Let Me Count the Ways

You're Smokin' hot

2011-02-14T09:33:00.004-07:00

I found this message website a while ago. It is so much fun. If you haven't yet done anything for Valentine's Day (or even if you have) this is a great last minute Valentine. You can send smoke signals or crop circles (or a few other things) that say anything you want, via email, to anyone you want. You can go to a google map and the smoke signals will come from your own chimney or the crop circles can be in your own back yard or anyplace else you want them to come from. It's free and immediate. If you want to see mine it is here. Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to get it to show on my blog. To send your own message go to MapMSG.com - Smoke signals

My Heart Pops For You

2011-02-12T20:18:00.004-07:00

This pop corn is sooo yummy. I made a batch tonight and put it is small cellophane bags. I'm giving it to the girls at church tomorrow. You could put a note with it that says, "My Heart pops for you", or "Just poppin' in to say Happy Valentine's Day", or Hope your Valentine's Day is good to the last pop".

Cherry Cordial Popcorn

4 quarts popped corn

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. Cherry Flavoring Oil (available at baking supply stores, Baker's Cash & Carry)

red food coloring

molding chocolate

white molding chocolate

Keep freshly popped corn warm in large baking pan in 200 degree oven. Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and cream of tartar in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Cook to 250 degrees without stirring. Remove from heat. After boiling actoin ceases, add flavoring and color. Add soda and stir in quickly but thoroughly. Pour at once while foamy over wamr popcorn: mix gently to coat popcorn. Spread on parchment paper and breatk in pieces when cool. Melt molding chocolate 1 minute at a time at 30% power in microwave until barely melted. Drizzle over popcorn. Melt white chocolate (same as chocolate) Drizzle over popcorn.

Enjoy.

Glamour Gloves

2011-02-11T10:44:00.004-07:00

These made me laugh. I actually got these for my birthday from some friends. But I think they would make a cute Valentine as well. It would be great for your mother or sister or daughter of best friend. It probably wouldn't be great for your husband, unless you are my daughter, who gives her husband things she wants. She gave him an ice cream scoop with a note that said, "Here's the scoop, I love you".

Buy a pair of rubber gloves (preferably pink or purple). Glue a piece of feather boa around the top. Use a good glue that is flexable and water proof, like E6000.

You can put a note with it that says something like, "I can count on you for a helping hand", or "Hands down, You're a great friend".

These almost make me excited to go scrub the toilet.

I HEART Pizza

2011-02-10T19:24:00.006-07:00

I made this pizza for my family for dinner tonight. It turned out pretty cute, and was fairly easy to do. All I did was fold each pepperoni in half, and used kitchen shears (or you could just use regular scissors) and cut out the hearts. My boys LOVED helping me make it.

Here is a closer look:

Or, if you HEART pizza, but don't want to make your own, you could just buy one. A lot of pizza franchises make heart shaped pizzas for Valentine's Day. Here is a link to Pier 49 Pizza's website, in case you want to learn more.

A Token of My Love

2011-02-08T09:58:00.003-07:00

I put four of these in my husband's coin purse with his change, over a week ago. It took him until yesterday to discover them. I think he will keep them there, with his change. I like that. Then he can be reminded of me every time he uses coins (which apparently isn't all that often).

I bought washers at Home Depot. I used 1 1/4 inch with a 3/8 inch hole. Then I used 1/8 inch metal letter stamps to write on them. I got the stamps at Harbor Freight (if there isn't one near you, you can order them online). It took a little "Good 4 All My Love". One says, "Hug Token" and "Good 4 a Hug". One says "Kiss Token" and "Good 4 A Kiss". The last one says "I Love You" and has our names on the back.

(Sorry the picture is so blurry

Heart Brownies

2011-02-07T20:21:00.004-07:00

I think these brownies are pretty cute. I guess you could just use a regular cookie cutter and cut a pan of brownies into heart shapes. But I used a Wilton brownie cutter. It is a rectangular cutter that is divided into two hearts. It is taller than regular cookie cutters so you can use it to cut thicker brownies or maybe even cake. Because of the shape of it, there is very little waste from the pan of brownies. But I guess the waste isn't really wasted anyway. At my house someone will always gladly eat the scraps. I got 22 brownies out of a 9x13 pan. I got mine at JoAnn's using a 50% off coupon, so it cost about $3.00.

Ice Cream Cake

2011-02-05T09:26:00.005-07:00

I recently found a set of cake pans that I think is really cool. You can make a cake with them and put a filling in the middle (I used Raspberry Ice Cream). The filling is in the shape of a heart. This cake was surprisingly easy to make and looks pretty impressive. I used a white cake (one cake mix was perfect), but I think a chocolate cake would actually work better (the darker edges of the cake wouldn't show as much). I froze the cake before I put the filling between the layers. That way I didn't have to worry about smashing the cake. Then I frosted the cake with whipped cream. It was pretty yummy!

It is a Wilton pan. I bought the pan at Michael's and I used a 50% off coupon, so it only cost $7.50.

2011-02-04T14:18:00.009-07:00

My daughters made these cute minature heart cakes using the DeMarle flower pan. They cut the full size cake into quarters, making 4 small hearts. The hearts end up being about 5 inches across. They decorated each heart cake differently. Cut cakes are much easier to frost if you freeze them before you frost them and frost them while they are still frozen (the crumbs from the cut edges don't get mixed in with the frosting as badly). The roses on one of the cakes was made out of fruit-by-the-foot. The instructions are here. The others were just decorated with colored sugar, cake crumbs or Valentine sprinkles. But you could decorate them any way you want. They would be fun to give to your friends or neighbors, but they are a little too large for single servings. DeMarle products are great. They are silicone based pans, but unlike other silicone pans, they brown things nicely. Things don't stick to them, so cakes come out of the pans really well. If you are interested in purching this pan (or other DeMarle/Silpat products) you can contact a representative at rosaliefullmer@gmail.com .

Scratch and Win Valentines

2011-02-02T12:35:00.007-07:00

These Valentines are like the lottery tickets that you scratch off the silver spot to see if you are a winner. But with these, every heart is a winner. It's just that some might be better than others. We printed the cards, including the prizes, on the computer. Then we covered the row of prizes with clear packing tape (you could use clear contact paper). Then paint over the prize answers with a mixture of 1 part liquid dish detergent (I used Dawn) and 2 part silver paint. It may take more than one coat. I think I was in too big of a hurry so mine turned out a little bumpy (the dish detergent makes the paint bubbly). It would probably be smoother if you could do several thin coats of paint. Make sure you print "Scratch One" under the hearts. I made some coupons and some plain cards. You can say what ever you want on them, but, mine said:

Good for 1 Movie (Your choice), (My choice), (Forget the movie, lets do something else).

Good for 1 (Kiss), (Chocolate Kiss), (Evening Full Of Kisses).

Good for 1 Massage (Shoulders), (Feet), (Full Body).

Good for Dinner at Choose 3 different restaurants.

Do You (Love Me, Too), (Want a Kiss), (Wanna Dance).

I Dream About (Only You), (Growing Old With You), (You, Even When I'm Awake).

You + Me = (Bliss), (A Perfect Pair), (Happily Ever After).

You Make Me (Happy), (Smile), (Complete).

Heart Attack in the Bathroom

2011-02-01T10:46:00.007-07:00

I know lots of people put paper hearts around the room or the door or the yard to heart attack someone. But I have found that the jell cling stickies are great for heart attacking the bathroom. You can buy them at Target or Shopko or at the dollar store (I've even seen them at Home Depot). They stick to the tile or the glass and they peel right off when you want to take them down. I have used the same ones for several years. They just look so cute. CAUTION: DO NOT PUT THESE ON ANY NATURAL STONE OR ANY POROUS SURFACE (like caulk). THE COLOR MAY BLEED INTO THE STONE! (unless you like the look of permanent little red heart shadows around your tub). They work great on ceramic tile and glass

Holiday Towels

2011-01-31T12:55:00.003-07:00

Last week I bought a quarter yard of Valentine fabric. I matched it to some hand towels. Then I cut the fabric into 3 inch strips, cut the strips about an inch longer than the width of the towels, folded under 1/4th inch on each side and sewed it about 3 inches from the end of the towels. They were very easy to do. I think they turned out rather nicely and they are different than the ready made hand towels you can buy at the store.

2011-01-28T13:21:00.006-07:00

This year I started Valentines a little early because I had a great idea. My husband Loves KrispyKreme doughnuts, and they have heart shaped doughnuts so I thought I would do something with them for valentines, but the closest KrispyKreme is in Orem. I was going to drive down to Orem to get them for a surpise, but Craig took me down to Provo yesterday for my birthday, so I really had a hard time justifying driving down when I was just down there yesterday, so I started early.

I gave them to him and I used the doughnuts to spell love, I just printed off the "L" and the "E" on my printer and cut them out. I told him, "I Do-nut know what I would do without your love."

You're my Sweetie Pie

2011-01-28T12:46:00.003-07:00

This is my contribution to our annual neighborhood Valentine exchange. I bought Hostess Pies and put notes with it that say, "You're the apple of my eye. I'm so glad you're my Sweetie Pie" or "I love you berry much. I'm so glad you're my sweetie pie". I think when I give it to my husband I will give him a real pie. It's a lot of fun to see all the ideas that other people come up with. Thank you, thank you for all your ideas.

