As I emerge from my Holiday Hangover I realize ONLY 27 DAYS TILL VALENTINES! I better start planning for the Day of Love. I often screw this one up and let it sneak up on me but not this year. I'm starting early, how about you?

This year, with finances being tighter than pre-baby years, we decided to give up a few of our season tickets to hockey games.

We've given up the Valentines day game in favor of the cash. So I know my spending limit is under whatever we get for the tickets.

A babysitter and dinner reservations will probably be perfect this year.

I'm thinking dishes or pots and pans and if that's not enough, maybe a cooking class where I can watch her learn how to satisfy my stomach as God intended.

Really? I need to start thinking about how to handle it. It's the weekend before Ash Wednesday (Mardis Gras) and I have a brewing project to do that weekend for church. Yes, really. I invite some guys to join in brewing a beer that will ferment and age over Lent. It's a good, old fashioned Lenten Discipline.

But that means that Valentine's Day is going to have to make up for all of that as well as generally knock her off her feet.

Suckers - that's the nice thing about being a no-gift couple. No expectations, no payout.

This year, for Valentine's Day, I am taking my wife to my mother's house for the weekend!

(Okay, it falls on a three day weekend (presidents day, get your gifts now!) and we have not seen my mother in 18 months and have never seen the house she's lived in for 3+ years. Timing is just really, really funny.)

Really? No Gift Couple and spending Valentine's Day at YOUR MOMS House. My thoughts are with you. WOW.

I caved. I let her take me out to a fancy restaurant on her dime. It was probably 80% of what I would expect from a place in this price range. They had a salad bar that had not only mandarin orange/marshmallow salad and tapioca pudding, but also caviar and sardines. With a $30 bottle of $12 wine (retail), it ran a bit over a C-note.

We both forgot to get cards, but it's not a huge deal. We'll get to it. We both appreciated having time together without the kids.