July 16

What an amazing day! Like I've said, we live in a split foyer, so when Mom and I are home on Fridays, we have to leave the house when Dad does since it takes two people to get down the stairs. Unfortunately, this results in an increase in our grocery list (but it ends up saving us money when we don't have to buy food during the week in Baltimore!) anyways, we ran into Maureen in Target and got some of the details about paintnite worked out...she's been trying to plan paintnite for me as a fundraiser and I finally picked a picture: 

I posted on Facebook how I chose this picture and for everyone to save the date- July 13!!- and that more details were to follow. I said "Save the date! A friend is organizing a paintnite at the Green Turtle in Winchester on July 13 as a fundraising event for me. I got to pick the picture and I chose this one because life has its ups and downs, but just like a swing, it's more about the ride. It reminded me of the journey I'm on right now and I'm hoping others will come out and give me a 'push' towards my goals. We need 35 people to sign up! More info to come!" People went crazy!!! I needed 35 people for the event and I far exceeded that within 15 minutes!! It was incredible!! I'm hoping that I have so many people interested that I need to put together at least two events. 

Dusty and I hadn't spent much time together over the past week, so we made dinner reservations at The Butcher Station. Mom and I ended up being at a local vineyard for hours, making new friends and getting the VIP treatment. (Dusty didn't mind me being late because I told him that he could sit at the bar and have a few beers before I got there.) I showed up 30 minutes late for our reservation, which is so not like me, but it was such a great night. Jimmy, the cook, made me paella- which was my favorite food when I was in Spain! He made two orders for Dusty and I (and other customers were so jealous!) it was so incredible and I can't wait to go back! (And he gave me homemade ranch to take home with me since it's my favorite!!)

But seriously...it was the first time in awhile that I actually felt like myself...so often, I find myself being timid and quiet (which has never been my personality). But today, talking to people at the vineyard and talking to other customers at dinner, was like me again. Making conversation with strangers and not worrying about how they were viewing me...it was refreshing. And I didn't even think twice about it.

To top off such a great day, we were offered housing for next week. There aren't many openings for the week, so we thought we'd have to travel back and forth each day. Our friends offered their house, but it's not really handicap accessible since there are stairs. We thought that much be our best bet, but Sally and her husband, Brian, offered their Hilton points and to buy us a hotel room...it made us cry. It's so hard to be mad and frustrated at the current circumstances when we are constantly reminded of how many wonderful people we have in our lives and how blessed we are. At the end of the day, we are truly left speechless.