Tuesday February 14, 2012

sounds silly to say, but i’m on a just-spent-time-with-a-dear-friend-from-faraway-high.
indeed.
when you have not seen one of your life’s ‘been-in-my-life-the-longest, dearest’ friends in 6 plus years, one does tend to get a leeetle excited.
and, sleep deprived.
after a brief brainstorming and excited text-messages, and thanks to the very kind accommodations of a very sweet couple, it came together.
mind you.
i do NOT make it a habit to be seen at 3 o’clock in the morning by ANYONE, but for this, i arose.
when your dear friend travels 12 hours from the south to come spend a whirlwind weekend with you, who really cares about bed head and puffy eyes?
it was for me, a GIFT.
a gift after a month and a half of so much sickness and disappointment.
a gift that felt surreal.
a gift i will remember with fondness for forever.

when you have a friend who is okay with your 3 am appearance, you know it’s okay to stay in your pj’s til at least noon.
coffee, cinnamon buns and moving from the table to the couch was about all we got done from 8 to at least 12.
in fact, when my husband and son came home from running to the bank and barbershop, he could not believe we were no further along than that.
‘at’s okay.
he’s pretty laid back and forgiving and accommodating like that.
so after slapping some food on the table for lunch, we hit the road, to take in a few of my favorite haunts…and, of course, i forgot my camera.
oh well. i’ve got the memories in my braincells.
we browsed Pottery Barn Outlet, and then headed to Goodwill.
herein i must insert another high.
(upon completing our shopping, and while standing in line to check out, i spotted what i thought was a pair of UGGS under the glass counter. really? the likelihood of that being true? come on. not very.
well.
guess again.
i could not believe my eyes when the clerk handed the boots to me when i asked to see them.
my size?
yep.
reasonable price?
considering they don’t stop at $120 or more new, i thought $24.97 was pretty stinking good.
you must understand that i do not ‘love’ shoe shopping.
of course i wear shoes, but, boots.
i LOVE boots.
and, i’ve been wishing for a pair of UGGS for a while.
kept my eye on E-bay and Craigslist to no avail.
just a couple of weeks ago, when Tim and i were out, i peeked at a pair at the mall that were $170-something.
ha.
that’s like more than my allowance for shoes for a couple of years!
so.
if i got the ones at Goodwill?
uh, yes!!!

my feet have been so happy since then.
actually, truth-be-told, my feet have been so WARM since then!
which is a big deal here.
this girl ALWAYS has cold feet.
and these UGGS?
i’m not kidding.
they were barely worn. if at all.)

ok.
that was a bit of a bunny trail.
our next stop was of course, Starbucks.
and, since it was snowing and blowing and actually getting quite nasty out, it completely hit the spot.
we had planned to check out one more place, but the weather was just bad enough that i was unsure of whether or not we should head on our way, and when i asked my hubs, he said no.
so….that was the end of our time out.
but, seriously.
we made up for a lot of lost time that day.
i think every time we stopped at a store, we’d sit in the van talking for a while before we’d get out.
and, after supper, when everyone else was in bed?
we were up talking til 11:30.
with church the next day, and her having to head south again, we figured a leetle sleep might not be a bad idea.
thankfully, i did remember to take one picture while she was here…to document our being together for the first time in so many years.

it must not go that long again.
must not!
i was so thankful for her being spontaneous, and for her husband’s being willing to let her go, and for my husband’s being willing to let me have the time with her…without our husbands support and encouragement, i don’t think it’s an understatement to say this might not have happened.
and, to Clarita and her husband and family for being willing and able to bring her from the south; so grateful i am!

**********
yesterday was another one of the many days during this year where we are still battling colds.
combined with my lack of sleep from the weekend, i did not accomplish a whole lot.
i think i colored 4 pictures with Ava in the afternoon to be exact.

of course, things like laundry and food prep happened in there too, but, other than the normal, everyday, it was low key ’round here.

^^walking home from school yesterday..

^^this young son of ours is going to have a birthday this Sunday. i can hardly believe i only have a few more days of his being 7.

*************

it’s Valentine’s Day, isn’t it?
we don’t have big plans here…but, i do have a nice supper plan in mind.
and, a gift for my dearest.
and, to show you how ALL of my children look on this Valentine’s Day in 2012….

no, i am not carrying triplets; i just happen to have 3 ultrasound pictures and figured it would be easier to let them each hold one than to have them fight over who gets to hold one.

^^the little squirt.
i’ll be 20 weeks in 2 days?!
yay for that!
at our ultrasound appointment last week, we could not get the little one to move out of it’s very comfortable position and so…we have to go back next month for another ultrasound.
not to find out what ‘it’ is, but to get some of the pictures the doctors need for their records.
even though it’s kind of a bother to have another ultrasound done, it’s also rather fun to get to ‘see’ the wee one again.

***********
i’ll be back soon to tell you about our Valentine’s Day van.
and, the menu i’m making for tonight…
til then?
y’all have a Lovely Valentine’s Day!
♥~Rachel