now and then

I graduated from Brigham Young University a decade ago. It really does seem like a different lifetime entirely. My hair had more random colors and could be coerced into somewhat natural curls. I was a twig (oh how I wish I would've realized that back then!) and I ran and ran and ran all the time. Wide leg jeans. I ate Del Taco at least three times a week. I drank 32 ounce Mr. Pibbs from the drive through Crest (gas station) on a sometimes twice daily basis. They'd see me pulling up and have it hanging out the window when I got there. I'd pull all nighters on a regular basis - for my senior project I remember I purposely waited to pull an all nighter. Because it was my last chance! Dude. What I wouldn't give to have that sleep back. :) 

Most of these vestiges of  my college self are fairly extinct now. I run occasionally, I sleep whenever I can, and Mr. Pibb gave way to the Diet Dr Pepper many years ago. But I've held on to a few things - my editing minor continues to serve me, my penchant for messenger bags (never ever did use a backpack and to this day I have a shoulder bag with me at all times), my rogue design classes have been the backbone of my little design business, my somewhat hippy love for Birkenstocks (year round, baby), and there are these friends.

These cute gals are the kind of friends that you hold on to. We haven't seen each other in years, but we've kept track of each other. It's a long story, but we met up at Home Depot for the Kid's Workshop a few weeks ago. And then they came to our little house for dinner a few days later. (Why didn't we take photos?!) They gave the girls a Valentine that said, "Roses are red, violets are blue, I know we just met, but we love you." And they do. They are like the aunts the girls never knew they had, but how they love them already! And so do I - we talked for hours, much too late for our Grandma bones, but the catching up we had to do! And the memories! Like that one date I went on in the middle of the woods with a shorter than me guy that had a mustache. Remind me to tell you that one someday. And these girls are some of my favorite conversationalists. Funny and witty and know something about everything. I remember even in the good ol' days craving a good conversation with these ladies - I always came away a little better, my spirits lifted. And it is still the same with them. I just love their guts.

And so my friends - thank you for keeping track of me. And my babies. Here's to many more (not too) late nights of the best chats and even better laughs. :)

This wood was much thicker (? more dense ? I'm really not well versed in construction terminology)
than other projects, and it was pretty hard to get the nails in.
Lou resorted to using the other end of the hammer.
I know it's blurry, but really, she's hilarious.

Annabelle's apron with all her pins has gone missing.
It's killing me! If you could all send good vibes my way,
I'm sure my mom brain will remember where we put it at some point.