Chocolate Puzzle Heart

2011-01-27T15:47:00.006-07:00

Baker's Cash & Carry has a cute chocolate mold for a Heart Puzzle. You can put a note with it that says, "You hold a piece of my heart", or, "You complete me", or, "I fall to pieces without you" or "I love you to pieces". If you would rather just buy it ready made, it is available here complete with a gift tag. She has other cute Valentine candy, as well.

Personalized M&M's

2011-01-25T11:01:00.006-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the wedding reception of some friends of ours. They had a candy bar at their reception. One of the candies at the bar was M&M's with their picture on them. They were so cute. Last week, my daughters took their families to Las Vegas. While they were there, they visited the M&M store. Their kids were able to pick out the color of M&M's and choose what they wanted printed on them. Then they got to watch as they were printed. They brought a cup of M&M's personalized just for me and my husband. How sweet was that?! These would be really cute as a gift for your honey or even your kids. This is a movie of my grandkids choosing the M&M's for me.

The people on the M&M's in the picture above are our friends who got married. The rest of the M&M's are the ones my kids got for me. You can order your own M&M's here.

Heart Shaped Boiled Egg

2011-01-24T16:53:00.005-07:00

What could be more fun for breakfast than a heart shaped egg. I found these molds at Amazon. It comes with a heart mold and a star mold. When I bought mine last week, they cost $3.75. My grandkids love these just to eat. But I think they would be great as a garnish on a salad. I slice square eggs all the time to put on my potatoe salad. But I think this summer, I will start to use the star. The instructions for these are in Japanese. You boil the egg and peel it. While it is still hot, put it in the mold and refrigerate it for 20 minutes. I had to experiment to find the right size egg. Extra large eggs work best in the heart mold. Jumbo eggs work best in the star mold (if you use large eggs in the star mold they look like flowers). There are also instructions on how to make a heart shaped egg without a mold here. I tied it and it works but the plastic molds are much easier.

Old Fashioned Valentine Garland

2011-01-07T11:15:00.006-07:00

I have a lot of Victorian calling cards that belonged to my grandmother. They would make really cute valentines, if I only knew how to make them into computer images. (I don't want to use the originals). But, I found this website, The Graphics Fairy, this morning. It has tons of vintage printables, including this cute Valentine Garland. All her stuff is free. She has a lot for Valentines Day as well as other stuff. Go over and check it out.

Valentine Candy Wrappers

2011-01-03T09:53:00.005-07:00

Now that the holidays are over it is time to get serious about Valentine's Day. I found these cute candy wrappers over at U Create (the button is on my side bar). They are free through January, then they go on sale at her etsy store.

Halloween Is A Great Time To Prepare For Valentine's Day

2010-09-28T09:55:00.006-06:00

I know that it seems wierd to be thinking about Valentine's Day when Halloween is just around the corner. But there are a lot of things in the stores now that are great for Valentine's Day, that won't be on the shelves in February. There are lots of miniture size candy that can be used for classroom valentines. But the greatest things out now are the many somewhat odd things that you can make into valentines. I found a heart shaped Jello mold the other day (not a valentine heart, but a real heart). I am going to make a Jello for dinner with a sign that says "You make my heart quiver". I know it is a little gross but it is still funny. I've also seen jello molds for hands and brains. You could make notes that said something like, "I want to hold your hand", or I can't get you off my mind". There are candy Eyeballs available that you can put a note with that says, "Can't take my eyes off of you". Or there is bone candy that you could with a note that says, "You really rattle my bones", or, "No bones about it, I want you for my Valentine".

Kiss Me, I'm Irish

2010-03-12T10:25:00.005-07:00

Did you know that you can use the Tupperware funnel as a mold for large candy kisses? I made mine out of Rice Krispie treats. But you can use molding chocolate and make real chocolate kisses, too. Just make sure if you mold something that is runny (like melted chocolate) that you put plastic wrap over the small opening of the funnel before you fill it.

I printed, "KISS ME, I'M IRISH", in green on the computer and cut it in a 3/4 inch strip and wrapped the Rice Krispie treat along with the paper strip in gold aluminum foil (available at kitchen supply stores).

Rice Krispie Treats

1/4 cup margarine
1 10.5 oz. pkg marshmallows (about 40 regular size)*
5 cups Rice Krispies

1. Melt margarine in large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Cook over low heat 3 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
2. Add Rice Krispies. Stir until well coated.
3. Press into buttered 9x13 pan, using wet fingers. Cut into squares. Or, press into mold sprayed with PAM.
*can substitute 2 cups marshmallow cream, but heat 5 minutes longer.

St. Patrick's Day Pillows

2010-03-11T12:02:00.004-07:00

OK. I know Valentine's Day was last month. But I figure any excuse to say, "I love you", is a good one. Besides, St. Patrick's Day is kind of like Valentine's Day. They are both named after Saints. It's pretty close to Valentine's Day and Shamrocks have heart shaped leaves. So maybe Valentines celebrations should just last until St. Patrick's Day.

I now have these pillows on my bed. My daughter thinks that "Feelin' Lucky?" pillow is a little too suggestive for a family friendly blog. If you agree, let me know. I might take that pillow off. But, in my defense, it is in my bedroom, not the living room.

I chose the font I liked and printed the the words on paper, then traced them onto white fabric using disappearing ink. Then I embroided the words on the cloth and sewed the St. Patrick's fabric around the edges and made the pillows. I used premade pillow forms for the stuffing. My pillows are 14 inches by 14 inches and 12 inches by 16 inches.

Valentine Swag

2010-02-10T21:40:00.006-07:00

I have this swag hanging in my kitchen window. To make one like it, using a disappearing ink marking pen, draw a variety of different sized hearts (2 to 4 inches in diameter) on the right side of different pieces of Valentine fabric. Sandwich a piece of "Warm and Natural" between the piece of fabric with the patterns drawn on it, and another piece of Valentine fabric. It can be the same or a contrasting fabric. Stitch on the outline of the hearts you drew. Cut around the stitching with pinking sheers. Attach a piece of ribbon 12 to 15 inches long to the top of the heart. Tie the other end in a little bow to another piece of ribbon. Repeat with the other hearts. It can be as long as you want your swag to be. Leave enough ribbon at the ends to attach the swag to the window frame or a banister or wherever you want to hang it.

Strawberry Ice Water

2010-02-09T22:07:00.003-07:00

Tonight we had New Beginnings at church. We served ice water with the refreshments. But instead of putting lemons in the water, we sliced strawberries. It looked very pretty and the water had a slight strawberry flavor. It was really very good. We used pebbled ice, instead of cubes. Pebbled ice is often available in the meat department at the grocery store if they don't sell it with the regular ice. It's also available at Sonic drive ins.

Sorry the picture isn't the best. It really was pretty.

Sometimes You Just Need A Sense of Humor

2010-02-08T21:21:00.007-07:00

The sentiment on this pillow isn't very romantic. It isn't even true. I really do care if my husband loves me. But when I saw it, it made me laugh. It made my husband laugh, too.

It says:

He loves me
He loves me not
It doesn't matter
I'm all he's got.

It was designed by Lindsey Ready for "Stars-n-Stitches". If you want to get the pattern, her her etsy store is here. She has several other really cute patterns as well. What a creative lady.

I Have To Say "I Love You" In A Song

2010-02-04T09:38:00.032-07:00

Give your Valentine a CD with your favorite love songs. Or, make a playlist of them and put it on their iPod or mp3 player. Choose songs that mean something to both of you. Make sure you either own the original CD or that you download them from a legal website like ITunes, Walmart or Amazon. You can download songs from them for 99 cents to $1.29 each. Burn the collection onto a CD and make a cute label for it. Or if you don't have any favorites, just make a CD of songs that say I Love You. Here is a list of songs that have the words "I Love You" or some variation of them. It is a long list but I'm sure it is far from complete. Some of these songs are pretty recent. Some are really old. Some are kids songs and some are just plain dumb. Most of them are available on ITunes or Walmart. If you can think of any others, let me know in the comments.

Al Green--I’m So In Love With You

All 4 One--I Can Love You Like That

All 4 One--I Swear

Anne Murray--You Are My Sunshine

The Archies--Sunshine

Back Street Boys--I Will Love You More

Barney--I Love You

The Beatles--I Love You

The Beatles--P.S. I Love You

Billy Joel--Just The Way You Are

Billy Joel--To Make You Feel My Love

Blackhawk--I’ll Always Love You

Brad Paisley--Then

Britney Spears--I Will Still Love You

Captain & Tennille--Love Will Keep Us Together

Chicago--Call On Me

Chicago--Color My World

Chicago--We Can Last Forever

Chicago--Will You Still Love Me

Celine Dion--I Love You

Dan Fogelberg--Longer

Delfonics--La La Means I Love You

Diamond Rio--One More Day

Dionne Warwick--I Say A Little Prayer

Dolly Parton--I Will Always Love You

Donna Lewis--I Love You Always and Forever

Doris Day--A Bushel and a Peck

Eddie Rabitt/Crystal Gayle--You and I

Elton John--Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues

Elvis Presley--I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You

Elvis Presley--I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

Eric Clapton--Wonderful Tonight

Faith Hill--Please Say You Love Me To

Firefall--Just Remember I Love You

Frankie Valli--Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

Harry Connick Jr.--All The Way

James Taylor--How Sweet It Is

James Taylor--You’re Smiling Face

Jason Mraz/Colbie Cailat--Lucky

Jeff Larson--Valentine Note

Jennifer Hudson--Love You, I Do

Jessica Simpson--I Think I’m In Love With You

Jim Brickman--You Are The Love Of My Life

Jim Croche--I Have To Say I Love You In A Song

John Lennon--Grow Old With Me

Keith Urban--Making Memories of Us

Landon Pigg--Falling In Love At a Coffee Shop

LeAnn Rimes--I Do Love You

Linda Ronstadt/Aaron Neville--Don't Know Much

Lionel Richie--Hello

Lionel Richie--Truly

Lobo--I Love You To Want Me

Lonestar--Amazed

Madonna--True Blue

Mandy Gledhill - All About Your Heart

Marc Anthony--I Need You

Marc Anthony/Tena Arena--I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You

Mariah Carey--I'll aBe Lovin You Long Time

Mark Wills--Because I Love You

Martina McBride--I Love You

Michael Bolton--Said I Loved You...But I Lied

Michael Franti--Say Hey (ILove You)

Minnie Ripperton--Lovin’ You Is Easy

Minnutes--More To Luv

Mostly Sunny--More Than Anyone Else

Nat King Cole--L.O.V.E.

