I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day. I feel like it’s a superficial way to force couples to remember each other. And, somehow it seems like it’s all the man’s responsibility to do something to celebrate. Anyway, I prefer when the love flows naturally. We ignore the holiday by attending a fun filled food affair (can you tell I like alliterations?).
It’s that time of year again for us here in the Sunshine State. The Florida State Fair.
I’ve been posting about our yearly non-date on my blog each year.
We can’t remember why, but for some reason we didn’t go last year. I think we’ve only missed twice in the 25 years we’ve lived here.
In the past, the best thing about going to the State Fair on Valentine’s Day during the week, was that it was deserted. We practically had the place to ourselves. This year was quite the opposite. With the holiday landing on a Saturday, we had to summon our patience to come along on our non-date with us. People, people and more people everywhere.
This was the first year I wasn’t in the mood for crazy fried Fair foods.
We looked and looked and looked for our favorite goodie from years past, but we were disappointed not to find it there this time.
Yummy waffle ice cream sandwich we couldn’t find this go around.
I did buy myself some playful things at the expo hall though. A cute purse, a phone case for my new cell, and … umm … what else? Oh yes … a tattoo.
What do ya think?
Thanks for taking a peek inside our Valentine’s Day non-date. I thought we needed a lighthearted break from the intense Tale about Feet. I’ll be posting the continuation of that story on Wednesday.
How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? Do you celebrate with romance?
Lori's Lane 
Forgot to ask … is the tattoo real? I love it! I got one at the fair one year, but it was a henna tattoo and washed off within a couple of weeks.
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Heya Terri. I went the henna way with my tattoo … too. Ha. Actually, it wasn’t henna, but it was a similar plant-based ink. And, yes, I will definitely want to meet in person if I get my butt back up to the frozen tundra. 🙂
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State Fair time! Yay! I know how much you love it! Too bad it was so crowded this year. Our state fair is always crowded, no matter what time of day or day of the week. Seems like we break attendance records on an annual basis.
The waffle ice cream sandwich sounds amazing. What a bummer that it wasn’t available!
We also don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. We didn’t even buy each other cards this year, but we flew to Florida on February 14th for the week, so that was celebration enough for us.
p.s. I keep meaning to respond to your comment about possibly moving back to my part of the country. If you do, we have to make it a point to meet somewhere in between!
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I thkn the State Fair is a wonderful thing to do on Valentine’s Day… it’s something we’d enjoy too. There’s similar, what Australian’s call a show, on in the country in April that we like to go to, and the food is one of the attractions. Not so much the fair food, but they have old country style catering, like scones, pikelets and old fashioned sandwiches… ah, great memories 🙂
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Interesting to learn what you do there down under, EllaDee. Sounds similar and just as fun. Thanks for sharing it here.
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I think of it like a birthday. There’s no harm in remembering people and making them feel special, even if they already are special all year round. I agree about the pressure,but we don’t let that affect whether we feel like doing anything special for Valentine’s Day. After so many years, we’re not as susceptible to outside pressure to do what the commercial world says we should – not like when we were younger.
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I get frustrated on birthdays, too. People (like certain relatives) who I never hear from all year round suddenly feel obligated to call. It would be nice to be remembered more than once a year and not under obligation, but because it’s genuine. I do think younger people feel obligated to do what the commercial world says, and as we grow older, we think better of it. I also feel for single people who get reminded of Valentine’s Day for weeks in advance with all the ads. Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks for coming along to the fair with us through my blog.
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Sounds like a great non-date. Too bad it fell on a weekend. Love the tattoo!
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Heya Kourtney. Thanks for mentioning the tattoo. It’s kind of like henna, but not quite, because it lasts longer. I wish I could do these a few times of year, because then I could change them up. I never got a permanent one because I knew I’d get bored with it. Thanks so much for coming along with us through my blog.
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I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day either. We don’t really do anything to celebrate it. Like you mention, it feels forced. I prefer the impromptu nice things we do for each other throughout the year. But I think going to the state fair would be a wonderful way to approach the day. Great pictures. I think my cholesterol spiked just looking at them. 😉
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Hi Carrie. I completely agree about Valentine’s Day. Ack. I get sick of all the ads beforehand, too, as you read on my twitter feed (tweet?). I usually fast from fried foods and cut back on carbs after the first of the year to prepare for the fair in February. For some reason, this year I didn’t have a taste for any of the greasy foods. The only thing I really wanted was that waffle ice cream cone, and they didn’t even have it this year. I actually had something semi-healthy. A delicious grilled chicken pita with fresh vegees. I enjoyed it. Thanks for coming along with us through my blog.
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Lori,
I think Valentine’s Day is ridiculous. My husband (who is definitely the bigger romantic out of the two of us) says people shouldn’t need a day to remember to be nice to each other, and appreciate the love two people have for one another. This should be something that is done every day. Perhaps that is why we are going on our 20th year of being married.
How did we celebrate Valentine’s day? Hmmm. I decided to hand scrub the Saltillo tile throughout our entire house, then I noticed the baseboards were dusty, needless to say I cleaned those as well, which led me to realize the Plantation blinds were in need of a good dusting . Oh I did laundry as well, cleaned the bathrooms and then collapsed into bed. That was my Valentine’s Day. A most productive day and my house smells luscious. Yippee!!!
P.S. The ice cream sandwich looks absolutely divine. I remember as a kid in Australia, they sold blocks of ice cream like that at the movie theater. Best ice cream ever.
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Hi Sparkplants. Haha, sounds like you had a very productive Valentine’s Day. As you read, mine wasn’t quite so productive. 😉
I feel the same about Valentine’s Day. It forces someone to show their love instead of doing it naturally on any other day of the year.
Oh my Lord, you had waffle ice cream sandwiches at your movie theater?! I used to work at a movie theater as a teenager. I’d have weighed 500 pounds if we sold those. Ha. They are luscious. I sure missed that this year. BTW, do you live in Australia now?
Thanks for coming along with us to the fair through my blog.
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Fair food is my weakness. Fortunately, it’s expensive at our state fair in Oklahoma. LOL. The chocolate dipped cheesecake is my favorite, but if I could stop at pretty much every vendor if I had several hundred dollars and didn’t care that my calorie intake would be in the six figures.
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Hi Angela. The fair food was definitely expensive here, too. For some reason, this year I wasn’t in the mood for all that greasy and sweet food. The one unhealthy thing I wanted wasn’t there this year. But, we had a nice time anyway. Thanks for coming along with us through my blog.
P.S. Just about anything dipped in chocolate sounds good to me. I’m a chocolate freak.
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The State Fair sounds like a great place to celebrate a “non-date.” 🙂 I wonder what was up with all of the missing goodies?
We’re not big on Valentine’s Day, Lori. We don’t need an appointed day to express our love. I think it’s a money making racket. Do I sound like a grinch? 🙂
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Hi Jill. No, you don’t sound like a grinch. You said what I was trying to get across about Valentine’s Day much more succinctly.
All of the fried goodies were still at the fair, except of course, the one we we usually get. But, we still had a nice time. For the first time, I wasn’t in the mood for all that greasy fair food, so I got something pretty fresh and healthy. It was a delicious chicken pita with fresh vegees. Thanks for coming along with us through my blog.
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