At one point in time, St. Valentine’s Day signified something more than roses, chocolate, cherubs and everything dripping with cheese.
 
Eons ago, there was indeed a Saint Valentine. He became the patron saint of love, marriages, engagements, young people, greetings, travelers, bee keepers, people with epilepsy (yep, that one surprised me big time, having Epilepsy and all) and numerous churches. Believers say God worked through his life to perform miracles and teach people how to recognize and experience true love.
 
This famous saint, an Italian doctor who later became a priest, inspired the creation of the holiday of Valentine's Day. He was sent to jail for performing weddings for couples during a time when new marriages were outlawed in the ancient Rome. Before he was killed for refusing to renounce his faith, he sent a loving note to a child he had been helping to teach, the daughter of his jailer, and that note eventually led to the tradition of sending Valentine's cards.
 
While his birth year is unknown, he died 270 AD in Italy. The original purpose of St. Valentine’s Day to remember him with honor in a celebratory feast.
 
This particular post isn’t about the history of St. Valentine, though. If you’re intrigued, please keep reading. If not, consider scrolling down a bit further for a yummy cookie recipe. :-)
 
Holiday celebrations tend to get mixed up between their original purpose and what social norms have evolved into. I miss the old days when things weren’t complicated. Yes, again, old elementary school memories with all the other boys and girls. We’d give each other handmade cards and those terrible chalk-like hearts (though they did have cute messages). The teacher would make cupcakes or cookies that always wound up ground into the carpet, ceiling, desks, chairs and bodies. The boy I liked even left Garfield and Odie stuffed animals in my backpack. I still have a backpack (if you count a laptop bag and backpack purse), but I don’t have a boyfriend to surprise me with something. Don’t feel sorry for me. It’s just a fact.
 
Things are different now. I’m 46, not 8. Though my parents—the very same individuals who make sure there’s a gift from Santa under the tree every year—keep things special for me on Valentine’s Day, too. This year was classic. They gave me a miniature heart-shaped waffle maker. That has to be one of the coolest things evaaaar. :-)
 
That said, St. Valentine’s Day is much different for grown-ups and each and every one of us have different feelings and perspectives on this day.
 
For example, those in perfect relationships, i.e., "cutest couple rah rah," glow with love and warmth. It’s 100% classic romantical time involving the very best sweetness of everything. No matter what's happening (good or bad), it’s set aside for another day to focus on the love they share. I'm not being sarcastic. This type of relationship exists and should be cherished.
 
For others, today is one of the worst days ever. There are countless men, women and children grieving the loss, impending loss and/or disconnection from one or more of their loved ones. These individuals need to be held close. Listen intently to their feelings…don’t try to fix who or where they are. Just be there and remind them that they are unconditionally loved.
 
Single people, perspective 1. Tricky. Perhaps approach with this creature with caution. Sometimes feelings about this day is masked with “whatever, I don’t care.” Perhaps that is truly the case. However, there is a fine line between true depression and apathy. If you have a single friend like this, don’t bug him/her if they want to be alone. Reach out and if they do want to talk or text, let the conversation flow naturally. Listen and care. Don’t judge or push. If they seem open to it, perhaps ask if they’d like to hang out or do something else that they enjoy. Together.
 
Single people, perspective 2. (I fall under this category) Hmm… Netflix and Chill while binge watching horror flicks and mint chocolate ice cream sounds perfect. This type is pretty well adjusted, or seemingly so. This type might not be 100% happy being single. So if you know a single person, PLEASE DO NOT EVAAAR tell him/her that there’s a perfect person out there for him/her. It’s not a new nugget of shiny happy details that we single people need to hear over and over again. Oh, and that "but you're too pretty to be single." *eyeroll* If your single friend is as lucky as me in the relationship department, that perfect match is taken or otherwise unavailable. Love them just as they are.
 
In sum…

• Be nice to the cheesy lovebirds, their PDA, endless social media photos and perfection.
• Hold the mourners and the depressed very close and assure them that they are unconditionally loved.
• Be patient and try to empathize with the single people, whether we’re alone by choice or not.

 
​Now, onto a yummy suggestion for EVERYONE! :-)
 
I’ve tweaked the snickerdoodle cookie recipe…made it a bit sweeter for all to enjoy. Have fun with it! Enjoy them yourself and/or make someone’s day with a batch.
 
As always, giving cred where cred is due, David Beverage posted the original Grandma Ruth’s Snickerdoodle Recipe on Tfrecipes.com. The original recipe can also be found in one of my earlier blog posts, should you be interested in that.
 
GRANDMA RUTH’S SNICKERDOODLE COOKIES...with Jen's twist on things
 
Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 36 (my results yielded more…happy, happy)
 
Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 1 cup softened butter
• 2 eggs
• Desired amount of RED food colouring (delicate pink, hot pink, deep red…s’up to you)
• 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour…I recommend King Arthur's Gluten Free flour found on Amazon.com. It is both very good and cost effective).
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp white sugar (you can substitute finely ground RED sugar--not sprinkles—instead)
• 40-46 Hershey’s kisses (always have extra just in case)

 
Steps

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.
• Beat 1½ cups white sugar, butter, RED food coloring and eggs together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and, if desired, more RED food coloring in a separate bowl. Then, stir into creamed butter mixture until dough holds together.
• Place 2 tbsp white (or RED) sugar in a bowl.
• Form dough into 2-teaspoon-size balls, then roll them in the white sugar.
• Place dough balls, about 2 inches apart, on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven on the center rack for 7-9 minutes (it can vary significantly depending on how much dough per cookie is used).
• Remove from oven.
• Immediately add one Hershey’s kiss in the center of each cookie.
• Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

 
Happy Valentine’s Day, dear readers. Sending hugs and sunshine (or, in this case, moonlight…) your way!

As anticipated, I've made some additional changes to my newly upgraded website. Just little things here and there, such as adding new pix to the Where I Want to Be sub-cat of the Photography tab. That reminds me...I need to post about that vacation. It's so overdue...the vacation was part of October and November 2021!

Some picture and content changes were made to the Contact Me page. The main change is the background picture. What's so important about that, you ask?

I place high value in pictures. Sure, text is amazing, but pictures are even more artistic, powerful and attention-getting. Pictures draw people in. They can even be a deciding factor on whether they choose to look beyond or skip, say, certain articles and/or blog posts. It's not unusual to swipe through corresponding article and/or blog post cover art with feverish Tinder-like precision. :-) Remember also that we live in a day and age where it's common to have an entire chat using emojiis, pix and/or memes.

Most of the text changed. Polished and to the point like a sweet pair of Christian Louboutin stilleos. In the new text, I encourage contacting me, no matter the topic. Even if one just needs a kind, non-judgmental ear during tough times. Everyone is struggling with one issue or another and many feel helpless and alone. Hope is alive and you're not alone. Reaching that healthier, happier place doesn't happen overnight. It takes grace, courage, love, patience and more. Having a friend along the path can help.

It's the wee hours of the morning. As always, please excuse any butchering of the English language...when I'm tired, it's tough to police myself. I've been promising (for the sake of my health) to get a better night's sleep, so I'm going to sign off for now.

​Sweet dreams and warm wishes for your day ahead. Love and hugs.

"Dreamweaver"
Artist: Gary Wright

Hope
Cope
Thrive
Survive
Soar

Keep fighting the good fight, mighty warriors
Keep fighting the good fight, mighty warriors

The lovely, inspirational Andra Day. What a beautiful voice. What a beautiful message. We all need to hear this. Especially now.