Valentine's gifts....

....drive me crazy. What do you get a guy for Valentine's Day? Especially one as sensitive as Ranger, who has been so sweet to me lately. He's really busted his buns trying to repair the damage of the roommate incident. And he's trying to repair other "damage" I've had, without making me feel damaged at the same time.

He follows two foodie shows religiously. Tony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and Alton Brown's "Good Eats." I've given him every book in their respective collections. Except one - a new "Good Eats" book is out. But he doesn't have a good kitchen to cook in right now, so it makes him crazy to read about cooking and not be able to do it. So, that'll wait. No, I need something special for him.

I thought about a rockhounding book. But he has so many of those that I don't know what to get without him beside me. I thought about movies and music, but he gets those via download, so DVDs and CDs are no good. I thought about a romantic playlist...but we've done that.

We looked at some books that have tear-open pages of his and hers "instructions" for romantic and erotic nights at home. But they are really written for people who live together. We don't yet. These books mean a lot to him. My interest in them means a lot to him. See, he'd tried to give one to his now-ex-wife....and found it on the trash pile. So, if I made a gift of them to him, it would be touching to him because it would sympbolize my acceptance of his eroticly playful side. I thought they'd make a nice wedding gift, someday, when we would be living together finally.

For Valentine's, though? I'm at a loss.

Until I was at Borders with my daughter the other day.

"Hey, Mom! You should get this for Ranger!"

It's called How I Love You. The description says, "Containing hundreds of fill-in-the-blanks and leading questions, this guided journal helps readers compose the greatest love letter of all time."

Oh YES!

So, that's what I'm working on this week, in my copious (ha!) spare time. I'm rather proud of myself this year....well, with Daughter's help!

...who, by the way, is wanting to start wearing makeup. She's old enough, but it's just one of those "where's my baby?" things. We went shopping for it and have had the "Do and Don't" talk, and a few lessons. Where is my baby??