Love, Valentine's Day Style

However you celebrated Valentine's Day, I hope it was exactly the way you wanted it. If you are not currently in a relationship, I hope you took today to shower yourself with some extra TLC. You deserve it. If you're in a relationship and felt some pressure to "do the right thing" (whatever that is), I hope you didn't step on any land mines and however you and your partner chose to celebrate made you feel loved.

I have to admit it, I used to think Valentine's Day was for the birds, but I've changed my mind. Don't misunderstand me, I still prefer someone who shows me he loves me through the small thoughtful vanilla everyday gestures to someone who never shows his love unless Hallmark tells him to, but there's something wonderfully delicious about the unabashed love that gets shown on Valentine's Day.

Here are a couple of great videos I discovered earlier today thanks to Scott Kleinberg on Twitter. I'm telling you, if you don't follow Scott, well, you are missing out. Just trust me. And go follow him.

First, the Valentine's Day Google Doodle. God love the Googles. What did we do without the Googles? Oh, and thank goodness for Tony Bennett. Speaking of romance, he brings it.

And my favorite video of the day, How Hollywood Says "I Love You" by Matthew Belinke from the website Overthinking It. Because I love you, (yes, that means YOU), I've included the transcript which I got off You Tube. Raise your hand if you can quote at least 75% of these lines from memory. Ya, me too.

TRANSCRIPT: I've been doing a lot of thinking, and the thing is, I love you. You are the epitome of everything I've ever looked for in another human being. Love is too weak a word for the way I feel. I lurv you. I loave you. I luff you. I sort of feel like I'm on drugs when I'm when you. Not that I do drugs, unless you do drugs, in which case I do drugs all the time. There's only one place in the world I call home and it's because you're there. I'd feel better sitting outside your apartment on the curb than any other place I can think of or imagine. I'm not waking up another morning without being able to look at you next to me. I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.

Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you, I love you! Very much. No other love but you. I love you. Like a sickness and its cure together. I love you. (Ditto.) I should have told you every day from the moment I met you. You complete me. Te adoro, Maria. I love you Chicken. I love you Honey Bunny. I think that's the only thing I've ever been really sure of in my entire life. You are the woman that I want. How many more times do I have to say it? (One more time would be nice.) You have bewitched me, body and soul. Whatever I am... I'm yours. I am so in love with you. You're the only one for me.

I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is. Love means never having to say you're sorry. Love is a many-splendored thing. Love lifts us up where we belong, all you need is love! Some people search all their life for this and never find it. You think this happens everyday? I love you dream woman! What do I have to do to prove it to you? Huh? You want the moon? You want me to renounce my throne? The wooing, the spooning, I am all in! Because when you find the one... you never give up. All I ever wanted... was you!

I love you. I love you. I love you. I've loved you more than any woman's ever loved a rabbit. I love you more than anyone has ever loved. I love you more than my life. I love you more than band music and cookie-making. I want to be with you. I made up my mind you were the only woman for me. I've loved you since the first day I met you, and I'll never stop. I'll love you always. Until your heart stops beating. 'Til the stars turn cold. Forever. I've never felt that before.

I love you. Can't believe how many times I'm saying it! I love you. Because I came alive when I met you. And there's only one person that makes me feel like I can fly. So I will wait forever for you, okay? I will wait the rest of my life. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day. I love you. I love you. I love you! I love you! I love you. I always have. And I always will. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of the life to start as soon as possible.

Just shut up... you had me at "hello."

Happy Valentine's Day.

As always, if you can't see the videos when you read LMS via email, click here so you can see the videos. They're worth it.

Valentine's Day Romance Tips from Rev. Al Sharpton

It's Valentine's Day and I'm sure you can all feel love in the air. I know I can. After my birthday, Christmas, Memorial Day, Easter, Ground Hog's Day, Casmir Pulaski Day, Flag Day (aka Birthday Eve), Pi Day, National Hotdog Day, Opening Day of Major League Baseball, Susan B. Anthony's Birthday, No Housework Day, National Duran Duran Appreciation Day, Valentine's Day is my absolutely favorite holiday. (Note: Those are all real "holidays". Use the Googles. You'll find them.)

I was going to share with you my suggestions for sweeping your love off his or her feet this Valentine's Day, but then my friend Steve posted the video below on Facebook and I see that the Reverend Al Sharpton has it all covered for me.

Given how much I love politics, I'm sure you won't be surprised how many of the good Reverend's suggestions could work on me this Valentine's Day. They won't, so no one should try any of them with me, but in theory they could.

As always, if you read Little Merry Sunshine via email, please click over to the blog and watch the video.

A Kiss is Just a Kiss? No Way.

In honor of Valentine's Day, let's talk about kissing.

I don't care what anyone says, a kiss is never just a kiss. A kiss speaks where words fail. Sometimes a kiss says "I love you" and sometimes a kiss says goodbye. Of course, kisses also mean everything in between.

Whatever the specific meaning, I truly believe that kissing is one of the most extraordinary experiences in life and what makes a mind-blowing, stop-me-in-my-tracks, chills-up-my-spine, knees-buckling kiss to me is honesty and trust, not lust. Even as I write this, I can still remember the most significant kisses in my life. I remember how they made me feel and who they were with.

Is there anything better than the perfect kiss? The best part of them is their spontaneity. You can't make the perfect kiss happen. It just does. And you can't usually recreate it because the stars have to align just right and that's impossible to force.

