Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear

A friend of mine on Facebook announced that she is expecting a baby this summer. A little boy. She's one of those friends from high school -- that I haven't really spoke to since graduation. We became "friends" on Facebook, but we don't interact with each other very often. She was a girl I always liked. Spmeone I always kinda wished I took more time to get to know better. She was nice to everyone. She was friends with a lot of the boys. She was pretty, but not stuck up like some of the other girls at the all-girls private high school I attended.

Anyway, her status caught my attention. A baby boy. In June. I wrote my typical "That's really exciting! Congrats!" message. But that may or may not have been exactly what I was feeling inside. I hadn't checked out her profile and wondering if this was the first time she mentioned her pregnancy. Curiosity caught me. Especially when I noticed that she had a blog that was something about a baby.

So I decided to check it out.

I kinda felt like I was snooping. Reading up on this old friend. But hey, she put the link to her blog out there, right?

But I learned something about her. She and her husband didn't get pregnant right away. It tooks six months. And through her words, I could feel her worries and fears. Many the same of my own.

It just reminded me that just because someone posts that they're pregnant doesn't mean that it was an easy journey for them to get there. With anouncements on Facebook about expectant families coming onto my news feed almost everyday, it's easy to forget.

After this miscarriage, it seemed like I walked around going through the motion of life. Outwardly, I appeared normal, but people couldn't really see the pain I felt within. It made me realize that you never know what difficulties people are facing or what they're really dealing with at home or what thoughts are running through their mind.

Life is more complicated than what appears on the surface.

Not just for me. For everyone.

While I get caught up with my own hopes and worries about pregnancy, and while I let myself get a tiny-bit jealous a little too easily, I've forgotten to remember what I learned after the miscarriage. I don't know others' complete stories. I just have a fraction of it. And, most likely, that story is just a little more complicated than it appears on the surface.


J.B.

6 signs I'm an adult...

6. It seems that 99.9% of my paycheck goes towards bills, gas, bills and food. And bills.

5. On a Friday night, I'd rather stay home and watch a movie than go out and drink.

4. I shop in the misses section, since clothes from the juniors section don't really fit me anymore....and I get weird looks from girls when I shop in the juniors section.

3. Kids I used to baby-sit are now in college, drinking, and going on spring break trips. Some are even graduating college!

2. I find myself changing the radio to NPR from a music-playing station while I'm driving.

1. My nieces call me a parent.

Networking...

If there is one thing that I hate doing....it's networking with people I don't know. To me networking reminds me of junior high dances -- especially during slow songs -- when I would awkwardly wait on the sidelines praying someone would come around and ask me to dance, and I would slowly become disappointed as the first verse would slip into the chorus and my chances of getting asked to dance would dwindle to nothing, and then I would find myself wishing I could be anywhere but standing alone surrounded by happily dancing couples. And even though I knew no one was going to ask me to dance, I would still get disappointed every time. Every. Time. (Perhaps I need a therapist?)

Back to this post's topic....

Luckily for me, I had the challenge opportunity to do some networking at this morning's MIMA event.

But when you're in a room filled with people you don't know...what are you going to do?

Option a) Stand in the corner all by yourself picking at a plate of fruit

or

Option b) Put your pride on the line and go introduce yourself to someone who *could be* waiting for you on the sidelines and hope that this person is 1) not a vendor and 2) able to carry on a decent conversation for a couple of minutes.

Despite my shyness and distaste for talking to people I don't know, I figureed Option B is the better way to go.

My first attempt was a foul ball. The two ladies I spoke with were not vendors, but not really interested in carrying on a decent conversation.

My second attempt was a triple. I met a nice lady who was not a vendor and was able to converse. And she even introduced me to a couple of other people. And she even invited me to join her for another networking session for a different professional group.

So I got through my morning and did a decent job. Networking doesn't have to be hard -- if you don't get too caught up on the fact that you're in a room and don't know a single soul. Thinking about this whole notion of networking, got me recalling that somewhere I made a goal to get more comfortable with meeting people. And wouldn't you know? It's right there on my list of 101 in 1,001. I seriously don't think I'll ever be fully comfortable with meeting new people and be able to cross it off my list, but hey, I'm making an effort.

Valentine's Day

This year, I have a new-found appreciation for Valentine's Day. No, not for the candy and the cards. But for the meaning behind it. Love.

Today I found myself comparing Thanksgiving Day to Valentine's Day. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, because the whole day is about being thankful for all that you've been blessed with in your life. It's a day of appreciation.

To me, Valentine's Day is a day of appreciation too. But instead of just sitting there and soaking in all the gratitude, you actively make it known to the one(s) that you're most thankful for....you make it known how much you love them and how much your life is complete with them in your life.

Granted you shouldn't just share the love just one day a year, you should do it every day. But it's just taking that extra effort to make it extra known that you care that makes the day special.

Just like Thanksgiving. Each day you should count your blessings. But there's something special about taking a day just to really express your gratitude and celebrate your blessings.

Here's the love of my life with his wedding present.

