Valentine's Surprise!

Last night I came home from work with a package waiting for me at the front door.  Hmmm ... had I ordered something?  No, nothing for Nirvana had been ordered lately.  I excitedly opened the box ... I love surpises!  There were several items wrapped in tissue paper, and the first thing I unwrapped was the "Love Goddess" chocolate cake mix.  Could this be the Patron tequila gift set that I had tried to win by entering a contest last week? 

The next thing I unwrapped was a red candle, then some edible rose petals, a cheese cutting board, and then ... two Patron glasses.  Woo hoo!

Yes, this was the Patron gift set that I was hoping for!  Although I have to admit I was hoping to find a little bottle of Patron tucked in the box ... I was still stoked!  I'm so easily amused and was grinning from ear to ear over my new prize.

To make things even better, we received a postcard in the mail stating the Ken had won a 7-day cruise from any port in the United States.  Yeah, yeah ... I bet it's another time share presentation!  We know better than to think we've just "won" a free cruise, like we won our Patron prize pack.  That would be too good to be true!  But, we figured that Ken should give the number a call to claim our "prize" and see what the catch is.  Yes, we do have to attend a one-hour presentation, but we've been promised it's not a time-share.  Evidently, this is some kind of new "club"... kind of like a Sam's Club.  Soooo, this Thursday night we're headed to New Orleans to hear the presentation, expecting to claim our free cruise without spending a dime.  We've been to some time-share presentations in the past and we're really good at standing our ground, frugal folks that we are.  Ken and I have never been on a cruise, and the cruise ships leave every Sunday right down the road in New Orleans.  We desperately need a vacation, so we hope this works out as promised.

So, the eve of Valentine's Day was pretty good and for once the mail didn't have any bills ... just these two items.  As I mentioned on our last Frugal Friday's post, Ken and I don't do a whole lot for Valentine's Day.  I find the day a great excuse not to cook, but we don't want to fight the crowds in the restaurants nor spend a lot of money so ... pizza tonight!  I may even make the chocolate cake that came in the Patron prize pack so we'll have a little dessert.  What more could a girl ask for ... LOL!  Money saved now is money in the future for Nirvana and our cruising dream.

I posted this picture to the left last year and thought I'd post my "sweethearts" again.  This is Ken and our daughter in Destin, FL about 19 years ago.  I love this picture ... they are my heart!

Here's a little "gift" for ya'll on Valentine's ... a great little video that shows how to tie your own celtic heart knot.  This would make a great necklace, and I hope to try this soon.   Enjoy  ... "Happy Valentine's Day"!

Tomorrow I'll be in the stores stocking up on all the half-priced Valentine's candy! 

Hasta luego ... until then.  Mid-Life Cruising!