Happy Birthday Tara!

So today is a new birthday to blog about. It is Tara Barker's birthday. Tara and her husband Scott are two of Eric's closest friends… any I have to give him credit, Eric did a fine job in the friend department.

I got to know Tara much better in July when we all went to Indy for the weekend of the Brickyard 400. It was there that she introduced me to the most wonderful contraption ever… a pineapple slicer. It is amazing… it slices and cores a fresh pineapple in a matter of just seconds… plus you then have a hollowed out pineapple "shell" to use as a serving dish with just a quick cut of the core. I highly recommend you pick one up if you happen to like fresh pineapple. You can save money by not buying the pre-cut ones at the grocery store. I know I sound like a complete dork getting all worked up about a kitchen gadget, but seriously it has been life changing… Thanks Tara!

Tara's other miraculous talent is finding kick-butt parking spaces in crowded parking lots. It is freaky… awesome spots just appear for her. Oh she might have to circle once, but it isn't like she is stalking everyone leaving the store for 10 minutes… she just totally has "parking chee". My favorite part about this, besides not having to hike long distances when we are shopping together… it completely gets Eric's goat… which is just fun to watch. In general, Tara and I can always find something fun to tease Eric about. Now that I think about it, in general I think most everyone bonds with a significant other's friend by teasing the significant other. I know John & I love to tease Jenn, and Nikki & Eric have shared a few moments teasing me (Case in point, I forgot to mention this when blogging about our trip. I provided two very "Duh, Jane!" moments. First when Nik and I stopped at Wal-Mart in Arkansas on the way downt to Sarah J's. I started to say "Wow, they have a Starbucks here!" when I realized the green sign lettering on the beige building said "Dollar Tree" instead of Starbucks. Then, this is classic. At Minute Maid Park, I leaned over to Eric and asked him "What are the orange things in the cargo car of the train that runs behind the outfield, pumpkins? It is still August, it isn't fall yet, kind of early for pumpkins!" Eric's response was "Dear, I believe those are oranges… we are at MINUTE MAID Park!"… Duh, Jane!)

Okay, so back to Tara. She is also enjoys good beer, and she is doing the World Beer Tour at Old Chicago as well. I think we even make the same "Oh that was bad beer" faces.

Beyond pineapple slicers, shopping and beer… Tara has just been a great friend to both Eric and I. She and Scott have been very gracious in sharing Eric with me. I also remember some very encouraging words she gave to me early this spring when I mentioned something about the trials of a long distance relationship in an email… "Hang in there, you and Eric are both worth it!" I couldn't agree more. Happy Birthday Tara!