True Friendship Ignores Time and Distance

I'm grateful for the photo challenge today. This week kicked my butt a little.

Day 2: You and the Person You've Been Closest to the Longest

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this probably means beyond the family because they are kind of a given. Otherwise they'd win this, hands down: 1) Parents 2) My Pops 3) My Cousins and 4) Auntie Cindy. :)

So, branching out beyond the fam, it'd easily be these two tied for that spot.

I've known Matt (left) and Andrew (right) since I was in 8th grade. [ That picture's from Matt's wedding day. I have zero of the three of us...ever. Fail. We have to fix that at Andrew's wedding.] We've had some ups and downs along the way -- from break ups and fights to cross-country moves -- but on the rare occasions when the 3 of us can get together, it's like nothing has changed about our friendship.

Except that we're older, Matt's an old married guy now, and Andrew is soon to be an even OLDER married guy. And they have wonderful, beautiful (inside and out) women in their lives now that I also have the blessing of having in mine. [Hahaha, the amount of estrogen is now higher than testosterone. A nice change, if you ask me! :P]

But we're still silly one minute and contemplating the mysteries of life the next, and then we bounce right back to picking on one another. I know I can still call them any day and talk though anything and everything with them -- or nothing that makes any sense at all. I absolutely love 'em to death and look up to them a lot. It's a downright honor to have gotten to watch them grow up into two pretty classy guys. [Yes, even you, Andrew. :P]

I'm so thankful to have them in my life for 10 years and counting. ♥

~"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." [-Elisabeth Foley]~

The Day of Great Combinations

coffee and conversation jump start the day right.

reuniting with a CUC friend -- a juxtaposition of catching up on life and reminiscing.

sunshine, sunscreen, and sand smells staining my skin.

lakeside seating perfectly sandwiched between a friend and a cousinsister.

laughter and love. lots of it.

reminders

of not being alone.

of growing up that's done and will come.

of the okay factor in it all.

and now...chocolate milk and Frankenstein. (a bit of polar opposites, yes?)

~"Life is short, let's go live it. Ain't no time for wasting time. Days like these go by way too fast. Yeah, days like these, you wanna make them last." ["Days Like These" - Jason Aldean]~

Embracing A New Hobby

A big weekend meant loads of pictures.

The last 2 times I had loads of pictures (the trip to NC and the trip to Kemah) led to some dabbling in editing.

This time I plunged into editing. Last night I spent hours on it...because it was fun, and because I could legitimately waste time without feeling guilty about it. I'm taking some legitimate summer vacation time before beginning work on my summer class.

Anyways, here are some of the results:

A lot of my favorite moments of the weekend were captured in photographs, both of other people's and my own. That makes me smile.

~"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever...it remembers the little things, long after you have forgotten everything." [-Aaron Siskind]~

And one more quote tonight...

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place...I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them." [Elliot Erwitt]

(Part 2:) The World In Me

A continuation of yesterday's post, based off of yesterday's quote.

f r i e n d s

like

f a m i l y...

totally twins.

partners in crime.

some of my oldest friends.

the reason for the season. ;)

love those Schmidt boys!

these guys keep me grounded.

this boy loves peanut butter almost as much as i love our friendship. almost.

one of our last gigs while all of us were still at cuc.

two of the most beautiful women i know.

mama lisha!

big brother on the carousel at the mall. :)

gotta love a trip to Madison with Ls.

silly string fights were just the beginning.

~"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good." ["For Good" - Wicked]~

Chicago & Friends

I think the city of Chicago is absolutely beautiful. It's one of my favorite places to explore when I can.

Sometimes you just have to take the time to be silly and spontaneous. I think my college friends will always be some of the best people to be silly with.

Today I got the chance to meet up with a group of people from CUC. It was the first time (most) of us were together since 3 years ago. And where did we spend most of our time together in downtown Chicago? Macy's.

And it was the best few hours we could've had. We explored mysterious places, took lots silly pictures, and laughed like crazy. We talked, caught up, and forgot that we're grown ups for a while.

~"A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are." [-Unknown]~