A Valentine's Message From The Royal Navy

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTZyvZWvLuNQl0Li_do11OkUIxsOSNA1dgkbe4X5xyUhd-HuCmHPMWwJ7AODFhOXvvi6kDlYXkZslcsRg4KtWxjQLzRr5P6fYrCy_vXfjONTLzmyImoeLWgqypucOiZuucRub-m2UrA5Y/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTZyvZWvLuNQl0Li_do11OkUIxsOSNA1dgkbe4X5xyUhd-HuCmHPMWwJ7AODFhOXvvi6kDlYXkZslcsRg4KtWxjQLzRr5P6fYrCy_vXfjONTLzmyImoeLWgqypucOiZuucRub-m2UrA5Y/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">All at sea: The crew of Royal Navy Destroyer HMS Daring spell out a romantic Valentine's message as they return home from a nine-month deployment</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sea Of Love: Royal Navy Crew Spell Out Valentine's Message On The Deck Of Their Destroyer As They Return From Nine Month Mission -- Daily Mail</b></span></div><br />The crew of a Royal Navy destroyer send out Valentine's message to their loved ones back home by forming a red heart on the warship's flight deck.<br /><br />The message saying 'I Love You' was formed by sailors aboard HMS Daring as the Type 45 destroyer heads back to its home base of Portsmouth, Hampshire, having spent nine months on deployment - one of the navy's longest missions.<br /><br />Lieutenant Jason Hannigan, the ship's operation officer, said: 'We have proven this is a very capable warship, but without the support of our loved ones our sailors would not be able to operate at their best.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2559088/Sea-love-Royal-Navy-crew-spell-Valentines-message-deck-destroyer-return-nine-month-mission.html">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> I suspect that they are more happy that they are returning home after a nine month deployment .... than celebrating Valentine's day.

Valentine's Day A Valentine's Message From The Royal Navy

All at sea: The crew of Royal Navy Destroyer HMS Daring spell out a romantic Valentine's message as they return home from a nine-month deploymentSea Of Love: Royal Navy Crew Spell Out Valentine's Message On The Deck Of Their Destroyer As They Return …

Read more »

