a list

the next section of my sensory processing story is taking a little while to write so in the meantime you get a list of random things that may or may not have occurred recently in the white family.

1) i had a migraine yesterday.  boo.

2) i love my husband dearly and cannot imagine my life without him.  he took care of me yesterday.  i am blessed.  the boys are pretty incredible when i'm feeling yucky too!

3) i have a mountain - a mountain! - of laundry waiting to be washed.  one day with a migraine = three days of catching up on housework.

4) the boys and i dropped off our operation christmas child shoeboxes last week.  we filled them full of awesome things that any boy would be happy to have.  this year we can follow our boxes and find out what country they get shipped too!  and we included a family photo, letter and our address in hopes that the boys who receive our boxes will write to us.  fingers crossed!

5) i'm meeting two girlfriends, amy & chelsea, for dinner tonight and am so looking forward to seeing them and catching up on how their lives are!  i have missed them!  we are eating at little ollie's  in cherry creek.  yum.  the three of us used to work together at cb richard ellis (i started in november of 2004) and have stayed in touch ever since.  hard to believe it's been eight years this month!  they are amazing ladies - career women, loving/supportive wives, beautiful inside & out, awesome moms, and great friends!! 

6) i have already finished christmas shopping for the boys.  i just need to buy a few small things to fill their stockings.  last year i went overboard on gifts for them.  lots of educational toys - so that's been good - but it was just too much.  this year they are each getting one gift from us and one from santa.  plus their stockings.  that's it.  that's plenty.

7) please don't feel sorry for them.  they have a meme & papa and grandma & grandpa and uncles & aunts who are very generous in spoiling them!

8) for christmas this year we are meeting jeremy's family (uncle, aunt & cousins) in steamboat springs and the boys are going to ski school.  they are super excited about it!  jer and his dad spent much of the day saturday shopping for the boy's gear.  they are going to be the cutest, most stylish, ski dudes on the mountain, i tell you!  and, of course, jer found new skis and boots for himself. 

9) we had a play date with a friend and her two sweet daughters last friday afternoon.  we always enjoy seeing them and we had a fun time.  my friend and i got to talking, though, and i quickly realized her heart was heavy.  after we chatted she said, "thanks for letting me be real with you".  are you kidding?  i would not want it any other way!  i have a hard time with friendships that involve tip-toeing around subjects - i much prefer getting straight to the heart of it!  but you know what her comment made me realize?  being real with one another doesn't come naturally.  it's easier to lie. "i'm fine" "i'm good" "nothing's wrong".  those are lies we tell others all the time.  sometimes those are lies we tell ourselves!  i'm not sure why we do it.  the busyness of life perhaps?  fear of being vulnerable?  whatever the case, i'm thankful my friend felt comfortable enough with me to be real.  i'm honored she shared her concerns.  that conversation turned what would have been just a fun play date into a meaningful play date.  and we can all use a little more meaning in our lives, no?

10) i made this better than take-out orange chicken for dinner last week.  let me tell you.  it really truly is better than take-out.  even jeremy thought so!  and he is one difficult man to please.  i mean, he'll eat pretty much anything.  but it's rare that he raves about things.  and he raved about this!  so, i highly recommend this recipe.  with one caveat, though: it's not healthy.  there's quite a bit of sugar and oil involved, which is why it tastes so darn incredible!!  i added broccoli to ease my conscious. 

ten things.  over and out.  love, rachel