And so it goes . . .

I spent last weekend with my BFF's. We went to the big city and had big fun! We ate, we drank, we shopped, we laughed, we hugged. There were many cups of coffee drank, as well as a margarita and a beer or two, and a bottle of wine while sitting in the jacuzzi. We partook of omelets and crab legs and enchiladas and even tiramisu and gelato. We were successful on our quest for new fall jackets and sweaters, and didn't forget our husbands and grandkids for whom we found special treasures. And we bought books - we always buy books - and we even spent a teeny bit of quiet time reading. And we missed the two BFF's that weren't there.

Then we were wowed by The Phantom! It was the perfect show to see on Halloween. And I got to cross off one more thing on my bucket list.

Last Friday marked 20 years at my job. It is quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself. :) And now I'm one week into year 21.

My son, J, comes home tonight for vacation. He comes home about this time every year to deer hunt. I last saw him in June, and I can't wait to give him a big hug. I wish j was coming too, but I'll just have to plan another trip to visit them soon.

Tomorrow night after work, I'm picking up my granddaughter and we're having a slumber party. She's excited because she knows I brought her a present from my trip (a snowglobe). She'll spend part of the day Friday with me, and I think we'll go to the garden center and get some flowers to plant.

On Saturday afternoon, there is a baby shower for the daughter of one of my BFF's. This will be granddaughter number two for her. Four out of the six of us have grandbabies (two boys and soon to be four girls, the oldest of which is 3), and the youngest one of us has a baby of her own who is not quite a year old. Needless to say, our conversations often start out with, "You wouldn't believe what j did! It was so cute!" And of course we always have new photos to share. Ah, babies . . . such sweetness.

Here's hoping there's abundant sweetness in your life this week.

More Miscellany

things that have made me smile lately . . .

My Mother-in-law called me last weekend to see if I'd taken my hubby to see "Where the Wild Things Are." She said it was his favorite book as a little boy. 21 years together, and I didn't know that! I can't tell you how many times I've been at the book store and stared at the book, thinking I should buy it, but I never picked it up. Will have to next time I'm there.

My daughter is a huge Twilight fan, and I must admit that I loved the books and have seen the movie a couple of times. (I blame it on my teenage heart.) She has invited me to go with her and her girlfriends to the first showing of "New Moon" at midnight on November 20th. I think it's super cool that she invited me. Of course, I'll have to nap first and probably get to work late the next day, but it'll be totally worth it.

I got a couple tomato plants planted on Saturday. It was a bit of work because I had to dig out quite a bit of bermuda grass first. And it got hot enough that I was drenched in sweat and my face got really red. As I sat in the shade on the patio, catching a nice breeze while cooling (and drying) off, a butterfly came fluttering in. Only for a few seconds, then it was on its way again. But it totally made me smile.

I also removed a bunch of "babies" from my cactus plant and put them in little pots. Some of the babies are only an inch across and are in teeny tiny clay pots; some are about three inches across and are in a little bit bigger clay pots. They are all on an iron etagere and are now my "nursery." Makes me smile.

I enjoyed a cup of chai on Sunday afternoon - something I hadn't had all summer long. It was delish - so much so that I took a thermos of it to work with me today. It even stayed warm until lunch time. I was smiling again.

I found the 1940's version of "The Phantom of the Opera" starring Claude Raines in with my old VHS tapes. Got comfy on the loveseat while hubby was gone and popped it into the VCR. (Getting ready for this coming weekend!)

Made another tag. Also did some journal pages, but will post them another time.

I actually finished a book. I have started several over the last few months, but didn't ever finish any of them. Either it was too complicated, or too boring, or I'd just let too much time lapse between starting it and picking it up again and needed to start over. Now - what to read next?

Have a wonderful rest of the week friends!

to the little things that make you smile,