Birthday Love

How great is this card?  My dear friend Michele gave it to me for my birthday and I simply love it.  I also love her.  She managed to surprise me for my birthday last week with a trip to celebrate with me right here in C-U!  I really had no idea that she was coming and was shocked and thrilled to see her sitting at the table for my family dinner.  We had a great weekend! 

My sweet sweet husband threw a surprise party for me with friends and family and we celebrated into the wee hours.  It was fabulous!  So fabulous that I didn't manage to take a single photo.  Hopefully others did so I can get a peak at the fun we had.  Between my lovely husband, dear friends and super duper family, I'm one lucky gal.

Memory #25: Michele & Libby Take Toronto

I have lots of favorite memories with my friend Michele, but my most favorite has to be the "Michele and Libby take Niagara Falls & Toronto" trip.  When I was still living in NYC, Michele and I were always dreaming up awesome trips that we should take.  One afternoon while I was working away in my tiny cube in Midtown Manhattan, to my surprise and delight Michele called me out of the blue with a proposal.  "Libby, I'm buying a ticket to NYC for this weekend.  Where are we going?" is what she said.  My ears perked up and my mind got to work.  After some stealthy Google searching we had booked a hotel at Niagara Falls and in Toronto and had a $10/day rental car to get us there.
Michele arrived a couple of days later and we headed to LaGuardia to pick up our car and be on our way.  The sense of liberation with a last minute trip is invigorating and thrilling and we were both so excited.  Neither of us had been to either place and had no idea what to expect.  Highlights of our trip included our little lovers hotel :) near the falls, leaning over the edge as far as we could without falling, stopping at the border crossing into Canada and nervously telling the border guard that we were bringing cameras, ipods, fruit and snacks into the country (she was intimidating), eating like queens in Toronto, shopping and stumbling through the evening nightlife.  We drove through a horrendous thunderstorm on the winding roads of upstate New York and were relieved that we had somehow survived the ordeal.
It was a great trip with a great friend and fine example of the exciting spontaneity of youth.  Great memory!

Hooray For Friday

Do you ever have those Fridays where you wake up and say, "Whew, I made it!"?  I have the afternoon off and my friend Michele is in town.  I'm super excited for fun times this weekend and I plan on doing a lot of relaxing (while simultaneously being very productive).
Side note: I used the Google doodle to create the NBC bells. I was proud of myself. :)

(photo from here)

Michele Rae, Happy Birthday!

Happy 29th Birthday, Michele!  Wishing you a simply wonderful (like you) day filled with fun, laughter, good food and good friends.  In your honor I've written you an acrostic poem:

Michele, you are

Impossibly

Charming and your humor and wit are

Hilarious. You're  

Extra special and I consider myself 

Lucky, for you are the

Essence of a true friend

photo from here

My Bestie, Michele

This evening I'm sending out some love to my best friend Michele.  Michele and I met each other in high school, but truly found each other in college.  Most recently Michele stood up with me as Maid of Honor in my wedding this summer.  Heaven knows that I'd hardly be where I am today without the love and support of this one.  Michele has always been the first to my side in a time of need, the one to hug just a little longer than I'd expected (but secretly hoped for) and probably most importantly, the one to make me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry.  More often than not, I'm convinced that Michele knows me better than I know myself.  The best part about that is that she likes me anyway. :)  From spur of the moment road trips to Niagara Falls* to week long Sex and the City marathons to the death of parents and dear friends, we've seen each other through A LOT of highs and lows.

Michele, you're one-of-a-kind, woman.  I'm so honored to call you my friend and feel beyond blessed that we were planted on the same wavelength.  Thank you for all that you are.  I love you!

A random sampling of some recent photos:

*Remind me to tell you about the Niagara Falls/Toronto story someday.  It's a good one!