Trouble with Dreams

So, when I said I was going to do ten new posts, I should have clarified that they would end up being posted at my standard pace of once in a whenever my girls aren't fighting over the computer. Which is, like, never.

Some of the most interesting and hilarious conversations I've had in recent memory, revolved around ridiculous dreams. My friend and former co-worker at The Yoga Shop, Kenzie, was the best when it came to crazy dream conversations. On many occasions, we would stay late after Zumba laughing our faces off. For example:

• Quite recently, I had a dream where two snakes, which were actually not snakes but Neil Patrick Harris-es in suits, were slither-chasing me through an Elementary school soccer field.
• In college, I had a dream where I was at a party at a friends house, and went to the bathroom only to discover that I was not only naked, but also had goat legs. So, of course, I tried to cover up my naked goat legs with toilet paper, but on returning to the party, was shamefully aware that despite my makeshift toilet paper skirt, everyone could still see my goat legs.
• As far as recurring dreams go, I'm a tooth person. I have had hundreds of dreams where my teeth are falling out, or crumbling away in my mouth. One notable instance, involved me in tap shoes at the South Towne mall in Sandy, trying to impress someone at some kind of talent audition, but I couldn't concentrate on my tap routine, because all my teeth kept falling out. 
•  Sometimes you go to an Eddie Vedder concert, and he is publicly thanking your best friend's husband for inspiring him to write music, all while playing a guitar on his lap that is actually a surfboard.

So, my ulterior motives here should be obvious. I love hearing other people's weird dreams. Therefore, post a couple in the comments. 

Maybe it's the Wood Paneling

I've said before how futile talking about music is. Doesn't mean I'm not going to take a stab at it anyway.

For those of you that have known me for awhile (let's say, before Elliot was born)  know that I had a little phase (little phase? Really?) where I was quite obsessed with music. Obsessed to the point that it spilled over in to condescension and judgement. This is true, I once went on a date with a pretty handsome dude, only to find out halfway through the night that his favorite musicians were Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and Dave Matthews*. We did not go out again. On the flip side, if I met someone and was to discover that they knew about Drive Thru Records, we instantly bonded. I rarely wrote a paper or studied for a college exam without music in the background. I wrote songs, I played guitar, and I performed with silly hopes of taking it to the next level. At the time I met my husband, I was averaging around two concerts a month, which was saying something since I lived in tiny Cedar City and had to drive either three hours to SLC or two and a half to Vegas far a show. And let us not forget that is was after the Hot Rod Circuit/Eisley/Brand New show that I met a certain basketball coach who became a rather important part of my life.
Photographic Evidence:

The Format's Nate and Sam (Nate is now the frontman for fun.)

Me and Andrew McMahon from Something Corporate/Jack's Mannequin

The first day we ever hung out. It was just after I played in SUU's Guitar's Unplugged.

ANYWAY

Needless to say, music was a big deal.

And then, it wasn't.

It wasn't like I started having kids and all of a sudden I stopped caring. It was a very gradual slide. Obviously the concert attendance diminished. We still tried to make it to the important ones, (Jimmy Eat World, Something Corporate, Angels and Airwaves), but it was a once a year kind of thing. I still listened to my old favorites when I got the chance, and danced with anticipation when one of the bands I loved came out with a new album. But I stopped having the time to sit for hours on the computer researching new bands, and with pregnant bellies and climbing kids, all my guitar playing pretty much stopped dead. Music in the car went from blasting The Matches at max volume to The Backyardigans soundtrack or children's audio books.

But it gets worse.

I started to regress. I started revisiting even older favorites. Having no interest or time to explore new music, I made little playlists full of the things I listened to in High School. 311, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, nothing to be ashamed of, but still. It felt weird.

Then we moved. I had been interested in K-pop for awhile thanks to my very very wonderful friend Ruth, who was always kind enough to send me YouTube links or even CDs in the mail from Korea. I had been starting to venture out on my own a little, looking things up on Spotify and buying a cheap pair of computer speakers to plug into my phone so I could have music all around the house, when I stumbled across this lovely little cover:

 Ok, so I knew my sister has showed me this song before, but it led me to check out The Civil Wars (which I knew my sister Laura was a big fan of. And since Laura is also a big k-pop fan, and likes Yellowcard, I knew I could trust her judgement), which then led me to Mumford and Sons, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, stuff I like to refer to as "cabin music". Living in Wyoming and having more than one wall of wood paneling in this silly house of mine, it seemed natural to fall in love with it. Then in the last week or so, my cabin music spiraled off into Alex Clare, Lykke Li, Phoenix, new Regina Spektor I hadn't heard before, Imagine Dragons, and Of Monsters and Men.



