Wine, Chocolate, and Chips. Oh, My!

It's Friday, Again!  Here ends my Staycation (sadly).  I ate, drank, and was merry this week (there will be no fitness update in this post!)  I do have the weekend, but it will be just like any other... laundry, cleaning, and school work.  Bummer.  I do have one last hurrah planned tonight with friends (dinner and a movie), but then it's back to the real world (no more wine, chocolate or chips!).  So...what exciting things did I do this week?  Well, let's see...

1.  I had an awesome time hanging out with one of my oldest and dearest friends.  We had a "girls' day" that included lunch, a pedicure, and shopping.  Lunch was decadent... stuffed chicken parmesan, penne pasta, and a glass of Chablis.  SO Good!  Shopping was great fun.  I bought a dress for a wedding next month.  And the pedicure?  I don't know why I was so reluctant to get one.  It was FABULOUS.  I have trouble just sitting for any length of time, but it was SO worth it!

Yummy Lunch!

2.  I spent Wednesday with my cousin, getting our craft on.  She is getting married in September and wants a brooch bouquet.  After months of collecting pins from family and friends, she finally had enough for us to begin the process.  Thankfully, my husband was home to make some helpful suggestions and we finished putting "stems" on the pins in very little time (much less time than it would have taken without a power tool!)  We are more than half done... YAY!  At least, I think the most time consuming part is done.  The assembly "should" go a little quicker (I hope I am not jinxing myself!)

                              

Pins on the left are some of what we started with.  The "flowers" on the right are just waiting to be made into the completed bouquet :)

3.  Shopping?  Was there shopping?  Yes, yes, and yes.  I had every intention of controlling myself, but no, it did not happen.  I *needed* tea mugs for when I entertain (that one time a year when my tea drinking relatives come to visit!).  Aren't these quite nice....

They were a steal at three dollars a piece.  I did show some control.  I only bought four (In an effort to have full disclosure, that's all they had.  BUT... I have not gone to other stores in the area looking for more.  See?  Control.) 

4.  Then there were towels.  I *needed* new towels, too.  Some of mine are getting a little sketchy and need to be replaced.  Is being this happy over a new set a towels a sign of getting old?  After twenty years of being married, I could really use another bridal shower.  Stuff is just wearing out, y'all.

5.  And finally, I did do some *necessary* clothing shopping.  Last weekend, I did the big fall-winter to spring-summer clothing swap.  I was harsh with myself and got rid of four garbage bags of things that either did not fit or were just not okay anymore.  The sad reality once I was done was this... 2 pairs of pants and 3 pairs of jeans to wear to work.  That's it...No skirts, no dresses, no capris.  I did manage to find two skorts and 3 pairs of capris in my shopping travels.  Of course, there have still been white flakes falling outside, on and off, these past couple of days (Seriously, where is Spring??), so I may be regretting my new wardrobe!

Hope you had a great week..

Enjoy!

Better Now

Happy FRIDAY!!  And what is better than it being Friday?  Tomorrow, vacation starts!!  YAY!  Nine Glorious Days of being able to do what I want and when I want.  I have "big" plans for my closet, but that's about it.  I've been thinking about my last post and I want to just say, thankfully, that whole badness was not long suffered.  A little retail therapy went a long way this week, as well as the great time I had with my family on Sunday (which was probably the trigger for the down slide).  So... this week in a nut shell...

1.  Sunday was Greek Easter and my brother and sister-in-law resurrected a past family tradition.  The kids had personalized plastic eggs to search for, complete with clues, that led them to their Easter gifts.  It brought back such great memories of being with my grandparents and the Easter egg hunts we had annually.  The eggs below?  My parents had saved the eggs (because one should never get rid of anything...you just never know when you will need it) and now a new tradition is being established.  A great time was had by all.  Even my kids, who are older, thought it was great fun!

 2.  As I mentioned last week, we've had tons to celebrate over the past few weeks.  My husband and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday.  Yikes!  Where did that time go?!  We had a quiet night at home, but the plan is to go out for a nice dinner this weekend :)

 

The cake I brought for dessert on Sunday.  Yum!

