Happy Birthday, Jessica Jones | 4

Here we are in 2011, on one of our favorite days of the year... which comes again this Friday! You always like to take care of me, especially when it comes to things like makeup, or pacing myself during a progressive dinner, or not performing a citizen's arrest on the lady who almost ruined your son's birthday party (and then stole my phone). You look out for me. You teach me things.

You're tricky, though.

You're my voice of reason and my teacher, but also my biggest instigator. It's confusing and always out of control: like when you splashed water on me in the Matador bathrooms, but then tried to tell everyone I had a romper malfunction. Or when you told me Tumblr was the best blogging platform, then promptly switched to Wordpress (same thing happened when I finally got a Blackberry... you peaced out to Team iPhone and I was over hanging out on BBM all by myself). Or, when you revealed to me that South America was actually a continent for the first time, and I swore you to secrecy, but then you blogged the whole freaking conversation (an alias of Schmorianne helps NO ONE). Or when you told me it would be funny to scare Paul last year by reenacting the whole "Danger!!" scene from Friends, but then your foot ended up getting cut open by a glass I broke and somehow it all became my fault for being "too committed" to the moment.

You're actually kinda mean.

It's ok, though. I got even during the whole "AN EGG IS JUST A BABY CHICKEN" revelation.

Thank you for the years of laughs, my friend... and you're welcome for many of those moments being at my expense.

Happy Birthday, Jessica Jones | 3

Friends who diet together... die together.

I'm pretty sure that's how the saying goes.

Jess and I have been on our fair share of diets together. We've also started our fair share of blogs about said diets, but that's a whole new post for a whole new day. Seriously, we've done it all. Adtkins, Weight Watchers (stupid celeb endorsements - we believe anything we see in US Weekly), HCG, fasting, juicing, hot yoga. I dealt with her candy withdrawals like a BOSS, and she dealt with my carb-cravings with as much (tough) love as she could muster. In this photo from 2010, we're at our favorite Seattle late-night spot - Taphouse Grill - for a friend's birthday. And the only thing we were allowed to have that late at night? Tea.

Not the pizookie. Not the Caprese pasta. Not the spicy tuna roll I DIE FOR... nope. Just green tea. I don't even think we were allowed any sweetener. Not sure what kind of demon diet this was, but Jess... your cheekbones here are on point (as is my silver eyeshadow). Thanks for being there for me for my dieting fails... and I'm sorry for anything I said to you out of hunger.

Happy Birthday Jessica Jones | 2

2009 will always be "the year of Corianne and Paul", but that wouldn't have been possible without one Jessica Jones.

No, seriously. You think I'm just being poignant in that statement, but no... I'm actually being quite literal. 

She had been dropping hints all evening, almost annoyingly so:

"Paul, Corianne - you two just need to get together. It would be way easier on Jen and I, we can't welcome a new girl or a new guy into this circle."

"Corianne - Paul will share his dessert with you! Paul, why don't you feed her a little bite?"

"Paul, Corianne looks scared. Hold her hand."

So, later that night when Paul and I quietly started talking about "what if" we got together, it just felt right to have her pretending to ignore us on the couch beside us.

(Just kidding. It still feels a bit creepy and like something we maybe should have done over a candlelight dinner, but this is us. This is the same girl that, so far, had seen me through some very personal and emotional times in my life: poor fashion, bad haircuts, my snobby attitude, and diet-induced anger, just to name a few. I felt like nothing is ever off limits).

Happy Birthday, Jessica Jones | 1

Instead of the normal birthday collage, I am going to be featuring my best friend @jessicanjones, the birthday girl, throughout the day. We're getting too old to be able to remember all of our fun memories without a little bit of work, 

so I'm going to start from the beginning and see how I can do.

This photo is from 2008, the year we "re-met". We bonded over the campfire at Dave Matthews Band, which we attended together because of mutual friends at church. When she told me she had an affinity for all the pieces of the Pub Mix I hated (I mean, how perfect is that), and she brought all the magazines I hadn't, I clung onto her like white on rice (hehe).

We got to talking, and discovered that Jess and I actually met YEARS before that - I was the front desk administrative assistant at a real estate office, and she was the personal assistant for one of the agents. I was a crabby, arrogant, bleached blonde with a love for Britney Spears and huge chip on my shoulder between the hours of 8-5pm; I couldn't fathom how no one understood how to do anything themselves in an office setting - are people really that technologically challenged? I mean, you enter your code, your press how many copies you want, you stand on your head for 13 seconds, you clear our your code, and YOU PRESS 'COPY'!

So, imagine my excitement when a super cute, trendy girl walked in. FINALLY. Someone I didn't have to hand-hold through the whole tech process. She was so smart and capable, I just knew she was going to make my life easier. I mean, her Macy's blazer was screaming "business profesh".

