In a word, the last year has been educational. Blogging teaches you things. Wanna see us resize some photos? Juggle some social media with ease? But while tackling some of the technological challenges of blogging was a little sour at times, blogging has been mostly sweet, and the relationships we have made while blogging have been the very best part. So what’s the cherry on top of this blogging plate of delish? We have gotten to know each other better too. In the beginning, we described each other like this, and we wouldn’t change a word of what we said back then. But blogging has given us a wider window into each other’s psyches — think the viewing window on a autopsy — that we wouldn’t have had otherwise and for that we are truly grateful. So without further ado, we give you. . .
Ten Things We Learned About Each Other This Year
Erin Shares About Ellen:
1. Ellen travels with a capital “T”. I knew Ellen and Frank went places, but we all go places. They GO places. In the past few years, they have visited Costa Rica, Mexico, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, Washington, DC, taken a cruise to the Bahamas, and done Disney. This is just hitting the highlights. They also go to the beach, and we camp together TWICE every summer. But it’s not just that they go fabulous places, they do fabulous things once they’re there. They climb stuff and repel off things and swim with sea creatures and find great hideaway restaurants and visit don’t-miss museums. Their photo albums look like travel brochures. In one of our conversations, Ellen said that she would rather spend money on experiences than things. She’s not just talk, this one.
2. Ellen still has mad medicine skills. If you didn’t know yet that Ellen is a doctor, you should probably know that. While she chose to gracefully exit the medical profession stage right to raise her kids full-time, she never really put away those skills. She is our resident medical go-to girl for all things that might bleed, blister, or keep you up at night with worry. But I learned this year that she can still walk the walk. I had two pretty big medical things come up in my family this year, and Ellen talked me through both of them with calm, clarity, and confidence. The way she explains technical medical things to us lay folk reminds me that she would be awesome in a practice or on TV as one of those medical correspondents. Move over, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Ellen still has game.
3. Ellen makes a cake so good that I actually tried and LOVE Nutella. The very notion of Nutella used to make me gag, but this cake made me a convert. If you make it, it will make you the Belle of the Ball, so if you are looking for a fairy godmother, Ellen just might be your girl. Oh, and the cakes she makes her kids—fuggedaboutit. Forget fairy godmother. You’ll want to be adopted, so you can call her mom and eat these ridiculous confections. Really.
4. Ellen is willing to jump off that cliff–metaphorically and literally. Remember what I said about her awesome travel escapades? Ellen is always ready for fun. And challenges. I have yet to find anything that scares her or makes her say, “whoa, that ain’t gonna happen”. Ellen is the girl that gets things done. Period. Again, if she can think it up, it’s already halfway done.
5. Ellen is tech-y in a good way. It took me a while to find my footing in the more technical aspects of blogging, but Ellen took to it like a duck to water. She is always two steps ahead of me on that front which I appreciate, because she is an extremely generous friend when it comes to knowledge and sharing it. I have learned a ton, mostly from her showing me the way.
Ellen Shares About Erin:
1. Erin is a whiskey drinking girl. Erin will partake of a mellow merlot or a cold brew, but her first choice is a whiskey sour slushie. It’s her fun-loving Irish roots shining through, but it always surprises me and makes me smile. She is such a gentle soul and whiskey just seems like a bar brawl fire-starter.
2. Erin is the ring leader, CEO, and Grandmaster Flash of fun. When we go on our Big Love trips with sixteen children ranging in age from 5 to 18, Erin orchestrates getting us fed, corralling us out the door, and divving us up into canoes. But you know her super duper secret that you should tattoo on the bottom of your foot for future reference? She is FLEXIBLE. She is not a slave to her schedules. The masses revolt because they don’t want to get out the door by 8 am? No problem. We’re having a blast at the playground and don’t want to start on the hike? No problem. She should have the theme song, “Enjoy the fun you’re with” playing around her at all times.
3. Erin is your role model for how NOT to hold a grudge. Erin is amazing. You can have a calm discussion with her, come to an agreement, and then she – wait for it – moves on. It is like watching a miracle unfold before your eyes. It is truly in the category of unicorns and leprechauns. There is a dark side though, but it is only for her. She assumes other people are also this generous and she has gotten burned. I’ve told her more than once that perhaps she didn’t get kicked enough as a kid. Hmmm, reading this over, I may need to work on my graciousness. I definitely have my cynicism down pat.
4. Erin loves fire. She really loves it. I’m a girl who has used her fireplace twice in 14 years. Her family’s most cherished times are spent around their fire pit. She is a girl who uses fire as an entertaining staple. Don’t forget she brought us the “Bonfire to Go“.
5. Erin is a master of organization, diplomacy, and calm . . . except when she is not. For the love of the Brady Bunch, she keeps her five kids’ lives trucking along in the most fantastically enriched, grounded, and fun manner possible. And she does it without an Alice — but on second thought she does it without the hindrance of a Cindy, so really it’s a wash. But she is only human as demonstrated by her sock sack of shame.
What’s the big deal you say? Just you wait.
She also takes a stand on the most unlikely issues. Discussing religion and politics? The United Nations should attend her charm school. Discussing Andy Griffith? Insert the sound of an explosion in your head. In the land of calm, she is the cucumber when kids are breaking arms or scrabbling with each other like feral cats. Regarding certain instances with crock pots and lining up shoes for a photo? I started to have secret fantasies of whipping out a tranquilizer gun. But those are stories for another day . . .
In the spirit of Thanskgiving, we owe some big thanks to Kerstin Auer at AuerLife for this week’s Listicles topic. We love an opportunity to write about each other and not just our families and friends. You’re all welcome to love her now. Kerstin has a great blog and her latest post about her life in numbers is worth reading all 41 entries. Really. Check her out.
As always, we owe a debt of gratitude to Stasha whose Monday Listicles are our favorite place to link up every Monday.
