i have the coolest family--ever.

please don't bother me with you petty arguements that your dysfunctional family who gets drunk together on holidays rivals our merry little band of ministrels. because, they just don't. i don't think i can ever express or describe how much i love my family. or how incredible i find them all. the just rock out with their, er, socks out.

i love them all--equally of course. i will probably end up naming my kids after them all in some way shape or form, just because i'm odd like that. but today's featured member is fredd.

fredd: where do i start with the kid? first off, see the two d's? that was his idea. something i have to say i think is super fantastic. fredd is paticularly near to my heart because i've watched him grow from the sniveling brat of a kid whom i used to beat the snot out of, into a brother who articulates his thoughts and challenges my ideas. someone i consider a friend. and someone who i can count on making my heart burst with pride everytime i talk about him. i guess it's the closest thing i'll have to parental pride until i start to force lil' tricycle motors out the ole' birth canal. don't ask me why, considering the closest thing i did to mother him was feed him unlimited amounts of potatoe soup. but, i feel a certain protectiveness regarding him and the harse elements of life, that, towards others i'd normally happily feed them to. for instance? swirling blades? sure kids, stick your fingers in! see what happens! with fredd? keep limbs far away please! see the love? see what i'm talking about? true motherly love right there. i want to name one of my kids fredd one day. actually it will be: fredderick. i love that. sometimes i cry because i miss him and his funniness. and i don't cry--really. crying is for sissies. but hey! i'll be a sissy for fredd. hmm. think that could be a shirt. anyway. when i say i love that kid fiercely--i mean it. he's within the very small limited group of people i would happily and cheerfully give a body organ/limb/skin graft/life to.* anyway. i miss him. that's that.

*some restrictions do apply.

do you ever have those visits with friends where you just feel--edified?

i spent this past weekend in the lovely south. with the most lovely katy~*. in a moment of sheer overabition i promised to make her wedding cake. i flew down to do sample cakes. a southern pound cake with a peach filling and cream frosting as well as a tiramisu cake which i had never made. ahaha. i packed the cake layers in my suitcase. as well as the peach filling, which leaked, and left me smelling vaguely jam-y for the rest of the weekend. barely made my flight. but spent the rest of the glorious weekend meeting katy's adorable and hilarious family. talking of weddings. speaking of happiness, life, dreams, clothes. being with katy challenged me. she everything i'm not. six feet tall and a size four. detail oriented. quietly patient. artistic. funky. i'm short. curvy. big picture. loud. the two of us made quite a pair. not just trying on clothes (which was insanely hilarious) but i left feeling so challenged. i need to be more detail oriented. i need to appreciate small things. i need to be able to praise people in their individuality.

it's amazing when you have someone like that. you can pour everything forth, and yet feel filled.