What it's about...

Today I've been packing and taking stuff over to my new house.
I have been so busy I haven't really had time to do much of anything else.
So it was sort of nice to have my neighbor stop by.
C (and his then wife J) were our best friends while Shane and I were married.
After things went awry, we all drifted apart.
It couldn't have been easy being around either one of us.  Shane had a girlfriend, I was angry and we were all faking the pleasantries for Ryan's sake.
Turns out, things were kind of weirder, since C and J were going through their own marital turmoil. 

C had stopped by to say 'welcome' and to offer his help moving if I needed it.

I had thought about what I was going to say to him.  I hadn't seen him since I left three years ago.  And knowing that he did the same thing to his wife that Shane did to me, made me sort of angry with him. 

But then I realized something today. 
C was my friend.
I liked him.  And even though he did something stupid I still liked him, he was still my friend.

Over the last few years I've been so clouded with anger and bitterness.  And I started to judge people based on how I thought they should be, instead of allowing them to just be and love them anyway.

It's not about how perfect we are.  It's about the decisions we make, and how we make up for the mistakes we've made.
And more importantly, it's how we support the people we love and care about.

So while I'm sort of off the grid next week, do me a favor.
Call a friend you haven't spoken to in awhile, be a little extra nice to someone who challenges you, and make sure to treat yourself a little nicer too.

It's all about feeling good...

This past weekend I made a mini-road trip with one of my besties, to hang out with people I didn't really know. 

And we had a the best time ever!!
The drive was frought with wrong directions (ooops, my bad), fits of laughter (poof) and scared pedestrians.  I swear I wasn't that close to the guy!!

We finally did find the correct place.

National Harbor is really nice.  I'd love to go back down with a few more friends, make an entire day of it.  Celena and I could show off our haunts!

Like the blower in the ladies bathroom, it gives facials and everything!

The restaurant that serves comfortable food.  I hear it goes down nice and smooth.

We could introduce them to Neil at Harrington's Pub.
(I was so mezmorized by his rugged sexiness that I forgot to take a picture)

Or we could just find new trouble to get into.

This weekend really was great.  Not only did I spend time with a very lovely lady, but I finally got to meet someone I've considered a friend for almost 6 years. 
Sharon is one of the nicest people I had never met, until now.

Her and her family were the best company for a great dinner.

Good times indeed.

I like the big, mean, fast, stomach dropping scream machines.

I don't believe in heaven or hell. 
There is no golden gates waiting to open for me when I die.
This is it.
This is my one shot.
I want to laugh with my besties, fall in love, be a mom; and all the other million things that make this world a great place to be in.
Life is too short to sit and wait for things to happen.
So I'm going to push that stupid fear aside, and do what makes me happy.
And if you'd like to join me, you might want to strap yourself in.
I don't ride the baby coasters.

It's more like a pandemic

I hate moving. 
Hate it, hate it, hate it!
I hate packing.
I hate labeling boxes.
I hate picking up boxes.
I hate unpacking boxes.
I hate cleaning before I move in.
I hate cleaning after I move out.
I hate changing my address in every way, shape and form.

But I have discovered that there are, in fact a few good things that come out of moving.

One: I LOVE throwing things away.  I didn't used to.  I used to be a pack-rat, just like my grandmother.  I saved everything! 
But something happened to me when I moved in with my ex-husband back in 2000.  There wasn't enough room for all of my stuff so it was time to pare it down a bit. 
The 'old' stuff was easy to get rid of.  I never had anything new until I bought my own bed in 1997 (yes I remember the year.  it was the biggest friggin check I had ever written!).  So getting rid of furniture that I had bought second hand, didn't really bother me much. 
Other things that were passed down to me, were a little more difficult.  I actually broke down in tears trying to throw away my great-grandmother's down pillow.  Thinking  back, it makes me friggin shudder to think of what was growing inside of that pillow...blech!
But once I started, it got much easier.
This move is no different.  I keep seeing things that I know will not be moved, and will instead end up in the dumpster or given to someone who can actually use it.  And it makes me smile from ear to ear.

Two:  I have one ear pierced.  (Side note: I tried to keep my right ear pierced last year, but apparently my lobes are very sensitive and after a year of keeping my starter ear-ring in...it still hadn't healed.  I'm totally shaking my head at my pussy-ness)
Five years ago I bought myself one diamond stud ear-ring for my pierced ear.  When I moved into this dump three years ago, I lost it.
I looked everywhere...nothing.
Tonight I was going through some old stuff and deciding what to keep and what to throw out.
When what does my wondering eye notice?
MY EAR-RING!!
Shiny sweetness.

So that's at least two things that aren't so bad about moving. 
It's not an epidemic of good feelings, but it's a start.

That voice in my head is telling me something.

Did you ever have that feeling that someone is avoiding you?
You aren't sure why, or what you might have done...but you know something is off.

Something is off.

It smells like paranoia, but my instincts have never been wrong.
So I'm just waiting to see how this plays out.

Just one of those days

Today was a strange day.
I'm not speaking to one of my team-mates.
I'm barely speaking to another.
And the third...well Chris and I have always gotten along.
Even when she irritates me, I love her.
We can always find something to laugh about.

Today Chris finally came along to our Friday lunches.  She didn't stop talking, and the rest of us didn't stop laughing.
On the way back to work, we laughed even harder and that was before we did donuts in the parking lot. 
Things are not good at work.
People are frustrated, over-worked, irritated and edgy.  It keeps getting worse.
And knowing that I have people there that make me laugh my ass off, just because? 
Well that makes it just a bit better.
If I could hang out with them all day and get paid for it, it can't be all bad.
I just wish that certain people could come back to us and join the fun.

*This post is dedicated to the awesomeness that is Sherm-a-germ, KillerKeller, Prettyboy Gentler, and Choseph.  aka, lunchbitches!
I totally dig you guys!!