Simply a great day.

A friend of mine just blogged about how she and her little family had a great day, and that all too often, those days that go so well get lost in the shuffle and we forget about them.

Around here, most days are good days. We don't have a lot to complain about, but we all have our bad days. The laundry is piled a mile high, the stack of bills is getting higher, and you look in the cupboard to eat that last chocolate truffle only to find that it's GONE.

Well, yesterday was just simply a great day. Kaylee had gone to bed a bit early (hey, she asked. I didn't argue...) and slept all night (a regular part of our lives now, and if you wonder when we're having another baby, you can hold off on asking for a while - we are enjoying 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep a little much to be thinking about baby #2 at the moment). She decided to get up about 6, which is usually a little too early for my liking, but I'd gone to bed about 9 the night before, so I was well-rested and ready to face the day.

Dennis was still snoozing away, so Kaylee and I went out to the kitchen where I fixed her some breakfast. These days, that usually means about 8 mini pancakes, maybe some peaches, and if those don't sound good, she'll chow down a waffle. I was about to pour myself a bowl of either Special K Blueberry or Frosted Shredded Mini Wheats when I realized how young the day was, and that it was too early to roast alive if we set foot outside.

So...I concocted what I like to call a Master Plan, if you will.

I thought to myself that if I were to march into our room and wake Dennis by telling him that we should go to JB's for the breakfast buffet, he would get something HE wanted (and, let's be honest - it sounded good to me, too). Once he agreed to that, I said, "Hey. It's still early. And, it's not hot outside yet, so we should go on a hike" (and therein lies the thing that I wanted).

He agreed!

So, we went to JB's and had a lovely breakfast. Kaylee behaved herself and charmed the waitresses, as usual. Then, we set off for our hike. And when I say hike, I pretty much mean walk. The trail is pretty even, for the most part. But, here and there I'd do a sprint followed by a walk, just to feel like I was really getting my heart rate up. Then, when Dennis was looking for a snake, Kaylee and I stopped (did I mention she took a nap during part of the walk, too?), so I did some lunges so I was still working out. No, there wasn't anyone who could see me. I made sure of that. I do have SOME dignity.

By the time we finished, we had been out for an hour and a half. It was 9:45 and it was hot as heck outside, so we hurried back into our little air conditioned car and headed for home.

We hung out at home for a while and just enjoyed relaxing - no housework, no bills, no stress. Just fun.

Then, I decided to get out and get some groceries, and I planned a little stop at the Wildflower Bread Company to treat myself to lunch. So, I went to one store, picked up a few things, ran into a friend from work and chatted it up a while, and then made my way toward my lunch destination. I went in, ordered my regular salad (Turkey Waldorf, minus red onions, celerey, and jacama - what the heck is jacama, anyway?), and sat down in a corner booth with a book (current read: "I Love You, Beth Cooper"). My salad arrived, covered in dressing (I forgot to order it on the side) and sprinkled with hidden red onions throughout (cashier guy apparently didn't understand me correctly when I plainly asked for no. red. ONIONS.) But, nothing could ruin my day. Being the picky eater that I am, I am highly skilled in the removal of unwanted food items, and I was able to remove about 94.6 % of the nasty onions.

After I ate my lunch, I headed to my last stop and then went home. I promised my friend I'd be bringing her lasagna and brownies as she just had a baby 2 weeks ago. After we had Kaylee, one of the best things people did for us was to bring us home cooked meals for the first two weeks. It was so stinkin' awesome, and from that point on, I decided I'd do that for my friends who had babies.

Well, I should have learned my lesson after my friend Meg had her baby. The chicken, the potatoes, the other side stuff - it all turned out great. But the cookies? I burned the dang cookies. The best part. I was so mad. And, now, this being the second time I attempted to bring someone a meal after they had a baby, I have learned that this may not be the best idea in the future, and instead of cooking I will just bring my friends their favorite take out. Anyway...

I spent took longer than anticipated on my errands, and by the time I got home, I was running way behind. I assembled the lasagna (I seriously make an awesome lasagna), mixed up some brownies, and got some cheese bread ready. The only problem was, the different foods required different temperatures.

I figured, "Ah, what the heck?" So, I upped the temperature and decreased the time. What did I get? Perfectly cooked cheese bread, lasagna with rock hard noodles, and brownies that looked cooked from the surface, were crunchy on the outside, and completely gooey (I love a gooey brownie, but these were basically still batter) on the inside.

So, 15 minutes before I was scheduled to bring my friend and her family dinner, I called and asked her what her favorite kind of pizza was. And...they ate Papa Johns pizza for dinner, WITH the yummy cheese bread, I might add.

I also brought her a pack of diapers and a bag of Lindor truffles, so I think that made up for the fact that they had to eat dinner from a cardboard box instead of a homemade meal made by moi.

They didn't care one bit. I think they were probably just happy they didn't have to cook.

And me? I was just tickled pink to hold a brand new baby. She's about the same size Kaylee was at 2 weeks old, and I seriously cannot believe Kaylee was ever that small. It was awesome. She didn't make a peep and was just so darn cute.

And, of course, my little dinner disaster meant that WE got a pizza for dinner, too. So, we enjoyed our pizza and caught up on two of our favorite shows.

At the end of the day, it was nothing earth-shattering. Nothing life-changing. Just a whole lot of great little moments, all rolled up in to one day. And now that it's on the trusty old blog, I won't be forgetting about it any time soon.

Thanks, Ruth, for inspiring me to write about our great little day. I loved reading about yours. :)