So I Was Just Thinking

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I guess that's so. When you look at photos taken by Ansel Adams or Annie Liebowitz, they definitely tell a story. The only difference between your photos and photographers like these two is you may never see yourself in a museum or on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. That doesn't diminish the stories that your photos tell. Take for example this photo that showed up in my newsfeed today. What do you see? The man was my Sweetie Bobby. He would have turned 50 on Monday. The car was his pride and joy. There was a carwash near his house that offered a rain check up to three days after your first wash. He used that raincheck and would upgrade to a full wash every time. When asked what kind of air freshener, he would always get New Leather. He took very good care of it, making sure to get the oil changed as directed and rotating the tires regularly. He needed to do this because his job had him driving long distance, and every ...

I've heard that many times in my life, and today wasn't much different. It's actually a funny story. There is a girl who calls me mom. I never did get a chance to officially become her mom because Bobby and I never married. Nonetheless, LM is one of my children. LM called me today while Caitlin and I were driving down the highway, and just like my other two kids, if she needs me, I'm usually going to do what I can for her. Her question was a funny one. "You speak Spanish, right?" Now the answer to that is a complicated one, but yes, Spanish words have been known to come out of my mouth. So I tell her I do and ask her why. Well, it seems while she was having a garage sale, there was a man there interested in buying a car she had. However, he only spoke Spanish. I tell her I am five minutes away and head over there instead of going to Hobby Lobby. When I get to the garage sale, I introduce myself to the man who starts talking a mile a minute in Spanish. Uh...

It's that time again, time to reflect on the past year and decide what kind of progress I've made. My word for the year was FORWARD. Even though I didn't write about it at all, I feel I have managed to move forward pretty well. But to see how I've moved forward I would like to take a look back - waaay back. A look back at where it all began - 2009 I said I wanted to develop good habits such as: Cooking at least 5 days a week  ✓ Drinking Water  ✓ Exercise  ✓ Reading books  ✘ Playing with my children   ✓   Sticking to my plans   ✓ Saving Money  ✘ Go to bed no later than 10 p.m. on weekdays  ✘ Did I? Not so much then, but I do  many of them  now  and I think that says something. It says you may plant a seed to something that may take awhile to grow but with patience you will see results, especially with periodic reflection on where you have come from. The year 2012 found me looking to live more BOLDLY an...