Dirty 30: Moments with Lendy

I'm a little late on this, but it's all in the quality, not the quantity, right, Lendy?  ;-)

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My friend Lendy celebrated her 30th birthday exactly one week ago.  She's jokingly referred to her birthday as the "Dirty 30" for months now, but I figure she'll forgive me for copyright infringement.  Unfortunately, Lendy and I live 900+ miles apart, so it wasn't exactly feasible for me to attend her party over the weekend.  This is my attempt at making it up to her.

30 Memorable Moments with Lendy

(in no particular order)

• Barnes & Noble - That first night we actually sat and got to know one another...never mind it included quite a bit of my anti-North Carolina ranting.  
• Letting Daddy Stu show you the ropes as you became an Honorary Cajun that day in the marsh.
• Your love, no, take that back, passion for real rice dressing, and the best coffee anywhere around.  
• Our spur-the-moment adventure exploring your old stomping grounds in Virginia. 
• Riding shotgun in Mikey's big truck as you took it for a spin on the track at Martinsville Speedway. 

• Conquering The Feces (thesis) side-by-side one another...aka going to Hell and back. 
• The night we played "Deaux." (Re: Two bottles of wine and two very tipsy grad students.)
• Gifting you a 1970s version of The Farming Game.
• Our SATC marathons.  Especially the ones coupled with sweatpants and dumplins. 
• Hiding from tornadoes in your closet...that was a close one!

• Adding a little (4-H) green to your wardrobe.  It looks good on you.
• Our 1,000 mile road trip that was supposed to take two days...and instead took one.  
• Panera dates - always a favorite.
• ...on one of which I swore the "blind date" would be a total waste of time.  Four years and a husband later, I'm still eating my words.  
• Being welcomed as a member of the family to your Carolina Thanksgiving.

• Waking up at 3:30 a.m. for Black Friday...once, and only once!
• Receiving cute messages from the "Cajun Yota" when you fostered her over Christmas Break.
• Our girls' trip to the Outerbanks.  
• You introduced me to the Cheddar Bo.  Is there really anything more to say?
• Having the pleasure of sharing my very first New Orleans Mardi Gras with you and the Lirettes.

• Supporting the NC Children's Hospital and their annual Country for Kids Concert. 
• It's worth saying again.  Dumplins.  And sausage gravy.  And sausage dip.  And brunswick stew.  And...the list goes on. 
• Our Burn Party.  Burn, baby, burn!
• Pillow talk.  Especially when the conversation turned to love.  When you know, you just know.
• All the times I observed your faithful example as a selfless devoted wife.  You taught me great things about this vocation.

• Lessons in becoming a proper daughter-in-law.  ;-)
• Snail mail.  Sweet notes.  Genuine concern.  You are an excellent pen pal.
• The stories I later heard about your escorting my parents to their hotel after our wedding...because they would have never made it there themselves. 
• Touring your fancy new castle..and daydreaming about my very own "Swoon House."
• And we can't forget Mikey...he deserves a major shout-out for putting up with us girls all those years.

There you have it - thirty great memories from our friendship.  Here's to lots of love and wishes for thirty times thirty more!

Happy Birthday, Lendy.

Love, Lauren