Well, tomorrow is the big day — are you ready for Valentine’s day? I’ve been focused on losing a few pounds and tomorrow, like Super Bowl weekend, my birthday, New Year’s Eve, and Christmas (and every other day of the year) are a great hurdle to cross. You see, I love chocolate. It was my first true love.

Growing up on the farm, it was easy to grab a piece of chocolate cake for breakfast, because I’d already been up for 2 hours performing a bending and lifting regimen that would have made a junior Olympic hopeful proud. Those Holsteins were not going to milk themselves, you know. Sometimes for ‘breakfast dessert’ — it’s a thing, look it up — I’d enjoy a few miniature candy bars from the candy drawer in the kitchen.

This looks a lot more fun that it was: my friend Linda on the business end of a cow during a “research” visit to the farm. I haven’t seen her in ages. I’m going to Charlotte to visit her in May!

When I got to college, I was a basketball cheerleader with a high metabolism, so the nightly chocolate sundaes in the dining hall provided all the fuel I needed to stay in shape for the season.

That wool uniform was incredibly provocative, now wasn’t it? The turtleneck surely added a certain”monestary” touch, don’t you think? With me is my sophomore roommate. I love her!

In my late 20’s and 30’s I ran marathons — not fast mind you — but I could cover the distance in order to earn the brownies (and the margaritas) at the finish line.

German Chocolate cake and beer for my 39th birthday, courtesy of my beautiful friend and running partner. Miss her in Texas!

I once worked for a start-up company where one of the principles uttered my favorite quote about chocolate. “I’m not sure which is better,” he said, “the look of love  your darling gives to you or the look she gets on her face when you give her chocolate.”

So, although I’m not a huge Valentine’s Day fan, I can fake it for some nice chocolate. My roommate will arrive home from work around 7 pm tomorrow, I’ll try to arrange my face so he can see both looks, whether or not he brings home the goods.

P.S. Many thanks to the gracious Robin Nelson at Craftsisters.com for her advice on blogging and the challenge of quilt pattern making.