So Long, Friends.

You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.

This blog is complete, for now. Life is moving forward. Until we meet again...

How You Know You Are Old

Last night was Homecoming at Brock High School. Before the boy's game, they honored the 2002 boys and girls state basketball champions. They walked out to center court and I look over to Nick and say, "Hey, they're about my age." No sooner do I finish the "eee" on "age" when some twerpy high school kid sitting behind us goes, "Man, they look really old!" SERIOUSLY?

I'm old. Apparently.

Home Is A Welcoming Friend

If you had seen the condition of my toe nail polish, it would explain a lot, including my lack of blogging. Seriously, they were a sad, sad state by my standards. So much so if I had rented a rental car while I was in Atlanta this week, I would have hunted down a pedi location. They were atrocious.

Last week I was in Washington D.C. for work and this week it was Hotlanta. Both trips began with 6AM flights out of DFW and work days starting at 7AM (6AM Dallas time) and ending about 7PM. Luckily, no more travel expected until February at the earliest. I suppose that's next week already. Goodness! Where did January go??

My hotel room in DC was nothing to brag about. However, my hotel in Atlanta was brag-worthy. First off, ATL is the largest and busiest airport in the country. Second, our office is right next to and overlooks the airport. Therefore, the preferred, walking distance to the hotel is smack dab next to the airport.

One side of the hotel has pretty impressive rooms with walkout balconies and stunning views of the airport and a few of the runways. Unfortunately, the chill was too much for a drink on the balcony watching the planes. Don't think I didn't try though. It was just too much for even my heavy coat and a few drinks. I tried to get a picture at night, but the iPhone failed me and just captured light blobs. I did get a cool one during the day though!

A Time for Everything

Tonight's post has no humor, no meaningful undertones, or deeper meanings. The message is: There is a time for everything.

I was flipping through my Bible tonight with the intention of praying for my mom, feeling a little disorganized and unsettled in my thoughts. And then I settled on Ecclesiastes 3.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born an a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

I needed a straightforward message tonight, nothing I had to read into, something that gave me hope. We don't have to read the passages with history or analogies. Sometimes, the exact words we need to hear are from the text written right in front of us.

Doggie Disaster

I don't think I could be a career blogger. Occasionally, you just don't feel like sharing. And when you have lots of bloggie followers, they expect frequent updates. Luckily for me, my small following of dedicated readers, we have an understanding - an expectation of no expectations, really.

The past three weeks I've been picking out new napkin rings and stocking up on French's fried onions to top my oh so wonderful green bean casserole, among other things. Yes, the stresses of hosting Christmas are behind me now. Turned out quite nicely I may add. I think I survived my first pledge Christmas and have been initiated.

Now that all the chaos has subsided, a little humor. Bo and I were upstairs watching The Wonder Years (I die for The Wonder Years, ahhh) and failed to hear a loud thud that might have prevented the mess below. The guilty -Stella. You might notice the half eaten burrito to the bottom right, the blob of left over sweet potatoes just above the trash can and the massive amount of coffee grinds spilled ALL over the floor. Sigh....

Near Miss

Friends, let me share some advice - DO NOT attempt to diagnose yourself with ANYTHING based on medical information found on the Internet. All self-diagnosed illnesses lead to cancer.

That is all.

Be Thankful

In light of the holiday season, a post about giving thanks through all circumstances.

My life is far from perfect. I bet yours in far from perfect either. But it is a true sign of character to be thankful for what you do have. There's a saying, be thankful for what you have now, for it was once a thing you only wished for. Or something like that. I don't remember the exact quote and I'm too lazy to Google it at the moment, but the premise still remains.

It's become increasingly annoying to me lately to listen to complaints. Everyone wants more. More than they have. Something better. Something different. I'm not just talking about tangibles. It could be a more attentive spouse or more understanding parent. The grass is always greener on the other side. I say, the grass is only greener where you water it.

The point of my rant is this - don't take for granted what you have or may think is a burden. Be thankful. It may just be the one thing someone else dreams of having, but doesn't.