ode to my sissy

well, i promised that i would get around to dedicating a post to each of the faithful readers of this blog (well, the ones i know about). and today....its my sissy, dana. cuz she has been an IMMENSE help to me in the last months as ive been deciding about the move and a multitude of other things. doug and marie, if you read this blog, im sorry to dissapoint you if you thought i was gonna write about your cat. i love her too. but she didnt drive me all around and let me use her car to find an apt in salt lake. but shes a funny cat. ok, im getting off track. my sissy. where do i begin. i was reminiscing the other day, as i looked at the mound of clothes on my bed that needed to be put away, on the days when i shared a room with dana. and when mom forced us to clean it, it was an alllll day endeavor. and rarely was totally done. and it reminded me of dana reading from her journal back in the day (when she was like 6 or something), when every other entry started or ended with "i hate natalie! she is so annoying!" or something along those lines. im pretty sure we never would have guessed we would be roommates in college and bff's. seriously, we have spent so much time together talking and analyzing and discussing, she pretty much knows whats going through my head in any situation. and she then uses that information to help me. usually to keep me from doing something totally ridiculous. (and then when i do those ridiculous things cuz i didnt consult her first, i can hear her voice...."oh natalie. ohhhh natalie. sweetie. ") most of my dating behavior she is somehow able to understand and summarize very succinctly so that somehow even i can see whats really happening and it just makes everything ok. i love her for her last motivational words to me as i nervously talked to her the night before i ran my marathon. "Natalie, even big fat Ron finished." (referring to the big dad on the biggest loser that walked a marathon). ya. she can always make me laugh about anything, mostly cuz she knows what i would think about things and she knows that i think im funny, so she just says what she knows i would think. ok, and she is ridiculously funny herself and says things that would only come out of her mouth. my co-workers get to hear all kinds of dana/nat chat cuz i call her about every day at lunch and chat with her just cuz its nice. and again, with the laughter. i need it. i cant tell you how many times shes listened to the same stories/scenarios with different and sometimes the same boys over and over, in minute detail (seriously people, when i tell a story to her, i give every little detail and then i realize that what im saying has nothing to do with anything. i remind myself of that part of win a date with tad hamilton when petey says "i cannot remember a time.....before you started telling that story), and she never acts bored or annoyed (well, but its always productive annoyance), she actually seems to enjoy it. i love that she took care of me when we were roomies and made me burritos when i would come home (with my pants leg ripped up cuz i forgot to peg them before riding my bike) and act all helpless and silly. she still takes care of me, even when i, the big sister, come to visit her and she has an 18 month old and is pregnant. i love that she is excited to get her hands on my money (ha ha ha) when i move so i can be smart and budget as good as she and her hubby. (im dead serious about weekly budget meetings you guys, so dont think im just saying that). she is wise beyond her years and works so hard to make sure her little family is happy and healthy (see her hubbys blog post for more on this. its adorable) i love honk-shoo, wa-ee, and moist coins. she always says she wishes she could spend money on cute clothes and dress nice like me, but then when i come to visit, she always looks absolutely adorable and makes the most out of her very cute wardrobe (ok, that sounded a little condescending. thats not what i meant. what i mean is...im always a little jealous of at least a few of her new clothes items). i love that she toughed it out living in the houseboat with me and the mice for a bit just so we could be together (remember that awesome pic of us on the front porch and you are looking off all artsy like into the distance but you look TICKED! ha ha). i know that was pretty rough. she notices things that people are good at and things they are trying to be good at and she tells them. and she helps me not be annoyed at everybody all the time. haha. its pretty sweet to have 3 amazing sisters, especially when one of them is crazy just like you. sorta.