B is for...

Welcome to another edition of my encyclopedia - the things that matter to me. Today's post is brought to you by the letter "B".

B

Brian: This was totally a gimme. My husband of not-quite two years, and the love of my life. Working in Jackson has helped me realize just how very much I love him, even when he's driving me nuts sometimes. It's hard to get to sleep in the hotel some nights, because I know that no one's going to be cuddling up with me in a few hours (I always go to bed first - he's the one who gets to sleep in - no fair!), and there's no one to give me a good night kiss. When I'm away, we talk on the phone at least twice each night - generally more. I couldn't imagine life without him - it's like trying to imagine your life without one of your senses - they're such integral parts of you that you can't imagine losing them. How this could happen so quickly I'll never know.

Books: The other totally integral part of my life. I seriously read all the time. I mean, if I'm awake and not at work or doing something else, I have a book in my hand. These books are about 93 percent science fiction/fantasy, and I may or may not have read them before - I don't have any problems re-reading. My best guess is that I probably read between 400 and 500 books on average in a year. I know it sounds like a lot, but consider this. The first week I came to Jackson, I read 2.5 books in the hotel that night. What can I say - I'm a fast reader...

Beads: My new craft obsession. I took a class in January, and by July I had a booth at the Bay City Fireworks Festival selling all the goodies I'd made. Crazy, huh? I'm having a blast with it, and it's nice because Dad has found that he likes to bead, too, so that gives us a chance to bond. Dad, Heather, and I are the designers of Gems by Jen, and Mom is our lackey. It's her fault - she says she doesn't want to design, so I don't make her, but Dad can't string his stuff, so she does that, plus helps keep me organized.

Burda: My best friend for the past 26 years. It seems like just yesterday we were carpooling to third grade at Handley, but now we're all grown up, with grown up responsibilities, and jobs, and lives. She lives down in Berkley (another "B") now, and I don't get to see her as often as I would like to, but every time we do manage to get together, it's just as wild and crazy as sleepovers at Aunt Rose's, watching MTV rock blocks and drinking warm pop. As of August 8th, 2008, she'll have a new last name, but she'll always be Burda to me.

Burda's Berkley Hide-A-Way: "Where you've always got a place to stay!" What I christened Kate's house the first time I saw it about five years ago. It just fits. Excuse me, I've got to go book a room for December now...