Vintage piano given Valentine's Day deadline

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px;">A musician has been ordered to remove the 90-year-old instrument from a bluff top in Half Moon Bay. After a last performance, he plans to burn the piano Sunday.</h2><div><img alt="Bluff-top piano" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-511c5e81/turbine/la-1358485-me-0213-piano6-wjs.jpg-20130213/580/580x357" /></div><div><span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px;">Artist Mauro Ffortissimo plays the piano for a crowd in Half Moon Bay, Calif. City officials have given him until Thursday to remove the piano from its perch overlooking the ocean. </span><span class="credit" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px;">(<span class="photographer">Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times</span> / <span class="dateMonth">February </span><span class="dateDay">14</span><span class="dateYear">, 2013</span>)</span><br /><div class="articlerail" style="background-color: white; clear: both; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 234px; z-index: 4;"><div class="articleRelates module" style="border: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="newRelatedItem useBullet" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-sunset-piano-photos-20130213,0,1743138.photogallery" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: auto;" target="">Photos: Sunset piano</a></li><li class="newRelatedItem" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-john-beasley-blue-whale-20121221,0,6417697.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target=""><img alt="Jazz pianist John Beasley to have January residency at Blue Whale" height="105" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-50d4e770/turbine/la-et-ms-john-beasley-blue-whale-20121221/187/187x105" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-right: 5px; padding-right: 8px;" title="Jazz pianist John Beasley to have January residency at Blue Whale" width="187" /></a><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-john-beasley-blue-whale-20121221,0,6417697.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target="">Jazz pianist John Beasley to have January residency at Blue Whale</a></li><li class="newRelatedItem" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-alexandre-tharaud-pianist-20130109,0,7098339.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target=""><img alt="Pianist Alexandre Tharaud brings haunting mood to 'Amour'" height="105" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-50ecd6b4/turbine/la-et-cm-alexandre-tharaud-pianist-20130109-thumbnail/187/187x105" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-right: 5px; padding-right: 8px;" title="Pianist Alexandre Tharaud brings haunting mood to 'Amour'" width="187" /></a><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-alexandre-tharaud-pianist-20130109,0,7098339.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target="">Pianist Alexandre Tharaud brings haunting mood to 'Amour'</a></li><li class="newRelatedItem" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-piano-named-sapphire-pictures-20121217,0,4779659.photogallery" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target=""><img alt="A piano named Sapphire" height="105" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-50cf8241/turbine/la-me-piano-named-sapphire-pictures-20121217/187/187x105" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-right: 5px; padding-right: 8px;" title="A piano named Sapphire" width="187" /></a><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-piano-named-sapphire-pictures-20121217,0,4779659.photogallery" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target="">Photos: A piano named Sapphire</a></li><li class="newRelatedItem" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-charles-rosen-pianist-20121211,0,6006152.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target=""><img alt="Charles Rosen, pianist and author, dies at 85" height="105" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-50c76da1/turbine/la-et-cm-charles-rosen-pianist-20121211/187/187x105" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-right: 5px; padding-right: 8px;" title="Charles Rosen, pianist and author, dies at 85" width="187" /></a><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-charles-rosen-pianist-20121211,0,6006152.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target="">Charles Rosen, pianist and author, dies at 85</a></li></ul></div></div><div class="konafilter pm-ad tpl02 " id="pmad-rail" style="background-color: white; clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 10px 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 4;"><div class="medium_rectangle medium_rectangle1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; height: auto; margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 232px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div class="ad_header" style="height: 12px; line-height: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 3px; padding: 0px 0px 2px; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?ct=abg&q=https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/request.py%3Fcontact%3Dabg_afc%26url%3Dhttp://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sunset-piano-20130214,0,6036188.story%26gl%3DUS%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dca-pub-0227802054925200%26ai0%3DC6RqvNpEcUcC0MY3KkwTonYDADrTZmp0DpJ2qozCUsbH_jgEQASDHip4IUKzzncf-_____wFgyfbshsijkBmgAcyjyuIDyAEBqAMBqgSdAU_QVt-laQcsgAg2H8joEL_1edVvKfe0u5Q34RZGwyhEomF6NpXkd3lmB6Au_G3qiM-gbfTmZXt9oDWAkzNYgYNu5X9ySpsqQOaVd3y2H3QT-2Q2SaLKyjAoKP6nxterVJqVpb1kcykWhd4wUAqo3qylUasgyqp1WZFJBWPDhX2YUbuuzG6rCltCCevJIs7-tEvUEbR6vq5u3JoqYqWIBgGAB5zctR0&usg=AFQjCNGgFvc_y1aMHtAWgFkL_HZsMyXHwg" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102) !important; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Ads by Google</a></div><div class="ad_body" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><li style="cursor: default; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; text-align: left; width: 232px; word-wrap: break-word;"><a href="http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=C6RqvNpEcUcC0MY3KkwTonYDADrTZmp0DpJ2qozCUsbH_jgEQASDHip4IUKzzncf-_____wFgyfbshsijkBmgAcyjyuIDyAEBqAMBqgSdAU_QVt-laQcsgAg2H8joEL_1edVvKfe0u5Q34RZGwyhEomF6NpXkd3lmB6Au_G3qiM-gbfTmZXt9oDWAkzNYgYNu5X9ySpsqQOaVd3y2H3QT-2Q2SaLKyjAoKP6nxterVJqVpb1kcykWhd4wUAqo3qylUasgyqp1WZFJBWPDhX2YUbuuzG6rCltCCevJIs7-tEvUEbR6vq5u3JoqYqWIBgGAB5zctR0&num=1&cid=5Gg5Z1bBQPvYqEqLF7ieb7KT&sig=AOD64_0HRRcddTlsm2ccFDfy6io5SDa_Yg&client=ca-pub-0227802054925200&adurl=http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk%3B261565189%3B85758330%3Bv" style="color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><span class="headline" style="display: inline; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px 4px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Advertising on YouTube</span></a><span class="desc" style="display: block; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13pt; margin: 8px 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">Reach more viewers and boost sales with AdWords for video.