Thoughts on Friendship

The following are taken from various cards/poems that I've received throughout the years from my friends and family.  Looking back at these and where I am now with my life/friends, really makes me stop and take stock of people I have lost, people I have grown closer too and the people who have fallen to the way side.

One of my favorites is:

 "Many people will walk in and out of your life,

but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart." 

I love this one because it is so true.  The friends that have really impacted my life have left footprints in my heart.  Even if we do not communicate as often as we use to, there will always be moments when they enter my thoughts.

Next is from a card that I recently received from a truely great friend:

In a world that does its best

to make us a little fuzzy around the edges,

some people still manage to have bold outlines.

They know who they are,

what they're about, what they alone can give.

And just like them, the gifts they share are

bold, bright, beautiful.

You're someone who doesn't compromise

on being the person only you could be,

someone who doesn't hold back

on sharing the gifts only you can give.

And especially today, I, for one,

just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you...

I Thank you, thank you, thank you Shannon for that beautiful birthday card!

The following card was also given to me, but after reading it, I could see myself giving this card to a number of my friends as well:

Once in a while, someone comes along,

someone who just naturally makes everyone feel a

little happier, a little more alive to life.

You've been that somone to me.

You've given me a new perspective on a lot of things -

including myself.

There are things you've said to me I'll always remember

and ways you've helped me I'll never forget.

The times we spend together are always good times

that leave me looking foward to the next time.

So thanks for being the wonderful person you are.

You're an inspiration to me,

and I'm very glad and grateful that you've come into my life.

Thank you Brooke, I feel the same about you!

The last card I would like to share right now I received a number of years ago:

You've been such a big part of my life for so long now!

Whether we've been side by side or miles apart,

we've somehow managed to stay as close as friends can be.

Anytime I've needed a mood lightened, a secret kept, help offered, advice given,

a story shared, a memory relived, a success celebrated (pretty much anything),

I've always known I could count on you.

When I think of the good times we've shared,

it makes me smile remembering them all, and makes me so glad to know

there'll be many more ahead of us.

I'm always happy when new friends come into my life.

But old friends are always best friends -

I know that's true because of you.

Thank you very much for this card Crystal and please know that I did and still do feel the same way about you.

I'm sure any of you reading my blog are currenlty wondering what brought all of this on and I'm not really sure I could completely explain, but I just wanted to thank all of the great friends I have made throughout the years.  You have all helped me become the person I am today and I can only hope that you will continue to help me become the person I will be tomorrow....

2010 has arrived...

I wouldn't say that 2009 was a bad year but there are several events that I could have lived without. Some of the happier moments I've taken the time to list below (in no particular order):

1. Having Shannon as a roommate again for a little while.
2. Meeting & making new friends.
3. My trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons with my family.
4. Having a great 30th birthday.
5. Buying a house!!
6. Watching a few friends get married.
7. Visiting and catching up with old friends.

For 2010 I would like to experience the following:

1. Visit another new state.
2. Perhaps get in a serious relationship.
3. See my mom have a full recovery!!!
4. See my dad launch his deep sea fishing business.
5. Making even more new friends.
6. Having friends visit and stay with me in my new home.
7. Decorating my home. :o)

As far as resolutions go, I'm not much into making those because it seems like those are the first things that get tossed to the way side. However I would like to accomplish the following this year.

1. Reach the goal weight/size that I've set for myself.
2. Learn a new hobby, trade, or skill.
3. Clean out my garage and get it organized.
4. Get my yard planted the way I want.
5. Save more money!!

Hmmm

I've just finished reading my friend Kim's blog and that got me to thinking about how this year has been for me.

I would say I've accomplished some of my goals and come close to accomplishing others. Then there are some goals that I didn't even come close to tackling.

I've lost quite a bit of the weight that I wanted to lose. I would still like to lose 5 or more lbs to be completely happy but I'm pretty satisfied with my results so far.

I've also made a few new friends that live near me. I'm extremely happy about that since some of the friends I've made here are not that reliable.

I bought my very first house down here. I'm still scared about that decision what with the state of the economy and everything. But I do love my new home. In fact yesterday I was able to open all the patio doors and it felt like I was outside the entire afternoon. :o)

I've still yet to make any head way in the relationship world. I've dated a few people this year, but none of them has ever panned out to be anything more than just a passing good time. I will say I've learned to take more risks this year in the dating world, but it I'm still currently single. :o( I know I put a sad face there but I do realize that still being single isn't all bad news.

I'm really looking forward to the next 2 months b/c I love the holidays!! I cannot wait to decorate my house for Christmas and having my first Thanksgiving. This is probably one of my favorite times of the year.

Men??

Men confuse the hell out of me! They walk around saying that it's the women who can't make up their minds, well I've got a newsflash for ya; if you did a poll I believe you would find an overwhelming response from the female population on how confusing men are.

