Maybe I'm Finally Growing Up...

Or maybe I'm just hiding my angst well. I'm not sure. But either way, I had a good Valentine's Day weekend. No wallowing, no tears, no bitter tirades, no serious chocolate binges. It was a pleasant weekend.

FRIDAY: My girls-only Pre-Valentine's Party went well. I was psyched that a couple of my married girlfriends could join in the fun, too, since they had plans to celebrate with their spouses later in the weekend. And I am pleased to report that there was no male-bashing, bitterness, tears or drama from anyone present. We had tasty pizzas we each made ourselves, fun snacks in both the healthy and un categories, along with some chocolate therapy. We watched a chic flick and then caught some of the winter Olympics opening ceremonies, too. It was a fabulous evening. Thanks, Girls!

SATURDAY: Becky called me at a quarter to 5 PM, and we met up 20 minutes later for a spontaneous dinner and movie out. Did you catch that? This is big news!! We planned and met up in less than a half hour. I love how we are learning to be spontaneous and plan things on the fly. It's a big deal for us like-to-plan-things-out-in-detail-girls! We had a blast as usual, and while When In Rome is not an Oscar contender, it was a fun evening and brought me my newest favorite movie quote...

Girl: What are you stalking me now?
Guy: No, I'm just running into you in a pre-meditated manner!

SUNDAY: On Valentine's Day, I treated myself to lunch on my own at Ruby Tuesday's after the morning service. I enjoyed the best salad bar ever as I savored (i.e. lost myself in) my new Kate Morton book. I'm getting braver about the eating out at a sit-down restaurant thing alone. Would I prefer eating across from Mr. George Clooney? You betcha, but yesterday was good, too.

Jeremiah 31:3b is one of my favorite Bible verses and a good reminder to all of us, single or not, that we are INDEED loved already by the TRUE LOVER of our souls...

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

Pre-Valentine's Day Party

I’m having several girlfriends over tonight for a pre-Valentine’s Day party, and I’m excited. I love playing hostess. I really do. I enjoy opening my home to friends and family. I just wish I had more space. But all in good time, and hey, I think I’m finally learning to relax a bit more about it and just enjoy the evening. You know, be less a Martha and more a Mary...

CLEAN: I still cleaned, but I opted not to over-do it. In other words, don’t look behind the couch or under furniture because you just might find a dust bunny or two.

FOOD: I prepared some food items ahead of time, but I tried to keep it all low-key. I cut up vegetables and fruit, but I didn’t go all Martha Stewart and create flower strawberries or anything like that. I forgot to look for chocolate wine at the store this week, which kinda bums me out, but it’s all good. We'll have other drink options.

FLOWERS: I bought flowers for my table because gosh-darn-it, I wanted flowers for Valentine’s Day even if I had to buy them for myself. Don't judge me! It was so worth it. I opted for a non-traditional V-Day bouquet with orange and white flowers, and I love it. It’s totally me, maybe more spring or fallish rather than V-Day, but it makes me happy.

PLANS: I'm not over-planning every second. I'm winging it. No really, I am. We are making homemade pizzas with all the toppings and having some other goodies to go along with it, and that's all I've got planned. I'm sure there will be lots of conversation and laughs, a debate over which movie to watch, and hopefully a picture or two to capture the memory, but this detail-girl is attempting to keep it simple.

Go, Mel! You can do it.

Musical Memories

I love how music can hold memories for us. There are certain songs that always take me back to another moment in time or cause me to think of a certain person. Funny how our minds work like that.

I cannot listen to The Phantom of the Opera or ABBA without thinking of my best friend from junior high and high school. Topher introduced me to both completely different styles of music. I can still hear him singing Masquerade in my ear.

Tunes from Blessid Union of Souls like Jelly or Light in Your Eyes always make me think of my sister and some of our late-night conversations post-college.

80’s songs by Madonna make me chuckle and think of my childhood when I was NOT supposed to be listening to pop or rock music at all, and yet somehow I know her songs quite well.

Richard Marx’s Right Here Waiting will always bring back memories of the Croswell Fair. I loved that song, and I can still picture Lisa, Barbara and I giggling as we served Diana’s ice cream from our cozy booth to our customers.

Along the same lines, New Kids on the Block songs like Hangin’ Tough, Cover Girl, Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time), and Popsicle never fail to make me smile and grimace at the same time. What were we thinking? And which one did I like again? Hee hee!

Elton John’s Blessed album always makes me think of a family trip to Florida and one really bad haircut. My family visited Florida for a few days after my college graduation, and my sister and I drove home to Michigan, following behind my parents in another car. Barbara had her Blessed tape with her, and we played it again and again on the drive. As for the haircut, my great aunt in Florida convinced me to chop off most of my locks for a radical change, and it turned into rather a disastrous phase for me. UGH!

