I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day. Not in the 11 years my husband and I have been together, not with any guy I dated before then. It always felt too commercial, too artificial. (OK, in the interest of full disclosure, my high school boyfriend brought me a dozen carnations one Valentine’s Day and we got in a fight; I thought carnations were insulting.)

But I read this article in the New York Times tonight and I am re-considering my anti-Valentine’s Day stance. According to several studies mentioned in the article, the secret to keeping a marriage going and keeping it happy is to do new things together. Just spending quality time together — which for working parents is tough enough — isn’t the answer. You have to try new things, experience new things, go to new places.
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It’s been raining and snowing here for hours and truly, I don’t think it can get any gloomier outside. Which means it’s a great occasion to distract ourselves with some fun links from some of our blogging friends. Enjoy!

GlamSpirit: Fun Gift Giving Tip from Japan. If you’re planning to give a sweet Valentine’s Day gift to someone special this week, why not present it in a gorgeous red fabric rather than some paper that will just get tossed away.

Moms Buzz: Moms’ Night In - Tips and Ideas. After a week’s full agenda, we are probably left with little energy, opportunity or incentive for hitting the town with our girl friends. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t create an equally fun moms’ night in! Get the tips!

Couture in the City: New York Fashion Week, Fall 2008, Best of the Best, Temperly London. Thank ye gods for Temperly London…IMHO, Temperly London is the best of the best for New York fashion week, fall 2008. If I had to see one more “Working Girl” 80’s inspired business suit, I was going to hurl…but luckily TL saved my sanity.

Señora Cartera: MARC by Marc Jacobs Fall 2008 Collection. MJ Loves The 80s Feast your eyes on the youthful, chic and retro-fabulous fashions from MARC by Marc Jacobs’ Fall ‘08 collection and find out which handbags the designer has in store for us.

Stiletto Jungle: Peek Inside the Grammy Style Studio. Music and fashion go hand in hand, particularly when it comes to fabulous awards show swag. Stiletto Jungle hit this year’s Grammy Style Studio and reports back with all of the fashionable details.

Stylenotes.com: Take Note — Seeing Red (on the Runways). The abundance of red on the runways this season caught our eye – check out our favorite red looks, and our picks on how to partake in the trend.

TotSnob: Tassimo Coffee for the Tired, Busy Mom. A coffee maker for the mom on the go, perfect for those of us who need a dose of joe without the wait. Now you have time to get both you and your child ready for the day!

A colleague once told me that he could not picture me having a down day — apparently, I am peppy. (His word, not mine.) But let me tell you, I have my share and today is one of them. You know those days when you wake up and you can’t feel good about anything going on? When the rain is a major annoyance, every email seems to bring tough news, every phone call a discouraing conversation? Well, it’s here. And instead of ranting about it, I am going to hush up and offer up some fun links from some of our blog friends. I hope you’re having a much better day and I hope to be back in full peppy form tomorrow.

Boston Mamas: Unleash the Creative Beast. For those who love hosting parties but need a little help figuring out how to personalize the details, there’s Garnish, purveyor of cool party and gift packaging ideas that will keep your guests coming back for more!

Moms Buzz: Valentine’s Giveaway Win A Pair of Sterling Silver Cufflinks. Enchante him with love, but mermerize him with this amazing pair of sterling silver cufflinks by VACCARI. Moms Buzz’s Valentin’es Giveaway is rocking with love and silver this time. This pair of sterling silver cufflinks are worth $165 and can be yours soon!

Stiletto Jungle: Jeans for Every Body. Small waist, but bigger thighs? Skinny legs with a larger waist? No worries, Stiletto Jungle has you covered. The SJ Girl Talk panel names the best jeans for a range of body types.

Couture in the City: Elizabeth Arden Intervene Foundation Review: Before and After! When I was asked to review the new Elizabeth Arden Intervene foundation, I must say, I was a little skeptical. I’m not a big fan of liquid foundation, and I didn’t think that in my twenties I would be interested in an anti-aging makeup.

Healthy Bump: Transform your child’s room in minutes! FunToSee has created an easy way to decorate your child’s room with their Room Make-Over.

Clever Parents: Celebrate Fat Tuesday with Every Day with Rachael Ray. Fat Tuesday is today! Celebrate it the old-fashioned way – with a classic Bayou feast including Classic Hurricane Cocktails, Coconut Shrimp Beignets with Pepper Jelly Sauce, and Oyster, Bacon and Swiss Chard Gratin.

Classy Mommy: 1st Birthday Gift bag for Patrick Dempsey’s Twin Boys! Classy Mommy takes a sneak peek at this glam gift bag. If only we were all celebrity babies!

MomFinds: Super Tees for Super Tuesday. Your kids might be too young to vote, but it’s never too early to take them to the polls…in style. Here are the best politico tees and bodysuits for the tiniest citizens.

Do you ever feel like you’re about to burn out?

If you said no, I am envious. Because I have often felt like this. And some (like my very involved new doc) have suggested that even if I don’t think I’m burnt out, my body is saying that I am.

And wouldn’t you know it, there’s even an online test you can take to see where you stack up on the burning out scale. It’s right here and it takes only a few minutes. (And thanks to our career contributor, Penelope Trunk, for linking to it.)

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After you’ve taken the test, you might need to find a way to relax a bit, so here are some fun links from some new friends we’ve made in the blogging world. (They have absolutely nothing to do with burning out or work, by the way.)

Moms Buzz: Eating Tips - 10 Tips for Parents About Kids and Food.
Here are some eating tips to help parents encourage children to eat right and maintain a healthy weight.

GlamSpirit: Let Dreams Be Your Guide. Often times your dreams can seem like meaningless visions all thrown together in a random, nonsensical form, but a dream is actually an extraordinary and invaluable window into your subconscious.

