How was everyone’s weekend? Ours was spent with some great friends. It was a fabulous time and just reminded me the signs of a true friendship. It also reminded me why the first trimester is typically the least enjoyable part of pregnancy, but I’ll reserve the glory of all those details for a future post…coming to your screens sometime this week. I would much rather recap the fun side of the weekend on a Sunday night.

We have to rewind back to Friday night. After Peter got home from work, we headed out to meet some of our best friends for dinner. This was the first time we’ve been able to go to dinner all together since the birth of their beautiful daughter 2 months ago. (Happy 2 month birthday C!) Things have been a bit of a rough start for them since C was born 6 weeks early, so now that things are a bit more stable they were excited to get out for awhile. I know the feeling! I was glad we got to be a part of it.

We went to the restaurant Olde Towne Tavern in a local area with shops, parks, grassy areas for play, water fountains, etc.

We spent about two hours there talking, catching up, and enjoying the good food. Makenzie made new friends with a little boy at the next table over and C slept like an angel. It was a good dinner. And the food definitely helped it out. I ordered a baked crab cake sandwich with sweet potato fries and had a garlic roll from the table’s basket. It was as good as it sounds.

Once we overstayed our welcome at the restaurant, we headed out into the night to go feed baby C and let Makenzie blow off some energy. She wanted in on a game of frisbee, but had to settle for being cute dancing around the grass.

The night didn’t end there. We had to top off the night by trying out some Rita’s frozen custard. I got the twist (chocolate & vanilla) with caramel sauce. Heaven.

It was really rich though. I couldn’t even finish it. But all in the name of intuitive eating. No reason to overstuff myself too much. It was time to say goodbye after that. I already can’t wait to spend time with them again.

Saturday night was spent in a similar fashion by hanging out with more of our close friends. We headed over to their house in the afternoon for the men to take the kiddos to the park while us ladies went to Costco to pick up some food for our trip to the cabin Memorial Day weekend.

We also picked up a pizza and some salad from Buckhead Pizza on our way back to the house. I had a small serving of salad and 1.5 of the super large slices. The pizza had spinach, mushrooms, onions, olives, pepperoni, and sausage on a whole wheat crust. It was goooood. Especially since carby, salty things sound amazing right now.

We had an enjoyable night in with great pizza, watching our girls play together, and then playing Taboo after they went to bed. Another perfect evening and we get to have more like it next weekend when we go out of town with them.

This entire weekend verified to me the thoughts I was having last weekend about friendships. As we get older and move into new phases in our lives it is normal for the friendships we used to count as our closest to change. My friend who is getting married is one of my oldest friends and I can't imagine not having her friendship. But I can’t deny that other friendships in my life fulfill me in ways hers can’t. Many of who I would consider my closest friends right now are friends I have much more in common with. Friends I go to church with, who also have children, or who share similar passions as me. I look forward to talking to and seeing these people on a regular basis. When I don’t see them for over a week I actively miss them. I can reach out to them, asking for prayers and knowing that they hurt for me the same way I ache for them when they are facing troubles. I feel so blessed for the numerous friendships I have already and the ones I know are going to grow by leaps and bounds (<---Emily!) I don’t plan on losing my old friendship, but I know I must accept the fact it is changing as we revolve in different circles and travel down different paths.

I have learned one important lesson through the many changing friendships I have had in life. The ones who count are the ones who stick with you for the long haul, through the easy and the hard. In that way, no one can compare to my friend “N”. I love her and will work hard to keep our friendship running deep like my others. You can never have too many true friendships, right? I sure hope not. I love being surrounded with friends…old and new.

• What was the best part of your weekend?
• Favorite pizza toppings?
• What do you think is the most important factor in a solid friendship?

Today’s Flashback Friday will continue with my travels, since you all said you enjoy them. I enjoy writing them as well. It is fun to relive such an amazing trip. It is also interesting to read through my travel journal and see some of my thought processes. I have something to discuss that bothered me when reading through my entries. First, let’s look at all of the pictures and the fun stuff. Today’s flashback is to our week in Rome. Love.

