Isn't it romantic

M and I are going on our tenth year together. We still adore each other, sure, but our idea of romance has become more M bringing the laundry upstairs for me or making pancakes and coffee on a lazy Sunday afternoon than a dozen roses or box of chocolates. But for this Valentine's Day, we decided we needed some couple time, so we went on the brunch cruise on the Odyssey out of Boston.

I wasn't sure we were going, because Boo had a nasty stomach flu on Wednesday night that thankfully cleared pretty quickly. But then M got it and spent Friday being sick. I told him if he didn't feel like sailing around Boston Harbor, I would understand. But he felt better for Saturday morning, so off we went.

We left the Boo with my parents in Melrose. They were thrilled to get time with their grandson. We drove into town and parked at the Rowes Wharf garage, watching all the beautiful people going in and out of the Boston Harbor Hotel. Then we boarded and settled in on the ship.

It could not have been nicer. The weather was beautiful, and the food was outstanding. Each couple got a single long-stem red rose (to me, nicer than a dozen -- I had my bridesmaids each carry one flower instead of a bouquet at my wedding), and there was a musical combo playing, complete with dancing. We took a walk up to the deck, watched the city and the harbor islands go by and just enjoyed each other and the food and atmosphere. After the week of sickness and work and stress, it was so fabulous just to sit quietly with my husband, enjoy some good food and listen to the ocean.

On our first date, we went to the North End, so the original plan was to go walk around there afterward. But M was really pushing it to make the cruise, so we got the car afterward. We stopped at the cemetery to leave my rose with my late grandfather. Then we went to the Hilltop butcher shop to get M some prime rib. We had coffee with my parents, picked up the Boo and came home, tired, happy and having enjoyed each other.

I love you, M. A perfect day with the perfect man.

A pool better than mine

The Colonnade Hotel in Boston has the only rooftop pool in town. And for $30, you can hang out all day. My pool has been open since Memorial Day weekend, but I haven't been able to go in because it hasn't been warm enough yet. Plus, it's not overlooking the Boston landscape. Righteous.

Living in the wild, wild west

I moved to Leominster in October 2000 from Waltham to be with M. Up to that time, I thought Leominster was the ends of the earth, when in all actuality, it's only 40 miles from Boston, which means an hour or so drive. As I've mentioned in other posts, I've grown to love my adopted home. There's stuff, but drive a bit and you're in the woods. My neighborhood is dead quiet at night -- no cars waking me out of a sound sleep like when I lived in the city. We have land, dammit.

But members of my family still think it's a vast wasteland in Lemin-stah. Whenever we go to a family event in the Boston area (got one tomorrow), we get, "So how long a drive was it for you?" with the concerned face. Oy. I've even had people say things like, "Oh, Christine lives in western Massachusetts." It really boils my potato. I mean, look at a map. We are barely central Mass.

M and I actually looked at houses further east back when we were looking. We targeted the Westford/Dracut/Chelmsford/Lowell area, because I was working in Nashua at the time. But when we looked at a few houses, we realized that the top of our price range was MAYBE something we wanted to live in. Then we met our house, and I fell deeply in love. Now, after almost five years there, I can honestly say Leominster is my home. Even though it's faaaaa away.

Bostonians and their sports teams

Just found this bit about the passion of Boston sports fans. Married to a sports nut (whose game is football, not baseball, yet he's been known to yell at Terry Francona and Co. on NESN many a night in our house), I can attest to how true it is. Sports are like a religion around here. Hell, I'm only a bit above a casual baseball fan, and I am thrilled beyond words that Boston won last night and the Yankees (who SUCK) lost.

My weekend (major name-dropping post ahead)

I spent the weekend in Boston at all the cool places. Living in Leominster, I need to name-drop about these things when they happen.

We stayed at the Hotel Langham. What a beautiful place. This is the home of Cafe Fleuri and the famous chocolate brunch, which us gals were salivating over. We went to dinner at Sibling Rivalry in the South End for dinner and had quite a meal. Then we all went to Umbria to dance. Quite a scene -- you couldn't even move on the dance floor, and the music was deafening. We stumbled back to the hotel at 1:3o a.m. Then we were up the next morning to go to Lucky's Lounge for the Sinatra brunch. Then off to a Christmas party in Salem. What a weekend! It was so much fun.