Valentines Day in Oman

Here's the deal with me and Valentines Day:  I like the concept, but I hate the inflated prices and crowded restaurants.  I don't want flowers that cost less any other day of the year.  I loved the boxed chocolates, but I was always encouraging Stephen to get them the day after at half price.  I like going out to eat, but I want to go during the week to avoid the crowds.  I was really irritated the one year we ended up at a Japanese steakhouse (our tradition) at lunch time to learn that they would be charging dinner time prices just because it was Valentines Day.

I have no idea how much of this applies in Oman.  I know some hotels had special dinners.  We didn't go out to eat, so I have no idea how full restaurants were.  I know my in-laws found some special emoji chocolates for the boys, but I never saw a heart-shaped box.   I know without a doubt that if there had been chocolates that they would not have been half price on February 15 because Christmas items were still full price at the beginning of the year.  I did see flowers at the store, but I don't know how much they cost.  They are not normally there, so there is no telling if even the given price was inflated.


I did my own thing to make Valentines Day special.  The day started with a special breakfast for the boys.  I had made red velvet pancakes the night before to limit my work the morning of.  They weren't a big hit with the boys, so I'm not going to bore you with a recipe.  I also made Valentine chatterboxes for each boy with goofy jokes under the flaps.  Chatterboxes have been a big hit with the third years lately.  And I set the table with our Valentine decorations, red plates, and red napkins.

Valentines Day breakfast for the boys.  It was actually part of my resolution to "celebrate a minor holiday."

For dinner, I made my favorite tomato bisque because it is basically a pink colored soup.  In the States, I cooked up some cheese tortellini for the soup.  Here in Oman, I cook up beef and noodles instead.  Along with the soup, I baked a healthy Chocolate Melting Cake.  Jackpot!  I was so excited with how well it turned out.

My healthy, flourless, naturally sweetened Chocolate Melting Cake topped with banana ice cream.

Between breakfast and dinner was a pretty typical Thursday, though we did take the whole family to Qurum park after school.  The boys played on the playground while Mamaw and Papaw supervised so Stephen and I could take a stroll around the lake.  Then the adults switched roles.  It was a beautiful day!