Hell's Bells

Well, hello there. Are you still here? Sorry about that. I have been in a funk. Really, it's been more like a Funk. I've been a real joy to be around for the last eleven days. Just ask Hugh. Poor Hugh. Saint Hugh. Wonderful husband of my life, Hugh. Remember when I talked about how even good marriages being hard? Hugh is not arguing with that assertion right now, I can promise you that.

Anyway, here we are. Hopefully out on the other side of my bummer of a mood. Let me tell you about the happy things that have been going on lately, because, bad mood and all, life just keeps going right on, doesn't it?

• This girl came to visit last weekend. We didn't take a single photo. We did, however, spend the whole weekend eating and cooking and shopping and drinking wine (and happy hour margaritas) and catching up. We'll call those two days a hiatus in my Funk. Nicole is busy these days being a doctor, so it was nice to have a whole uninterrupted weekend to just hang out and be awesome. Awesome ding dongs. There was a lot of head shaking on Hugh's part.
  

• During said visit, I got some happy news in the middle of Macy's via the telephone that may or may not have had me squealing and jumping up and down. I love it when my friends procreate; they make the darn cutest babies.
  

• I came home from Savannah on Wednesday night to these:

Hip hip hooray for the first tulips of the year! My husband is a peach! Also, please note the masticated leaf. Henry is rotten.

• A perfect email from this girl on Friday. Apparently my pseudo-happy voice did not fool her one single bit in our Thursday phone call. It was a three sentence message that was the perfect combination of pep and a reminder that things are never as bad as they seem. And, she's coming to visit in four (!) days! With her sweet husband and the cutest, sassiest two-year-old boy you ever did meet. When I talked to her yesterday he was in the background shouting greetings at me. Who could be in a bad mood after that?
  

• Shut your mouth right now with sixty-five degrees and sunny all weekend long. I played in the yard all day on Saturday with Fletcher (and even Henry). This made for two happy boys:
  

• Yesterday Hugh and I took Fletcher for a ninety minute nature walk. And then we came home and had an evening cocktail on the back porch. Life was just peachy until Henry pushed out a panel of the porch screen and tried to make a break for it. Really, cat? You are quite possibly the most spoiled feline in the country and you're trying to run away? Fortunately he didn't get very far. He ran to the edge of the patio, flopped over, and started eating grass.
  

• Delicious Saturday night hamburgers with a blue cheese sauce:

• One of my January resolutions was to bake bread. I remembered this on Saturday night. Fortunately, two days was plenty of time to produce this beauty (be prepared to be jeal of my apparently awesome bread-baking skills):

• Henry Parker sticking his tongue out - never not cute:

I know, after reading all that you are thinking how could I be anything but so happy? Point taken.

Stay tuned this week for a few good recipes, things I love Thursdays, and an update on my sweet Fletcher. Thanks for hanging around, internet friends. I sure do like knowing you're out there, somewhere, reading along, probably wearing a great outfit and drinking a glass of champagne. My internet friends are the cutest.

Happy Monday!