Valentine's Day Drinks at the Tilted Kilt

Here I am on Valentine's Day, a day that I know makes most single people miserable. In fact, I am suffering from Valentine's Day overload, having purchased and wrapped gifts for husband, two children, and five teachers and made 7 homemade cards (four of which got mailed very late on Friday night so they probably won't be to relatives in time anyway).

My husband and I had a rather unorthodox celebration on Friday night. We had dropped off the girls at a sleepover about 30 minutes away and realized on our way back home that the new Tilted Kilt is open. Now I had never been to the Tilted Kilt but I had remarked when I saw that they were building it that it might be a good place for a birthday party or something (for an adult).

Little did I realize that the Tilted Kilt is like the Hooters of the British Isles. Ok, I've never been to Hooters and my husband said that the outfits at Hooters are worse (by which he means better, of course, if you are a leering male). The gals at the Tilted Kilt basically wear a tartan push up bra with a little skimpy white shirt over it, a very short and low slung "kilt" that's kind of like a bikini bottom with a skirt, knee socks and black gillies. When they serve the drinks you feel (if you are a woman, at least) like you should look away because you get an eyefull. It makes Scarborough Faire look like a nunnary (except for those ladies ascending the rock climbing wall).

They have AWESOME food though. My shepherd's pie was the best I've ever had, including in England, which is not noted for its fine cuisine anyway. My husband had a pastrami sandwich that had fabulous pastrami in it, and the drinks were pretty good too. Although I recommend sticking to beer--I had a carribean rum drink (because that's what you drink in a Scottish pub, right?) and then I tried to get traditional with a rasberry shandy (good but too rich for me after all that shepherd's pie), and I think I spent enough to cover my Valentine's day flowers. In fact, I may not be GETTING any Valentine's flowers this year because my excessive bar tab kind of blew the entertainment budget. Seriously, those drinks were oveer $8 each. Stick to the beer.

Ok, I'm not a prude or anything and the ladies did indeed look lovely and appear to be enjoying themselves. But I am not so sure about making people dress like that for a job, especially in a bad economy. I found it a bit degrading for them, at least. I'm sure they get hit on a lot and are treated like hookers by some of the customers, even though they are just college kids trying to make a buck. I'm not sure I would want one of my daughters working there even assuming she was 21 in order to serve drinks. I also noted that the ONE busboy, a nice looking guy with lots of muscles, was dressed in the most sober and baggy black outfit they could find. How about a little equal opportunity drooling for all the wives and girlfriends at this place? They have the drinks for us. I really can't imagine a man ordering that rum drink or even a rasberry shandy. How about some eye candy?

After our sojourn at the bar we went by Target to get some strawberries and chocolate so I could make chocolate covered strawberries, which I guess I'd better hurry up and do since two days have gone by since then.

So, Valentine's day. I got the kids those Amazing Hamsters that they can attach to their Webkinz accounts. Why? Because they were 50% off and then another 40% off, so I got these originally $14 toys for about $2.50 each. In fact, they may be getting another one for Easter if I don't decide to keep the extra ones for myself (I got 5, so that's two each for them and one for me. My husband is too busy with geneology to play much Webkinz). I like discounted toys. I am not telling anyone what I got my husband, but I think he will like it. It's from ebay. Ebay is my new best friend. I have branched out away from collectibles and I am loving it. Got some great waterproof gloves for my kids in the middle of all that snow and I didn't have to leave the house! I may do a lot more shopping on ebay in the months to come, but for "necessities" instead of the sorts of things I usually buy there (collectibles, if I have the money). In fact, I think I need an ebay business to get rid of some of the stuff I have accumulated that I no longer need.

I don't have very fancy gifts for the teachers this year. I got them little glass picture frames that were 30% off (so they were only a few dollare each) and then Miranda announced that she wanted a gift for her LEAP teacher too, so I went to the "gift drawer" and found some candles that need a home.

If you are a mom you need a gift drawer. This is where you put all those miscellaneous things you buy on clearance that you don't really need but you think are cute. Leave them in there for a year or two and then pull them out and give them as gifts. Usually the items in there cost less than $10, sometimes less than $5, and they can be used for Easter baskets, stockings, Valentine's day, or last minute teacher or Christmas gifts. There usually isn't much in there that appeals to men, though. It's mostly things for ladies and children. If your gift drawer is getting low, it's time to hit the after holiday clearance!!!!

