Things NOT to get: Posters of dalmations or laundry baskets, (unless it's full of good stuff), and absolutely no household appliances. I don't care how much she says she wants a crock pot, don't fall for it.
Things that are acceptable: Flowers, candy (unless she's on a diet), dinners she doesn't have to cook.
Borderline: Tickets to a sporting event when she doesn't like sports, red wine when she drinks white, and perfume that reminds you of your high school sweetheart (unless you happened to marry her).
When all else fails, give the gift of music. Knowing full well I'm going to recommend some country albums, you may be thinking the genre has the reputation for being more about heartbreak than love.
But using some of tonight’s Best Country Song Grammy nominees as an example, consider some of these.
Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now." I consider it a love song, although some of my friends insist it's a "drunk dial" song. The entire album is full of winners, including "Hello World," "Our Kind of Love" and "American Honey."
Miranda Lambert's "The House that Built Me" is a sweet trip down memory lane. She sings of her childhood home, but I guarantee it will take you back as well. The album "Revolution" also features "Only Prettier" and "Love Song."
George Strait delivers again with "The Breath You Take" off the album "Twang." This one's about fatherly love and recognizing all things in life, big and small.
"Free" is the huge smash hit by the Zac Brown Band off "The Foundation," which already gave us "Chicken Fried" and "Toes." It sums up young love: no matter what life gives you, you still have each other.
Gretchen Wilson's latest album, "I Got Your Country Right Here" produced the single, "I'd Love to Be Your Last." Who wouldn't?
The Band Perry is nominated for "If I Die Young" off its self-titled debut album. Kimberly Perry told The Boot (www.theboot.com) the song's meaning is simple: "We really have gotten to live and love at our young ages. 'If I Die Young,' for us, is about if it all ends at this moment, look at what we've gotten to do. Whatever time we're given will be absolutely enough as long as we make the most of it."
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Contact Nancy Wilson, a morning-radio personality at WHKO-FM (K99.1), by e-mail through k99online.com.
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