So like I stated before. I know how lame this all makes me sound, but it makes me feel like despite the kids and the years that have passed, I am still Pozeur, still a little bit the girl who danced in the kitchen and blasted music out of open car windows.


*For the record, I have no problem with Jack Johnson on his own, or when he's doing the soundtrack to Curious George, but in combination with the other two.. shudder.

The Big WYO

Hello, I'm a resident of Wyoming!

But seriously, it's like a conspiracy. We all want you to believe that Wyoming is super lame, so we can keep all its awesomeness to ourselves. I'm a self proclaimed WYO-hipster (it's totally a thing).

We're settled in to our new routines (oh? the coach is gone/busy all the time? how shocking and also unexpected.), and getting used to the town. Elliot is loving her school, and I am loving the feeling of finally having a child in school all day. Stori, Rou, and I are also loving that we live just two streets away from the library and that they offer story time three mornings a week. It's also weird to me how much I'm loving mornings here. I blame it mostly on Elliot being in first grade, but by the time I have her off to school, the day is still all laid out ahead of me and best of all I let the other two kids sleep in. I'm a stellar parent, I know. And so I spend my mornings right here:

My absolute favorite spot in our new house. I'm aware that sitting on the countertops is generally frowned upon in most houses, but this is just the most perfect place to enjoy a cuppa, a little music, and lovely natural sunlight on book pages. Blissful.

Home ownership is weird. This is our first house that is really and truly ours, and it's funny to me how excited I am getting about things I never thought twice about before. Curtains! Paint schemes! Cabinet hardware! Garden tools! It's life-changing. Even the dumb things, (like sweeping the stupid Russian Olive leaves from our neighbor's tree) seem fulfilling. It's an older house, so there is a lot of work that can be done (no ceiling light in the bedrooms? Seriously you guys?) But it's nothing we can't handle, and I'm stupidly excited about the work.

Other things I'm all about:

• The crazyawesome thunderstorms 
• The best, most non-judgemental, friendly, welcoming, diverse, helpful, SO not like my old ward, absolutely-perfectly-suited-for-me ward on the planet
• Living one block from the church building
• Cowboy Donuts (seriously. you guys.)
• Trees in my yard
• No fines for overdue items at the library (yes.)

Summation: I like it here.

Ten things, er, posts.

Do you really think it's possible for me to write ten whole posts? Maybe not. But considering all the goings on here, and all the Mormon-housewife guilt I feel for not documenting it, I should at least give it the ol' college try, right?

The Ten Posts:

1. All that boring moving business.

2. Cabin music.

3. Where I talk about wacky dreams.

4. An excuse to take pictures of my kids and brag about them a bit.

5. A post about the coach.

6. Why blog friends are real friends.

7. I'm going to talk about food here.

8. On letters, writing, and books.

9. Guilty pleasures.

10. A ten things list. Just like the good old days. (Ah organized randomness, how I love you)

Adventure is Out There!

And I mean waaaay out there.

It is true. Team Einfeldt is relocating to the fabulous world of:

Cows!

Horses!

Antelope!

Cowboys!

Seriously Utah, I love you, but this just isn't going to work out. It's not us, it's you. You just didn't appreciate us enough. Blair (and by extension, me and the girls) has found someone who wants to treat him right, allow him to teach in an environment where he is not subject to the will and idiocy of St. Kaiser Stupid Face (it's a long story, and probably not wise to post here.),  and give him amazing insurance. I hope we can still be friends. Kind of...

1. Elliot is nearly six, and is shaping up to be the raddest six-year old girl ever. When asked what she would like for her birthday party, she responded without hesitation, "A Spiderman pinata, and Star Wars stuff." She can stay. Happy Birthday Elliot!

2. If anyone wants to come to my house and help me put things into boxes, I'd be, like, your best friend. Ever.

3. Remember how I made a goal to read 52 books this year? Well, I was doing pretty dang awesome, until Game of Thrones came along and started throwing off my groove. It's great, but WHY is it SO LONG?

4. Obviously, since I am writing this post, you can assume I have a teensy bit of free time on my hands. Time which I should be spending on packing. Not blogging. I should get some kind of procrastination award.

