Love. Always.


I hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Weekend.

Live-In Handyman is much more romantic than I am. And I love how that is :)

This year he surprised me with donuts for breakfast, beautiful flowers, and a box of scrumptious chocolates.

I gave him a card.
But shared the chocolates.
And the donuts.

The plan had been for dinner. But then - dun, dun, dun - he pulled a muscle in his back while moving a heavy chest. Men. What are you gonna do? You guys know I'm messing with you. Right?

So I brought home Chinese from our favorite little spot and we had a quiet evening at home. After a day of rest, and hot, pounding showers, his back is somewhat better, but he tires easily.

Earlier in our relationship, I tried to outdo him on Valentine's Day. It never worked. I can rarely ever surprise him. Then I tried to at least be creative. But we won't go there. Now I just enjoy the wonderful things he does and reciprocate in my own way. Like bringing home Chinese.

How about you? Are you and your Valentine mismatched in the romance department?

And speaking of romance . . .

Once upon a time (More like last week) I reached the halfway point of the first editing pass on my current project. You'll be hearing more about this in the weeks to come. For now I'll just say that my critique partner thinks there's much more romance in this story than in the previous ones.

Which came as a surprise to me because I thought this story was more thriller-ish.

However, upon thinking more about it, I think it's both. It's just that the hero and heroine meet and interact earlier in the story.

Plus, he's hot.
And she's a doozy.
They've known each other for years.
But on this one particular night . . . .


Openings for guest blogging spots are filling fast. I'd love to share space with you here at the Tiki Hut. If you're interested, please email me at tikihuttime AT gmail DOT com The first available dates I have are mid May.

Comments

Glad the editing is coming along!
Neither of us is really romantic, although I might have my wife beat by just a little bit. We don't try and go nuts for Valentine's Day though. Sounds like you and your husband scored evenly.
And glad he's feeling better.
Julie Flanders said…
You got me with "he's hot." :D
Congrats on making such great progress, can't wait to hear more about your current project.

Glad your hubby's feeling better. Nothing better than hot pounding showers.
Unknown said…
Yay for being halfway through a revision pass! Keep pluggin' away!

My hubby usually does nice things for Valentine's. I never do. He's romantic and likes comedies. I'm not and watch documentaries about medical mysteries or serial killers. A match made in heaven. :P
Melissa said…
My husband brought me 11 roses. (Our daughter always gets #12.) I got him a box of White Castle heat-n-eat burgers and some ice cream, because I knew he wouldn't want the valentine cupcakes I bought for the kids. He actually liked it. :)
Doughnuts for breakfast are the way to my heart lol.
L. Diane Wolfe said…
You have a sweet husband. Mine always outdoes me. This year it was a bouquet of kittens!
Linda G. said…
Mine always outdoes me, too. He likes it that way, so, being the goodhearted wife I am, I let him. ;)
Anonymous said…
We didn't do anything on Valentine's Day...we never do...but Sunday when our daughter and families calendar was clear we had a Valentine family dinner. It was Chinese too.
Carol Kilgore said…
Alex - I'm glad about the editing and husband, too.

Julie - Great! More on my project coming soon :)

Lexa - I like comedies and shows about serial killers. I'm warped like that LOL.

Melissa - So sweet! Love the White Castle story!

OE - They're the way to husband's heart, too. He's the one with the sweet tooth :)

Diane - How cute!

Linda G - I think I'll adopt your attitude.

Delores - Ah, great minds thought alike on Chinese.
Shelly said…
Way to go on your progress! And my sweet husband always outdoes me in the romantic gestures department. I try, but I'll never match up to him.
Bish Denham said…
My sweetie sometimes struggles to figure out what to do, but he always comes through with something unexpected. :)

YEAH on the half-way point!
Jeff Hargett said…
I always loved Valentine's Day and finding creative ways to show Myra how much I loved and appreciated her. And knowing how much she appreciated it made it all the better.

Glad to hear you're making progress on the edits. Looking forward to more updates.
I'm jealous. I'd love it if my husband brought me surprises like donuts and chocolates on Valentines Day.
VR Barkowski said…
We don't always get to decide what we write, the story does it for us. If romance is forcing it's way in, so be it! Funny, it's usually unexpected sex or violence in my stories. Maybe I need therapy. :)

VR Barkowski
Deniz Bevan said…
I like the idea of being at home for Valentine's. Much more cosy :-)
Hmm, now you've got me craving Chinese...
Stephen Tremp said…
As usual, wifey is more romantic than I am. But I do things to keep it fresh. Kids are tagging along this four day weekend though. So we'll have to give each other a rain check and cash them later at a more convenient time.
Jemi Fraser said…
We had pizza and went to a hockey game! A truly Canadian Valentine's day!! :)
Carol Kilgore said…
Shelly - It's nice to have husbands like that :)

Bish - I love surprises. Good ones, that is :)

Karen - I love Old Town Albuquerque.

Jeff - The edits are coming along. Not without much hair pulling and words my dogs don't understand :)

Karen - Mine is awesome like that. And I love him.

VR - My short stories are like that. In novels, it's the humor and romance that pop out. Weird.

Deniz - Cozy equals romantic :)

Stephen - Fresh counts!

Jemi - Canadian, eh?
Big congratulations on the editing progress.
And very glad to hear the back is improving.
David Oliver said…
What a good writer you are! I loved how you told the story of Valentine's Day and the playful conflict between you and your man.