Imagine my disdain when she called me an hour later at the front desk to ask me how to check her voicemail.

She didn't even know which line was hers yet (I still remember she was extension 2252), but if she would have thought to pick up the phone on her desk and look at the screen, it displays the extension after a 10 second pause and pressing the * button three times in rapid succession, but whatever... apparently that was too hard to figure out herself. I mean, aren't Asians supposed to be extra smart? Well. She "claims" I never gave her the instructions I said I would, but I still think she's lying. So, she needed my assistance... and that - in addition to re-filling the coffee pot - is what I was paid to do. I stomped back there and showed her, and she didn't say much - but she nodded her understanding. I glared at her one final time and left.

Later Jessica told me she had nicknamed me the mean, squeaky-voiced blonde. We never talked again, although we worked about 10 feet apart for quite some time. I'm pretty sure she avoided me between the years of 2004-2008.

Our friendship is proof that God can restore ALL THINGS.

(Sorry Davey, this isn't about you.)

My Iron

You know those friends that just make life easier? That would be these guys.

As I get older grow up, I become continuously more grateful for the relationships that just work. Sure, relationships take work, but I'm a firm believer that the best relationships are also glaringly natural. Personalities compliment, weaknesses are compensated for, and there's a whole lot of grace and assuming the best. If I am upset, I tell them. If they are upset, they tell me. We're so different, but we appreciate the quirks and traits that each one of us brings to the table.

Jessica is so easy going. I used to feel like she just didn't care sometimes, but I've come to realize that she has experienced a lot in her life and she's just decided to spend her energy on what is truly important. She is refreshing; the epitome of "ain't nobody got time for that". She does what she wants, she rolls with the punches. She doesn't care who rides in what car (that's me that cares about weird things like that), or if we miss our dinner reservations and have to move locations (cue hives, Jen). If she doesn't get a seat with the best view of the water fountains whilst on vacation (hehehe), she's over it in like three seconds. If she accidentally spends part of the mortgage payment on Bath & Body Works candles, it's whatever (ok, she's gotten a bit better at this). She has three kids, a husband, is a business owner and boss lady at her normal 9-5 and just AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT (that = pretty much anything that is dramatic or exhausting without purpose or goal). I don't think you could offend her if you tried (trust me, I've tried. When I pointed out her poor driving skills, her response was a shrug and a "but did you die?" So. There's that.) 

I don't want to make her appear like she just doesn't care about anything. She's also the one that dropped EVERYTHING while we were on vacation in Portland over Labor Day to make sure her kids had everything they needed for their first day back to school this week. She temporarily hated me when I teased her for contemplating going vegan. She is a fiercely loyal wife and friend: if someone hurts me, she holds the grudge for me (even if it's over the silliest thing) until I tell her its ok to move on. If I have an idea, she humors me because it's clearly important in my head (even if she could care less). She's confident and comfortable in her skin and makes friends everywhere she goes (one time, she made friends with a girl at the Applebees in Idaho, because the girl was maybe a little drunk and told Jessica they could be sisters because they both were part Korean. They might even still be Facebook friends? Anyway... yeah, Jess is just that girl).

Jen is pretty much the total opposite in every way. She cares about everything, big and small: about plans, about planning, about making the people she loves happy, about the details. She wants us to be on time for dinner reservations, and if we have to move locations, she is quick to organize a Plan B. She's not one to wing it. She is a hostess, a caretaker, a leader, a mother, and someone that I would seriously hand over the keys to my life and just say: ORGANIZE ME, PLEASE.

That being said, I don't want her to appear rigid or boring. Jen brings life to whatever she touches. And she would seriously do anything for me, anytime I needed her, no questions asked. She is selfless and always all in. Her love language is quality time, and she isn't shy about letting me know this. She is also isn't shy if she disagrees with me, which I love (maybe not at the time, but in hindsight). If she feels distant from Jess and I, she takes the initiative and make plans. She doesn't wait for us to realize we're slacking... she tells us. I absolutely love this about her (so much so that it's making me a little teary to write it out). She knows what she wants, she knows what she needs, and she makes it happen.

Do you know how much I appreciate having these two total opposites in my life? I feel like I can be a perfect mixture of them both- but I probably err on the side of being a hot mess and desperately needing them both to keep me walking a straight line. I'm the codependent people pleaser, so my colors can change (which I don't like). I love that they are who they are, and they inspire me to pick a lane and stay in it.

Fight for the relationships that take some work, because God wants you to push yourself beyond where you're comfortable, but revel in the relationships that don't take much from you and that allow you to just be.

I'm grateful for many relationships like this in my life, but I felt like writing a special blog dedicated to these two in particular, because they've been there for me through some of the most intense, emotional, ridiculous and amazing parts of my life, and they've never faltered in who they are. No matter how crazy I get ;) And THAT's inspiring.

