My funny valentine

I had to leave him asleep in bed this a.m. It was difficult! Actually he was awake - kinda hard to sleep thru all my gyrations of getting ready for work and traipsing thru with my bags etc. Plus I gave him a kiss on my way out the door. Like I always do.

Then he told me to text him when I get to work. And I told I would - like I always do.

Today I didn't listen to a book on CD on the way to work, like I usually do. I needed thinkin' time. I thought about my Poolboy a bit - what a lucky girl I am. You've all heard it before. It shouldn't take Valentine's Day to remind me to appreciate how fortunate I am. Later that day I got a beautiful flower arrangement from Boesen's from my hunny bun. All that and a card too!

Paul and I sent cards (with a wee bit 'o cash) to our kids for val day. I thought about buying something for each of them, but then decided "cash is king". They'd like to buy their own gift. Last week I ordered prints from some of my digital photos (and some I kinda borrowed from Facebook from the kids and their friends), so I hung those in my cubicle. I like having pics of my friends and fam surrounding me whilst I work.

Back to my drive to work, with no book, I listened to tunes, to help me get my work face on, and think about my Wednesday meeting. Yep, I had to do some self-coaching. I have a tiny little problem at this periodic meeting with keeping my mouth closed. And I reminded myself that at this meeting I will zip my lips, even when people who don't know what they're talking about don't. Bite lips!

I listened to some smooth Al Green that took me back to my honey. Kicking Stevie Nicks, and finished up with Bob Seger. It was a nice drive.  

You can take the people out of Creston...

but then you just run into more Creston people wherever you go...

To celebrate Valentine's Day with our honeys, Bobbie set up a night out at the Rusty Duck in Dexter. We'd been there once before, last year and had a good meal. It's a bit of a drive - the first exit past Stuart. For me, yawn, another drive towards DM. But it goes by quickly when I have a nice cocktail in my hand and am chatting it up with good friends. We ended up with a couple carloads - Eckhoffs with Higgins and Bobbie and Jeff with us.

Paul niftily avoided a deer south of Stuart. It was on the shoulder of the road. I just know, had I been driving it would have thought harder about dodging out onto the road! Dexter is a tiny burg, known previously to me only for Drew's Chocolates. My daddy used to buy them for our fam as he had a sales account in Dexter (probably some tiny department store that sold it all - from seed corn to lingerie..).

The restaurant is not large, and it was full when we got there. Bobbie had invited my roomie Joan and her hubbie Billy - and they had scrounged up bar tables for us all whilst we awaited our table. Good thing too because it took a while. I had a nice vodka tonic while I waited - no small town drink, they didn't just slap some vodka into flat tonic. They knew to include a lime. (One might take these things for granted, but I've been in small bars before where they don't even have citrus fruit!).

While we waited, two other groups came in with Crestonites. Ty and Peggy Rogers with Billy Stewart and his wife. Also Lori Vicker - don't know her married name. I worked with her at FNB when we first moved to town. Billy saw a guy he knew from Anita. Then, while we ate we saw a group from Earlham - including Scott Driscoll who is married to Melissa Winterstein. They live in Earlham now but are moving to Creston after the school year. Yes, Iowa is a small world!

I ate a delightful Orange Roughy. Good food! We got home by 11 PM - tried to meet up with McKims, who had gone with a group to Waterfront Market in DSM. But they picked Macksburg and we picked their house. So we missed connections - by the time they got home we were in our jammies...prolly a good thing no more liquor for us!

I got my honey a Green Bay Packers Super Bowl Champs T-Shirt for Val day - along with some chocolates. Jud texted me last night for advice on what to get Kara. I decided a dozen roses would be good - and a nice card. Every girl should get a dozen roses sometime from her honey. Not every year - especially on expected occasions like Val Day. But on the first one - a guy should do that! I'm pleased Jud consulted me.

Fun night out with good friends. Who says small town people don't have options!