And we're back

I accidentally took a little blogging break. Two weeks ago, I came down with mastitis again. So, I was down for the count for about a day and a half followed by a really awful cold. I swear I am not here to complain I just wanted to explain myself. We actually did continue to do some school but nothing significant.

The weekend after my mastitis hit, Stacey and I were one of the presenting teams on an Engaged Encounter Weekend. Engaged Encounter is an international organization that puts on marriage preparation retreats. This last weekend was just as fabulous as all of the weekends we have done. We had 21 enthusiastic engaged couples to minister to. On the first night of the retreat, I thought I just had a tiny cold that had already peaked and was getting better. Boy was I wrong. By Sunday morning I could barely talk and was coughing and hacking and the nose was running. All around gross stuff. But I still enjoyed the weekend we got to spend together being all in love and married while the kids had a blast with my folks.

After we got home from the retreat, I had three days to prepare for another adventure:  I took a solo trip to San Jose, CA to visit some of my friends from middle and high school. Nicki, Kevin, and I have been friends for almost 20 years even though I only lived down there for 5 of those years. Now that is dedication. I make it down there at least once a year and sometimes I even let Stacey come with me . . . but not this time. We are actually hoping to go down together this fall but that is still very tentative.

I spent four nights down there in Nicki's lovely apartment in Santa Clara. We went to dinner with Kevin on our first night and had a great time catching up. I actually missed Kevin the last time I was down so I had not seen him in almost two years. The next day, I finally got to check out the infamous Santana Row Shopping Center. It is gorgeous. We took a seat at the Village California Bistro & Wine Bar and just soaked in the sun and scenery for about 2 hours before purchasing some makeup at Aveda and browsing a few clothing stores. That evening I watched Nicki play in a soccer game and then we went to see some stand up at The Improv. Now, the younger versions of ourselves would have gone out to some bars afterward but not present day Nicki and Stephanie. Nope, we went straight home and to bed.

The next day we went wine tasting in Santa Cruz. The drive was very scenic,

though I only got one picture and it doesn't really do the view justice.

Chocolate-covered bacon and Nicki and I enjoying wine at Beauregard Vineyards.

That evening I celebrated Mass with the nice folks at St. Clare's in Santa Clara. After Mass, I met up with Nicki and some of her friends and went to the Earthquakes game. They lost 3 - 1 but I still had an awesome time getting to know some more people.

The next day we went to lunch with my new friends, Sam and Marissa. We then went back to  Santana Row and met up with Kevin and some more of my new friends, Jaime and Joel. We did a little shopping and then went to the Cheesecake Factory. I got a piece of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake. Yummmmmmm! As you can see, we are all very mature adults.

And here is a picture of Jaime and Joel taking a picture of themselves. 

That night we went to Jaime and Joel's and drank daiquiris and played some board games and watched a movie. By 2pm the next day, I was home and hugging my family. And now I am back to doing all the things I love: teaching, parenting, and just taking care of my home and family.