And yet more Christmas & more Carla

This is a picture of Carla and me, taken on Christmas. You've heard a lot about Carla...yes, she spoils me. Yes, we've been friends for 20 years. Tim calls her his "Portuguese Love Muffin", or "PLM", as she was born in the Azores. She calls him her "Irish Love Croissant" because sometime, somewhere, Tim had some relatives in Ireland. I am not sure where the "croissant" comes in, but these two seem to have a fascination with pastries.

I love it. I love that two of the people I love most in the world love each other.

Carla makes me look tall in pictures...I am only 5'4". I always feel like a blobby, Jolly Green Giant next to her. She is a very petite, cute, smart woman. And incredibly photogenic. Me, not so much.

A few ways my life would have been different had I not met Carla:

1. Middle school would have been much less fun.
2. I would have had to walk much much more, as her dad used to give me rides to work and home a lot. Big tan Crowne Victoria, small little Portuguese man with a small English vocabulary. Somehow it didn't matter much.
3. High school would have been much less fun.
4. I would have had fewer birthday celebrations, as her parents often did something for me (Carla and I are 1 year and 3 days apart. I am younger. Hee Hee.)
5. I would have no one to commiserate with over exactly how bad I looked in middle school and high school.
6. Tim wouldn't be able to laugh at the high school graduation picture of Carla and me she has up on her wall in her home EVERYTIME he goes over there. Oh yeah, and he's NOT laughing at Carla.
7. I would still be in the girls' locker room in high school, trying to get my act together after gym. Carla can change her clothes in about 6 seconds. It takes me about 60 minutes.
8. I would have never been able to bring as much crap with me as I did to college...Carla used to pack all my stuff.
9. I wouldn't had all my favorite wall art hung up one day after Tim and I moved into this house...yes, Carla did that too.
10. Bella wouldn't have a border in her nursery, because Carla is going to put that up.
11. I wouldn't have bought my purple (it's plum, people) couch, or any of my furniture after I separated from my former husband in 2002, nearly as quickly. Carla's motto is "Check!". That means "it's done ... let's move on".
12. I would have walked down the aisle when I married Tim alone, or with someone who meant less to me since my dear friend Andy was already performing the wedding ceremony. Carla walked me down, as well as my brother-in-law Todd. It meant a lot to me to be accompanied by someone who has always been and always will be a part of my life, someone who has always been and always will be a part of Tim's life, and now two people that will always be a part of both of our lives.

Bella will call Carla "Auntie Carla" of course.