i dont think a weekend has ever ever ever made me so happy or gone so perfectly. we didnt win the lottery or anything obviously awesome like that (though i did buy a ticket for the first time last sunday after i woke up from a nap with a song of 5 specific numbers stuck prominently in my head...no luck though), but it was rife with golden simplicity nonetheless. i want to remember this.
saturday morning we were up eeeeearly to run a 5k that our church was putting on. it was only my second run (the first was a short and painful 1.5 miles in january) since the half marathon in DECEMBER. for shame.
i prepared by eating hot dogs and cheese the night before and attempting to go to bed early by taking a tylenol pm. but i couldnt remember if i actually took it but i also couldnt find the un-taken pill. since the dose for humans 12 and up is two pills, i took another to be sure.
big mistake.
i was high as a kite and out of my mind.
this has happened once to me before: in the hospital after layla. i took 2 percocet so that i could sleep through the pain and soreness and instead of putting me to sleep it was like watching a laser show in my own brain for 3 hours.
so i was up well past 1 am friday night with electricity surging through my shoulders, in and out of awful over-drugged sleep but also hyper and jittery.
fun story: this happened to jesse once too. when we were dating and after we had finished our semesters of doing campus ministry (him in spain and me in mexico) i went to visit him in spain. we rented a car and drove all over the north of spain. one night, we were too cheap to get beds in a hostel so we planned to sleep in the tiny rental car. to make sure we slept through the discomfort of the carseats, i suggested we each take 2 advil PM (for some reason 2 of advil doesnt bother me). so i dug through my bag and got out 4 pills for us. i told jesse to hold them while i repacked my stuff. i got back to the front and held out my hand saying, "ok give me mine." he was like, "um, what do you mean yours? i thought those were all for me!"
poor guy did not have a good night. he tried barfing them up but he lacks the charming ability make himself throw up. jesse lacks almost all disgusting features most humans have, such as rough foot skin, smelly sweat, and poor spelling. he's a marvel, my husband. anyway, he was shaking and cold and felt like he could feel death creeping through his veins towards his heart. he paced the city streets like some handsome addict until the dawn as i drifted softly into correctly-dosed car sleep.
but back to this weekends overdose: not the best night of sleep for old keighty.
the race was great anyway. jesse had stroller duty (i figured with the added 70 lbs i MIGHT be able to keep up with him) and the kids were thrilled to be out and about despite being rudely woken before sunrise. i loved playing my running playlist, it was like seeing old friends. robert randolph is just as booty-shakingly awesome as ever.
judah ran for most of the race...at least 2 miles of it. but he also wanted to take some side detours to explore and that was full of delays. i shamefully abandoned jesse during one of these delays because i was scared that if i stopped i wouldnt be able to get going again (the race was right behind our house and my back yard was beckoning to me at mile 1.5).
so jesse was a trooper and pushed/pulled/cajoled both kids over the finish line. judah was very into the thrill of the finish, but layla was a little more suspicious as to why we all wanted her to run. it was like she was on the field of dreams and didnt want to step off and end it. (MUCH awful mommy screeching by me here...sorry)
we flew past the finish line, skipped the afterparty (i guess they'll just have to mail me my 77th place medal) and straight to the car since we had other adventures scheduled.
jesse had to be at a band practice for our friend and AMAZINGLY talented singer/songwriter ryan kiesshauer. jesse sings and plays backup for ryan on many a local "gig." my soul dies a little bit every time i use the word "gig." you may remember ryan from such posts as this one wherein i gave away one of ryan's new CD's (buy one now, it’s so freaking good start to finish). and you may not remember, but ryan's wife bethany is my conversational soulmate. we have the BEST talks. no weird silences, no annoying one-ups, just amazingly cohesive, back and forth, engaging convo. we once met for lunch when i was pregnant with layla and when i got in my car to go home, FIVE HOURS had elapsed without me even noticing!
i chased the kids around the empty church until my parents arrived at 11 am to pick them up for the night. god bless grandparents. after that, i was treated to a private concert by these amazing musicians.
fun fact: that altar is NOT where aslan was sacrificed. but it could have been
after practice wrapped up, jesse and i were off. just two 29 year olds with an empty minivan loose in the city! we had lunch at chuy's (which god granted to atlanta this year because of his great love for me) and then went to a mall. we hadnt been to a mall in AGES! we shopped a little bit the old fashioned way, with dressing rooms and humans and nary a click or login.
i had a little bit of a revelation wherein i decided that i am almost 30 and it's time to maybe look like a grownup. i am fortunate to work a job/life where i can were jeans, t-shirts and flip flops every day. but i dont HAVE to. and honestly, i wouldnt feel good applying for a loan for a DOG HOUSE in the clothes i wear 99% of the time.
i have watched enough "what not to wear" to know that you really do feel better about yourself when you take a bit of pride in your appearance. so i have decided to try. a little.
i discovered and surrendered to the glory that is ann taylor loft and got a few awesomely cute things on uber clearance. i mostly went with things that immediately made me recoil and steered clear of the things that called out to me (t-shirts!).
i even asked the salesgirl where she got her jacket and she said it was from there but was last year's style. i psychotically asked her to write me down the style number from the inside tag of her jacket. she was a little alarmed by that request but i assured her that if i had that i could track it down. lo and behold i found the exact one on ebay for about 75% off the original price. shwing! to the beauty of ebay...america's never-ending yard sale.
jesse pointed out this cuteness to me. 2 of loft's styles of pants are "marisa" and "kate." marisa is my BFF who lives in germany. though loft spelled my name wrong and neither of these styles is extra curvy like us.
