besties

last week was marvelous.

i spent wednesday-saturday with some of my oldest friends.

besties for life.

jr, erin & holly

are the kind of friends that just know you.

and regardless of where life takes you...

they'll always love you.

sometimes we are very different from one another.

we don't always agree.

but we respect & love each other like sisters.

we spent three glorious days together.

we ate too much, watched bad movies, and had real conversations.

loved it.

friday was the highlight with a trip into san francisco,

one of my favorite places.

we hit up the ferry building, window shopped in the mission district, & i finally got to eat at outerlands.

it was one of those really great days you'll remember forever.

jr & erin brought their baby boys along.

while we waited for outerlands, we snapped a few shots.

how cute are these guys?

little griffin

sweet owen

hot mamas

holly is prego with her first baby.

can't wait to find out what she's having in a few days!

(i'm guessing girl)

erin snapped this pic of me in my outerlands bliss.

the entire restaurant is full of this driftwood.

(i feel weird putting up a pic of myself.  but.... here you go.  in case you don't know what i look like ;)

 i loved every second with these women

and was so sad when it was time to get back on the plane.

(although flying without children is AMAZING!)

love you girls.

thanks for being my besties.

and extra big props to my fantastic husband for being super-daddy while i was gone.

did i mention i came home to a clean house?  

i'm talking scrubbed showers and everything.

lucky, lucky me.

shara got her groove back

man, that was rough.

january was not super fun.

you could probably tell that from my sad, pathetic posts.

sickness, dieting, frustrating circumstances- 

all things combined to make one grumpy girl.

i hated feeling that way.

i so desperately wanted to shake the funk.

wanted to be joyful, enjoy life, smile more.

but i just felt like i was drowning and could not get out.

i'd wake up and say 'this is going to be a great day!' 

and an hour later be totally crying.  over nothing.  so lame.

i was really fun to be around.

(obvious sarcasm)

my husband is a kind, sweet, patient man.

i did a lot of praying in january.

as always- God is faithful to speak to my heart.

i'm working through what it is i need to learn in these circumstances,

and what it is to be joyful even when your heart (and body) is sad.

i went to bed sunday night, praying that the funk would end.

i wanted to smile again.  love my children.  enjoy all He has blessed me with.

i know some sweet friends were praying for me too, 

encouraging me through this rough patch.

i think the funk is over.

the last few days have been great.

not to say there aren't things that have been hard or frustrating come up

(hello- i have 3 little kids!)

but how my head and heart respond feel so much better.

so much more me.

thank you, Jesus.

nurture started back up today

and i was SO glad to be sitting around a table with some of my favorite women.

i heart nurture.

the cleanse ends today.

i'm pretty happy about that, too.

i'm ready to eat paleo, work out consistently, and just be healthy.

from now on- good lifestyle habits vs crazy (unsuccessful) diets.

goodbye cleanse- you will not be missed.

we finally found a gym to join here that doesn't cost the same amount as our rent.

(seriously.  there are gyms here that charge $145/person.  excuse me?  are you working out FOR me?  you know i still have to come here and exercise right?  ca-razy sauce people.)

i'm so excited to be able to have some quiet mommy time a few days a week,

getting healthy while my kids play in the kid gym (which they love!).

and the thought of weekly zumba classes sets my heart aflutter.

i've been able to have some friend time, which has been lovely.

i think all that in-house-sickness made me desperate for friend interaction,

especially after feeling so surrounded by people i love during christmas.

i'm so grateful for the friends in fresno who continue to love me, pursue me, and encourage me.

and for my new friends here that make me feel like we've been friends for years.

God has been so good to me.

so peeps- i think i'm back.

not perfect, but me.

shara bachman.

ready to enjoy 2012.

(minus january.  let us never speak of that again)