Chris Rice songs always make me smile. He just has such a positive and upbeat presence. One song in particular still chokes me up every time I hear it. He wrote Let the Words Escape as inspired by Elizabeth Barret Browning’s poetry. I’m a big E.B.B. fan, and I hearing Chris’s song reminds me of reading about Elizabeth’s romance with Robert Browning. I love it.

Brandon Heath’s song London naturally brings a flood of memories back from my England trip last May. I close my eyes and once again I am walking along the streets of London, passing the Houses of Parliament as I cross Westminster Bridge, enjoying the river scenes along the Thames… SIGH!

For me, music bottles memories like a photograph can. It's all good!

Happy 68th, Mom!

Today is my Mom’s 68th birthday, and I just can’t let the day pass without stating for the record just how amazing she is.

My Mom is loving. She gives the best hugs, and you just don’t want to let go. She loves keeping in touch with people with phone calls and especially her well-written letters. I treasure her hand-written letters.

My Mom is warm, probably the warmest person I have ever encountered. She doesn’t know a stranger and can make conversation with just about anyone at any time. I love that about her. She is able to reach out to others and draw them in.

My Mom is brave. When she met my Dad 37+ years ago, she chose to date him even after discovering he was a widower with 3 young sons. WOW! That sure was gutsy! I’m not sure I would have been that brave under similar circumstances. But I’m glad she went on more dates and eventually married him, or my sister and I would not exist. It was not always easy raising 5 children, but she managed beautifully.

My Mom is compassionate. She tries to put herself in the other person’s shoes and does not jump in and take a side. As a child and teenager, I did not always appreciate her knack for seeing the other person’s side of an issue or topic, but as almost always, Mom was right. It was the best way.

My Mom is kind. You won’t hear my Mom say a mean thing about or to anyone. She prefers to think the best of people and would prefer not to hear gossip.

My Mom is positive. She is always energetically upbeat about life and able to see a glimmer of hope along the horizon.

My Mom has an incredible sense of humor. She is always able to laugh at her self and see humor even under some of the worst circumstances. Her laugh is real and is easy to pick out in a crowd. I love her laugh.

My Mom is frugal. She has always been able to stretch a dollar farther than I ever thought possible, and as an adult, I have grown to appreciate her skills even more. I love how she likes to get creative with leftovers and reinvent meals.

My Mom is a hard worker. She started a home day care and took on piano students to help pay for her children’s education, and even now, though she is “retired,” she still teaches piano and is rarely idle for more than 5 minutes a year.

My Mom is organized. She plans out monthly menus and shops well in advance. She also never forgets a birthday or an anniversary.

My Mom is hospitable. She and my Dad often host people in their home. She is a perfect hostess and strives to meet each guest’s needs.

My Mom loves GOD and points others to HIM. She is not afraid to share her faith and introduce others to her SAVIOR. She truly has a servant’s heart and attempts to make her Christian walk and talk match.

I realize that my Mom is not perfect, and she would blush to read all of this, I know she would. But I think she is amazing, and I’ve only scratched the surface. I am so grateful that I get to call her my Mom.

I love you, Mom! Enjoy your day and have some cake and ice cream for me!

Proverbs 31:28a “Her children rise up and call her blessed…”

Recent Semi-Healthy Food Discoveries

Flatout Flatbread: These handy wraps are only 1 Weight Watcher point each, and I love them with just about any kind of sandwich concoction. I experimented a wee bit and made my own pizza on one this past weekend as well, and it was rather amazing to this diet girl who has really missed her pizza. OK, so it’s not Papa John’s or Pizza Hut, but it was made fresh in Mel’s diner, and I enjoyed every morsel. And hey, when your whole crust is only one point, you can really add on those toppings without breaking your WW point budget. Bring on the cheese!

Skinny Cow Sandwiches: Somehow I didn’t know about the new flavors until recently (cookies and cream and peanut butter and chocolate - only 3 points each). Someone was holding out on me, I guess. HA! I loved cookies and cream at the first bite. Now, I haven’t tried the peanut butter and chocolate yet, but I’m sure it will make it on my next grocery list since I am an avid peanut butter girl. Truth is that I haven’t tried ANY Skinny Cow variety that I haven’t loved. It’s been a match made in Heaven for almost a year and a half now. WOOHOO!!

Healthy food options are not always easy, but things are going well on my getting-more-healthy plan for 2010. I broke down and ate some amazing birthday cake the other day along with some other not-so-healthy snacks, BUT it’s all good. It was just one day in the life of yours truly, and "tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it..."

Wishing you health, hope and plenty of humor!