My friend, MP

MP grew up in Chino Valley, AZ.  MP and I have been friend since childhood.  I grew up in Ishpeming, MI.  How you ask is it that two people from such far distances are childhood friends?  Well, it's simple.  MP's grandparents lived down the street from my childhood home.  It was very typical that MP would just show up.  It was often that there would be a knock on the door in the summer time and there would stand MP.  She doesn't know this yet, but I absolutely loved when my carefree, free spirited friend showed up at the door, because that meant it was time for fun!

MP and I are both from Finnish heritage.  If you know anything about Finns, you know that they like their saunas and a typical summer experience in Finland is sauna swimming (well winter too).  MP and I decided to go sauna swimming one summer afternoon.  The only problem was, where the sauna was there wasn't a lake, and where the lake was there wasn't a sauna.  Have no fear, sauna swimming was still possible with MP near, the feat was simple, the steps were clear: 1) put your swim suit on, 2) hop in the vehicle and drive around with the heater on high until you're sweating, 3) park by the lake and quickly hop out, run to the lake, and jump in!

A few tidbits about MP:
1) She is succinct in answering yes/no questions without explanation.
2) She is an amazing artist with a variety of mediums (paint, pencils, photography, words).
3) She has immense knowledge about a variety of topics.

MP, took on a huge undertaking, well at least in my mind it was huge.  In fact I plan to emulate her plan to the best of my ability.  She didn't purchase any new clothes for a year unless it was necessary.  I am going to try this in a modified fashion.  It will challenge me, as I have become someone who speaks with my style of clothing, and someone who is very interested in new styles- even if it is to only critique the style.  As I know this will be a challenge for me, I am going to start off with committing to three to six months time.  Here's trusting that I with neither gain or lose weight during this time so that I can still fit into my size 6 pants and small-medium sized shirts.  Part of this exercise is to see for myself how much fashion either plays a role or doesn't play a role in a person's view of themselves.

As for MP, I am so thankful that she was able to visit me while in Minnesota a few weeks back.  Welcome again anytime!!