JP, Krista, and I had a chance to visit the newest addition to our little group last night!

Adrienne and James welcomed Lucas Charles at 5:01 PM on Sunday, January 20th.  In summary?  He's perfect.  :)

We were itching to meet the little man so we had to do everything possible to stay contained (and at least look calm on the outside) when James said we could come say hello!  

They are my favorite little family... Did I mention, he's perfect?

<3 <3 <3

Just a little motivation to get me through this Qualifier... it's going to be fine... just fine... right?

Ok... So I've had a little bit of a rough start in the let's-get-some-serious-work-done department.  I think that sometimes with grad school, you get stuck with only very long term goals and it makes the light at the end of the tunnel seem incredibly dim.  And did I mention the tunnel is 8,000 miles long?

Julia sent me a little "inspiration" this morning to help me get started...

Maybe I just need to get my feet wet and then it will spiral from there?  You know... like opening a box of Girl Scout cookies!  You can't ever read just one journal article!  (Yeah... because you can't even read ONE.... you die of bordom halfway through the abstract...)

Sometimes, sisters are separated at birth....

Other times, best friends are separated by grad school... Tomato, tomäto!

The point is! We were FAR overdue for this little reunion!  No matter how brief it may have been...

Tara and I haven't seen each other in roughly two and a half years.  Her boyfriend is moving to Boston and they happened to be passing through Troy this afternoon on their drive and we were able to meet up for a little brunch!  (And of course, cupcakes because let's face it... it wouldn't be "us" if there wasn't dessert...)

The best part?  I had NO idea she was coming until I received a text message - "Sorry for the late notice: any chance you could get lunch in Troy in two hours?"

UM, YES!!!!!!!!

Now, let's analyze this... for those of you who have met my dear friend, you understand that MY response was completely appropriate. Notice the all capital letters, excessive exclamation marks... all indicating an overwhelming level of excitement.  

Let's continue this shall we?

Me:  Are you here???
Her: Not quite yet

Hmm... why am I the only one overly pumped about this?


Me: I would love to see you!!!
Her: Sounds good.  When we get in to Troy we'll call. 

What the hell????  Did she mellow out on me?  Grow up and mature overnight??  Abandon the ridiculousness that we once were??? 

So I'm waiting at the restaurant to meet them, a little nervous (I can't lie...) and then all of a sudden a BURST of energy spastically leap and bound through the intersection toward me.  It was same old Tara... :)

The Case of the Excitement-less Texts?  She was the one driving and was relaying messages to Leon to send to me.  

Ahhhhhhhhhh..... WHEW!  

Looks like a lot hasn't changed over the last six years. :)  We aren't always the best about staying in touch but I think we both know it doesn't matter - we just work.

Unfortunately, they had to get back on the road so we had to say goodbye.  And later, when I got home, I received another text message:

Her: It's me back texting!!!!! :) I'm soooooooo glad we could see you!!!!! Love you!!!!!!!!!

That's my girl... :)

I was never really big on resolutions, but I gave it a shot last year so I might as well give it ago this year, too.  2012 had some definite ups and downs but overall I am grateful for everything.  I'm ready, 2013 - let's do this!

1. Be Happy.  I know it sounds really straight-forward but frankly, it just needed to be said.  This is really the big one.  Any others I come up with are really just subcategories to this.  I think I've gotten into a habit of fretting and worrying just a little too much.  Trying to please everyone else a little more than myself.  And sacrificing my own happiness (and sometimes my sanity) in the end.  I think I lost a little bit of myself along the way (hey, it happens!) so now I'm ready to get back to me - no regrets, no hesitation, just my own little adventure.  :)

2. Add to English.  Italian has always been on my to do list.  And I learned a little French in middle school and high school.  I obviously don't have enough to do so I figured I'd add to it all by working on learning both (??) Italian and French this year.  Krista found a website called Duolingo that I think will help nicely!  I'm going to give it a shot anyway.  A little bit each day, I think.