Your book? Thriller and romance - helluva combination! :)
Hope to read it sometime.
mshatch said…
I can't wait to get to revisions with my current wip! And lucky you having such a great hubs :)
Janie Junebug said…
Ah, one particular night . . . .
I usually don't buy gifts for Willy Dunne Wooters. He doesn't want much of anything -- other than my love. He gives me practical things or I can use his credit card to buy gifts for myself. Occasionally, I think it would be nice if he showed up with a box of candy, but it's really much better that he shows up with a gallon of milk.

Love,
Janie
Stina said…
Both my hubby and I are evenly matched in this department...but that's not saying much. It's actually sad how pathetic I am in the department when you consider I write ROMANCE!!!! lol
I am married to the most unromantic person ever but that is ok I know it and I accept it and I know he loves me.
Unknown said…
wonderful that you have a romantic partner... and if you can't pull of the romance quite like he, that's perfect because you balance each other out! :)

A romantic thriller! Sounds like another hit, Carol! It's great that your hubby's so romantic! Back injuries can be very painful. Glad he's feeling better. We took my mom out for dinner on Valentine's Day, and a good time was had by all!

Julie
Carol Kilgore said…
EC - He's much better today.

David - Thanks for such kind words.

Marcy - I got very lucky with him :)

Janie - A gallon of milk is a great thing!

Stina - But the romance genre is always a little over the top - different from real life most of the time. Sort of real life romanticized :)

Jo-Anne - Knowing someone loves you can be the most romantic thing ever!

Raquel - We do balance each other in a lot of ways.

Julie - Glad your V-Day was great. I hope the new book will be a hit!

Ava Quinn said…
Sounds like a really nice Valentine's Day. The Man and I don't do much, but that's ok. We have craziness all year.
Robin said…
For a moment there I thought this blog was about to cross into X-rated territory... "hot, pounding, s...howers." Good Lord Almighty. I experienced heart palpitations. Hope your honey is 100% soon, so you can enjoy something other than showers. hahahahaha.
Carol Kilgore said…
Ava - I like craziness :)

Robin - LOL! For hot times at the Tiki Hut call 555-YEAH :)
Helena said…
The whole known-each-other-forever-but-then-one-night premise is very appealing. We've all been there, so I love the sound of this story.

What a sweet, romantic guy you've got. I'm jealous.

Anonymous said…
I think it's great where the romance is going in your project.

I'm sorry about your husband's back. I pull a muscle often from lifting heavy things.
My hubby is quite the romantic. I guess I am, too, but more along the lines of every day's a special day than ooh! look! the calendar says I'm supposed to do something sweet today. If ya know what I mean.

I'm intrigued by the sound of your next book. Can't wait to read it!
DMS said…
Awesome to hear about the edits! Yeah!

It sounds like you had a nice Valentine's Day- minus the hurt back. I have pulled out my back before and it is so painful. Good thing you were able to be flexible about the plans and bring dinner home. :)
~Jess
Rula Sinara said…
Oooh, my hubby has pulled his back out before. Not fun. Hope your handyman is feeling better.

And your book sounds great! Can't wait!
klahanie said…
Hi human, Carol,

Very well done on reaching the halfway point on your editing of your current project.

Valentine's are certainly mismatched at my human's home. He got zero cards and I got zillions from my adoring fans :)

Pawsitive wishes,

Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar!
Carol Kilgore said…
Helena - They say friends make the best lovers :)

Medeia - I've pulled my back before, too. Painful.

Susan - I do know what you mean!

DMS - Ms. Flexibility here :)

Rula - He's better and stronger every day.

Penny - I hope you shared some of your cards and well wishes with your human, Gary.

I have nothing to say about romance, though I wouldn't mind having a man join me in a hot pounding shower.

Chocolate and donuts? Sounds like a keeper.

Be well, Carol.
xoRobyn
Slamdunk said…
Thumbs up to your guy. Humorously, neither the Mrs. or I are very romantic.
LD Masterson said…
Hubby and I swore off exchanging Valentine gifts years ago and just do card. But this year, as I was buying his card, I noticed the store carried a candy bar we both love that you can't find many places. So I bought him one. Turned out he bought my card at the same store and guess what was sitting on my card Valentine's Day morning. I guess exchanging the same candy bar is romantic.

Happy editing.
Carol Kilgore said…
Robyn - Shared showers are nice. When they're hot and pounding, even better :)

Slamdunks - He's back to his crazy self now :)

LD - That's a very romantic story :)
TL said…
My husband is, by far--really, really far--, the romantic in our household. Funny that I write romance!

Your new one sounds fab, can't wait to hear more.
cleemckenzie said…
You must love the guy if you shared the chocolates!

Congrats on those edits. That has to feel very good. Love that he's hot and she's a doozy.
Carol Kilgore said…
Tara - I know what you mean. More coming in a couple of weeks :)

Lee - I do! I do!

And to all those who commented about my new story - I'm glad you like the basis of it. I'll be along with another tease before too long :)
Hubby and I spent Valentine at this cozy venue... picture red/black/silver decor... soft music... ambience... the whole enchilada... BUT we were working, entertaining other couples...
Ah well, at least we were together...

A hottie + a doozy? Interesting combo...
Carol Kilgore said…
Michelle - Sounds good to me!
Anonymous said…
Romantic Thriller sounds like you -- congratulations on hitting the halfway point. That's got to feel good.
Carol Kilgore said…
Milo - Thanks! It would feel better if it were the total edit, but I'll take the first pass!
LR said…
Aw that's sweet.

I'd say we're both more reserved as regards Valentine's day. I bought him a little chocolate heart with a reclining plastic mouse on it with a red bowtie. :)
Carol Kilgore said…
LR - Cute about the mouse :)

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