</span><a href="http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=C6RqvNpEcUcC0MY3KkwTonYDADrTZmp0DpJ2qozCUsbH_jgEQASDHip4IUKzzncf-_____wFgyfbshsijkBmgAcyjyuIDyAEBqAMBqgSdAU_QVt-laQcsgAg2H8joEL_1edVvKfe0u5Q34RZGwyhEomF6NpXkd3lmB6Au_G3qiM-gbfTmZXt9oDWAkzNYgYNu5X9ySpsqQOaVd3y2H3QT-2Q2SaLKyjAoKP6nxterVJqVpb1kcykWhd4wUAqo3qylUasgyqp1WZFJBWPDhX2YUbuuzG6rCltCCevJIs7-tEvUEbR6vq5u3JoqYqWIBgGAB5zctR0&num=1&cid=5Gg5Z1bBQPvYqEqLF7ieb7KT&sig=AOD64_0HRRcddTlsm2ccFDfy6io5SDa_Yg&client=ca-pub-0227802054925200&adurl=http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk%3B261565189%3B85758330%3Bv" style="color: black; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><span class="dispurl" style="color: #2262cc; display: inline; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 13pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;">adwords.google.com/video</span></a></li></ul><div class="clearboth" style="clear: both; height: 0px; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"></div></div></div></div><span class="toolSet" style="background-color: white; display: inline-block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 335px;"><div class="byline" style="color: #292727; float: left; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;"><span class="byline" style="display: block;">By Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times</span><div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;"><span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">February 13, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;">, </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">10:25 p.m.</span></div></div><div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><div id="story-body-text" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — The piano was delivered to its bluff-top perch under cover of fog nearly two weeks ago. It is scheduled to leave this coastal enclave in a burst of flames on Sunday.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">In between the fog and the fire, musician and sculptor Mauro Ffortissimo has been treating his neighbors to an illicit outdoor concert series grandly dubbed Sunset Piano. Chopin, Debussy, a tango or two. The performances are timed to end the moment the sun sinks below the horizon.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">He plays to cyclists and dog walkers, babies in strollers, his landlady in a folding chair, the charmed, the perplexed. Every night the battered baby grand has sounded just a little bit worse as the elements erode the aging, al fresco instrument. Every night, the audience has grown.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Ffortissimo (not his real name, but you probably figured that out already) had hoped to serenade the residents of Half Moon Bay for a month. But it didn't take long for reality to intrude on the 50-year-old artist's well-laid plans.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Two days after Ffortissimo and friends rolled the piano out to a scenic spit of city land, a code enforcement officer sent a warning via email. Someone had complained.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">No permit, no piano.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">The 90-year-old Estey "<em>appears</em> to be an unauthorized encroachment onto public property," wrote Lamonte Mack. If you can't prove the installation is authorized, he told Ffortissimo, "please remove the piano — and platform —<em>within 10 (ten) days</em>."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">That made the deadline Valentine's Day, an occasion to celebrate love, if not misplaced musical instruments.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">The artist legally known as Mauro Dinucci has taken the bad news in stride. Asked about the end of the piano during Tuesday night's crowded concert, he crowed: "Woo, hoo! Valentine's Day! Bring chocolate!" and promised that "before we burn this baby, we give it one last boat ride."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Thursday will be the piano's last scheduled bluff-side concert along the Coastside Trail at the end of Kelly Avenue. Friday, Ffortissimo said, he has been invited to play the instrument at the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Saturday he'll give a sunset performance on the water, a nod to the piano's earlier owners who once sent it from California to Panama and back by sea. Sunday he plans to set the piano ablaze in the flower-strewn field behind his studio.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">"The idea of the burning," Ffortissimo said, "is a cremation, to liberate the piano from its physical form … I just hope it won't be a 'Spare the Air' day."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Not everyone is as happy as Ffortissimo about the piano's upcoming freedom.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Mayor Rick Kowalczyk, who has yet to hear the Sunset Piano himself, said he was trying to "see if I can't get something done in the short term to allow Mauro to stay." Kicking the Estey off of the bluff, he said, "feels a little bit like a child has a lemonade stand and the city shuts it down."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">On Tuesday evening, more than 100 music lovers gathered round as the sun — and the temperature — dropped. Two women danced together on the grass. Wine was sipped and beer chugged. Children ate cold pizza. Shorebirds glided by.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Far away from Half Moon Bay, <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/barack-obama-PEPLT007408.topic" id="PEPLT007408" style="color: #666666; text-decoration: none;" title="Barack Obama">President Obama</a> was preparing to give his <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/state-of-the-union-address-EVGAP00063.topic" id="EVGAP00063" style="color: #666666; text-decoration: none;" title="State of the Union Address">State of the Union</a>address. Christopher Dorner was thought to be shooting it out with police.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">But here on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Susan Swanson of Redwood City poured white wine from a blue metal flask as Ffortissimo played Albinoni's "Adagio in G Minor." She'd read about the piano performance in the local newspaper, she said, "and it's the kind of news I like to read — good news.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">"This to me is everything," said the trying-to-retire office manager. "It's a perfect moment. Once in a lifetime maybe. It's so odd, isn't it?"</div></div></div></div>