Couture in the City: Hot New Trend - Long Cardigans.
Looking for a cute, light topper to transition you from winter to spring? Consider a long cardigan…the perfect accessory to any outfit.

Stiletto Jungle: Online Deal - 74% Off Magaschoni Cashmere Hoodie. Want the ultimate in casual luxury? Try a cashmere hoodie on for size, like this this amazingly super-sale priced find.

The holidays may be over, but for many of us, the stress levels are still high. Learn how to switch off the mental chatter, and decide how to handle it when you’ve taken on too much. What do you do to relax? We asked, members answered — check out the discussion and share your tips!

Many of us have switched into high gear for the New Year, and now we’re trying to make our New Year’s resolutions stick. Work It, Mom! has plenty of advice on achieving your goals, avoiding failure, and dealing with change. Need a little support to reach that first small goal? You can find it here!

Moms with infants, listen up! Members have been chiming in about their experiences with breastfeeding and pumping, Relaxnsmile wrote a great article with plenty of tips and information for those heading back to the workplace with pump in hand, and Lee Thrash offers some sage advice to freelancers who are getting ready to go on maternity leave.

Only got a minute? Take a picture of what’s in your bag and upload it to our CareerBags Group here at Work It, Mom! for a chance to win a fabulous fabulous Veronica London Business Tote courtesy of CareerBags.com. Details are here, contest ends on January 20th.

Happy New Year to you and your families from all of us here at Work It, Mom!

And from me personally, a big THANK YOU! 2007 was one of the most tumultuous, exciting, challenging, surprising, and unexpected years for me so far and having the privilege of being part of this community here at Work It, Mom! has been one of the highlights.

Here are some quick highlights from this week at Work It, Mom!:

Members are gearing up for the new year by sharing their January goals in one of our newest groups, “12 Small and Simple Changes a Year.” Another hot topic: Listing 101 things to do over then next 1001 days. Check out the discussions, get inspired, and tell us what you want to accomplish!

Get a glimpse of what 2008 has in store for you with a Flying Stars Feng Shui forecast, improve your odds for keeping your New Year’s Resolutions, and be sure to schedule a mental health day or two if you need a break.

Still looking for ways to hold on to that holiday spirit? Busy Bee Susan suggests throwing a Twelfth Night Party. Get yourself a great King Cake, pick out something bubbly, and get ready to celebrate! (That, or you can test your scissor skills by making some snoflakes with your kids — Chris at Ordering Disorder offers up a great craft project for those of us lacking our inner Martha.)

If you have a few minutes between wrapping more gifts, finishing up work, or packing for a trip to see family, check out some highlights from Work It, Mom! for this past week. It might be all the stress relief you need!

Looking for last-minute holiday advice and inspiration? Work It, Mom! members offered up tips on everything from last-minute gifts (some of our members are quite crafty!) to giving your holiday outfit a boost to some great recipes. Linda at Milk and Cookies touched on a ton of great advice with her round-up post. Check it out!

Our new Green group is going strong, with the latest discussion about natural cleaning products.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Sound off here.

Wondering what it’s like to be a romance author? Member Jill Shalvis shares her secret (hint: it isn’t what you’d expect!). Other recent member articles offer some sexy business tips, ways to improve your health with herbs and spices, and suggestions for branding through audio advertising.

Have a great weekend!

A few years back I wrote a book called The Daring Female’s Guide to Ecstatic Living. (No, the purpose of this post is not shameless self promotion. Ok, a little, you got me.) The reason I mention the book is because the entire point of it was to get women to dare themselves to do something new, scary, risky, interesting, exciting, never-thought-I-could-do-this with their lives. I felt that I’ve done a few of those things myself–and this was before Work It, Mom!, which has taught me a whole new meaning of terms like scary and exciting and risky–and wanted to encourage others to give it a shot.

One of my favorite things about writing the book is that the process forced me to look for ways to make my own life more interesting and more along the lines of what I wanted to get out of it. By investing the time in thinking about and writing the book I found that I was investing in myself and my own life. And I liked the results.

And I’ve decided to explore this idea of investing in yourself here on the Work It, Mom! Blog. As working moms we know that the first thing that often goes out the window and off the to-do list is ourselves–our hobbies, interests, big goals, even basic things like say, sleep. But this is a bad idea in the long run. You can’t ignore yourself and just take care of other people and responsibilities in your life; after a while, you’ll be a very tired and bitter person, trust me, I’ve tried this and learned my lesson.

So as we’re now full steam ahead into the holiday season that brings with it too much stress, running around, and ignoring yourself, I’d like to offer an antidote here on the Work It, Mom! Blog by writing a series of Invest In Yourself posts until I run out of ideas (which hopefully won’t happen if you offer your own suggestions) or you tell me to quit this nonsense. Every week I’ll try to come up with an activity that will focus your energy on yourself and your goals, to-dos, ideas, and yes, dare I say dreams? I’ll try to make it small and manageable because I how how little time we all have.

OK, I’m getting a bit too Oprah-like now, so I’ll stop with the self-helpish intro and get on with the first Invest In Yourself idea:
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I really hope that you’ve entered our Tell a Friend contest here at Work It, Mom! because, well, it’s one of the easiest ways I’ve seen to win some Amazon.com cash. (The lawyers told me I can’t participate, something about being involved with the company… what a shame!) All details are here.

But wait, that’s not all–there’s also the ultra-easy-and-fun-to-enter Work It, Kids! Contest. You can read about it here.

Our friends at momfinds.com have caught the contests fever and are giving away some awesome goodies this week–you’ll want to check this out.

Happy contesting!