Norm Wooster Singers--I’m Lovin’ You Lots and Lots

Olivia Newton John--I Honestly Love You

Partridge FamilyI Think I Love You

Paul McCartney--Silly Love Songs

Peter Cetera--Glory of Love

Peter Frampton--Ooo, Baby I Love Your Way

Phil Collins--True Colors

Phil Vassar--That’s When I Love You

Plain White T’s--1,2,3,4 Queen--You’re My Best Friend

Randy Newman--We Belong Together

Reo Speedwagon--Keep On Lovin' You

Restless Heart--I’ll Still Be Loving You

Roberta Flack--The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Rolling Stones--Honest I Do

Rod Stewart--Have I Told You Lately

Ronan Keating--When You Say Nothin’ At All

Savage Garden--I Knew I Loved You

Savage Garden--Truly Madly Deeply

Selena--I Could Fall In Love With You

Shania Twain--Don’t Be Stupid, You Know I Love You

Sharon, Lois & Bram--Skinnamarink

Spiral Staircase--More Today Than Yesterday

Steve Earle--Every Part of Me

Steve Poltz--Everything About You

Stevie Wonder--I Just Called To Say I Love You

Styx--Babe

Sugarland--All I Want To Do

T Minus 5--I Love You

Taylor Dayne--I’ll Always Love You

Tevye (Fiddler On The Roof)--Do You Love Me?

Train--Marry Me

Van Morrison--Have I Told You Lately

Whitney Houston--I Will Always Love You

10CC--The Thing We Do For Love

Valentine Mobile

2010-02-02T11:07:00.003-07:00

I have this mobile hanging inside the front door of my house. I like it there because I see it often and am reminded that it is Valentine season. It helps me remember to be a little kinder to the people I love. It sort of drives my poor husband crazy though, because he is much taller than me and he bumps his head on it all the time. Oh well, at least it is soft so it doesn't hurt. (and, no, he doesn't need to be hit in the head to be reminded that Valentine's day is coming up).

Using a quilting pen (with disappearing ink), I traced different sized hearts on a variety valentine fabrics. I then stitched on the line, leaving a small space unstitched so I could stuff the hearts. Then I cut around the hearts, using pinking shears. I stuffed the hearts with fiberfill stuffing and stitched the opening closed. I attached the hearts to grosgrain ribbon and attached the top of the ribbon to an embroidery hoop. Then I wrapped the embroidery hoop with grosgrain ribbon, attached some more ribbon to hang it with and hung it up.

Mmmmm...Junior Mints

2010-01-27T12:33:00.004-07:00

Yesterday while I was grocery shopping I found some Valentine Junior Mints. I don't remember them from past years but maybe they have been around for a while. They are heart shaped with red filling. So fun for Valentine's Day. And they taste good, too! You can put a note with them that says:

Me and You,
You and Me,
That's the Way
It was "MINT" to be.

Individual Cake Pedestal

2010-01-25T12:05:00.006-07:00

At a Christmas party my sister attended, the host made individual dessert pedestals as favors for each of the guests. They were filled with candy and wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pretty bow. But I think they would make cute Valentine gifts as well. And they would be really cute to serve dessert on for a party for little girls.
They were made by gluing a small white china plate to the bottom of an inverted ice cream sundae cup. Use an epoxy glue so it is permanent and doesn't wash of. You could use a clear plate as well. The ice cream cups and the plates were purchased at the local second hand store so the dessert pedestal is really inexpensive.

You could include a note that says "I've put you on a Pedestal. Be My Valentine".

Divinity Hearts

2010-01-21T10:14:00.006-07:00

My mother always made divinity at Christmas when I was little. My mother in law made it, too. It was one of my favorite things when I was little. But whenever I tried to make it, I failed. However, I finally found a recipe that works for me. Last night I made some and used a pastry bag with a very large star tip (B6) to make Heart shaped divinity. It took a little practice, but I think they turned out to be pretty cute.

Don't bring the first hump of the heart clear down to the bottom of the point (make it smaller) Then overlap with the second hump, bringing it down to the point of the heart. Squeeze the bag a little at the top of the hump and release the pressure as you pull the divinity to the point.

Divinity sets up rather quickly so you have to work fast. I was only able to get about half the batch to work as hearts. The rest I just formed into normal divinity.

Here is the recipe I used:

Divinity

4 cups sugar

1 cup white corn syrup

3/4 cup cold water

3 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

3-4 drops food coloring

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stir only until sugar has dissolved. Do not stir after this point. Cook syrup mixture until it reaches hard ball stage (260 degrees at sea level).

While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Once the sugar mixture reaches hard ball stage, carefully pour a slow steady stream of syrup into the stiffly beaten egg whites, beating constantly at high speed. Add the vanilla and food coloring and continue to beat until mixture holds its shape. (this will take 5 minutes or more).

Using 2 spoons, drop the divinity onto waxed paper or parchment paper, using 1 spoon to push the candy off the other. Or put mixture in a pastry bag and pipe into heart shapes.

Always remember to calibrate your candy thermometer so it measure correctly for your altitude (hard ball is actually 253 degrees at my altitude)

Mixed Up Valentine Dinner

2010-01-19T13:12:00.009-07:00

I have no clue where this idea originated. I got it from my sister who did it in her neighborhood. I did it with couples from my church many, many years ago. My daughter did this dinner with a group of her friends for a girl's choice dance a few years ago in high school. As long as you are with a group of people with a good sense of humor, it is a lot of fun.

As everyone sits down at the tables, they are given a menu. The items on the menu are not easily identifiable. All items, including utensils, are listed as menu items. Each person chooses five items for each of four courses. All selections for each course are chosen at the beginning of the dinner, before anyone is served. Nobody knows what they will be served and each person gets a different thing at each course. Someone could end up with all utensils and no food in one course. Or they might end up with some very sloppy food and nothing to eat it with. They may end up with dessert first and the main course last. You will probably need a lot of help in the kitchen.

Every time I have been to a party like this, everyone has had fun. It's probably not a great idea if your party is a formal event.

My daughter's dance was called "Dog Patch", the theme was a "little Abner" dance. That's why they called their pretend restaurant "Daisy Mae's Diner". But you can call it anything you want.

You can get a printable copy of the menu here and here.

This is the menu:
(don't write the name of the real item on the menu)

1. Chip Off the Old Block---------tooth pick
2. Manure Spreader-------------fork
3. Eve's Delight------------------apple juice
4. Jack Frost---------------------ice cream
5. Drunken Log------------------large pickle
6. Good and Plenty--------------main course (spaghetti)
7. White Cloud------------------marshmallow
8. Greaser----------------------knife
9. Twiggy-----------------------pretzel
10. Jacob's Well-----------------water
11. Square----------------------napkin
12. Sticky Stuff-----------------cake
13. Underground Icicle---------carrot stick
14. Gold Water-----------------orange juice
15. Rooster Tail----------------fruit cocktail
16. Greenbacks----------------rolls
17. Pucker Power--------------lemon pie
18. Lover's Delight-------------spoon
19. conglomerate--------------tossed salad
20. Popeye's Friend-----------olive
21. Nervous Pudding----------jello

World Market

2010-01-15T13:39:00.004-07:00

I just got home from a trip to World Market. What a fun store. I like to browse there, but rarely buy much. However, today I found some really cute cinnamon heart crackers and some fun heart shaped pasta. They also had some cute valentine sprinkles for cookies or ice cream. I'm excited to use them for some sort of Valentine treats.

World Market had all kinds of other Valentine stuff. If there is one by you and you haven't been there, go check it out. If you have already been, go again, it's worth the trip (if it's close) It's a great place to browse!

Cards For Assisted Living Center

2010-01-12T14:17:00.008-07:00

Last week, the Young Women (12-18 years old) in our church, got together and made valentines. We provided colored card stock, some scrapbook paper, scissors, glue, paper punches, stickers, ribbon, lace, sequins, craft foam, paper doilies, markers and what ever else we could find. They provided the creativity. We had a few preprinted ideas for girls who couldn't think of anything, but most of them came up with their own ideas. They did a great job and I think they turned out really cute.

