to sleep, perchance to dream

At last, a full night's sleep! I recall dreaming but not what those specific dreams were. in any case, I awoke this morning refreshed. throw in some yoga and a lovely breakfast with a british feel with my boy and it was a great start to the day.

last night's outing with the girls at a local brewery was mighty fun. lots of good girl talk (about boys, of course), a heaping plate of nachos and a youngish waiter who repeatedly asked, "is there anything I can *do* for you!?!" I genuinely laughed and felt good. (a possible reason for the good night's sleep?)

I think I've entered an uncharacteristic girl-y phase lately. I'm currently reading the new novel by Jennifer Weiner (which has a very Desperate Housewives feel) with books by Jodi Picoult and Anne Tyler in line next. oh, and a not so girly "How to be idle", which the super-fantastic boyfriend got a kick out of. "you are *not* going to read a book to learn how to do nothing!?!" I explained that it was more of a social commentary on the craziness of American society and our incomprehensible drive to work ourselves to death, but I'm not sure he bought it. I can't hold his skepticism against him, though. I mean, the boy exudes ease and relaxation. nothing seems to upset him or make him lose his cool. yeah, I'm jealous.

back to being girly. I realized yesterday that I have an inordinate amount of pink clothing, which came as a shock. I knew that I had been taking the baby blue phase a bit too far lately (blanket, slippers, house-sweater) but significant numbers of light pink clothing in addition to that is just too much. I must seek deep, earthy colors on all upcoming shopping excursions. (oh wait, I hate shoppping!)

"you're a great little speaker"

those words made my night. as always, my grumbling on the way to this once a month, late (for me) meeting, was quickly replaced with upbeat, well, soroptimism. a hearty greeting, by name, when I walked in the door was a great start. pasta primavera for the vegetarian? no sir, not this time around! they were ready for us with a scrumptious dish of grilled portobellos intermingled with grilled veggies and topped with melted cheese. green beans and a baked potato on the side finished things off nicely. I spent dinner in lively discussion with one of our partner families. She was moving into her home right as I was coming on board and so I never really got to know her. I'm so happy that I finally got the chance! between dinner and dessert she and I got up to do our spiel, which apparently went very well as evidenced the praise mentioned earlier. I also got to participate in the installation of new officers, which was both funny and touching.

it's a bike day, wa-hoo! must be my train guy's day off, 'cause there was a youngster there in his place. only 8 hours until I can bike home:)

how come no bike?

well, it is confirmed. my morning train guy actually likes helping me lug my bike on and off and therefore misses it on days when I walk to the train. or at least that is how I am interpreting his sole comment of this morning. far from being positive, I am slightly bitter about tonight's evening meeting which prevents me from biking home from work. but tomorrow and Friday are meeting-free and, legs willing, will be biked.

there is much cause for celebration today! after three nights of tossing and turning, a decent sleep I finally had last night. all it took was approximately 4 glasses of wine (I say approximate because I was simply too drunk to count), a little Cho Cho San and some chocolate fondue thrown in for good measure. could there be a more super fantastic boyfriend? I think not.

i scream, you scream

perhaps I should change the name of this to "ice cream makes everything better"? today's staff meeting was particularly unsavory with the announcement of yet more staff turnover. coming on the heels of my third insomniatic night, I was more prepared for tears than for rational discussion. however, the consequent trip to DQ, which is conveniently located across the way, seems to have righted nearly everything. I certainly feel much more awake and my mood is downright optimistic! i highly recommend the mud pie blizzard to all those who are feeling a little down!

best weekend ever?

Progress is being made with the train guy! though he admonished me for having on sandals (and rolled the tire up my white pant leg possibly in an effort to reinforce his point), nevertheless we had a little chitty-chat about biking and he genuinely seemed impressed that I ride home rather than taking the train.

don't let my recent quietude fool you, these past few days have been awesome! immediately following work and a ride home on Friday we packed up the car and headed up into the mountains for some lively campfire family time. after one too many close calls with hot dogs on a 4-pronged skewer (are there laws about drunk people wielding flaming meat on a stick? there should be!), we called it an early night.

saturday morning started leisurely with some coffee and baby ogling. following eggs and toast, it was back down the rock slide (my poor car) and on to the trail for the most invigorating and draining first ride of the season. I have rarely in my life felt so bone-numbing tired, and I loved it. lots of rafters and kayakers out on a rather chilly morning. we *must* take up kayaking! after some recuperation and stretching, it was back in the car for the drive home.

showers and brief visit to the shop to ensure my car was still road-worthy (kind of), and we were off to Harrisburg, for a wildly colorful home tour and dinner with my sister and brother-in-law. ice cream was a necessity after dinner and we ended up at 3B where I had the most amazing ice cream, PB Supreme. they don't mess with sizes and what was handed to me (in a sugar cone, of couse) was a few stories high. my companions gasped, but I assured them that I was up the the task. we were then taken hostage (kind of), while my sister took us on a tour of downtown harrisburg, the harrisburg state hospital and various decent and sketchy neighborhoods of the city, all with detailed running commentary. we went from giddy with sugar to giddy with exhaustion to simply exhausted before we reached home.

sunday was a gorgeous sunny spring day that inspired me to clean the apartment and then take up residence on the balcony to read magazines. with brief breaks for phone calls and crystal light pink lemonade, that's all I did until DH and GA that evening.

quite possibly one of the best weekends ever.