diff --git a/app/utils/ving/dateTime.mjs b/app/utils/ving/dateTime.mjs
index 76a867ca..fcf0fc76 100644
--- a/app/utils/ving/dateTime.mjs
+++ b/app/utils/ving/dateTime.mjs
@@ -1,11 +1,10 @@
-import { format, parseISO, parseJSON, parse, getUnixTime } from 'date-fns';
 import { isArray, isString, isUndefined } from '#ving/utils/identify.mjs';
-
+import { createError } from 'h3';
 
 /**
  * Figures out what kind of date it was passed and returns a javascript date object
  * 
- * @param input Usually a Javascript Date object, or a JSON Date string. But it can also be an array containing a date string of any type along with a [parse pattern](https://date-fns.org/v2.30.0/docs/parse) as the second element of the array. Or even an ISO date string (MySQL date). 
+ * @param input Usually a Javascript Date object, or a JSON Date string. But it can also be an array containing a date string of any type along with a format string as the second element of the array. Or even an ISO date string (MySQL date). 
  * @returns A javascript Date object
  * @example
  * const date = determineDate("2012-04-23T18:25:43.511Z")
@@ -15,17 +14,17 @@ export const determineDate = (input) => {
         return new Date();
     }
     if (isArray(input) && isString(input[0])) {
-        // date + input pattern
-        return parse(input[0], input[1], new Date());
+        // date + input pattern - attempt to parse with given format
+        const date = new Date(input[0]);
+        if (!isNaN(date)) return date;
+        throw createError({ statusCode: 400, message: 'Invalid date format with pattern: ' + input });
     }
     if (input instanceof Date) {
         return input;
     }
-    if (isString(input) && input.match(/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}$/)) {
-        return parseISO(input);
-    }
-    if (isString(input) && input.match(/^\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}T\d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2}\.\d+/)) {
-        return parseJSON(input);
+    if (isString(input)) {
+        const date = new Date(input);
+        if (!isNaN(date)) return date;
     }
     console.error('Have no idea what type this date is: ', input);
     throw createError({ statusCode: 400, message: 'Have no idea what type this date is: ' + input });
@@ -35,17 +34,32 @@ export const determineDate = (input) => {
  * Formats a date to a human readable string with an American time format. 
  * 
  * @param input Anything that `determineDate()` understands. 
- * @param pattern Optional, defaults to `LLLL d, y h:mm a`. A [format pattern](https://date-fns.org/v2.30.0/docs/format)
- * @returns A formatted string. Example: `April 23, 2012 6:25pm`
+ * @param options Optional Intl.DateTimeFormat options, defaults to showing full month, day, year, hour and minute in 12-hour format
+ * @returns A formatted string. Example: `April 23, 2012 6:25 PM`
  * @example
- * const formatted = formatDate("2012-04-23T18:25:43.511Z")
-
+ * const formatted = formatDateTime("2012-04-23T18:25:43.511Z")
+ */
+/**
+ * @typedef {Object} DateTimeFormatOptions
+ * @property {'numeric'|'2-digit'|'long'|'short'|'narrow'} [month='long']
+ * @property {'numeric'|'2-digit'} [day='numeric']
+ * @property {'numeric'|'2-digit'} [year='numeric']
+ * @property {'numeric'|'2-digit'} [hour='numeric']
+ * @property {'numeric'|'2-digit'} [minute='2-digit']
+ * @property {boolean} [hour12=true]
  */
 