First you find men that are in it for the hunt. They put soooo much effort into getting your attention/affection that you finally cave and become attached to them. Well this will just not due! As soon as this lovely event takes place, they bolt. Then on the other hand you have the "nice guy" who also puts a lot of effort into gaining your affections. The unfortunate thing here is you cannot tell them apart. The game players and nice guys all come in the same packages!!! I mean come on, shouldn't they have signs or something. Once a woman experiences a man that was just in it for the "hunt." she will forever have her guard up in an attempt to protect her heart from getting crushed again. This is what will cause us to miss the "nice guys" that are out there b/c they look so much like the "hunters." The reverse can also be said about women I know but I'm not talking about women right now. :o)

The other kind of man that just irritates the hell out of me is the "damaged goods" man. This man could be a hunter, nice guy, etc. there are no set rules here. The problem is when you get one of the nice ones who has his head on straight, knows how to treat women, and can figure out what/who he wants. This man will go after the women he wants and will want to keep her once he wins her over. None of this is the issue. The issue reveals itself much later after you are entirely invested. This type of individual is the type that will ultimately end up sabotaging the relationship inadvertently. Either by neglect and their assumption that no matter how far they pull away you will always be there when they decide to come back or by sheer selfishness. They can only see their pain/problems and do not have time to focus on others. It's is not really because they are a bad person....just damaged.

There are very few honestly good men out there anymore. I know they still exist b/c I have a few friends who have managed to stumble upon these mythical creatures. I envy these women and the treasures they have found. I hope/pray that one day I may know what it is like to find one of these men. I also hope/pray that my friends will be lucky enough to find their own unicorn.

1st Time Homeowner

I'm officially a homeowner now. It's kind of scary at time but I'm mostly loving every moment of it. Of course after only a week, what's not to love. I go swimming just about every day and I love eating outside in my screen porch. My puppy is still getting used to the new digs but he's coming around. I haven't run into too many homeowner "issues" just yet but there have been a couple of snags. Mostly just trying to learn how everything works. My first night I thought I didn't have power to the outlets in any of the bathrooms, only to learn later that there is a reset switch in the spare. For some reason even though the bathrooms are on the opposite sides of the house they are still controlled by the same reset switch. Weird.

I just learned how to work my sprinkler system last night and I still have to learn how to maintain my pool. I've heard that once you learn how it's not that difficult, it's just a process. Mostly I'm too excited about having my own home to think too much about all the other stuff.

Hotels going "Green"

Okay so how many of you out there have been in a hotel lately and noticed the little sign in the bathroom that reads; "In an effort to help us save water, please hang up any towels you wish to reuse and throw any on the floor you wish to have replaced." Or something to that effect. I have always been a person who reuses the towel for which I dry off with and I always hang it up when I'm done. It never fails that when I get back to my room the next day after the cleaning people have been there that ALL of my towels have been replaced. Now I ask you, does this make any sense. I asked someone who worked for the hotel once why this was and the only answer they were able to give me was that some people still hang up their towels but expect new ones in return. My response to this would be to leave their old towels hanging up and if they received a call to the front desk complaining you would simply state that based upon the SIGN in their bathroom that b/c they hung up their towels you were under the impression they wanted to reuse them. If this was not really the case then you can simply bring that particular room up some clean towels. Please who visit these hotels know how to read and if they get upset b/c they didn't have the sense to read a little sign in plain sight in their bathroom then they can just get over it!

Breaking up is Hard to do...

Okay so for the majority of you that follow my blog, you know it was a big deal for me to finally be involved with someone for more than just a week. :) Although my relationship with Michael only lasted 2 short months, I must say it was eye opening as to how a relationship could be. He was the first guy that I have ever really cared about that took the time to tell me how he felt and did it often too. I never once felt like I had to pull his thoughts about our relationship out of him. In point of fact, he started most of the "emotional" conversations himself. It was just a nice change to have a guy care about me and want to share that fact with me. I've never before experienced that kind of relationship. With all previous relationships, you would have thought that talking about feelings was like asking them to admit they were gay! It was just nice to know exactly how much someone cared about you, not only because of what they said but also because of how they acted. Michael was someone who was not afraid of PDA. Now I'm not saying that we went around making out in public because I would have drawn the line at that, but he wasn't afraid to lean down and give me a kiss whenever he felt like it. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that he knew about the "little things" that every girl loves. The hand holding, the lite quick kisses to let you know they are thinking about you, asking if you need anything when they get up and always checking to make sure you are comfortable. He was really good at making me feel cherished and for that I will always thank him.

That's not to say we didn't have our own problems though. There weren't many issues between us, but the major one we had could not be overlooked. Even though there was a rather large age difference, ultimately that is not what came between us. Unfortunately Michael had one fairly large flaw that I could not ignore. I will not go into details regarding this flaw because I do not wish to speak ill of him via the internet, but this flaw was not just some cosmetic flaw that people would think I was stuck up for leaving him due to it. It was/is a serious issue that was only going to cause more fights and hurt between the two of us than it already did. So the relationship had to come to an end. At least I can say it came to a friendly end and we can still be friends and speak to each other when we see each other in public (we live in a small town and this is bound to happen). I can also always look back on this experience and smile because for once the good times really overshadow the bad.