I worked at Target for about six months when the girls were in preschool to try to make some extra cash for Christmas (and I liked it). In fact, I liked working at Target better than being an attorney, except for the money. I got to go there in the evenings and it was quiet (the girls were 3 and turned 4 while I was doing this). I got to work in Domestics a lot, which meant that I was folding towels and sheets and cleaning up things so that the store would look nice in the morning. It was like being paid to do the laundry. Then after I finished that area I went to clothing and helped sort women's clothing. The men working at Target are totally lost in women's clothing because they don't understand the sizing at all and they can't seem to look at a garment and figure out whether it is girls, juniors or women's. They are clueless, especially the young men (and if you are an older man you are probably off zoning the groceries). At Target (give it that French pronunciation, Tar-jay), there are a few customers in the evenings, so it can be kind of slow, and you are mostly getting paid for "doing the laundry." And I learned how to fold a towel, so now my linen closet looks awesome. Well, except that it's too full of stuff.

Working at Target I learned a lot: where all the clearance aisles are; where everything in the store is located; when things go on clearance and on sale (if you want girls' clothing, Sunday morning is the time to go because it and a lot of things are marked down Sat night as Sunday starts the new Target week, with the new Sunday circular). I also learned that the worst aisles to fix during a holiday (ANY holiday) are Seasonal and Mini Seasonal (which refers to the seasonal stuff near the front of the store that gets you on the way out). This is also where you want to head the day AFTER a holiday, for that seasonal clearance. And if there is anything left a week after the holiday it will be dirt cheap.

It's really amazing how the retailers have conditioned people to shop for the holidays and around certain events that happen again every year. And they are trying to build up the more minor holidays (such as St. Patrick's Day and Memorial Day) around the big FOUR candy holidays. The candy holidays are Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter and Halloween. Then there are the Patriotic Holidays: centered on 4th of July, they are now trying to build up Memorial Day and Veteran's Day so that you are buying that patriotic stuff for months from May through September. And of course there are Four Seasons for clothing: Spring, Summer, Fall and Back to School, Christmas/Winter. Back to School is the biggest season of all. We adults can limp along on our pathetic wardrobes for another season if we have to, but the kids almost always need new stuff in August, so get out those credit cards!!!

Of course, most men don't do this shopping and are totally oblivious to what is going on in retail at any given time. When you buy a pair of shoes for your child in January that she can't wear until Spring Break because the shoes are 40% off, and the shoes won't be there in her size by spring break, the men just look at you and sigh. I bought Miranda a bathing suit last month, and she won't be going swimming, probably until April. But her suit was trashed, she only wants a one piece, and there were only three at Justice and two of them were black (which doesn't favor her coloring). So I got her the other one. At 40% off. In January. I'll be getting Amelia a bathing suit next week. She has two from last season and the season before (hand me ups) that she can still wear but she doesn't really like either one (which is why they aren't worn out yet).

So, I guess it is Valentine's Day and I need to worry about getting the grapes to the school party and getting the kids out of bed in a few minutes. Last year I did some reasearch into St. Valentine's Day before we went to Kingdom A & S. It was supposed to be for a kid's class. What I found out was that Valentine's greetings were sometimes printed after the invention of the printing press and the day was in fact celebrated prior to 1600. It became really big with the Victorians when they ignited the greeting card industry. But people have sent greetings and messages to loved ones for yearss before that, and I'm sure single people have felt left out for years before that.

My husband used to send flowers to my office because that's where I was, and of course then everyone at your office saw your flowers. This sucks when you are single. In fact, I highly recommend that if you are single and you can afford it, you send yourself some nice flowers or get yourself a really nice gift, even if it's not traditional. In fact, I recommend that you do this even if you have a husband, lover, boyfriend, etc. I got myself a few nice movies to watch when I am sewing.

My husband and I ran into a friend while we were doing our Friday night Valentine's Day shopping and she said, "OH, spending Valentine's Day at Target???" But I showed her my bag of strawberries and whipped cream and I think she was jealous. She was there with her four year old after a hard day of work and, even though it was close to 9 pm, was still dressed in her work clothes.

Boy, I remember those days (the shopping at 9 pm and the days with the 4 year olds). And I'm glad they are behind me.

Pleasant Valley Mom, Signing Off to go to Valentine's Day Some More!!!!!