snippets of the weekend 10.2.2023

I had a super soul filling up weekend with my BFFs of 30+ years. We ate, drank, made merry, and we even left the house which some years we do not do LOL. That's all about that, because girls' weekend is girls' weekend and it's for us. No one has to be any other role than what they are, and that is just us together for a weekend. And it's glorious.

I wish we had an old old of all of us, but this we think is in 2000 at Melissa's mom's house. There is nothing that replaces someone who has grown with you through all stages of your life. 

All good things must come to an end, including GW. Sunday was out to breakfast and making brownies and the first half of the Eagles game before I said goodbye to the last leavers and headed to the beach to read. 

weekending reels on Instagram - current favorite weekend look back mode.

We did not win the powerball but we certainly won the lottery in the friendship department. 

Happy birthday to my niece Lola Jean! Happy Rocktober to Melissa and Jim!

TWTW - the one with the girls 2

Girls weekend take two, only not my junior high and high school forever BFFs, this time it's my great friends of 22 years. I saw Mimi last year, but the last time we all saw each other was January 2019 so it was a well due weekend of eating, lounging, talking, shopping, watching TV,  and just being together. Borrowed some pics from the Google album, so some are Gwen's or Gena's. We finally got a true beach day Saturday, the first of the season at the Jersey shore. It's late. 

The message remains: my female friendships are crucial to my life and well being, and I hope you have true go to these women with anything type of friends in your life too. I'm grateful to have these women for so many years. 

Since it is Memorial Day week, we also had some shore chores as we get ready for Memorial Day Weekend renters, which these ladies were recruited for here and there. MFD worked on the outside, we had the same battles we do every year when we do this, and also are feeling the rush of the last week despite thinking it was all already mostly done. tra la laaaaaa. I just have a little painting and some odds and ends left to do, and same for MFD. Whew. We are tired and smelly

ALSO. I finally invested in the Cadillac of Beach Chairs, it is its own cart. You can't tell me anything.

This is a packed week for me, I'll be here, there, and everywhere. Memorial Day weekend on the horizon. 

TWTW - the one with the forever friends

This weekend my annual girls weekend with the women I met in junior high and have traveled through life with since. I can't describe how much they mean to me, and how I wish everyone had tried and true friendships with people that have seen their good, bad, and ugly through their life stages. It keeps you centered, honest, and humble. It is difficult to forget who you are when other people truly know, and in this life we all need people who know us as we are, ground us, accept us, and love us. We will see each other through the year when we can, but all of us at once is very rare, and we are never all together without husbands/kids/pets save for this weekend so it is treasured time. We don't actually plan or do anything standardly except laugh, come prepared with tons of snacks but end up scrambling for dinner after most places in town have closed, and just enjoy being together as we are. Missing this weekend was the most bitter pill to swallow in the pandemic year, and it was so great to be all fully vaccinated and back almost wetting our pants laughing, popping bottles, talking about nothing and everything, catching up, sharing memories, relaxing, telling old stories, having a personal shopping session from Kim's sunglasses company (shop here: Yunizon Eyewear), and just being together. 

They were all gone by around 2, and I reorganized a closet, made my to do lists for the week, considered starting them, and lay down to rest and finish a book instead. Mark and Sarah arrived and I hung out with them for a bit before calling it a night. 

I look forward to this weekend forever and it's over in a blink. Until next year!

Please encourage friendships like this in your kids - they are life making.

Thursday Thoughts - And there's winners and there's losers but they ain't no big deal

Drinking coffee with both John Benders 

Voting in the primary Tuesday. I have not missed voting in a primary or general election since I turned 18 in 1995. I've voted twice a year, every year, and I wish everyone would. Primary turnout is often poor. ANYWAY I 100% support and believe in mail in voting and any way of voting that makes voting more accessible to every American, but I personally I love voting in person. I'm thrilled Krasner won for DA. I wish people understood that the DA can only do so much to control crime. Investment in communities, opportunities, mental health services, education, healthcare, and the eradication of hunger and poverty are how you truly lower crime rates on the front end. Cut that school to prison pipeline, smash the prison industrial complex, and de-carcerate this place. I saw someone comment on FB yesterday saying they hope everyone who voted for Krasner is the victim of a crime. How big of an asshole are people? How small of a person do you have to be to wish that on people? The sky's the limit, apparently.

Taking sleeping photos as I always do. Mae's face LOL

Picking up orders curbside everywhere. 

