Best Weekend in Ages

On Friday, my good friend Paul came to visit with me all afternoon. We went to the bagel shoppe (the greatest saving grace of this town), drove around, and went to the local Goodwill (where I made the bargain purchase of the century, but had to leave it behind for the afternoon because Paul's brand new Mazda was too small). We sat around and chatted and laughed before he had to go to Greensboro to pick his sister up from the airport.

I can't express how thankful I am that he was willing to take the time out of his busy vacation to come see me. He just finished up AF Tech School, and is driving to Las Vegas as I write this. I probably won't see him again for years.

My darling Sigma Alpha Iota sister, "Captain" Anna Morgan showed up around 5:30. She followed me to the Goodwill where I picked up my purchase from earlier in the day-- a 3 piece dinette with an L-shaped bench, table, and additional bench all for $60. I was so thrilled about this purchase!! With the help of the excellent employees, we loaded the almost-too-large set into the back of my pick-up truck. I did a little fancy roping to secure things and we were on our way! Upon arriving home, we discovered something. The L-bench was TOO BIG for my kitchen. In all my excitement, it had not crossed my mind that this item might not fit! We twisted it and turned it, trying everything imaginable. Alas, at some point it's going to have to go somewhere else. Maybe I can save it for 20 years from now, when we might be able to convert our garage into a real dining room... or something. In the 5ish years that I've known Anna, she's been with me through thick and thin. When stupid things were done, we had one another's backs. We were car trip buddies, band buddies, and secret sisters :)

Around 7:30, my old friend Graci and her husband showed up. As far as my Army Brat upbringing is concerned... Graci and I go waaaaaaay back. Like, all the way to junior high. Seeing as how I was 13 then, and I'll be 26 in July, that's half my life! A long time for me to know somebody. We were roommates during the 2001-2002 schoolyear at good ol' Bob Jones University... the year of the blue jeans! We saw each other through good, bad, and hysterical times. 4 years later, we went to an old friend's wedding together in Elko, Nevada-- I made the wedding cake. I'll tell that story in another post. We talked and planned our own weddings on the drive to Salt Lake City... a three hour drive with wide flat lanes, 80mph speed limits, and a million exits with NO SERVICES. I don't think we were ever so thankful for a McDonald's in all our lives! A year later, I was in Georgia making Graci's wedding cake. 2 years later, Graci drove from Georgia to attend my wedding. Now, 13 years from the beginnnig of our journey together, Graci and her husband are preparing to join the US Army. Again, who knows when we will be able to see one another after this? I feel blessed that she stopped here on her way to Pennsylvania!

It was also the night of the big Battlestar Galactica finale. I don't care what anybody else has to say about it. It's one of the best shows I've ever watched in my life. And I've never loved a female actress the way I love Katee Sackhoff. The finale was 2 hours long, which provided time for all my speculating-- one of my favorite activities :) It managed to tie up some loose ends, but not too many. There were a few "happily every afters." There were some really sad scenes. And most importantly, there were mysteries left.

The ladies and I stayed up entirely too late, just catching up, sharing some gossip, and laughing a lot. It was a great night.

After everybody left on Saturday, I took a nap. God knows I needed one! Then, Samuel and I loaded up the stroller and went for a nice walk, followed by a great Mass. That night... Samuel screamed his head off and refused to sleep until 10:30. This doens't sound late to most people, but since we like to be in bed between 9 and 9:30, it was cramping our style. We have come to the conclusion that Samuel must truly be starting the teething process.

Awesome.

After waking me so many times that Jeremy offered to take a turn, I wound up sleeping on the recliner in the living room with Samuel at about 4:30. When Samuel decided that he was officially ready to be up and about at 9:00 (too early for me, all things considered!), Jeremy was gracious and took Samuel till 12:30 and let me get some much-needed sleep. While I slept, Jeremy entertained Samuel, went to the store, cleaned out the fridge, and started a pizza in the oven. Now he's at the school, trying to get some work done so that we can actually see each other this week.

I'm in a better mood than I have been on a Sunday in weeks. I feel quite blessed :)