Confession Friday UPDATE and a Saturday SHOUT OUT

Sassy Glass Pendant

The dreaded WEEK 5, DAY 3 is history...

in the books... 

kicked to the curb... 

eatin' my dust... 

yesterday's news.  

Even threw in an hour pilates class when I finished just for grins.  

So what if I haven't moved more than 3 feet in any direction since I finished?  

I want thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and support (and Handsome Hubby for a very sweet text message).  I know it sounds like I ran a freaking marathon, but really as far as I'm concerned IT MAY AS WELL HAVE BEEN.  I will try not to get lazy sick  before I get to the end, so as not to disappoint all you awesome peeps.

And speaking of AWESOME PEEPS, meet my gorgeous friend Jules...

Taken on one of the THREE days we can actually wear a sweater AND a scarf here...

We have been friends for thirty years a LONG time... since we were giggly, goofy high school girlies and now we are just giggly, goofy grown-ups.  

ANYHOO, I happened to mention to her earlier in the week that I was facing down the 20 minute monster on Friday and she instantly piped up that she was going to come run with me... now, a twenty minute treadmill run is normally just a warm-up for Ms. P90X  but she wasn't feeling well and was sleep deprived and (despite my protests) she STILL drove 20 minutes to meet me at the gym at 8 a.m. and hopped on the treadmill next to me to cheer me on... and frankly, I am almost completely certain I might have cheated if not for her... and she did that dang pilates class with me, too. 

All I can say is I hope every single one of you have a least one friend like Jules, because really and truly, SHE ROCKS!

Guess what we did last night to celebrate with the Hubby's?

We had Skinny Margarita's, of course.

Bunco Baby!

Custom Bunco Sign

Last night was Bunco night... for those of you not familiar with this classic suburban game, it basically involves dice, money, prizes and hopefully lots of food and frivolity.  Mimi played bunco when I was growing up, it was one of the ONLY nights the entire year there was soda and candy in our house... my brother and I used to sneak around the card tables and try to grab the extras.  Considering the abundant amount of frivolity going on among the 12 women (who must have desperately needed to get out of the house), either they didn't notice or they didn't care.  

Bunco Cupcake Toppers

My bunco group has been together for 15 years now... we started as a group of mostly young moms or newlyweds, looking to meet our new neighbors and take a night off from mac and cheese and snotty noses.  Over the years we've had theme nights, baby showers, movie nights... you name it.  We've lost a few members, gained a few, but amazingly we are now back to almost our entire original group.  Most of those babies are either grown or nearly there, we've even added a couple of grandkids.  Many of us have moved to different neighborhoods and can no longer just walk down the street in search of a rollicking evening of bunco fun.  

There were a few years it seemed like it might just fade away... everyone was busy with kids and didn't have quite the same need for a night of freedom... but we've managed to hold on stronger than ever, and I so look forward to reconnecting with my old friends every month over spinach dip and M&M's.  And of course, there is always the exciting chance that I will go home a winner with a whopping $15...Mama needs a new pair of shoes!

Roll the Dice Earrings

Roll The Dice Bunco Soap

Whoop Whoop WHOOP!!!

See those smiling faces?  Happy to report the Aggies not only won, they DOMINATED.  WHOOP!  We're headed to the BIG DANCE... champs game tomorrow against the Mustangs.  

Go Aggies!

But the best part of the entire game was this picture... the girls were laying in a big pile on the floor, having their after game snack, laughing and rolling around on each other as only little girls who love their friends do... makes me smile just to look at this joyful bunch of awesome young ladies.

TGIF friends... live in the moment and enjoy the day.

TGIF Happy Dance

Grandpa Lee

My family attended a great funeral yesterday.  I know that sounds completely morbid and weird, but let me explain.  Some funerals really capture the spirit of the person being memorialized, and some just don't.  This funeral was a lovely celebration of a great man... a wonderful father, grandfather, friend, and citizen.  "Grandpa Lee" was the father of one of our dear friends, and we were lucky over the last 15 years to become his friends as well.  He always wanted my Sweet Son to end up with his oldest granddaughter... frankly, so do we but those darn kids have yet to buy into the whole arranged marriage thing.  Every time I saw Grandpa Lee over the past 10 years he would say with a wink, "You KNOW, there's a couple in our Sunday school class that have known each other since first grade and have been married for 50 years!"

Lee was an amazing woodworker.   They talked yesterday about how many beautiful things he had made for his church, family and friends... kneeling benches, podiums, display and bookcases... even a baby cradle that has been used by over 30 babies.  Years ago, Grandpa Lee gave me a stunning wood wine stopper he had made.  It is still my favorite, and I use it regularly (they say one glass a day is healthy, right?)...

Handmade Wooden Wine Stopper

I love having things in my home that remind me of people that have touched my life.  Every time I use this I will remember Grandpa Lee and that wink, "You KNOW..."