Happy Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I'm actually not a fan of this particular holiday. I think it's stupid that we celebrate love with chocolate and roses once a year. Not to mention that whoever decided this was a good idea had no regard for anyone that was single, considering this is definitely one of the most depressing days ever for lonely people. I'm sorry for all of you who wish you had someone to celebrate SVD (St. Valentine's Day) with. For your sake I wish it didn't exist.

My boyfriend and  I found ourselves realizing that it was SVD soon a few days ago and figured that considering we were both free, we should consider hanging out. Because he's such a great guy, he drove me around my favorite lake while I stuck my head out into the 40 degree crisp air. I was curled up, snug in a blanket, and we were listening to my favorite band, Emery. Best day ever, even without roses and candy bars.

But on a different note, SVD always holds great memories for me. My memories concerning this holiday usually revolve around my favorite candy-- Necoo Sweet Hearts. Now when I say Sweet Hearts, I mean the sweet kind. Some people are into the tart ones, but they're just... wrong. Every year I would wait until late January rolled around so the best candy ever would start popping up in stores (it's just my luck to have my favorite candy be seasonal). I would buy the big ol' bags of them and stock up so that mid-June I would still have some. It was great.

You may ask why all of this is in past tense. I will tell you. Last year I went to the store and noticed that the SVD section was set up, everything all pink and red with hearts floating from the ceiling. So I naturally got overly excited and prepared to indulge myself. I get to the little Necco section, only to find that there are none! After quite some time, I realize that they are indeed there, but in a different looking box. I buy them anyway, clenching my teeth with fear that it might be more than the box that changed. My nightmare was realized when I grabbed my favorite color--green-- and put it to my tongue. It was completely different, absolutely disgusting. I was dreadfully disappointed. I didn't even try another one.

As much as I loved them, it took me about four seconds to stop caring  (I try not to let trivial things impact me severely), so when this year rolled around I wasn't expecting to have that lovely SVD taste. I noticed, however, a generic brand at a Holiday gas station and decided to try it. To my surprise and joy, it tasted the same as the originals! I bought a big bag and am prepared to buy more tomorrow when (hopefully) they go on sale.

Why do I love those candies so much? I'm not entirely sure. Obviously the taste is amazing. I love the enjoyment of slowly picking them up and reading their little sayings and then popping them in my mouth. I love that each color actually tastes significantly different (what is up with the pink ones, though?). I also have quite fond experiences with them. Back before Necco down-graded, they would sell them in the little boxes, which came in packs of six. This worked out perfectly because there were six people in my family. My mom would come home from the grocery store and give everyone one little box. All of us kids would gather together and trade according to what colors we liked best. I always got sucked into taking the nasty pink ones even though I hated them just because that was my favorite color. Eventually, we would each have our boxes with our desired content packed nicely inside. The boxes even had the little tabs so you could reseal them like cereal boxes if you wanted to save some for later. Growing up, I was never prudent enough to utilize that convenience. I would later learn to enjoy it. Now, every time I eat one those grand memories are wrapped up in a little heart-shaped sugar cluster. It's lovely.

P.S. Many people say that the all-year-round Necco wafer things are equally as good as the seasonal Sweet Hearts. This is what I have to say to that:
A) FALSE! They have that super strange brown color that nobody likes and it rubs off on all the good colors and make them taste super funny.
B) Even if they are the same flavor, they're wafers, come on! There's no way that thin little round thing can compare to the satisfaction of biting into the almost-too-crunchy hearts.
C) The waferness of them reminds me of the communion wafers used at big churches, which is awkward and makes the idea of ever eating the flavorless wafers at church that much more unappealing. I don't actually mind that as much, because I think whoever invented the wafer wasn't the smartest cookie in the jar (or wafer on the sliver platter used for communion) anyway, but it definitely doesn't add to the appeal of the wafer things.
D) Wafers don't have cute little sayings on them like "fax me" or "email me" (which are my favorites).