I could tell you about the kisses in my life that rocked me to my core, but that would be tacky, and I'm not a girl who kisses and tells. Instead, let's take a look at my favorite on-screen kisses.

Casablanca - Ilsa tells Rick she still loves him and they kiss. Classic.


Serendipity - Jon and Sara have spent the entire movie finding their way to each other after spending just one afternoon together 5 years earlier.


The West Wing - We waited seven years for this kiss between Josh and Donna. And it was worth the wait.


When Harry Met Sally - My all time favorite movie kiss.


I think Prince sums it all up nicely.

Prince - Kiss


On orders from The Little Mermaid, you gotta just Kiss The Girl.

A New Twist on "Make Love Not War"

Do you have some spare guns laying around and no idea what to get your sweetie for Valentine's Day?

Little Merry Sunshine has your back. And more precisely, Pleasures in Huntsville, Alabama has your back. That's right, America's first drive-thru erotica shop (for those who just can't be bothered to get out of their car to get their porn) has now brought you a gun-for-sex toy swap just in time for Valentine's Day!

Trade in your guns and receive a gift card to the store where you can find everything from toys to stimulants to lingerie to videos. Guns will then be inspected by the owner's husband, a licensed gun dealer, and any found to have been used in a crime will be turned over to authorities. All the rest will be auctioned off with proceeds going to victims of gun violence. The store won't profit off the guns.

"You never know, maybe there will be someone who says, 'I've got this gun that I could go rob a liquor store with, or maybe I can get me a blowup doll for Valentine's Day, instead," owner Sherri Williams told Agence France-Presse, according to the New York Daily News. Seriously, that's my favorite line of the whole article.

You may want to hurry though. This guns-for-sex toy swap ends on February 15th. And to make sure you'll get a chance to use your new toys with your sweetie, I wouldn't wait until the day after Valentine's Day to do your shopping.

Simple Truths of Life

My dear friend Sue posted this on Facebook yesterday. In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share it here and let you be inspired too.

Simple Truths of Life Movie


Remember that life isn't about the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away.

It's not about whether you have a Valentine this year or not. It's about who you are and whether you love the person you are becoming each day.

Each of you, my readers, are my Valentine and I love each of you.

The Hug-E-Gram - The Perfect Gift for Valentine's Day

Are you still looking for the perfect Valentine's Day Gift? I'm sure you know how much is riding on Valentine's Day and there's enormous pressure to get it just right, so you'd better not screw this up.

Not to worry. Little Merry Sunshine (thanks to her college friend Koko) has just the perfect gift for you. The Hug-E-Gram!

Your Valentine will treasure this thoughtful gift for years to come. Whenever you can't be there to wrap your loving arms around her, the "two soft plush cotton arms with cartoon hands . . . create a soft and cuddly hug giving a heartwarming feeling" that will remind her of your undying affection.

But wait! It gets better! You can even whisper sweet nothings in her ear as you "hug" her by recording your own voice in the Hug-E-Gram!

There's even more! Your Hug-E-Gram will even be delivered with a bouquet of wooden roses because nothing smells quite as sweet as . . . wooden roses? On the upside, they won't wilt on Monday.

You must HURRY! You've only got until 1pm ET (that's 12noon for you Midwesterners) to place your order so they can rush your Hug-E-Gram for Saturday delivery. It's just $64.98 with overnight delivery, but your Sweetie is worth that, right?

Just look at how happy and fulfilled this woman seems. She clearly couldn't feel more love if her beloved were right there embracing her himself.

How Will You Show Your Love?

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and the pressure is on to shower your beloved with the most romantic, over-the-top expression of your devotion EVER. If you think inside the box, you probably get suckered into the over-priced red roses and dinner at some 5-star restaurant where they've jacked up the prices 1000% just for the night. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Now, before you think I'm (a) not at all romantic or (b) just jaded because no one has ever done these things for me on Valentine's Day, let me assure you that I am in fact quite the romantic (possibly too romantic for my own good) and that although, it's true, no one has ever pulled out those kinds of stops for me on Valentine's Day, I am not jaded. I just believe that romance shouldn't be a one day a year expression and I also have an incredibly practical side.

I believe it's important to weave romance into everyday life. For me, romance is found in the little expressions, just as much, if not more so than the over-the-top ones. Plus, I value creativity, which is why even though White Castle isn't my thing, I think taking your beloved to White Castle could be kind of romantic. It shows you're not just using a standard playbook, but you can think outside of the box. And that's always sexy and romantic.

Show Her You Love Her - Take Her to White Castle
by Stefano Esposito, Chicago Sun-Times, January 19, 2010

You could blow a week's pay on fresh lobster, a bottle of bubbly and a quiet table with a waiter named Jean-Pierre to impress your sweetheart on Valentine's Day.

Or . . . you could surprise her with your, ah, thrift and willingness to stand out from the crowd by taking her out for the Valentine's special at your neighborhood White Castle, where, just for this occasion, they're offering a candlelit dinner, with tableside service and flowers.

They've done this before. Some people even dress up and rent a limo, says Jamie Richardson, a White Castle spokesman. They're taking reservations, too -- call (708) 458-4450, ext. 0.

Happy Valentine's Day & Happy National Condom Week!

Planned Parenthood and I wish you and your significant other a very romantic Valentine's Day and safe National Condom Week!

And just in case you don't know how to use a condom for anything other than balloon animals, watch the video below: