The Pride and Prejudice movie on Sunday night was perfect. That's because I already think the A&E Colin Firth version is perfect. The only part in the entire series that I dislike is the same thing they do in all versions of P&P; they downplay the fact that Charlotte Lucas (Collins) wants Lizzie to marry Col. Fitzwilliam. I think there's some jealousy there on Darcy's part, and it would be nice if they could play that out a little bit. But alas, it's a small portion in the book, and so I can understand why they always leave it out. Ho, hum. Oh, and I apologize for talking about parts of the series that haven't occurred yet --but I feel I'm fairly safe since the majority of my readership has seen it. Right? And if you haven't? Holy cow, people, why are you reading this!? Get out and watch it!
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VALENTINE'S DAY STORIES
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. As a teen, I actually liked Valentine's Day, especially if I had a boyfriend during it. Which happened...once? Twice? Okay, not often, but I remember those days fondly because dang! I got good stuff! I think the best Valentine's Day I had in high school was the first time I had a boyfriend (I will not divluge how young I was, but just know that I was young. Probably a Freshman. And 14. But I'm not going to tell you, okay?). Here's what happened:
We had 5 hours/periods in the day. On my way to 1st period, he gave me a card with a sweet original poem. I thought it was nice, but lame because I had gotten him at least THREE presents, and how could he just do this, the cheap guy?! (Remember, I was young). Then in 2nd period, I got a decorated folder with a whole bunch of individual valentine's in it (those kind that you pass out in 2nd grade, right?) Each one was numbered, and he had written me a letter in sequential order. It was obvious that it took a lot of time, and my young mind could still appreciate the effort. I then started to feel bad about my previous feelings. Then in 3rd hour (I think I'm remembering this correctly; I could have these things out of order), I got a cute stuffed dalmation puppy. I can't remember what happened at lunchtime --I think I gave him my gifts (a stuffed animal, card, and a skeleton key --it was the "key to my heart". Aren't I a romantic?).
Okay, you still with me? In 4th hour, I believe he gave me carnations in a vase. Then 5th hour was a bag of hershey kisses. When I got home from school, he had come by and left a plate of cookies and a red rose on my bed. Aww! However, my parents were not happy. They hated the idea that I even had a boyfriend, let alone one that would give me so much stuff. But then their concern grew when the next day, he gave me another rose. My birthday is exactly 13 days after Valentine's Day (or is it 12?), and he was going to give me a rose everyday, fudge the math, and my birthday gift would have been 14 roses. Of course, my parents couldn't handle the idea that their daughter would get such attention (they were very protective!), and so they asked me to tell him to stop. Which he did. Because he was respectful like that. To be honest, though, it wasn't that my parents didn't like my boyfriend --they just didn't like my age.
Anywhosers, it was a fabulous day and I'll never forget it. The attention and love shown to me was very nice, which I think is the point of Valentine's Day. When you're single. And have money. But then you get married and holy cow, the day isn't as big as, say your wedding anniversary. Which is good, because the wedding anniversary should always trump V-day.
Ironically, I can't really remember any rotten Valentine's days, although I'm sure I wallowed in many. Perhaps I've repressed them; which is fine for me.
Now, I want to hear your stories about the BEST or the WORST Valentine's Days you've ever had. Dig deep and give me the joy or the hate. If you have more than one story, lay it on me! I'm hoping for stories of romance and love, pain and regret. I want it all, people!
What do you get if you do it? Well, for the very first time, Happy Meets Crazy is having a give-a-way! That's right, people, I've decided to enter the world of giving away free stuff so lots of people will leave me comments. Because I'm sociable like that. Or a lemming. You can decide. The prize? A specialized made DVD of any of the Jane Austen Classics movies we've been discussing thus far. Copied directly from our TiVo, and commercial free! Whoo! I may even throw in a couple of surprises.
Please leave me your stories by Sunday, February 17, 2008 by 10PM. I'll use that random website and choose a winner. Or two. Depending on how many people leave comments. Heck, if there's only two, then I guess you'll both win!
Happy Valentine's Day, and Happy Writing!
