Do you have special friends that are just there.  You know, the ones that no matter how long it’s been you know you can call them.  I have a few and they are very treasure — even if I don’t tell them very often.

Trish has been my friend since we were about five years old.  We’re at the point that we’re almost more family than friends.  She’s there for me no matter what.  Months will go by without us talking but when we do it’s like we just spoke the day before.

Carolyn is a friend that I met online many years ago.  We are seriously like carbon copies of each other in many many ways.  I don’t call her often (well, hardly ever) but I always know I can call her if I need her.

Melissa and I have been friends since junior high.  I haven’t seen her since I moved to Idaho.  Well, that’s not exactly true, I saw her when I was in CA for the holidays but she was driving through a parking lot and barring getting in an accident I couldn’t get her attention and after I parked she was no where to be found.  We e-mail occassionally but not nearly enough.  Well, today to my surprise I got a package from her.  I was surprised and couldn’t wait to get upstairs to open it.

Here’s what the package contained:

A note saying that she thought I sounded down in my last blog entry and she wanted to cheer me up.

A chocolate bar (because chocolate fixes ANYTHING)

A recipe for “Just Like Coldstone Cake Batter” (because uh, yum, besides we’ve spent many hours eating ice cream together)

A felt bracelet that she made for me (she actually made all the felt balls too!!!  She’s super creative and talented) that I’ll love wearing and will remind me of her and that there are people out there that really care.

A fuzzy monkey sticker (you gotta know Melissa…this is no surprise )

A little umbrella (with specific instructions that it’s to be used in a tropical drink with a little booze in it) 

Lip Gloss

A (horrible) picture of me from high school on our way home from boot camp with a smile sticker on it (that actually made me laugh out loud AND smile )

And a “Friend” a felt doll that she made that actually reminds me of her that is already on my office wall to remind me of my very dear friend when I see it.

Did I tell you friends are AWESOME!?!  They are.

Have you done something random for a friend lately?  Sometime just to let them know you care and are thinking of them?  Do it, I’m sure they’ll like it as much as I loved my random thinking of you package.

Continue reading...

I can’t believe it’s already the THIRD of January.  I’ve been counting down the days until 2008 and arrived and it’s finally here.  I also can’t believe it’s been a month since I last posted.  To say this past month has been crazy would be an understatement.

I hope your holidays were great.  Mine were, well, interesting.  I’ll keep it nice.  :)  I left on December 19th to begin my 3100 mile travels over a two week period.  The first part, the part in Seattle with my cousin and the drive she and I took to CA with her animals was GREAT.  :)  The day I spent with my aunt and uncle was awesome.  The time I spent with the entire family at my grandmothers. Well, I survived and I’ll be nice and keep it at that.  Seriously, (and this really is nice) it’s NOT supposed to be 75 at Christmas.  Really, it’s not.

I spent a few days with my oldest friend who lives near Disneyland.  (Oldest as in the friend I’ve had the longest not oldest as in old because, well, I’m older than her an I’m NOT old.)  That would have been fun except the night before I went out there a huge wind storm came through and when I drove towards her house it was like driving into a bowl of nasty soup.  The really brown, yucky, thick kind.  Only it wasn’t soup, it was crap that I was supposedly supposed to be breathing.  I ended up sick.

I did spend some time at the beach.  With my hood on my jacket over my ears because the crap in the air that made me sick was making me cold.  The ocean was amazing.  (Still not quite right to be watching surfers at Christmas but, whatever.)  Standing on the pier looking out over the ocean listening to the waves crash along the shore I felt a little sad…I miss that part of California…but then I did a 180 and quickly remembered why I moved.  Wall to wall, no backyard, sitting on top of each other houses.  The traffic, the huge numbers of rude people.  I was SO ready to get home.

My cousin and I left a day late because of a storm so I got to spend a fun day with my mom.  Our drive back to Seattle was long (long as in I sat in a car for 14 hours  STRAIGHT staring only at the road in front of us).  We had a grand time on New Years Eve shopping, eating yummy Chinese take-out and watching movies.  I was sad to leave her house.  But glad to be home.

Not too excited for my vacation to be over, but I’m glad it’s 2008.  I survived the last year.  I can’t ask for much more (although if I truly look back it was a pretty awesome year).

But, you think my tales are great….you just wait until I tell you about my brothers travels.  LOL  I’ll be nice and wait until he gets home safely before I share, but man have they had a trip.  They were supposed to be home this weekend but, well, they are stranded AGAIN and won’t get home until some time next week.  Then you just wait….it’s definitely something you DON’T want to miss.

Continue reading...