Camp.

Today I am grateful for invitations.

more specifically, an invitation to me. from my dear friend, Kristy.

It's not a new invitation. it comes every summer. once or twice. if i'm lucky enough for her to make it up this way more than that, even better. and it usually produces some of my favorite memories from the summer. so what is this oh so special invite?

"do you want to come see me at camp this weekend?

Why yes, darling. I do.

Kristy's parents own a camp just up the road about 10 minutes from where I live. and every summer she comes home for a couple weekends and stays out at the camp. and she always extends the invite for myself or the kids and the marsh and i to come out and visit. and i love getting to go out there and see her.

I love sitting on the deck with her in the morning, drinking a cup of coffee and catching up on everything going on in our lives. I love sitting on that same deck in the evening with her, drinking a glass of wine and listening to the loons sing. We have hilarious conversations. and we have serious ones. It's where I first met her amazing boyfriend, ken. and it's where I asked her to be my children's Godmother. It's a time to come together and remember why we're such good friends. even though we live two states away.

It also comes with the benefit of her parent's hilarious neighbor, Gale. she's seriously one of the funniest people I have ever met. She reminds me alot of my mother, so i took to her right away. She is also amazing and has no problem letting us lounge on her deck down by the water or taking us out on boat rides. she's even taken my children out on boat rides too. She is just awesome.

The whole atmosphere at camp is awesome. and i seriously look foward to the time spent there with kristy each summer. this week i received my first invitation this summer. and i'm grateful for the chance to see her this weekend. and enjoy camp. I am also even more grateful for this invitation because Kristy is leaving next month to go live in London for 8 weeks. and while i'm extremely excited for her, it also means that I won't get to spend those special days lounging on parent's deck with her this summer like i normally would. so i'm glad we'll have this one weekend until August when she comes back.

I'm not entirely sure which day i'll be out to see her, but i'm going to try really hard to make it happen. and I'm grateful for any chance to see my best friend.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Thunder Storms.

Today I am grateful for thunder storms.

I love thunder storms.

like really really love them

I love them during the day. when suddenly the entire world (or you know, that little town you call home) goes dark. it feels like night it's so dark. and then the lightning is so bright and shiny in the darkness. and then no matter how old you are...you start counting. just to see how long it is before the thunder sounds.

I love them at night. when the lightning seems to spider across the sky. creating so many different pathways of current. I love just laying in bed and being able to see the lightning out my window. and just listening to the rain on the roof. I woke up at about 2:00am this morning and just watched the lightning for a few minutes. and then this morning at 5:30 when i needed to get up for work I had no desire. I think it would have been easier to get up and go to work if it had been sunny. the rain and thunder seemed to be whispering to me. "stay in bed with a book."

and why I ABSOLUTELY adore thunder storms? because around these parts, it means summer is finally coming. thunder storms don't happen in the winter. they barely happen in the spring and fall. but in the summer? oh yes. we get them. and I am soo ready for summer. I'm done with the cold and the wind and the mud. I just want it to be summer now. and while memorial day weekend typically is the beginning of summer season as far as tourists go..i don't consider it summer time until we've had a couple decent thunder storms.

I'd say we're off to a fantastic start.

YAY for summer!

thanks for reading!
Lana

I Love You.

Today I am grateful.

for them.







somehow they just make everything better.

and I am so GRATEFUL for them. all the god damn time.

I just can't help it.



Happy Memorial Day!

Please know that i am also extremely grateful for everyone who wears a uniform. now and in times past.

thanks for reading!
Lana

Under Cover.

Today I am grateful for The Marsh.

I know. I know.

I'm ALWAYS grateful for The Marsh.

and why per say..am i so grateful today?
(hehe, that totally rhymed!)

because a few weeks ago he bought me a beach umbrella. a very pretty blue beach umbrella with pretty blue polka dots. and I love it.

and while I haven't yet ventured out into the beaching world (it's not that freaking nice out), I have on occasion used it at my house. earlier in the week my fair skinned sister and i used it while sitting at the table on my deck so as to not tarnish our beautifully pale skin. (a.k.a. we are incapable of tanning so we might as well prevent the burn) Today, I very much enjoyed my new umbrella while my children were playing outside in their little pool.

