Be Happy. Be Healthy.

Well I'm back.

It's now June, and where the Hell did this year go so far? Well, for me, it has been among traveling with work, preparation for one wedding, planning surprises for another wedding, bridal showers, and a whole lot more. I can't say I'm complaining, but here is my mid-year review thus far:

1) Beginning of the year: Well the beginning of this year until about the beginning of March, I was sick. Come to find out, I'm incredibly allergic to cigarette smoke (though not cigar or pipe). My bronchi will close itself, preventing me from breathing. I've never liked cigarettes or being around them, so that's one plus. I got better towards the end of March when my lungs rejuventated themselves.

2) Vegas: I went to Vegas twice - once in January and once in March. I've come to realize...I don't like Vegas...at all. I have been told to "go back when it's not work related," but I can think of several other places I'd like to visit or go back to. Vegas is not one of them.

3) The love life: What everyone wants to hear about? (Well in my case they do mainly because my love life seems to be filled with sarcasm and horrible first dates with could-be serial killers). Did I have any of those dates earlier in the year? *pauses to think* I'm sure my friends will remind me if I did. I had interesting conversations with males about how ovulating really "gets them going" (uh - no) and the like. I had a, what I thought, completely botched first kiss with Jack's Beau. I have since been convinced that it wasn't botched so we're hanging onto that story of "I screwed that one up." Moving on, yes, Jack has a Beau. I can't stand the term "boyfriend" or "significant other" or anything like that. Boyfriend is juvenile, and Significant Other makes people think I'm gay. He's great :) Read "enamored" that I posted prior to my travels to New York. He makes me want to write "Check Yes or No" notes and write his name surrounded by hearts, but I don't think my clients would appreciate that in the margins of their portfolios.

4) New York: I got back from a week in New York in which I was a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding. Oh yeah - you heard that right. It was..."interesting" and definitely was an eye-opener of "I need to get back in shape like I was with martial arts" not to mention, you could take the entire bridal party, combine all of their boobs, and I still had the largest ones. Guys may like that - me - not so much. We "toured" the area as well: wineries, etc. I remembered just how beautiful it was up there and how much I liked it, and while there was a pull *cough* Jack's Beau *cough* to Georgia, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like living there again...or in the area. I learned an important lesson while I was in New York - or rather a couple of lessons that I wish others would take heed:

a) Materialism sucks. You don't need to have "stuff" to have a full life. Stop being greedy. Stop trying to one-up. Stop being just plain mean.

b) Heed your own advice: don't talk about others behind their backs. Don't be two-faced. Don't complain and comment that someone is being two-faced...then be two-faced yourself.

c) A wedding is a celebration of two persons becoming united as, metaphorically, one. It is not supposed to be a celebration of how much money one can spend, and it's not supposed to end up looking like a t.v. reality show of a girl's 16th birthday party.

5) I have decided to do more things. By do more things I mean, I can sit and write about how it would be nice to go hiking. I need to do it. Jack's Beau would like to hike. I stopped hiking alone after the Meredith girl was killed in the same area where I had hiked or gone trail running. That was almost a year ago. I have decided to bring Pop's old bike up or to buy another and bike the Silver Comet Trail. It's a great paved trail - former railroad - and it's a great area to bike. I have set goals for myself - not only to lose weight and get in better shape - but just to feel better all the way around.

6) I am taking things in stride and coming to realize that I can't change everything. Don't sweat the small stuff, when told to me, was always answered with, "easy for you to say," but it is.

I'm sure I could go on about my mid-year assessment, but it boils down to "Be Happy. Be Healthy."