My Life, As Told Between (Baby Cakes') Naps

So Italy was both fabulous and exhausting.  We spent 3 days in Rome, 2 days in Florence, 2 days in Venice, and 1/2 a day in Verona on the way to Milan, where we caught our flight home. 

Rome was beautiful, but we walked for days and days and days.  I’d forgotten how huge the City is.  It was a little overwhelming to start our trip there, although perhaps it was for the best since we (well, the me part of we anyways) ran out of steam towards the end of our trip.  We stayed in a lovely hotel next to the Colosseum.  The hotel was tucked on top of a hill, which we resented when forced to climb it at the end of the day but appreciated when we arrived since it was quiet and smelled like orange blossoms.

Our favorite city was Florence however.  Smaller and easier to navigate, with beautiful buildings and artwork.  We walked all over Florence, but since our hotel was in the middle, we got to stop in and take breaks throughout the day.  It was soooo nice!

Venice was interesting and the canals were novel, but overall, we found the city a bit boring.  Maybe it was the area we stayed in – St. Marco’s Square – but it felt like a big outdoor mall.  Lots and lots of designer stores.  Not much else.

On the way to Milan to catch our flight, T. convinced me to stop by Verona, of Romeo and Juliet fame.  I’m glad we did.  It was charming.

We’ve been back for two weeks and I think the only thing we regretted was not buying anything while we were there!  He’d wanted a wallet and I’d wanted a purse, but we were so intent on site seeing we didn’t do nearly enough shopping.  Maybe next time.  We’d both tossed a coin in the Trevi Fountain, so I think that totally ensures that we return.  =)

Just got back from the sixth annual Quad trip.  This year we went to Sedona. I had a fabulous time as always, although, sadly, I, as usual, was the last to arrive.   Having just gottten back from vacation, I couldn’t take any more days off, so I flew into Phoenix on Friday night.  The two hour drive to Sedona was a pain - I didn’t get in until midnight – but well worth it to spend time with my bestest and oldest friends. 

Saturday morning we had a fabulous breakfast at our hotel (where we were shhh’d by an old lady for laughing too loudly!), went for a scenic trolley ride and explored Sedona.  After a relaxing lunch at a yummy local vegan restaurant, we went for a short hike, where we took tons of pictures and I was poked by a cactus.  Then we headed back to our hotel for our spa treatments (I had a fantastic massage), dinner, and a movie in our room.  Which I totally slept through. 

Sunday, we grabbed another breakfast…or two…at our hotel before heading out to take more pictures.  Be warned, this year’s picture silliness reached all new heights!  The weekend ended all too soon.

Heading to Italy tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed we’ll make it there…and back…successfully!

Can’t believe 2009 is ending already! November just flew by. I threw a birthday party for T’s 30th’s in early November. Inspired by the recent pizza-making party we went to, I threw a panini-making party. We bought tons of breads, meats, toppings, and cheeses. I prepared some appetizers (bacon wrapped dates, crab rangoon, and stuffed mushrooms), T grilled up some steaks and we had friends make their own paninis. I’d also prepared some crepes so we had crepes and ice cream cake for dessert. As usual, we bought way too much food and had leftovers from the party all week. I’d originally wanted to host a nice sit down dinner, but when the guest list started growing, I realized my plans were exceeding my limited cooking abilities. In fact, I almost failed to pull the panini party off, but fortunately several of T’s friends are excellent cooks and, more importantly, arrived early enough to help get everything ready.

The next day, we headed out to Disneyland to take advantage of their free-on-your-birthday promotion. It was fun, but exhausting. I don’t know how parents are able to spend all day with their kids running around that place – we were tired by 5pm and had to head home!

