The One Friend

Do you have that one friend, who just gets you?  And it doesn't matter how long it's been in between visits or conversations, but you just pick right back up where you left off?  Well, I'm lucky enough to have one of those.

My friend Michelle and I have known one another since my family moved to Papillion when I was 11 yrs old.  She was my first friend when I started sixth grade in a new school and we have been "together" ever since!

Michelle is just a beautiful soul, inside and out.  Growing up, she was always kind to everyone around her.  She had her own sense of style and didn't care if it followed current trends or was completely crazy (her shoe collection was unreal)!

Michelle is also a beautiful dancer!  She is strong and graceful.  Dance is her passion and she is amazing at it!

But what makes her such a wonderful friend is her loyalty and thoughtfulness.  When tough times have come my way, she's always been my friend.  Thick and thin.  And, every year she remembers the anniversary of my Dad's passing and sends an email, text, or calls.  For over 20 years.  Yup.  I know.  You're all jealous.  And you should be.  My Michelle is one of a kind!

Oh, and as a funny side story...

"Spaceballs" is Michelle's favorite movie.  So, when Cubby and I were watching it one night (after not having watched it for years), I texted Michelle the picture below:

 Not even five minutes later, she texts me back the following picture:

Oh yes.  We were watching the same movie at the same time.  

(And she said she hadn't seen it in eons either!)  How do you like them apples?!

Birth-daying it up...

Well, folks, it's that time of year again...my birthday!  Unlike many, I actually enjoy celebrating my birthday.  It means I've been blessed with one more year of life--and a wonderful life it is.  My sweet family all made me feel extra special.  We had cake, opened presents, and, well, that's what we did.  (That's what you're supposed to do on bdays anyways, right?!)

One of my favorite things was opening the cards that the kids had made me.  Each one had worked very hard, making their own drawings, and were so proud of their handiwork.  Christian had drawn a picture of he and I shoveling (b/c the last time it snowed, he and I shoveled together--such a good worker!).  Emily's had a St. Patrick's Day theme and had a very cute poem inside.  Kari's had lots' of penguin stickers on it and she had scribbled her favorite colors too :-).

 I got some lovely gifts...

Below is Emily modeling my new sun hat and scarf...can't wait for the warmer weather so I can wear them!

 My new kicks!

 And a darling little Scandinavian puzzlebox from Cubby.  Love it!

Great-gma was the hit of the night when she brought a hopping bunny that sings "Here comes Peter Cottontail."  Juliana LOVES it and tries to hop with it.  Sooo cute!

My brother and sister, Mom and Harvey, and Gma Carolyn all stayed and had cake and helped me welcome my 33rd year of life!  It was a fun night and I'm so lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life.

Weekend "Get-away"

This past weekend Cubby and I had the opportunity to celebrate our 10th anniversary a few months early! (We'll have a new baby by the time our real anniversary rolls around in May so we'll be lucky to get out to dinner at that point!)

Originally, we'd hoped to attend one of Cubby's friend's wedding down in Florida. But, we got hit with the trifecta (home, health and car) issues this summer and "real life" drained the big-trip budget. But, we still wanted to make the best of it and still "get away" for a couple of days so we hit up downtown Omaha! My sister works for Hilton and got us a beautiful room with lots' of extra perks--executive lounge privleges, chocolate-covered strawberries, free movies--it was all lovely! Plus, we hadn't been downtown for years so it was like going to a new place anyway!

My mom came and stayed with the kids and Harvey came over to help her out too. They were very busy and even though Christian "missed Mommy" the second night, they all had such a good time, I think we could've stayed away longer!

Here is a few pictures from our fun weekend!
This is the view from our room--the new TD Ameritrade ball park for the College World Series.

The first night, we had dinner at a fabulous little restaurant called Q Consumables. It's in the Little Italy area of town, but doesn't really serve Italian. The menu changes every day as they make everything, down to the condiments, from scratch everday. It was really yummy and we had a VERY interesting waiter--picture skinny cowboy mixed with a high hippie with a Justin Bieber haircut. Hi-larious and definitely memorable. We had also underestimated the distance that the restaurant was from our hotel when we decided to walk...a mile and a half, uphill, in flip flops (for me). Needless to say, we were grateful for good weather! My calves, which are used to running in running shoes, not walking in flip-flops, were soooo sore the rest of the weekend!

After dinner we walked (of course!) back downtown to a coffee shop where my friend, Mandi, and two of her friends were playing and singing. It was great! Her family came down as well so it was fun to hang out and just relax a bit (after our trek back!)

On Saturday we hit up all of the fun little stores in the Old Market. Great antiques, toy shops, candy stores, etc...

For lunch we went to Hiro, a realllllly good Japanese restaurant and I was able to indulge in some very yummy sushi! (The cooked stuff, of course.) Cubby was a good sport and got some ribs but wouldn't try my dishes! Above Hiro were these new lofts, with an open house and information. And, without any real agenda, we went right up and looked around! SOOOOO cool and beautiful. I need to convince Erin to save and buy a place there so I can live vicariously through her!

After our tour, we shopped around some more before heading back to the hotel for a little nap! Yessss....naps.... For dinner we went to a fantastic Italian place called Nicola's. I had lobster-stuffed ravioli--soooo delicious. The picture above was my favorite place of the weekend! All snuggled up in bed! (And, just as a disclaimer, I am fully clothed under the covers!) It was just so warm and cozy, it was great just to be able to relax and not have to go anywhere!

The next morning, Sunday, we packed up and checked out. Before we went home, we went over to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. Really neat place--would be a beautiful place to run!

We were so thankful that we could have this time together, to re-charge and enjoy one anothers' company. A big thank you to my mom, Harvey and Erin for making it all happen!