17 comments:
Yes, I enjoyed the P & P this last sunday too, although I fell asleep....Luckily, I have the DVD so I plan on watching it later today. I had a pretty dateless existance as a teen...tear...Luckily for me college life was better. There was one guy that asked me out for V day and I said no. I didn't realize it was the 14th he was talking about. He wanted to snow mobiling. Let's just say the last date I had with him he took me 4 wheeling and we got lost in the Logan Utah mountainside until 2 AM. I was not getting on another motorized vehicle with him. Plus, hello...cold, snow, and not someone I would want to cuddle with. Forget it. Don tool me out for V day and we went dancing at the Murray Dance Studio in Murray, UT. I actually was planning on breaking it off and convinced myself that I was going to slow things down...but what can I say. Don put on the old Kilpatrick charm. He bought be flowers and dinner and it was just a nice date. Long story short...I did not break up...I got engaged to him 3 weeks later! Oh, no need for the contest for me. I have them Tivo'ed as well.
Okay, I have one for you:
In high school I had the same boyfriend all three years. He was also LDS, but he went to another high school, so we saw each other on the weekends mostly. Valentine's day my Junior year I remember being bummed because he had a dive meet and would not be around. I went to my first class, and my teacher had this great flower arrangement on her desk. When class started she got this great grin on her face and handed it to me. "This is for you" was all she said. There was no name, just a note that said "thinking of you" on it. hmm...
Got to my second class, and there was another arrangement on the teacher's desk. My friends all started to giggle. Yup. It was also for me. The note just read: "I can't get you off my mind". Third period, same thing, only the note read: "Every memory of you is priceless. Every though of you is distracting. If I had a flower for every time I thought of you I would drown in a pool of forget-me-not's." I miss you." By the time I made it to my last class of the day, my locker was full of flowers, and half the kids in school were following me into class to see what was waiting for me. Nothing. Can you believe it, I was actually disappointed. I think everyone was. School let out and I grabbed all my flowers and started to head down the hill to my car. As I rounded the corner to leave, I spotted three guys in front of me. (I recognized them from the stake... those crazy Mormon boys!) They were all dressed in suits and they started to sing my boyfriend and my song. Of course, a circle of people gathered and I must have been ten shades of red. As they finished their song and everyone began to clap, my boyfriend came up from behind me with a dozen roses. "I couldn't stop thinking of you long enough to make a decent dive so I decided to some see you. I hope you don't mind."
I may have been a total nerd in school that no one even knew, but on Feb. 14th of my junior year, everyone knew I had a killer boyfriend. I still have everything in my scrapbook from that year. What a wonderful memory!
And, I don't have Tivo and am a new Jane Austen fan, so I do want to be in your contest! :)
Well aren't I already getting a copy of the shows?? LOL I can't remember too many v-days in my life that had an impact on me. In High School I never had a boyfriend on v-day and thinking back I'm not sure I had one while dating either. The one that does stick out though is when Spencer and I were dating. It was in that point of the relationship where we either had to call it quits or decide we were going to marry each other. I had a serious case of non-commitment and was thinking about breaking up with him. That v-day we went out to dinner? and played pool at a local pool hall. It was enjoyable and we exchanged gifts too. I was working at a flower shop so I gave him roses :). But because of doubt and lack of commitment my heart wasn't really into it. So I broke up with him a few days later. It didn't take too long and 3 or 4 days later I realized my mistake and that I didn't want to ever be without him. So we got back together--thankfully he took me back!--and we got engaged a few months later. Anyway, this wasn't really about v-day but about the time frame around it...
Since then v-day is kind of down played but we've done small things for each other.
The only Valentine's Day that I can remember thinking "This is the worst day ever!" was in 5th grade. The creepiest kid in class gave me a "special" valentine. All of the other kids noticed (because it was bigger than everyone else's and had a gift inside--I think it was a Minnie Mouse pin) and teased me mercilessly. I was completely mortified. I'm pretty sure I told the kid thanks, but I don't think I was overly nice about it. I really regret that I wasn't kinder to him, knowing now what courage it must have taken for him to be so bold.
I totally don't remember anything in the book about Charlotte wanting Elizabeth to marry Col. Fitzwilliam. And I just re-read it two days ago! Man, now I'm going to have to go back and read it again.
Last year would have to be the best. I didnt have a date and neither did any of my roommates. So we all decided to have a "boyfriend bonfire"! No, no, Its not as violent as you think. The plan was to burn all of our old boyfriend stuff (letters, photographs, etc.). Since I really didnt have a lot of boyfriend "stuff" to burn, my roommate and I stole one of my old boyfriends wedding announcement from his old roommates. It was awesome! So in our backyard of our ghetto house in Provo, my roommates and I burned all of our old boyfriend stuff and then we danced around the bonfire. By doing this we were able to rid ourselves of the bad boyfriend curse. It sounds cheesy but it was so worth it!