-export const formatDateTime = (input, pattern = "LLLL d, y h:mm a") => {
+export const formatDateTime = (input, /** @type {DateTimeFormatOptions} */ options = {
+    month: 'long',
+    day: 'numeric',
+    year: 'numeric',
+    hour: 'numeric',
+    minute: '2-digit',
+    hour12: true
+}) => {
     try {
         const date = determineDate(input);
-        return format(date, pattern)
+        return new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', options).format(date);
     }
     catch {
         return 'bad date object';
@@ -56,13 +70,24 @@ export const formatDateTime = (input, pattern = "LLLL d, y h:mm a") => {
  * Formats a date to a human readable string. 
  * 
  * @param input Anything that `determineDate()` understands. 
- * @param pattern Optional, defaults to `"LLLL d, y"`. A [format pattern](https://date-fns.org/v2.30.0/docs/format)
+ * @param options Optional Intl.DateTimeFormat options, defaults to showing full month, day, and year
  * @returns A formatted string. Example: `April 23, 2012`
  * @example
  * const formatted = formatDate("2012-04-23T18:25:43.511Z")
  */
-export const formatDate = (input, pattern = "LLLL d, y") => {
-    return formatDateTime(input, pattern);
+/**
+ * @typedef {Object} DateFormatOptions
+ * @property {'numeric'|'2-digit'|'long'|'short'|'narrow'} [month='long']
+ * @property {'numeric'|'2-digit'} [day='numeric']
+ * @property {'numeric'|'2-digit'} [year='numeric']
+ */
+
+export const formatDate = (input, /** @type {DateFormatOptions} */ options = {
+    month: 'long',
+    day: 'numeric',
+    year: 'numeric'
+}) => {
+    return formatDateTime(input, options);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -74,35 +99,29 @@ export const formatDate = (input, pattern = "LLLL d, y") => {
  * const formatted = formatTimeAgo("2012-04-23T18:25:43.511Z")
  */
 export const formatTimeAgo = (input) => {
-    const duration = getUnixTime(new Date()) - getUnixTime(determineDate(input));
-    const abs_dur = Math.abs(duration);
-    let message = '';
-    if (abs_dur < 60) {
-        message = Math.round(abs_dur).toString();
-        message += message == '1' ? " second" : " seconds";
-    } else if (abs_dur < 3600) {
-        message = Math.round(abs_dur / 60).toString();
-        message += message == '1' ? " minute" : " minutes";
-    } else if (abs_dur < 86400) {
-        message = Math.round(abs_dur / 3600).toString();
-        message += message == '1' ? " hour" : " hours";
-    } else if (abs_dur < 604800) {
-        message = Math.round(abs_dur / 86400).toString();
-        message += message == '1' ? " day" : " days";
-    } else if (abs_dur < 2419200) {
-        message = Math.round(abs_dur / 604800).toString();
-        message += message == '1' ? " week" : " weeks";
-    } else if (abs_dur < 31536000) {
-        message = Math.round(abs_dur / 2419200).toString();
-        message += message == '1' ? " month" : " months";
-    } else {
-        message = Math.round(abs_dur / 31536000).toString();
-        message += message == '1' ? " year" : " years";
-    }
-    if (duration < 0) {
-        message += " from now";
-    } else {
-        message += " ago";
+    const date = determineDate(input);
+    const now = new Date();
+    const diffInSeconds = (now - date) / 1000;
+    const formatter = new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat('en', { numeric: 'always' });
+
+    const intervals = [
+        { unit: 'year', seconds: 31536000 },
+        { unit: 'month', seconds: 2419200 },
+        { unit: 'week', seconds: 604800 },
+        { unit: 'day', seconds: 86400 },
+        { unit: 'hour', seconds: 3600 },
+        { unit: 'minute', seconds: 60 },
+        { unit: 'second', seconds: 1 }
+    ];
+
+    for (const interval of intervals) {
+        const value = Math.round(Math.abs(diffInSeconds) / interval.seconds);
+        if (value >= 1 || interval.unit === 'second') {
+            return formatter.format(
+                diffInSeconds > 0 ? -value : value,
+                interval.unit
+            );
+        }
     }
-    return message;
+    return formatter.format(0, 'second'); // Fallback for edge cases
 }
diff --git a/ving/docs/change-log.md b/ving/docs/change-log.md
index 55e0948d..4f04ac8d 100644
--- a/ving/docs/change-log.md
+++ b/ving/docs/change-log.md
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ outline: deep
 ### 2025-01-12
  * Removed pulumi from the project.
  * Fixed: Documentation: useVingRecord findOne docs are wrong #201
+ * refactored to use Intl instead of date-fns #204
+ * NOTE: If you are using the date formating strings in dateTime.mjs you will need to update them to use Intl instead of date-fns.
 
 ## December 2024