Happy

Husband and I realized that after a year of living in Charlottesville, we have made some great friends.  I prayed about it for a long time when we first moved.  It was something I worried about  since I work from home and I was unsure how I would meet people.  I knew it would take time and I just had to be patient, and it turns out I was right.

So last week was Husband's birthday and while considering where to have dinner, we realized there were 10 people we could invite.  10 people we consider friends.

We have friends!  And they are so nice!  And I feel like we fit in, like we're birds of a feather, like we're peas in a pod, like we're bacon in the same pan!

Yes I feel like a nerd saying that but making friends when you're older is tough.  Thankfully we ended up in an awesome neighborhood and that was all God's doing.  If we didn't live here I think our lives would be quite different and we would have missed out on knowing all these really awesome people.

I'm thankful and happy.  

It's a blurry picture but that is a-okay, the happiness shines through. 

Some of the sweet ladies I have met 

In the words of Phil Robertson: 

happy happy happy

I wish you enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Even when the days seem impossible to get through, God speaks to me. Mama H sent me this email and gave me a little dose of perspective. I'm keeping my head up and holding on to the end of my rope. It will all work out, one way or another.

I hate to leave such a sad, kinda depressing post, so I'll end with some good news. I had a great, productive weekend! Husband and I visited our happy place, or otherwise known as Charlottesville. We were visiting Drama Drew and helping him with his private personal training business. We will help him put together his administrative materials...like letterhead, setting up a filing system, marketing, his website, etc.

Drew is a funny guy and he's always goofing around. I was afraid it would be like pulling teeth to get him focused, but I couldn't have been more wrong. This weekend we took pictures and videos for his website and he did a fantastic job. I was really impressed with him. But he has been training for 10 years so it shouldn't be a surprise that he is VERY GOOD at his job. I'm SO SO proud of him for taking on this new adventure. And I'm happy to help him be the best he can be.

Of course, after we were done taking care of business we had a bunch of fun and good food. Like fire roasted pizza, fried chicken and dirty rice, eggs steak & sausage, and BEER RUN double dutch french toast. It was a fun, beautiful weekend and exactly what I needed.

I hope everyone had a happy Monday!

Funday Sunday Part III

We were up early on Sunday…like 8am. We leisurely cleaned up the disheveled house, a consequence of Collateral Damage Drew. At 11am we headed out to Beer Run for brunch. Beer Run is a really cool restaurant and beer distributor. There’s outdoor seating and the menu is made with local and organic ingredients. Beer Run also sells a large variety of beers and delivers beer to your house. I couldn’t believe such a place could exist…It’s just another reason I love Charlottesville.

As I was looking over the menu I was contemplating getting a drink of alcoholic nature. Peer-Pressure Procious said I should get one and Collateral Damage Drew reasoned it was FUNDAY SUNDAY so I have to order a drink. So to start our meal, Drew and I got mimosas and Husband ordered the Devils Backbone Gargamel beer. For my meal I ordered Clint Eastwoods “Hang’em High” Huevos which had local eggs, red bell peppers, and pepper jack cheese with tomatillo salsa. It was delicious with a great, clean flavor, not processed flavor like eggs from Denny’s. The boys ordered eggs with crab meat and all sorts of other goodness including pesto grits. The combination of pesto and grits was unexpected but very tasty. After another round of mimosas and beer, Husband and I decided to stay in town for the rest of the afternoon.

I really wanted to stop by Splendora’s to see if they had pink peppercorn gelato – don’t judge it’s very good and I highly recommend it. It’s not overly sweet and the cold gelato is complimented with a hint of peppery spice. Unfortunately they were out so I got Tres Leches instead, not like this was a step down or anything. It was a taste of heaven topped with sweetened condensed milk.

While we were walking around downtown I spotted a rainbow of pashminas being sold by one of the street vendors. The colors and soft texture of the scarves pulled me in, and the price was right at $10. Shut the front door and find me an ATM. I ended up falling in love with these sliver lace-like earrings as well because they’re pretty and light too. I’m planning on purchasing a gold pair the next time I’m in town.

The next stop was the Starr Hill brewery. This brewery was the actual brew/bottle/sell facility and didn’t have a restaurant feel like Devil’s Backbone. It was definitely their warehouse but they had a small bar stand set up where you could test their beers. I’m a fan of their “Love” beer which is a hefeweizen with hints of banana, clove, and lemon; it’s light and fruity but the banana flavor is subtle too. We took a tour of their facility and got to see their process of brewing and bottling beer. It was interesting to see how they do things because Husband & Drew home brew. Since we were in Charlottesville living up this glutinous, indulgent weekend, Husband and I decided to get souvenirs. I got a pink t-shirt and Husband got a belt buckle.

It was starting to get late and we still had a two hour drive ahead of us, so we headed back to Nova. When we got home, I could feel that I was tensed from sitting in traffic, annoyed that our house was a wreck, hungry, and in general coming down from my Charlottesville high. Husband must have been feeling it too because he looked at me and said ‘Nova makes me crazy but Charlottesville makes me see you clearer. I can see you without so many distractions.’ It gives me peace and hope knowing that we have found a place we truly love. It gives us direction and motivation for our future. I love my future with him.