5. Back to work. Boo.

Elliot will be home any minute.

Phone to blog post number two is a go!

1. So, the Blogger app isn't very fancy. One might even call it lame. I can only post pictures at the bottom? That's dumb. Nevertheless, I shall soldier on.

2. I discovered the Instagram. I'm pozeur, by the way. We should be Instagram friends.

3. Big News. Tonight I am going out. With grown up girls. Grown up girls with whom I have been acquainted for less than twenty years. WITHOUT CHILDREN. I have actually never done this before. I feel like I'm 16 years old and going on a date.

4. Word of advice: Do not buy U brand liners (the black box ones) unless you love rubbing your skin on cactus.  Then, by all means, go ahead.

5. I feel like a Hipster saying this, but I've loved Nate from the band fun. way before they were ever even popular. If you have never listened to The Format, just go do it. You'll be glad you did.

6. Rou has fallen in love with Angry Birds (Anry Birss) hardcore. Some wise guy Easter bunny honestly didn't foresee that a stuffed red bird toy would be used for nothing but hurling destruction at everything in the house (family members included). Nice going Easter bunny.

7. Yes. I was the nearsighted Easter bunny. What of it?

8. Blueberries cannot come in season fast enough.

The Cool New Thing

It has become painfully obvious that I am no longer the master of my computer. It has been requisitioned by Astoria for the use of CharlieAndLola.com and by Rou for the listening of the Angry Birds Rio theme song on Spotify. And so, in an effort to reconnect with the blog buddies I've left behind (all four of you) I'm attempting to post from my phone.  Does this mean an increase in posts? Possibly. Does it also mean an increase in spelling and autocorrect errors? Certainly.

However, it also might help me keep track of this silly life if mine a bit better.  We'll see what comes of it.

The Comeback Kid

AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! THIIIIIIIIINGS!!!!


1. I said fare-thee-well to my twenties last month. We had some lively times. Including: working at Disney World, starting a band, going to concerts, meeting a super-neat guy, marrying that guy, having some babies, graduating from college with honors, making some quilts, teaching some Zumba, writing some really boring things, and other stuff. On to the next adventure! I was ever-so blessed to be able to spend my birthday weekend with my beloved friend Katie doing all the things that I love. Reading, eating ethnic food, hanging out in little breakfast cafes, watching UK period dramas, jumping on hotel room beds. It was marvelous. Oh, also, neither of us thought to bring a camera, which is ironic, since she is a professional photographer. Nice.

2. Elliot has a sweet little friend who carpools with us to Kindergarten. He can never quite remember Astoria's name, and has started calling her "Australia". Awesome. I like that kid.

3. Did you know that my two-year old has figured out how to open all the doors in the house, and completely disable those little child-proof doorknob covers?  I cannot tell you how many times a day I scream into a pillow. It is a lot. While it is true that children are wonderful and full of sweet and hilarious things, they are also little turds. All of them.

4. I am collecting songs that involve hand claps. If there are any you know and love, leave it in the comments. Some I've collected so far: Photograph - Weezer, 1234 - Feist, Close to Me - Get Up Kids (The Cure Cover), The First Single - The Format. But I need more than this, or my bathroom just isn't going to get clean. That's a fact.

5. So, like any mom, I love bragging about my kids. Love it. And it's totally easy, because my kids are geniuses (they get it from their mom, of course). So the fact that my youngest is now visiting a speech therapist is, well, a different experience. Part of me wants to hold on to her adorable "deedle dees" as long as I possibly can, but when it comes to trying to decipher what she wants when she's furiously pointing in a vague direction screaming "deedle panna!!!!" (No. I have no idea either.) It's more than obvious that she needs a little guidance from someone who knows about these sorts of things.

6. Downton Abbey. Yes yes yes yes yes.

7. Did you know that both songs nominated for Best Song at the Oscars are in some way directly connected to Flight of the Conchords?

8. This song. A million times.

Outdoor Church

This is a post that was supposed to happen a long time ago, but didn't because these pictures were all on Blair's phone.

One sunny August morning, the Einfeldt family was anything but peaceful. No one could find their shoes, some people wanted to play on the computer (or check baseball scores) instead of helping little ones get dressed, some had nothing to wear, someone ate someone elses graham cracker, everyone was yelling at someone else. It was an all around bad morning. We finally were dressed and ready for church, but as 5 grumpy people got into the car, we made a quick game time decision. At the end of our street, we turned the other direction, and drove up the mountain for outside church.