In February, we are going to visit the residents of an assisted living center in our neighborhood and deliver the Valentine's to the people there. The girls are excited. They had a lot of fun coming up with the Valentines and are anxious to deliver them to the people at the assisted living center.

Denim Quilt

2009-09-15T14:15:00.010-06:00

I know Valentine's Day is still several months away. But if you decide you want to do this for Valentine's Day it could take several months to prepare. So I am posting this early. You can collect old jeans from friends or neighbors or buy them at second hand stores. My daughters and I have made several quilts using old blue jeans. We cut 5" squares from old jeans and sewed them together to make the top. Then we tied them to a coordinating back fabric. You can use a thin batt if you would like, but denim is very heavy so make sure the batt is thin. Bandana fabric works really well for the back. Or for Valentine's Day a heart print works well. We included a lot of the details of the pants, like pockets, belt hoops, side seams, buttons and zippers. When you use things like front pockets or zippers, make sure they are sewn closed so that nothing gets lost in the quilt (Just sew across the bottom of the pocket, so the top remains openable).You could even use parts of the pants that have small holes. Just be sure to line the square with a contrasting piece of cloth. Then you can put love notes in the different pockets. Have a picnic on the blanket (on the livingroom floor if it is too cold outside). You're honey could be finding love notes for a very long time. My daughter did this for her husband and he found one of the notes a year later.

Children's sized jeans work well because the pockets are smaller than the pockets on adult sized jeans.

Happy Valentines Day!!

2009-02-14T10:35:00.006-07:00

I remember when I was about 10 years old, my dad wrote a poem for me and each of my sisters for Valentine's Day. He just wrote it on a heart cut from red construction paper. Nothing fancy. I don't remember exactly what it said. I was too little then to appreciate it enough to save it. But I do remember how I felt when he gave it to me.
I treasure copies of letters that my Great grandfather wrote to my grandma when she was a young girl away from home at a boarding school. In the letters he expresses his great love for her and how much he misses her and how he trusts that God is watching over her.
There is really nothing I want more, than for my children and grandchildren for generations to come to know how much I love their dad and them and the Savior. How will they know that, if I don't write it down? They won't.
I guess that is the point of this blog entry. If you do nothing else this Valentine's Day, write the people you love a love letter. Not something hot and passionate (although you could do that, too), write your true feelings, something that you want your grandchildren to know. It doesn't have to be fancy. It just needs to be sincere.
If you want to make it cute, Martha Stewart has some cute ideas for love notes on here website here, here, here, and here.

The Queen of Hearts, Made Some Tarts

2009-02-13T11:26:00.008-07:00

I made Heart Shaped Tarts to take to my husband at work today. But this morning, I remembered he has the day off. I guess I'll put them in the freezer and give them to him next week. Valentine's Day will just be extended for a few days and I get to spend the day with him.

I got this recipe with a little Martha Stewart heart tart press. But you can use a cookie cutter and crimp the edges with a fork. They are really good served with a dish of vanilla ice cream.

I may put a note with them that says "To My King Of Hearts".
This is the recipe:

Raspberry Heart Tarts

5 cups flour
1 ½ tsp. Salt
4 tsp sugar
2 cups (1 lb.) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
10 Tbsp. Ice water
1 jar of jam (about 1 cup)
2 egg yolks
2 Tablespoon cream
Sanding sugar (optional)

In a bowl combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. (Or process in a food processor for about 8 - 10 seconds)

Add ice water slowly while mixing just until dough holds together.

Turn dough onto work surface. Form into a disk.

Warm raspberry jam in microwave for 1 minute (so it spreads easier).

Heat oven to 400 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough about 1/8 inch thick. Using heart press or cookie cutter, cut out heart shapes and put them on a clean surface. Brush edge with water. With back of spoon, spread 1 ½ tsp. Jam evenly to within ¼ inch of the edge of each tart. Carefully place another heart on top. To seal, place the heart press on top of the filled pastry and press down, crimping the edges together or use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges together all the way around. Repeat with remaining hearts. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, trim off any excess dough. Transfer to cookie sheet, placing about 1” apart.

In a small bowl. Combine the egg yolks and the cream. Brush evenly over each heart. And transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from the freezer and sprinkle with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake until crust is golden, 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

A Kid'll Eat the Middle of an Oreo First

2009-02-13T11:17:00.009-07:00

Yesterday, while my daughter was at the grocery store, she found a really good deal on Winter Oreos (the ones with the red middles). They were on a close out after Christmas sale. She bought several packages because she thought they would be great for Valentines. She dipped them in chocolate and put some little Valentine sprinkles on them. I think they turned out pretty cute. They might be even cuter if you dipped them in white chocolate. But we didn't have any. We may give them to some of our neighbors for Valentine's.

Pretty Cheesey

2009-02-12T10:12:00.008-07:00

Today I took my husband a heart shaped Cheese Ball with heart shaped crackers. I just made his favorite kind of cheese ball and shaped it like a heart. Or you can just buy a cheese ball. Just push a dent into the top of the cheese ball and squeese the bottom to a point. I bought the crackers at Pirate O's, in Draper, UT. They are probably available at other specialty food stores ,too. I have seen them, occasionally, in regular grocery stores, as well. I have a recipe for a Pina Colada Cheese ball that would be cuter. It is white with little chunks of cherry in it and is covered with coconut instead of nuts. You could even color the coconut pink. But My husband likes the one I made better, so that's what he got. This would also be a good apetizer at a Valentine party.

The card says:

"I know this sounds cheesey, But I'm crackers over you!"

Here are the recipes for the Cheese Balls:

EASY CHEESE BALL
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
1 bunch green onions, Chopped
l-2 Cloves garlic (minced)
sliced almonds

Mix Cream cheese, onions and garlic. Form into ball. Roll ball in sliced almonds. Refrigerate, till ready to serve. Serve with Crackers.
You can add some chopped pimento or chopped red pepper to make it look more festive (for Christmas)

PINA COLADA CHEESE BALL
2 8oz package cream cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple (well drained)
2/3 cup flaked coconut
8 marachino cherries chopped (optional)
Flaked coconut to roll ball in.

Mix first 5 ingredients. Form into a ball. Chill. Roll in flaked coconut.
Serve with sweet crackers or fruit.

No Bones About It.

2009-02-11T09:33:00.008-07:00

Everybody makes heart sugar cookies for Valentines. They are cute and in lots of families, they are a tradition. They have been in mine, too. However, as much as I love Valentines and hearts, I think it's kind of fun to surprise people with something a little unexpected. That's why I made Bone Valentine Cookies for my husband to take to work today. I put little hearts on them so they look a little more Valentiney. Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe. Put parchment paper on the cookie sheet before you put the cookies on. It makes the cookies easy to take off the pans and it makes the them hold their shape better, they don't spread. This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe:

Lion House Sugar Cookies

1⅓ cup margarine 6½-7 cups flour
3 cups sugar 1 tsp. salt
4 eggs 5 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. Vanilla
¼ cup milk

Preheat oven to 400º. Cream margarine and sugar. Mix in eggs, vanilla and milk. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Roll 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface. Cut in desired shapes. Bake 7-8 minutes on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Remove from pans. Let cool and decorate with frosting and sprinkles, etc.
I put a card with them that says:

"No Bones About It, I Want You For My Valentine.

Games of the Heart

2009-02-10T13:04:00.003-07:00

If you are in charge of the games for a Valentine's Party, here are a few suggestions. If you are have an adult party with married couples, you can play The Newlywed Game. A list of questions can be found here. I personally think that the goal of a Valentine party is for everyone to go home at least as good of friends as they were when they came. So, the questions here are pretty tame. I don't think there are any that will make anyone go home angry or with hurt feelings (they may be a little embarrassed, but not too bad). Use your own judgement.

Another game that you can play is "Pick Your Honey's Nose". In this game you make a large screen/wall out of butcher paper. It has to be tall enough for all the spouses to stand behind it in a line. Nothing can show (no shoes or tops of heads). Cut holes in the paper, either all at the same height or at varying heights. We drew stick figures on the front of the paper with the hole where the nose should be. Write a number above each hole. Have all the husbands (or all the wives) stand behind the screen and poke their nose through a hole (if you make the holes at varying heights, make sure that the people behind the screen don't stand at a hole that is the same height as their nose actually is). The other spouse has to guess which nose belongs to their spouse. You would thing that it would be pretty easy, since you see it pretty closely every day, but it really isn't. Even the most distinguishable noses become more ordinary when they aren't attached to a face. You can also have people try to identify all the noses. Whoever gets the most right wins.

Valentine Bingo is fun for parties with kids. You can use conversation hearts for the markers. There are free downloadable bingo cards with pictures here. They have all kinds of free bingo cards there. You can also download card with numbers here.

Another game I found there was a game called, "Find Your Heart Mate". Cut enough hearts that each child can have a half heart. Cut each heart in half at different angles or a different shape line. Give each child a half a heart and have them find the person with the other half of his/her heart. This website has a lot of fun ideas for classroom activities and games for childrens parties.

Roses and Noses

2009-02-09T17:23:00.009-07:00

Chocolate and Roses are lots of peoples favorite Valentine's gift. So what could be better than Chocolate roses? These roses made from Hershey's kisses have been around for years. My son used some to ask a girl to a dance 10 years ago. But they are still fun. You can get instructions here. Then check out these ideas for chocolate and flowers on KSL Studio 5. I particularly liked the chocolate bowls.