The following week we were off to Maui for my friend K’s wedding. It was such a great trip. T and I rented a three bedroom condo we shared with friends who were also attending the wedding. The wedding itself was perfect. Small and intimate on a golf course overlooking the ocean. The weather was beautiful the entire time we were there, we relived part of our honeymoon by laying by at the Westin’s pool, went snorkling at Molokini and Turtle Town, got massages, drove to the top of Haliakala, ate plenty of shaved ice at an amazing shaved ice place, and went to the Feast of LeLe, the best luau on the island.

Got back late Wednesday night and drove up to San Jose bright and early Thanksgiving day, with a stop in Fresno to pick up Alfie from T’s mom (who was dog-sitting for us). My parents and sisters went all out on dinner and totally outdid themselves this year. Delicious turkey, broccoli and cauliflower sides, home made buns, stuffed mushrooms, pumpkin cake, etc. In fact, my parents spent the entire weekend preparing all of our favorite dishes. We both came back 5 pounds heavier.

The best part came at the end of Thanksgiving dinner, when my littlest sister’s boyfriend proposed to her in front of the entire family. It was so sweet. My mom brought out a brown package at the end of dinner and told L someone had left it for her on the porch. Staring suspiciously at her boyfriend, she opened the package only to find another box inside it, and another, and another…we all started staring suspiciously at H at that point. But the boxes kept getting smaller and smaller and soon it was too small to contain an engagement ring. He denied any knowledge the entire time. At the end, she got to a tiny box with a note in it, he got down on one knee, pulled a ring out of his pocket and proposed. We were all in tears, it was so sweet! So now we have two weddings in the family to look forward to! Can’t wait! I love weddings.

Needless to say, all to this eating has been horrible on my diet and my running. I’d gotten up to a comfortable 18 miles before we left for Hawaii, didn’t run much in the subsequent weeks, and had to struggle through a 14 mile run yesterday. Hopefully, I’ll get back in shape soon. I’m really looking forward to this marathon and the new route, so I’d hate not to be ready for it!

We capped off a wonderful year of marriage with a wonderful weekend in San Diego.   We decided to celebrate our anniversary the same way we started our marriage – surrounded by friends – so  T and I drove down to SD on Saturday to meet up with one of my best friends, J, and her boyfriend, K, who were flying in from San Jose.   Actually, we kind of hijacked their planned trip and turned it into our one year anniversary celebration.  =) 

 T and I exchanged gifts on Friday, before heading out to SD.  I’d been adamant that I didn’t want to exchange gifts (my family’s never been much into the gift exchanges and I couldn’t think of anything to get).  However, at the last minute, I thought it’d be cute to make T a coupon book, with coupons in it for things like home-cooked meals and my attendance at sports events. Good thing I thought to do something since T, as usual, managed to surprise me with a romantic candle-lite dinner when I got home from work on Friday!  It was perfect, and harkened back to his proposal.  Best. Husband. Ever. 

On Saturday, we headed down to San Diego and spent most of the day at the San Diego Zoo, which I loved.  Zoos usually make me a little sad, but the SD Zoo is pretty spacious and the animals didn’t look at miserable at they do at other zoos.  Saturday night, we met up with J and K for dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack and then went out for a fun night on the town.  J and K surprised us with a lovely bottle of champagn to celebrate our anniversary.  Best. Friends. Ever.

Sunday, we met up again with them for brunch and then walked along the harbor and explored Seaport Village before heading back home (with a quick visits to T’s cousins in San Clemente on the way).  The weather was perfect the entire weekend.  Sunny with a nice breeze.  I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate our first anniversary.  Same time next year guys?  =)

We had such a fantastic time in New York!  We were both braced for the worst weather – humid, muggy and occationally rainy – but we lucked out and had incredible weather the entire time we were there.  Sunny with a nice breeze for most of our visit.  There were showers and a thunderstorm Saturday night, but we were safetly tucked away in bed by the time the rain hit and it cleared by the time we woke up.  We couldn’t have asked for a better trip.

