I'm Excited that You're Excited

Remember long ago when I wrote of my estranged friend?? I honestly don't recall how far I ever made it with that story... but, for now we're picking up in the present. Tonight I went to a party at her house, but only after much debate. I was slightly anxious as I would be reunited with some members of her family. Some that I haven't seen in almost a decade but knew well growing up. Like family. I'm glad I went. The atmosphere was right for this type of meeting and it was really good to see them. Lots of hugs all around.

When I came home - which was about an hour later than anticipated being I had planned a quick escape prior to going - BigCat was fast asleep. He did, however, rise to the occasion (what? my coming home isn't an occasion?) long enough to hear my excitement... about cleaning products. See, it wasn't just a party, it was a Norwex "party". I could hardly contain myself when I was given a sample of this environmentally friendly, good for your health laundry detergent and two "rags" to try on my way out. For the first time in... well, let me see... forever, I was incredibly eager to clean. So much so that I tried one rag on the windshield of my car before leaving the party and a different on a few spots on the carpet walking into my house. Awesome.

I just don't get why BigCat wasn't excited about the rags too! But, I was really glad that he sleepily claimed to be excited about my excitement. :-)

The Camera's Take

Wah?!? Two posts in one day?? I know, but this time, I let the photos speak.

Lunch Gabber

Just wanted to let you know a couple of things. One, I went back to the doctor on Tuesday for an x-ray to see whether the two stents had passed. My mom and I had high hopes for a clean bill of health and a fun lunch date ahead. We were wrong. Instead, I was checked-in, IV'd, put under and had a tube shoved down my throat. One of the two had not passed on its own. On a high note, I'm hoping this helps to relieve the pain I continue to feel. I was very disappointed the beginning of this week when my pain was back, as it was before, but worse... it lasted all day now instead of coming and going. What was I thinking signing myself up for so much?!?!

Secondly, I wanted to let you know that tonight is the night of the dreaded dinner date with my recently reconnected, formerly estranged, friend. I say dreaded because the anxiety is a bit on the high end. I think overall it will be very good... just gotta get past this first one! I will keep you posted as to how it turns out in the end.

That's all for now folks!

Sarammary

Pronunciation: \ˈsā-rə-mə-rē\
1: covering the main points of Sarah's life expeditiously
2: coincidentally misinterpreted as Sarah Marie

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I've been at a loss for blogs lately, but not due to a mundane life on the couch. In the midst of my chaotic week, I attempted to write a couple of times, only to be left with scattered, disconnected sentences and an overwhelmed feeling from facing the many stories I wanted to share. Now, it's been long enough that I could never go into great detail about everything without boring any reader to sleep. Instead, I present a small slide show summary to recap. It's really the only reasonable way to get caught up, and it's important that I do so with the upcoming happenings.



Not pictured: A working BigCat (as of a week ago), Aegis Girls outing (always goes too fast), The Big T-Oh T-Party (our friend T, turned 30... get it? {birds chirping}), Superbowl sleep (I just didn't care), success with stress at work (being a little anxious prior seems to help with the task at hand).

Something Old, Something New

Some of you may recall a blog I wrote a while back concerning an estranged friend. It was clear in my writing that I was still angry, after years of hurt, confusion, and questions gone unanswered. At that time, I was convinced that I would not give the time of day to this person, not again in this lifetime.

However, about a month ago I received a note from her. A note of apology. A number of conversations later we are on our way back towards friendship. Something I never thought possible. I am still bewildered by how far a heartfelt, truthful apology can go. If someone had told me prior to this that I would forgive her someday, I would have laughed in their face.

Well, I am not laughing... I am smiling. I have decided that forgiveness is better than carrying the burden of anger any longer. Something big has been lifted from me, and for that I am grateful. And to top it off, I may have gained a friend... an old friend in a new way.