It was an excellent decision.

December-y Things

Why do people like me even have blogs anymore? Post-shmost.

1. We are doing an advent calendar "for the first time in a hundred years" (thanks, Elliot). Inspiration came from Katie, who did some awesome things last year. Like a face paint day.

Most of our activities have been pretty simple; making paper snowflakes, hot chocolate, take cookies to a friend, write a Merry Christmas letter to grandma, those kinds of things. The best one so far was having the girls dress up in tutus and dance to the Nutcracker. Hilarious. AND Tomorrow we are going to Krave (sweeeeeeet.)

2. I finally got new shoes for my Zumba classes, but it may have come a little too late. Can I get a knee transplant? Is that a thing?

3. Rou has decided she hates her bed, which is SUPER-AWESOME for everyone as I'm sure you can imagine.

4. Rou also has a little meeting with early intervention the first week of the new year to have her hearing checked. As adorable as it is to hear "deedle-dee-shooo" every day, it'd be nice to have a few real words thrown in there too.

5. OH. Also, my little Ruby Soho turned two. Aaaaaand all the pictures were taken on Blair's phone, aaaaaaand he left his memory card at the school... which he will not be returning to till after the Christmas break. Of course.

6. It's getting to be that time of year where I'm in pretty desperate need of real-life friends. So if you are at all interested, there is a lengthy application and interview process. Included in the application is a 100 question quiz on ridiculous things like sci-fi television and movies, classical literature, and punk and emo bands of the 2000's. I'm just kidding. I just need someone to hang out with me and not mind that I have crazy children and no husband until March. That's all.

7. I firmly believe that my house would be a whole lot cleaner if Plants vs. Zombies didn't exist.

8. Lately I have been requesting that at least twice a day, Astoria sings me the "North Star" song from Peppa Pig. She does it in a little English accent, and it is the happiest thing in the world.

9. Hugo. Loved the book, loved the movie. Loved.

10. It is possible that I am just as excited as Elliot about her getting Lego Harry Potter years 5-7 for Christmas. Maybe even a little more (though I doubt it).

***11. Christmas is lovely, isn't it?

I love Celtic Woman at Christmas time.

The Ninja Quest

Me and my sister-wife. I love this picture.

For the last couple weeks, my darling friend Brittni has been staying with Team Einfeldt. It has been lovely. I like to refer to her as my sister-wife, and I'm terribly disappointed that her sojourn with us is ending. Brittni and I were English majors together, we also worked together for about three years as business and technical writers for a computer education company. Also, she is wonderful and I adore her.

Last night, Coach Blair was telling us about the day's basketball practice, and about a kid on his team who expects to be a starter, but isn't putting in the extra time and effort to be the kind of player he wants to be. "You can't just play for 4 months out of the year and call yourself a basketball player. That's just not how it works. The kids who do well on the team are the gym rats who play because they love it, and play and work on their game whenever they get a free minute." I've heard Blair say things like this a hundred times, but it wasn't until Brittni mentioned something about it later that night that I realized that it applies to me too. "How can we claim to call ourselves writers if we don't actually write?" That Brittni is a smart cookie.

So we have decided to resurrect the Ninja Quest. It is a little silly game we devised a few years back in order to give each other writing prompts, and post them on a little blog. Most of the stuff is, well, it's practice. Meaning it's probably not very good (mine especially) but the point is to just be writing things again. Thanks Coach and Brittni for being so awesome.

p.s. anyone is welcome to be a ninja, if you are in to that kind of thing.

Do I Dare Eat a Peach?

Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky 

I just realized that I can count the weeks remaining of my 20's without taking off my shoes. Outwardly, I came to terms with this a long time ago. When asked my age, I usually just say "30" or "almost 30". Might as well get it over and done with. Inwardly, however, it's a different story. You know those dreams where you are supposed to be teaching a class, or giving some kind of big presentation and you are totally and completely unprepared? It feels kind of like that. (Which is bad, but not as bad as the dreams where your teeth fall out. Those dreams can go jump in a lake. A lake of piranhas. Who, I assume, have stronger and more plentiful teeth than I ever do in those lousy dreams)

I am completely aware of how melodramatic I'm being. I also don't care.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

1. Are there things that a person is supposed to do before they are 30? Should I have made a list? I have a good 9 weeks left, so if you have any suggestions of "Things a Person Should Do Before 30" pass those along.