We arrived late Friday and met up with my friend K and her boyfriend, who generously treated us to dinner at Barboa, a yummy Vietnamese restaurant on the Upper Westside. 

Saturday we took a 7 hour walking tour through New York.  It was exhausting but the best possible way to see the City, especially since it was T’s first visit.  (Note gorgeous weather in picture of fountain at Central Park.)

After our tour, we met up with friends for a lovely dinner before going to see Avenue Q, which was hilarious.  T thinks it may have been the best thing we did in NY.  Since I was responsible for choosing the musical, and had to force my poor friend M into seeing one she’d already seen, I’m so relieved he liked it!

Sunday, T and I met up with friends for brunch before heading into New Brunswick for a wedding.  It was the first Jewish wedding either of us had been to and was incredible.  The service was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the decor was outstanding (as evidenced by the centerpiece pictured below).

Monday, we had time to go to the top of Rockefeller Center for gorgeous views of the City before catching our flight home (on Virgin America, which is the only airline I ever want to fly on again).

I’ve been busy traveling the last two weekends and preparing for guests the next three weekends.  T and I were in SF for T’s cousin’s wedding in Golden Gate Park over Memorial Day weekend.  I, as usual, was drastically unprepared for the weather.  I have a knack for packing the exact opposite of what I’ll need on any given trip.   This time, it was much colder than the cool to slightly chilly weather I was expecting and the warm weather I was hoping for and packed for.

Weather aside, it was a great weekend.  The couple, who are both in med school and are self-proclaimed geeks, had so many sweet, personal touches to their wedding and the events surrounding it.  Their rehearsal dinner had a fun trivia game component.  Their ceremony involved the mixing of chemicals in a beaker.  Their reception was at a great organic, vegetarian restaurant overlooking the water.  Post-wedding activities included breakfast and a Giants game (they are huge fans).  It made me want to go back and do our wedding weekend all over again!  =)

This past weekend, I went to Cabo with the Quad for our 5th Annual Quad Trip. Since K is getting married in November, this year’s trip served a duel purpose as both a reunion trip and a bachelorette party.  I had a blast!  The weather was perfect.  Sunny with a nice warm breeze the whole weekend.  The girls got in Wednesday/Thursday and I arrived on Friday.  Although Cabo was less busy than during my previous visits (presumably because of fears over the Swine Flu and increased violence in Mexico), there were just enough people around for it to be festive without being overwhelming.  Plus, we discovered this wonderful, relatively secluded, beach which I’d never been to before.

This upcoming weekend, T’s high school friends are coming to town and staying with us.  Then T’s mom is stopping by the following weekend on the way to T’s triplet cousins’ high school graduation.*  And then one of T’s best friends from college is getting married in LA and many of T’s college friends are staying over.  The next month will be a whirlwind but I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!   (Although the prospect of having that many visitors in the next few weeks really makes me wish we’d actually gotten around to painting/decorating our place and hiring someone to clear our place, as we’ve been discussing for months!)

* Sadly, I have to miss our HLS birthday weekend/reunion in Virginia this weekend!  =(  Unfortunately, it’s just too many trips in too short a span (we’re also going to NY for a wedding in July).  I hope you girls have a wonderful time and will fill me in on your adventures!

Wedding season has started!  We went to our first one this past weekend in San Francisco.  One of my best friends from law school, R, got married at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel near Union Square.  We had such a fabulous time.  I got a chance to catch up with lots of old dear HLS friends and T, to his surprise, managed to enjoy himself despite not knowing many of the guests (the open bar probably helped).  It was the first wedding after our own that we’ve attended and I was looking forward to being a guest.  Putting together our wedding has given me a greater appreciation for the effort that goes into organizing one and I enjoyed all the little touches that I probably wouldn’t have noticed before.

