Fingers crossed!  We will know on Tuesday if "The Chauffeur Wore An Evening Gown" won this impressive award or not.  The CAPA, as it is known, http://theromancestudio.com/capa.php  is sponsored by The Romance Studio and is for excellence in romance each year.  I'm honored just to be nominated.  If you check out their site, I'm in some pretty impressive company.

Whether you are a romance writer or reader, Tuesday is our holiday!  Despite the commercial aspects of it, despite the Hallmark-forced type of feelings - it still is the one day a year when everyone wants to be someone's Valentine.  

I've been with my husband for 29 years this year so we've had our share of Valentine's Days.  Hard to believe the man who was my Valentine at 19 is still by my side.  The words "grow old with me" take on new meaning as the years pass. Watching my sons, especially my youngest who is enjoying his very first Valentine at that tender age of 16 is such a delight and brings back so many memories of teenage romance.  My older two sons have already done their turns at buying the roses and chocolates and are pros at it now. Being the mother of three sons allows me this inside look at romance from the male perspective.  Very enlightening!

Whatever your thoughts on Valentine's Day - here's hoping yours is full of roses, chocolate and love.  

There he is the Captain of our family. LOL. That's my husband, Scott, in his new boat that we picked up this summer. Its nothing fancy, just a little 22' 1984 Baja but its perfect for waterskiing and tubing. We knew when we saw it that it would mean a lot of fun summers on the lake for our sons and us. Scott and I met over 25 years ago this summer, when we were both pretty young - not quite 20! We met on vacation at a lake in Ontario, Canada. He loved how I looked riding on the bow of the boat in a green bathing suit. What can I say? I liked how he could water ski with one ski. What else did a couple need for happy ever after? All these years have gone by and we've never owned a boat - now we do and I have to tell you when we're on the water it really is like time goes backward and we're those 19 year old kids again falling in love.

Although real life is not a romance novel, for the most part, no matter how annoyed I might get with him, or he with me, its comforting and secure to know we love each other. Toby Keith who is one of my favorite singers has a song on his latest album and one of the lines is ..."its too late, you already love me." I laugh whenever I hear it because it sums our relationship. No matter what he does to make me crazy (and not in a good way!) its too late - I already love him. Nothing to do but accept him.

I think that's the good part about being together this long, I've long ago given up any notion of "fixing" him or tweaking him. I just accept him and he me.

That's a real romance novel right there.