Returning Amazon shit to Kohl's and super happy to see everyone I saw inside still wearing masks even though it is optional for vaccinated people. 

Loving the painted doors at the shore, can't believe I considered not painting them this year

Painting so much shit in general. We didn't do any painting at the shore last year and one year of no maintenance shows. Of course there is a shortage of sample paint at Sherwin Williams due to materials so I have to buy actual quarts instead of samples like I usually do for touch up paint. Shocker, the quarts are difficult to find right now too. Sherwin Williams staff and I are BFFs, I have been there five times in seven days. 

Painting nails, too

Cleaning shore floors and bathroom walls with water, bleach, and tide, bitches. 

Jamming on house prep at the shore. All hands on deck, including dogs, as we prepare for first guests Memorial Day weekend. We have one more opportunity after that to address anything other than that we are essentially out of the main house until September  aside from four hours of turnover time every Saturday.

Pulling over to take photos

Wishing Laura's son MBD a very happy birthday today!

Watching  Mare of Easttown, we have finished three episodes. MFD continually comments on the accent AS IF I AM NOT ALSO FROM HERE.

Taking Bruce & Ben to Dog Beach

Counting down to girls weekend this weekend with my BFFs of 30 years, all fully vaccinated and coming at ya. Out of everything that was cancelled last year, this was the most bitter pill to swallow since there's only once a year most years that we are all together with just us and no husbands, kids, other agendas, etc. 

Reading The Serial Killer's Wife from Netgalley. Although I've barely read at all this week. 

What's new with you?

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Little Pink Houses by John Mellencamp

TWTW - the one with the girls at the lake

Friday if I was any more relaxed, I would have been dead. Mom and I got to Lori's lake house around 8:30 on Thursday night and settled into relaxation station. Lolling around just being and enjoying the silence for most of the day, painting nails (Lori gave me the blue color and I'm super jazzed), snacking, playing with the dogs in the yard, reading. Melissa arrived early afternoon and Debbie early evening and we did more sitting around and talking before hitting the hay.

Saturday we headed into Montrose to do some strolling and shopping early with the Bs. There's the cutest store there that looks like it's just a flower shop and while it is it also sings to my tie dye loving heart. I got a dress and headbands there thanks to Lori!

We came back and chowed down, did a little floating and relaxing, talked talked talked, went for ice cream, and rounded the day out with CAH and hair mane games.

Sunday I woke up to let the dogs out at 5:30 and Bruce had an accident then had super hurt feelings about it and was shaking for an hour. Loon. I finished a book over coffee and we sat out on the porch together before Mom and I hit the road around 10:30. I love this weekend. It is super relaxing, we are all so easy together, it's beautiful up there, my dogs can be there, Jack pops in, and Lori is a wonderful hostess. Love my ladies! I stopped at a farmers market off the turnpike on the way home, dropped Mom off, got home and changed our sheets and washed towels, and took a little snooze. MFD got home from the shore and we went for sushi at Sakura. 

Carol's birthday was Sunday. Happy birthday Carol! We love you! Thanks for everything you do for us. 

Weekly food prep: Breakfast is breakfast burritos. Lunch is zucchini pie. Snacks are grape tomatoes, blueberries, peaches. Dinners are tomato sandwiches and corn on the cob and pasta with lemon and broccoli. I didn't need anything for today so the zucchini pie will get made tonight. 

Show Us Your Books tomorrow! See you here for that. 

TWTW - the one with my ladies

Friday I was like a kid on Christmas Eve Thursday night knowing my girlfriends were coming into town on Friday. I was up until after 1 am. When I got up Friday Laura was 10 minutes out. We went to Sunrise for breakfast and Drip n Scoop for a National Donut Day donut, then to the bike shop twice for the perfect color basket for my new bike - thanks Dad & Carol for the bike, MFD for assembly, and Laura for the basket. Then we went to the hardware store and she installed my new toilet seat in the apartment because she is handy like that. 

 Melissa arrived, then Kimmy Foo Foo, then Kim, then Angie, and we hit the beach. It was cold but we had beers and pizza and talked and saw a wedding and laughed so loud a single lady near us moved her spot well away. Melissa put out a spread when we got home like she's been doing since we were 16 and everyone else was just serving stolen booze at parties. 

