What time is it?

For Valentine's Day I received cards from my mom, Mom Mom, and Aunt Julie and a spring semester well-wisher from my Uncle Paul.

When I was little my dad and I (and sometimes my brother) would go to Fannie May to buy trinadads for my mom. They filled this heart tin covered in putti and angels that my dad got her years ago. He told me it was the last one in stock when he went to buy it. The local Fannie May closed years ago, so for Valentine's day my brother and I resorted to filling the tin with chocolate covered pretzels. I have a kitchen this year, so I figured I should attempt to make my own trinidads and somehow send them home. I was able to create the dark chocolate center, but the white chocolate/coconut shell did not turn out as planned. I couldn't get it to be thin enough to cover the dark chocolate center, so I plopped the lumps of white chocolate on top of each chocolate ball and put them in the freezer. They tasted like trinidads, but they looked messy. I can't think of a better way to describe them. Sorry. My roommates and I ate them, and I brought the remainder to  a party. The air was thick with liquor so no one noticed the shabby appearance of the treats. The guests approved of the taste, and that's what matters most (in college anyway.) The trinidad idea was out, so I resorted to mailing my mom a card. I used a photo from one of our dates to tea at the Four Seasons in 1995 and edited it so it resembled a someecard. I mailed that as well as a letter to my local congressman about the proposed budget cuts to my school and began to plan my other Valentines. We picked secret Valentines for Alpha Psi Omega. This week we are to deliver cheap or home made gifts to our Valentine in secret or in person. I had my friend, and Alpha Psi president, Chelsea. She is vegan and has food allergies, so this week would be more than running out to buy a box of chocolates. I took a late night trip to the grocery store with a friend and I looked for ingredients to make a vegan cake. It was Chelsea's birthday the first day of the week, and we have class together Monday mornings, so delivering the cake in secret was not an issue. I used this recipe (though I replaced vinegar with lemon juice because that's all I had) and Pillsbury frosting. I used a pie tin, then after baking I cut circles out of the cake and stacked them to create a unique slightly lopsided cylinder (next time I'll just buy a small cake pan, putting icing on the cut out sides of this turned out to be a clumpy mess.) Just to make sure that this cake was safe, I listed the ingredients on a small paper next to the cake. I set it on a Dixie plate and created a make shift cover using foam sheets around the edges and saran wrap on top so one could see the cake from above. I left it at her desk and waited. She was late for class that day. It made me nervous. The next day (Valentine's Day) I planned to give her some hummus and an apple pie candle. She works the box office, and I planned to drop it off there, but someone else sells tickets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then I planned to give it to her before her rehearsal, but I was to see a show and go on a Starbucks date with my friend Ali, so my plan was cut short. Ali and I enjoyed chocolaty drinks and watched girls walk by with flowers and heart shaped things. I made Ali cake pops, but didn't know when or how I would get them to her. Then we went to see a few of our friends in Pudd'nhead Wilson. I tried to convince her to stay and watch When Harry Met Sally in the Annenberg Atrium so I could sneak away and grab her gift as well as Chelsea's, but she wanted to return to her room. I went back to my apartment without a plan. I grabbed the presents (I wrapped them in cut up pieces of a brown Trader Joe's bag and made twine from the handles) and went out to meet my roommate Mike. I asked around, and my other roommate told me Chelsea was not too far ahead, so I chased her down on Liacouras and hand delivered her present. I texted Ali and asked if she wanted to meet Mike and I at Maxy's. If this didn't lure her out of her dorm I would have to find a way in (to knock on her door and romantically present her cake pops) but she met us outside and I gave her the package. I made plans to take a bath with candles and jazz, then read by party lights with a cup of apple-cinnamon tea, but it was late and I had to prepare for tomorrow, so I did homework and went to bed. Last night, however, my roommates were out rehearsing/performing, and I was given the night off from rehearsal, so I drew a bath, lit a candle, poured a glass of grape juice into my Steve's 50th wine glass, and had my Valentine's Day just a few hours late. Everyone should try this.

The cake I made for my Valentine, Chelsea!

The trinidads. They may look like something from the sidewalk, but the tasted great.

The card I made for my mom.

Chelsea's hummus and candle.

Cake pops for Ali

Use berries as a decorative touch.

Valentine's Day. For myself.

Also, today I had that moment when you go to deposit a check that says "For: Dean's List!" from your dear auntie, and all of the tellers go, "Oh you made Dean's List!"
I just needed to write this down somewhere. Sorry it's in this post.