A Very Merry Birthday

Happy Fall!

This week was another crazy busy one. Sam had his first orchestra concert of the year, I had my first paper due for the semester, and we dressed up for Trunk or Treat at church. (We went as a hippie and a mime. The hidden connection: Peace and Quiet. We're so clever.) Needless to say, I didn't have time to blog about my wonderful birthday weekend, so I'm playing catch up.

We had friends over for a small party Friday night, and it was so much fun to play games and visit with them. I also got to enjoy getting together food and decor for the party, and I treated myself with mini pumpkins to paint. My husband bought me several gifts, and he was so excited for me to open them that we stayed up until after midnight so that I could open them on my actual birthday.

The next morning we got up and headed to Starbuck's for coffee cake and a cinnamon dolce latte. My mouth is watering thinking about it. I then coerced him into going shopping with me to spend birthday money on the way to visit his parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece. More presents, delicious homemade pizza, and some more shopping made the visit extra nice, and of course we got in some quality play time with Kate.

Then, we headed back to our side of town for dinner at Carino's. Once again, my mouth is watering. And I played my final "birthday card" to see a chick flick. Thankfully, we both enjoyed Life As We Know It, although the ending is a bit cheesy.

Sprinkle the day with calls from family members and several birthday cards, and you have my idea of happiness. Thanks to my husband's gift of the Pioneer Woman cookbook, which reeks of her fabulous personality, we are having bacon-wrapped meatloaf and homemade mashed potatoes for dinner. (Can you tell from the rest of this post how hungry I am?) Maybe he had an ulterior motive in giving that gift, but I get to indulge my loves of reading and cooking, so I'm willing to believe in the nobility of his intentions.

Funny Story

Once I got old enough to be one of the "big kids" who thought the "little kids" were precious and hilarious, it became a ritual for me to ask my grandmother for cousin stories whenever we talked. These stories were labeled by name, so I would ask for a "Connor story" or a "Rainey story" or whoever was the funniest (read youngest) at the time. Well, Rainey is growing up, so she doesn't make as many comical comments or confuse things, and I guess I can grudgingly admit that's the way it should be. However, my favorite story from our Abilene trip a few weekends ago is a "Rainey story," and because it might be one of the last of its kind, I'm treasuring it.

I wish I could share it with you, but it takes too much background, and my comic timing has yet to be perfected in writing. Maybe I'll tell it the next time I see you. It involves a painted goat and a mistaken twin; all the elements of a great story.

The point of this post is that I value shared history with people, and I love that I share so many memories with the people I love. While in Abilene, Sam and I also got to spend some time laughing with several members of my mom's family and reliving some of our crazy antics. I'm sure he's heard some of those stories a hundred times already, but he's a good sport. And I'm looking forward to writing new stories with him that we'll laugh at while sitting around a living room someday.

I'm also looking forward to experiencing more shared stories with Rainey and all the people I love. They might not be centered on childlike naivete, but I'm sure some of them will be funny. After all, it's been a charming 23 years filled with love and laughs, and I'm still writing my life.

Reasons Why I Haven't Been Updating My Blog

I've become one of those people who doesn't blog regularly, but I have hope that it's just a temporary issue. These are a few reasons why I haven't had time to type and edit.

1. We went to Abilene to see my grandfather honored as Alum of the Year at ACU and Tahoka to visit Sam's Grandma Claudia.
2. Along the way, we got to eat amazing food and catch up with many people who I love and happen to be related to in one way or another.
3. I had a massive pile of books to read, a massive pile of laundry and dishes to wash, and a bibliography project to do when we got home.
4. I bought plane tickets to and from my alma mater! That didn't take much time, but I'm excited about it, so it makes the list.
5. I am currently writing a bibliographic essay, reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, slow cooking orange chicken, and baking Pioneer Woman cinnamon bread.

I'll let you know how those last two turn out. They're new recipes that I've been wanting to try for a couple weeks. Hopefully you can look beyond my excuses for not blogging and view this post as a summary of the past week and my re-entry into the blogosphere. More interesting posts to come. Don't give up on me yet.

Busy Week, Wonderful Husband

This week is especially busy with my classes, and we're going out of town this weekend, so all the chores and homework that I would have done then have to be packed into this week. I'm super excited about seeing family in Abilene, so it's all worth it, but I've been pretty busy. Last night, Sam volunteered to make dinner, and when I got home I could immediately smell lasagna in the oven. As I looked around, I found some other delicious smelling presents as well. Needless to say, I have a wonderful husband, and despite his own busy week, he took the time to make me incredibly happy and remind me how blessed I am. Hope your week is going well and you have people to lean on when you're busy.