How did it get to be Sunday ... already?!

Wow, this week absolutely flew by! I'm sitting here looking at the calendar wondering how it can possibly be Sunday. Some of that may have to do with the fact that, because of the President's Day holiday, last week was a short week. But I'm guessing that it has more to do with the fact that we had so many plans.

The Pasadena Convention Center hosts an event called Distinguished Speaker Series. I've always wanted to attend, but you have to buy tickets to at least four in the series and tickets are prohibitively (at least for our budget) expensive. However, as luck would have it, I was able to find a FREE source for tickets!! My friend, Terry, is the office manager at the high school and they are given free tickets for students and chaperones. Terry mentioned that Kevin and I were welcome to tickets to any speaker we were interested in seeing. How cool is that! This past Tuesday night we saw Anderson Cooper. What a treat! He is an amazingly intelligent man (with a wicked sense of humor, I might add) who is humbled by the stories he's covered in his life. He believes his job is not that of a reporter, but to bear witness to the struggles and stories of others. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, I highly recommend you do so.

Friday night was girls night out. My friend Holly hosted one of our now famous WOFA events. What, you may be asking yourselves, is a WOFA? Why it's Women of First Avenue, of course! A few years ago our tightly knit (and some may argue, tightly wound) group of women at school started a summer group we called WOFA. The basis of the group is that we have so much fun together, when summer comes around, we're all kinda bummed that we won't see each other every day. Hence, WOFA was born. Okay, so it's not summer yet - but we all felt the need for a WOFA event, so why not? The men had their 'Man Party' (watching football, of course), so we figured we'd counter with a WOFA. Anyone can suggest an activity. We've done anything from mani/pedi's to movie night to afternoon tea to yoga classes to wine tastings. Holly decided on something completely different: Bingo, baby! That's right, my friends, bingo is not just for the older, blue-haired set. It's for anyone who has a hankering to shout loudly at small gatherings and have a great time. We kind of used it as an excuse to talk, laugh, eat and drink, but in all fairness we played bingo, too. And had a great time! To add a little more fun to the mix, each guest was to bring a wrapped $20.00 gift. Before the bingo action commenced, we drew numbers and chose a gift in the order drawn. We were to open the gifts to see what everyone had then, if you won a round of bingo, you could steal the gift you wanted. Some people ended up with several gifts, some with nothing at all. However, no one went away disappointed because we all had so much fun! I came home with the gift my friend Amy brought. It was a particularly 'good pick' because it was something her husband - my friend Michael, with whom I discuss all things wine - put together. It contained a wonderful bottle of chardonnay, smoked gouda, a very piquant cheddar with herbs, olive tapenade and whole grain crackers. Something tells me I see a Sunday afternoon picnic in our very near future!

Saturday we continued to help the LaLa's with their move. Last week, packing. This week, the actual move. What a job! I daresay Kevin and I probably preferred the packing over the moving, but hey ... it all has to be done, so we jumped in with gusto. I probably don't need to say this because you've already guessed it but, we were all completely exhausted. Though not something we'd consider particularly 'fun', their move did remind Kevin and I of something very important for our own search for a home: avoid stairs at all costs! There is still much to be done, but the final outcome is that Deb, Bill and the boys have a wonderful new home that they can, and will, enjoy for many years to come. We love you guys and are so happy for you! And, oh yeah, please plan on being in town when we move so that you can return the favor!!

Though both Kevin and I were dog tired when we got home late Saturday afternoon, I'd promised to attend a housewarming party for the daughter of a friend of mine. She was so excited about the party, I couldn't disappoint her by not attending. However, I told Kevin he could beg off if he wished. At first he said he'd take me up on the offer and stay home to nap. But after he thought about it, he decided that we should both attend. As he put it, 'we there support each other - even if we're tired'. Awwww - isn't he just the sweetest! I promised we'd make it a short visit. Tired or not, we did end up having a good time. Mike and Deanna were very proud to show off their new home. They loved the gift we brought and we had fun visiting with everyone. We stayed for about an hour and then headed home for some well deserved rest!

Whew! No wonder the week felt like it flew by - it did! It's funny - the other day I was having a lively conversation with my friend Ray. He said that a good friend of his had been going through a rough time recently having suffered a job loss and foreclosure on his home. His simple advise to Ray was to 'enjoy every day'. Excellent advise I'd say. Advise certainly well worth taking. I hope you find enjoyment in each of your days as well.