We also got to spend some time with my family, which was lovely.  I’m touched anew each time I see how well T gets along with them.  My grandmother, despite severe back pain, looked fairly healthy.  (She adores T.  I think it’s because he always remembers to greet her in Vietnamese and smiles when she talks to him in Vietnamese like he understands.)  We also got to spend a lot of time with my parents and my sisters and their boyfriends, which was great.   Despite some snafu’s – I had to make a last minute trip to the mall to buy a new dress for the wedding since my sisters confirmed mine was entirely too informal for an evening wedding in SF and T forgot his dress pants in LA which necessitated a second last minute trip to the mall just as we were supposed to head up to SF for the wedding – the weekend couldn’t have gone better.

Back from a very short trip to Vegas for T’s race, the Baker to Vegas Relay.  It’s a 120-mile relay race for law enforcement personnel.  There were hundreds of teams (each with 20 runners) representing all aspects of law enforcement – police officers, sheriffs, FBI agents, correctional officers, district attorneys, etc.  Most of them were from California, but we saw some teams from Canada and one from Hamburg, Germany.

The race began at 9am on Saturday morning for the slowest team (the teams started based on their projected finish time) and ended at 9am for everyone on Sunday.  T’s team started at 5pm on Saturday evening but T’s portion of the race (5.3 miles with a 2% incline) didn’t start until 10pm Saturday night, so we headed out at 7:30 for a small town 60 miles west of Las Vegas, where T’s leg started.

It was  unlike any race I’d ever participated in or seen, not only because it was extremely long, and a relay, but because the roads weren’t closed for the race.  Instead, runners run along the shoulder of the road with “follow vehicles” behind them to protect them from traffic and to provide light (as parts of the race take place in desolate areas in the middle of the night).  It was really neat to see runners and their follow vehicles along the road as we drove past.  The logistics of getting that many people out there and coordinating that many vehicles for that long a race is mind-boggling.  It was amazing how well they pulled it off.

We, on the other hand, did not do such a great job pulling off our trip.  We made the trip too short (given the timing of T’s leg of the race, we weren’t able to do much in Vegas), spent too much on airfare (we both should have taken a day off and driven) and then waited too long to rent a car (they are so expensive to rent in Vegas!).  Plus, T was sick leading up to the race.  All in all, we weren’t particularly looking forward to the trip or the race, but we had a great time when we got there!

Back from Mammoth!  We had a great time, despite getting caught in a huge storms both there and back.  T was super excited to go skiing.  Unfortunately for T, his ski trips are hampered by the fact that I hate the cold and am way too uncoordinated to master and/or enjoy skiing.  This time however, T’s brother and his friend were able to join us so T had some companions on the slopes.  We also brought along Alfie so I’d have a companion off the slopes.  =)

This was Alfie’s first time in the snow, so I went a little picture crazy.  Below are two of the many pictures I took of him.  I tried to talk T into tossing him into a snow bank so I could take a picture of it, but T refused.  Something about being humane, blah, blah, blah.

I know most of my readers (Hello??? Anyone out there?) probably don’t celebrate the lunar new year, but I figure everyone appreciates a do-over, so for those of you who have already failed to meet your new year’s resolutions (like me), consider today a do-over. =)

To celebrate the lunar new year and usher in the Year of the Ox, T and I spent the weekend in San Jose with my family. T may be the best husband ever. He was very good natured about the fact that my parents keep the house at artic temperatures (it’s often much colder in the house than outside). He stoically dealt with my little sister’s cat, to which he is severly allergic. He was great at engaging my parents in conversation, despite only understanding 1/2 of what my dad says, and very sweet with my grandmother, who doesn’t understand anything he says.

Despite the bone chilling cold, we had a nice visit. My parents love to feed us and we love to eat, so during the day and a half we were home, we had dim sum, crab, fried shrimp, filet mignon, and a traditional Vietnamese beef dish. For dessert we had friend bananas and cream puffs. We were definitely waddling onto the plane.