Happy Charlottesville Weekend Part II

I was looking forward to the morning because the boys promised to take me on a hike. Drew’s cousins have a nature trail in their neighborhood and I was excited because I’ve never been hiking before. The nature trail was a good introduction to hiking. There wasn’t much of an elevation incline but it wasn’t flat either. It was easy to follow the trail because there were blazes (painted markers) on the trees…and because Husband was blazing away in front.

I realized I liked being alone in the woods, which was a little surprising. It was peaceful and I could hear myself think. There was nothing but the sound of our breathing and the birds singing. A nice change from Nova when the only things I hear are cicadas and cars. We only hiked for 30 min or so because we wanted to head out to a brewery for lunch…but honestly I could have happily hiked all morning.

As I was backing out of the driveway I heard a *crunch.* That’s right, I tapped the parked Prius sitting directly across from the driveway. Luckily there was no damage to the Prius and my poor Acura TL only has a little scratch on the back bumper. Oh and apparently this wasn’t the first time this has happened. Drew’s cousin Tori has backed into their neighbor’s car before too; the neighbors haven’t realized that parking across from a driveway is a terrible idea.

The weird thing is I had a feeling something like this might happen during the weekend. I don’t really know why but during the drive to Charlottesville on Friday I had a bad feeling about driving. Unfortunately I was right, but thankfully it was minor. Does anyone else get premonitions about things?

We drove to Devils Backbone Brewery for lunch and we were kind of in the middle of nowhere, but it was beautiful. The brewery/restaurant was big and rustic. The entire building is made of local or recycled materials, which I thought was really cool. Inside there was a lot of natural sunlight and dark wood furnishings. And lunch was fantastic. I had a chicken pita and Husband had the wild game sausage platter. Both were yummy! For Husband and me the saying “when in Rome” applies to Charlottesville…so we got t-shirts and a “Get Boned” bumper sticker for the Jeep. Oh and the beers were great! I think I got the Summer Haze and it was a light and fruity. It reminded me of hefeweizens which I like. And we got a sampler of all their beers; 10 tasters. I highly suggest visiting Devils Backbone if you’re in the Charlottesville area.

On the way back to town, we stopped by a road side stand to look at their honey and jellies. I have never seen so many honeys before in my life (and I’m a frequent visitor of Wegmans – the food store of awesomeness). We picked up some honey for us and apple butter for Greg’s stepdad.

The boys enjoyed drooling over the stand owner’s ’62-ish Corvette.

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful. We were tired and a bit worn out from the night before and our morning hike. We wanted surf & turf, so we stopped by Foods of All Nations for some scallops and beef to go with our red corn and zucchini. I love no pressure, Happy Charlottesville weekends!

Charlottesville Weekend Part I

We decided we wanted to get there as soon as possible and left Friday night (instead of Saturday) for Charlottesville. We got into town just in time to find intoxicated Drama Drew at Blue Light Grill & Bar in downtown Cville. Of course we knew we were in for a night to remember when we got a text from Drew saying my new favorite shot is tequila with a Jager bomb chaser. Husband called it, as soon as we walk in the bar, everyone will know because Drew will give us a loud welcome. He wasn’t wrong. GREG********!!! PEACHES!!!! My favorite people EVER!!! It was a loving, boisterous welcome; he’s a good friend. He told us about 12 times that night how much of a good friend he is because he passed up going home with some sexy Latina so he could be with us instead.

We were significantly behind him on the drunken scale; he had been going strong since 4pm…it was about midnight. Since I was driving us home, I nursed a beer for an hour or two, while Husband caught up a little and Drew, well he continued being drunk. I have to say, drunk Drew is hilarious. Example, he was sitting at the bar with Mama L, who is a good looking older woman who happens to be the mom of one of Drew’s friends. Husband and I sat and observed him encroaching on Mama L’s personal bubble. One sentence after the next, Drew inched closer and closer to her, and Husband and I sat from behind and just laughed and laughed.

Soon after it was time to go and somehow, in his drunken stupor Drew managed to give me directions back to the house. He’s staying with his cousin, Tori and her husband, Rob in their beautiful 4 bedroom, 3 bath home. This house is so peaceful and relaxing, it’s like a hotel. Calming shades of blue and sandy beiges makes it feel like a beach house in the mountains. I would have to say my favorite part is the back porch. It’s screened in to keep the buggies out with an overhead fan, candles for a cozy atmosphere and comfy seating. They even have a fire pit! Their two adorable dogs, Berkley and Tucker play with each other in the fenced in backyard.

Anyways back to our drunken evening with Drew…the boys love to cook together, it’s cute and I benefit from the fruits of their labor. So they made eggs and bacon and I watched as the debauchery continued. As we were eating in the breakfast nook (how appropriate with our bacon and eggs…minus the fact that it was 3am), Drew lifts the table and tells us “I’m SO strong!!!” Husband responds, Peaches could lift this table with one hand, put the table down and eat your eggs. Drew proceeds to tell us about a saying his dad has about him, “when you hang out with Drew you will have a good time, but there will be collateral damage”…like a messy kitchen, or falling into one of the porch screens. Collateral Damage Drew. We love him, drunken Drewbachery and all.

I’ll leave you with some beautiful views, waiting for me the next morning.