Happy Valentine's Day, Husband.

I am a sentimental fool, and everyone knows it.

When I was a kid, I very carefully decorated my Valentine's Day bag with glitter and markers, hoping-against-hope that my 4th grade crush would see fit to drop a carnation inside of it.  That was before I knew that you can't (always) get a boy's attention with glitter, and that you shouldn't (ever) hope for carnations, that most pedestrian of plants, that weed-posing-as-a-proper-flower.

I say, screw that.

I'll take Valentine's Day with its glitter, its carnations, all of its glorious tackiness!  It gives me an excuse to haul out our wedding photos, you see.

Ross and I got married up the street from our house, at the school where we met seven years ago, teaching.  The sweet woman who married us was a mother from the school.

I wore the very first dress I tried on, and was really proud of Ross for picking out his and all of the groomsmen tuxedos.  I learned why fake eyelashes are a dumb idea at your wedding, because you'll probably cry, and they'll probably fall off at some point (which mine did, in the car on the way to the reception).  But I didn't care!

Ross and I took tango lessons before the wedding, at a dance studio in a strip mall in north central Austin.  We wanted to WOW everyone with our first dance, but instead of a tango, we decided on "As Long As We've Got Each Other" instead.  I honestly don't remember dipping, despite photographic evidence ... but as you can see, the maneuver was a big hit with my mom.

Now, more self-conscious husbands might read their wife's blog blubbering on Valentine's Day and think, dear God I am taking her laptop away.

But Ross kindly puts up with it every time I gush to the whole wide Internet about how kickass I think he is.

Thank you for letting me do that, Husband!   Because it's true.  You are my best friend, you're my adventure partner, you're my favorite listener and advice-giver.  You cook me things and you say "yay Wife!" when I successfully cook something.  You sang me Elvis on our wedding day, and I just about melted into a swoony mess.   You don't roll your eyes when I cry (which is all the time), you laugh at me when I'm laughing because sometimes I get so tickled I can't talk for a few seconds.

I am your #1 biggest fan, Husband.  I love you so much!