And speaking of Chocolate Roses, here a little different spin. How about long stemmed chocolate noses. The molds are available at Bakers Cash & Carry in Salt Lake. I also found them on Ebay. I used bamboo skewers for the stems.

I included a note that read:

I ordered long stemmed roses for you, but they must have misunderstood. Because when I went to pick them up, they gave me long stemmed noses, instead. I guess it's alright, though. Because, of all the noses, on all the faces, in all the world, I'm glad I picked yours!

Happy Valentine's Day, anyway.

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, here is a list of the meaning of the different colors of roses and one of the significance of the different number of roses you give.

Conversation Hearts

2009-02-09T17:06:00.012-07:00

This is another of those things that I'm not quite sure what the purpose is. But it is kind of fun. You can write anything you want on the picture of a conversation heart and then you can post it anywhere you want. Or you can print it and give it for a valentine. It looks just like the real thing.

The Way To a Man's Heart is Through His Stomach

2009-02-08T21:28:00.008-07:00

Today we had a Valentine dinner. It was really delicious. We had Spinach Salad (my husband's favorite). I put sliced strawberries on the top. They looked like little hearts. I also made Heart shaped croutons.
For the main course we had steak. I bought one large rib eye steak. It was really enough for four people. I had the butcher butterfly cut it. He said it would look like heart. But we had to do a lot of trimming for it to actually resemble a heart. He said Fillet Mignon works a lot better. But I couldn't afford $17.00/lb. So we went with the rib eye. I also made heart shaped dinner rolls.

This is the recipe for the salad:

SPINACH SALAD

2 bunches of spinach or spring green mix (torn into bite size pieces)
1 head of lettuce (torn into bite size pieces)
1 purple onion (sliced)
3/4 lb. fresh mushrooms (sliced)
3/4 lb. Swiss cheese (grated)
1 C drained cottage cheese
1/2 C crumbled bacon
sugared almonds
mandarin oranges
crasins
sliced strawberries
croutons

Toss all ingredients together (except onions and strawberries). Use sliced onions and strawberries as a garnish. Top with following dressing immediately before serving.

DRESSING

3/4 tsp poppy seeds
3/4 C oil
3/4 tsp grated onion
1/3 tsp mustard
1/2 C white vinegar
1/3 C sugar
3/4 tsp salt

Buzz in blender. Pour on salad right before serving.

Croutons:

Brush both sides of slices of bread with olive oil or a garlic butter mix. Sprinkle with Salad Supreme or herbs of your choice. Cut with small cookie cutters or cut into cubes. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300º for 20 to 30 minutes until crisp, turn them over every 10 minutes.

Sugared almonds

Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 2 T. water in a sauce pan. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Add 3/4 cup sliced almonds. Continue cooking (while stirring constantly) until the sugar crystallizes. Remove from heat and dump on a cookie sheet with a cooling rack over it. Separate out the sugared nuts from the excess sugar.

2009-02-07T19:49:00.034-07:00

The first Valentines I ever gave to my husband were like these. We were in high school. My older sister had found the patterns when she was in college and gave them to me. I made several more for him while we were in college. I'm not sure that it made him fall in love with me, but at least they kept his attention until he did. I made them from colored card stock. But you could just download them and color them if you want. However, the patterns are really just sketches so you might still have to improve them.

The first is a fireman. His heart says "You Set My Heart On Fire".

The next one is a cat or a tiger, depending on what color you make his stripes. His snout lifts up and it says either, "You're My Purrr-fect Valentine", or "You're Grrrreat".

When you lift the tag on the Dog it says "Without You".

The lion's snout lift up and it says either "I Love You" or I Think You're Grrrreat!"
The heart on the Owl says, "Guess Whooo", When you lift his arm it says, "Loves You". Lift his glasses and it says, "Eye Do".

The bear has a sign on the outside that says, "I Love You". When he opens his arms it says, "This Much".

The Hippo Says "Happy Valentine's Day". Under her fan it says, "From Your Biggest Fan".

On the front of the Skunk card it says "It Stinks". When you lift up the arm it says, "When You're Not Around".

More Printable Valentines

2009-02-07T07:45:00.003-07:00

Chocolate on my Cranium has a few posts with cute printable Valentines for adults and kids. She also has a link to a flickr set with vintage Valentine graphics.

Pop Ups

2009-02-06T21:03:00.006-07:00

I'm a big fan of Pop Up books. Particularly Robert Sabuda and David Carter. So, naturally when I found patterns to make my own pop up cards, I got a little excited. Pop up cards can be a little tricky. So I suggest you start with the ones on Robert Sabuda's web site. He has a lot and they are pretty easy. You can even do them with kids. You can do them with paper, scissors, glue and maybe crayons or markers to color them. There are more intricate designs here. They are a lot more difficult but worth the effort. They are not designed with kids in mind. You need an exacto knife and some sort of mat to cut on. They are printed on the wrong side of a piece of cardstock so you work from the back. You fold them one way on the dotted lines and the other way on the dashed lines and you cut on the solid lines. I found that they are easier to work with if you enlarge them before you make them. I think they look better, too. You can color them also if you prefer. Then mount them on a contrasting color of cardstock and include a message. You can really WOW someone you love!

mmmmm Hot Chocolate

2009-02-06T14:53:00.010-07:00

My grandkids like hot Strawberry milk lots better than hot chocolate. That's o.k. because pink is so pretty for Valentines Day. So if they were closer, this is what I would make them. I'll save the Hot Chocolate for Grandpa.
On second thought, maybe I'll send them some.

Cut the marshmallows in half. Then dip the cut edge in powdered sugar. Cut a heart in the center of the marshmallow half with a very small cookie cutter or Hors d'oeuvre cutter. Then shake both pieces in powdered sugar (to cover the sticky edges), shake off the excess powdered sugar in a sieve. Serve them in Hot Chocolate of Hot Strawberry milk.

Dip a plastic spoon in chocolate or white chocolate. Then drizzle with a contrasting color of chocolate or while the chocolate is still a little gooey, dip the edges of the spoon in sprinkles.

If you are giving it away, be sure to include a card with instruction on the back.

On the front mine says:

You melt my heart,

The back says:

1. pour into a cup of warm milk

2. stir with spoon

3.remember Grandma and Grandpa love you!

Nothing say lovin' like something from the oven

2009-02-05T12:02:00.005-07:00

I wanted to make my husband some sweetrolls for Valentines day. I hadn't quite figured out how to do it, when I came across the blog of Gourmet Mom On The Go. She has some great ideas. She makes really cute food with her kids. She had already posted Heart Shaped Sweet rolls. I made them yesterday, following her instructions. They turned out really cute. Just be sure to pinch the point at the bottom really well or they will be round at the bottom instead of pointed. When you get done looking at her sweet rolls, scroll down to see her edible crayons. They are very cute and look pretty easy. She even has downloadable labels for them. If you like to cook with your kids this is a great place to explore! But be prepared to stay awhile.

Rice Hot Packs

2009-02-05T10:18:00.006-07:00

Rice Packs are the greatest invention ever. You can put them in the freezer and they make good ice packs or you can throw them in the microwave for 2 or 3 minutes and they make great hot packs. They are wonderful for sore muscles or cold feet. And you can use them over and over and over. You can easily make your honey one with the pattern found here or you can make up your own. You can also fill them with dry corn.
Make sure you warm it up before you give it to them.

Flemmings Chocolate Lava Cake

2009-02-04T22:46:00.006-07:00

Flemmings Restaurant in Salt Lake apparently has Chocolate Lava Cake that is to die for. I have never been there so I don't know. But yesterday, I was watching KSL Studio 5. They had a recipe for Flemmings Chocolate Lava Cake with a demonstration on how to make it. It looked really good so I decided to try it. I made it tonight for my daughters birthday. It was delicious. It is very light but very rich. The recipe makes about 12 servings. It is very high in fat. The lady who figured out the recipe and presented it on the program, was asked how you could make it less fattening. Her response was to share it. It is definitly a special occasion dessert. So Valentine's would be the perfect opportunity. If you slice stawberries to put on top, they can even look like hearts.

Here is the recipe:

Flemings Chocolate Lava Cake
Ingredients:
1 lb. butter
1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate
8 whole eggs
8 egg yolks
1 C. sugar
2 Tbs. flour
Optional: 2 tsp. vanilla
Method:
Cut butter and chocolate into small pieces. Heat on low heat in the microwave or over a double boiler until melted, stirring occasionally. While chocolate is melting combine whole eggs and egg yolks in mixing bowl and whip until slightly thick, about 5-6 minutes. Mix flour into sugar then pour into eggs and whip for 1 minute to blend. Lightly whip the chocolate and butter until smooth. Add to egg mixture. Add vanilla if desired.
Pour into ramekins (sprayed with non-stick spray or shortening and flour) to about half an inch from the top. Chill for 2-3 hours. Place in a 400 degree oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. (Center will be a bit jiggly.) Remove cake from oven and cool for 1 minute or more. Place cup on serving plate, cake side down and remove ramekin. Serve with ice cream. Garnish with fresh fruit, chopped nuts or whipped cream.

I think it is better cooked a little longer (not too much, you still want it runny in the middle).

