She Lives . . .

Hey guess what?

I'm not dead.

When I looked back at my last post's date of February 3rd - 5 weeks ago - I almost, but not quite, succumbed to a tidal wave of guilt by eating an entire package of Thin Mints.

It feels like a year. So much has happened in the Karenpie household, I barely know where to start. Heck, I don't know if I can remember it all. To be totally honest, I don't want to remember it all but isn't that the way of it? It's the hard stuff that sticks in your head, polluting the good things.

It's crazy how the hard stuff silenced my blogging voice. I honestly couldn't muster up the energy to write. I felt like I was living my life in black and white. Anyway, without going into a lot of detail, here's a free-form analysis of Karenpie's past month and a half. As usual, you may need an adult beverage before carrying on.

1. Friendships are precious. They should be handled as such - even if you need to say hard things to each other. If you tell a friend something difficult, it doesn't mean the friendship is over, it means you're acting like a grownup. Cherishing and nurturing a friendship is worth it. Do you - seriously - have so many friendships that you can just delete one and it won't matter? Come on.

2. I don't care how many boxes of Thin Mints you eat, it still won't erase the hurt of a lost friendship.

3. Neither will tequila shots. But being silly with other friends after tequila shots sure takes the edge off. Until the next morning.

4. Fifth grade homework ain't for sissies.

5. I'm a sissy.

6. Whenever I feel like fifth-grade homework and lost friendships are too much to bear, I go look at my new family room. I instantly feel better. It's almost as good as Thin Mints.

Family room before.

Family room after.

7. You know what else feels better? Taking a quick trip to Napa Valley with your husband and drinking wine all weekend. It's especially fun if you do it with other wine-loving friends.

Lunch at Napa General Store. Which had a gift shop where I found - seriously - the cutest purses in the history of purses in the universe. They cost $198. I figured I'd rather have a new rug under my kitchen table.

New rug. Found online at Target.

I love Target.

I also love you guys. You're much better for me than Thin Mints.