Text time

This is my best friend Andrea.

Isn't she just adorable? I know. She's also up in the picture behind the title of my blog.

So, this girl has the best personality (I think this picture shows it visually quite perfectly - the vibrant colors, the excitement over sitting on a hand in front of a yummy bakery). We've been best buds since I was a freshman in high school. We've pretty much been long-distance friends since then.

I know I've blogged about how I feel like my 9-5 routine has been a freeing experience for me, as opposed to the gut response that more people have as seeing it as restrictive. But one thing that has fallen by the wayside, is my ability to catch up with my girlfriends who live far away from me. Ange and I have often experienced how it can be really hard to find a time where we can both talk for enough time to really catch up on each other's lives. It seems rude, but it can be logistically difficult to find out when each of you can set aside the hour it requires, especially with all the other things we busy ourselves with after work.

So, Ange read an article about a woman who moves a lot and has a few dear long-distance friends. She and her best friend text each other what they ate for breakfast. Well, Ange had the brilliant idea for us to adapt that for ourselves! I was so ecstatic when she suggested that! I thought we could just pick one thing for the day that we could text each other about. So far (we started this on Saturday), we have covered: wine tours, egg burritos, baby showers, serendipitous metro meet-ups with friends, cleaning at home and finding old cards :), not hating mondays, and pumpkin ice cream. Awesome.

Another brilliant way we can still stay in touch with friends who live far away - without the hour long convos we had time for in between classes. I still think it's important to have those conversations every once in a while - and to make trips to see each other. That's the best way to keep a friendship alive.

Come to think of it, I'm very thankful that over this year I've been able to see so many of my amazing friends who live far away.

I got to see Taylor Dancer in her beautiful wedding in March.



I got to see one of my best friends since third grade over Memorial Day weekend and spend time with her betrothed - and I just saw them get married just a few short weeks ago! This is their exquisite halloween costume:


I got to see Reyna Nowaczyk on my BIRTHDAY in DC! I loved that. She is my love. Her bf got to be with us too!


And then my dear Meg, my cousin, my sister, my other half :) I watcher her graduate, and spent a week with her in in her element at Penn State - it was her birthday, too! It was SO FUN! We also had a cousins day on the beach together; I love my family so much. She is my best friend too. (DISCLAIMER: I did just get off the phone with her for an hour before writing this post. You know, most Mondays I have plans with my best friend who doesn't live far away - Calvin Bovee - but he is out of town on business. I really have planned out a weekday routine that is filled with things I love - and leaves me less time for callin').


Finally, it's been way awesome seeing my brother and sister-in-law so often this year. I love them lots. They are coming to stay with me this weekend - we are going to see Hair. We celebrated Easter together, visited Atlantic City, had fun at cousins day at their place near the Jersey shore (sigh wish it was summer again so I can overstay my welcome there...). My brother and I have become so close since I've moved to the east coast and since I shared this post-college life with him.
Their awesome Halloween costume.

There will never be a cuter Garth, right?

"Nothing's far when one wants to get there." -Queen Marie of Romania, taken from the book Reyna got me - The Girl's Book of Positive Quotations

I'm really blessed that even though the miles separate us, I've been able to see people I really really love - that I've added to my family pretty much - over this great year. I have a lot to celebrate for these holidays - a lot to be thankful for. And I have quite a bit of texts to send. ; )