KSL Studio5 has a lot of cute ideas for Valentines. Some cute ideas are here.
There are some really cute homemade candy boxes here. They are trying to sell a tool called a ScorPal. But you can make the boxes without it. You just have to measure and score your paper without the tool. They have lots of templates and ideas on their website.
There is a cute Valentine Count Down Jar here.
I"m guessing they will probably have Valentine ideas nearly everyday between now and Valentine's Day. So you might want to watch the show if you get it where you live, or check back at the Studio 5 website often to see what is new.

Kisses

2009-02-03T12:03:00.007-07:00

Celebrate the 14 days of Valentines with a variety of kisses.

ICE KISS: Put an ice cube in your mouth until your mouth becomes cold. Remove the cube, track down your love and plant a kiss that will send chills!
ELECTRIC SHOCK KISS: The two of you shuffle your feet furiously on carpet. When you both have an electric charge, lean over and slowly aim for each other's lips. With your lips about one-half inch apart, move in even slower until a spark jumps between the two of you. Instantly after this happens, kiss one another...the please us the kiss right after the shock!
POST-IT KISS: Use 3M Post-It notes to make a trail through your house that leads to your lips. Put a lipstick print or lip symbol on each note with an arrow pointing to the next note. You, of course, are at the end of the trail with a Post-It note over your lips that says, "LIFT FOR KISS"
MORSE CODE KISS:If you know Morse code, great, If not, this is a great way to learn. Find a Morse Code chart. Using long and short kisses, spell out a message to your love and have him or her try to decipher them.
RENDEZVOUS KISS: With a note or phone call, tell your love to meet you at a certain place and time (e.g. park bench, street corner, ice cream stand) for a present. When your love arrives, have a bow stick to your lips.
BATH KISS: Surprise your love with a kiss while he/she is showering or in the tub. (WARNING: Prepare to get wet)
MACHINE GUN KISS: In rapid succession, plant 12 quick ones on your lover's lips.
PINK PANTHER KISS: Humming the Pink Panther theme, prowl toward your partner. On the high note, pounce and pucker. Suggestion-wear only pink!
GREAT EXPECTATIONS KISS: Inform your love one morning that he or she will soon receive a fabulous kiss. Later, call you love with a reminder. When next you see your love, pull out the stops and plant a long, hot, passionate kiss.
GOODBYE * 2 KISS: Send off your love in the morning with a quick kiss. As your love turns to leave, pull him or her back for a second, more passionate kiss
RIDDLE KISS: Ask your love to solve the following riddle: "I am just two and two; I am warm, I am cold; I am lawful, unlawful; A duty, a fault; I am often sold dear; Good for nothing when bought; an extraordinary boon; and a matter of course; and yielding with pleasure; When taken by force." If your love solves it, ask for a demonstration as proof. If he or she cannot show the answer, of course, the answer is a kiss.
UNEXPECTED KISS: When the two of you are doing the usual, lean over and give your love a sweet kiss on the cheek for no good reason and whisper...I LOVE YOU!
KNOCK-KNOCK KISS: Stage the following knock-knock joke with your love: KNOCK KNOCK Who is there? KissKiss who? Kiss who? Why me, of course!
TOOTHPASTE KISS: Brush your teeth together. When your love's mouth is all sudsy, plant a big wet one on the lips. WARNING: MAKE SURE TOOTHBRUSHES ARE OUT OF THE WAY!

Red Dinner ideas

2009-02-02T12:41:00.006-07:00

I was just at the grocery store and was browsing the magazines in the check out line. I was flipping through the Women's Day Magazine and they had a great idea of serving red foods for valentines that is simple and cute. They had many recipes that looked delectable, it was tempting to buy (I never buy magazines at stores) however, I thought, before I bought it, I would come home and see if they had the recipes on line. I checked, and they don't. So I might have to go buy the magazine after all. However, I did come across, in my looking, a valentines essentials in the Women's Day valentines. When you click on the Link to Women's Day from my blog it takes you to a menu of Valentines ideas, I hadn't clicked on it this particular menu choice, however, it is there. Or you can simply click on my link here and it will take you to the Valentine's Essentials page. it has some cute ideas for heart shaped desserts. I still want the main course recipes found in the printed version of Women's Day. It had some recipes for things like marinara sauce, a shrimp dish, a tart cherry sauce and other entree ideas. maybe I can find similar ideas or different online recipes.

Any Way You Say It, It Still Means "I Love You"

2009-02-02T09:51:00.009-07:00

I found a website called BrailleBug that will let you type a message to someone in Braille. The message is then emailed to the person of your choice. They can then decode the message with the decoder on the site, or if thy don't want to do that, there is a button they can push that will automatically decode it for them. I'm not sure what the purpose of this site is, but it is kind of fun. You could write your loved one a secret love note. Look here.
If you don't want to send a message in Braille, You could tell them that you love them in a different language. I've compiled a list of translations of "I Love You". If you are a Star Trek fan it even includes the translation into Vulcan and Klingon. If you are a fan of Lord Of The Rings, I've included the translation into Elvin. There are a lot of languages that I have never even heard of. I never knew there were so many languages! Please keep in mind, I am not a linguist. My son has already told me that one was wrong (I corrected it). I compiled this list from several others that I found on the internet. The information is only as good as the source and I'm really not sure about my sources, so, take it for what it's worth and have fun with it. The list can be found here.

Jump Start Your Heart

2009-02-01T12:34:00.004-07:00

Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be.
--Robert Browning

What could be more romantic than having a long and healthy life with the people you love. Valentines is a good time to start or to recommit to taking care of your heart and the rest of yourself. I know that personally, I was being really good at exercizing and eating right until the holidays came. Then I got too busy and there was too much good food around and I lost all my will power. I am going to recommit to taking care of myself so that I will be around to share my life with my husband and my kids and my grandkids. They mean too much to me to cut my time with them short.
So in your indeavors to show your love to those around you, be careful. Limit the amount of junk you feed them. I know almost every food in this blog is probably bad for your heart, so use discretion. Mix things up a little. Give them treats one day and something else another day.
Show them how much you love them by taking care of yourself and them, so you can be around for a very long time.

squeaky clean valentines

2009-01-30T17:09:00.003-07:00

My mom and I made these home made soaps this morning. We bought the stuff at various craft shops in town. With the 50% coupons that are often found for craft shops these soaps were not that much more expensive than store bought traditional bath soap. We simply followed the directions on the package, added color and glitter (made for soaps). We used rubber heart shaped ice cube trays, they were perfect because they popped out so easily.

These look way cute next to my sink in my bathroom. I think I will give some to my mother-in-law as a valentines day present in the next few days. She will love them.

Remember you can express your love and appreciation to other people besides your significant other on valentines.

Sweet Hearts for my Sweetheart

2009-01-30T11:48:00.006-07:00

We made candy like this for my daughter's wedding a couple of years ago. They are fudge hearts dipped in chocolate. This year we found plastic heart shaped ice cube trays at Target. They cost $2.50 for 2. I also found them at the local dollar store. These are great. When we made them before, we used hard plastic candy molds. It was very difficult to get the fudge out of the molds. But with the ice cube trays, we just sprayed the mold with PAM, put the fudge in the mold, put it in the freezer for about a half hour, then we just pushed it out from the bottom. It was so much easier! The recipe makes a lot (100-150 depending on the size).

We used good quality molding chocolate to dip them in. It is easier to use than dipping chocolate. But be sure you get the good stuff. Not the kind that is available at craft stores. I buy it at Bakers Cash & Carry in Salt Lake. It's easier to dip the fudge when it is cold (not frozen). But after they are finished, store them at room temperature.

We bought the flowers and little hearts at Peppermint Place In Alpine, UT. It is much easier than trying to make your own (at least for me) and they are much cuter than anything I can make.

These are truly yummy. Here's the recipe for the fudge (don't refrigerate the fudge before making the hearts, put the fudge in the molds while it is warm, then after it is set up and you remove it from the mold, repeat with more fudge:

See’s Fudge

1 large can evaporated milk
3 12 oz. packages chocolate chips
½ lb. margarine
4½ cups sugar
1 8 oz. jar marshmallow cream
1 t. vanilla
nuts

Combine all ingredients except milk and sugar and set aside. Mix milk and sugar in a sauce pan. Cook for 9 minutes at a full rolling boil. Pour over other ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour into a 9x13 pan. Refrigerate until firm.

Valentines on other BLOGS

2009-01-30T10:38:00.006-07:00

Download and Print:
Wood you be Mine? from mmmcrafts (super cute!)
Lollipop Holder Valentines from Tricia-Rennea illustrations
Zebra Valentines from Bunny Cakes
Variety of Valentines from the Toymaker
Candy Heart Valentines from Bunny Cakes

Cards:
Sewn Paper Valentines from Purl Bee

Craft/Gift:
Valentine Pins from Purl Bee
Felt Fortune Cookies from Martha Stewart
Valentine Treasures from Schlosser Designs
Valentine Vermin from the Junior Society

Food:
Valentine Pretzels from Mayamade

More ideas linked on One Pretty Thing in multiple posts titled Valentine's Day Roundup( 1, 2, 3). I would guess there to be more to come.