A vacation with kids is not a vacation at all.

I live for vacations. Which is a little troublesome, since I feel like we don't take many. Haha... but, we planned this vacation a few weeks ago, to celebrate my husband's and Jen's birthdays in a snowy little town called Leavenworth, and to say we were all a little excited was an understatement.

Not only was this our first vacation as a group in quite some time, but this was the first time we were escaping together WITH OUR KIDS.

We questioned whether this would be a vacation at all, actually. Jessica and Davey's boys are older (meaning, they can use a toilet and put themselves to sleep), but Porter and Lincoln are 14 months and 9 months old. They still nurse, they still wake up a few times during the night, they are obviously still in diapers and need to be entertained and watched 24/7.

So, basically, this was a different experience entirely.

Here are a few ways vacation with toddlers is not a vacation at all.

• Stairs. Omg, do you guys realize that most houses are - by nature - BABY DEATHTRAPS? And this genius of a mother (talking about me) doesn't own a baby gate... because, you know, I like to live on the edge. The house we stayed at was three floors, with like a billion flights of stairs. I had to get creative, creating blockades with unused ottomans and dining room chairs on their sides. Porter is like a moth to a flame when it comes to stairs. He will drop anything he is doing to climb up some stairs; if he sees an opportunity, the stairs are like a irresistible, shining beacon of fun and imminent danger. He will RUN to them. So, when I successfully block off all the landings and I am thinking to myself "WINNING!", he scales the wall and climbs up the banister. I. Am. Not. Kidding.
• Babies Don't Care About Sleeping In. Porter and I came downstairs at 6am a few mornings we were away, and were promptly greeted by our friends Jen and Lincoln. Oh, hey guys. No sleeping in for you either? Not gonna lie, I was a little jealous that the Jones boys were still sleeping (as were their parents). I pretended to be all panicky when Porter started playing his xylophone outside of Jess and Davey's room, but I was secretly all "muahaha" when Jessica flung open the door and stumbled out half-asleep to the bathroom. I mean, I know she's earned her sleeping in (three kids later and blah blah blah)... but if Jen and I are awake and sucking down coffee, you will be awake and sucking down your lemon water, Mrs. Jones.
• You Can't Take Kids Into A Bar. When we were sledding, some kind stranger - (actually, I'm not sure who told us - I had retired to the car early because I had a frozen Porter Popsicle. So, yeah, I just waited in the car for everyone else to finish having a blast. Yet another reason why this vacation is now different, but I'll just keep moving for the sake of word count) - so anyway, so stranger told us that this little hole-in-the-wall down the road has the BEST pizza in town. Well, turns out, it was the town bar. Jen, Jess and I stayed in the car with all the kids while the guys ordered and waited for our to-go pizza. That in itself is super annoying - especially with a cranky toddler needing a nap and not at all pleased to be sitting in an cold, non-running car.
• Vacation Language Isn't A Thing. We have this joke about saying and doing whatever we want on vacation - after all, it's vacation! If I want to have Doritos for breakfast, I will. We talk about married things, we laugh at inappropriate jokes, we play intense games of Heads Up and Catchphrase and - err - Uno, and... things can get heated. A few of us hate losing (Paul), a few of us cheat (Jessica), and a few of us may have mouths like sailors (Me, Jen). I know, you're shocked. Well. Kids don't understand the good nature of this, and pretty soon Jackson Jones is wandering the house telling the little kids to stop being "so damn loud. That crap is annoying". Oops.

So yeah, anyway... bottom line, I joke around - but it was a blast. I loved hanging out with our families and making so many new memories. One of my favorites: the older kids played Xbox downstairs, and told us a few times they were going to go "pwn some noobs". We were like... "what are you even saying."

Jess got really nervous, but didn't want to make her kids feel like she didn't trust them, so we did what every logical parent in 2014 does: we Urban Dictionaried it. Turns out, it is to completely obliterate your opponent in any event where there is competition, though the term specifically originated from Online Gaming. Very similar in nature as "owning new players". Phew.

You learn something new every day.

Our cabin for the weekend!

Hot Yoga: is that what it feels like to do Yoga in hell?

Jessica: I'm doing Hot Yoga tonight!
Me: Oh, you are? By yourself?
Jessica: But it starts at 4:30.
Me: Oh, that sucks. I was having an inner debate on going, on whether I wanted to join you. I'm scared to try Hot Yoga! But I'm off at 4:30. :( Sad!
Me: And by "oh, that sucks" I meant that I sighed in relief.
Jessica: Yeah, I could tell you were super upset about missing it.

An hour later:
Jessica: Hey guess what?????
Me: WHAT.
Jessica: Hehe. I just called the gym and there's another 90 minute Hatha class that starts at 6:30!!!!!
Me: *signs off*