MAMACADABRA

It has been a wicked good week.  One in which so much was going on that it was barely possible to take showers or make meals.  We were on the run all week but for such fun reasons.  Let me share the highlights…

Monday was my littlest little girl’s first Brownie meeting.  As you’ll recall I was roped into (i.e. I volunteered) being the troop leader for each of my girl’s troops.  And yes I do see the word “fool” written across my forehead.  Thank you for pointing it out to me.  We had our first meeting and I felt unprepared and, to be honest, unqualified to fill such a role.  I sometimes feel like I’m playing dress-up in an adult world and I went into this meeting feeling more like a kid , remembering my days as a Brownie, than a leader.  As I was preparing for all of the girls and their moms to arrive something dawned on me.  The badges that I worked so hard to acquire as a little girl?  The ones that seemed so difficult to achieve?  Umm…I get to decide when the girls have taken the proper steps to get them.  Meaning…the pressure I’d been putting upon myself to have these incredibly organized and “Girl Scout approved” troop activities?  I was putting that pressure on myself.  Nobody else was expecting a grandiose experience.  After that realization I was able to relax and enjoy our meeting.  It was so fun to see my littlest little girl interact with the six other girls in her troop.  Tomorrow I get to do it all over again with my oldest little girl.

Wednesday was my anniversary.  In the past few months I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting about the things that make me happy and the things that don’t.  Because there just isn’t time for the things that don’t.  During that time I’ve become very aware of how much I really like my husband.  As my husband, yes, but also as just a guy.  He’s pretty great.

It was Wednesday, so it wasn’t easy to get home from a long day of work and feel excited about getting gussied up for dinner, but that’s exactly what we did.  I threw on a tangerine cocktail dress I hadn’t worn in years and a vintage fur I’d worn to my wedding.  I hadn’t worn it since.  My husband was still in a suit from work.  We went to our favorite restaurant, the best Italian in town, and it was the most relaxing and fabulous meal.  As we walked out to the car a guy in an apartment above the restaurant yelled out his window “you look GREAT!”  I turned and yelled “thanks!”  He said “I love it when a broad gets dressed up to go out to dinner.”  I said “it’s our anniversary!”  He yelled “happy anniversary!” and we hopped in the car.  The truth is…we did look great.  And furthermore?  After some very tumultuous years, and some good ones, our relationship looks great.  I’m so excited to see what this next year of marriage will bring.

For years my husband has been attending an event for work and telling me how great it is.  Each year I’m inundated with texts about how amazing it is and how next year we need to buy me a ticket so I can go too.  My husband is in the architectural department of an interior design firm.  Each year firms throughout the cities create fashions out of design materials and they are presented in a fashion show.  Wallpaper, carpet samples, window coverings, etc.  This year my husband was one of two models from his firm along with his colleague Tee.  Aych and I attended some of the pre-event happy hours and then the fashion show.  It.  Was.  Crazy.  My husband and Tee were barely recognizable.  The designers in his office did such an amazing job of transforming them.  I spent the evening telling people to whom I was introduced that my husband is a model (who wouldn’t?).  They won the People’s Choice Award for their costumes (obviously!).  It was the coolest event and I had so much fun.  And…ahem…I got to pull that fur out again which is, seriously, my new favorite thing.

Last night we took our little girls to the Justin Bieber concert.  You heard that right.  Justin.  Bieber.

My husband and I, our two girls, my girlfriend Eh, and her son, all went to see Justin Bieber.  It was the second concert we’ve taken our little girls to see.  Last year we took them to see Taylor Swift.  During that concert my oldest little girl sang and danced and my littlest little girl fell asleep.  This concert was a different story.  It was such a well done show and the girls were completely engaged.  Singing along to every single song and enduring the shrill screams of the older girls that surrounded us.  It was a blast to see them enjoy it so much and it brought me back to the New Kids on the Block (you’ll be sad if you don’t follow that link…I promise) concerts my mom brought me to.

After letting our girls sleep-in for as long as they possibly could we set off for our annual trip to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch.  For more than ten years our group of friends has headed 45 minutes from the cities to a fabulous orchard.  Now that we all have kids it’s so much fun to go get faces painted, enjoy the hay ride, buy apples and pumpkins, and eat their famous apple donuts (there are no words).  Today it was warm, the sun was shining, all of the kids were in good spirits, and we had a great turnout of friends.  It was such a lovely way to end our weekend.

Tonight I made baked potatoes, chicken, and cornbread.  And please know that I am not the kind of girl who posts pictures of the food she makes because, to be frank, I don’t make much food.  But…but…tonight I made butterfly shaped cornbread muffins.  I mean…

It was the most fabulous week…I almost don’t want to go to sleep.  But there are really good things brewing.  I think this week is going to be amazing in its own life-altering ways.  I can’t wait to reflect again next weekend!

TODAY:  What if I go to bed confident that the coming weeks will continue to be chock full of bliss and joy?