Chel-Fish

I have so much built up to write about... and not enough quality time with my keyboard. Adagio goes my blog posting rhythm... it's summer-time. I am trying to keep those dear boys of mine busy. Tonight though I am having a short date with my dear keyboard I have craved. The topic is of a valued friend of mine I just love... I really enjoyed spending some time with her as she visited my hawt State.

Chelsea loves Jesus, her family, the people around her, odd old music, her sweet son, and cooking. I share some of those same loves and we shared some together this past week. We played a rushed game of TV's "Chopped" in my kitchen on a busy day. I had built up enthusiasm to see one of my best friends, a houseful of 7 children, basketball practice in 60 minutes, and a partridge in a pear tree. Ready-set-cook! Exactly 30 minutes to compete against each other and make a tasty dinner out of mystery ingredients. The egg-plant stumped me for a brief second, but I had a plan. It was all coming together... My roasted peppers and eggplant over toasted baguettes complimenting some delicious lettuce wraps filled with chicken, drenched in sweet teriyaki sauce and crunchy caramelized cashews. Yum... guess who won?! Chel-fish was close, but sorry, not close enough. If it wasn't for that eggplant scramble she frantically came up with at the very end, she may have taken the prize. I caught some anxiety at the end watching the clock, which I was late... big surprise-surprise. As I was rushing in the end putting things together Tosh.O pops up on the TV screen from my scheduled TiVO recording. I am shouting out to Stink to turn the dang thing off as Chels and I whip our creations on plates... and he suddenly doesn't remember how to work the remote. Then he turns the channel to the next recording which is no better for all the little eyes in the room, Sex and the City. Mom's dirty "after the kids go to bed" shows were exposed. My blood pressure rose, veins popped out, our scrumptious dishes got done and the TV got turned off. All in time for our 7 judges to sample and then head off to basketball practice.

Chel-fish... I just gave her this rotten name during her visit. It all started when I meant to bring chicken boullion over to her place long ago and instead I accidentally picked up fish bouillon from the grocery shelf. There really shouldn't ever be such a thing. She made fun of me so I stuck a few cubes in her undergarment drawer and mailed her a T-shirt with the "Chicken of the Sea" logo on it. I'm sure she didn't like it. She liked it as much as I liked the shirt she brought to me this visit...
I won't ever wear it... But I will certainly wear a smile when I see it.

We go way back... high-school back. We both adored Miss Britain in Spanish 'clase', telling us to sweetly turn our 'paginas' in our Spanish books. Her and I have done some silly things together in our young. We were also pregnant together and watched each other raise our families. My most favorite memory is walking in the rain with her once a long time ago. It started to sprinkle on our walk, we were close to home but stuck it out in the rain instead of turning toward home. It was fun. It poured, we were drenched and the wind blew. It was a moment she and I won't forget.

I will miss my Chel-fish. All the boys enjoyed catching up, playing Wizard 101 together and having sleep overs. We had a day of fun at some of our favorite places: The Science Museum, Pita Jungle, and Swirl-It. I had the honor of taking care of Chel-fish after her surgery she had here. She had the honor of helping my old girl get to a better place (much needed)... Thank you... I love you... will certainly miss you...