... An answer to a serious Question ...

Is everything going to be okay?

That's All There Is To It

<3

R.I.P Renee, you were one of a kind.

<3

Always in our hearts

Noted Quote-ables.

I've recently suffered a loss .. my first friend, from my first house, passed away in a car accident last week.  I still can't really fathom that she is gone, and though we hadn't spoken in about a year - I miss her more than I could say.   She lived life to the absolute fullest.  

I do have some things to write about, though I can't seem to concentrate on the words long enough to make the words make sense, so I feel the need to steal (poach, borrow quote) the words of others ... Enjoy:

One man all by himself is nothing.  Two people who belong together make the world. ~ Hans Margolius

Presence is more than just being there. ~ Malcolm S. Forbes

The way to love anything, is to realize that it might be lost. ~ G.K. Chesterton

For some moments in life ... there are no words ~ David Seltzer


In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back ~ Charlie Brown (Charles M. Schulz)


Happiness is anyone and anything that's loved by you ~ Charlie Brown (Charles M. Schulz)


Imagination has brought mankind through the dark ages to it's present state of civilization.  Imagination led Columbus to discover America.  Imagination led Franklin to discovery electricity ~ L. Frank Baum


If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there ~ Lewis Carroll 


I Laugh, I love, I hope, I try, I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry.  And I know you do the same things too.  So we're really not that different, Me & You.  ~ Colin Raye


Be yourself.  Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish ~ John Jakes


We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes, "why did this happen to me?" unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way. ~ Unknown


You haven't lost your smile at all, it's right under your nose.  You just forgot it was there. ~ unknown


Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field.  I'll meet you there.  ~ Rumi


Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. ~ Rudyard Kipling


Friendship, I fancy, means one heart between two. ~ George Meredith

Frivolous Friday

Suffering another bout of bloggers block, I am looking at useless fact websites .. in an attempt to jog something interesting to write about.

I've come up with 20 of the most useless Animal (including a Slug fact!) facts I've read this morning ... 

20.  Penguins can jump as high as six feet in the air.
19.  The Platypus can eat it's weight in worms, every day.
18.  St. Bernard dogs - do not - carry kegs of brandy - and they Never Have.
17.  Snakes don't bite in rivers or swamps, because they would drown if they did.
16.  The giant tortoise can live longer in captivity than any other animal.
15.  Cows are the only mammals that pee backwards.
14.  You CAN house break an armadillo.
13.  Giraffes cannot cough.
12.  Deer cannot eat hay.
11.  Bats ALWAYS turn left when leaving the cave.
10.  A crocodile cannot stick out it's tongue.
9.    Chameleons and sea-horses can move their eyes in two different directions at the same time, which enables them to spot predators more easily.
8.    Cheetahs can go from a standing position, to 45 MPH in two seconds.
7.    A Giraffe can last longer without water than a camel.
6.    Dogs have 17 muscles in their ears so they can turn them in several directions to pick up sounds.
5.    Flamingos can only eat  with their heads upside down.
4.    A blue whales tongue weighs more than an elephant.
3.    All Porcupines Float.
2.    Slugs - have Four Noses.
1.    A hippos mouth, measures two feet across.

There you have it - 20 animal facts ... that you are now a little sillier for knowing.

Stress Relievers

There are few things in life that stress me out (other than your normal every day life stresses - financial worries, health worries, etc.) .. some of those things are work related, and some, are not. 

While I'm at work, there are a few things I keep handy to relieve the stresses that may rear their ugly heads ... here are a few of my most favorite Stress Relievers - when punching the stress bringing offender is not an option:

8. Bubble Wrap Game - seriously, what's less stressful than popping bubble wrap?  Make sure your speakers are on, and don't mind the creepy voice when you click for a new sheet ... (Manic Mode is fun ... )

7. Free Tunes - either make your own station - or listen to a pre-existing one ... Pandora is a fantastic invention.

6. Free Shows - and movies too .. my number one addiction .. no joke.  it's fantastic to have on in the "background".

5. Animal Pictures - no matter how bad or stressful your day seems, these can make it better in an instant.

4. Funny Stories -  these little gems are sometimes worth the time it takes to dig them out ... even though, I'm sure - some of them HAVE to be made up.

3. Better Pictures - for those who love "teh doggehz" more

2. Newly Acquired - again, some of these are too good to be real - but all of them are giggle worthy

1. When All Else Fails - when your day seems to be getting worse with each tick of the clock ... click this link, someone out there, is probably having a worse day than you are :)

Enjoy Friends!

Lack of sleep - makes one loopy!

When I say lack of sleep, I don't mean, a few hours here and there, or one night where I've not been able to fall asleep, stay asleep, or what have you .. I mean .. the past almost week now of a couple hours of sleep a night, and then I'm awake for the remainder of my "sleep time" ... it's wearing on me.