Unfortunately both of my sisters had to work over the weekend, so we didn’t get to see much of them. They’re also in the process of moving out of the house. Little Sis B is finalizing the paperwork on her first townhome and is waiting for construction to finish. Littlest Sis L is moving in with her, as are both of the boyfriends. In the interim, they’re all moving into an apartment (for complicated reasons having to do with the boyfriends’ leases expiring). I feel a little sad that we’re the only ones not part of this little clan, but T doesn’t seem to mind.

I had a lovely long weekend in San Diego with a couple of my Quad friends and their significant others this past weekend. T and I headed down Saturday morning, stopping off in San Clemente to drop Alfie off at T’s aunt and uncle’s house. Despite the nice backyard and houseful of new people to enjoy, we’re afraid poor Alfie was not particularly happy about the weekend visit. T’s aunt and uncle have a super friendly, entirely too curious, and remarkably persistent lab, Beans, who followed Alfie around very closely for the entire hour we were there. We joked that Alfie would probably have a Beans-sized wart on his butt the entire weekend. =) (Although we’re told the wart only last for about 5 hours.)

After reassuring ourselves that Alfie would survive the weekend, despite being pestered by Beans, we headed to the Wild Animal Park. It was the perfect day to spend outdoors, sunny and clear with a mild breeze. I’d never been to the Wild Animal Park before, and zoos kind of make me sad, but the Park was spacious and we had a great time.

After a full day at the Park, we headed to downtown San Diego to meet up with our friends for a delicious dinner at Croce’s, where we ate out on the patio, listened to live jazz, got caught up, and people watched. It was the perfect night with friends.

The next morning, we all met up for brunch on Coronado, and exchanged belated Christmas gifts. Afterwards, T and I heading to Balboa Park, where we enjoyed some more live music and visited the National History Museum (which was disappointingly small). We met up again for dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack and then tried to find the exciting night life in San Diego. Apparently there is very little of it on a Sunday night. Or at least none that we could find. We did get a fun night tour of the city though!

I may have gained 5 pounds on this trip alone. I fear not fitting into any of my pants after my trip home next weekend, where I’m sure my parents will be preparing delicious meals and stuffing T and I with all of our favorite foods! The last time we were home, the electricity went out for hours just around dinner time. Undeterred, my parents cooked an amazing crab-centric meal on the outdoor grill using the propane tank and some ingenuity!

Just got back from a fantastic trip with my Quad friends! This marks our fourth annual Quad trip. A few years ago, the four of us were able to get away for a weekend trip to Vegas. We realized during the trip that since we see each other so seldomly throughout the year, and usually with significant others and friends in tow, we really needed to make an effort to spend some quality time reconnecting and strengthening our 19-year friendship. History alone wouldn’t always be enough.

So far, we’ve been to Vegas (’05), Tahoe (’06), and Santa Barbara (’07). This year we went to Mendocino. Just north of Napa, Mendocino has gorgeous bluffs and beautiful vineyards scattered between some amazing redwood forests.

On Saturday, we went hiking along the bluffs, got massages and facials, had a delicious dinner at the Stevenswood Spa Resort (the cute bed and breakfast where we were staying), and played a rousing game of Taboo. On Sunday, we went on a wine tour and sampled wines at Husch, Lazy Creek, Navarro and Esterlina, had a picnic at one of the vineyards, relaxed in the hot tub when we got back, grabbed dinner in Mendocino, and roasted s’mores in the wood-burning fireplace in our room (um. . . but definitely did not set off any fire alarms. . . twice).

Between it all, we took a ton of cheesy pictures (thanks to the indispensable gorillapod!), caught up on a year’s worth of life and made memories to sustain us until the next trip. Love you girls!

My parents and T’s mom finally had a chance to meet at a lovely BBQ hosted by T’s mom this Saturday. My parents brought the meat (three different kinds of beef) and T’s mom provided the setting and the sides. The Fresno weather cooperated and gave us a beautiful sunny day in which to sit and feast. Aside from introducing my mom by the wrong name (I inadvertantly introduced her by her last name rather than her first – What? I rarely call her anything but “Mom”!), it turned out to be a great first meeting. And, as always, Buddy Lee (see below) was a big hit.

