My Week in Bullets

------------------------------
Dust off that motivation, along with the keyboard, and get to work on those 5K Friday posts! Tomorrow is our first official week to post, link up, and share some encouraging words! Can't wait to see what y'all have been doing! For more information and instructions, click here!
------------------------------

I've typed, deleted, and retyped the first sentence of this post 6 times now. There's just no easy way to lead in to a post that I know will be disjointed, wandering, and random. If you don't do random, bullet lists, and week-to-date recaps, then you should probably just skip this one and come back tomorrow for 5K Friday. Otherwise, proceed...but you have been warned!


Still with me? Off we go!

This Week
(in bullets)

• Monday/Monday Late-Afternoon: Another glorious day at the office followed by the last round of vaccinations for El Salvador. (I really do need to post again about my trip. For those of you that haven't been around GM long enough to know what I'm talking about, you can do some catching up here, here, and here.) I met Rachel at Target, carpooled downtown, where we met up with another team member going to El Salvador, Allen. We all three had immunizations left on our list, so we decided to make it a group effort. The last shot I had on my list was the Typhoid vaccine. I've been subjected to a myriad of shots in the past two weeks -- Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, MMR, and Tetanus -- and the Typhoid shot was by far the most painful. Once we were finished being pin cushions protected from creepy jungle viruses vaccinated, we decided it was time for dinner. Since Rachel and I were such troopers Allen offered to treat us to dinner at a downtown restaurant he's been wanting to try. Which brings us to....
• Monday Evening: We follow Allen to his mystery restaurant. We're surrounded by unassuming-looking office buildings, until we come to a white, wooden door. Allen, always the gentleman, opens the door for us and we find ourselves surrounded by this...and this...and this...You've got to be kidding me! Bear in mind that Rachel is sporting a dazzling pair of cut-off jean shorts, complete with frayed hems. She's accented the shorts with a delightful white t-shirt from her high school volleyball days. To set off the ensemble she chose to pair it with black flip-flops. I had personally done only slightly better for myself...wearing dark jeans, a cute summery top from Target, while pulling it all together with black, rubber, Old Navy flip-flops. Certainly nothing worthy of what we discovered Cafe Bel Ami to be. We did our very best to be exceedingly classy, polite, and cultured with our waitress (who looked ready to give us the boot, or make us wash dishes to pay for our meals at any moment) to make up for our fashion faux pas. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was beautiful, the company was fantastic, but I have never been so ready to leave a restaurant in my life! Allen was so good-natured about it...he just made us promise to leave the flip-flops at home the next time he offered dinner. Yeah...you think? Anyone else getting a very "Pretty Woman"-ish vibe off of that entire dining experience? Just call me Vivian! After surviving Monday it's on to...
• Tuesday: Tuesday evening was my date with Rachel, Sarah Jane, and Gavin DeGraw! The girls and I had been anxiously awaiting his concert for a week! Rachel is in love with the man, and while he's not my usual cup o' tea (see The Husband on my sidebar) he can sing, and he does have rather delightful biceps shoulder muscles eyes. We ducked out just after Gavin finished crooning and headed home. We're not as young as we used to be...bed was calling! After a not-nearly-long-enough night of sleep I find myself right in the middle of...
• Wednesday: If I live through work we'll be off to a night of fun and frivolity at the bowling alley. Normally Wednesday night is our small group bible study, but tonight we're taking the show on the road and having a Fun Night. I'm not just being humble when I tell you that I am, quite possibly, the world's worst bowler. My all-time-best score is a whopping 78 points. I'm "that girl" that tries to throw/pitch/lob/whatever the ball and ends up releasing it behind her into the other bowlers seated in the chairs. Should be a great time! (Maybe pray for my bowling partners? Their toes are going to need it!)

*phew*

How's that for exhausting? The rest of the week isn't much better! Tomorrow is my only day with nothing planned...other than laundry. Friday will find me boutique-ing with my girls, and then Saturday it's time for some fun...rodeo-style!

How about y'all? What's been going on this week? Anything fun? Fill me in on what's new!

With love, from the girl that wears flip-flops for an evening of fine dining,

Swivel Hips

This evening I will be venturing into uncharted territory! Tonight, I am going....

SALSA DANCING!

Three fourths of the Foxy Foursome is meeting for dinner at Johnny Carino's (mmmm!) and then it's off to The Harry Reese Dance Studio for lessons and mucho dancing to a live salsa band. ¡Bueno!

