Happy Birthday, Ashlove!

Today is my best friend's birthday. Instead of being at a rockin' concert with her right now, I am under an afghan coughing my eyeballs out of their sockets. But, enough about me. Let me tell you 10 reasons why i love ashlove.
1. She is a dear friend, the best friend i have ever had. BFF
2. She cares deeply for not only me but my whole family from sewing dresses for them to spending hours baking them birthday cakes. Even after she baked all night, carved and iced a cake in teh shape of a penguin and then dropped the extra cake as she tripped on the step, she still woke up early the next morning to bake another cake from scratch so we would have enough for our guests! thanks for being her mamatwo!
wait, that's not your kid! we've got a few more years to go before we can officially arrange the marriage. but let's definitely have these pics posted at their wedding.
3. She loves and cares for her own family in ways that make me want to be a more involved and committed mama to my own family.
she took the family to get matching tattoos.
this is what happens when she leaves them at my house though.
4. She inspires me with her artsy creative ways from beading to sewing to pottery to painting to crocheting to photography to gardening to collages and paper crafts. Yeah, she does it all!
here is my girl getting all excited about dirt. yes, folks, dirt.
5. Her passion for attending women in their childbearing year is so strong and yet she is wise and modest. In my mind, she is a midwife yet would never call herself that b/c she's humble enough to work as a nurse and be in a master's program when she could be catching two babies at once with her hands behind her back.
she even taught her sons how to breastfeed their babies.
6. She has great taste in music and food and clothes.
where ryan's ringtones are tested for your hearing pleasure.
7. She doesn't just eat a vegan diet, she fully lives a vegan lifestyle full of tolerance for people who don't share her wisdom. She gets all credit for converting my husband to being vegetarian over two years ago before we were even friends.
doing what we can to support the vegan cookie makers.
8. She has courage and boldness to pursue truth, goodness and fairness. She compassionately teaches other out of her desire for these things to be known. She is gracious to people like me who are still learning.
we don't serve lil bitches in matching pink shirts with boobies on them.
finally getting our noses pierced was a bit of a blur for us, too as i drank false courage in the parking lot and she bled all over the place, as usual.
9. She is not afraid to put the needs of her babes before her own comfort yet she's no pushover.
taking care of bizness.
10. She makes the best damn chocolate coffee cake with peanut butter icing and sorbet and a mean rum and rosa.
here is the best camping spot on the east coast, hands down! jsow was making the drinks that night.
I could go on; it was too easy to think of those 10 and there are so many other fun things that i am leaving out. I am so honored to have her as my friend, confident and fellow mama. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my labor attendant at the birth of this babe. I anxiously await the day i get to return the favor. And, even more exciting are the days ahead where we're catching babes together left and right with ryan playing his gentle songs in the background (if the mamas will let us)! I love you fully, ash. Thank you for being my friend!
what a fun wine tour that was!