A quick trip to the city

I got to go to a conference in D.C. this past week.  The best part? Getting to see these lovely ladies for happy hour one night!

I wish we could do happy hour like that all of the time. Then again, I'd be broke but I would have so much fun. Thank you so much for making me laugh! It was a great night.

Other highlights include a visit with my friend Jen one night. I love our talks. We may have graduated from high school over 10 years ago (oh my goodness, seriously?) but it still feels like we're 11 years old sitting on her trampoline just dreaming of the future. We sat outside on the veranda of my hotel next to this awesome bonfire.

And here's the view from my hotel.

It was a long and busy week but I loved every second of it. Now, I need to get back to the real world!

~Kc

Only a Girlfriend

Today, M and I met at the mall for a little catch-up time.  We walked, chatted and ate a delicious Chick-fil-A lunch.  Everything was going really great until it came time for Maverick's lunch.  Lets set the scene:

It was about 1:15 p.m. on a chilly, rainy Thursday.  Naturally, the mall was semi-crowded as folks ran some quick errands on their lunch hour.  We were sitting on a bench, picking out the girls who had a great life going based solely upon their sense of style, chicness and fashion, as Goosey burned off some extra energy (thanks to M sharing her chocolate candy) running between stores.  Maverick was doing a great job noshing away on his bottle, when all of the sudden, out of no where, he projectile vomited.  White, curdled milk was everywhere; Maverick's face and clothes were COVERED, spit-up landed on my shirt, leggings and boots.  And to make matters worse, Goosey was just running over to tell us something, when she slipped on and fell into the large puddle of spit-up that landed on the floor.  Surprisingly, as strangers surveyed the scene and cast their "this-mom-is-in-way-over-her-head" glares, I wasn't completely mortified or upset.  With every second that passed, M and I just laughed harder and harder.  

While Maverick looks completely cute and put-together in the picture above, there was nothing cute about the mess and madness we created in the mall.  M and I spent the next moments cleaning up the chaos and wishing that we had been able to capture the last few minutes on film because we were sure no one would ever truly believe just how much of a scene it was.

As I was driving home, I realized just how lucky I was to share that moment with M.  Only a girlfriend would help clean up sour milk, then help change and clean-up my kids in the back of my minivan, and then hug me  despite my spit-up covered shirt.  Only with a girlfriend would I be able to look back on a memory like that, and laugh.

Hugs to our followers (especially M),
LC

Everybody's working for the weekend...

Girlfriends Weekend starts in 24 hours!!! It'll be the first time since our last GF weekend that the four of us will all be together (Booooo to living in four different states!) There'll be non-stop talking the entire weekend, that's kind of our thing. A few of the topics I'm sure we'll touch upon:

• Our never ending quest for a good pair of jeans
• Weird stuff people from High School have been posting on Facebook
• Football & other sports (mostly just me & KC)
• Books we read, plus all the books people keep talking about but we hate and/or don't understand
• "Liz Lemon" moments (both on 30 Rock and ones we've experienced in our lives)
• Boys, boys, boys, and a few men
• Our upcoming trip to Vegas
• And this movie trailer (cause we're girls)...

Missing my best friends more than ever these days, very excited to see my twin, soulmate and lover tomorrow night!

 Drive safe ladies, see you three in DC!

~M

In My Mind I'm Goin' to Carolina...

Yesterday was Peach Day and I enjoyed mine for breakfast, sitting on the back deck at my house.

I call this: "Albino Nature Meal"

This was a mini-extension of our WAY too short girlfriends weekend in North Carolina. KC was an excellent host (as usual) and we got to do lots of things during the short time we had together. We spent a few hours lounging by the pool, went out to hibachi for dinner, chatted on KC’s big COMFY bed for a few hours (enjoying drinks that her husband whipped up for us!), visited a farmer’s market and had delicious fruit and apps for lunch before driving home. Always too short of a stay but I’m glad we got to see each other. It’s tough to get all of us together anymore since we’re spread across FOUR different states, but I always feel refreshed after seeing these girls so it’s well worth the drive.

Enjoy the following photos from our NC visit. (Still crossing fingers for a new camera!!!)

Husb Drinks

BUTTONS!!!!! For sale at the Farmer's Market

It's my hot sauce!!!!



No, this is not from a magazine. Karissa is just the best hostess EVER!



I. Am. Nell.

Did you enjoy the photos? If you scroll up I believe you'll see that I DISTINCTLY told you to enjoy them.
~M
*Post Title from "Carolina In My Mind" by James Taylor

Is it Saturday yet?

I loved Kate's earlier post about working for the weekend. That is exactly what I'm doing.  I can't wait for the girls to come visit me this weekend.

Living in North Carolina has some good perks...warm weather in the fall/spring before the north has even thought about thawing out.  We're in basketball heaven. Just a short drive from both beach and mountains. Home to sweet iced tea (although I still think it's gross) and all sorts of fried goodness.  But, the biggest drawback is how far it puts me from my friends and family.  I am so excited to have them come see me!

I imagine there will be lots of talking, eating, talking, and maybe some eating.  And maybe we'll start planning our 30th birthday celebration next year.

A trip down memory lane...

Aruba. I want to go back. Now. Tomorrow. Next week. I miss it.

Aruba 2008

 While I hate my hair in this picture (bangs, bad idea for me!) I wish I had that body back. Sheesh. Time to go to the gym.

North Carolina Girlfriends Weekend December of 2006?

 Laura's beautiful wedding! Isn't she stunning? And don't we look so young?

Laura's Wedding.

