#500wordsaday: Take Me Somewhere & Leave Me There

1) A time you lied
2) A time you were hurt
3) The last time you were happy for a week straight
4) Family
5) How you wish you started your day (and then why you aren’t doing that already)
6) Your most authentic moment
7) When you really loved yourself
8) When you were scared
9) Why you long for love
10) Something about you that you’re hoping people don’t notice   / Something about you that you’re hoping people do notice

500 Words a Day: The last time you were happy for a week straight

Anyone who knows me at all, knows I am happiest while vacationing. The times I spend away from work, away from home, are always the best - whether it's a big extended vacation, a long weekend, or even a local overnight trip, I am always happiest when it's jet-setting. 

The last time I felt truly happy, for a duration of time, was the birthday trip I planned to Bend for my best friend earlier this summer. It wasn't a week, but if you count the time I put into planning it, I think it counts. Everything about the trip was fantastic - the drive, the weather, the place we stayed, and everything we did for the long weekend. 

The trip to Bend was a culmination of a travel-themed birthday week, throughout which my gifts to my bestie had all centered around a theme: had she stopped to think about it much, the obvious theme was BEND (Dechutes beer, a tasting at Naked Winery, an overnight bag) - I was banking on the fact that she'd been so busy at work, she wouldn't notice. 

And I was right. 

I think what was so great about this trip, was that it was timed perfectly for the fact that we'd been living together for six months, and she was about to be moving out. We had spent so much girl time in the prior few months, and we both knew that while it was an exciting step for her to be moving in with her boyfriend, that also always changes things between friends. We had spent six months watching Teen Mom in bed together on Monday nights, eating popcorn for dinner, popping bottles of wine with our Chinese takeout while writing our financial reports for work each month; these are things that you tend to stop doing once you don't live under the same roof. So it was really excellent timing to take a girls-only, just-us, nobody-with-a-penis allowed road trip. 

And this is why people tend to think we're lesbians.

Anyway, much like any other trip we've taken together, this one was full of fabulousness - however I'd prearranged most of it in honor of her birthday. We took a brewery tour and did a wine tasting (and by "tasting," I do mean we stayed at the tasting room for like 4 hours and then went shopping while white girl wasted, and I bought a cat headband), went shopping, and wandered through the streets of Bend, one of our absolute favorite places. We stayed in an adorable bed and breakfast type place we found on AirBnB, had our favorite eggs bennedict at our favorite restaurant in Bend, and had so much girl talk - it was fantastic.

Small trips like this one - whether it be to Bend or the coast, or even to Phoenix or Vegas - are such a great reminder for me to step back and relax; life truly isn't all about work, and I shouldn't be so stressed about finances and responsibility all the time. I think it's easy for us to get caught up in our day to day, and taking some time away from a routine, helps find balance. 

As we expected, things have been different since she moved out of the snuggle pad (again, it is clear why people think we're lesbians) and in with her boyfriend. Not bad, but definitely not the same. She lives across town, with him and his son and a puppy, and I live here, with a new roommate who I definitely have to wear pants in front of, and who doesn't come with me to the grocery store only to eat popcorn for dinner three nights a week. I watch crappy reality tv by myself now, and we have to make actual plans to hang out instead of just each flopping onto the couch in our jammies at the end of a long day. But she is by no means, any less my best friend. 

Taking a break from the day in and day out patterns to plan a long weekend or a trip away, always provides those reminders that the only real important things in life, are the people in it. As we're excitedly counting down to our next girlfriends trip out of town, I'm certain it will be equally as fun, and will certainly serve as a reminder to be happy. 

I may not feel over the top happiness every day of my life, but even just writing this blog serves as a reminder that my life is happy, and that's reason to celebrate. 

And so I will.

With another vacation. 

Crazy Like a Girl With Two #Wifeys

11 Day Photo Blog Challenge

Day 3: A Picture of the Person Who Has Helped You Through the Most
Day 4: A Photo of the Person You Do the Craziest Things With 

I think once you're out of high school, it becomes harder to say who you "best friend" is. In middle and high school, it's easy - you have lots of friends, and then you have your very best friend. But as we grow up, we tend to develop stronger friendships with several people, and they may or may not also be friends with each other. We start to migrate towards other people who lift us up, encourage and support us, and we learn the lesson that friendship is 100% quality, 0% quantity. And in my case, while there are a lot of people I enjoy spending time with, drinking with, chatting with...there are a select few with whom I share it all.

Today's blog is a combination of day three and day four in the photo-a-day blog challenge, because there are two women in my life who have helped me immensely in their own ways, and have watched me (and helped me) do my fair share of crazy shit in the few years we've been friends. My #bestfriend and my #wifey, with whom I have the strongest friendships, and with whom I would be a puddle of disaster without: Kattie and Rachel.

Maybe it's because I'm not in school anymore, and because I work all the time, but I happened upon both of these women through work, and both in the last three years. Kattie was hired into a position I had just been promoted from, and ironically I became friends with Rachel because I helped her pack to leave her husband, after meeting her at a staff meeting. And yes, I know that's a weird thing to do with someone you don't know, help them leave their husband. But we were pretty fast friends from there.

At work, we call Rachel "Mom," because the girl's got a legit mom voice. A nice, firm lecture. And also because she's a caretaker. Rachel let me live with her for several weeks while I was homeless following a flood in my apartment. She also let my cat live with her when I wasn't even there. And you all know my cat is fucking needy. Rachel and I have spent a lot of hour drinking wine, eating food, laughing, crying, and bitching about other people. We've celebrated birthdays in Vegas, we've watched fireworks and had bonfires at the beach, and we've spent holidays together. I've gone to her son's baseball games, and we've met each other's parents. It's no wonder I call her my #wifey, with the way she takes me in and the way I listen to her vent. She's taken care of me better than anyone else, and I know that no matter what bad day, headache, or broken heart I am suffering, I can count on her for some mommy wisdom to make it hurt a little less.

Kattie, as my closest single, childless friend, has been along for every random road trip, last minute vacation, and latest late nights at the bar on the fly; she's seen it all. Kattie and I have traveled to Las Vegas, the beach, Eugene, Tri-Cities, and Bend - and we're going to Boise tomorrow for a long weekend, and back to Vegas & into Phoenix in April. If I want to spend money, I call Kattie - and especially if I want to spend money on something I've never done before. Something new and adventurous? Kattie is my go-to. She's watched me tackle new things, has forced me to taste new foods (all to my benefit), and encourages me every time I say, I think I might want to try...because she probably wants to try it too. We've been drunk together, have stayed out all night together, and have made new friends and seen new places together. No matter what lunacy I come up with, I know Kattie will be there to tell me it's a great idea. Because why the fuck not?!

I think it's great to have a lot of friends - lots of people you can call to grab drinks or dinner with. But I think it's a far better thing to have people in your life who will drop whatever they are doing, do anything they can, to make a bad day better. Kattie and Rachel are two people who have changed my life for the better; they have been there for every good day and every shitty one, and they've never been further than a phone call away. I've grown immensely and my life has changed dramatically in the past three years, and possibly the only consistency has been that these two have been there every step of the way. Every crazy day, every promotion, every move, every vacation. I am lucky to have stumbled upon them, and I am grateful for them daily.

And I mean, we're close enough friends that a guy I like to make out with sometimes just asked me, are you like, lovers, or what? Well...no. All three of us like dick way too much for all that! #bestfriends!