For example - last week, I actually got ONE FULL night of sleep - I was bouncy, happy, silly, punchy .. I had a great day (or most of a great day, right Andrea?) it was fantastic, and I'd love to do it again - soon ... Although, you know - my goal isn't even 8 full hours - not right now, I'll have to work my way up to that ... I'll settle for 6, or even 5 .. I've tried reading before bed, not reading before bed, watching something silly on TV, not watching TV ... sleeping aids, no sleeping aids ... going to bed earlier, going to bed later ... and combinations of two or three of those things ... nothing seems to work.

Today, going on day 7 actually - I've run out of options.  I am going to go home tonight, have dinner, take a hot shower, put Emi to bed, and probably take something and go to bed myself.  HOPEFULLY  I can sleep the entire night, and if not, at least most of it.

Feeling Pretty Good Today ..

Welcome to Musical Monday ...
I've had "Bloggers Block" again for a little bit now, and can't seem to make the stories work in print.  They seem fine in my head, but when written ... not so much.

SO .. today, I have a song for you ... a song that has been stuck in my head for a few days now, since Thursday the 8th actually - and it's one of my favorites:

I've always considered myself a decent person, and a decent friend .. one I would want, if I had the option .. lately, I've been doubting that because of one person.  One Person whom I thought was my best friend.  One person I've seemingly wasted 10 years of my life with .. memories are jaded, pictures show better times, and the phone - doesn't ring anymore ... at least, not from this "friend" ... I understand people grow apart, and life is busy, and sometimes it's hard to include people you used to move mountains for.   What I don't understand?  is how you can hurt a child.   Especially, Mine.

That is where I draw the Line, THAT is where I decide a "friendship" isn't worth my child's tears.   There will come a time when this person needs me, it's happened before .. there will come a time when they will call, and they will expect me to answer .. to help, to lend a hand, an ear, or just .. be there .. I Won't Be.   Not This Time.  There Will Be No Next Time.

I am too decent of a person to go into any further details, though, most of you - my faithful readers - will get what I'm talking about, and if you don't ... well ... consider yourselves lucky that I've never had to cry on your shoulder over this person.

Here is my musical dedication:

From the group - Simple Plan

It's called:  Thank You

I thought that I could always count on you,

I thought that nothing could come between us two.

We said as long as we would stick together,

We’d be alright,

We’d be ok.

But I was stupid

And you broke me down

I’ll never be the same again.

So thank you for showing me,

That best friends can not be trusted,

And thank you for lying to me,

Your friendship, the good times we had you can have them back

Yeah!

I wonder why it always has to hurt,

For every lesson that you have to learn.

I won’t forget what you did to me,

How you showed me things I wish I’d never seen.

But I was stupid,

And you broke me down,

I’ll never be the same again.

So thank you for showing me,

That best friends can not be trusted,

And thank you for lying to me,

Your friendship the good times we had you can have them back

When the tables turn again,

You’ll remember me my friend,

You’ll be wishing I was there for you.

I’ll be the one you miss the most,

But you’ll only find my ghost.

As time goes by,

You’ll wonder why,

You’re all alone.

So thank you for showing me,

That best friends can not be trusted,

And thank you for lying to me,

Your friendship, the good times we had you can have them back.

So thank you - for lying to me,

So thank you - for all the times you let me down

So thank you - for lying to me,

So thank you - your friendship you can have it back

Our Trip to Whitefield ...

In order to understand what a gigantic win this was for me, you need to understand my husband.

Mike ... drives for a living, he spends his day in and out of a service truck - and is even bounced from delivery truck to crane truck whenever the need for help in those areas arise.  So to get him to take a multiple hour, few hundred mile day trip - just to allow me to see a hotel, and possibly meet some TV Personalities, is huge.  They weren't even there - for the record - no one was - and it was pretty rough, but we had a good time anyway.

Here are a few of the pictures from our day trip ... I apologize for the lateness, and the lack of story ... 

(A little history: "The Willey House, formerly a small inn and residence in Crawford Notch, is the site of a landslide that claimed nine lives in August of 1826. Though the surrounding area was strewn with boulders and debris, the Willey House stood unharmed. The family however, perished in the landslide, becoming part of the legend of Willey House." Taken from:  http://www.newhampshire.com/nh-attractions/willey-house.aspx)

The reportedly haunted (yet still majestic) Mount Washington Hotel:

Emily asked if she could take a picture too:

Our Destination - the Spalding Inn:

Daddy and Emi, posing with one of the "Knights"

The View from Behind the Inn.

We had a really great day, and even though "they" weren't there, we still enjoyed the ride, and scouted out places for our next "northern" day trip.

Because I was driving - I couldn't take many pictures - Mike's not as good at it, and refuses to "screw up a possibly great shot" trying.   There were a few things we saw up that way that ... normally, would cause a person a moments pause, to digest what in fact was seen.  To name a few?

An Elderly Gentleman walking his Microwave.
An Elderly Gentleman monitoring the watering of his flowers, by a timed - automatic sprinkler system.
A Motorcycle hanging from a tree.
A Gentleman and his young son hitch hiking down Crawford Notch ... we would have stopped, had we not had Emily, and had 2 more seats in the van.  We offered to call them help, but they weren't interested in that.