HOW TO SPEND YOUR VALENTINE DAY

It's already February 14 which means Valentine's Day is just hours around the corner. I know a lot of people say it's just a Hallmark holiday, or that we shouldn't use Valentine's Day as an excuse to do the things for our significant others that we should be doing all along. I don't necessarily disagree with such a statement, but I do still celebrate the holiday. To be honest, I sometimes do need an excuse to do something extra romantic. I mean, it's easy to surprise L with a random mixed CD I compiled, but my creativity usually falls short beyond that on any given day we spend together. 

The truth is, we've been together long enough that we fall into patterns when we see each other: hang out, maybe go see a movie, almost always go to dinner somewhere, go out with friends, go for a hike if it's warm out. Even though we don't spend as much time together as we like, these things tend to get a little monotonous. Our hundreds of meals together somehow blend into one.
That being said, I'm struggling this year to really put together a great Valentine's Day weekend. It's extra difficult for me because L's birthday is the week immediately following February 14.
Some ideas for if you're a little short on cash:

• Cook dinner together.
• Make chocolate-covered berries or pretzels. Feed them to each other.
• Read your favorite love stories to each other by candlelight.
• Watch his/her favorite movie and then watch yours immediately following. 
• If it's temperate where you live, go for a hike.
• Travel to the nearest body of water and have a picnic.
• Send flowers. It seems cheesy, but with it being such a cliche less and less people actually do this.

Some ideas for if your wallet is plentiful:

• Get a reservation at an expensive restaurant at which you wouldn't normally dine.
• Share a bottle of champagne and some strawberries.
• Each of you make your own mix of your favorite songs and then listen to the playlists back-to-back while driving aimlessly. (This one seems inexpensive, but gas prices are pretty crazy...)
• Rent a cabin or a hotel room at a vacation destination nearest to you for a night and spend as much time as you can exploring the area.
• If there aren't any great destinations nearby, rent a hotel room and spend the whole weekend ordering room service and spending time completely isolated from the outside world.
• Instead of panicking about what kinds of gifts to get each other, spend an afternoon shopping together and help pick out gifts for each other. It seems oddly unromantic and thoughtless, but even for L and myself as two people who feel like we know everything there is to know about each other, sometimes gift-giving can be tricky and difficult. 

I urge you to get on it fast. I waited too long already to start seriously thinking about what I wanted to do with"U"