F is for Friends

F is for Friends

I've been mostly lucky in the friend department over the years. I've had a few friends come and go, but most of the friends I currently have, I've had for years.

Through rough patches and hard times to good times, here are a few of my besties that have been around for years and I plan to have them around for years to come.

First up is Kristy, my horse trainer. Seven years ago, the current barn where I was boarding my horse ended up selling to developers and it now a strip mall. I didn't have much time to find a new barn, but luckily, Kristy and her husband had just purchased a horse facility and were taking boarders. They placed an ad in the local equine publication and I stopped by to take a look.

I moved in the next day. The place was a horsey paradise.

Kristy and I at the So You Think You Can Dance Concert 2008

Kristy was not a horse trainer at the time, but eventually she gave up her amateur status to train horses and Bam Bam was her first project.

My oldest friend is Paula. We've been friends since the late 80s and grew up showing horses together. We've done a lot over the years, including traveling to England and France.

How sexy are my glasses? Paula and me in 1989

I can't leave out my work BFF, Tiana. We always manage to entertain each other during the day. She's also my steady lunch date and co-conspirator.

This is my absolute favorite picture of the 2 of us.

Tiana totally keeps me entertained during the day. I would be so bored if she left! Plus, she listens to me whine about my personal dramas all of the time and always covers my ass when I screw up at work.

Of course, there's me and T. We used to get into all sorts of trouble together, but now we've mostly got our lives together. We've had a lot of fun over the years, playing and partying, but now we mostly go on fun adventures around the country doing races.We were also there for each other during a period of time when we both had horrible boyfriends. Thank God we finally started making some better decisions. I love to think back to how much stupid crap we used to do and how we've changed so much over the years.

Disney World March 2011

My outside rep, Kim, is another close friend. We've been partnered up at work for 5 or 6 years now and we've had some pretty big blow outs, but in the end we've always been there for each other.

Kim and me in Las Vegas 2008

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture on my computer of one of my closest friends, Jay. He got me my current job 9 years ago and we've been friends for years before that. He's my boss now, so we rarely get to hang out like we used to, but he's pretty talented at talking sense into me when I get...neurotic.

In the last couple of years, I've also met some great people from all over the world through blogging, Twitter, forums, etc, such as a sweet group of NCIS (nerd alert!) fans and my friend, Amber that I finally got to meet at a race in Las Vegas. I always try to be thankful for whatever time I have with the people that leave a mark on my life. You never know  how quickly life can change or how little time you may actually get with someone.

I'm a really lucky girl to have these people in my life and I am truly grateful.