Valentine's Day Vintage piano given Valentine's Day deadline

A musician has been ordered to remove the 90-year-old instrument from a bluff top in Half Moon Bay. After a last performance, he plans to burn the piano Sunday.Artist Mauro Ffortissimo plays the piano for a crowd in Half Moon Bay, Calif. City officia…

Read more »

Happy Valentine's Day!

I want to wish you and your loved one{s} a <i>very </i><b style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Happy Valentine's Day</span></b>!  I hope you're enjoying this day that is dedicated to love - why <i>not </i>have a holiday dedicated to one of God's most wonderful gifts?<br /><br />I know some people do not enjoy this love-inspired day, but I do!  I love it, and I loved it even when I was single.<br /><br />Thanks to Pinterest, there are endless ideas for days like today.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH6YllQU4Q47FzC2Ndp-44F_IPOxWI2Py3_D7W7CbxRwpkmtiBajSt-xlnVkl_YIR4co8qeZuCintP2mOCTXSaP-bNe3rJ5G6pk2N7FIZQbkRiN6HM62XkqX2tUa-vkPXDgogS9dbMsQY/s1600/valentine+breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH6YllQU4Q47FzC2Ndp-44F_IPOxWI2Py3_D7W7CbxRwpkmtiBajSt-xlnVkl_YIR4co8qeZuCintP2mOCTXSaP-bNe3rJ5G6pk2N7FIZQbkRiN6HM62XkqX2tUa-vkPXDgogS9dbMsQY/s400/valentine+breakfast.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joel's breakfast from Saturday</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I really enjoy doing things for others, especially when I can put something together for them that is both something I know they'll like, but also allows me to exercise my creative muscles.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT30UL-KL4kU6MpRgA6KBhjsGzAYS5yUZQumc_mmcav4APze2T3s_1i_-qD-UqMEntw0d4_TGW9CbjZGjpz6ErZQp-ynNbKp9Qvin4AGm4VuXJy-FoF9OTksS_mwB8La6e3jHL-nl5S6A/s1600/joel%2527s+valentine+gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT30UL-KL4kU6MpRgA6KBhjsGzAYS5yUZQumc_mmcav4APze2T3s_1i_-qD-UqMEntw0d4_TGW9CbjZGjpz6ErZQp-ynNbKp9Qvin4AGm4VuXJy-FoF9OTksS_mwB8La6e3jHL-nl5S6A/s400/joel%2527s+valentine+gift.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><br />Joel surprisingly doesn't mind wearing boxers that have hearts on them.  Every year I buy him v-day themed undies and he always wears them throughout the entire year.  <span style="color: #999999;">{I almost always get them at Target - they always have cute ones!}  </span><br /><br />By the way, could there be a better gift for a fisherman on Valentine's Day? <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Y9H-pLldIX-vQeb3fo-OUuw5tz_kWEA20mJcKuBoa6HNQqOTPj2M3S8QoK1TpRo-bhWeVWIdDGIl7Im7NHH7AG3KonU5X3wJVy-fphxFJoSI31b5Q7BhlLOk0PAZh7GX01fs3pX8Q2w/s1600/joel%2527s+valentine+gift+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Y9H-pLldIX-vQeb3fo-OUuw5tz_kWEA20mJcKuBoa6HNQqOTPj2M3S8QoK1TpRo-bhWeVWIdDGIl7Im7NHH7AG3KonU5X3wJVy-fphxFJoSI31b5Q7BhlLOk0PAZh7GX01fs3pX8Q2w/s400/joel%2527s+valentine+gift+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Then there are these cuties.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEETpHGeopq7UU96hFHCXzUvl0NFGlyXIuJD5xySz59AzMP6Wno-FutDvIWYv2ZHzQLoVeM_1Apkhn3SzQ6dwQDTmDkUNl-oxuH2niKvRYYQCIqdZ69gLC8TxMsHqFEcUIbqMxaWwbedk/s1600/ww+vday+cupcakes+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEETpHGeopq7UU96hFHCXzUvl0NFGlyXIuJD5xySz59AzMP6Wno-FutDvIWYv2ZHzQLoVeM_1Apkhn3SzQ6dwQDTmDkUNl-oxuH2niKvRYYQCIqdZ69gLC8TxMsHqFEcUIbqMxaWwbedk/s400/ww+vday+cupcakes+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />And friends, that's as far as it goes with these mini Weight Watchers Red Velvet Cupcakes {from the January 2012 issue}.  