{Friends}

I can still hear my mom singing the Girl Scout song:

"A circle is round, it has no end-- That's how long I will be your friend..."

When you are a girl, nothing beats having friends you can talk with for hours about anything and everything. Today I had the pleasure of spending time with two great friends: Adele and Megan. 

I met Adele 5 or 6 years ago through her boyfriend (husband now), Ian.  Her and I have more reserved personalities and therefore had little to discuss when we first met, but over the years our friendship has turned into one of those relationships I could not live without.  I remember spending the night at her house for her birthday.  We ended up staying awake all night talking, watching movies, and eating an extraordinary amount of sugar.  Her kind and understanding personality makes me comfortable enough to talk to her about anything with no hesitation.  She is like the older sister I never had.  

I love watching her bond with her newborn baby, Ashlyn.  She is, without a doubt, an outstanding mother and I am blessed to be apart of her life.  I definitely enjoy spending time with her and Ashlyn in my free time. 

I first met Megan exactly 19 years and 6 months ago.  From birth, our houses have been across the street from each other.  Up until middle school, we were inseparable!  If I was not at her house, she was at mine.  Summer days were spent playing putt-putt or off on one of our many adventures down at the neighborhood park.  After middle school, we both became busy with school and different activities after school and we slowly stopped hanging out. 

 It is amazing how time changes us, yet at the same time not everything changes. Megan is a cheerleader at UT, and enjoys life at college very much.  I sympathize that she is not totally sure what she wants to study (I have been there and it is NOT fun).  Tonight, we were able to sit down for some coffee at a local Starbucks and catch up.  We visited and laughed for an hour; it was as if time froze and we went back to being 10 years old, playing on the playscape and talking girl talk.  We are both in a really good place in life and I could not be happier for her.  We also promised not to let anymore time pass and to keep in touch!  I definitely cannot wait to catch up with her again.

{Winter Wonder Almost}

What is this white stuff? It is soft and fluffy, cold and wet. Oh that...that is snow! Snow?!? In Austin, Texas? 

Yes!  I excitedly peered out my window this morning to see a pure white blanket of snow covering everything in sight.  I rolled out of bed and bundled up in as many layers and I could (imagine that kid from the Christmas Story).  As I got ready for the possibility of work, I thought of the best way to safely make it over to Brandon's house.  I exited my home to find most of my car covered by a two-inch layer of snow!  As I wrote in "A Cold Morning, But a Beautiful Day," I do not own an ice scraper.  I searched my garage for anything that could possibly be useful to remove the snow, but  the only thing I found was a box of container lids.  Not exactly my first choice, but they would have to do.  As I walked out to my car my dad popped into the room and asked what I was doing.  After explaining my dilemma, he left momentarily and came back with two long sticks with a brush on one end.  With that, I promptly brushed to snow off and jumped in, more than ready to feel the warmth of the heater!

I began the trek to Brandon's house about fifteen miles away.  Unbelievably, a trip that typically takes between 10-15 minutes took an entire 45-60 minutes going a MAXIMUM of 35 mph on Parmer.  Luckily, I made it safely to his house with only a few minor slips and slides-- nothing abnormal to the people who are used to this weather.  I could barely contain my excitement as I entered Brandon's house  to wake him up so he could see the pretty snow!  After getting up, dressing warm, and finding out we didn't have to work until later, we made our game plan.  A while later, we ventured back over to my house to play in the snow.  As I took pictures and tried to stay warm, Brandon started pilling up the snow in the shade so it would not melt.  To me snow is really pretty to look at but a bit too cold and wet!  I definitely would not want to live somewhere that gets heavy amounts of snow.

{Baby It's Cold Outside}

18 degrees outside with a wind chill of SEVEN degrees...there is noooo way that is right.  Rubbing my tired eyes, I looked again and sure enough it was.  Reading that made me snuggle down under the covers.  Getting up was just not going to happen,  so I decided to wait for the heat to come on before crawling out into the cold and fell asleep for another hour or so.  Awake again, I peered through my window hoping to see snow or at least some ice but there was no such thing.  The weather was bitterly cold and I resolved to hide in the soft warmth of my down comforter...

Okay okay, I'm up I'm up!  Finally convincing myself it was warm enough to venture out of the covers, I made some hot and delicious oatmeal for breakfast-- exactly what I needed to warm up and get my day started!  After breakfast, it was off to the races (so to speak).  I had some baking to do!  Quickly shifting gears to baking mode, I pulled out the bowls, spoons, and various ingredients.  Nothing makes a house smell better than fresh chocolate chip cookies and blueberry muffins! It was a success indeed.

I had the great pleasure of spending the afternoon with my good friend, Adele, and her sweet little baby, Ashlyn.  Neither of us wanted to be in the cold so bundling up and staying indoors was definitely the way to go.  It is amazing how us girls can talk about anything and everything in just a few hours!  Before long, I held Ashlyn and watched her make all sorts of cute, expressive faces while Adele made some hot tea. Babies are such a wonderful blessing; their soft pure skin and their tiny little hands and feet never cease to amaze me.  Between nestling in the large, exceedingly habitable couch, playing with the baby, and talking girl talk, time flew by.

Now I am back in my cozy bed with the warmth of the heater. Tomorrow we will do it all over again...