It was gorgeous out today. and my babies wanted to play. sometimes i really enjoy sitting in the sunshine. pretending i'm getting a super awesome tan even though I just put half a bottle of spf 1000 on. today though, i had just a little bit of a headache and I knew sitting in the direct sunlight wasn't going to be my idea of a good time. So i grabbed my shiny new umbrella and stabbed it into my yard for some nice shade while the kiddos went crazy. it was lovely. they used up lots of energy. and i used up none, while i sat in my shaded little fold out chair with my book.

isn't that the life?

that was rhetorical. of course, it was the life. it was amazing. and i'm grateful that the marsh bought me the umbrella to make it happen. and i'm grateful for this life i have that allows me lazy sundays full of sunshine and books and happy babies.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

twice as nice.

Today I am grateful to my sister-in-law.

again.

and to my brother.

for being a part of the few people whom at this point STILL had not seen The Avengers.

why is this so wonderful? or should I say why WAS this so wonderful?

because last night my sister asked if i wanted to go see it again with her...

AND I WAS LIKE YES FUCKING PLEASE.

because you know, i may have enjoyed it the first time i saw it.

and I asked my brother to come because I knew he hadn't seen it yet.

and i knew he wouldn't want to go alone. he would want to go with his favorite sister. for company. it doesn't matter that she's already seen it.

nope.

and i loved it. again.

and I drooled all over Loki. again.

it made for a very nice evening of beautiful men. in tight pants.

i mean really..who isn't grateful for that?

heck yes.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Getto Margaritas.

Today I am grateful for getto margaritas.

I know.

they were about as awful as they sound.

but after two or three, you don't really seem to notice anymore. they actually become ingenious. maybe.

How do i know this? Well, today after work The Marsh and I went to his parents for dinner. We arrived just in time to see his mom leaving. "Where are you going?" The Marsh asked. "To pick up some jose cuervo" she replied.....and in that moment. i knew it was going to be a good night.

of course, The Marsh's sister, Kristin, and I didn't wait for his mom to come home, so we started out making some horrible mixed drinks. i'm talking malibu and fruit punch. and some other weird green alcohol.

it felt a little bit like my freshman year of college all over again.

and then the jose showed up. with limes. everything we needed for margaritas! except, of course, an orange based liquor, because Kristin didn't realize she was out. so we used orange juice instead. no biggie.

I told you they were getto.

Kris and I had fun drinking them though. and alot of fun laughing about what geeks were are. and how much we really need to make time to go out dancing.

over all I would say it was a successful friday night. lots of music and laughing. and tequila. a girl really can't ask for more. so i'm grateful for my sister-in-law. for tequila fridays (or you know, tequila any days) and for getto margaritas.

Thanks for reading!
Lana

Cinderella.

Today I am grateful for Cindrella.

No, not the princess.

but my very good friend, Corey.

I just happen to call him Cinderella. because we used to work together. and i had to teach him how to mop. he was 16. how a 16 year old doesn't know how to mop is still beyond me. but apparently we bonded over the experience. and i've loved him ever since.

Like i said, Corey and I used to work togther at a little place i like to refer to as HELL. okay, so i guess it wasn't that bad. but it was a pet store. full of little animals that piss, and shit, and bite you....and okay. i lied. it really was that bad.

but obviously i was in good company. Corey and I became very good friends. he was a grade behind me and even went to a different school, but we stayed in touch when i moved out of state and remained friends throughout the craziness of my marraige and pregnancies.

When my brother told me he wasn't going to be able to make it to my wedding, i remember feeling devastated. and remember thinking in that moment that there was only one other person I would want to take his place in my wedding...and that was corey. he really came through, renting the tux and everything last minute. I was so glad to have him there sharing in my special day. he made the fact that my brother couldn't be there a little bit easier to bear. I'll always be grateful to him for that.

The reason I am grateful for him today,is  because after not seeing him for almost 2 years (thanks to him going to grad school in D.C.) I FINALLY saw him tonight. He came over for some dinner and wine. and it was just amazing. the best part about having such an easy and wonderful friendship with someone since you were 16, is that no matter how much time has passed, every visit is just so much fun. We drank (after all, we are WASPs), we ate, we laughed, we caught up, we drank some more. I'm just so grateful for wonderful nights like this one. He's back home now, all finished up with school for the most part. so i am hoping to be able to see him a little bit more often than once every two years. He's just such a happy, fun. amazing person. and he makes me feel like i have those qualities too.

i hope everyone else is lucky enough to have such a friend. and is also equally grateful.

Thanks for reading!
Lana