V-Day 2011

Since our big trip to Las Vegas, Vivian and I have enjoyed a couple weekends of not doing a whole lot, which has been great. We had a week or two of nasty winter that seems to be transitioning quickly into quite beautiful springtime.

We had a couple fun events for the weekend before Valentine's Day. Friday night at JNO was the Pink Party, of course, so Vivian and I got to dance with several of our favorite Jitterbugs, including Lisa's mom. It was her birthday and she decided to have a dance in the middle of our traditional birthday jam, which was quite fun.

Sunday evening, Twin Valley had a Wild West themed potluck dinner for some reason. Vivian and I joined in the fun, and we got to duel with Pastor Drew and teach everybody how to do the Electric Slide. Tim provided musical accompaniment. There was also plenty of food, of course, including barbecue, cornbread, and a chocolate cheesecake that Vivian auctioned off for $32 (which went to the coffee fund).

On Valentine's Day, Vivian and I had several fun treats in store for each other, most of which involved food. I got up early enough to make her some heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast, and she made some heart-shaped cherry chocolate cheesecakes for me. I brought her roses and Panera chili for lunch at her workplace, and then made some homemade deep-dish pizza at home for dinner. I was lucky enough to find a recipe from my all-time favorite pizza restaurant in the world: Pizzeria Uno. I made the crust from scratch, which was a first for me. Nobody told me what a horrible, sticky mess that stuff is until you beat it into submission. The result was quite tasty. We also had a few gifts for each other. Vivian gave me a wine-tasting notebook and label organizer, and I got her some tickets to see Jeff Dunham when he comes to Omaha on March 4.

Needless to say, it was a wonderful (and somewhat gluttonous) Valentine's Day for the both of us. Of course, I'll jump at any chance I can get to make homemade pizza, especially if it comes in a heart-shaped pan.