Today, Jodie turns 40!

Don’t worry, Jo, 40 is the new 20…or something like that.

In honor of this monumental occasion, Jodie, Dore, Andrea and I took a trip up the Oregon coast. A trip where we were forced to appropriate the Las Vegas tourism bureau’s slogan: What happens in Florence, Stays in Florence. It is for this reason that I was told about 100 times throughout the weekend, “You CANNOT blog that!” So be it. The photos, however, will give you a pretty good idea of what it means to turn 40 in our presence, whilst unsupervised by one’s husband and/or children.

As for Jodie, she’s a great friend in about a zillion different ways. One thing that always amazes me about her is that she is kind of person who remembers details about my life that I can’t even keep straight. She can recount just about every detail of Steve and I’s courtship, she knows birthdays and anniversaries, and if pressed, she could probably chart my cycle. There is that whole thing about how she is good friends with one of my cousins; something I didn’t know until I saw a picture of them hanging on her wall. What are the odds? And then there is that part about her personality that you’d never guess – the part where she comes off as all mellow and easy-going, when in reality, she teaches women’s self defense. Lesson: don’t F$#! with Jodie.

During our you-can’t-blog-about-this weekend, we had the conversation about friendship, and how we have all had transient friendships in our lives that have formed bridges to bigger, more meaningful friendships. Jodie and I’s relationship is the result of exactly this situation. It just makes you realize that when friends arrive out of left field, you should always be ready, because I’d have hate to have missed you, Jo.