Isn't Life Grand
Hello blog world. I am back from a little blog-free hiatus of sorts. I was pretty sure that I didn't want to be alone with my thoughts last week so i took a little vacation from my brain. But now I feel rested and ready to blahblahblah myself all over this blog of mine...

So on this Monday afternoon i am still reeling from a fabulous weekend of friendship, family and Love-filled celebration. All of which of course were centered around food. And so goes my life.....my two bestest friends were home from Cali for a wedding and we sqeezed as much QT into Sunday as we possibly could. 10:30 breakfast at Ness' mom's house-aka my other childhood home- with Ness, Bren, Shauna, Erin and her wonderful boyfriend who fits in like he's known us forever (which is no small task since we all have 20+ years of private jokes under our belts), Ritchie, myself and everyone's sweet little doggies. it was a loud zoo of laughter and fast paced conversation as we all tried to catch up on a month's worth of life in an hour and a half while still trying to shovel as much delicious french toast and scrambled eggs into our mouths as possible. The morning culminated with a splinter in my upper lip from a fruit-clad toothpick and icing it w/ a grape for 2o minutes. Nothing like old friends to laugh at (and photograph) your goofiest moments.....

i ran straight home to make a pumpkin pie (could I be more obsessed with pumpkin?) and was (per usual) 15 minutes late for our 2nd annual pre-Thanksgiving dinner (since they can't be home for the official holday) at Bren's mom's house (another childhood haven). The final head-count was 27 as we passed out steaming soup and glasses of wine to tables upon tables of family and friends. Seven hours of turkey, stuffing, squash, mashed potatoes and John Denver and the Muppet's Christmas CD playing in the background.....it just goes to show that the holidays truly have nothing to do with the day itself but the vibe and the people-because anyone there would've told you that it was the best Thanksgiving Day ever. God I Love the people in that house. I wish everyone could feel that kind of togetherness. And I didn't share blood or genes with one person there. Chosen family. it's a beautiful thing.

And then there's my last thank you of the day. I spent a beautiful weekend with my man. Since few know about our relationship it can be a very overwhelming situation-the hiding can really get to me. But yesterday was perfect. We are mastering the art of subtle romantic gestures. Where the other couples were able to publicly hold hands or wrap their arms around eachother we have to settle for a knowing smile or a private joke cleverly placed in a conversation with others. And although he expressed his frustration with these restrictions on our ride home, I have made a certain peace with it all at the moment. We have had such struggles to stay together over these past 4 months for so many reasons and here we are. Not because it's easy or convenient or comfortable. It's actually the most challenging relationship that I have ever even thought of being a part of. And it's inconvenient and messy and makes my life much more work than it would be if I were alone. And sometimes that makes me want to leave and go back to my simple independence where no one can hurt me and everything goes smoothly in my solitude. But then we get to steal a quick moment-a random trip to the bathroom finds us in an isolated hallway with 30 seconds of uninterrupted time. And I curl up against him, warm and safe and quiet, his arms envelope me and I press my head to his familiar chest- a chest that I never dreamed in a million years would be my pillow-and we just breathe...in and out in and out....and the world is still and calm. And my heart is at ease. Perfection. And I just want to say thank you.