Dinner was ordered from Randazzo's (also known as Babazio's and Rosario's), tasty sandwiches was the buzz phrase, hair was braided, and we talked, laughed, argued, and shouted about everything under the sun. I went down around midnight to get into bed and ended up reading until 3. 

Saturday 

Breakfast at sunrise again where Melissa worked her magic to get us a table in the shade. Kim went up to rest and the rest of us hit the beach, where she joined us later, but the real MVP was Laura's pop up tent. There were tremendous winds and blowing sand but she got it set up. She recruited me to help her fold it up and it was a hilarious shitshow put on in full display of the entire beach. I am still laughing about this. 

Post-beach snacking of the eight bags of tortilla chips we subsisted on for most of the weekend along with over 12 bottles of wine, Belmont cheering, more talking and laughing and lounging and of course hijinks - another set for the books. I swear at times it was like scenes from a movie with us all scrambling around ridiculously, telling stories, mixing up stories, and laughing. Always laughing.

Sunday 

Laura left after the Belmont Saturday, the Kims both left before 10 Sunday. I showered, started taking stuff downstairs and assembling a trunk full of recycles, packed up my own stuff, and then joined Melissa and Angie upstairs before they took off. Last minute paint touch ups as our first longer rental checks in tomorrow and I dropped books at the library and was on the road home by 1:30. 

I picked up london broil and corn on the way home and was greeted by ecstatic dogs - Bruce remained ecstatic for over an hour.

Weekly food prep: breakfast is breakfast burritos from the freezer. Lunch is tuna salad over spinach. Snacks are red grapes and bell peppers. Dinners are leftovers from Sunday and air fryer chicken, I think. I haven't decided what to thaw yet. 

There really is nothing like this weekend for me whether my life is going well or not well. When you have been constant friends for over 29 years through good and bad periods, when the people you're with know you at your ugliest and your shining best and love you through all of it both because of who you are and despite how you are at your worst, it's the most secure and buoying feeling. It's like a giant recharge. The secret to sustaining friendship through the years and miles is to give each other the room and support to grow and change, love and/or tolerance for the parts of each other that have always been and will always be, to provide encouragement and also a safe space to land or retreat to, and to show up when needed, whether in person or via text. Love all my ladies. Thanks for another great weekend and physical stomach pains from laughing, and the cleaning gift and Amazon gift card! 

Show Us Your Books is tomorrow! See you here for that. 

TWTW - the one with the girls

Friday was sunrise, dogs officially allowed back on beaches, and a trip to Dog Beach anyway so Bruce could run free. Gus wasn't doing great so he stayed back which meant Mae was allowed to stay since she hates the beach. Lori also helped me deal with a trash can maggot situation which had me dry heaving in the driveway. Thank God she moved up north many moons ago and has all of these new skills she's had to acquire. LOL

Breakfast at OC Surf Cafe (I had the Old Salt), meandering down Asbury with Lori and Mom and Bruce, a walk on the boards, dinner at Ike's, and finishing a book. And a million dog walks Lori accompanied me on.

Saturday the dogs patrolled the porch as the Block Party set up. Debbie arrived around 11:30 and we set off to eat and browse our way down Asbury Avenue. Mae got to go for a block when we were done, she loved being among the people who adored her and other dogs she was obsessed with. After that we hit the beach and boards for a long walk. Lori bought me a purse and a new large art statement piece on clearance which you'll see in the spring when I repaint the frame and get it hunt. At some point I painted my nails, I think in the morning?

Sunday Lori left early for her long drive home. I was doing the sunrise thing and just missed her. Debbie, Mom, and I sat on the porch before meandering to Ocean City Cafe for breakfast outside. We walked back home via the boardwalk then took Bruce to the beach for about an hour. Plus multiple walks with my mom and los perros. It was nice and warm and felt like summer. I wasn't planning to go to the beach but I couldn't ass up an hour there in the nice weather. A quick clean up and we were on the road before 2.

I dropped my Mom off and went to Redner's to pick up a few groceries. Laundry, dishes, marveling at how gross my house is, and eating fried chicken followed.

I love this weekend so much and spending easy time with my people. They treated me to a million things and I appreciate it.

Weekly food prep: breakfast is breakfast burritos from the freezer, lunch is PB&J and black plums. Dinner is veggie pasta and turkey tenderloin with mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli or cauliflower.

Today we celebrate Mae's birthday. Happy birthday Maedoll.

Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of Show Us Your Books and there will be prizes. See you there. 

29 days until Election Day. I'm about to ramp up. You?