Money for my Honey

2009-01-29T23:54:00.007-07:00

Several years ago I made my kids Valentines using six one dollar bills. It was fun seeing their reactions. My girls treasured them for a long time. I think one of them may still have hers. The boys, on the other hand, promptly took them apart so they could spend their money. A few years after that, my sister sent me a little shirt made from one dollar bill. The six dollar shirt is made on a template made of card stock so you can write a note on the back if you want. I put a message that read:

"I'd give the shirt off my back it you'd be my Valentine"

The instructions for the 1 dollar shirt are here.
The instructions for the 6 dollar shirt are here

Mama Mia, That's One Hearty Pizza

2009-01-29T21:38:00.007-07:00

Did you know that Papa Murphy's makes heart shaped pizza? Well actually, they don't start making it until February 8th (unless of course you get a very helpful server like I did). Anyway, it is pretty cute. Or if you are ambitious, you can always make your own. Or if you are really, really ambitious you can make your own heart shaped pizza and cut all the pepperoni into heart shapes as well. I personally go for Papa Murphy's with a note that says:

You hold a PIZZA my heart!

I love you to Pizzas!

Not Your Ordinary Valentine Cookies

2009-01-28T22:39:00.012-07:00

These cookies are baked in a waffle iron, rather than the oven. If you have a heart waffle iron you can make really cute cookies (heart shape waffle irons bake 5 waffles or cookies at a time). If you don't have a heart waffle iron, you can use a regular waffle iron and make round cookies. I tried a Belgian Waffle Iron. It didn't work. If you decide that you want to buy a heart waffle iron just to make these cookie, look for one that has deeper holes and makes a thicker waffle.I really like these cookies. They are a little like brownies only they are a little crisper. I use cream cheese frosting on them (I use cream cheese frosting on just about everything I put frosting on). I used cake decorating bags and tips to decorate them, but you can use a zip lock bag with a little hole cut in the corner, or you can just frost them with a knife.

Here is the recipe

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

Melt together: 3 tbsp cocoa and ½Cup margarine or
2 sq Chocolate

mix in:
2 Eggs
¾ Cup sugar
Dash of salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup flour

Pour 1/2 cup of batter in the middle of a heart shaped waffle iron

or
Drop by tbsp onto waffle iron. Cook 1½ minutes Cool and frost then top with nuts (if desired).

Charis's Valentines

2009-01-26T16:10:00.018-07:00

Hi I am the daughter. I loved growing up and watching my mother show her love for my daddio. Consequently I have decided to do it for my husband. Here are some of the ideas I have done this year for my husband.

I first of all got stuff that he needed, and tried to make it cute.

He needed new pants So I told him "You are my smartie pants" (gave him some canadian smarties too!)
He needed a new shirt and tie so he gets that on Sunday with a note that says we are the perfect fit.
He needs a drill and a level. . he is always wishing he had one so that is what he gets, with a note that says, "you know the drill, be my valentine" and one that says, "You are my life saver" you keep me "level" headed." oh yeah and he gets gummie life savers... his favorite.
I got him some of his favorite candy from England and a note that ties them together.
Some really stupid novelty things
I got him a childrens music CD so we can sing to our baby at night and a Signing DVD to help him learn how to sign songs to our baby. (everyone in our immediate family signs. . . so we are trying to expand our knowledge of the language).
He loves to play games with the family so I got him a game.
He loves to read to my baby, so I got him a book that is really cool
He loves to go hit golf balls, but it costs lots of money so I got him some foam golf balls and a driving mat so that he can go practice hitting them in the yard.
He ties balloon animals, so I got him a new book that shows how to make animals with lots of balloons, very cool.
I got him some treats that he likes to sit and share with the kids. They say things like "I am your fairly tale princess" and "you are my super hero" and "I know this is cheesy, but I love you lots and lots and lots and lots" Etc.
Really, you can make anything into a valentine, big or small, if you don't have a lot of money just use stuff you need anyhow and make it special. They will just love the fact that you thought of a special way of giving it to them.

Fruit Basket

2009-01-26T15:51:00.009-07:00

I took this Valentine to my husband at work. He enjoyed sharing the fruit with his co workers.

This is what the card says:

I love you ”berry” much.
You’re one “peach” of a guy.
You are absolutely “grape”.
You’re the “apple” of my eye.

You’re one in a “melon”.
In the “lime”light you should be.
I am “nuts” about you.
Oh “Honeydew” you love me?

You and I are quite a “pear”.
I’ve gone “bananas” over you.
You’re “plum” perfect in every way.
“Orange” you glad our love is true?
Copyright by Christine Strong -February 2001

Key To My Heart

2009-01-26T15:46:00.010-07:00

This Valentine is pretty simple. Even though it is pretty plain and straight forward, I like it because, the person you give it to can take the key off the Valentine and carry it on their key chain as a continual reminder of your love for them. I bought the key at an antique store. Antique keys come in all sizes. So if you are planning on them carrying it with them, choose a small one so it isn't bothersome.

I thought of a poem you could add to this valentine:

Treasure this old key,
And never from it part.
A reminder that you’ve unlocked
The love that’s in my heart.
©Christine Strong February 2009

All Boxed Up

2009-01-23T17:22:00.004-07:00

At Christmas, my son's friend made him 100 little boxes like this to reply to his invitation to the dance. She made them out of Christmas paper. Needless to say, I was quite impressed. Now that I know how easy they are, I'm still pretty impressed. But they are super easy to make and are really cute. You can make 2 boxes and 2 lids out of one 12x12 inch piece of paper. A 6x6 inch piece of paper makes a box that is 2x2x1 inch. It will fit about 6 Hershey Kisses. Or you could fill it with anything you want. You can make to bottom white with a decorated lid. Or you can make the bottom and the lid match or make them out of coordinating papers. You could make them in graduated sizes and put one inside the other or stack them up. I cut the paper for the bottom box 1/4 inch smaller than the paper for the lid and I used a small piece of double faced tape to make the points stick on the bottom. You can find instructions on how to make them here

Gourmet Food Stores

2009-01-23T14:22:00.013-07:00

If there is a specialty or gourmet food store near you, check it out for Valentine ideas. My favorite is PirateO's in Draper, Utah. They carry some unususal candy bars from Europe and really cute foil wrapped Chocolate. These candies make great Candygrams. Because they are not the typical American candy, they are much more fun than the normal Candygrams. Items change from time to time so you may need to stop by often.

My pictures aren't great and are a little hard to read, so, here is what they say:

Don't Be A "FLAKE" Be My Valentine

Take "TIME OUT" To Be My Valentine

I "LOVE" You

You Are The "TOPIC" Of My Affection

We've Been Struck By Cupid's "AERO"

You Make My Head "TWIRL"

Have You "HERD"? I'll Be "UDDERLY" "MOOVED" If You'll Be My Valentine. (Chocolate Cow)

Aargh, You've Stolen Me Heart, Matey (Chocolate Pirate)

Of All The Fishes In The Sea, I'm So Glad That You Caught Me (Chocolate Fish)

Happy Valentines From Your Favorite Chick (Chocolate Fish)

I Don't Mean To Bug You, But, Will You Be My Valentine? (Chocolate Lady Bug)

Rah! _____ Loves_____, _____ Loves ______, Rah (Chocolate Parrot)

Some Bunny Loves You (Chocolate Bunny)

My Love For You Is UN"Bear"able (Chocolate Teddy Bear)

I'm Plane Crazy About You, Valentine (Chocolate Air Plane)

There Snowbody Quite Like You (Chocolate Snowman)

Pirate Hat

2009-01-22T21:57:00.006-07:00

Next to Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentines Day my family's favorite holiday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19). Every year my hubby and I, and any kids we cah coerce into coming along, dress like pirates and go to several neighbors homes and tell pirate jokes (clean ones) and give them a package of Chips Ahoy cookies (Pirate's favorite cookies) and a bottle of Ginger Ale. We do all this while talking in our best pirate voices, of course. I know you are wondering what this has to do with Valentine's Day. But today I found the best Valentine for my husband. It is a really beautiful pirate hat (it was at a going out of business sale at a costume shop by me). I know, it's probably not the greatest idea to share because most men really wouldn't want one and it really has nothing to do with the day at hand. But my poor husband has had to settle for a crummy bandana for the past several years. He will be absolutely thrilled!!

My point is, anything can be made in to a valentine. Whatever means something to you or your husband can make a great valentine. Just use your imagination. Be creative. Have fun.

By the way, I'm making a card that says, "Arrgh, You've stolen me heart, Matey".

Oh, and what ever you do, don't tell my husband. I don't want to ruin the surprise!!!!

hot pads

2009-01-21T16:28:00.008-07:00

My friend made a set of these for me for Valentine's Day a few years ago. I, in turn made some for each of my sisters. They are my favorite hot pads. They are the greatest shape and work perfectly. I use them all the time. Not just around Valentine's Day.

Find the pattern here

I found some instructions on how to make them on a blog. She gave me permission to include her instructions here.

Pillow Cases

2009-01-21T16:25:00.008-07:00

I made these pillow cases for my bed this morning. Some of my kids made similar pillow cases in their beginning sewing class. That can give you an idea of how easy they were to make. It took me about an hour (maybe an hour and a half including the applique). I made king size pillow cases and it took 1 yard of the print and 10 inches of the red for each.

I used the following instructions ,and then appliqued the letters on the sides.

I think I'll put them on my pillows sometime around the first of February.

Stud Muffin

2009-01-21T16:13:00.007-07:00

Some of my husband's favorite Valentines are the ones that he can share at work.

