Friends with a Capital F: Part 1

This weekend I got a chance to hang out with two ladies that just sincerely crack me up. They are real and true Friends (with a capital F) and I love the little freaks.

Saturday, D and I made a trip up to Lubbock and I wasn't keen on running the errands he wanted to run so he dropped me off at the mall like I was his stepdaughter and it was awesome. One of my best friends on the planet, Lori, lives in Lubbock so, because she's so fabulous, she dropped everything to come wander around the mall with me and catch up.

Graduation Party Bus 2009 

I'm sorry Lori. This is the best I could do. 

Every other picture of us together in college is a complete mess.

I'm pretty sure everyone's mouth is open in this picture because at any time,
Thomas may have sprayed us in the face with a water gun full of trashcan punch.

And it was like a wonderful breath of fresh air. Even though we hadn't seen each other in a month or two (or three?! I'm not sure), we speak the same language and it was good for my soul to be near her. So I want to publicly write the top 3 reasons I love her. The list goes on and on but for blog-sake, I'll keep it short.

1. She's self-aware. This girl has all the capacity to be crazy, emotional, needy and bitchy, as all of us lovely ladies do. But she has the wherewithal to figuratively slap herself across the face. And how wonderful is it to be friends with someone who is honest with herself?
2. She dark and twisted. She likes gothic, romantic, unconventional things. She is artistic and creative and just DIFFERENT. And she makes me feel just A-okay about being a little different myself. 
3. She's my lifeline. If I had one call to make (and it couldn't be my mom) and I needed to find someone who would answer their phone and be willing to drop whatever they were doing to come help me, it's her. Don't get me wrong, we are both guilty of canceling plans at the last minute with the other because we're snuggled up on our couch watching reruns and don't want to put on pants to leave the house. But when it counts, I know I can count on her.

THEN, on Sunday, D went hunting and I had the day to myself. I realized I hadn't seen another one of my best friends, Katie, in a while and sent her a text hoping she'd be free to hang out. So she swung by the casa and we spent the afternoon (& evening) catching up.

Senior Prom 2006

This was a distinct time in my life when someone should have taken away my tweezers and tanning salon membership

And I particularly love Katie's backless bra showing and that really, really sweaty guy behind us.

K is so so different than L, now that I start to blog about it. She's just as good for my soul but different bits of my soul. But one thing they have in common is the ease in which our friendship comes. I haven't seen K since before Christmas but we fell right back in to finishing each other sentences. She's part of me. So here are the top 3 reasons on a long list of why I just adore Katie:

1. She is a "bright girl". As a fellow "bright girl", who holds herself to unreasonable standards and is prone to stress, I know that I NEED her. We over-think so much in our lives and sometimes having that one person to spill your worries and obstacles (and stories about crying in your office at work) to and she knows WTH you're talking about, it's priceless.
2. We have real conversations. About real life stuff BESIDES our careers and gossiping. We talk about religion and politics. No, really, we do. Any of my high school friends reading this are thinking, "Katie and Arica. Sitting in her living room discussing politics? Doubtful" but believe it. She's one of the most open-minded and eloquent people in my life. 
3. She's kind. Now, she's a lot of things as well as kind. She's tough and driven and funny and sarcastic and introspective. But all of those words aren't mutually exclusive and her balance and moderation of it all is impressive. I think how she pulls off being a complex, interesting, GOOD person is with kindness. 

I'm very blessed with a handful of wonderful Friends. I'll have to keep this series going, telling my friends that I love them and why. It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy!

Also, this weekend, I did this:

And no, honest to blog, it didn't really hurt that bad.