$50 Lindt Chocolate Giveaway

It's Valentine's Day.

Whoop-dee-doo.

Sorry, sorry. I certainly don't want to be a buzzkill to those of you that love this day, but please forgive me if I don't get all gooey about it.

We're still into Birthday month, (YAY!), but thought I would take a little detour and share why this day isn't my cup of tea. It's the one day that had been my arch nemesis since I was 16 years old.

I'll tell you why.

When I was 16, I had my first ever breakup with my first ever boyfriend - on Valentine's Day, nonetheless. I'll spare you details, but it was said he waited until the day after his birthday to do it so he would get a birthday gift from me - a gift I had saved up months for. Unfortunately, Valentine's Day just happened to be the next day. Jerk. It was a cold and mean breakup. I cried for three days; I was so heartbroken. I should have known the jig was up when he gave me a thoughtless card on my birthday, but still. Not a good first impression from the day that's supposed to be the most romantic day of the year. 

Strike One.

When I was 21, a bunch of my girlfriends planned a big night out to celebrate my birthday. As many of you know, in the United States, legal drinking age is 21. So the fact that I could finally have a drink in a bar made this a monumental birthday. My birthday fell on a Tuesday or Wednesday that year, but instead of celebrating the night of, we obviously waited until the weekend. No point in celebrating the weekend before since I wasn't legal yet.

Anyway, Out of eleven girls, only four came. FOUR. And one bailed on us after an hour. Why? They all had boyfriends and decided to celebrate Valentine's Day weekend with them instead because they felt bad. Uh. Whatever happened to besties before testes? Dolls before balls? Sistas before mistas? I was so disappointed, but made the best of the situation. However, can I just say that NONE of them are with those guys they bailed me for. Zeee-ro. Yet I still...*sniff*...hold the...*SNIFF*...scar. Nah, just kidding. They've all apologized profusely over the years for it and all is forgiven. But still, screw you Valentine's Day. 

Strike Two.

When I turned 30, my husband bought me the most incredible flower arrangement I had seriously ever seen for my birthday. It was supposed to be delivered to me on my birthday, at 1pm when I would be home from work. At 6pm, he came home from work and asked me about my day. When I didn't mention the flowers, he asked me how I liked my little surprise. Huh? No kidding, no word of a lie, at 6.06pm, the doorbell rang. My surprise had finally arrived. My husband went all kinds of crazy on him. The delivery guy said to him, "Sorry, but it's Valentine's Day weekend. I have so many deliveries and we're so busy." My husband's response, "Well mate, it's her birthday TODAY. You know, the day of her birth. Kind of more important!". 

Strike Three. You know the drill.

You see, Valentine's Day has always interfered with my birthday plans in some way. It was even worse when my birthday fell on a weekend, only because if I wasn't super organized, tables would be booked solid at a favourite restaurant, events would be sold out, friends would be engaged, some quite literally (although that makes me super happy). It was a disaster. Let's just say had Taylor Swift been around back then as she is now, I would have been president of her fan club. 

However, now that I have kids, this day paints a whole different picture. My daughter looks forward to this day for weeks. She LOVES hearts, flowers, rainbows, the color pink; all the things little girls love. What other 'holiday' offers that? Parties at school, exchanging Valentine's with friends...ah, I remember those days.

So, for my children's sake, Valentine's Day and I now have a surface relationship. Ms. Valentine's Day and her flying naked manchild partner should count their lucky, puffy heart-shaped arrows. Because of that reason alone, all is forgiven.

Aaaaand to show I harbour no hard feelings, I'm giving one lucky reader a chance to win $50 worth of Lindt Chocolate. YES. FITTY. DOLLARS. I mean, chocolate is the universal Valentine's treat, right? It just made sense. Plus chocolate makes everything better. 

But if Valentine's Day messes up another floral delivery on my birthday?

It. won't. be. pretty.

Just sayin'.

Enter below to win some of the most gorgeous chocolates on the face of the earth.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest is open Worldwide and will run until Sunday, February 16th.

If winner lives in Canada, they will receive a $50 Lindt/Sprungli Chocolate Gift Card to use at any participating Lindt store or outlet.

If winner is outside of Canada, they will receive $50 worth of Lindt/Sprungli Chocolates.

Good luck!

Happy Valentine's Day and all that mushy crap. XO