We spent a good deal of time in Rome because there is just too much to see! I mean, you can’t go to one of the biggest empires EVER and not take time to explore it. From the many churches to the colossal historic ruins and monuments, we had plenty to keep us occupied.

Our first day we hit up most of the major tourist attractions. We started off at the Trevi Fountain and tossed the obligatory coin into it. It is said that if you toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain you will return to Rome before you die. I certainly hope that is true. I want to go back to Europe so badly!

After stopping there, we headed straight to the Pantheon. I had no idea it used to be a pagan worship arena.

History has never been my strong point. Although seeing things in person definitely makes them more interesting. A reason I would love to go to Israel. The only history that truly fascinates me is in the Bible and it would be so cool to see that region up close and personal. But Italy sure does have cool history too. Evident in the ruins and the Colosseum…

It feels like you’re on a movie set because it is so hard to wrap your mind around the fact that these are the real deal.

The remainder of our time in Rome, we simply enjoyed the city and explored, as well as took some day trips I will share next week. We loved visiting the many beautiful churches. I’m not even talking about St. Peter’s Basilica yet. That’s part of next week too. There are so many gorgeous places of worship. The detail and art masterpieces within the walls seem more like museums than churches, but there are people praying and worshipping all around as well. I loved it.

I admit to doing some silly sightseeing as well. I was reading Dan Brown’s Angel & Demons book during my travels and had to check out some of the locales from the book. Like this statue that, in the book, pointed to the next point on the “path to Illumination”. It’s a good book. I highly recommend it.

There is one highlight of Rome that sticks out to me. That was the one fancy dinner we took on the entire trip. We had a strict budget for most of the trip, but when we saw this nice Italian restaurant that made their pasta fresh daily right outside the Pantheon, we took up the splurge. I remember we shared some fresh lasagna & ravioli, a delectable salad, and a bottle of the house white wine. All with the Pantheon front and center.

I’m just sad I didn’t know the importance of food pictures then. I have none to share of what was hands down one of the best meals of my life. No, I’m not exaggerating. Italians know how to do pasta right. Seems like a “duh” thing to say, but there really are no other words to explain it. Fly to Italy now and experience it! If only, right?

This part of our trip was fabulous. Every day was an adventure. What saddened me while reading my journal was the fact that I didn’t seem to live it fully with that mindset. While I obviously enjoyed myself, I still made comments in my journal about wishing the time to pass quicker or other negative things. There were things about missing Peter and my family with a countdown of how many days until I could see them. Instead, I should have simply recognized I would see them soon enough but may not ever come back to Italy and then reveled in being there. I griped about how hot the hostel was in Rome thanks to no A/C, windows that didn’t open, and sharing a room with 20+ people. Um, hello??? You’re in Rome and experiencing new things that many don’t get the chance to! Get over yourself!

And what really pissed me off? During the passage that described the fancy Italian dinner I complained about feeling fat after the meal and how “luckily we walk a lot to burn off all those carbs”. How sad! I probably enjoyed the meal more remembering it than I did during it because I obviously had some anxiety. It saddens me that my negative relationship with food affected such a special moment in that way. I’m thankful I can now enjoy food with minimal issue, but who knows if I will have the same chance to taste such a delightful meal in a once-in-a-lifetime setting? I missed the full experience of it by worrying unnecessarily. My point is, don’t allow anxiety, worry, and stress to keep you from the current moment. Live life in the present. Really savor the life you are experiencing. Right now. Don’t give yourself a chance for regrets and don’t get caught up in negativity. Blessings surround us every moment. Open your eyes to them and live.

• What is a moment you missed experiencing fully because of worry or negativity?
• Have you read any of Dan Brown’s books? Would you have played the total nerd and gone looking for some of the places described in the book too?
• What is one of the best meals of your life?

Come back later for my post on last night’s Flavors of Forsyth fun!