I vote for Heather's, but I have a pretty good one of my own. It was when dh and I were dating. We'd already had the marriage talk a number of times. We'd both prayed, and he'd received his answer a while before I received mine. But I finally did in January sometime and told him. We'd already been ring shopping, so I was just waiting for him to pop the question. He knew this, so he was having fun keeping me on edge all the time. At the end of January one night as we were saying goodbye, he got down on one knee and I thought this was the moment, but then he got up and said, "Just kidding!" I was so mad, I cried and told him it was over if he ever did that again! He felt bad and promised he wouldn't do it again. Fast forward to Valentine's Day. We planned a big date up to Temple Square. I got him tons of stuff: new pants, a new shirt, a stuffed animal, chocolate, and a couple of other little things. So we get up to downtown and park and I suggest we trade gifts before we get out of the car. He says, "Ok," and I give him all of my stuff and he gives me one box. So I open it and it's a clock (not even a cute one). So of course, I'm rummaging through the paper in the box looking for the ring......no ring. He tells me that this is a symbol and that he needs more time. I was trying so hard not to cry. I mustered what patience I had left and tried to understand where he was coming from and squeaked out an, "Ok." So we go do the tours downtown and then go out for lunch to the Garden Restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We got a table overlooking the temple and got talking and somehow ended up on the subject of rings. And he asks me, "So what was the name of the setting you liked?" And I said I couldn't remember and he puts his hand in his pocket and says, "Did it look like this?" And then pulls his hand out and says, "Just kidding!" I was SOOOOOOOO mad! I started to bawl...and he felt bad again and tried to calm me down... and I reminded him that he'd promised not to do that again. Anyway, after trying to gain composure and getting through the rest of the awkward lunch, we went out into the foyer-place that overlooks the temple. I sat down on one of the chairs and started talking to him about something (can't remember what) and he tells me to shut up. I was so appalled and offended! I was starting to question whether or not I really wanted to marry this guy. Then he gets down on one knee and puts his hand in his pocket again. And the thought goes through my head, "If he's kidding again, I swear I'm going to kick him through that window." Lucky for him, he wasn't kidding. He pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him (with a bunch of people watching). Also lucky for him, I said, "Yes." And all the people clapped and cheered. And we kissed and it was great! Lalalalala....happily ever after!
The only memorable V day I remember was when I had a boyfriend at 15, and I was honestly getting bored with him and he was getting way too clingy. Anyway, he gave me a pink rose, and I put it in a vase, and then put a little food coloring in the water because I had heard that the flower changes color if you do that. Yeah, I changed his rose green. It looked like a leaf. It was cool. I liked it, but he was offended.
He was a little more offended when I dumped him a few days later.
I want Northanger Abbey.
I want to start off by saying I have repented for my behavior!!!
It was our third Valentine's Day, and this mostly happened the day before. On the 13th I went over to my mother-in-laws house to do our laundry as usual with the two little ones. That evening Jeremy was going to meet me at his mom's house then we would switch cars he would load up the laundry and children and I would go home, change and go to a Relief Society event. Well as time gets closer and closer he isn't there. So I start to get a little angry. As I load each basket of laundry in to the car my temper starts getting the best of me. Then load the kids in the car, he is still not there. As I am pulling out of his mom's court he is pulling in. He stops next to me to roll down the window and he tries to roll down his. The he opens the door to talk to me then shuts it real fast. I am thinking at this point Are you kidding me, he should know I am mad and he is messing with me! Then he fidgeted inside the car and opened the door again and closed it quickly. No words were exchanged. I was pretty much fuming. So I left, went home, changed my clothes loaded the kids in the car. I expected Jeremy to be right behind me but NOooO he went into his mom's house and he was far enough behind me I could get all the aformentioned stuff accomplished. As I was doing the last seat belt Jeremy pulls up. At this point my temper has far exceeded the safe point and as Jeremy goes to take the kids out so I could attend my thing. I seriously think I would have run him over had he not had the better judgement of STEPPING AWAY FROM THE CAR! As he is looking at me with pleading eyes I speed off to go feel the sweet spirit of my fellow Relief Society sisters. I got home and we didn't talk, the next morning...nothing. That made me mad too, he was in charge of celebrating Valentine's this year. (I know I must be bi-polar and hard to live with, my excuse is I'm female!) So Continuing on my silent treatment I got in the shower. I hope you are feeling my pain and anguish, but this too must end and you should jump ship and pity the poor soul who is stuck with me for eternity When I got out I opened the door and there was a trail of my favorite candy (Snicker's Hearts)to our dining room table with a gorgeous expensive bouquet of red roses, my first one from him and a romantic card. So I am a putz. Here is his pathetic side: It had been a crazy week and he hadn't had a chance to get anything for me so after work he made the much needed stop to buy the flowers. When he pulled up next to me in the court his window can't roll down it has been broken for a LONG time. Of course in my fit of rage I forgot. Then when he opened the door the car light would go on and then I would see the flowers in the back seat. He tried to turn off the light but at that point I lost interest in whatver he had to say and left. He then dropped the flowers off at his mom's house and came home. If I were him I probably would have thrown the flowers at me and said "here Happy Valenitne's Day you big jerk!" Well not really but I would have thought it real loud. So that is probably the worst one, who thinks being humbles is romantic?!
