Fiercely Anticipating: Presidents’ Day weekend. It’s here! That glimmer of hope right in the midst of our seasonal affective disorder*! The Federal Holiday that no one remembers! The perfect little blue balls-inducing holiday weekend: too short to merit a vacation, but long enough to keep us from realizing we should stop slaving away for our corporate overlords and open a cooperative beet farm in Oregon! This is a nice one because we don’t have to deal with all the tediousness that marrs our other three-day weekends. I don’t have to be proud of my country, I don’t have to remember anyone, and my facebook feed won’t clog with inspirational misquotes and do-gooder cyber shaming. (Our first President was as boring as he was wooden-toothed, and as such, he is not remembered for his pithy sayings. “Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.” Pull that one out on Monday and see how many likes you get.) There are no parades to block traffic, no fireworks to pretend to care about, no enforced group meat-charring to attend. This is perfect for me, because I hate mandatory fun and I strongly dislike pool parties. As you can probably guess, I have big plans for this weekend. The idea is to drive up to San Francisco, hang out with friends, see Pina in 3-D, and while lingering over artisanal beers, meet a 6 foot tall Indian architect who loves Shakespeare, sandwiches, and casual relationships. What’s going to happen is this: on Friday evening I will don some soft, non-binding sleep wear, open a bottle of wine, and peruse the photo albums of my facebook friends who mysteriously...

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope by now you’ve all bought and wrapped presents, and showered your love one with affection. No? Well, don’t despair! With internet access, a little research, and a trip to Target, you can surprise your loved one with an amazing 3-day “Love-cation”. It’s not too late to find great deals at hotels nearby where you can spoil your love with pampering and attention. Every year my husband and I forgo giving each other gifts and instead plan a fun getaway to somewhere new over President’s Day weekend. It proves to be a great mini-vacation where we can reconnect and leave the rat race behind for a few days. It truly gives more to our relationship than any tangible gift could. Step 1: Make arrangements: Make sure your partner indeed has a three-day weekend. Call their boss or coworker to double check, and make sure they stay hush hush! Have kids? Call the relative that lives closest to you and ask them to take the little ones for the weekend. If this isn’t an option, don’t fret, many hotels have adjoining rooms or family suites, where you don’t have to share the same bedroom, but are still connected.  If you live in driving (or quick flight) distance to a foreign country, check your passports, because going to a foreign country is much more romantic sounding than hopping over to the next town. Step 2: Get online! Check out online travel sites like: hotels.com, priceline.com, or the hotel you have a priority membership with. For local hotels, also, check your newspaper’s travel website, they’re sure to have great deals on local travel/hotels.  If you need a flight and rental car, try using your frequent flier credit card to book both that...