We'll be sure to take lots of pictures, and do our very best to resist making a run for the border with 3 dark-haired triplets names Juan, Paco, and Eduardo. ¡Ay Carumba!

With that, I'm off to continue my chair dancing warm-up to my newest Pandora addiction: Spicy!

¡Adios, mis Poodles!





----------------
Listening to: Oscar D'Leon - Ven Morena

Saturday Shenanigans

When the FF gets together things like this happen.

Sometimes things like this happen.

And once in awhile, it's not uncommon for things like this to happen.

-----------------------

I just wanted to make you all aware because The Foxy Foursome rides again this Saturday!

Board up your windows!

...Secure all valuables!

.....Women and children off first!

.......It's going to be a bumpy ride!

-----------------------

Have I ever mentioned I seriously love these women!? Stay tuned for more pictures and a recap of the shenanigans after the weekend.


Oh, and if you know us in real life...stay close to a phone...we might be using our "one phone call" to ask a favor.

The Foxy Foursome

Warning! The post you are about to read may contain themes not suitable for all audiences. Themes may include, but are not limited to: mush, sap, sentimentality, and/or gushing. Should you decide to continue reading you are doing so at your own risk.

• • • • •

Time and time again people claim to have "the best friends in the world." Those people are wrong. I have met "the best friends in the world" and they belong to me...or maybe I belong to them.

Please allow me to introduce you to some of the hottest women on the planet...The Foxy Foursome!

I have learned in my years as a woman that we have many different types of friends, and those friends fill the many different types of needs we may have. Some of my friends are my opposite, and that works for us. But these girls, The Foursome, we could've been sisters! When we met, it just clicked. We had come from similar backgrounds, we had been through some of the same struggles, we just "got" each other.

Each one of us, no matter how similar we are, brings something completely different to the group.

Sarah Jane (Monkey) has a heart of gold. She is one of the most selfless, compassionate women I know. She is fiercely protective of her friends and family. She can just as easily sit down and have a heart-to-heart with my Mom as she can get down on the dance floor at Margarita's. (Don't let that sweet smile fool you...girl has some serious moves.) Monkey has overcome more in her 26 years than some women overcome in lifetime.

Rachel is as funny as she is beautiful. Her dry sense of humor catches people by surprise, but it's also one thing that draws people to her. She and I have walked very similar roads, and because of that we have a very close bond. She is dependable, trustworthy, thoughtful, and generous. She is always one of the first people to welcome a visitor to Pathways and to invite them to sit with her at dinner. I look forward to our Wednesday night solve-the-world's-problems coffee dates more than I let on. I can see God growing Rachel by leaps and bounds...He's got huge things planned for her. I can't wait to share an obscene amount of Pupusas, inside jokes, and memories with her in El Salvador!

Becky is my twin. We share a birthday. We share the same (slightly bossy) personality. We share an affection for taking out our frustrations on an elliptical trainer. She keeps me accountable, she keeps me motivated, and she keeps me laughing. We became fast friends planning our birthday party last year, and I believe we'll be friends for a lifetime (if we live through planning her wedding!) Becky is a woman who will always tell you what she's thinking, but she'll do it in a way that doesn't offend you...it inspires you. She's intelligent, she's beautiful, she's ornery, and she chair-dances to the annoying music they play before a movie. I'm not sure how I'll manage when she moves to Houston in September. My only consolation is that I'm pretty sure Nathan realizes just how amazing she is and how lucky he is that we're letting her go!

Putting faces with the names! (L to R) Rachel, Becky, me, and Sarah Jane

For a girl, who once had a seriously lacking social circle, to have not one but 3 best friends is nothing short of a miracle. God has blessed me with these women that support me, love me, challenge me, yell at me, motivate me, pray for me, and get into trouble with me. I pray for each of them daily...sometimes more often than that. I believe we will see each other through engagements, marriages, children, moves, job changes, and grandchildren.

"However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship."
~ La Rochefoucauld

To my Foursome: Thank you for coming into my life at exactly the right moment. Thank you for being obedient to what God wants you to do, and for inspiring me to grow closer to Him. I count you all as some of the most precious blessings God has given me. I can't wait for all of the seasons of life we'll share together. I love each of you a ton!

*mwah*

ps: You didn't really think I could write a post about the Foursome and leave the Estrogenfest picture out, did you? You're welcome!! ;)