Ahhhhh, Sweet Saturday!

Today was so casual and relaxing and well, just plain great! I awoke to some very unexpected rain, and it appeared that our plans to work in the yard would have to be put on hold. But then the clouds dissipated and the sun came out in all of her glory! God graced us with beautiful weather, and it was just the right temperature to make the outside work enjoyable.

After dropping David off at work, we headed to a place to eat that we had never tried before - the Grand Lux. It is owned by the Cheesecake Factory and it has a very similar menu. I had a wonderful Southwestern salad, while Bill enjoyed a hamburger.

Bill afforded me the luxury of spending 45 minutes to browse in a store...not the stores, but A store! He knows me too well and the temptations that lurk for me if I am set loose in a mall. Anyway, I put my 45 minutes to good use and found a pair of navy blue shoes - on sale!!! I have been looking for the longest time for casual navy shoes and just couldn't find any. Black, yes. I found tons of black shoes I liked, but they never came in navy. But today, there they were! And if shoes could talk, they were calling my name!

What made this even more wonderful was the women that sold me the shoes. It's terrible to admit, but I really looked bad. I shouldn't have gone out in public the way I looked...no makeup, messy hair, and my Trinity sweatshirt. Get the picture? So there I was, schlepping around the Galleria - a very high-end, rather sophisticated shopping district - in jeans and a sweatshirt. I start looking at the shoes and this women comes to ask if I need any help. The first thing she said after the initial, "May I help you" was. "I noticed your sweatshirt". (Yeah lady, you and everyone else in this store! I know, I know, I should not be allowed out on the streets looking like this!) Then she said. "Where is Trinity?" When I told her it was in Chicago, she was most disappointed. She is new to the Houston area and she is looking for a college where she can take Bible courses.

Then she asked, "Are you a student there?" (Wow, lady, you are my new best friend!) I told her no, I was a student there but that it was LONG ago and that now my daughter attends Trinity. I asked her if she was looking for a specific denomination and she said, "Well, I was raised Presbyterian." "I'm Presbyterian!", I said. Oh, we had such a grand time talking. She moved here from Kenya. She was a host on a Christian radio for almost 7 years...that's the job I want to have when I grow up!!! But then she met a wonderful American , married, and moved to Houston. Now she is ready to go back to a seminary. She had started her degree - has even taken Greek! - but is now looking for a place where she can continue her education.

Needless to say, my 45 minutes went by WAY too fast. But you know what? When I returned to the car, Bill wasn't there. So I walked to a cute little store where they sell delicious non-fat frozen yogurt by the ounce. You pick your bowl size, fill the bowl, select fresh fruit toppings, and then they weigh it. My, was it good! I carried if to the car, where Bill was waiting with his hands on his hips as if he was ready to say, "I told you 45 minutes, woman!" But he didn't. Instead, he said, "Let's sit outside and eat this over by the fountain." Ahhhh! It just doesn't get any better that this...me, on a bench, with yogurt in my hand, my husband on one side, and my shopping bag containing my new navy blue shoes on the other!