TIME-OUT

For the record, it looks like this score was actually higher....

NOT SHABBY, EH?

LOVING LOVE

I was conversing with one of my friends awhile back, when I randomly burst out with the thought: "Kahele, I just want you to love!!" He thought that was the funniest thing he ever heard, but it was true. He had a recent history of shyness in the dating department, but I could not understand why, and I told him so.... he is a wonderful fellow with all sorts of great traits. I basically told him to buck up and take on the challenge/risk of truly loving someone, even though it was going to require valiant effort on his part.

Well, it happened!! After dating for awhile, Kahele and Elisa tied the knot yesterday!! It was so much fun to go to their reception last night and see them looking SOOOO happy and in love with each other. I felt like I was watching a chick-flick, except that it was real and I knew the couple involved. I am proud of Kahele that he took steps in his life to make this relationship happen. It wasn't easy for him, but it certainly paid off in the end. And oh, yeah... they're going to Paris & Rome on their honeymoon. How romantic is that??? I am a lover of loving love.

MAKE NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD...

Simply put, I think there is not much in this world that beats spending time visiting with friends you have known for a long time. Yes, I enjoy meeting new folks, but I especially love friendships that are tried and true.

AFTER ALL, TOMORROW IS... ANOTHER DAY

I usually try to be upbeat on this blog, but let's face it... I feel grumpy right now. Actually, I have pretty much all day. I feel sorry for the people who have conversed with me today. Truly sorry.

But the good news lies in the words uttered by Katie Scarlett O'Hara at the end of Gone With the Wind: "After all, tomorrow is... another day." (Followed by theme music, which I hope came flooding into your head).

So here's to a better tomorrow! I promise to smile and be more cheerful!

FRESH

Oh, how I love New Year's Day, and all the self-reflection related thereto... Life is so busy that sometimes it's not easy to take the time to contemplate the bigger picture and correct your life's course... but it is so important! 2008 was, indeed, an eventful year.

I traveled...

Two trips to The Happiest Place on Earth, two trips to Beantown, one trip to Kiwi Land, one trip to the Adirondacks, one trip to the City of Brotherly Love, one trip to St. George... and I feel like I'm even forgetting one more trip I took. Maybe it will come to me...

I read...

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrow of Josephine B. (and the rest of the trilogy) by Sandra Gulland, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, 1/2 of Stiff by Mary Roach (which I will finish soon, I'm sure), Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker. I'm sure I read more books than that, but those were the most noteworthy.

I ate...

Lots of popcorn, hot chocolate, 730 pieces of toast, and thousands of Peanut M&M's.

I welcomed...

Another nephew into the world, the opportunity to go to various plays and concerts, darker hair, rekindled friendships, the summer, the opportunity to meet one of my idols, tulip blooms, growth in my position at work, the opportunity to work in a brand new office building that smells divine, the chance to spend time with my family and friends, the end of an extremely negative relationship, the potential to love someone better, the time I was able to spend at the temple, Friday afternoons, new earrings from Tiffany & Co. that I've wanted for ages, my sister's recently discovered sense of humor and the corresponding laughter, and on and on and on.

Yes, 2008 was a good year, but I'm pretty darn sure 2009 is going to be even better. Bring on the good times!!

P.S. I apologize about the formatting issues in this blog; I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what is causing the problems...