My friend, Barbara made a valentine for our Valentine exchange using a muffin sitting on a 2x4.

She included a poem that says:

Any which way you cut it
Measure it however you can
You have certainly nailed it
As my lovin' STUD MUFFIN man!

Another friend adapted it by making a box out of 2x4's and filling it with lots of minature muffins. We then delivered them to the office for everyone to enjoy.

wall lettering

2009-01-21T10:52:00.006-07:00

Another cute thing, that my neighbor did was made a vinyl lettering for the wall. this is simple and can be custom made to say anything you want. There are plenty of places on line, or at boutiques that you can order these things. they go up easily and come off without a problem but will stay as long as you leave them there. My husband loves this because he sees it all the time and it reminds him of how much I love him.

Pillows

2009-01-21T10:44:00.008-07:00

One of the things that I did last year for my husband was made him throw pillows for our bed. I stitched cute sayings on some of them. and others I just made, like a red heart and a soft fuzzy red squishy pillow. To do this all I did was find sayings that I liked, then typed them up on my computer in a cute font (see fonts on the side bar for places to download cute fonts) and then traced them on to muslin in pencil and stitched over it. then I created pillow covers with them. Very easy, but time consuming. My husband really likes them, but not so much on the bed, so he moved them out to our front room where they are displayed nicely on our couch.

Magazines

2009-01-15T10:43:00.003-07:00

It seems that in February every magazine published has really cute Valentine ideas. Many have websites that have even more available. Check your favorite magazines either at the store or on line. They have tons of crafts for adults as well as children. There are recipes galore. Take a minute to browse through the links to some of my favorites in the column at the left.

Fonts

2009-01-14T19:22:00.005-07:00

It's fun to make your own valentines on the computer. If you can find the Broderbund CreatACard software or Broderbund Printshop, they help you make great cards. However, CreatACard is out of production so if you don't have it, and you want it you'll have to find it on eBay or someplace. It was one of my favorite programs, so it makes me kind of sad that they don't make it anymore. Hallmark also makes a card program. It's not as verstile, but it still works.
Another thing that will make your Valentines more fun, is cute Valentine Fonts. There are a lot of them available for free on the internet. Just type "free fonts" in your search engine. Look for Valentines, Hearts or Love in the search box at the site and see what you come up with. I have put links to some of my favorites in the column on the left. You'll have to click on them to see what they look like. If you click on the "heartbreaker " it will take you to a site that has a lot of other fonts on it, too. Mix them up. Color them. Fonts are just a lot of fun!

Lunch time treats

2009-01-14T16:59:00.001-07:00

Kids love getting Valentines in their lunch. If your child packs a lunch to school, it's easy to put a little Valentine in with the lunch. You can also put it somewhere in their backpack where it will be easily found. If neither of those options work, They can be given as after school snacks. These are a few ideas that can used for lunches for kids:

Orange --Orange you glad I picked you for my Valentine.
Ham sandwich cut in a heart --You know how to ham it up.
Cheese sandwich cut in a heart --I know it's cheesy, but I want you for a Valentine
Carrot Sticks-- If you “carrot” all, you’ll be my valentine.
Pretzels --I’m all tied up in knots over you.
Potato Chips --You're a Chip of the Old Block, Valentine.
Apple --You're the apple of my eye.
Banana --I'm bananas over you.
nuts --I'm nuts about you.

It's Never Too Early

2009-01-13T23:13:00.002-07:00

It is never too early to begin looking for things to use as Valentines. Just Friday, I found some great Hershey's Kisses that were at a Christmas clearance sale. They are wrapped in black and the little paper tag says "Naughty". There were silver ones that said "Nice" too. I haven't decided yet what to do with them. But I think they will be great for something and if I hadn't been looking for Valentines already I would have passed them by. There are also great things available at Halloween. Once I found eye ball chocolate balls. I put them in a cellophane bag with a cute bow and a note that said "I only have eyes for you". Again, if I hadn't been looking for Valentines, they would have been left on the shelf. You can make a Valentine out of just about anything.
Christmas clearance sales are a great time to buy Candy Kisses, Rollos, Reese's Peanutbutter Cups and all the candy that is wrapped in foil. Just separate it by colors, Red & Silver, and Green & Gold. Use the Red and Silver (and possibly the gold) pieces for Valentines. Save the Green and Gold to use on St. Patrick's Day in March.
Another great resourse, if you are thinking way ahead, is yard sales. I have found a lot of cute baskets (heart shaped) and candles and heart shaped soap at yard sales. I even found a heart shaped paper lamp. They are not neccessarily things I would choose to decorate with all the time, but they are great and cheap for Valentines. My only problem with yard sales is that after you have the stuff, you have to store it until Valentine's Day. Then I sometimes have a hard time remembering what I have or where it is. Now I have a Rubbermaid container in my storage room that has Valentine stuff init. That makes it a little easier. If you have limited space, storage might be a problem.

Neighborhood Activity

2009-01-12T13:01:00.003-07:00

When I was little, it was common for children to secretly put valentine's on their friends doorstep, ring the bell and run (I know that shows that I'm an old woman). That no longer seems to be a custom. But none the less, it was a lot of fun and I think it is kind of unfortunate that it is no longer continued. In that spirit, for a couple of years, my neighborhood did a Valentine cupid. Each family that wanted to participate was assigned another family. During the week before Valentine's Day, they deliver treats or small Valentine presents three times to the assigned family. Families with small children love this. My kids loved it when they were small. It teaches them to be kind (sometimes to people they don't even know well). And they love being on the recieving end as well.
We delivered the following poem when making the assignments to the families.

Valentine’s Day is coming.
It’s just around the bend.
A time to show each other
We’re glad that we are friends.

The cupid is a symbol
of the love that we all share,
A reminder to each one of us
to show someone we care.

For someone else’s family,
The cupid you will be.
It makes you feel so good inside
as you will plainly see.

We’ve given you a family
to provide for in this game.
And in return, someone else
will do for you the same.

Three times within the week
before this cheerful holiday,
sneak something fun onto their porch
then quickly run away.

The game is rather simple
and so much fun to do.
Enjoy yourself and share some love.
Happy Valentine’s to you!

You have been assigned the _________________family.
Address______________________
Phone________________________
©Copyright by Christine Strong - January 2001

group activity

2009-01-12T12:30:00.003-07:00

Many years ago 3 of my friends and I decided to make Valentines for our husbands. We each came up with 3 valentine ideas and made 4 copies of each. Then we traded with each other so we each had 12 Valentines to give our husbands. The next year we invited 10 more friends to join us. Each person came up with one idea and made 14 copies. Then we were able to give one Valentine to our husband each day for the first two weeks of February. We put a price limit of about $1.00 for each Valentine, so nobody spent more than about $15.00. We have continued the tradition for many years, and surprisingly, every year we get new ideas. It is a lot of fun for us as well as our husbands. Each year the people who participate varies. Two of the original four no longer participate. Occasionally, we have had unmarried people (engaged) participate. So the rules may have to be altered to fit the situation. You may not want to have too suggestive of themes if you include people who are not married yet or are just dating. Some ideas could be used for friends and other family members as well
We found candy bars or inexpensive toys that we could put creative phrases with to make the valentines. Some lists of ideas will follow later.

Coupons

2009-01-12T12:12:00.002-07:00

Make personal Coupons for your loved one.
print them up, hand write them, make them sexy or silly what ever you want.

Some great ideas were found on a package of valentine boxers at Super Target:

Breakfast in Bed (wake me when its ready)
Night Out With the Guys
Get Out of Mall Shopping Free Card
30 Minute Massage
Let’s Go to Dinner (You’re Paying)
Dinner for Two (You Wash the Dishes)
Free Day of Golf or Fishing
Grant Me Three Wishes 1.2.3.
Congratulations. You’re Out of the Doghouse
Let’s Go to a Movie (My Choice)

Fortune Cookies

2009-01-12T12:08:00.005-07:00

Buy fortune cookies, they can be found at oriental or world markets, and sometimes in the foriegn food sections of local grocery stores.

Carefully remove the fortunes in them (you may need to use tweezers), and replace with your own fortunes. Print your fortunes in red ink on pink paper. Cute Valentine Fonts are available at several websites. Look for "Free Fonts" on your search engine (see the column on the left side of this blog).

Buy a take out chineese food box from a chineese resturant (they also can be found at craft stores, walmart, or super target in valentines patterns)

Place cookies in the box.
Include a note that says "It would be my good fortune to be your Valentine".

fortune ideas:

♥You are surrounded by people who love you♥
♥Love abounds when you’re around♥
♥You will come home to someone who loves you♥
♥Someone wants to be loved by you♥
♥Today’s you lucky day♥
♥Hugs and Kisses are headed your way♥
♥Someone is thinking good thoughts about you right now♥
♥You are one smart cookie♥
♥Pick up your socks... ...or else♥
♥A neat and tidy room will lead to a happy and prosperous life♥
♥There is much wisdom in obedience to your parents♥
♥You are an important member of you family♥
♥Your family is fortunate to have you♥
♥Treat your wife with love and kindness and you will be well rewarded♥
♥Grow old with me: the best is yet to be♥
♥Marriage should be a duet - when one sings, the other claps♥
♥Confucius say: Man who say wife can’t take joke, forget she took him♥
♥A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person♥
2001