we left the mall and made a trip to home depot for a screen door that will enable us to me more outdoor-friendly. then we had a swoon-worthy stop at barnes and noble to kill an hour reading trashy magazines in comfy chairs before dinner.
our favorite restaurant in atlanta is probably agave. we went there for our first official date on our 7th day of dating (which led up to our first kiss...which lasted 4 hours and left me with face-burns) and we usually go there for our birthdays too. we signed up for their email newsletter which advertises their earlybird special of $10 entress if you are seated between 5 and 6 pm. this means we get $24 lamb for $10. so so so so yummy. and major awesome bonus: we had giftcards and got to sit on the perfectly-temperatured and miraculously bug-and-pollen-free covered patio.
since we had gift cards we made a real occasion of it and got drinks, which we NEVER do at restaurants because i can get a bottle of wine for less than a glass usually costs out on the town.
yums all around.
when a rowdy group of frat bros was seated near us during dessert, one of them donning a kilt, it was time to make our exit. it was after all, st. patrick's day, on a saturday night, in a big city. that is SO not our scene. we fled blissfully back to the suburbs and had all kinds of fun that we definitely didnt get to after our first agave date.
on sunday i treated myself to a day of hookie from church. it was a treat not because i skipped church (i REALLY like our church. so much that it scares me because i usually do not get down on american normal church), but because i didnt have to do sunday morning kid duty.
instead, i slept in, cleaned, organized laylas pandora's box of a closet, sewed, ate leftovers and generally felt amazing about life and saw colors i had never seen before. there is something so magical to me about being in my own house, alone, and able to do whatever i want. maybe it has something to do with the kids that have been up in my face and uterus for the past 3.5 years nonstop.
after hanging up some of my new clothes, i decided that these investments were too nice to be sullied with my normal hair (rat's nest updo bun). i realized that in the 5+ years i have worked at my job, i have worn my hair down approximately 3 times. even on the weekends, i wear my hair down maybe 4 times a year. did you know that some ladies do their hair DAILY?!?! true story. i know. unreal.
so i decided to get my second haircut and color in 5 months (making me have wretched guilt about being frivolous and superficial since i normal get it done once every 18 months, but decided it was a mental health investment). i was going to chop of the super long length that i never used for anything other than sink-clogging and layla ropes course-training and get a shorter (not SHORT, i do not have the face for it) cut that i would maybe feel okay taking care of a few times a week.
i begged them to let me in on short notice and sweet talked my lady into giving me a full instead of partial highlight as i settled in to read GQ (a first! really weird magazine that i cant picture a real human man actually reading).
i instagrammed this pic and an unnamed friend asked if i had measles (i think he meant mumps). i do look pretty jowly here and am hoping it's a result of the weird camera filter. matt seems happy enough with me though.
i spent a good 15 minutes trying to take a semi-normal picture of the new haircut and failed desperately. i lack the DNA that allows celebrities and the good-looking to take pictures of themselves without looking like they are making an ironic joke or putting on a funny improv skit.
seriously. this was my best plan.
take 57. this is the best we got. i guess i needed to threaten my bicep with a punch from my other had to keep it in check ???
thats 5 or 6 inches off the length and a mean set of swoopy bangs. i love it. i even did the unthinkable and made another appointment for the end of summer to get it cut again! big girl, panties, prepare ye to be worn (and sweated in...swampass season is upon us)!
jesse picked up the kids from my parents that afternoon and we topped the weekend off with a picturesque blanket picnic dinner at a local park, paid for with gift cards and then played with the kids until sunset. i stopped at rite aid for easter eggs for the kids class parties and was interrupted by revenge of the jalepeno dip from the day before. but even with a raging case of magma GI, this was a perfect 10 of a weekend.
tiny little things are where it's at.
I'm dying. I have so much to say about all of this that I can't even focus on one thing. Okay, you forced me, I'll pick one. Face burn. Got it once, this made me laugh... people in my inner circle still refer to it. Hilarious.
ReplyDeletea few things:
ReplyDelete1.perfect post title.
2. one time I laid down on that "alter" table in that sanctuary and proceeded to act out the scene from the Britney Spears oops I did it again video where its a birds eye view and she is in all white. and then I got caught by the church secretary.
3. you look so pretty!
girl. you had a straight up partay with your hubby this weekend. lucky you!
ReplyDeleteLOVE, LOVE your hair! I too long of alone time inside my house. I have completely forgotten what that feels like! Such a perfect weekend!
ReplyDeleteLove your hair! Sound like the perfect weekend! Sometimes I find myself daydreaming about everything I would do if I had several hours alone in my house...or having a sick day all alone
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a weekend resplendent in awesome. And way to go on a grown-up hair outing! And clothing! The clothing part inspires me especially.
ReplyDeletethat unnamed friend of yours subscribes to both the digital and hard copy of GQ :) Hair looks great - and so does Agave! love you and miss you!
ReplyDeletelove the hair! it looks so good! and i want to see that jacket that you found on ebay....i am a LOVER of loft!! it's the greatest. i also would give just about anything to have hours of free time at my house....and grandparents nearby to watch my kiddo for the weekend. sounds like bliss!
ReplyDeleteI hope Keight and Marisa will reunite soon! Love the new haircut and makes we realize how bad I need one too. Great weekend yet so simple.
ReplyDeleteYour hair looks amazing! I chopped my ponytail off a couple of years ago and have never regretted it. Enjoy the fab new do!
ReplyDelete