Nothing

"So what's new with you?" my grandpa asks me on the phone last night.

"Nothing," I reply. "Work's been busy. But nothing new."

--

Last night, I was trying to think of something to write and post on my blog.

I couldn't come up with anything. I ended up closing the window and going back downstairs to watch TV.

--

What is this? Am I really living a life where nothing goes on? Nothing more than waking up, going to work, coming home and making dinner, take the dogs outside, watch TV, and then going to bed. Night after night. Of course not!!!! There is much more to my life than that. There may not be life-shattering new things going on. Right now, I just want to take a step back and look at what's going on in my life. Time to take note of the small stuff. And I'm right it down here, so next time I talk to my grandpa, I can tell him what's really new with me.

• My class is in full swing. I just had the second class last night. Although it's a huge challenge to get motivated to do the homework.
• Tomorrow, I think I'm going to make a fancy dinner for Dave and I to celebrate Valentine's Day. The menu is TBD.
• This last week the weather was unusually warm for this time of year...above freezing. The snow almost all melted.
• Since the snow was melting, I took over an hour to pick up dog do-do in my back yard, filling up two plastic bags. The job is not done yet!!! Hopefully, Dave will help with the rest of it.
• Tomorrow is the baby shower for my good friend, Beth. I got her gift weeks ago, since I was excited to go shopping for baby stuff. I'm excited to see how big she is now and also to see what presents the baby receives. Not too excited to play baby shower games, but I am looking forward to winning some prizes. lol.
• Couple of birthdays for my friends this week. Andee's was yesterday and Krissy's is today. Last night I had class, so I couldn't see Andee. Krissy is vacationing in Arizona, so I won't see her either. Bummer!!
• Work is really, really busy. In a couple of weeks, I can show you what we've done.
• Otis has started a really bad habit. He's tripping out in the middle of the night barking like someone's trying to break in the house. It's loud and annoying and destroying my sleep pattern.
• Yesterday, Dave had a promotion for work and had to wear a tux. I'm waiting to see pictures, since I didn't see him dressed up.
• Wow. Can't believe I forgot this one. I bought a new light fixture for our master bathroom off of Craigslist and Dave installed it. I tried to help, but it was really hard to hold up the fixture while he connected the chords. But we did it! Stay tuned for photos (I've been lazy about posting them).
• I bought a curtain rod and curtains at World Market (they're going out of business). They'll hopefully be put up this weekend in the loft.
• Gracie is assimilating herself with the dogs. We've had Otis for almost three years now, but recently she's been picking up a lot of their behaviors. A couple months ago, she started licking Dave and I -- just like the dogs lick us. Now she's herding Cooper around. She likes biting his ankles. It's really cute to watch. And she's losing some of her more cat-like traits -- like hissing.
• Our garage door motor decided to work again! Thank goodness!! And now we can park in the garage again!

I'm impressed at the size of this list that I just put together really quickly. Sometimes I just need to take a step back to realize what's really going on, take note of it, and just be thankful for it all.

Pet Peeve

Putting on my "fat pants" only to find them feeling snug.

Grrr.

I'm hoping that this is the first time I've worn them since coming out of the dryer. Sadly, I don't think that's the case.

And yes, I think it's acceptable to wear jeans more than once between washings.

Vote for Cooper!

In case you didn't notice that big button ad on the right side of my blog, I need your help! Vote for Cooper as the MVP pet.

Vacuums are to be won!

And yes, vacuums (particularly, working ones) are a source of contentness in my lame life. Proof I'm an adult, I guess.

Case #1:
With my very limited personal spending money, I choose to buy new vacuum parts (the spinning thing on the bottom and belts) instead of spending it on....well. anything.

Voting is easy. Just click on the button and you'll be taken directly to the voting form. Just fill out and submit. Thanks for your help!

Love/Hate

There it was. It was standing in the back row so proud -- sparkling under the warm November sun like a diamond in the rough. Its metallic body was calling my name. Love at first sight.

Or so I thought.

That Audi A6 was the car I had been dreaming of for so long. Running my hands along its smooth leather seats, the touch proved the dream was real. The car was going to be ours -- its navigation system, integrated phone, heated seats, Bose sound system and all.

Long story short. The dream soon turned into a nightmare.

Electrical problems. Engine problems. Leaky problems. Headlight problems. Battery problems.

All in a matter of weeks. As fast as I fell in love with the Audi A6, I fell out of love. Distrust and dislike -- okay -- hatred soon became my feelings toward the beast.

From the outside, Dave and I looked great driving around in that automobile. But on the inside, we were frightfully worried about what drama the car was going to cause next.

So Dave and I went back to the car lot. And there under a mass of snow stood a car. As we scraped off the snow, a healthy red complexion revealed itself (happens to be our car color of choice). Put the keys in the ignition and its engine immediately purred to live (when it's -5 degrees that's a good sign). The most realistic car on the lot. "Sold," exclaimed Dave.

Goodbye, Audi A6. Hello, Chevy Impala.