My awesome husband and my oldest and dearest friend, Sophie have been conspiring for months to plan her visit to Southern California for my big 4-0! While she can’t be here in June for my actual birthday, she will be here later this month.
And when I say later this month, I mean in like FIVE days!! I am BEYOND excited!!
Sophie and I met in The Gambia, West Africa in 1985. We became instant best friends and partners in crime (literally and figuratively) and were inseparable for nearly three years. I never had met anyone like her before or since. When we moved in 1988, I was devastated.
I wouldn’t see Sophie again until 2000, but it was as if not a single day had gone by.
Sophie and her husband and two darling daughters, Emma and Noemi live in New Caledonia, off the coast of Australia today and Lucas and I visited them there in the spring of 2010. You can read all about our trip here. Once again, we picked up right where we left off, which I am convinced has to be the mark of a beautiful friendship. We are wives and mothers now and still have a very strong bond even though it is via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.
This will be Sophie’s first visit to the United States and with that comes a lot of pressure! If you had never been to the U.S. before, what “must see” and “must do” items would be on your list?
A planner by nature, I do have all kinds of fun things organized for us to do while she’s here, none of which I can reveal now because Sophie does read my blog, but what I am looking forward to the most is sharing several bottles glasses of wine, sitting in the backyard and talking. Face-to-face.
What a lovely (early) birthday present! I can’t think of a better way to kick off my 40’s.
Sophie says
My goodness! This is making me SO excited. I know I’m coming, but to see it written down, ha, well, I can visualize myself now drinking those bottles, um, I mean glasses of wine with you 😉
I know it’s my first visit to the States, and I am getting really nervous! What am I going to wear? Will my English be good enough? How far behind am I about everything after living on my little island for 10 years!!! What are the latest trends? 😉
There are a lot of things I’d love to see in your beautiful country, but this time I’m coming to see YOU! I’ll come and visit your beautiful country on my next trip, whenever that will be! I’m over the moon to be able to come and see you, Lucas and Todd, see Leah again after 24 years… and meet some of your good friends.
BTW, please don’t tell them I’m funny or anything, because they might not see me the same way as you do!!! Did you tell them I spoke Frenglish?
See you very soon, my beautiful Friend!
Tonya says
I cannot wait!! 🙂 xoxo Safe travels, my friend.
Jessica says
So much fun! I’m sure you will find all sorts of fun things to do while they are visiting.
Tonya says
I am so excited!! And it’s just going to be her, kids are in school and all. 🙂 Lucky her, huh and me too!!
Alison@Mama Wants This says
This is so awesome, am excited for you!! Have a wonderful time!
Tonya says
Thank you, I’m over the moon!
angela says
I can’t wait to hear about what you do together! What an amazing gift, both the friendship and the visit.
Tonya says
I’m very happy, it’s one of the best gifts ever!
Katie says
What a GREAT gift! Friends like that are one of the best parts of living 🙂
Tonya says
Indeed they are, 🙂
Coreen says
I’m SO excited to meet her and spend time with you and your dear friend! xo
Leah says
I’m still bummed that I didn’t get to see her. It was just too busy for us all to make it work. 🙁 So happy you got the chance to spend time with her. So glad that you have her in your life.
Nike Free 3.0 V2 says
“I don’t know that we’re making any headway,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the American Cancer Society’s deputy chief medical officer.
KIDS says
Maketa is one of 55 of the state’s 64 sheriffs who have filed a federal suit demanding that the law be overturned.
Nike Free 3.0 V4 says
Chen said he was a 16-year-old soldier when his unit was sent to the Great Hall of the People to deliver ammunition and later was mobilized in a nighttime face-off with protesters on the steps of the Stalinist-era building fronting the square.
Adidas Hiking Shoes Kids says
She has been afraid to visit him in China in the years since, worried that she wouldn’t be allowed to leave and that her college-age daughter and high-school-age son would be left alone in the U.S.
Nike Huarache Free 2012 says
Dieters have learned an important lesson: When you take the fat and calories out of your favorite treats, you sometimes have to say goodbye to the taste too.
Nike Air Max Motion says
Intelligence officials say the leading suspected culprit is a local Benghazi militia, Ansar al-Shariah. The group denies responsibility for the attack but is known to have ties to a leading African terror group, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Some of its leaders and fighters were spotted by Libyan locals at the consulate during the violence, and intelligence intercepts show the militants were in contact with AQIM militants before and after the attack, one U.S. intelligence official said.
Jordan Comfort Max 11 says
Fearing that Washington’s most important Arab ally would descend into chaos, U.S. officials said they are urging Morsi to take immediate steps to address opposition grievances, telling the protesters to remain peaceful and reminding the army that a coup could have consequences for the massive American military aid package it receives. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Nike Lunarglide 4 says
If more than 12 months have passed, then you won’t be eligible for the “do over” and the earnings limit will apply. But as noted previously, the amount of the benefit reduction won’t be lost permanently. (For a detailed explanation of the earnings test, from the Social Security Administration.)
Air Jordan Retro 5 says
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who has co-authored cyber security legislation pending in Congress, said in a panel discussion on “Face the Nation” earlier this month that hackers are intent “every single day” on “shutting down our financial services or finding other ways to destroy material in companies that won’t allow them to function on a day-to-day basis.”
Nike Air Max 2011 Women says
A spokesperson for Ambassador Rice told CBS News that she was given those speaking points by the intelligence community, not by the State Department.(CBS News) WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will answer lawmakers’ questions about the fatal attack in Benghazi, Libya – but not until after the State Department concludes its own probe into the Sept. 11, 2012 assault, a source close to the investigation told CBS News.
Nike air max ultra +2012 says
It’s going to be strange when school is over. How am I going to match up events in my life? What is it going to be like to remember what day of the week it is instead of just fish day, or pastry day?
Women Air Force 1s says
Logan: For many people around the world, for many Americans, it feels like they’ve been here before. Is this worse than 2008, the current crisis?
Nike Free 3.0 V2 says
CBS News White House Correspondent
Nike Free Trainer Mens says
, CBS Radio News Correspondent, Jerusalem