They sucked! Whole wheat flour really doesn't cut it when you're trying to achieve the goodness that is red velvet.  I think Joel said it well: "They taste like bread."<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3gIqQksERfMm-Zii2Vba5Xj5EPgqFnsXgbgspTI6_JgY2MxaQUR3bdjWtaUekXPwvCdp696xmjlTJtnurEQ0lYo5P08WirK7QrqEbZ2k1lDR2MczwOY_GArsVt-V1mufq0V1hlIjvB0/s1600/ww+vday+cupcakes+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo3gIqQksERfMm-Zii2Vba5Xj5EPgqFnsXgbgspTI6_JgY2MxaQUR3bdjWtaUekXPwvCdp696xmjlTJtnurEQ0lYo5P08WirK7QrqEbZ2k1lDR2MczwOY_GArsVt-V1mufq0V1hlIjvB0/s400/ww+vday+cupcakes+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Now this little gem on the other hand.... perfecto!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KgyNQL4EzwzFi6WVFvcH0jvm2Dom_dF5OqjWH1LklYawwm-ddwzNmwKiZrThyphenhyphen9yfH9233TKkuGrr5kDTmjbaNIW7uhQ7kks3wZfhClbAh_eENdB_RRkwccwHxaN5w60D93fiE4xv-VQ/s1600/red+velvet+cake+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4KgyNQL4EzwzFi6WVFvcH0jvm2Dom_dF5OqjWH1LklYawwm-ddwzNmwKiZrThyphenhyphen9yfH9233TKkuGrr5kDTmjbaNIW7uhQ7kks3wZfhClbAh_eENdB_RRkwccwHxaN5w60D93fiE4xv-VQ/s400/red+velvet+cake+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens Breast Cancer cookbook <span style="color: #999999;">{and tweaked with advice from my gynecologist, who moonlights as a professional pastry chef!}</span>,  this Red Waldorf Cake was both dense <i>and </i>moist.  This is the<a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/12/weigh-in-weekly-goals-more-christmas.html" target="_blank"> same cake I made at Christmas time</a>, but that one was fairly dry.  After talking with my doctor, she informed me that red velvet is a tricky cake for which to achieve perfect moistness. But I'm proud to say I did.  This time I baked these in mini-heart shaped spring-form pans purchased at Target. The same batter used to make the previous cake, also made six personal heart-shaped cakes as well {taken to a friend's house for a dinner date}.  By the way, this cake is named Red Waldorf Cake because the Waldorf-Astoria hotel were the creators of what we know today as Red Velvet Cake.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9jmH2enPXs8OgmjeUorYb67GuXPXGpzm3exTO8VJ0CzB9Mevvr6yAjf4_rC1ENEwAeoq5C0SdH4kO_GJ1m908DTT0cuc4VlkeBzo5xCAooxj-vuP4Xoq5L1bfZsgrOxlzZ94IFWNlZU/s1600/red+velvet+cake+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9jmH2enPXs8OgmjeUorYb67GuXPXGpzm3exTO8VJ0CzB9Mevvr6yAjf4_rC1ENEwAeoq5C0SdH4kO_GJ1m908DTT0cuc4VlkeBzo5xCAooxj-vuP4Xoq5L1bfZsgrOxlzZ94IFWNlZU/s400/red+velvet+cake+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Divine.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b style="color: #674ea7;">How About That Weight Loss?</b><br /><br /><br />I had another successful weigh in last Friday, removing another 0.7 lbs for a total loss of 28.6 lbs!  Very exciting!<br /><br />It took a while to receive my goal "prizes" from the previous weigh in, but alas, they came!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccrorFteABsyVFbid9B8aaSxqUQdCkUaz7HQinB0G93LQcWN_cR08OkNImUdrcfWOjtGhCn_df_Uc0KIPeU89DMauc9q-nK6wNwq1_wPI9wyA9hThUQNwvWnd_AxZzOTOewT16qTLJjI/s1600/bracelet+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccrorFteABsyVFbid9B8aaSxqUQdCkUaz7HQinB0G93LQcWN_cR08OkNImUdrcfWOjtGhCn_df_Uc0KIPeU89DMauc9q-nK6wNwq1_wPI9wyA9hThUQNwvWnd_AxZzOTOewT16qTLJjI/s400/bracelet+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> She's really getting filled up.