Old Friends

This weekend I am in a wedding of one of my oldest friends.  Nicole and I knew each other when we were really young but became friends in 7th grade.  We are going on 20 years of friendship.  Every teenage memory includes Nicole.  Our group of friends were always together in some form or fashion.  I know this friendship is forever because it is that type of friendship where we don't see each other or spend near as much time together as we should but when we are together, things just fall into place.  It's comfortable.  And real. 

I'm super excited to be a bridesmaid in Nicole's wedding and celebrate this incredible time with them.

In honor of the wedding and since today is "Throwback Thursday," I want to share this beloved photo.

E, K, Me, G, and Nicole (the bride!)

 

This photo was taken our senior year of high school - homecoming actually.  These four girls (I'm in the center) made up my entire high school career.  We had other members of our group but this was the core.  I have so many memories that include these women.  It's amazing how much we have changed.  Our lives have taken unexpected turns but we are all still hanging on for the ride. 

E went on to work full-time for I guess all of these years.  She earned a bachelor's and master's in English.  She's as sassy as ever!  When I saw her at a celebration for Nicole, it has been years since we saw each other.  We never skipped a beat.  She's the exact same tell-it-like-it-is gal and I would never want her to change.  Oh, and she drives a convertible.

K went off to school right after graduation.  She is now a science teacher at our alma mater and lives in our hometown (as does E). She has a cute little boy - the only one of us with a child in fact.   And soon she will begin teaching kids of people we graduated with! Scary! 

G has a degree in art and works for a research department for the same univeristy I do (and Nicole too for that matter).  I gave her a reference when she was hired.  :-)  G was never a fashion guru in school.  Just be glad she showed up.  She didn't care for hair, makeup, and definitely not clothing.  Today though, her closet is probably 3 times bigger than mine.  She always looks amazing and her hair and makeup are flawless. 

Nicole is the same as she always was.  She's genuinely sweet and thoughtful.  She was always sort of the mother hen to G and I and she's still that way.  She plans everything out to the minute - which came in especially handy for wedding planning.  She has a degree in interior design.  It fits her.  She works for one of the academic schools on campus.  And I think she's thinking of going back to school to be a teacher.  She'll be a great teacher.  And hopefully she will add mommy to her list soon too.  If there was one person who was born to be a mother, it would be Nicole.  And she had plenty of practice helping to raise G and I.  :-)  G's parents adopted Nicole.  It was so very fitting that she and G became "real" sisters.  I can't wait to watch their mom this weekend.  She's going to be a puddle of emotion for sure.

So that's them.  My old friends.  Four incredibly strong, beautiful, and independent women.  In this group of women, three of them lost their mothers before they turned 25.  It shocked my soul each time.  But they kept going. 

Once upon a time we were just five band nerds with no responsibility.  Now we have husbands, kids, careers, homes, retirements, and the list goes on.  We have each traveled the paths in front of us and I don't know about myself but they are traveling with grace and strength.

I'm glad to have each of them in my life - even though we don't see each other as much as we should.  Maybe this big celebration will help bring us together more often. 

"Do you know these people?"

"Do you know these people?"  I have a strong feeling at some point during our cruise I am going to be asked that very question and I might have to say no. 

My parents hosted a bbq/pre-cruise party so that we could eat insane amounts of delicous food while talking about our cruise.  The party included Hubs and I, my brother, and four of my parents close friends (and their children who happen to not be going with us).  We did eat insane amounts of good food.  And we talked about the cruise...a lot.  Then we did what we do best - karaoke. 

Seriously.  I love these people.  They are so fun to be around and you can't not have a good time.  I can't wait to spend a week partying with them. 

My dad and his friend K.

Hubs and our friend M.  She is a blast.

My mom singing.

This was taken about a minute before she called me her "little baby stick-in-the-mud."

Somebody has to be the adult.

We attempted to sing "We are the World" by Michael Jackson and friends.  D took care of the MJ part.

My dad singing to K.  I think he enjoys making people laugh....and feel slightly uncomfortable.

Crazy, insane picture of me, my dad, and brother.

This is just a glimpse but you can really tell that these people enjoy spending time together and having a good time.  I can't wait to see what they have in store for the cruise.

45 days.

An evening straight from my dreams...

well, sort of....

Two of my oldest friends (16 years now!) and two of my sweet all-grown-up cousins traveled to Nashville in late June for the New Kids on the Block/Backstreet Boys concert (NKOTBSB).  I expressed my love for these two groups in an earlier post.  This concert was awesome.  From beginning to end, the guys rotated singing the best of both groups.  I loved every minute of it.  In fears of overloading blogger and what readers do happen to cross my blog, I am only sharing a small handful of pictures.  

After the show, my cousin had a great idea to hang out by the buses.  Much to my surprise, we were rewarded with glimpes of all four Backstreet Boys.  Nick was already in his bus but thanks to my sweet (and normally quiet) cousin and about 50 other girls chanting his name, he came out to wave. 

I. caught.  it.  on.  camera.  I will be happy forever.  

Top Moment from Nashville

I am planning to write an entire post about my trip to Nashville to see the New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys but I had to share my top moment from my 20 hours in Nashville....

Nick Carter...in the flesh...15 feet away.  Made our night.



A Little Confession...

When I was a little girl, a new "band" came out and I fell in love!  I had a bedspread, pillowcases, and curtains with their faces on it.  It was Bieber fever of the late 80's.  Yes...I had a small obsession with the New Kids on the Block.  I have a vivid memory of my dad taking me to the mall to find NKOTB buttons...you know the HUGE buttons with their faces.  If I remember correctly, I had a Jordan button, Jon button, and Joey button.  Sorry Danny and Donnie.  I was a bit discriminatory at that stage.  I used to walk around listening to my headphones (ie. cassette player).  My dream was to see them in concert but unfortunately that never happened.  I was extremely sad devastated when they disappeared

Then!



Now!

 But fast forward 7-10 years...

I can remember my friend, G, bringing over a cd (GASP!) of some group from Florida.  This group would fill the void that NKOTB left.  The Backstreet Boys would be my favorite group thereafter but especially in my high school years.  I didn't go as wild with the bedspread and such but that is when I discovered BOP, Teen Beat, etc.  Nick Carter was my favorite.  Hands down.  At the beginning of my senior year of high school (which happened to be my birthday weekend), my friends, including G and another best named N, and I went to Atlanta to see 'NSync (yeah...the one with Justin Timberlake) and after the concert my sweet friends surprised me with a little birthday party and my present was a ticket to the upcoming BSB concert.  I was ecstatic!!  I saw them in November from the upper section of the civic center and I loved every minute of it.

Then!

Now!

So considering my childhood and teen years was filled with these two groups, you can imagine my sheer excitement for the possibilty of the two groups touring together.  In December 2010, I purchased 5 tickets to the NKOTBSB concert in Nashville in June 2011. So peeps, I will spend next Tuesday evening with 4 awesome ladies (G, N, K, and C) and experience a show like no other.  I literally can't contain my excitement.  I know that as soon as I hear the music to Hangin' Tough or Step by Step that my 28 year old brain is going to revert back to my shy, nine year old memories. 

I am not ashamed.

Well, maybe a litte. 

No.  Wait.  I'm not. 

Full details, pictures, and more next week!  T minus 5 days!

Heads Up!

Amanda is giving away a $25 giftcard to DressBarn!  The contest runs through November 15th!  You can also read a little about our shopping experience at the new DressBarn at The Shops at Grand River last week.