A-new

Three days in, and I'm feeling optimistic about 2009. We started the new year out at our friend's, Trason's, playing games, laughing, eating and drinking into the new year. The 1st day of '09 was a relaxing one at home when I was surprised by an estranged friend contacting me... after about 8 years, talk about unexpected! The 2nd day was an ultra-productive day in the cube with it being so quiet in the office. After all my hard work I decided to unwind by inviting a girlfriend over to chat while we wet our palate with a bottle of wine. This morning, we loaded up the Bird and headed to her place, where he and Hunter (his senior 2 week and 2 day BFF) played for hours.

I can't imagine BigCat has much for complaints these first few days either. He's mostly been fishing, and even catching a few here and there. A little break from being Mr. Mom which is very different than his usual day job.

This past year has flown right on by. So many big changes in our lives - some welcomed, some not - with the Bird being the most exceptional. With all of his growth as we enter into the new year he earned himself a new blog name (he's hardly a lil' bird anymore):

Meet Bubba

Soderama

Having a nice big yard was our first reason for moving out to Z-town and after a little over 3 years since the big move, we finally have it! I couldn't be happier about this.

Thank you to everyone who helped us with this considerable project (although I know they're not all avid LL readers). It literally would not have been possible without the help we received from family and friends. And not only did they provide excellent help, they made the day a much more momentous one for us.

BigCat finally has a happy wifey with her long awaited lawn. I'm feeling revived and much less overwhelmed by the yard tasks up next. I think the following projects will be more fun and rewarding. It's amazing the difference a zillion green blades of grass make... check it out!!

Blast from the Past

Tonight I learned a few things. Firstly, that the neighbor across the way is a CPHS alumni along with BigCat and myself. I decided to dig up my old yearbook; I was a sophomore the year the neighb graduated. We looked up our sweater vested fellow man and ourselves before I proceeded to read through some of the year-end good-bye's:

"had a blast"
"so glad we met"
"call me this summer so we can get together"
"good luck in softball"
"glad we're still friends"
"congrats on the big K"
"good game last night, especially that at bat that you K'ed"
"see ya K queen"
"Strikeout queen"
"good strike out yesterday"
"I hear you struck out last night, good job"

In short, I also learned that I struck out the night before yearbooks were distributed. Thanks boys (yes, the last 6 were boy-voyages) for the reminder. I would have never kept that as a part of my teenage-year recollection, but I sure will now.

Sun~n~Sand

The Bird and I went to the beach today with our friends Heather and Hunter. We had such a great time! We went for a little stroll, ate lunch, played and swam. As soon as we got in the water, The Bird had company... little Allie was 4, or 3, but she thought 4, and took a liking to him right away. She tooled around with The Bird in tow and they both had a great time. Turns out she really likes babies, and thought he was so cute, and The Bird really likes little girls, so it worked out well for everyone involved. So cute. Already the older women are after him!

It was a perfect day: beautiful weather, good company and lots of smiles. He fell fast asleep on the way home and is peacefully napping now. I love it all.

I so wish I could upload the pictures...

Vacation Nation

An ' I loved' list about LE vacation 2008:

Family
Good Friends
Sunshine
Naps
Hold 'Em (even if I am purely a donor)
Wake boarding
Reading (only 1/4 of one book)
Floating
Peanut's QT with Gma, Gpa and Uncle K
Lots of cute kiddies
Drinks
Fishing
Uh-oh
Cheek squeezing
Laughing
Light chatting
Deep convos
Jimisms (gotta love Jimbo)
Bean bag tourney (even if it meant taking out my entire family)
Waving bye-bye
No make-up
Good eating
New LE gang members
Nothingness
Lightening bugs
Hats
Saturday night social hour
Michael Jordan ring
Babysitters (especially that Jo Jo)
Fish fry
Cold beer

I am attempting to continue my summer love... I brought my chair, towel, hat and book to the deck today and soaked up about 10 minutes of rays. I'm hoping to make the transition back to real life as easy as possible.

WEDnesDAY

Today has been, and will continue to be, a good day.

