Sunday, March 18, 2007

time to play catch up 3 ...

Okay ... one final installment and you're all caught up ...








This month my friend Renee celebrated her birthday at Mezza Luna in Neptune beach.

The food is always quite delicious ... and we really had some good conversation.
Will even busted out the grill for us all to enjoy. Good times certainly were had by all!

time to play catch up 2 ...

Also, in February was my friend Julie's birthday ... we celebrated at Cafe Carmon in San Marco and then went karaoke singing afterward ...

time to play catch up ...


Okay ... so mom's birthday was in February and I forgot to post some pictures, etc.

Mom celebrated her 40-10 with about 75 friends and family members!
Aunt Lisa and Uncle Charlie flew down from Virginia as well as Aunt Julie and Uncle Michael drove down from GA to suprise her. She was so excited to see all the people that came to celebrate her special day. There was a DJ so you know us girls tore up the floor ... and the cake was just amazing (great job Publix)!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

words of wisdom ... thank you Matthew

Max Ehrmann
Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

Friday, March 16, 2007

obviously ...

I have obviously shown how awful I am at keeping up this blog ... I never was able to keep a diary for any length of time. I always seemed to forget about it eventually and move on to something else. Kinda reminds me of other aspects of my life but I won't go there. At least not today. Today I'm feeling: a) guilty for not writing more seeing as I have received several comments on how people keep checking my blog but I haven't updated AND b) frustrated because I have been having some awful dreams lately and have been suffering with a bit of anxiety. I am struggling with the whole 'give your problems to God' thing ... I've never been really good at that, unfortunately. I'm definitely the type that tries to handle it all myself. And of course, that means I take on way too much ... am concerned with things I have no control over ... and worry about things that don't really matter. SO ... here I am ... turning 28 this month ... and I think I'm aging myself more just purely by the stress I am self-inflicting. Good times!

Well ... where do I go from here?

I know I need to force myself to work out more ... I know that will do wonders to my stress. I know that I need to take more time to de-stress at the end of the day and to not take my work issues home with me. I already have enough to worry about with school, etc. I think that it is also hard being in limbo right now in my personal life. I just have to remember that May 4th is not too far away. This too shall pass. Soon I will be completed with the chapter that has taken the longest so far. I can't believe that I will actually have completed my bachelor's degree! And before my sisters complete theirs! Which, of course, was my main goal. It will be nice to not worry about the work-school-social life balance as much. I might even start to work on other things ... like maybe marriage and family. Who knows.

Anyway, I hate to be a downer. I promise that I'm alright. Everything will be alright. Spring break is this coming week. Thursday through Sunday I will be in Austin, TX, visiting my very good friend, Shay, with another good friend of mine, Terry. I am so excited to be able to get away! I only wish I had time to go to the Caribbean again this year. Although the Ritz was beautiful I think that next time I'd like to stay at the Westin in St John or at the Caneel Bay Resort. I do have my cousin's wedding to look forward to in September. It's in France ... woo hoo! It will be nice to see him (I miss him so very much) and of course, to see more of France. The last visit was to northern France so I think I will fly in to Paris and explore the city before heading down to Brignoles for the wedding. YAY!

As a little update: I was in Orlando a few weekends ago. I visited my good friend, Greg, and my sister, Ashley Lynn. We ate at the greatest little Italian restaurant in downtown Orlando, Bravissimo. It was fantastic! And it rained on Saturday night so Greg and I went to Winter Park for a glass of wine and a good chat. Sunday we had lunch with Ashley on Park Avenue in Winter Park before she had to head to work and that evening I had dinner in Palm Coast with my mom and my sister, Lauren, at Barbara Jean's. YUM! Yesterday I had someone come fix the water damage from the leak from the upstairs unit. It seems to be fine. Good thing. Ah, the joys of home-ownership!