Do you remember meeting your best friend(s)?   I giggled as I thought of writing about this because some friends just magically appear in our lives, while we meet others in the funniest (and often times most awkward) situations throughout our lives.

Take, for example, my little brother.  He came home from his first day of 3 year old nursery school with a new best friend: "the boy in the orange shirt".  Unfortunately, Benjamin (as we later came to know him) wore a different colored shirt the next day.  The story ended well with the kind teacher helping my brother find his "new best friend".

I have an "eclectic" group of best friends.  They are awesome.  

Katie is my lifeguard buddy who I met in a pool.  Literally, while swimming in the pool, we said to one another (I remember it as clear as day!), "we are friends".  That was the end of that.  How easy!  Our friendship has been easy (like having an awesome big sister that doesn't judge and literally reads my mind telepathically) ever since.

Bethan is the first friend I made in high school.  I don't remember exactly when it happened, but I do remember seeing her in a lot of my classes and one day striking up a conversation where we literally decided that we were not only best friends, but also sisters.  We decided that since we looked alike, we should be friends.  Period.  The antics began and they haven't stopped many years later!

Megan is one of the friends that I don't remember meeting very well.  She was in my homeroom freshman year and I remember loving and admiring her silliness from the beginning.  All of the sudden, I was telling people that we were friends, no questions asked.  That's exactly how she is.  We are friends, no matter what.  No questions asked.

Katie (not to be confused with Katie above) and Mo (short for Maureen) were a two-for-one friendship deal.  I had classes with both of them and remember thinking "gosh, those girls are cool, I wonder if they would be my friends?"  (Note: This is awfully embarrassing to admit.)  Well, it worked out fabulously and we became a little gang of not just 3 friends (yes, they allowed other people into their force field of friendship!), but 5 (see the two characters above).  We are the type of friends that will go to the beach together as old ladies and sit together in the tide with our drink coozies and giggle until sunset.  I love these girls like sisters.

So, the question is.... How did you meet your best friend (s)?  Do you remember?

Happy Tuesday,

M

On Sunday, I am headed to a baby shower for 3 ladies at work who are expecting.  Thinking of what they need and can actually use as new moms got me thinking of a post that I have been meaning to write for months!  Today, I am sharing 5 of the nicest and "not so nice" things that I have noticed people saying about newborn babies and their shell shocked, but love struck new mamas (and papas!).  

5 kind / awesome things to say to someone who just had a baby: 

1.  "Your baby is beautiful."

(end of story)  No matter how many times you hear it, it never gets old.  I like to call this comment "the classic".

2.  "You look beautiful."

(are you seeing a trend here yet?)  Just tell a woman that she makes it look good.  Even if she doesn't.  It feels nice! 

3.  "You guys make a good looking / cute / adorable kid."

This comment is great because it's not especially emotional or cheesy, but covers the "your baby is beautiful and so are you, mama" comments which I love so much.

4.  "Can I come over and clean your house / do your dishes / go shopping for you"?

The only thing I wanted to do after having our little one was hold her while she was sleeping and maybe even drift off to sleep too.  Visitors insisted on holding her, which was fine, but I felt like I should have first dibs.  Some wise friends and family members brought food (bonus points!), cleaned (double bonus!) and even went on errands for us.  Now, these are friends! 

5.  "You guys are doing a great job, you are naturals."

Sincere and kind.  You can't go wrong.  

5 comments to avoid:

1.  "Your baby looks just like your husband."

 Mine does.  Which means that she is adorably cute and has cheeks that you could pinch for days.  BUT, for some reason (9 months + hours of labor), I wanted to hear that she looked just a tiny bit like me.  Call me crazy, but I worked hard for that girl!  Just stick with comment #1 above, people! 

2.  "You are going to lose all of the baby weight in no time."

Please refrain from all body comments.  Don't tell me how pregnant (or not) that I look.  Just say that I am pretty even though I am 40 pounds overweight and in pain.  

3.  "How is the baby sleeping"?

Really people?  Have you ever heard of a newborn who sleeps well?  That's just cruel.  And the nights that she did sleep well, we were petrified to talk about them because of extreme superstition.

4.  "Are you breast feeding?"

Nope.  Just don't ask.  It's difficult and emotional and people get upset having to answer this one.  Avoid it, please.  See above for other ideas.

5.  "When are you going back to work?"

Ugh.  I just had a kid.  I want to stay at home and stare at her pretty little button nose for all eternity.  Don't make me think of reality.  Thanks.  

Enjoy this and imagine traveling as much as Matt. where the hell is Matt

Image courtesy of designaglow.com

I love the color yellow and my scarf today reminded me of how much it can cheer up a dull winter day. Here are a couple of my favorite travel photos from Spain.  Have a sunny day dreaming of a trip somewhere bright and yellow.

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Ministerio de Educación, Madrid Spain

Metro Parada de Embajadores, Madrid Spain

Pans & Company, Madrid Spain

Street Shades on Gran Vía, Madrid Spain

Yellow Building in Sevilla, Spain

Yellow Buidling in Segovia, Spain

Yesterday afternoon, the little beagle and I spent some quality time on the back deck.  Him sniffing, me reading a book (aka the best afternoon ever!) and I began thinking of the little life lessons that he has taught me in our 3 year relationship thus far. 1.  Enjoy the small, less noticeable moments

2.  Take it all in and take a deep breath (or in his case, lots of small sniffing breaths)

3.  Sit outside and turn off the laptop / cell phone / tv (he never needs them to be happy!)

4.  The joy of food (you should see this boy eat dinner, its quite a show!!)

Thanks Frank, for being great.

Love,

Your non-beagle Mom