I've mentioned before that A and I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day on the day itself. We usually celebrate a few days before or after, whichever is more convenient to both of us. Three Valentines ago, A and I THINK we celebrated at a restaurant a few days before the 14th (This is so bad that we don't remember! I wasn't keeping a blog then). Last year's Valentines celebration found us at Bellarmine Field in Ateneo, having a dessert picnic underneath the star- filled sky. We bought a box of the then popular Gonuts Donuts and a Starbucks coffee each and laid on a mat as we watched the stars. This year, Valentine's Day was simple yet special.

Saturday Before Valentines

It was my real mom's birthday and we had dinner at her house. A was working on a Saturday and was only to catch up after the dinner. We went home early, around 11pm, but detoured to a night market near my office. When we dropped off my siblings, we went to Tia Maria's to buy him dinner and returned home where we popped Spanglish into the DVD player. We munched on Plain Ruffles dipped in salsa.

Sunday Before Valentines

Right after going to mass in the afternoon, I headed straight to the salon to get a hair spa, trim, manicure, pedicure and foot spa. A followed and got a last minute hair cut. We had dinner at World Topps in Katipunan. Somewhere in the middle of dinner, A asked,

A: So what are we doing for Valentine's?
Me: This is it! This is our Valentine's celebration! We haven't argued and fought in awhile and that's already enough for me.

A and I entered the year trying to overcome obstacles in our relationship and tackling issues about ourselves. For a while, we were at the bottom of a rollercoaster ride and boy, was it bumpy! But recently, we haven't had any arguments, much less, any fights and so a simple dinner was enough to make a Valentine's celebration special.

******

Sidenotes:
- A said that I was a cheap date. I teased him that since he hasn't been fighting me, I was already happy. He joked that he should fight with me all year long and just be nice to me on the week of Valentine's Day.
- After dinner, A andI headed at my house and hung out in my car. He needed to work a bit and brainstorm. We could have stayed in my house but my little brothers were all playing in the living room and so the noise would break his concentration. The car offered the perfect sanctuary for the moment.
- At around 10, we went in to watch The Aviator. He headed home at 1am.
- 20 minutes later, I received a message from A saying that he was standing outside my doorstep because he left something! I went out, somewhat suspicious, only to validate my suspicions! When I opened the door to find him holding a boquet of baby's breath with 3 red roses! I laughed and told him that I had a feeling he bought roses, but I laughed even more because the boquet had more baby's breath than roses. It's been a week and the roses are alive. Wilting but still alive.
- As for Valentine's Day, thanks to the Buy One, Take One Starbucks Gift Certificate from my real mom, we spent Valentine's Day at Starbucks with about a third of the metropolis!