We partied, and then partied some more...

I had a FABulous weekend with a capital F (or a capital FAB, for that matter)!

The weekend began with a dinner out with two of my very best friends from college, Angela and Jeff. Most of you already know Angela, since she's appeared on my blog here-and-there over time. (We have been friends now for 26 years, which is just a scary, scary concept because it means we're getting old with a capital O! We became friends in 10th grade and were pretty much inseparable after we first met. We were roommates in college, she was a bridesmaid for me two separate times, and was there when McKenna was born. One of those friends with whom you have so many combined memories that you can pretty much complete stories for each other!). Jeff became very close friends with us when we were in college. Jeff and I were both journalism majors and have a lot of wonderful memories of classes and magazine staffs; and I have more memories of Halloween and "Star Trek" and Waffle Houses at 2 am than I can even count!. Angela is just an hour away, so we see each other pretty regularly; Jeff, though, is in New York City and so I only see him maybe once a year.

One of our favorite hangouts in college was Kozy's, this perfectly, well...cozy...restaurant and bar. Back in "the day" it had a vintage jukebox and a dance floor, and it was perfect. The food was always expensive, so we always enjoyed the appetizers and the drinks when we were 20. (Now that we're 40, we can afford to eat off of the "real" menu...which we did this past weekend!)

Angela and Jeff and I sat in Kozy's for almost three hours, and ate more than we possibly should have, and had a Fabulous time! Here are a few pictures of Jeff with Angela and me (and Jeff, these are NOT bad pictures of you; I think you look great!)....

And then of the food, which included this incredible Pork Mignon with a wonderful basil sauce, asparagus and pureed sweet potatoes. (I totally didn't take a picture of the bacon wrapped scallops that Jeff and I scarfed down as appetizers. Suffice it to say that we ate every last bite!) It was delicious...

And then white chocolate bread pudding for dessert (I also didn't take a picture of the glass of Reisling I had; yum...). This stuff was To. Die. For...

And then perhaps our very favorite thing on the Kozy's menu. The Kozy Kreamer dessert drink. You cannot imagine how yummy it is....

We spent three hours eating all of this food, moaning about how much we ate, remembering old times, and talking about life now (I probably bored Jeff with all my mother-daughter stories, although he did make me happy by saying some of my experiences with McKenna are very "Gilmore Girl"ish. Love that show, and I can see a little bit of Lorelei-Rory in me and McKenna! And Jeff regaled us with tales of New York City; I imagine he and his partner, Will, jet-setting all over town, doing all sorts of cool, "cosmopolitan" things, and he instead reassured me that life in the Big Apple is really not all that different than life anywhere else. Still, though, I am seriously going to have to take a trip up there so he can take me out to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill.).

Spending time with Jeff and Angela always makes me reflective on the "old times" and makes me so appreciative of those friends who have stood the test of time. They are so precious to me!

Although I probably would have enjoyed sleeping in a little bit on Saturday morning, there was more partying still to do. And who was I to delay all that fun?

On Saturday morning, Delaney and McKenna and I attended the Bat Mitzvah for one of Delaney's best friends on her travel softball team (Gary and Sydney couldn't attend, because it was tryout day at our softball park and Gary had to be there for all of it since he's coaching this year). The Bat Mitzvah was fascinating and totally inspiring. As a Christian, I really respect the Jewish tradition (we have a shared heritage, after all!) and I was really honored to be invited to share this day with Rebecca and her family. The Temple it was held at was just beautiful, and the service was filled with all sorts of cool moments. I quietly enjoyed the Hebrew recitations and proudly joined in with the English responsive readings, and was just moved by the beauty of it all.

After a brief respite in the afternoon for Delaney to attend a county-wide choir competition, I delivered McKenna to a Christian rock concert she and some of her youth group were attending, briefly said "Hey!" to Gary and Sydney, and then took Delaney off to the party that night to celebrate her friend's Bat Mitzvah.

The theme for the party was "Denim and Diamonds" and was designed with all sorts of bling. I absolutely loved this display at the entrance to the party (denim and diamonds!! Cool, huh?).

When I left, Delaney was laughing and singing and dancing with her friends. I was going to take some pictures of them all having a great time, but Delaney sort of rolled her eyes at me when I suggested it. So, instead, I took this picture of the party as I drove out of the parking lot. You could see some of the kids on this big screen that you could see through the window. Too much fun!

(Delaney later told me how much fun it was! I was sorta jealous myself!)

We woke up Sunday morning to an absolutely Gorgeous day (yes, with a capital G!), with temperatures hovering right around 70 all day long. After church, McKenna and Sydney and I decided to head to the walking track. (Well, it was really me that decided to go...after I reflected on how much food I had eaten over the weekend!). I did a mile around the track--half of it running, half of it walking--and was quite proud of myself.

McKenna and I have decided (as long as the weather stays pretty) to start going to the track three times a week (and, after seeing my little tummy roll in the pictures below, I am seriously planning on sticking with this plan).

Here are Sydney running (that child almost ran an entire mile herself), McKenna slowing down a bit, Sydney and I relaxing afterwards, and then Sydney just looking cute...





As I said goodnight to Delaney just a little while ago, she told me how tired she was. It was a good tired, though, she said. "I had so much fun this weekend," she told me. "It's the most fun I've had in a long time." (She also had a spend-the-night party for a friend's birthday party on Friday night, so she wasn't lying!)

I agreed with her. It was a good one!