365 Days to 30/365 People Who Were Along for the Ride

Day #363 - Kim M.

Kim is our newest next door neighbor, and yes, she is pregnant, with a boy – OF COURSE!

We hadn’t been friends with the people that previously lived in this house (friendly, but not friends) and when I heard it was a young couple moving in, I was really excited. We met Kim and Chris before they even moved in and I knew instantly we’d be friends. She is tall (taller than me), my age, and talkative. I love it. I love walking out and having our brief conversations before work. I love driving up and she’s outside and catching up. I can’t wait for our little boys to get to know each other.

Day #360 - George C.

George is one of my classmates in my graduate program. He is as Irish as the get – a jolly, jolly redhead. I love having classes with George because I know he’ll add a touch of humor – through his writing and his comments. He is finishing the program with his thesis this spring, so it will be sad to know I’ll never walk into another classroom with George!

Day #355 - Susan H.

Susan is a classmate of mine in the Hopkins writing program. We’ve had a few classes together and it’s always nice to walk in on the first day and see her smiling face there.

She is a teacher and I love hearing her stories. Her kids are lucky to have her as a teacher. She’s a great writer, which I can only imagine translates well into teaching. She is also a voracious reader.

Day #354 - Randy

Randy is a good guy. He was my Pop Pop’s apprentice at Paper Services, the company he owned and operated until the week he died. I believe Randy and his family have since taken over the company.

My Pop Pop didn’t have any family living close to him, and Randy was very much there for him. He is a good old Midwestern boy, a hardworker, and was always so nice to our family and so good to my Pop Pop.

I remember the week of my grandfather’s funerals (a lot of which was spent with Randy and his family), Randy told us the story of how when he came back to his house the day my Pop Pop died, someone had lowered the flag in his hard to half-staff. He asked around and couldn’t find anyone who had done it. He told me it was just like my Pop Pop to have done something like that. It made me smile.

Day #353 - Rachel L.

Rachel was one of the original Fontwerks girls and I was honored to be asked to join the design team ESPECIALLY because I really admired Rachel’s work.

She is from Canada and has that fantastic accent. Whenever we would get together at trade shows, I always walked away feeling like I was talking like my Canadian friends. And I loved it!

Rachel is the momma to three adorable kids and has left the scrapbooking world to pursue a real passion of hers – photography.

Day #351 - Amanda P.

Amanda is a scrapbooking friend that I surprisingly have never met in person! She is a great momma and a really talented scrapbooker. Last year, she asked me to take part in her book (Month by Month Scrapbooking). It’s always a big deal to me when a scrapbooker that I admire asks me to work on a project with them, and this was just the case with Amanda.

Day #347 - Meckenzie B.

Ahhh where to start? Meckenzie might just be the only person left reading this blog. So it’s appropriate that her name would come up in the last few weeks of its existence.

I told the story of how Meckenzie’s mom and my mom met each other before the two of us arrived at Lehigh. Meckenzie and I became fast friends our freshman year. Many nights were spent back and forth between each others rooms, trips to the dining hall, and even trips to Meckenzie’s (the local among our group) old high school to watch football games. There were nights spent taking care of each other after a little too much partying. All of my best memories from college include Meckenzie. All of them.

Meckenzie made magical mix CDs. I would love a new one for when the baby arrives. She is a great judge of character and I always felt like we were on the same page.

Meckenzie was a wonderful bridesmaid and always so supportive of Ken and my relationship. And ever since the day after our wedding, she’s been asking if I was knocked up. And I’m pretty sure she would be happy if we named the baby Meckenzie if it was a boy or a girl. It would be a great name because Meckenzie is a great person.

She lives out in California now with her boyfriend Andy (whom I like, except for the fact that he took her to California) and I can’t help but wish that she lived down the street and seeing her was as easy as it was those freshman days many years ago!

Day #346 - Nancy T.H.

Nancy was the human resources director at St. Paul’s when I started there. It’s not an easy job – anywhere – but Nancy was really good at it. She was always a great conversationalist and easy to talk to. I also always felt like I could implicitly trust Nancy with a problem or issue I was facing.

Day #345 - Elaine H.

Elaine is a good, longtime friend of my aunt Debbie. She (and her kids) feel more like family now! When I was younger I would babysit Elaine’s kids, Alexandra and Andy. They are now grown up (going to college and law school!) but I’m glad that they are still a part of our family’s life. I really only say that because they were some of the kids I actually enjoyed babysitting. ;)

Day #340 - Cindy S.

Cindy is one of my Maryland scrapbooking buddies (who is now much more than a scrapbooking friend). I met her a few years ago at my buddy Erin’s house when we all got together to scrapbook.

Cindy is sweet and has a great laugh. I have always enjoyed our dinners, movies, and other times together. This year she took a leap and opened her own scrapbooking business and I’m so happy for her success.