I would have to say the best was last year Jeremy planned a night away for us. We went to Ruth's Chris for dinner than a movie and we stayed at the Lafayette Park Hotel. Then we went and got breakfast and did some shopping. It was fabulous. It was like a secret little rondevu with my amazing hubby.
I am not sure I made the deadline, but I have the DVD's already too. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my stories though!
I started dating a guy a few weeks before Valentines Day last year. I wasn't expecting much when V-day came, but boy did he deliver. I arrived at work to find a bouquet of roses and the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I had mentioned once that I loved Rand and he remembered. We made plans to get together after the Utah Jazz game because I had season tickets with a friend. I was in a hurry to get to the game and frustrated when my friend kept delaying. She knew that I liked to be there for tip-off. Anyway, the guy I was dating walks into the house and we chatted while I am still getting more annoyed that we haven't left for the game. Suddenly he turns to me and says, uh, I don't think Liz can go to the game tonight, so is it alright if I go? I was shocked. He hates basketball and he knows I love sports, but he was willing to sacrifice so we could be together and he could see me in my element! Liz was delaying because Jon got home from work late and she told me later that she was worried I was going to leave the house without her and meet at the game. Good thing I didn't do that. A Valentines Day I'll always remember.
oh funny, i was just coming here to tell you that i'm having a giveaway on my blog, too! i'll have to think of what story i want to share w/ you and come back.
come over to my blog (it's public!) and enter my drawing. you can tell your blog friends about it too ... :)
www.sarajoyner.blogspot.com
happy valentines day, girl!
That was a cute story.
I wish I had a story - good or bad, but I just can't think of one! Dang. I wouldn't mind seeing some of these movies you have been talking about.
Hmmmm... I don't have a huge Valentine story. Would a Sweethearts dance story work? It was around Valentines. My senior year of high school I asked one of my good friends to the Sweethearts dance. This big tough football guy that you wouldn't really picture being so sweet. So he was my date and I don't remember how I found out but NOT from him -somehow I did- that he had been feeling so sick all day and inbetween our day activity (can you tell I'm from Utah?) and the dance he had been laying in bed trying to feel better. He didn't want to let me down and leave me with no date! I found this out from someone and imediately felt bad because I was being all- I look crappy and I'm not pretty blah blah blah. So I put on a smile and went to the dance and had a good time. I hope I told him I knew he didn't feel well and that it was very sweet of him to put on a happy face for me. I think I did. It just meant a lot to me. :)
I wish I could think of a good story! Basically ALL of my Valentine's Days were HORRIBLE until I met my husband. I'm not even exaggerating. I always felt sorry for myslef during High School when they'd read off names of people who needed to go to the office and pick up their balloons or flowers and of course my name was never called. Then I'd go home and find something from my parents-- usually left on my bed-- which, of course, was really nice and I knew they loved me but sometimes it almost made it worse to remember that I didn't have a boyfriend and only my parents loved me. Which at the time seemed super lame and dorky. Of course now I know better.
It was basically the same through college. I never had a date on V-day or anything. Ok, maybe one year I did, but it didn't amount to anything except a broken heart.
Aren't I lame?!
This year my hubby wrote "I {heart} U Sara" in the snow w/ red spray paint. So that was really sweet. :) I actually really love Valentine's Day, as jaded as I sound!
p.s. do you mind if i link to your blog from my blogger site? :)
Happy Be-Lated V. Day! My computer has been up and running for a few hours now, and I've been itching to get back to blogging and catching up with everyone! Looks like you have been super busy, and I love all the pictures! (But and so jealous that is looks like summer wherever you guys were!) Thanks for the ROAR award! I am so flattered! I'm always a little shy about my writing.
Oh, I made a picture for the award if you want to post it on your blog. I thought it would be more fun to pass it on that way.
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