Peanut and I dropped Kalli off at the beauty shop, then went for a walk down by the lake. I love that about where we live, the right amount of city and the right amount of country. We've never walked down there together before, it was so nice seeing the water, hearing the birds and feeling the sunshine. Perfect. Even better, we ran into a nice little park where Peanut got to swing for the first time... he loved it! Big smiles and giggles the entire time (here's a perfect place in which I could share a picture). We headed home in time for lunch and a nap.

It's mid-afternoon now and we're getting ready to head out again. Peanut gets to hang out with Grandpa and Grammy, BigCat and I get to go to a wedding! My girlfriend is getting married, and I'm so happy to be sharing in this beautiful day with her and her almost hubby. This may be the only WEDnesDAY wedding in my life. Congrats K & R!!

Summer Fun

That was quite the break I had from blogland! Where does the time seriously go?!? I was asked on more than one occasion this weekend what I've been up to. First response... Peanut! He is totally on the move, crawling, climbing, standing, playing... wow, he turned into a little boy so darn fast! What's next, high school graduation??

Speaking of which, we went to BigCat's cousin's grad party yesterday, had fun catching up with the fam and eating lots from the delish spread. Afterwards we went to a bbq to meet up with all of my girls, their men and lots of kiddies. It's so fun to be at this age, with more lil' ones being added to the brood in droves. And this day of fun followed the best part of the entire weekend, my friend's reception in lieu of her wedding vows shared in Mexico a couple of months ago. So much fun to hang out with so many friends, from near and far. Definitely one of the best times I've had at a wedding reception (although, those who know me well are aware that I LOVE all weddings and am always in my prime).

Sunday Funday, BigCat trolled out to do some fishing and Peanut and I stayed home, playing, picking up and recovering from the last two crazy days in any way we can before the new work week starts. Ahhh, the joys of summer.

Whew!

Another weekend has flown right by before me! Let's see... Friday night BigCat and I laid low, just hung out with Peanut and went to bed fairly early. Oh, and I visited Gold's Gym (snide remark here about their poor business strategy or lack of one). Saturday, BigCat impressed me much. It was my turn to sleep past the Peanut hour (we each get one day on the weekend off morning duty if it works out) and by the time I woke, he had the whole house dusted and vaccuumed. The topper? He also washed windows! Wow. This left me time to go to Goldie's to sweat a bit, do some cleaning and hit up my usuals, Cub and Target. Whew, productive! And finally, Sunday, which was one of the l.on.g.e.s.t days, but only because we did so much in it. I was up at 6 with Peanut (after a measley 4.5 hours of sleep), got a bunch of stuff ready for the day, went to Goldie's, home to get ready because at noon my fam was coming over for a little BBQ and Peanut-fix. We ate, caught up and played some bean bags. Late afternoon we all pretty much left together as BigCat and I headed down to Shakopee. He was invited to Raceway Park for the Nascar races, dinner and beer through work. It ended up being more fun than we expected, and it was a lovely evening to sit out and watch the show.

Today I get to work late, then I have our bi-monthly dinner with my girlfriends. I love these get-togethers. However, I can hardly wait to crawl into bed tonight, I'm wiped out!

Beautiful

Our beautiful view

The beautiful bride and groom
A few of the beauties

Safe & Sound

Just wanted to let Blogland know that I'm home again, safe and sound. I had a great time in Mexico with my lesbian lover, AD. You didn't know this about me?? Well, that's because it's far from true, obviously. After moving into our first hotel room we soon heard the clank, clank, clank
of dishes being washed in the hall outside our room and the entire floor smelled of steakhouse. I called and said nah-ah. So, we were moved to a couple's hotel where we were 'that couple'. You could see it in everyone's eyes, the interest of knowing our story. Anyway, the hotel was very nice and outside of doing way too much traveling, our trip was awesome. I will get some pics posted this weekend sometime.

The wedding was beautiful... Congratulations again Tre and Jason!! I'm so happy I was able to be a part of the festivities.

Coming home was a huge highlight... being away makes me realize how much I love my "real life" and how great it is being here.