would just exchange cards. We pick out a card that best expresses our sentiments. This year, the cards we got each other had the same theme...best friends. We are truly best friends by every definition of the word. There is nothing I cannot tell him, my deepest dreams, hopes, desires, along with my troubles. He doesn't judge me, and doesn't tell me what to do. He expresses his opinion, because I ask him, and then leaves it to me to decide what to do. Because I value his opinion, we usually decide together. If I decide to go against his opinion, he is ok with that too...I explain my position, and though he may not understand, he accepts it. He never says, "I told you so"...even when he's had the opportunity to do so. He has never ridiculed me, called me names, belittled me; he is selfless, always putting me first. When I get home each day, he comes out to meet me to carry my bags in. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, he is my soul mate, my true love, and I could not imagine my life without him. I truly try not to take him for granted.



When we started dating in December of 2000, we did exchange gifts...I gave him a poetry book (corny, I know), and he gave me some sapphire and diamond earrings. Our first Valentine's Day, he gave me a gold diamond heart pendant, I gave him a wallet. It was then we chose by mutual agreement not to exchange gifts because we just decided that if we wanted something for ourselves, we got it. We truly want for nothing. Neither of us is materialistic, and we work hard for the things we do have. It also takes the pressure off shopping for each other!! The most pressing decision we made for today was deciding where to have dinner! We opted for Miguel's, a local restaurant specializing in Southwest cuisine. We've eaten there before and it was a little pricey, but the food, service, ambience were impeccable - we decided to go back. I made the reservation 2 weeks ago, after trying to get into The Melting Pot, but they were already booked solid. Anyway, Miguel's called me on Wednesday confirming the time, and to tell me they would have a set menu. They called me twice but didn't make contact with me, so they called me again on Thursday, this time they talked to me personally. They were offering a 4-course menu: soup (tomato, mussels, with a cilantro topping), salad (asparagus, beets with a citrus vinagrette), I had Chilean Sea Bass cooked just right, Glen had the prime rib, which he said was very good! Dessert was creme brulee. Neither of us is a huge fan of the dessert, but it was on the menu...OMG...it was soooooo good! It had a salsa of diced strawberries on top, a very light topping, and the custard was airy, light and not too sweet at all. Overall, dinner was exceptional!! There was a party of 4 seated behind us that seemed surprised that there was a set menu for the evening. The waiter informed them that they should have been told when the reservation was confirmed. They said no one told them. Glen and I were talking that someone in that party had to know and just failed to tell everyone else. As I said, they called me several times, and made contact with me...I can't imagine that they missed them - possible, but highly improbable. Maybe they just didn't like the menu :)

We had DirecTV installed today. Now we have 3 dishes on the roof. One is for Glen's current internet, the other is for Glen's old internet, and now we have the TV dish. When the guy was on the roof, he happened to look down from the roof because he had seen a "large cat" on our front porch and thought, "thats a big cat". It was our neighborhood bobcat lounging near our front door. The tech took a picture of it with his cell phone. The cat eventually took off for the desert vegetation area between us and the neighbor. My SIL was telling Glen that there was a family, 2 adults and 2 babies, in their backyard a couple of weeks ago; they live behind us on the next street. They are certainly not afraid of humans thats for sure...yikes!

I hope everyone had a great day, whether you spent it with yourself (YOU are special), or with someone, or perhaps your loved one is no longer physically here - he/she lives on in your heart. You are never alone! Talk soon...