Great Day To Be Alive

"Great Day To Be Alive" Travis Tritt

*this song will probably have 98% of you rushing for your mute button :)

It was a wonderful, busy, nonstop weekend. I have been going.going.going. since Friday and it has been so good for me. All the stresses of "this part of the cycle" seemed less trying and complicated. We still have another day (or 2) before ending this part and beginning the two week wait, but I am thankful for the past few days filled with many blessings.

I think I found the recipe for the perfect weekend.

Friday...started with a walk into town with Kelly and Chloe. It was muggy but we found shade and a nice breeze at our outside table at lunch.

Me and Chloe keepin' cool.

Since our lunch of the saddest and skimpiest quesadillas known to man, turned out to be a bust, we decided we deserved a round of raspberry truffle ice cream cones for our walk back.  The 90 degree weather quickly had them melting down our hands, leaving them as sticky as our clothes were to our body, but it was worth it!

Me and Kelly

Steve and I went to visit our friends, Jen and Sean at their new house. We sat outside on their deck all night, sipping wine, chatting away and eating (of course)...It was one of the best homemade dinners we've had in a while! Grilled steaks and crab cakes were on the menu. They are fantastic cooks...I felt guilty when all we had to do was bring the wine and dessert. Especially, when a chef like me (KIDDING) brings cookies from a grocery store bakery section and a tub of ice cream :)

Sean Steve and Jen. Cheers to great food and even greater friends.

Jen and I

I woke up Saturday a lil' groggy from the Friday night wine but well rested and ready to take on some major cleaning. My boss asked me last month if I could fill in for him while he took some much needed time off. I decided to try and be Superwoman and take on every single office on Saturday (all 8 of them). I was hot and sweaty but as each office got checked off, I felt more determined to get them all done. Steve even met to help with the trash at the last two offices so I could be over and done with it. *major points for him :)

I came home with such a feeling of accomplishment, even if all I did was take out trash, vacuum and dust all day...it was done. The night was still young, Steve and I had "taken care of business" in the morning and I didn't have to worry about it. I got ready in all of the ten minutes I had, and headed with my Mom to celebrate my friend, Jessica's 30th birthday.

Me Jessica and Mom

Jessica and Mom

Me and Jessica

Me and Mom with the beautiful birthday girl

I came home, showered and crawled into bed with my snoring husband. It's funny because last week I envisioned this weekend being so stressful, knowing all we had going on, all the cleaning I signed up for...all the baby makin' we had to take care of...but I felt so calm and I actually fell right to sleep.

Sunday I spent the day with Jessica. We have been planning a day of pedicures and brunch for what seems like forever and we finally got to take a day and enjoy. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful weekend. Forget about the food, the relaxing pedicures, the spending hours and hours in stores just to oohhh and ahh over everything and get hit on by a creepy man, the $16 matching cowgirl boots we found in both our sizes...those are all moments I treasure. But the best, is being able to really catch up without catching up at all. To be able to talk about anything and everything and forget about all that we have going on in our lives. And just enjoy each other's company. That to me...is really what this whole weekend was about. Seizing the day. Living. Loving. Realizing that when you count and spend time with your blessings, it really does help to put things into perspective and wash all your worries away.

Me and Jessica *"take 1" of about 25 pictures...this song is her favorite, btw ;)

Our yum yum brunch...(now that's what I call a quesadilla!!)

Our summertime pedicures (why is my frankenfoot all bargin' in on her flip flop? LOL)

I came home Sunday night and Steve was smiling...sitting with a cold beer and playing video games. He asked, "So, did you have fun this weekend"...
Yes.I.did.
It might seem odd. Odd that we were lucky enough to have our "trying time" fall on a weekend...a weekend where baby makin' might be all we would be thinking about at this point in our journey. But, it isn't. There have been SO many times that we have put so much pressure on ourselves to try and make it "special"...romantic...not as stressful...
And you know what, if a weekend not spent completely together and instead, spent giving ourselves some time to relax and do things we enjoy...even if separated, is what does the trick.
Then, so be it.

It wasn't all so glamorous.  There were cats jumping on the bed.  There were small moments "the seargent" came out in me...but compared to months past...
This time was different.
Good different.

Because every once in a while, I think it is healthy to step away from it all. Remember that we both deserve to not "let it dictate our lives every single day"...as Steve always says.

I'm not going to sit here and say that in the next few days and next week, that I'm going to be all calm, cool and collected.  I don't think Steve is either.  But at least each month, we are noticed changes...ones that are teaching us new lessons and bringing us closer to our goal.  I woke up yesterday feeling like, "today is going to be a good day"... and it was.  I didn't let the thoughts of the upcoming 2 week wait drag me down.  Instead, I met up with Kelly for a sweltering, entertaining and stress relieving walk in the park.  We took on the 5 mile trail and at the end, though our clothes were drenched and we were dying for a cold beverage...we were so happy we did it.
We took a minute to cool off in a log cabin filled with fake wooden guns.
Of course, we couldn't resist a few goofy pictures.

Shooter Kel'

and me...with obviously no clue how to shoot a rifle LOL

Kelly and I


We cooled off afterwards at the mall food court. We resisted taco bell and went for two giant chilled sodas and gabbed away. Okay, I totally had a 40 oz. diet coke (shreeeeek...hey, there was a lot of ice in there)
I helped my mom clean out my grandmother's basement and added some more grit and grime (and cobwebs) to my already scary look. I came home, scrubbed the sweat of the day away in the shower and thought to myself..."tomorrow will be another good day...be thankful for it...because the next few might be more trying"...

So here it is...Tuesday. In a few days, the crazies are gonna make their way in. I'm not being negative...I'm being realistic. But maybe, just maybe they won't be so bad. As I write this post and look at all the pictures from the past few days, I'm truly reminded of all that is good in my life. One of my favorite aspects of this blog is that I get to pour my soul out in words...not just through my beloved pictures.

Today's pictures show a world of indulgent foods, foot rubs, celebrations, shopping, walks with friends, and pure happiness. It looks "pretty sweet"...but what I'm more in love with is the bittersweetness of it all. The realness of it.  The fact that it isn't all sugary sweet.  The fact that there is pain, tears and trying days. The fact that through all the unexpected detours life takes...there's always time to savor these moments, these loves...ones that I know I can always count on in my life.

"And it's a great day to be alive
I know the suns still shinin' when I close my eyes
There's some hard times in the neigborhood
But why can't every day be just this good?"

Hope everyone has a Happy Tuesday Night.
Whatever path you take, may it bring you peace at the end of the day.

Lots of Tuesday Love,