Top Ten Worst Valentine's Day Presents

Here it is, as promised, a little post-Valentine's Day fun.

10. A grill
9. A mattress
8. A vacuum
7. A set of pink tools so you can work around the house
6. Jewelry with cubic zirconia
5. Plastic flowers, instead of real ones
4. Windshield wipers and hubcaps
3. Anti-wrinkle cream
2. Breath mints
1. Weight loss equipment and diet pills

Thanks to Melissa Jagears for help with numbers three and seven. So, now I'm curious. What's the worst Valentine's gift you've ever gotten (or heard of)? Leave a comment below to share in the fun.

And if you haven't entered the giveaway for my coming novel yet, stop by this post to leave a comment. The contest ends tonight at midnight.

Reversing Valentine's Day: Ideas for Women to Keep Their Men Happy on Valentine's Day

We've all had it happen to us before. We watch the calendar as the days approach February 14. We glance at the special Valentine's candies, stuffed animals, and flowers as we run our errands and wonder what special present our man has procured for us. We get a little mushy inside when that diamond earring commercial appears on TV, and we drool over those advertisements for romantic Jamaican vacations that keep popping up all over the internet. But when the day finally comes, we open our Valentine's present only to find car motor oil, an oil-change pan, and an oil-change instruction manual waiting in the box.

The evening ends in tears and hurt feelings and a husband saying "But honey, I thought you'd like it. You said just the other day that your oil needed to be changed, and you know I won't have time to get to it this weekend."

This year, instead of waiting for your man to do all the Valentine's Day work, why don't you take the initiative and do something extra special? Not only will he be pleasantly surprised, but I'd also wager the evening won't end in tears over your oil pan gift.

1. Keep the day about him. Women like flowers, candy, and soft stuffed animals holding big red hearts. But what do men want? I'm not sure any woman can say for certain, but if you've been in a relationship for any length of time, you should have some idea of what YOUR man likes. So follow the it's-better-to-give-than-receive rule and plan the day around his preferences rather than yours.

2. Dress Up. Men are visual beings. They like to look at their woman (or girlfriend) and know that she went through effort to look good for him. This doesn't even need to cost any extra money (though it could if you wanted it to). Look nice, eat your meal by candlelight or firelight, and he'll be a happy man.

3. Cook. You've heard a zillion times that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and it will probably always be true. You don't need to make some elaborate meal as much as make something you know he will appreciate. As for me, I'll be making steak and potatoes, and my husband's favorite desert, peanut butter pie. The pie recipe takes about fifteen minutes and is super simple (I'll share it next week).

4. Plan a weekend getaway. It's February. Just about every hotel in the U.S. is offering deals right now, and you don't even need to go far from home. For our last anniversary, hubby and I drove a whopping hour from our house and got a discounted room with a jacuzzi, in a hotel that also featured a pool, hot tub, and sauna. Really, just the night away from kids was wonderful, and it didn't cost much. Call and make the reservations today, then make up a little personalized gift certificate and stick it in his Valentine's Day card to tell him.

Hopefully these ideas will get you started on creating a special Valentine's Day for your man and showing him how much you love and appreciate him.

On Wednesday, we'll be having a little fun with Valentine's Day. I'll be posting on the Top 10 Worst Valentine's Gifts. Have your bad Valentine's ideas ready! Also, if you haven't entered the giveaway for my novel, visit this post and leave a comment. You have until midnight on Wednesday, February 15.

Valentine's Contest and Sanctuary for a Lady Excerpt

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'll be joining with author Noelle Marchand for her Fourteen Days of Love contest. There are activities running every day from now until Valentine's Day on Noelle's blog. On Wednesday, I'll be blogging about keeping romance alive in your marriage (always a fun topic for me!). Plus I'll be giving away my first ever copy of my book Sanctuary for a Lady!!! (Which I still haven't held in my hand, in case you were wondering. See this post for that story.)

So, with a post about real life romance and a giveaway of Sanctuary for a Lady on Wednesday, I decided to let you readers have a little sneak peek at my novel, which releases in April. Here's one of my favorite romantic scenes, pulled right from the middle of the book.

*****

“Go to bed,” he growled.

Hurt flickered in her eyes and held. His throat closed.Didn’t she understand his dismissing her now would save her from more pain when she left? He swallowed pathetically and stepped so close she shifted her head backward so she didn’t bump his chest, so close he need only lift a hand to tangle it in her hair. “Isabelle—”

“You arrogant oaf! I’m trying to help.” She spoke sharply but moisture glistened in her eyes. She shoved her palm against his chest. “You spent all night traipsing around in the cold and rain. You refused rest, barely ate and now you disdain my politeness. Why! You deserve to catch pneumonia for a month.” She all but sobbed the last words.

Being this close to her was a mistake. He couldn’t think, could barely breathe. A longing spread through him until his arms ached to hold her and his chest craved the feel of her slender form pressed against him. He clasped her wrist instead. “You don’t mean any of that. You’re just tired.”

She blinked, banishing the unshed tears from her eyes. “Unhand me.”

He would, but she was too near. Her cheeks too flushed, her mouth too soft, her eyes too defenseless. She stopped tugging on her arm, and like a drowning sailor locking his gaze on shore, his eyes fixed on hers. Rain pounded the ground. Wind whipped through trees and tore at their cloaks. Coldness circled them. But neither moved.

His gaze dipped to her mouth, the taste awaiting him there both explosive and sweet. She shifted subtly forward until her breath tickled his lips.

*****

Oh goodness, I get all sappy every time I read that scene. Bet you can't tell I love romance! So, be sure to stop back and leave a comment on Wednesday to be entered in the drawing.

Also, some Regency authors and I (I separate myself from this group because my novel is set in France a smidgen before the Regency period) got together and started a Christian Regency blog, Regency Reflections. I'm doing my first post today, and guess what it's about? Marriage and Weddings. Head on over if you're interested in seeing what all those folk living in Regency England had to go through to get married. Some of the laws were almost cruel.