Transitions

There's nothing that a good steak, a good friend, and a good baby can't fix. At least that's what I learned today. Today was just not the best- I was really tired, stressed at work, etc. But then this afternoon I went to the doctor, and after that I walked over to Hy-Vee to buy some vitamins and as I walked, I smelled food cooking on a grill. Between the smell and the sun, it almost felt like spring! It turns out that on Thursdays, the Hy-Vee at 96th and Q sells full steak dinners for $7. Steak, baked potato, corn, garlic toast... good stuff. So I bought a dinner for myself and for Jenn and took up to her house and had an impromptu dinner with her and Tommy. And that just made the day a whole lot better.

Friends will really do that for you. I've been blessed by some nice times with good friends lately- I got to hang out with Liz and Micah last Tuesday and brainstorm wedding decor with Stacy (and Isabel!) last Thursday, had lunch with my friend Natalie yesterday (not to be confused with my sister), and then dinner tonight with Jenn. God has placed some amazing ladies in my life, that's for sure!

I've written about my life group in the past (for those of you not in my Omaha life, a life group is the small group we meet with regularly from church). I've been with the singles group for years now, and I've loved it. But a few weeks ago, it was time to transition. So Matthew and I are now part of one of the young couples life group. Our last night with the singles group was really sad. Being in the group has really grown me and blessed me these past years. But I'm also really excited about the new life group. I've already been learning so much from these women and men. The group includes Jenn, Stacy, Liz, Annie and Hannah and their husbands, as well as a few new couples whom I'm looking forward to getting to know. I think this change is going to be really good for my life, and good for Matthew and I's soon-to-be marriage.

And speaking of transitions, notice anything different about me?

Yep, that's right. I finally got contacts. For years (like 15!) I was convinced I could never wear them. The thought of touching my eye weirded me out to no end. But the time has come for me to give them a try, and so I did. It was a real struggle at first, but I did it! I'm really enjoying the change. I'm still getting used to them, but I think they're going to work.

What else is new? I enjoyed a very nice Valentine's date with Matthew last Friday. We got dressed up, had dinner at Vivace, a tasty Italian restaurant in the Old Market, and then saw Chicago at the Orpheum Theater. The tickets were my Christmas gift from him. It was a fun show.

We've also been keeping busy lately working on the house. The basement is almost finished (the new carpet is in, but not yet installed), and we had fun painting the basement hallway while watching the Super Bowl a few weeks back. It's fun to see everything coming together, and I'm really excited to move in in just a few months.

This post is sort of all over the place again, but that's what happens when I go weeks between writing. To wrap up, I'll end how I started, with some more of the dear women God's put in my life. These are pictures from January's bridesmaid dress shopping excursion in Des Moines. Charlotte and I drove from Omaha and Natalie, Staci Mae and Aroea came from Cedar Rapids, and Kristine (Matthew's sister) lives in Des Moines, so it was a good central meeting spot. (Nancy couldn't come because she was in Europe at the time. Poor girl.) It was fun having so many of my favorite people together in one place!

See, Natalie? I told you I'd mention you! :-)