Red hots or their favorite candy

Handwritten love poem or song

Handmade Valentine

Hershey’s kisses and hugs

“Hot Pants” – boxer shorts with kisses and hugs painted on them

Lotions & perfumes

A tiny bow & arrow with a note from Cupid

Fuzzy dice

Picture book or frame

Steamy love letter

A favorite romantic movie

Marshmallows with a note that says “I’m always on cloud 9 when I’m with you!”

Fuzzy pink, red, or black robe

Bath & Body products

Handmade CD of love songs

Warm and snuggly new red bath towel

Valentine themed stuffed animal

Personalized M&Ms in red, pink and white

Red or pink candle

Hot cocoa

Homemade heart shaped sugar cookies with red sprinkles

Anything red – red jello, red rice krispie treats, etc.

Silk or gold dipped red roses

“I love you” pin

A romantic book

Handkerchief, pillowcase, or other racier article of clothing sprayed with your scent

Handmade romantic fortune cookies (grab a box at your local craft store)

A pillow made out of fabric printed with a picture of you

Love coupons that they can redeem

A puzzle out of a picture of the two of you

A Victoria’s Secret or Mens Fitness magazine with your face glued on all the models

A “This is Why I Love You” journal

A “Naughty and Nice” journal – one side nice normal things, the flip side naughty things

Another idea is to send a gift package of inexpensive but meaningful items. Is your love always without a pen or do they seem to forget something all the time? What about all of their favorite foods or movies? Send gifts that will let them know you’re really listening to them and thinking about them!

Whatever you do make it special and meaningful to you and your loved one. Anything you send is sure to get a great response because it’s from the heart. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Maybe it is because I am knocking on the door of “middle age” that I have had this epiphany, but, I’ve come to realize that I can find a whole lot of happiness with just a little bit of self acceptance. Some things are easier to accept than others like the fact that I am 5’4’ and I’m never going to get any taller. Sure, I can spend thousands on cute high heeled shoes or I can just accept the world as I see it (which just so happens to be right below your chin).

Ok you got me that was an easy one to accept. It was a bit harder to come to terms with the number on the scale and the height and weight chart that assures me that my height and that scale number is not a good match.  I have learned that resolving to do some big makeover weight loss production with lofty goals of super models dancing in my head was not only asking for failure it was completely unrealistic. I could go insane at the gym four hours a day seven days a week feasting on protein shakes and carrot sticks or I could be content with a moderate schedule of one hour four days a week and keeping myself a comfortable healthy weight by choosing fruit over French fries.

The same is true in other areas of my life. One year I resolved to keep our house clean. I was going to reach this goal by setting daily chores and doing a full family-style cooperative cleaning mission every weekend. This turned into a stressful time of me lining my family up like little soldiers and barking orders for all of Saturday. Fail. Instead, I accepted the fact that a little bit of “out to dinner” funds towards a house cleaner could give me a clean house, time to go to the commissary to buy the food for a home cooked meal, and a happy family to enjoy it.

I remember the year that I resolved to build stronger friendships. Each week I tasked myself with goals of thank you notes, “how are you doing?” emails, and building a Facebook database of every connection known to man. The result was friends who thought I might be dying and  a Facebook profile page full of people I didn’t even like in high school.

Then there was the year I chose my resolution to be a better listener. This is always something I work towards as a personal goal and that year I had had one too many people make the comment that I talked too much. Taking those comments to heart, I spent the first few weeks of January practicing to shut my mouth and open my ears. I ended up with a bunch of concerned faces and questions about whether or not I was “okay” because “you’re so quiet”. I really don’t know what I was thinking. I am a talk radio show host, of course I talk too much. It’s my job.

The irony of life is that the grass will always be greener on the other side. No matter where you are or who you are, there will always be something you want to fix. I think the Serenity Prayer says it best:

Grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And wisdom to know the difference.

Join me in my protest, don’t resolve to fail.  Make 2012 the year you are “UNDER CONSTRUCTION”. The year you take constant manageable and sustainable strides towards being the best person you think you can be and amazing strides in accepting the person you are already.

We’re leaving the blog – for memories, for history – but we’ll be continuing updates on Facebook from now on.

Follow Tara www.facebook.com/taracrooks where you can find the rest of us too (we’re all her FRIENDS). You can also follow @ArmyWifeNetwork www.facebook.com/armywifenetwork

We’d love to hear from you!

We arrived on Saturday evening to our hotel about 1 mile from the Cox Center and checked in. Then we walked to the Cox Center to pick up our packets. (that was our warm up for the run the next day!) It was very well organized and easy to walk through. There were vendors and race officials all on hand.

We got all registered and meandered through the booths a bit and then headed out to Zio’s to meet our friends for dinner. Yum- an excuse to load up on carbs!!

(Our friends Abbey & Dave)

Then it was time to head back to get to bed early! Our race began at 6:40 am!! We woke up the next morning at 4am. We headed down to meet them and find the start at 5am (remember we still had a 1 mile walk to conquer). I was doing pretty good until I heard the roar of the crowds and realized that I really was about to “run” and let me tell you what then my stomach turned into some large knots. I worked myself out of the nervousness when I saw all the wonderful people who were participating in our race. I kept telling myself that it didn’t matter what happened because it wasn’t a race, it was untimed, I could WALK it if I wanted to!! It was just getting caught up in the whole atmosphere of the day.

Here’s a pic of us in the starting corral:

We waited and eventually got the official “horn” to GO! At first we had to weave through many people and we were running about a 10:30 which was pretty fast for me but I didn’t feel it b/c I was so nervous and trying to get to an open part of road and spread out. Right about that time we were at 1mile. It went SO FAST I didn’t even realize it. But at 1.25 there is a HUGE hill. When I get to a hard spot like that I just keep saying “just keep swimming, just keep swimming”.

I walked the hill. That killed my time a little – I ended up finishing with a pace of 13:02 a mile. After the hill was some leveling out and then a bend and so I took it in run/walk spurts as much as I could. I don’t remember thinking “will this ever be over” and honestly it wouldn’t have been FAST but I could have pulled a 10K. I was sweating like a pig (what’s new?) but I had more in me. I had my iphone and so it was reporting in to me every .25 miles. I heard the 2.75 mile mark and knew around the bend was the FINISH. So I gave it all my might and just RAN!!! Kev said I must have been awfully motivated for that ending!! Although I ran so hard I dropped my phone which threw me off and of course made my heart explode running back, bending down, etc. LOL! Anyway – yes crossing the finish was an AMAZING feeling.