Amanda.

A little over two years ago I met Amanda Guillot.  Well, technically, I met her a few years before that, but we didn’t become besties until we discovered a mutual adoration for The Twilight Saga. 

Twilight brought us together.  Our inherent coolness kept us that way.

Amanda is the most honest person I know.  She doesn’t take any crap, will confront you in a heartbeat, and she would NEVER tell you something because it’s what you want to hear.  Amanda’s strong suit is that even if it’s blunt and might upset you, she tells you because it’s the truth and you really need to hear it.  I know from experience.  She is like my own personal Jiminy Cricket.

Amanda’s positive attributes are virtually endless.

She is amazing with kids.  They seriously seek her out and always want to be near her.  My kids love her to death and if she misses a Sunday dinner (which she pretty much hasn’t in 2 years), they are concerned.

She is a ridiculously hard worker.  This girl doesn’t know the meaning of a personal day and is acutely aware of how her absence would affect her coworkers.  Yet when I needed her to meet with my lawyer and it simply could not be done after work hours, she gave her office a week’s notice and lost out on an hour of pay because I needed her.  (I paid her back in food and movies J)

She is an AMAZING baker.  Her coconut cake is divine.  Her crunches and cookies are heavenly.  And if you think you’ve had a praline before, you should check yourself.  Amanda was born in Louisiana and makes the most authentic, delicious, pralines I’ve ever had outside of New Orleans. 

She is a computer whiz.  I really think she missed her calling.  She can fix anything and everything technology-related from Macs and PCs, to receivers, to iPhones, to faulty internet. She has the magic touch.

She is fearless.  She won’t back down from doing what is right. 

And knowing her makes me a better person every day.

Thank you for always being there for me, Amanda. 

Thank you for sleeping over when I was adjusting to being in the house alone and had to spend my first nights without the kids.

Thank you for never letting a day go by in the last few months without checking in on me via text, Facebook, or a phone call.

Thanks for hugging my kids.

Thanks for eating Fruit Loops with me at 10 o’clock at night while watching silly movies like Monte Carlo and Prom.

Thanks for going to yoga with me and laughing at the guy with the tight pants whose bits and pieces were in your face.

Thanks for stopping by Krystal on your way home from Atlanta just to bring me a sackful of burgers because they are my ultimate guilty pleasure.

Thanks for helping plan my birthday parties.

Thanks for going to midnight showings and Twilight marathons with annoying teenage girls for the last few years.  Oh, and for enduring my PF Changs garlic noodle breath at said marathon.

Thanks for buying me dinner and cheesecake when you work so incredibly hard for your money.

Thanks for wiping my tears.

Thanks for loving chicken wine and the same books as me.

Thanks for introducing me to Duck Dynasty and My Strange Obsession.

Thanks for believing in me.  Encouraging me.  Reading every word of my novels.

Thanks for telling me I’m a fantastic mother every day.

Pretty much, just thank you for being you.  You are the epitome of the word friend.

And you deserve every happiness imaginable.