Poor poor neglected blog!

I had pretty grand aspirations when I started this silly thing....nah, not really. I thought it would just be a fun thing to do and try to capture a little more of life - you know, "stop and smell the roses." But I'm really really terrible at that. But I really really want to try to do this, but without looking at it like just another thing on the checklist. So, hopefully I can check into this more often, post some pictures, share some fun stories, share some opinions, and mostly, gratitude. And then maybe feel like I'm achieving a little balance....

I Get It, I Get It...

Isn't it funny how sometimes you feel like a message....be it a song, the sermon in church, the brown bag presentation at work.....is aimed directly at you? Like a sign or something?

Well, that happened to me sometime last week (or maybe 2 weeks ago at this point - I can't keep up). I was cruising through the blogs on my Reader and came across "The Happiness Project" in a weekly article roundup. I had never heard of it, and vaguely thought, "Huh, that might be cool. I'll look at it later." While still reading through Reader, about 5 minutes and a handful of blogs later, it popped up again, this time referencing back to a different Happiness Project post. Now that's a little uncanny, but nothing crazy. But I did immediately go read the info page at http://www.happiness-project.com/. I enjoyed it and thought it might be a fun project.

Okay, then it just got WEIRD. Multiple blogs over the course of the next week mentioned this Happiness thing - and across different types (financial blogs, wedding planning blogs, lifestyle ones, random ones). And then I saw Gretchen Rubin giving an interview somewhere, a morning show I think.

OKAY. I GET IT. I will start my very own Happiness Project. I'm a little scared - I have a lot going on lately in work and life, and I don't want to start something and not follow through and then have it be, by default, my UNhappiness project. But it seems that SOMETHING is telling me to do one. So, here goes!

Neglect...

hello poor little neglected blog. it's been a while; how have you been? sad & lonely. sorry about that.

so, what to tell you....so much has changed. i'm back in denver full-time (yay!). work is going well, if a little slower than i prefer, but not slow enough to be worried.

spring was rough this year. the first anniversary of heather's passing came, but not before another friend was lost way too soon and way too young. damn, j, you are missed. i don't know how cori does it but she's quite the inspiration. i hope she knows that.

but, at the same time, there's been lots of baby news this year - new babies, lots of kiddos with birthdays between march and june to celebrate. oh, and a puppy for amy, which isn't unlike a baby for us animal lovers. circle of life. it's, in all senses of the word, awesome.

elwood's doing great. we're just at a year after his TPLO surgery and he's 110%. his quirks are always cracking me up, but it's his smile that's the best thing...and it's around every day. what a life!

the wedding is less than FIVE MONTHS AWAY. i have a lot done, but i have a lot left to do. within 5 minutes a few weeks back i ended up with 38 things to do on my wedding-related "things to do list." but that bachelorette party has come and gone....and it was PHENOMENALLY FUN. amy is a rockstar and i'm lucky to have so many great girlfriends in my life.

and of course, there's kevin. there's a million things to say that don't have to be said. because that much love says it all.

okay, i promise to not stay away so long blog. see you in a week or so, i hope. (hey, small goals...)

Epic Fail

John Edwards, you wretched disappointment. Let's see:
-Failed VP candidate
-Failed Presidential candidate
-Failed "Family Man"
-Failed more-or-less self-proclaimed poster child for "good ol' Southern Values"
-Failed Baby's Daddy

So, the first two on the list, hey, that's part of the game. But for the bottom of the list....wow, really?? You wanted to be the leader of the free world and you can't even lead your brain to take over the blood supply from your lower extremity? And the list of lies....first about the affair in general, then denial of fathering the staffer's child based on "timing", and now the admission that said timing was completely false. UGH. And the saddest part - you were someone who I think had some pretty good ideas about domestic policy, especially social programs. And you've made sure that no one will ever give a shit again about that.

Oh, and, lest we forget it takes two to tango....onto Reille Hunter. You've effectively turned yourself into a tired old cliche by sleeping with the boss, feeding off of charm and potential power. Oh, and it's pretty awesome on your part considering you knew he was married, and by being on the trail, knew his wife, too. You fail, too, Reille.

Providence?

I saw an amazing story this morning on the "Today" show. As you can see for yourself from the title link, a young boy was in his backyard in British Columbia when he was attacked by a moutain lion. However, the lion didn't get him because his pup, an 18-month old golden retriever, got inbetween the cat and child allowing the boy to escape into the house.

And the name of this dog: Angel. Yep, that's right. Kismet? Self-fufilling prophecy? Or just mere coincidence?

You know what I think? I think it's Divine. I think, "God."

Oh, and one more thing...Angel survived. Even though the cat crushed her skull and it was broken in FOUR places, she survived.

Amen.