Badass.

Here we are in 2000.  I'm not even going to begin to explain what we were doing.  Also, in looking for a picture of the two of us, I can safely say that in 95% of the photos of the two of us together, we are dressed in some sort of costume.  Ah... good times.

My friend Natalie and I have been through a ton of things together, including but not limited to: several marriages, one divorce, six children, some unfortunate hair dye that resulted in one of us having hair the color of a baby chick, more moves, bloody Marys and business plans than I can count, craft projects from Hell, a roller blading incident or two, and several road trips that required hourly bathroom stops because SOMEBODY has a bladder the size of a pea, and the last time we saw each other we showed up with the same hair cut, which is no small feat considering she has naturally curly hair and I do not.

However, it wasn't until recently that we separately, but nearly simultaneously, decided to get into shape, lose some weight, and begin an exercise program.

We have been supporting each other and maybe competing a little, because that's how we roll - both of us are Capricorns - and most of our talks and texts turn to the topic quickly.  I mean, what's more interesting than how many calories I consumed for lunch?  Our workouts have gone in different directions, though, with me focusing on my running and Natalie beginning the P90X program, which I tried for about a minute and hated.

She sent me a text the other night that said, "These exercises make me feel all badass."  That text was immediately followed by another one that said "Wait, is badass one word or two?"  Two seconds later, she sent me another one that said "You're Googling it, aren't you?"  I totally was, by the way. 

I responded with "It's one word.  When it's two words, it just means your ass isn't good."

Since then, "badass" is our new mantra.  When I ran 7.61 miles last week, I was badass.  Her 500 calorie burn on Kempo, TOTALLY badass.  There has been talk of bench pressing children, making snooty ladies jealous of our cute little behinds, and shopping for a new summer wardrobe together.

All of those things sound great, and I look forward to each and every one of them.

But really, it's just nice to have someone who is in the same place as I am, supporting me.  Because having a friend who will support you through all your craziest schemes, plans, setbacks, failures, successes and dreams, now THAT'S badass.