Friday Favorites: Wonderful Person Edition

I feel like I may owe today a thank you note for finally getting its butt in motion and showing up. Not like I've been waiting for it all week or anything.

It has been one heck of a week (see: all the fun I had on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a really wonderful cold), so if ever a weekend has been earned, I think it's this one. I have lots of exciting plans to sleep, drink hot liquids, stick close to my couch, buy stock in Kleenex, and not cough up a lung. And maaaaaybe (please don't tell my mom) a Christmas movie or two... all in the name of feeling better, right? I could use a little holiday cheer in my life right now.
Luckily, despite the abundance of ick in my week, it was also filled with just enough wonderful to even things out. This particular week, wonderful seemed to come in human form (ok, ok... and maybe in the form of half a dozen donuts. oops.) Throughout the little rough patch of the past few weeks months, the phrase "you find out who your friends are" has really rung true. Unfortunately, there have been a handful of people who have proven... less than supportive. Luckily, it goes both ways though: other amazing people have truly left me speechless with their constant love and willingness to listen, distract, feed, coach, or just sit there and listen to me cry. While I've been hurt by the silence of a few in my life, the holes they left have been more than filled by some truly wonderful people. Since we're sneaking up on my favorite holiday and all, it seems like a good time to give a little thanks for those people. There's no way to mention everyone, but here are a few of the highlights:

this is one of my very favorite pictures EVER. I promise I had on clothes.

This beautiful lady found time in her incredibly busy first-year-teacher schedule to come spend last weekend with me. M is the kind of friend who shows up with pumpkin spice donut holes, doesn't blink an eye when you ask her to go with you to visit your sick father, and makes you laugh even when life really isn't funny (otherwise known as: the best kind of friend). We had a fantastic time talking about weddings (!), sharing cheese fries, admiring this guy, and laughing until we cried over this gem. I am so so very lucky to have this girl in my life.

My mom has always born a striking resemblance to superwoman, but these days when I have needed it the most, she has kicked it into high gear. She has taken me out to dinner three nights in the past week (once with two of her best friends, who are truly some of the nicest ladies I know), refilled my wine glass or coffee mug countless times, and spent hours listening as I talked my way through emotions and stress. She never complains when I call her daily (sometimes more) and always makes time to answer my basic cooking questions, provide advice that is always right in the end, or just laugh at my latest crazy cat story. It is no great surprise that the voice of reason in my head sounds an awful lot like her. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that I don't know what I would do without her to keep me from going insane, becoming a hermit, burning down my apartment building, or a myriad of other awful things.

Not many people can honestly say that they have awesome coworkers. Even though some most mornings, getting out of bed is a painful process, I am incredibly lucky to get to spend my days with the people I do. The other half of my two-person department, especially, is a wonderfully spunky and sweet lady who has become a confidante, friend, and partner-in-crime. She has me in stitches multiple times a day, and I cannot count the number of trivial stories I have been halfway through telling when I realize that she has no reason to care, but she always listens anyway. She also chased me out of the building at 1:00 yesterday when she couldn't listen to me cough a minute longer, with strict instructions to make myself tea and go to bed. Which I absolutely did... after purchasing the aformentioned donuts.

this picture has nothing to do with anything... but really, who doesn't need a little more wrinkled cuteness in their life?

A large group of people I am thankful for today share no common bond or connection, besides the fact that I don't actually know them at all. They include the guy at the seafood counter in Harris Teeter, who is always smiling; the random whiz who posted on a cell phone blog and helped me fix my phone; the wonderful vet tech who clipped my furballs claws even as he slithered off the counter to escape; the guy who understood my barking this morning as "grande skinny peppermint mocha." They include whichever neighbor had a fire yesterday evening and filled the street with that wonderful fall smell, and the one who didn't laugh at me when I attempted the elliptical today and had to give up after less than 10 minutes. They include Terry Gross, who consistently makes an hour at the gym the most interesting hour of my day, and David Crane and Marta Kaufmann, who created a show that I can watch a million times (and have) and never once get sick of it. And they include all of you wonderful bloggers out there, who share love stories and recipes, workout tips and adorable baby pictures, exiting news and everyday moments. Your words always keep me going.

And of course no post about wonderful people would be complete without a mention of this guy. I am incredibly lucky to have a husband who can make me laugh from halfway around the world, checks in on my father constantly, and puts up with all of my quirks. I finally printed out some pictures from our mini-wedding to frame, and I love having his face around the apartment a little more. Now if only his actual face could be here....


Happy weekend, everyone! Hope it is filled with equally wonderful people.

   Love,

    Meg