Laura's Rehearsal Dinner

My wedding

Maybe we'll have some more pictures this weekend. Here's to good memories and even better friends.

~Kc

Countdown

It's only Monday morning and already I know I'm WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND. Girlfriends time-summer edition- is only a few days away and I'm geeking with excitement. Hoping for days to whiz by so the margaritas and girl talk can start as soon as possible.

xoxo,
Kate

The Story of Us (KC's version)

I think it's very fitting that I'm the last to share my version of how we met since I was the last to join the group.  I'm not a native of Pennsylvania, nor did I go to the same middle school as they did.  I'm the newbie to the group but I've never felt that way.

One thing I will always remember about these three ladies is how they say my name. I wish I could include an audio file because I won't be able to do this justice.  Somehow they are able to say my name with the right emphasis to always make it sound like I'm in trouble.  It's become a joke now so whenever someone does actually say my full name (and not KC), someone starts to laugh.  I think it's impossible to say it differently now!

When we were in college, someone (who?) had the idea for us to each have a diary. The next time we saw each other, we would swap diaries and continue on.  It was the best idea because I got to see glimpses into their lives that I never would have seen otherwise.  It had all those stories that you forget to tell a few months down the road.  I think that helped us stay as close as we did.

I think Kate, Laura, and Mindy did an excellent job of sharing those first memories. I just love that the four of us managed to survive high school, separate colleges, and the years since with each other.   In many ways, I think we're stronger friends now than we were before.  Why is it that distance has made it that way?  Here's to more memories with amazing friends.

~kc

The Story of Us (according to LC)

Kate and Mindy did a very good job recounting the girlfriend story in: The Story of Us and The Story of Us (cont).  A few things I'd like to add:

Kate and I met at conception.  We didn't have to share a room growing up, but we did in college.  Our time together in the womb taught us how to live together in small spaces (or kick or poke each other until the other got what she wanted).  One of my best memories of Kate occurred during college.  It was our junior year.  We lived together in a small suite, which consisted of two double occupancy rooms joined by a bathroom (toliet and shower only).  Each dorm room had a sink and mirror (because otherwise four girls would never make it out the door in time to go to class).  Kate hated that I had a bed in the corner of the room (I had a nice space to rest my pillows to go to sleep.  Kate did not.) and she hated that I always closed the blinds by my bed.  One day around midterms, I was stressed (more stressed than normal for me).  I was studying for the exams,  completing comps, tutoring, trying to figure out Abstract Algebra, working on a Practicum at a local high school and all around hating my life.  For some reason, I had my cell phone with me (cell phones were just becoming popular).  Kate called and told me that our sink pipe had burst and our entire dorm room was flooded.  She said all of our belongings were drenched and all of our furniture was out in the hallway.  I hurried home from the library and found this note:

 Needless to say, our room was in perfect shape, and it made me put my life into perspective.

My best memory of Mindy is from eighth grade.  We used to get out of study hall to go work on student council projects.  We took our job as “signers” very seriously.  We were in charge of the scrolling, electric sign in the cafeteria.  We thought we were the coolest.  One day we thought we needed to leave our legacy.  So, we wrote a note and walked around 40 minutes (our student council hall pass was gold!) trying to decide where to hide this note.  We ended up in the back entrance to the auditorium and hid our note in the ceiling.  I would imagine it’s still there.  Kate and I had a brief 15 minutes of fame during which we showcased our telepathy abilities.  Mindy was our manager.

My best memory of KC is from French class.  At one time, I was good at French.  Then all the (smart) slackers dropped out of French and Karissa and I continued on with the (smart) non-slackers.  Our peers would read French poetry, have complete conversations in French and understand French films (without subtitles!)  Karissa and I would stare at each other from across the room completely lost and mortified.  That’s when we started 1-2, 1-2-3, and French class became a lot more fun!  My second best memory of Karissa is remembering how happy she was on her wedding day.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more glowing bride!  

Hugs to our followers,

LC

The Story of Us (cont.)...

Kate did a lovely job of telling the tale of Girlfriends (I’ve been waiting two weeks for my Kool-Aid Mustache to show up on this blog- finally, yay!!!!) A few more comments/points to add:

• It was the 80s, which explains the KFC and Kool-Aid. My mom probably did call me “Melinda” because I believed believe that I was am a princess.

• Not only did Kate, Laura and I become good friends in elementary school, but we also suffered through many bizarre ordeals at CCD (which is like Sunday school for Catholics but it was always on a Monday or Wednesday after school). Some of the strangest kids you’ll ever meet growing up will be in your CCD classes…

• I would routinely remind “the twins” that I had to earn extra chore-points to have both of them over at the same time since there were (shocker) TWO of them and it required 10 points to have one friend over but 20 points for both of them. I did not have a lot of tact, plus I got us lost in the woods for four hours one day after school. We were almost milk carton kids.

• Karissa and I met through basketball. For the first 2 & ½ years of our friendship I thought her name was "Casey", since she was most often called by her initials “KC” for sports and I apparently had hearing problems by the age of 11. She was by far one of the nicest players on our rival/sister middle school team, but it was INFURIATING how accurate her baseline jumper was and it sometimes made me extremely jealous of “Casey”. By high school I had learned her real name and we played on the legendary 9^th grade basketball team together and were locker partners in 10^th grade (BLPE!). Even though KC is the “newbie” girlfriend we’ve still known her for over HALF our lives, which is just crazy when you think about it.

I can’t wait until we’re old and our grandkids are so sick of hearing the stories of how we all met that they have us committed. Love these girls- they’re my soulmates.

~M