3.  I "had" to do some shopping this week.  I am sick of my winter clothes and I have "nothing" for this in-between time.  It is time to pack up the sweaters and heavy weight clothes.  Next season please!  I had a very nice time poking around Kohl's and I ended up getting about six tops.  I wore this one yesterday :)

So cute and super flattering!!

My next mission is pants and/or capris.  I hate shopping for those items, so I am going to wait to see what's in the spring/summer-wear boxes that are in the attic before I go torture myself (let's hope there's something up there that will work!)

4.  In my travels I came across these...

I talked myself out of getting them because I really don't need something else around here to put wine in (I have SO many glasses already!), but I think these are very fun.  I love the "Drinks Well With Others", because well, I do!  I haven't completely walked away from them yet because I have a gift card that is burning a hole in my wallet.  I may have to go back to the store and "force" myself to get them :)

5.  Planning on loving, appreciating, and living each moment of the next week because...

This?  This is a true story!

      

Happy Friday, everyone! 

Spiraling Down

       There are times that I can't seem to move beyond it.  I still don't write about it often, but it's been a year and a half.  It's not like it used to be (gut wrenching badness), but there are those times.... I can't predict what will bring it on.  Holidays, songs, seeing your daughter, etc, those I know are true triggers.  But then, out of the blue, I feel like I am lying flat on my back, totally wiped out.  I miss you, Girl.  I still can't imagine "forever" without you.  Your godson just turned 15.  I miss you, for him.  Your daughter just turned 9.  I miss you,  for her.  I am going through the motions of life. I miss you,  for me.  It's not the past that I dwell on.  It's the future.  It's the future you don't have.  The one I don't we don't get to share with you.  I've thought about you alot these last few weeks.  You seem to always be on my mind.  I've wanted to call you, laugh with you, just "catch up".  It's kind of bizarre.  You'd think it would be "better", but deep down, it's not.  Just putting it out there, because.... I have to put it somewhere...

I still miss you, my friend.

    

Good! And you?

How are things?  It's been a while!!  As always, when things get crazy, my blogging takes a back seat (in spite of my good intentions!)  Anywho... Thought I'd pop in to catch up a little bit and maybe motivate myself to get back on track.

1) Last week I started the Jillian Michaels Beginner Shred.  I was really loving the extra exercise but I took a break for the weekend (Easter happened) and haven't gotten back to it yet.  (It's been one of "those" weeks!)  Hoping to start again over the weekend!

2) In other fitness news.... The end of March brought the end of the LONGEST month EVER!!  I am still working my way through 2,015 miles for 2015.  Three months in and I am proud to say that I have continued to reach my monthly goals.  Total miles thus far: Jan -181.3, Feb - 152.9, and March 170.2.  For a grand total of: 504.4 miles so far this year!

 

3) Last Thursday, the third grade at my school had exciting things happening!  Just in time for Easter, all their chicks hatched!  My kindergartners were so excited to take a "field trip" down the hall for a visit :)  This little guy was the only yellow one.  The rest were all Rhode Island Reds and Dominiques.  The "peep, peep, peep" sound was the cutest thing ever!  I will happily take any signs of spring.  I am SO over this winter!

4) Our Easter weekend started on Friday night with Egg Coloring.  My aunt is a brave woman!  We all bombed into her house for the big event.  Good food, good company, and ten kids, ranging from ages ten down to two...A great time was had by all!  I hosted Easter on Sunday... 17 people for dinner and 21 for supper.  It was a busy, crazy day and I wouldn't change it for the world!  I am, however, still recovering... looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

    

5) In the midst of all this... My kids also had their birthdays.  My Girlie turned 18 on Saturday and Bubba was 15 on Tuesday.  Since this Sunday is Greek Easter and we are going to my brother and sister-in-law's to celebrate with her family, we decided to get one cake to celebrate all the special events in April.  Life is just one big party right now!!