With A Little Help From My Friends

My wish for every person on this planet is that they would have at least ONE friend that they could just be stupid funny ridiculous with. It’s quite possibly one of the most liberating things in the world. I mean, it’s great to have friends that will call you on the carpet when you’re being irrational, and it’s wonderful to have friends that you can whine and cry to during those tough times. Honestly though, there just is no substitute for those amazing friends that you can talk to about nothing and everything and walk away feeling completely fulfilled as a person. I’m incredibly blessed to have a few of those. I got to spend time last night with my best friend, Korin, and she is definitely one of those spectacular people! She’s caring, kind, beautiful inside & out, and is totally hilarious!

Korin and I often meet up at the Jewel Box Cafe (Hogwarts, as we like to call it) to get work done. She’s a nursing student, and I always have design projects going on. We just work really well when we’re near each other . . . most of the time. We’ll generally exchange stories about our day for a couple of minutes, check in with each other to see what we’re working on, and then get work done. However, there is always that off-chance that we’ll get all silly and not get any work done for a while. Last night was one of those nights. I had posted something to her Facebook on my way over and we just kinda ran with it. Even after I got to the coffee shop and we were sitting across from each other, we kept the shenanigans rolling hard to the very end. What started as something so simple quickly became the best entertainment for the night. And though I didn’t get all of the things done that I had scheduled to get done last night, I’m absolutely not sorry.

I hope you enjoy this little Facebook exchange as much as we did:

[click photo to enlarge] 

And just in case you’d like a more intimate look at my life, here is my bum ovary. 😉

And this my friends, is just further proof that:

My freak flag still flies high
I have incredible friends
I should not be allowed on the internet

Life By The Drop

 

I’ve had the song lyrics from Texas Tornado rolling around in my head all morning. This can only mean one thing . . . I just got back from visiting my hometown! Yes indeedy, I just spent a week down in the Lone Star State, drinking lots of coffee, sharing lots of laughs, and making brand new memories with friends and family. This was by and far my best family visit yet! Anytime I go home, it’s difficult sneaking in quality time with my siblings because everyone is on ridiculous schedules but this year, it was a success and I got to spend some real quality time with my sibs and my nieces. I think the bonus to the trip was getting to drive to and from Houston with my 3 year-old niece consistently referring to herself in the 3rd person:

“Where is Annabelle’s coloring book?”
“Can Annabelle have a booster [Easter] egg?”
“I not Cutie Pie. I Annabelle.”
“No, that belongs to Annabelle.” 

Every year on Easter weekend, my mother’s side of the family gets together for a great big family reunion, so this seemed the best time to visit home for the year, since I knew a good majority of people would be there. There are plenty of age old traditions that shine bright during the weekend:

• Swimming and tanning at the beach in Galveston
• Homemade mexican food featuring some incredible family recipes
• Never-ending Texas BBQ
• Country music blaring from the speakers of huge trucks
• A relentless attack of cascarones that will leave you picking confetti from your body for days

Usually, I make this trip alone. However, this year I brought my best friend, Heather, with me to join in the shenanigans! I have shared so many family stories with Heather and we kind of joked about her coming home with me to experience it all. Thankfully, her wonderful hubby was willing to let that joke become reality and encouraged her to join me for a fun Texas vacation! Here’s a little bit of what we experienced:

 

Non-stop laughs while watching WHIP IT on the flight to Austin

 

Curbside pizza & southern stories with friends on SoCo

 

Workin' hard on our wave jumping technique and our rad new tans

 

Got to enjoy a beautiful sunny day with the fam at our annual reunion! We even made sure that Heather got the full Arroyo family experience by shoving a carton (or 2) of cascarones in her shorts. Dats how we do ;-D

 

And then, of course, they all got me . . . in the back . . . and the front. :O

 

Meeting the newest member of our family, Bethany, for the first time!

 

Dinner + great convos with some of my wonderful friends

 

Which naturally leads to fun times in toy shops . . . | Photo by Kat Atkins

 

Two photo shoots:

One with Sandie near the beach

 

And one with Annie in downtown Austin

 

And of course, mucho quality time with . . .

Me and my sibs

 

And my mom

 

And my pops

 

Plus a lot more sightseeing, local eats, meeting up with other groups of friends, and a lot of late night laughs! I’m so glad I got to go home and see all my wonderful family friends and even more glad that I got to share those experiences with my best friend!