Check it!

First, take a few minutes to bask in the beautiful glow of my super sweet new blog design. Christy of Ruby & Roja designed my blog in a way that is so totally me. What's amazing about that is that I didn't give her much to go off of, just that I like pinks, bright colors, and abstract flower designs. That was pretty much it! Yet she managed to come back with a grouping of pictures and quickly designed this awesome header (or pimped my blog, if you will). I cannot say enough about how great is! Please check out their site and take a look at the amazing work they do.

In other noteworthy moments in my life, I got together with my friend Katie today. Katie is my oldest friend, in that I've known her since first grade. Pretty amazing to be someone's friend for 20 years! We first met on the playground. She had a broken leg, and I felt a little bad that she couldn't run around like everyone else, so I went and talked to her. This is momentous because my 1st grade self was pretty shy (and really, my 26 year old self can still be pretty shy). We became fast friends and spent most of the next two years together. Unfortunately, the summer before 3rd grade, they redistricted elementary schools. Katie and I were originally supposed to go to the new school, but I was placed into the Honors program, which meant that I remained at the same school. We kept in touch and still did things together for awhile, but really, without email and all the quick hookups kids have now, it was hard to keep in touch.
Over the years, we didn't have very many classes together, until Senior year Speech class. We were told to partner up with someone we didn't regularly hang with and interview them. Katie and I ended up sitting together, although our interview was really more catching up, because we knew each other's families SO well. And all those reasons why we were friends so many years ago? They all came rushing back to us. Katie and I started hanging out quite a bit after that. We both went down to IU together and would share rides back and forth from home to school. It's amazing to look at her and think, "I have known you for longer than I've known any non-relatives." While I regret all the years of friendship we missed out on, I am thankful to have made many more years since then.

Katie is so special to me. She's an incredibly talented individual (all of my friends have some serious talent, which makes me feel pretty pathetic!). Katie quilts, wonderfully so. A few nights before my wedding, she came over with a beautiful quilt she'd made for us. Her quilt is the only inspiration I have to make the bed in the mornings. Luke is also lucky enough to have a Katie quilt, which is bright, fun, and decorated with monkeys.
Shortly after I got pregnant with Luke, Katie moved to Minnesota. This means that I no longer get to see Katie whenever I feel like it, so being with her has become even more special.

Today, Katie and I went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth, both of us admitting that while it's not generally cool to like Brendan Frasier's "acting," we both do. Katie may be one of the few people who knows just how many times I've seen Encino Man or that I went to see The Mummy the DAY it was released. Today's movie featured Brendan Frasier in 3D! After the movie, Katie and I went to Sephora, where I bought many things that I needed. Katie would never point out that actually, I need more makeup like I need a hole in the head, which is why she's a good partner in crime.

Aside from being special to me, Katie is just plain special. Katie is a NICU nurse, and she's one of those rare people who has TRULY found her calling. You just know that she loves what she does and that she's amazing at it. Katie takes time to scrapbook special name cards for all of the babies in the NICU. And when the unthinkable happens and a baby is lost, Katie makes a quilt for his/her parents. I don't know how she does it, but she does it, and she does it well. Katie has told me before that parents will pull her aside to tell her that they can always tell when she has been on shift, because their baby will be in a calmer mood. And I believe it, I really do. Luke warms up to Katie faster than any of my other friends. The first time he saw her, he looked at her, giggled, and held out his arms.

Katie and I, before the movie. Please admire my beautiful flowers! But please ignore the weeds growing up from under porch (remember, we're dirty hippies that don't like to use chemicals.I'm sure the porch weeds cause the mayor many sleepless nights.)


These are our 3D glasses. The glasses had a warning on the side that said "These are not meant to be worn as sunglasses." Judging by how totally stylish they are, you can see that many people would have to fight the urge to use them as sunglasses, as Katie and I clearly did.