Valentine's Day is the one day each year where we are supposed to show the ones we love a little more TLC than usual. This Valentine's Day (actually it was on Saturday the 11th), my lovely bride and I went out for a nice dinner and I didn't even use a coupon (only because I forgot to present it with the check).

After receiving a gift card from cashing in my "bonus points" from one of my credit cards, we had enough to go out for a real dinner. Granted, we aren't talking about a ***** experience here, but it certainly beats the monthly trip to Cici's for the $3.99 all-we-can-eat pizza and pasta buffet (last month we took our school books and spent about 5 hours there).

We decided to go to Smokey Bones for some bigtime barbecue. Our giftcard, courtesy of $5000 in Citibank Mastercard purchases, afforded us the opportunity to splurge on an appetizer! Oh, there is joy this season of love! Despite the plastic payment piece, we had a great meal that complimented great conversation.

Laura and I did manage to get each other a few gifts. I gave her a big card, red, stuffed Valentine bear, a heated neck massager (my hands get tired), two stuffed dogs that when they bring their mouths together they make a kissing sound and the male dog's tail wags at a phenomenal rate, a little candy, and last but not least a 25 cent token from Casino Niagara... any thoughts on that one? Well, okay, I will share. For our first Valentine's Day together when we were dating, we went to Niagara Falls (honeymoon capital of the world). We had a great time walking by the misty falls in 20 degree whether. While catching a break from the warm Canadian breeze, we stopped to play a few of the slots at Casino Niagara. Laura had a great time with those so I saved a token from my pile for this very occasion. After all, I knew that I was going to marry her someday, it was just a matter of timing. Anyway, I thought it was appropriate to give it to her this year, since it is our first Valentine's Day together as husband and wife (awwwe, how romantic).

In turn, Laura got me a card (no money inside), a balloon, and a flower (yes, I like flowers), a fleece sweatshirt the same colors as this blog, 4 vouchers only a married couple should use (no explanation forthcoming), the WOW 2006 CD, a bit of chocolate, a little book called, "Daily Insprirations for the Purpose Driven Life," and another little book called, "Devotionals for Dieters." I think the last one was some sort of message. I suppose it would be right up there with me buying her a treadmill or a gym membership! Nah, we both have our weight loss goals, so it's cool.

As I write this, it may look like I got the better end of the deal this time around, but in my defense, I also did the laundry (3 loads, washed, dried, & folded). Did I also mention I cook, too?

I hope your Valentine's Day (or Singles Awareness Day) was a good one. Feel free to share in the comments section for this post.