If you just realized Valentine's Day is approaching faster than Cupid's arrow, there's work to do. A shopping trip may be necessary, especially if you want your better half to know you're still truly, madly, deeply in love.

Your mission: find the perfect way to say, baby, I love you. Your goal: avoid the doghouse and improve your chances of getting lucky on Tuesday night.

Roses, teddies and chocolates are nice, but you might advance to romance faster with one of these 14 ideas, some of which are personal favorites while others come from area retailers, creative types and Raleigh, N.C.-based Michael Webb, author and founder of www.TheRomantic.com. (All of these gift ideas have this in common: More than simply gifts, they are experiences to share with your loved one.)

1. Explore your relationship with partners yoga. You don't have to be a yogi or an athlete. For an early start on your lovefest, try tonight's partners session from 5 to 6:30 at The Yoga Center, Franklin Road Southwest, Roanoke. (The cost is $18 per couple. A private session with an instructor goes for about $50.) Yoga teacher Ann Egge said, "With the partner yoga, part of it is about learning the art of cooperation and harmony and how to communicate effectively with your partner." For more information, call 345-4090.

2. Many of the best valentine cards have been sold. Don't fret. Create a handmade card. Guys don't often do this, but women fall head over heels for something handmade. If you're stuck for an idea, check out marthastewart.com. You'll find that paper and lollipops and cupcake liners and other decorative items can be turned into a fun valentine. For most cards, you'll need glue, scissors and construction paper.

3. Set the mood with a hot bubble bath. Surround the tub with candles. Use a bath crayon or lipstick (not your partner's favorite, though) to pen a love note on the mirror. If you have a whirlpool or garden tub, try to make it bath time for two.

4. Have an indoor picnic. (If you have children, hire a sitter for the evening.) Clear space in your living room. Put a picnic blanket on the floor. Serve cheese, crackers, fruit and champagne. Add votives to the room and burn a CD of romantic music to set the mood.

5. Go to a hardware or garden store for your present. Fill a metal pail with basic gardening supplies such as gloves and a small watering can, and of course, get some seeds to plant this spring. On a note card tucked inside the pail, write a love message such as, "Let's grow together." Pat Agnew, co-owner of Agnew Seed in Roanoke, said, "Geraniums would be really pretty to plant. Poppies would be really pretty." Other flowers on her list: Sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, purple lady petunia, cosmos, sweet peas, zinnia, red marigolds and cardinal climber. Agnew said your sweetie can start the seeds in April in the house and plant them outside after May 10.

6. Write a love note on a piece of thick cardboard, then cut it into a jigsaw puzzle for your beloved to solve and read. Present the pieces in a gift box.

7. Put rose petals on the blades of your ceiling fan. Ask your sweetheart to slow dance to your favorite song, then turn on the fan to shower your partner with petals.

8. Use colored chalk to write a romantic valentine on the surface of your driveway. It can be as simple as "I love you."

9. Fill your bedroom with 100 helium-inflated balloons. Put a love note in one and have your beloved try to find it.

10. Go with every fashionista's favorite: a handbag. "We can never have enough bags or too many shoes," said Nikki Mullen of Claire V. boutique in Roanoke. She suggested filling a hip, colorful handbag such as the Ming bag with a bouquet of flowers or an assortment of traditional valentine's candy.

11. Take a dozen of your favorite photos, particularly ones featuring you and your partner at different times of the year, and use them to make a personalized 12-month calendar.

12. Sing your way into your honey's heart. Or at least, show him or her what a poet laureate you are. Here's one option: Chocolate Covered Karaoke Contest, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Waldron Stage, Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke. Desserts and champagne will be provided. The cost is $15 for singles and $25 for couples. Prizes will be awarded for best performance, best valentine's costumes, sweetest couple and most eligible. Option 2: Take in "Letters from Cupid," featuring M. Douglas Hoss reading his own verse. Center in the Square atrium, Roanoke, Tuesday at 6 p.m. There will be free bubbly, music and, of course, poetry.

13. Instead of eating at a crowded restaurant on Valentine's Day, stay home for a romantic evening. If you're not much of a cook, go with this simple plan from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy:" homemade grilled pizzas. To save time, buy dough from an area pizza joint. To fancy up your pies, top them with shrimp and mozzarella.

If that's too much work, pick up Chinese takeout on the way home. Ask for an extra white container, one used for rice, and fill it with colored paper and a special gift for your main squeeze. Serve on your best dishes, glasses and flatware.

14. If you plan to pop the big question, make sure you put your ring in a flashy box. When it comes to giving your lover a bracelet or necklace, never hand it over in a box from the store. Make unwrapping the bling a fun-filled experience.