Good Times and Lazy Days

Friday night I finished my two grad classes. That particular final was "canceled" since my prof thought I did such a "stellar" job "except for the first book report" and there was nowhere to go from an "A". A large group of friends braved the insane crowds at Cheddar's in Lufkin to help me celebrate the end of the semester. They all knew there were many stressful times that I wanted to quit, but did not largely because of their support, so it was awesome to have them all with me. We followed that with a movie at Brad's, which I missed because I fell asleep. Little did I know how much sleep I would be getting during the weekend.

Saturday was beautiful! I woke up to a text that canceled my afternoon plans and upon making it downstairs learned that John was about to go ride. So, of course, new plans were made immediately. Mom was home, too, so off we went. Riding down Hwy 21 we went further than we ever have before...to the first bridge before reaching the Angelina River. We wanted to go all the way to the river, but it just was not possible without riding on the shoulder of the road and we did not want to get that close to the fast-moving traffic. The adventure to the first bridge was plenty - we were moving through some pretty tall grass. I am so thankful we did not find any snakes or other unsavory rodents. We smelled a skunk at one point, but never saw it. The sun made the beautiful coloring of the horses vibrant, especially that of Red Man, my favorite. It was such a pleasure to ride and I was struck many times by all the reasons I love horses - their beauty, grace, eagerness, curiosity and the overall sense of freedom I get while riding. After taking Gran to lunch at the Corner Cafe, Mom, John and I met Daddy at the movies to watch "Robin Hood". I enjoyed being with them more than the movie itself, though I was not completely disappointed by it. The Robin Hood story is a favorite of mine so I was not quite sure how to view this version. Despite that, I definitely will not discourage anyone from watching it.

So after being up most of Saturday night sick, I was so drained of energy on Sunday I had no desire to do anything. So I slept in. Then I roused enough to eat a little breakfast. Thinking it would lull me back to sleep I started watching "27 Dresses" for probably the millionth time - such a fun movie! By lunchtime I thought I felt reasonably well and went to see how I could help Gran prepare for lunch...by the time lunch was served, I felt differently. Any energy I had accumulated was gone again and I did not have any appetite whatsoever, though I did manage a few steamed carrots and a serving spoon of mashed potatoes. My baby brother, John...a 16-year-old up to no good more times than not...was much amused by my small helpings and could not help but tease me the entire time I sat there forcing it down. Honestly, not even Gran's lemon meringue pie could entice me to eat more. I left soon after to lie back down and ended up sleeping till a little after 5 p.m. By that time my stomach was actually growling so I roused myself enough to get some Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup (is there any other??), crackers and Sprite...just in case. This time I watched "Australia"...another really good movie if you can get past some of the oddities of the beginning. Such as, Nicole Kidman's funny accent and odd "oohs" and "ahs" over a kangaroo and her scary scream when it gets shot...yeah, so weird. Thankfully she seems more normal from that point forward. At one point the doorbell rang - which Beau responded to by growling. That is correct...I just said my cat growled at the doorbell. LOL! Did I answer the doorbell? No. Too lazy + not expecting anyone = no point in moving. Later I found out it was the oldest of my two younger brothers, Sam. Thankfully, he found another way in, LOL, or he would have been furious at me for not opening the door.

Strangely enough I was still able to sleep last night. After reading myself to sleep I slept pretty hard until a little after 6 a.m. I am not bursting with energy today, but I can tell that I am rested.

So sorry for the boring rundown of my weekend. I guess I just felt like sharing that all in all I am simply thankful for good times with friends and family and those random lazy days that allow me to catch up. Those days in which I stop for once. I thank God for the time He gives me to be with my family and friends and for the time He gives me to be alone when I need it. I guess I just said the same thing twice, but surely you will not fault me for clarifying. God knows our needs and He supplies for them. Is not that a blessing beyond measure?