Valentine’s day is only 4 days away. Oddly, Neil Diamond’s classic song, “Turn On Your Heartlight” popped into my mind. Sure, it’s a bizarre choice when there are countless love songs out there to choose from…but then again, why not? Valentine’s Day is all about HEARTS! Maybe you’re a sappy romantic…maybe you’re someone who’s been obliged to recognize the holiday (due to the expectations of a certain significant other?), or perhaps you’re just one of those people who looks forward to those delicious chalky Sweetheart candies…there’s something for everyone to do on Valentine’s Day.

Here are the TOP 10 THINGS TO DO ON VALENTINE’S DAY:

Number 10

Reenact your first date - Get nostalgic with your significant other. Women love it when their men remember the details of the past. It’s like celebrating an anniversary…but more festive!

Number 9

Enjoy a romantic dinner for two at your favorite restaurant…or try something new and interesting — how about chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot? If you’re not too embarrassed about PDA, you can lick the chocolate off one another!

Number 8

Indulge your significant other with a massage, or better yet — reserve a couples massage at your local spa.

Number 7

Cuddle up and watch a romantic movie like Atonement, Juno, or P.S. I Love You.

Number 6

Share a bottle of champagne at a local wine bar — it’s the perfect time to pop open the bubbly!

Number 5

Spend time with your family and make Valentine crafts and cards or sweets with your kids!

Number 4

Reserve a hotel room and take a romantic weekend getaway!

Number 3

Get out of the house (even though it’s a weeknight) for some entertainment and treat yourselves to a night out on the town! Try a comedy show, symphony performance, or art exhibit!

Number 2

Want to satisfy that huge craving for chocolate? Visit a Chocolate Factory for a delectable tasting of all kinds of confections!

Number 1

Most importantly, just spend time with your loved one — focus entirely on one another for the entire evening and have a fun!

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

*Flickr Photo credit: Sweetheart Candies by Thorne Enterprises

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What do you typically do to get into the holiday spirit? Isn’t it time for a break? Set aside the home decorations and holiday food preparation for a moment and get out and do some fun activities with the family!

One of the favorite holiday traditions is illuminating the neighborhood with lights! Sure, everyone can deck out their homes to look like Clark Griswold’s house from the famous holiday movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but did you know that several parks also have holiday light displays with over 500,000 lights? Vasona Park has their annual “Fantasy of Lights” and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has their “Holiday Lights Extravaganza.”

Have you ever gone on a sleigh and horse drawn carriage ride? Seems like a magical experience like the episode from Sex And The City where Carrie and Alexandr Petrovsky soar through the snow in Central Park! Why not make it a reality? Although it could be a problem if you don’t live in a climate with snow, there’s always the horse drawn carriage minus the sleigh!

For those who like culture and the arts, enjoy the famed Nutcracker Ballet, watch the symphony orchestra featuring your favorite holiday classics, or go see a wintry theater arts performance.

Find time to relax and enjoy yourself this festive holiday season!

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Halloween is less than a week away! If you’re like most people, you’ll probably:

• Visit the local pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin and carve out a jack-o-lantern
• Eat too much candy (Um…yea…it WAS intended to give away to those trick-or-treaters — oops!)
• Dress up in costume (Remember! You don’t want to be too last minute because you’ll end up scrounging through the remnants at the Halloween stores after all the good stuff gets taken!)
• Admire the local neighborhood decorations (Wow! Black lights, projectors, and strobes?!!)
• Go to a Halloween Party with your friends

But, if you’re interested in doing something unusual, there are some very cool (and freaky) things out there to make this year’s Halloween stand out from all of the rest!

• Venture out for a ghost hunt or paranormal investigation! The Haunted Mortuary in New Orleans leads expeditions, guided tours, and metaphysical workshops. Could be creepy, but intriguing!
• Take a thrilling ride on the Murder Mystery Train from Tacoma, Washington’s Freighthouse Square and play a “who-done-it” murder mystery while dining on a luxury vintage rail car.
• Sail around the Bay on a ghoulish pirate ship for an adventurous cruise with haunting ghost stories, hosted by The Red and White Fleet.
• Take a BOO! tour through the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston, where you can visit the home of murdered Bostonian Dr. George Parkman and learn what happened to his dismembered body. Discover where murderers walk in their sleep, why James Allen was buried with no skin, and where Quakers were hanged! (Yikes!)
• Witness “The Pageant of the Monsters - Night of the Living Art,” hosted by The Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts and Pageant of the Masters to watch a theatrical spectacle showing a ghostly seance, a torture chamber, an alien autopsy and more.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

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Today, the sunny weather was perfect for running the Nike Women’s Marathon ‘07, a Marathon and Half Marathon, in San Francisco, California. The race kicked off at Union Square with participants traversing across the city past major landmarks, such as Coit Tower, The TransAmerica Building, Fisherman’s Wharf, Aquatic Park, Fort Mason, and The Ghiradelli Square. The typical fog was absent so that runners could enjoy clear and scenic views of the San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Pacific Ocean.

This year’s event, which signed up about 20,000 participants, benefited The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. For runners, crossing the marathon’s finishing line meant conquering a feat of endurance. Once they had passed the finishing line, they were congratulated and rewarded with a 2007 Finisher Necklace designed by Tiffany & Co. The streets of downtown were later flooded with participants proudly touting their signature pink Nike Finisher tees.

This year’s Nike Women’s Marathon was a major event displaying fun, fitness, and health awareness. If you missed this one, there are plenty of other opportunities hosted by Nike to build both physical strength and show support for your favorite charity/health organizations. Check out the upcoming Nike events offered nation-wide!

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You may not see too many people typically sporting cowboy boots around Austin like you might think. However, you can certainly see women wandering around in strappy heels and pointy stilettos on the crowded streets of downtown at night. Granted, they’re not the ideal footwear for scurrying from bar to club to bar all night long. But, getting from place to place is simple and definitely within walking distance (rickshaw bicycles are even available for those who suffer from sore feet by the end of night). Unlike most downtown areas, there’s no need to deal with the hassle of driving from place to place or endure the frustration of finding that elusive parking space.

The nightlife in Austin is conveniently centralized around several colorful streets filled with live music, loud bands, salsa dancing, shots bars, billiard halls, beer gardens, dance clubs, and swanky lounges, which easily caters to the wide variety of interests for crowds which range from students to tourists to local yuppies.

My first glimpse of Austin’s nightlife came from watching MTV’s Real World Austin, which fairly accurately captures the vibrant social scene. The bar-lined 6th Street is even blocked off at night so that traffic can’t interfere with the zealous crowds that flock the street! 6th Street typically attracts more of the student youngsters, while the more sophisticated types with money to burn tend to venture around 2nd and 4th Street.

The bar scene is always intriguing to explore in Austin – even for the sheer sake of people watching!

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