Happy Birthday, Smiley!

I stole this idea from Emily (who has so many good ideas, it's hard not to copy her!), who posted about me on my birthday. It was the best present ever!

Emily, who I affectionately call "Smiley", is my best friend. She's about the only person I've known since I was 12 who I still keep in touch with. We met at church the first Sunday my family moved to Indiana. I was at that really akward stage that all girls go through, and I was really nervous about being in a new ward and having to make new friends. Well, I shouldn't have worried, because Emily walked right up to me after sacrament meeting and wanted to know how old I was. She was thrilled to have another girl her age. I guess she was tired of dealing with the Deacons in Sunday School. We were best friends from then on. Having her throughout my tortuous high school years was a lifesaver! Here's just a short list of some of the things I admire about Smiley.

* She's a gourmet baker! And one of the things she's the best at making is cheese cake! Yummy! My favorite recipe is a chocolate swirl cheese cake. Heavenly! And she's always trying out new things. I'm boring and stick to chocolate chip cookies, but she dives into things that would make Martha Stewart sit up and take notice.

* She's the most organized person I know, even more so than me!

* She's super smart. She was always taking AP classes in high school, and always maintained a 4.0 GPA. It was great having a best friend who was as serious about her studies as I was. Between her brains and her hubby's brains, I'm still waiting to hear that her little girl is a prodigy. She's got the genes!

* She's a great teacher. She taught 5th grade for a couple years right after she graduated from BYU. I helped her set up her classroom that first year, and I could tell how excited she was to teach. Her students loved her! And now I can tell that she gets to use this talent every day with her daughter. What a lucky little girl she is!

* She's a computer whiz! I just yell at Todd to help me when I get stuck. Emily knows all the fun tricks of the trade. She was so good, she used to teach a university class showing technotards (like me) how to have a good relationship with their computers.

* She's a great hostess. I tend to shun away from having lots of people over due to performance anxiety, but Emily does a great job at it! Her blog has so many entries having to do with fun ways to celebrate with friends - apple parties, complete with all an all-apple recipe buffet; Pi day, or March 14th (3.14) with pies of all varieties; Halloween celebrations with stew served in bowls made from hollowed-out pumpkins; the list goes on!

* And probably the trait I admire the most is what a great mom she is. Her little Grace seems like the happiest, most well-adjusted child there ever was. I can tell how much Emily loves being a mom, and I think her little girl can tell, too.

So happy birthday, Smiley! I couldn't have asked for a better friend. Hope your special day is full of smiles and good memories! Sure love you!!!