Adopting in Ashburn

I've been away for far too long, but my excuse is international and bi-coastal travel matched with some big changes at work and a transition into a new Heather-year. I have lots of pictures and tales to share (if you haven't already seen them on Facebook), and I'm hoping to become a bit more regular of a blogger again now that I have easy access to the Internet at home (hooray for new computers!). My, how I've missed you. Always, ~Heather

In case you were wondering: If someone invites you to something, it is polite to let them know whether or not you are coming - even if you will be unable to attend. Then the host(ess) can stop bugging you. It's a win-win. Additionally, if you can't hang out with someone when they invite you to do something, the appropriate response is: "I'm sorry I can't make it, why don't we hang out [insert alternate time]?" Seriously folks, this is getting ridiculous.

At the Ash Wednesday service tonight, the priest explained that this was a good opportunity to refresh ourselves as we take steps towards spring. I like the idea of refreshing where things are. So after three blizzards this winter, I bought tickets for a cruise with Caroline (who you may remember as the awesome friend who came to visit me in France; drove through the blizzard in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany; got lost with me in Barcelona; and showed me how to make apple goodness in Iowa). She's graduating from chiropractic school next Friday, and I couldn't be more proud of her. Which is why we're celebrating by taking this great Caribbean adventure. In addition to that friend refreshment, and anticipated personal mental health boost from vitamin D, I'm also going to be doing a couple of self-cleansing things as my Lenten promises. I have some specific tasks planned out to improve my patience. For my roommates, I have a couple of literal cleaning tasks I plan to ma...

Awhile back, I wrote about having to be silent - about cutting off communication with people who were hurting me more than being a positive force in my life. One of the people I recently had to stop speaking to (let's call them Friend1) had a serious work crisis recently. With everything I knew they had going on, I couldn't not offer a listening ear. What was odd, was that this person didn't even seem to notice that we hadn't been in contact in months. That we, who were so close we were hanging out multiple times a week, had not had a single dinner, phone call, or chat conversation hadn't really registered as something being wrong. One of the others (Friend2) sort of disappeared from my radar. You'd think this would be a good thing, since having to sever ties with someone is so incredibly painful. But it wasn't easier. It was harder. I was freaking out. What if they died? What if they were being hospitalized for something? What if they lost a family ...

... this is what I would tell me:

So I have this rule (which I bet you wish was not starting sentences with the word "so") about not writing negative things on here, because, let's face it, we don't usually read our friends' blogs looking for the things that aren't going well in their lives. We read about the awesomeness of their little people (read: children), their pets, their fun adventures, their happiness. I don't know about you, but it sort of makes my day when I flip through the Friends section of my Reader to find out that so-and-so had a birthday, or this one is pregnant again. I love it. So, (there I go again) I try not to vent. I try not to whine. But if you're really my friend and reading this, then I hope you want to hear about everything, and not just the good stuff. I hope you want to hear about me, not just the shiny, happy, reflection of me that sometimes appears in mirrors. I'm having a perfectly good week by any normal scale. But I just can't get happy...

I would just like to take this opportunity to say that I have been a Jets fan since approximately the 3rd grade. I've loved them every season, not just the ones that they've won. In fact, if I'd only loved them the seasons we won (yes, we), I would have rarely loved them at all. I'm not sure what this says about me, that I have always been a sucker for underdogs. Maybe it was God's way of preparing me for being a Gamecock fan later in life. Or maybe my heart is just too big for its own good. Either way, I'm looking forward to next week. Love always, ~Heather