Sunday, we went to Yosemite, which was a first for me. Still covered in a blanket of snow, it was beautiful. I’m looking forward to another trip back in the spring, when we can bike and hike around without fear of losing fingers to frostbite.

Oh, and somewhere between all this loveliness and fun, we made the mistake of seeing Jumper, despite being warned by several people that it was the worst movie ever made. I wish we had listened because it’s two hours of my life I won’t be able to get back. In fact, I still have haunting visions of suffering through this movie. Please, for your own sanity, do not see this movie.

Back from Hawaii! It was wonderful vacation, but entirely too short. We ostensibly went for a friend’s wedding, but we mostly went because it was Hawaii. Unfortunately, with the new condo and the being poor and all, we had decided to do a very short trip – just three full days in Oahu. We got in late Thursday and left Monday afternoon.

Friday, we did a little canoeing and surfing (T’s one of the little surfing dots below) and pre-wedding BBQ .

Saturday, we drove to Lanikai to do some snorkling during the day. . .

. . .and went to the wedding in the evening.

Sunday, we made grand plans to go parasailing and jet skiing but ended up sitting in the shade, sipping Lava Flows and watching the waves. It was perfect.

Unfortunately, I never made it to Portland. I arrived at the airport at 5:15am Saturday morning only to find out that the flight was cancelled at some time between Friday night (when it was still showing an on time departure) and that morning. Waited paitently in the customer service line for an hour and a half to figure out an alternative. (Actually, after 45 minutes, I finally made it to the front of the customer service line. At that point however, they informed everyone that they were opening a “special” line for the passengers going to Portland. I, foolishly, move over to the special line, which although smaller,was also located in a special time warp. Although still third in line, I waited another 45 minutes for the people in front of me to be helped.) I eventually found out that the earliest I could get into Portland was 3:30pm, including a four hour layover in Seattle.

Once I got to Portland, I’d have to scramble to find a rental car (since I was originally supposed to drive with a friend) and then drive for two hours by myself to the beachhouse where we were spending the weekend, so the delay meant I would have a sum total of 22 hours with my friends — for which I was paying approximately $400 dollars. So I bailed, turned tails and ran. Sorry girls, I really, really tried!

The upside of the weekend was that since I’d planned to be out of town all weekend, I didn’t have any plans and was able to have a nice relaxing weekend at home. Didn’t get up early enough Sunday to go running, but did bike for about an hour on Saturday. Saw Ocean’s Thirteen (it was okay) and stopped by Pinkberry!

So I turned 29 on Tuesday. All in all, it wasn’t nearly as traumatic as I had feared. Being a workday, I didn’t have any special plans, but T surprised me by taking the night off work and having a lovely bath drawn and dinner planned when I got home.

Our condo purchase is moving along, and while it’s all gone fairly smoothly, I find the entire process nervewracking. So much money! And what if something happens and escrow doesn’t close as planned? Ack! We’ve already submitted our intent to vacate our apartment! We could be homeless!!

Poor T is discovering the hard way that I don’t deal well with uncertainties. I had a slight meltdown this past weekend when our mortgage broker called and asked us to submit additional documents, which I couldn’t do right away because we were out and about. Fortunately, T talked me down from the ledge and made me realize I was being anxious just for the sake of being anxious. (Personally, I think it’s the job. I remember once being a rather cool and collected individual. Although my closest family and friends tell me that perception was more self-delusional than accurate and that I’ve always been somewhat spastic.)

Heading to Portland this weekend for a get together with some of my girl friends from law school and to celebrate another one of us (this time Roomie) turning 30. We had our first reunion a couple of years ago when C. turned 30 and we all realized our 30th birthdays were spread far enough apart that we could get together every few years to celebrate and support each other as we entered our thirties.