2. I'm curious about something. Does food start to taste more bland as you age? Is that a thing? I made grilled cheese and tomato soup for me and the girls today, which has always been the foremost in winter comfort foods for me. Bland city. I added a good 6 drops of hot sauce and it was rather enjoyable. Am I alone in this?

3. The deer have come down from the mountain into my neighborhood.

For I have known them all already, known them all;
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;

4. You know what I just love? Working out, dancing, lifting, walking, all those things. You know what else I love? Truly and deeply? Cake. Brownies. Cookies. Soda. Roast beef with potatoes and gravy. Butter on everything. Why can't I love things like lentils?

5. Is there anything more lovely than this song?

6. Another thing I'm curious about? Do ALL almost-two-year-olds love nothing more in the world than running full speed away from you? Love taking all their clothes and diaper of at least 3 times a day? And hate hate hate sitting down, sitting in a stroller or car seat, and more than anything hate being held in public so they writhe and wriggle and scream out "no! no! no!" so that passers-by assume you are beating and pinching them? Just want to make sure I'm not alone in this either.

Do I dare
Disturb the universe? 

7. Some things I really like: acorns, lampposts, doorknobs and keyholes, wisteria, stone pathways, teacups, lavender, willow trees...

8. The quilt I started for my in-laws in May will not be finished in time for Christmas. Boo.

9. I love Elliot's pictures. She just drew me a picture of a girl robot with hair who ate a bug. Awesome.

I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. 

~T. S. Eliot

10. A Care Bear, Peppa Pig, and a little punk.

I was the Green Lantern for Halloween, but didn't get a picture.

And I said Hey. What's going on

"When I'm a stay-at-home mom I'll have plenty of time to blog." - FALSE.

So if not blogging, what exactly have I been up to these past few weeks? Other than accidentally leaving comments on people's blogs while still signed in as my husband?

1. Unholy amounts of laundry. Where are all these clothes coming from? Dear everyone who is teleporting your dirty clothes into my laundry baskets: that is so weird. You should really stop doing that.

2. Hanging out with the world's most radical five-year old.Is she kind of a little bit of a tom-boy? Maybe. But I prefer to think of it as a girl who likes awesome things like superheroes, Harry Potter, and Star Wars, in addition to awesome things like gymnastics, soft toy animals, and pink things. Recently she drew me a picture of a scene from Thor. Complete with Frost Giants, a feast for Odin and Thor and all their friends, and a battle on the Rainbow Bridge (the Bifrost). The last book she checked out from the library was a Norse Mythology book. Yes. I am rather proud of her, thanks for asking.


3. Loving but also hating my hair. Here's the thing, it's long. Like really, really long. Most of the time I love it. Except when it's my 6th Zumba class of the week, it's a disgusting sweaty mess, and I think "what, you mean I have to go and wash AND dry AND do something with all this? No. that is garbage. I'm going to destroy it with kitchen shears in about 4 seconds." Then I come to my senses and realize that if I chop my hair off before the new year, my Christmas card photo will be a lie.

See? It's long. And please excuse the lack of makeup. It's a weekday.

4. Reading too many books; on my own and with the girls, but that is okay.

5. Preparing for Octoberpocalypse. That magical stretch that involves an anniversary, a birthday (Astoria), Halloween (and it's, like, 12 accompanying Zumba parties. guh.), and the return of basketball season for Blair (Bye Coach. See you in February.)

Rou brings me a shoe - "Deedle deedle deedle SHOOOOO??" As soon as the shoe is on - "Deedle deedle Buh-bye!!" Because, obviously, shoes = going buh-bye.

All the Fall Things

Elliot and I are equally excited about Kindergarten. I'm not a cry-on-the-first-day kind of mom. Not because I won't miss her (How can I? It's only 3 hours. I can barely get laundry and a Battlestar Galactica episode in that time) but because I know she is hardcore loving it.

I know that the cool thing to do is to downplay things like this (I'm also aware that it's going to make me sound like one of those moms that you just want to punch in the face) but gosh dangit! How did I get landed with such freaking brilliant kids?! Given the fact that she is so very young and so very tiny, I'm not trying to integrate her into a first grade class or anything, but that's not to say she couldn't handle it. Luckily, her teacher is the mamma of a dear English major friend of mine from college, and is sending Elliot home with 2nd grade level books to read for homework, and doing all the other amazing things that are so rare in NCLB schools. (And don't even get me started on NCLB. It makes me want to kick trees.)

