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I have quickly come to realize that making new friends when you are a grown-up isn't as easy as it was when you were a little kid.  I watch my boys make new friends all the time.  They'll see someone at the park, run up to him or her and simply say, "You wanna play?" and usually they do.  When you are a grown-up it isn't that easy.  It requires effort on your part.  New friends rarely come knocking on your door asking you to play. 

Last fall I met a new friend at a mommy group that I belong to.  She had also just moved here from the Midwest and had three sons, one close to the Cheese's age.  It was nice to meet someone that was in my same boat, so to speak.  I came home from my mommy group and told the Golfer about her.

"Are you guys going to get together and do something?" he asked me.

"Uh...I don't know...I mean, I just met her."

"So?  Why don't you guys go for coffee or something?" 

He new how much I had wanted to make new friends.  He also new that I didn't like putting myself out there in a vulnerable situation. You wouldn't think asking someone to crab a coffee would be considered a vulnerable situation, but it certainly can be.  I doesn't matter what age you are, you will always be concerned about how someone is going to perceive you.

"Oh...I'd feel like a dork asking her," I replied.

"You shouldn't.  That's silly."

He was right.  It was silly, but I was still nervous about putting myself out there to possibly be rejected.  Well, Holly beat me to it by sending me an email saying how she had gone to my website and enjoyed my writing.  I then replied with a "thank you" and a "why don't we meet for coffee sometime."

We ended up getting together at her house for coffee one morning so the boys could play.  While we sat in her kitchen she gave me a warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven, loaf of her Apple Bread.  She explained that the recipe makes two loaves, "which is nice so that you have one to give away" she said.  It was such a nice gesture, first having us over and sending us away with a special homemade treat.

In a short time, Holly has become a very good friend.  I so enjoy her company.  We have a lot in common and enjoy the same things.  Our kids like playing together, and even better our husbands like each other (another important thing when you're making friends as a grown-up.)  I am so happy to have met her and I plan on making lots of Holly's Friendship Apple Bread in the future. 

Holly's Friendship Apple Bread
(Makes two loaves)

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups coarsely chopped and peeled apples

1.  Prepare two, 8 inch or 9 inch loaf pans with cooking spray.  Sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon and sugar in the bottoms and sides of the pans.  (This might seem like a step that you could skip, but it adds an extra bit of yumminess that you do not want to skip!)

2.  Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt  in a medium sized bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and apples. 

3.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well.  The batter will be very stiff--stiff enough to make you think that you need to add more wet ingredients, but don't!  Keep stirring by hand. 

4.  Divide batter between the two pans.  Sprinkle a little more cinnamon sugar mixture on the top.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  (Make sure the center isn't too doughy before pulling it out of the oven.)