Porch. It does a body good.

I got to spend Wednesday through Saturday last week with my dearest friend in the entire world, Lisa the Hobo. In Houston. On her back porch with a gentle breeze and cooler temperatures than Tulsa.

Porch. It really does do a body good. And thank you, Susan, for reminding your daughter that we would need plenty of porch time.

Here's the view from her porch.

Bella. I love this sweet dog. She reminds me of all the reasons it'll be great to have a dog again someday.

So our calendar of events included sun, sun, and more sun.

We decided to drive down to Galveston and spend some time on the beach! I had never been, and some of the historic buildings were so gorgeous.

If you ever go, make sure you enjoy the fish tacos at The Spot. Yummers. Paleo went out the window when these suckers appeared.

On our way to Galveston, we passed through Alvin, and I felt the need to pose by this sign.

We spent time at Lisa's neighborhood pool the other two days. Can I just say that one of the luxuries of being away from my children is that I can go to a pool without them? A peaceful, relaxing time at the pool. It just doesn't happen very often, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We ate at Fleming's one night and also explored CityCentre, a way cool urban upscale shopping/living section of Houston. Another bonus of going to a big city is that I finally got to shop at Athleta! I've never ordered anything online because I just wanted to wait and see how things fit. Love that store.

Here we are at Fleming's. Good food, good adult beverages, good convo. Yea for girl time! Lisa is showing off the fruits of her labor... 38 pounds in just over 6 months... she's a shell of her former self. So proud of her!

I have to post a pic of the new light fixture in her dining room. LOVE IT. Amy A., this pic's for you! Sorry I didn't get any more pics of the rest of her house! I was in a total kid-free relaxation coma. Will you please come to Camp Dida, or as we affectionately renamed it (due to our large amounts of sun exposure) Camp Vitamin 'D'ida?? You will come back a new woman. Guaranteed.

I thought I took more pictures than that, but that's basically it. Lazy days = lazy paparazzi. But you know what? It's so good to be lazy every once in a while. It recharges you, it makes you a better wife/mother/friend, and it helps you remember to appreciate everything you've been given. Lisa, thank you for letting me crash your place! I had the best weekend with you, and I am so thankful for our friendship and the fact that you are only a short 1.5-hour plane trip away! Love ya, Hobo!