Weekend? What Weekend?

When my alarm started to blare this morning, I thought, "Nope. There's no way it's Monday already. It was just Friday." and promptly rolled back over to snuggle up with Dan and the furball. Thankfully, that's why we set a few several way too many at least 5 alarms in the mornings.... we are a hard pair to get out of bed. By the time it went off a third time, I had had enough, and sat up in bed to realize that it was, in fact, Monday, and I was, in fact, already 15 minutes late getting up. Needless to say, I did not have time to pack a lunch today.

This weekend was fabulous and very, very full... except for Friday night, that is. I went to the gym after work and intended to get home, shower, and cook a delicious dinner to welcome Dan home for the weekend. Instead, he got back to town early (yay!) and we did what any exciting young couple would do: we lay on top of the covers in our bed quickly to catch up on our weeks and fell fast asleep around 8 pm. I slept for at least 12 hours that night, which was a little ridiculous but apparently necessary -- I hadn't slept well Wednesday night and I think it had finally caught up to me.

We definitely made up for that laziness the rest of the weekend though. Saturday morning we headed to my grandfather's apartment to meet my mom and aunt and go through my grandmother's jewelry. It was a sad thing to have to do, but we did enjoy looking at everything she used to wear and remembering her habits and special occasions. She had several large drawers and cases full, so I was able to bring home at least 10 necklaces, almost as many pairs of earrings, and several rings, bracelets, and pins. It's a little bittersweet, but I love everything I was given and can't wait to wear the pieces often and remember her. I'm wearing a wonderful pair of snowflake earrings today and every time I look in the mirror, I think of her and smile.

My fancy jewelry storage -- everything hanging on the left corkboard belonged to my grandmother!

After that, Dan and I drove out to a vineyard in the next county that makes the. best. wine. EVER. I've been in love with their reds since the first time I tasted their wine almost two years ago, and we wanted to see their location because we read that they are available for weddings. It was really fun to walk through a possible spot and think about our wedding, plus Dan signed us up for their "wine-of-the-month" club, so we left with 6 bottles of their newest wine (a 2008 cab franc and petit verdot -- yummy!). Can't wait to open the first one!

On our way back into town, we stopped by one of the local high schools to watch part of Dan's youngest brother's wrestling tournament. I never went to a wrestling match when I was in high school (even though Dan wrestled, I didn't know him that well when he was on the team), but I love going to watch his brothers. Both of his younger brothers wrestled (his older brother did too -- it's kind of a family legacy) and his youngest is now a senior and a really incredible wrestler. He has been to states the past few years and has a great chance of becoming the state champion this year, and watching him is always so much fun -- he's just so good at what he does! We were only able to watch one of his matches Saturday, but it was great to see him and Dan's whole family. That night, we met my dad and stepmom for dinner at one of my favorite new restaurants and had an excellent meal. We were exhausted by the time we got home and crashed on the couch to watch/snooze through a movie.

Yesterday morning, I left my boys curled up in bed to go to the gym. When I got back, we headed up to Washington DC to see one of my very best college friends and her boyfriend. We hadn't seen them in over a month, so I was really excited to catch up on their life and finally give them their christmas gifts. They spent christmas with family in Wisconsin, and they were so wonderful to get us a gorgeous basket filled with cheese, smoked sausage, specialty olive oil, beer, and a candle that smells fantastic. All of it will go so well with my wine! The four of us went out for an excellent lunch at a mexican place close to their apartment, complete with huge margaritas and chocolate lava cake (not exactly a spanish delicacy, but still yummy). I had a salad with corn, black beans, onions, and a huge hunk of salmon that was absolutely amazing. It was great to have a relaxing lunch and just talk for hours! Even though we were still stuffed from lunch, we headed to another friends' house for chinese takeout and more catching up -- it was really good to see her and her boyfriend as well. Hanging out with all of them makes me wish we lived closer and could do it more often, although the traffic in DC always reminds me how happy I am where we do live. I do miss seeing these girls daily like we did in school though!

my best friend and I at graduation

We got home late last night and for some reason I just could not fall asleep, so I watched a movie and stayed up a lot later than I should have... hence my disbelief at the alarm clock this morning. It was wonderful to have such an exciting and busy weekend, but it left me exhausted! Tonight Dan's parents and brother are coming over for dinner, so I have to grocery shop and clean after work. On top of that, I think I'm getting a cold. Must be a Monday!

   Love,

    Meg