Whew, back from northern California. Had a terrific time catching up with my friends and family this weekend. I didn’t find out until Thursday whether I would make it this weekend and had to scrambled to finish some things on Friday before rushing to meet with the agent to sign our purchase agreement (!). We then speed over to the airport to catch our flight and rushed to our hotel to change and make it to dinner. Was nearly brought to tears by the lack of available taxi cabs in SF on a Friday evening and ended up being an hour late to dinner at Ti Couz — the dinner I had planned. Fortuntely, once I arrived and had some food, and drinks, in me the night started picking up. After dinner we went to one of my best friend’s 30th birthday party, which was a terrific chance to see friends I haven’t seen in too long and catch up with friends of friends I hadn’t seen in even longer.

T and I spent Saturday morning exploring the streets and hills in SF. We walked through Chinatown (somehow accidently having lunch at the one restaurant in Chinatown that didn’t appear to have any Chinese diners) to Coit Tower and finished at Fisherman’s Wharf before heading back to meet up with some friends for dinner and a movie (Shrek, it was cute).

Rented a car Sunday and drove home to spend the day with my family, who appeared more excited to have T there than me. My mom prepared an elaborate Vietnamese meal so we all gorged ourselves, then spent the rest of the day sitting around, talking and reliving the wonders of the meal.

Back from visiting T’s mom in Fresno. Got to spend tons of time with their adorable family dog, Buddy Lee, also known as Best Dog Ever.

T managed to wake up early enough on Saturday that we were able to get in a nice relaxing run around his neighborhood before the Fresno heat set in. Afterwards, we did some chores for T’s mom – fixing her trellis, cleaning patio furniture, and taking things out of winter storage. It was a little tiring, but fun to spend time together, doing something productive, and enjoying what turned out to be surprisingly nice weather. We topped off the day of chores by seeing Blades of Glory, which was dumb but funny.

I slept in Sunday and had a horribly lazy morning while T and his mom went to church for Easter service. Got up in time for a lovely Easter buffet brunch with them and his extended family. Stuffed myself silly. Spent the rest of Sunday lounging around, napping, eating some more, and getting to know T’s extended family.

Off to San Jose next weekend for a haircut! =)

(Hm, sorry for the extremely boring post. It was a very pleasant weekend. But pleasant weekends tend to be boring to write about, which explains all of my posts for the last year…)

Sadly, these days, I’m finding it all too easy to go too long without seeing some of my best friends. We all get caught up in the day to day routines of our lives. I see some friends frequently because they’re part of that routine – my work friends, my running friends, my dinner party friends, my going out friends, etc. But I see other friends very seldomly, either because they’re too far away or, sadder still, they’re very close but we’re not a part of each other’s routines anymore.

One of my best (Quad) friends actually lives in LA, but somehow we’ve both fashioned lives for ourselves that don’t really include each other. I know she’s always there for me and I’m there for her, but the only time we really spend any time together is during Quad reunions – one of which is coming up this weekend! We’re taking a break from our routines and heading out to a beach-side cottage in Santa Barbara for our third annual Quad Reunion. (We went to Vegas two years ago and Tahoe last year.)

I hope we manage to take a trip together every year, regardless of what life brings us. It’s all too easy to take friends for granted and assume they’ll be there when you need them. I’m trying to remember how important it is to nurture these friendships in the in-between time. That gets even harder when one gets into a relationship, as the Frog very eloquently pointed out. (Speaking of which, T.’s sulking a bit because this SB trip was originally supposed to be a couples event, but we changed it recently and disinvited the boys.)  I’m very fortunate to know so many stellar women (and a few stellar men) and I never want to get so wrapped up in my life and my routines that these friendships fall entirely to the wayside.

To my (three) friends who read this blog: I may not always need you but you are always always wanted!