Happy VD

Hmmm, apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed the irony in the e-mail I referenced in Friday's entry, because today I received another e-mail with this subject:

Explanation: Here's why we inlcluded the video

It goes on to say that they "...wanted you to know that we have received a significant number of complaints from (our) supporters about the graphic nature of the video clip from the NBC show Las Vegas, contained in a recent e-mail alert..."

Well imagine that. And I wasn't even one of the complainers. I wasn't complaining in my previous entry, only noting the irony.

It goes on to say that "We receive about an equal number of complaints from those who get upset when we don't provide the actionable material. So we are caught in a bind. Provide the actional material and get complaints, or don't provide the actionable material and get complaints."

That's a very wordy way of saying "damned if we do, damned if we don't." Well I can understand that completely. It's almost the story of my life.

Can I just crawl back in bed and hide under the covers until tomorrow when this valentine's crap will be over?

It's not my favorite holiday. It never has been. I probably minded it the least while I was married, but generally I've just always wished I could sleep through it. Why can't it be on February 29 so that I only have to deal with it every 4 years? That'd be plenty often enough, if you ask me.

It's a totally commercial holiday - I'm positive that's the whole reason it was invented. $129 for a dozen roses at one florist, I saw on the news this morning. Ridiculous. And all of the jewelers love it, I'm sure it's better than Christmas. Don't forget Hallmark. Oh, and Hersheys and all the other chocolatiers.

Chocolate. Mmmmm. Ok, the one part of the holiday I'll concede is all right. Chocolate abounds, chocolate choices the likes of which you don't get the rest of the year. Yum yum. Good thing I haven't started Atkins yet. Hmmm, was procrastination something they scored on that personality test? I don't recall. If it was, I am sure my score was high.

Which is why I found myself at Target at 8:15 last night desperately seeking a box of valentines for the kid to give to the kids in her class.

Now, to my credit, I bought the rest of the cards and gifts on my list a week and a half ago when I skipped out to Target during my lunch hour so I could do some kid-less shopping (oh the luxury). Of course, I didn't mail any of them until yesterday, and I know some of them are not going to arrive today, but hey, I bought them and actually put them in the mail. I have plenty of cards for other holidays sitting around my house that I bought for people that never reached their destination at all.

The reason I didn't buy a box of kid cards on that trip is because I thought she might like to pick them out herself. A week and a half ago, Target had dozens of choices.

They did not have a single choice last night.

We didn't happen to go shopping between the time I went before and last night, so there we were. We did get a pity box of crappy bug cards when I asked a fellow shopper where she found the boxes of cards in her shopping cart. She said she'd found some laying in another department and I could have the bugs if I wanted. Needless to say the kid wasn't excited about bugs and I didn't blame her one bit.

We bought the bugs anyway just as a precautionary measure (they were only $3) and headed for the nearby dollar store. Nope. It was full of people desperate as I, seeking the perfect valentiney something-or-other though. Well the price was right, anyway.

Kroger yielded 1 pack of Hello Kitty puzzle valentines, 16 to a pack. Of course I had left the list of kids in the car so I didn't know how many were on the list. The kid assured me that there were not more than 16 kids in her class and that boys would love Hello Kitty puzzles. I chose to take her word for it because there weren't any other packages, anyway.

The list in fact had 20 other kids on it. Naturally.

So I suggested we give the girls Hello Kitty and the boys bugs and fortunately that idea was a hit. By this time it was 9:15 and we were finally on our way home to start filling out 20 cards. Oh, and did I mention the puzzles had to be taken apart one by one and stuffed into the little envelopes? And there was no cheating and not taking them apart; the puzzle was over twice as big as the envelopes.

I had her sign her name on all of the cards while I wrote the other kids' names and started taking all of the puzzles apart, then she skedaddled to bed while I finished up.

It occurs to me now that her teacher might not be that pleased at 9 little 5 year old girls getting puzzle valentines and having to put them together. They have about 20 little pieces each. Hey, the package said ages 5 and up though. Or was it 8? Hmmmmm. No, I'm pretty sure it was 5. Maybe.