Old friends, new friends

I cannot believe my last post was 3 weeks ago.

3 weeks!

Part of the problem is, when you come back from vacation, you are so tired and overwhelmed with laundry and re-adjusting back to your normal life that there isn't time to even think about blogging.

And also, you might just get a call from friends whom you haven't seen in ten years (quite literally, ten years) , and they might tell you that they will be driving through your town, on the very night that you fly home.

And of course you will tell them that you will be delighted for them to stop by, if they can find it within themselves to ignore your dusty house wherein you have not set foot for over a week.

So that's what happened. Our plane touched down at 11 p.m. I lugged my carry-ons and a suitcase and a very sleepy Savannah outside where we waited for the Park and Fly bus to take us to our car. (And lest you wonder why my hubby was not there to greet us, he was in NYC on a business trip. A business trip that involved a dinner cruise around Manhatten and a trip to the Hamptons. A trip full of seafood and steak.)

We finally arrived at home at midnight exactly. I put Savannah to bed, and then called my friends to see how far away they were.

They were somewhere in Arizona, I think, and with embarrassed voices they admitted to me that they had forgotten about the time change. Then they further divulged that they had left late anyway, and wouldn't be there until 2:30 in the morning.

Well, no problem. I was already all hyped up from traveling, so it didn't matter to me. As a matter of fact, I got SO much done in those two hours that I was waiting for them. I threw in a load of laundry. Emptied all of the suitcases and bags. Cleaned the house a little. Lit some candles and threw open the back door for the breeze to blow in, and just enjoyed the quiet. I haven't felt that productive in a long time - I should try the late-night cleaning binge more often. I even contemplated making an apple pie for the following day, but just as I was preparing to peel a bowl of apples, they pulled in the driveway.

It was so worth it. It's wonderful when you pick up right where you left off, even if it has been 10 years. And they have two of the most beautiful kids. Just look at that glorious hair.



It's good to have friends. Both old friends, and...

New friends! A huge highlight of my Indiana trip was meeting these two ladies....Amanda and Wendi.

I knew Amanda lived near my hometown, so I knew a get-together with her would very likely happen during one of my trips, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would ever get to meet Wendi. But because she is smart and thinks ahead, she did some googling and found out that she lives 4 hours from my folks. And that if we both just drove two hours, we would find ourselves in a great little town which would be the perfect meeting place.

Perfect because, for one thing, it had a Panera Bread. I had never been to a Panera, because they have not had the foresight to come to my little town yet.

But after eating there just once, I do believe there is no better place to meet bloggy friends than a Panera Bread.

Soup. Salad. Bread, big warm hunks of bread. Wonderful conversation. The day could not have gone any better. Ladies, I am so thrilled to have met you, and only wish our time could have lasted longer.

I've had some late nights recently working on some blog designs. I am absolutely loving it, even more than I thought I would, but it is terribly time-consuming. So if I haven't been by to visit you recently, that's why. I'm sorry. I hope to get faster at this as I go along, but we'll see.

And I also want to especially thank Mama Belle and Missy, my first actual clients since I started this. They took a chance on me, having never really seen anything I'd designed before. So...thank you!