My Valentines

Believe it or not, John and I actually got to go out to dinner for Valentine's Day. Going out on V-day isn't something we've ever made a custom of, but it just happened to be a day when we could get a babysitter. We went out to our favorite restaurant in town, Asuka -- a Japanese-Korean place -- which is kind of a gem because Battle Creek lacks quality restaurants. (Thanks to BC's largest employer, Denso from Japan, the restaurant serves a lot of young Japanese transfers). We had a big plate of spicy raw tuna sushi and our entrees were Korean: Bi Bim Bap for me and John had his favorite, Bulgogi. Mmmm, what a treat.

John introduced me to Korean food when I first came to Michigan and there's nothing in the world like it. It's so tasty. They pickle Daikon radish and make these amazing side dishes ... my mouth is watering right now!

So since I got taken out to such a nice dinner by my hubby, I was glad to make him a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies for Valentine's Day.



I've only made homemade, from-scratch cookies a few times. It's tricky ... mix the wet and dry separately, don't overbake, yadda yadda. I used the Fannie Farmer cookbook -- the same book I refer to in making pies -- and it had the most basic, easy cookie recipe, and they turned out pretty good.

Because he's so adorable, I let the newest man in my life eat the first cookie:



Today, Albert John and I went to Stella's school for her Valentine party. Stella enjoyed all the Dum Dums she got ... she loves those things. Albert simply tried to eat all the crayons when everyone sat down to color.



Crash!
A few nights ago, after the kiddos were in bed, I settled quietly into bed to watch a little TV. John was still downstairs. All of a sudden, there was an earth-shattering sound ... I wondered if a meteor had hit the house. My heart skipped a beat. I jumped up and ran downstairs. John and I looked at each other and said, "What was that?!"

Turns out, the heavy snow and ice on our roof pushed one of the gutters off. Here is the view from the master bedroom, dangling between the two levels. It fell from the upper roof to the roof above the family room. It'll have to be replaced come spring.



Go away, winter!