Preschool totally caught me off guard, as you can see by Astoria's ever so fashionable hairstyle.

This kid on the other hand? I have no idea what to do with her. She reads all the books Elliot brings home. (She is 3. No, I'm not kidding. Ask my mom.)  And the blue faced doll dangling by her side is George, named after Peppa's little brother from her very most favorite show, Peppa Pig. It's adorable. And the little Brittish accent Astoria's adopted because of it? The best thing ever.

 

And Miss Rou? She's still the best snuggler a mamma could ever ask for. She also has taken her "deedle-dee" language to the next level: Winnie-the-Pooh - "Deedle-dee-Pooh?" Hi daddy - "Hi deedle-dee!"  I want a drink of juice - "Deedle-deedle-deedle-SHOO!" I want to wear this pink coat - "Deedle-deedle-deedle-deh?" (and my personal favorite) Yes - "SHEEEAAAAYYY!!"




For going into the kitchen to retrieve my camera, I deserve a prize. So I'm going to eat one of these dark chocolate pomegranate candies and not even feel bad about it.

Tuesday Confessional

(Confession inspiration via Katie my darling)


1. I honestly believed in my heart that being home instead of at work would allow me to blog more often. Such is not the case. Sorry, Charlies.

2. I love TV shows, but hate hate hate TV. I would like to enjoy my Battlestar Galactica without commercials and on my own schedule, please. I would rather my kids enjoy Super Why and Backyardigans without all the other crap being shoved in their innocent little faces. Another thing about TV I can't stand. Freaking ESPN. In summation: The hard drive is filling up quickly, but basic cable has been cancelled. Thank the gods.

3. On the subject of TV, I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I am totally looking forward to the return of Community, Fringe, 30 Rock and Mad Men (in early 2012), and am excited to check out Alcatraz. See Katie? You're totally not alone.

4. I've been eating Greek Yogurt lately. I like the Greek Gods brand because it has the names of different Gods on each flavor. Hera = Fig, Poseidon = Plain, etc. But i'll admit it's ever so slightly bothersome that the pomegranite flavor is associated with Apollo. Persephone makes more sense, am I right?

5. Have I ever mentioned how much I like mythology? Well. I do.

6. Despite my love for mythology I'm having an incredibly difficult time getting through Neil Gaiman's American Gods. I'm aware of the fact that i'm an annoying prude. Whatever. You can judge, I don't care. World War Z didn't bother me in the slightest, though. What's that supposed to say about my personality I wonder.

7. I was going to post pictures of Elliot and Astoria on their first days of school, but my camera is in the kitchen.

8. Newest obsession: Salted Caramel anything.

9. Still on pace to complete 45 books by the end of the year, but still behind on my goal to finish the Einfeldt quilt for my in-law's by Christmas. Solution: more audio books.

10. I do not find Daniel Craig attractive in the slightest.

The Best BFF

I'm pretty lucky when it comes to friends. Even more so to have a friend with whom I can share memories like these:

• Playing Power Rangers on the trampoline causing one of us (me) to break an arm.
• Making candlelight potions out of different kinds of soda in a walk-in closet (Candles lit in a closet. Brilliant idea.)
• Going to a concert in Florida with every intention of making out with Incubus, but instead meeting a future husband (hers).
• Panhandling with our guitars at gas stations.
• Stuffing our bras with toilet paper and then going to a church activity.
• Holding hands in bookstores, and ordering appetizers and desserts.
• Performing a play we made up about Greek goddesses to impress the boys we met at the mall. (Totally worked too)
  
• That one very foggy New Years...

 It also just so happens that my BFF is probably the most naturally talented at everything human person on the planet. Kinda makes you want to hate her, (which I've done) but then, she is forced to have a BFF who is an insufferable know-it-all who is so nerdy it's embarrassing. It all balances out.

This summer, my BFF (who, along with her husband, just happens to be a very amazing International Wedding Photographer) was sweet enough to take a few family pictures, pro bono. I like to think of it as friends with benefits, only the benefits are actually awesome. Here is just a little taste of her awesomeness.

Oh and did I also mention that she spent the summer in Paris and brought me back a beautiful scarf from Bordeaux? Like I said. Benefits.