Y'All Rejuvenate Me

My friends are the thing that keep me going and happy. I realized after going through a few rough patches in the past few weeks, how spending time with folks really picks me up and makes my life worth living. Now, I'm not talking about ALL people. I'm talking about my friends.

The last few weeks were a really blue, annoying time for me. I was in a pretty bad head space most of the time. I tried to just go with it, seek out what was bothering me and actively try to resolve it, and carry on. It wasn't until my friend Rachel and her family came over Friday before last, that I felt like someone had plugged me in and wiped out the blues. I had only met Rachel in person one time. I just admired her photos on Foodspotting and communicated with her through that. I got her email when I met her for lunch one day and immediately fell in love with her. She's a professional photographer and an all around lovely person. You can go check out her work here: Rachel Valley Photography. Aside from the fact that she is immensely talented, she is also an all around amazing woman. She has a busy schedule and a family so it was really hard for us to get together. I kept telling her to come over with the family and she kept saying how crazy that would be, as she has twin one year olds, and a six year old. I finally talked her in to coming. I fell in love with her whole family as soon as they walked through the door. Her husband is awesome, her children were beautiful and fun, and she is a lot like me. We ate a huge carnitas dinner and I marveled at how her one year olds could pick up a huge glass and drink out of it. They spilled stuff all over and it made me realize that I love kids so much, that when they make a mess of things it in no way triggers my anxiety. It was very strange and it made me even happier. She kept apologizing and I kept saying, "I'll clean it up later. It's really not a big deal." They left and invited me to come see them at their home in Rocklin next, and I'm going to take them up on that offer. One of the babies totally took a liking to me so I told her once they get a little older, if her and daddy need a date night, I'm all in on the babysitter tip.

Monday night my friend Ally came over for shrimp pasta and salad. She brought a yummy dessert and we had a great talk about her boyfriend and how things are going. She shares my love of food, and Audrey Hepburn movies. She is one of the nicest people I've ever met. We sat and talked for a few hours after dinner about stuff that was going on, and it was a really pleasant evening.

Tuesday and Wednesday night I spent with my mom and dad. Thursday night I was so exhausted I spent the night by myself, catching up on dvr'ed shows, and it was a fantastic and restful evening. Until I got a text from Joe, followed up by a phone call. If he asks me out again I'm going to tell him I'm really not interested, but I'm hoping my complete lack of excitement while on my phone with him gave him the idea that there's nothing there. Much to my dismay, he then texted me again last night while I was prepping dinner for friends.

My friend Josh and his wife Crystal came over Thursday night and I made some awesome chicken in a mushroom wine sauce, and goat cheese mashed potatoes. Josh is one of my favorite people of all time. If you haven't checked out his book yet, you need to go here and get it: Spare Parts and Dismemberment. Josh and I are a lot alike. We both have alcoholic fathers we never knew. We were both in to hardcore straight edge in high school, then went off the rails with drugs and alcohol. He got sober about 2 years before I did. We have the best stories and so much laughter when we're together. Our senses of humor are so meshed that there have been times where we have been talking and everyone else in the room is just stopped and staring at us 'cause it's weird how we play off each other's words. His wife and I laughed about her friend who asked her, "Are you still dating that rocker guy?" WHO THE HELL CALLS PEOPLE A ROCKER NOWADAYS? In the friend's defense, Josh is currently sporting a rat tail, crazy tattoos, and was wearing a Venom shirt. But we decided the only rockers we know are our friends Skinner and Groundchuck. We talked about how he worked for our local paper, The Sacramento Bee, exactly a month before he hated it so much he had to quit. I admire that he does what he loves for a living, and isn't afraid to pick up and leave a job if the fit isn't right. That's ballsy. The night was full of laughter and fun. Here's a picture of the lovely couple.

That's his rocker face. If rocker face means it looks like you haven't shat in 5 days.

I always have so much fun every time they come over.

This past Friday my friend Jen and her new husband came over with their kids. I couldn't make her janky hoedown wedding (I didn't make that up. That's what their wedding invite said) so I told her I'd make them dinner to celebrate the event. I met Jen when I used to take care of her little boys. Back then they were one and three. Now I think the oldest is in junior high. Good lord how time flies. I made burgers and sweet potato fries. I did a burger bar with saffron mayo, curry ketchup, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, and all the fixin's. The kids ran around like crazy people and drew on the closet doors. I have glass closets so I bought paint pens. When people come over I invite them to draw all over the closets to leave their mark.

All in all, I need to try and focus when I'm down about all of the people in my life that bring me joy and make things amazing. I don't know what I would do without all of you. But I must say I was looking forward to a Saturday alone. As much as I need the reboot from friends, I also need the reboot from down time and cleaning the house. Last week was a fantastic week that reminded me just how important my friends are in my life. I love each and every one of you, and I most definitely wouldn't be who I am without you.

Happy picture of the day: when Josh asked what they could bring for dinner, I said dessert. He brought this cake, which made us all laugh. Randomly awesome.

It says HBD Chong (Happy Birthday Tommy Chong) and there's a candle in his mouth for a joint. I told Josh bravo, 'cause it totally looks like Tommy Chong. He's an artist AND a writer. Talented bastard!