So We Meet Again. . .

Well hello there. I apologize for my lack of posting. . . .I know you were crying yourself to sleep at night in fear that I may never post again, fear not. Almost a month has passed since my last post and since then there have been several post worthy moments. However, lack of time, my (one) online class, changing my diet (which requires making a real grocery list and taking time to prepare all THREE meals), going out of town for the weekend, and having a pretty constant headache have kept me away from my lil' cozywithtoast. But here I am! 


I know one day I will think back to this time and realize how much "free" time I had on my hands, but I don't feel that way right now so future self: Time management is key.

Valentines Day! I love Valentines Day. I loved it when I was single and I love it now! It's so fun and sweet and even if you are single you can go out with your lady friends and have a grand ol' time. This Valentines Day Zach and I made a delicious dinner of roasted broccoli, filet mignon,  and mashed potatoes. We enjoyed dinner with wine while we watched Midnight In Paris. Also a variety bag of Lindt chocolates may or may not have been eaten during the film(pre eating healthy). 

Yes, all of these picture came from the McNeal camera.

The Friday after Valentines Day Kevin and Zach decided to take me and Rae out on a "Surprise Date." I always try and not get too excited about these events because I have a way of blowing things out of reality and then I get disappointed even if whatever it is is awesome. So I'm dumb sometimes, get over it. I was excited but I had pretty low expectations. I know that any time with the McNeals is a good time, so there's that. But this time the guys did a pretty amazing job! We went to dinner at a new place called Nomad Pizza in Hopewell. There was a bit of a wait so we walked into the cutest store called Twine right next door until they were ready for us. Etsy and Pinterest exploded and made Twine. It was adorable and filled with things that I wanted to make or buy. Rae's cell phone rang (that's how they do it at Nomads) the little guy at the front door told us it was our time to eat! So we headed over and enjoyed the most delicious pizza. It was byob so we also enjoyed two bottles of red wine. So fun. So delicious. This is the kind of pizza that makes Papa Johns seem like fake food. Nom nom. Afterwards---that's right the fun does not end there---we headed back to the McNeals. The guys instructed Rae and I to relax in the living room while they got things ready. They set the table with wine and a delectable assortment of desserts. So pretty and also soooo delicious. After the delicious dessert we collapsed in the living room and chatted it up. Reminiscing about our wonderful evening. THEN the guys just went the extra mile and brought in WRAPPED gifts. Rae received a wonderful coffee table book of NY Times pictures and a mushroom bottle opener and I received a Pin Hole Camera kit and a snail bottle opener. The gifts were perfect for us which made everything just over the top amazing.  Koodos guys! 


At some point in time I had to take the much dreaded GREs. I studies all 200 vocab words. I knew them front to back. I had a good handle on all the random math that I had ever learned in my entire life. Maybe 15 of the words were on the test and the math, well I have no idea where that came from. I did completely average on the test. I felt a bit defeated. Right up until I logged onto the University of Saint Augustine website and saw that I had made a higher score than what they require! So wooo hoooo. I will NEVER have to take that horrible test again! 


Last weekend Zach and I drove up to Fishkill, NY to surprise our good friend Christina Congi for her 25th birthday! Her sweet mom and dad put together this whole surprise party for her complete with catered yumminess, a DJ, and balloons. It was so wonderful. When Christina first walked in to the room Zach and I hung back a bit and watched as she slowly realized what was going on and then just started smiling and tearing up. Then she walked in a bit her mom pointed to us. She screamed and started crying! I was so happy they we were able to surprise her and join in on celebrating her birthday. Zach and I met some of Christinas family and friends, enjoyed the delicious food, danced, and simply enjoyed the time we had together to sit and talk. Wonderful night. Afterwards we headed to Christinas house and changed into PJs. Christina opened her gifts while we watched SNL and then it was bedtime. The next morning we slept in and then headed to lunch at a yummy BBQ place. Can't remember the name but it was so good. Then it was time to head back to Princeton. Another wonderful weekend. 


Last story. This week is Zachs Reading Week. It's like a Spring Break except he is expected to read the whole time because work is due when he starts back to school on Monday. Dumb huh? Yesterday he took a much needed opportunity to get out of the house and participated in an MRI study (or something) at Princeton University. They paid him $40. When I got home he surprised me with a pair of opal earrings that he purchased with his money. So sweet and our of nowhere. With the money he also got lunch and an ice cream cone. Just imagine Zach walking around Princeton all happy with his ice cream cone in one hand and a little gift for his wife in another. What a happy guy. What a lucky lady. 


That's it for now. 


Miss you and love you all.