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBLS7eX5mNEJFYLrEs2m4cCGba_Ox5iuH3-IJ5p-kthM9yba-pA5NMJ3LipnzpsrYJhMjHzVMhZnenBOP29HE9k9Jw2XDUcO_ecVYo3X0-21zPCgphQa4vUx3GUA9HYp5_uFxQ5y5AN4/s1600/bracelet+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBLS7eX5mNEJFYLrEs2m4cCGba_Ox5iuH3-IJ5p-kthM9yba-pA5NMJ3LipnzpsrYJhMjHzVMhZnenBOP29HE9k9Jw2XDUcO_ecVYo3X0-21zPCgphQa4vUx3GUA9HYp5_uFxQ5y5AN4/s400/bracelet+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The Penn State one and the bead immediately to the right of it are the two new ones.   I love them both, and I'm so proud to be displaying my Alma Mater as part of my weight loss journey.  We are tough cookies, us Pennsylvanians :).  That is what the Penn State charm represents.  <br /><br />The jewelry hanger is proving to be an AMAZING purchase.  I should have taken a before picture of my dresser - it was a nightmare of tangled necklaces.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRE0K7ISomYboBqopro2A0gscl9tnvUlCMdQ-JGp3zuvc8YBj1CKHT6pO-kU3SgqRBwIsUhxwhB97tYf76ka6W2XedgAcEZWFzH1RGnGlm64clRUeIqUvrE4jnoOfynymHLB85QUYVHfE/s1600/jewelry+hanger+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRE0K7ISomYboBqopro2A0gscl9tnvUlCMdQ-JGp3zuvc8YBj1CKHT6pO-kU3SgqRBwIsUhxwhB97tYf76ka6W2XedgAcEZWFzH1RGnGlm64clRUeIqUvrE4jnoOfynymHLB85QUYVHfE/s400/jewelry+hanger+3.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />Not now!  Thanks to that little Etsy shop for this perfect jewelery organizer!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_iJB-9K29wF4-BTlDfy-BvJERhH8rsGcpxxq_ioLFTxwq1G3cKWViaGkNiKo_ZcMAkWT0LF8fKdrB9bMdIMyrwRZvXgg0xIe-vLgHrxeZUZegPzoIgUk2bqJn-blg0hBVVTi8mNr9vU/s1600/jewelry+hanger+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_iJB-9K29wF4-BTlDfy-BvJERhH8rsGcpxxq_ioLFTxwq1G3cKWViaGkNiKo_ZcMAkWT0LF8fKdrB9bMdIMyrwRZvXgg0xIe-vLgHrxeZUZegPzoIgUk2bqJn-blg0hBVVTi8mNr9vU/s400/jewelry+hanger+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">notice how some earrings don't have their mate.  Thank YOU Charles!</td></tr></tbody></table>I absolutely love this weight loss award.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQIX4VdnpmJ3oX4nJmBLHEFjkPMvc0SClCUCuqWf-K2McO85mtV1zJxaqbDQ_BoY7PG-RzK16sgRmJdNNoqCmhf3twpxgzZAOfaOcvLIumkJPGNbMneWEPIqsCc2Wn8-UEtKL-42ZSL44/s1600/jewelry+hanger+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQIX4VdnpmJ3oX4nJmBLHEFjkPMvc0SClCUCuqWf-K2McO85mtV1zJxaqbDQ_BoY7PG-RzK16sgRmJdNNoqCmhf3twpxgzZAOfaOcvLIumkJPGNbMneWEPIqsCc2Wn8-UEtKL-42ZSL44/s400/jewelry+hanger+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Other than all that, I'm still chugging away at school {again, why my posts are lacking!} and trying not to indulge too much in the V-day goodness.  As of today, I've only completed 1/2 workouts for the week.  While I don't like to let it go this long into the week, I had a very packed weekend and zero time to squeeze in both gym visits.  I plan to go either Wednesday or Thursday.  <br /><br />Happy Lovey-Love Day!

Better Homes and Gardens Breast Cancer Cookbook goals Inspiration Success Valentine's Day Happy Valentine's Day!

I want to wish you and your loved one{s} a very Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you're enjoying this day that is dedicated to love - why not have a holiday dedicated to one of God's most wonderful gifts?I know some people do not enjoy this love-inspir…

Read more »