It was a lovely day...

...and a day filled with love!

I spent Valentine's Day with most of my favorite people, the affectionately named Poker Mamas (Edra, Monica, and Vicki). Edra invited us over for a Valentine's Day brunch, and I always accept a party invitation! We noshed on bagels and drank champagne, and pretty much spent the morning congratulating ourselves on having fine taste in wine and friends.

Then Mark and I were off to the Harlem Globetrotters game, which was pretty darn fun. I remember seeing them when I was just a little kid, and laughing my head off at them. I am happy to report that some things never change. The jokes were the same, the tricks were the same, and I laughed just as hard as I did when I was 7.

Mark enjoyed it, too. He thought they were really funny, especially when they stopped playing basketball and started playing football. Yes, on the basketball court, with a basketball! He also liked the race sponsored by IHOP -- a footrace between a huge piece of bacon, a giant pancake, and a big egg. The bacon won, but just barely.

He also liked this weird little mascot guy named Lil G. Lil G wore an inflatable costume that he bounced all around in, even upside down on his head. He was quite adept at eating things, too, including a giant can of Campbell's soup (the other sponsor) and then, remarkably, a live man.

"Is that man really eaten?" Mark wanted to know, and I just nodded. "Looks like it," I said.

Mark was also happy that the Harlem Globetrotters won the game, even when the opposing team tried to cheat. He couldn't stop laughing at their coach, who had to wear a tutu as punishment for losing. (I kinda laughed at that, too -- it's not often you see a grown man in a tutu.)

I bought Mark a red, white and blue basketball during the halftime. At the end of the game, the Globetrotters autographed it for him. Mark is usually too embarrassed to ask adults anything. However, when he wants something, he loses all sense of shyness, and becomes very focused. That's what happened when it came to the autographs. There were tons of people crowding the players, including tall grown men, and they were all shoving basketballs toward the players. A shy kid didn't have a chance of getting even one autograph, but luckily, Mark is not shy in these situations. He wriggled his way to the front, and got not one, but six autographs! He is so proud of his new Globetrotters ball that he woke up at 8 o'clock this morning, and went outside to shoot some hoops with it.


It was a really fun afternoon. We had only spent an hour with the girls, so we headed back to their place. We sat around drinking more wine, and eating the leftover cookies and brownies. Then we ordered pizza, drank a little more wine, and sank into the couches, happy and content. It may not have been the most romantic Valentine's Day, but it was filled with love and happiness all the same. :-)

Really, not a bad way to spend a day, if you ask me.