Lots of Good Days, Thank You

The last week or so has been good. Work has been hard, and I'm tired. Taryn hasn't been sleeping well since the last tooth came through (Four!) and her gums are split in two more places so I don't see an end to this in the near future.

But there have been some really good days, as always peppered with irritation and annoyance, but good nonetheless.

We took Taryn to the beach last Saturday. We started out in the late morning with sandwiches and had lunch at the Cheese Factory. While P napped on a blanket on the grass, Johana and I took Taryn around, showing her the ducks, and the other babies who were there. We walked by the dogs which Taryn squealed at, I think she's always shocked to see one bigger than the cat, and let her play in the grass until she started shoving handfuls of mushy cut weeds into her hair and mouth.

After an hour or so, we headed out past Bloinas and over to Stinson. The place was packed, which we didn't really expect seeing as it really wasn't that warm, and once we got Taryn changed and fed, I dropped her in the sand to take some photos. She absolutely loved the sand, couldn't get enough of wiggling her little sausage-toes around to get a feel for the consistency, and mouthing fingurs littered with it. I walked her down to the edge of the water, and let her play in the firmer, packed sand there. She loved watching the guys "surfing" on the bodyboards, the dogs running and chasing the waves, and the seagulls pecking around for forgotten crumbs.

After the beach, I planned to go home and sleep. I was exhausted from partying the night before, and I had promised to go to a bridal shower that I wasn't really wanting to attend anymore. But when we got home, Taryn's Tio Julio and Erin came by so we chatted with them for a while, ate, and I got ready to go.

And of course the Bachelorette party (I couldn't with a clear conscious call what it was a bridal shower) it was a freaking blast. I had so much fun, and even though I was dead on my feet when I got home at 4am, I was so happy with the wonderful time I had, especially since I was expecting much less.

All in all, that day was as close to perfect as I've had in years.

It was as close to perfect as I've had in a long time.

The same week was P and I's 5 year wedding anniversary. We were thinking of a quiet night in, since we had already planned to throw a St. Patrick's Day themed party to celebrate the anniversary with some friends, and funds have been tight lately so we didn't want to stretch ourselves too thin. The day we discussed not really celebrating, I received a delivery from UPS. Inside was a gift certificate to The Melting Pot, the exact place we had wanted to go to celebrate. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude, I'm sure I came off as almost flippant, since Ally was right there when it came, but sometimes I just can't fathom how good friends and God can work together so perfectly sometimes.

So Thursday I was home at lunch, feeding Taryn as I beamoand how exhausted I was and appreciating how beautiful the weather is while simultaneously wondering how to get my mood lifted, and I look at the table and see a box. I was stoked, I thought someone had delivered some fruit to P and I as an anniversary present. But holyjesus, when I opened it, I about tinkled myself in delight. Inside were 12 ginormous strawberries dipped in chocolate, some white, some milk, a couple had nuts or coconut or both white and milk chocolate.... mmmmmmmmmmm. I had to eat one right away, and since the box suggested eating them within 48 hours for the best taste, I've been freely enjoying myself for the last couple days. I still have 6 left, and though I'm sure I could eat them all myself, I have been sharing with P and Johana, and I want to save one for T&B too, so they can savor the wonderful-ness with me too.

I need to do thank you cards. I can't express to people in spoken words how much I appreciate their thoughtfulness, and caring and support. And I don't know if this last week has been better because my neurons are firing in sync, or because I'm feeling for the first time in a long time the good juju I'm surrounded by. It's so easy to focus on the stress and pain, and drama, and all that crap, but I've been trying to see the little things, and just appreciating everyday pleasures like walking the dogs early in the morning before work, or savoring a cup of coffee while I blog, those little everyday pleasures are making the big things more enjoyable too.