Texas here I come! (Sung as they do in the Backyardigans!)

You may have noticed that I’ve replaced my Christmas ticker with a new one! If you haven’t seen it it’s on the right at the top of the column. Go look. I’ll wait.

See?

I am so excited!!!! I am going to Texas to finally get to meet my bestest friend in the whole wide world Heather! Heather posted on her blog the story of how we met and since I have two kids and am lazy, I am copying it here for you!

“First, at the top right you will see a new ticker. We are counting down the days until my dear friend, Marianne, flies to Texas to not only VISIT me...but to MEET me! Yes, you read that right! For those of you who do not know, I will attempt to share the story as concisely as possible. Mar and I met online at Sparkpeople.com in a New Moms group, we were trying to lose the 'baby weight'. This was around January or February of 2006. We discovered that we both liked to do the same workout...Walk Away The Pounds...and Mar had tried a few I had never even heard of. The online group we were a part of was basically anonymous, so I did not have my email public, etc. In order to share more about the workouts we ended up exchanging emails and really the rest is history. We began to have more personal discussions through emails, not only about workouts and vegetables...eventually we moved on to im'ing each other on a daily basis. I have even had phone service, off and on, that allows me to call Canada at no extra charge, so yes, we have actually spoken on the phone. OH! I think I forgot to mention she's in CANADA! Yes...she lives 1700 miles away. Needless to say, we have never met in person. So this year, for her birthday (which is Monday), her husband has given her a trip to Texas! She booked her flight the day she found out and we are so excited! I know this may sound crazy to some of you...in fact, we often call her my 'crazy Canuck friend'...but our lives are eerily similar, with 'coincidences' popping up around every corner. We have so much in common (her husband's birthday is even the same day as Riley's! I mean, seriously!?) and over the past 2 years we have become secret sharers, fashion consultants, comfort givers, co-diet busters...not just internet buddies, but true, timeless friends...the best kind of friends. So I hope everyone will be patient over the next 1 month and 4 weeks, because I know you are going to get so tired of hearing how excited I am to finally meet her in person!”

So that’s the story of how we met (virtually) and I must say that in the beginning, I did not know that this was the kind of relationship we were going to build and in the beginning we would joke and my going to Texas or her coming here and it was all a joke and very ha ha. But now, the time has come and it’s really, truly, honestly happening! I have my ticket and everything! It’s so nice to have something to look forward to now that the holidays are over and I am so very excited to meet Heather. I feel like we have gone through so much together and some really big changes in both of our lives. I know that we will be lifelong friends and it’s going to be wonderful to start making memories together! I am sure there will be tons and tons of pics too since we both love to be behind the camera J

I’m coming Heather!!!