If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.  
      ~ John D. Rockefeller

Decide what it is that you want for yourself - strike out on new paths in 2009 in order to get there.  You will probably encounter rough patches, but don't let those stop you from reaching you point of success.  Instead of trying to climb one giant mountain all at once, set smaller, more attainable goals for yourself.  Before you know it, you will be at the summit - looking down on the new paths that you have forged in order to get there.

Geo and I were just talking about somthing similar to this the other day.  He suggested that I take a picture of the same tree every day at the same time.  Eirik Solheim did just that and strung all of the pictures together into one 40 minute presentation.  I thought it was a pretty cool concept. 

One Year In Forty Seconds

I am actually in the process of learning how to take better photographs with a more sophisticated camera.  I have a lot to learn, but I've got a great mentor and one of my train friends is into photography, so he can give me lots of tips and guidance.  I feel a little bit like a fish out of water, but I know I'll get more comfortable with time.

Bushisms Over the Years 

By The Associated Press The Associated Press - Sat Jan 3, 11:06 am ET Featured Topics:

I saw this on Yahoo today.  I laughed all the way through.  DOH!  Extra DOH!  Maybe I should say Duh!!  Let's just say this... as and educator, the Bush administration implemented the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislature, which holds schools accountable for a child's success.  Fifty states with fifty DIFFERENT sets of rules about what accountability should look like.  WTF.  That's like playing Monopoly and everyone at the table has a different idea of how the game should be played.  Well, CT came up with some really rigorous and stringent ideas of what accountability looks like, and in poor schools like mine, we are getting our butts kicked.  Let me get back to my point.  With a President like George W. Bush, and after the list of Bushisms that follows, I think HE needs to go back to school... I wonder if he could pass his own NCLB rules.  I'm not too sure that he would be able to... maybe in TX, but not in CT.  LMAO!
Sit back and enjoy the stupidity.
Hugs!
 

AP - In this Aug. 4, 2002 file photo, President George W. Bush stretches out in his golf cart at the Cape ...

President George W. Bush will leave behind a legacy of Bushisms, the label stamped on the commander in chief's original speaking style. Some of the president's more notable malaprops and mangled statements:

___

• "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - September 2000, explaining his energy policies at an event in Michigan.
• "Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?" - January 2000, during a campaign event in South Carolina.
• "They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the commander in chief, too." - Sept. 26, 2001, in Langley, Va. Bush was referring to the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.
• "There's no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail." - Oct. 4, 2001, in Washington. Bush was remarking on a back-to-work plan after the terrorist attacks.
• "It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber." - April 10, 2002, at the White House, as Bush urged Senate passage of a broad ban on cloning.
• "I want to thank the dozens of welfare-to-work stories, the actual examples of people who made the firm and solemn commitment to work hard to embetter themselves." - April 18, 2002, at the White House.
• "There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." - Sept. 17, 2002, in Nashville, Tenn.
• "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.
• "Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." - Sept. 6, 2004, at a rally in Poplar Bluff, Mo.
• "Our most abundant energy source is coal. We have enough coal to last for 250 years, yet coal also prevents an environmental challenge." - April 20, 2005, in Washington.
• "We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job." - Sept. 20, 2005, in Gulfport, Miss.
• "I can't wait to join you in the joy of welcoming neighbors back into neighborhoods, and small businesses up and running, and cutting those ribbons that somebody is creating new jobs." - Sept. 5, 2005, when Bush met with residents of Poplarville, Miss., in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
• "It was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close relationship. After all, 60 years we were at war 60 years ago we were at war." - June 29, 2006, at the White House, where Bush met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
• "Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die." - Dec. 7, 2006, in a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
• "These are big achievements for this country, and the people of Bulgaria ought to be proud of the achievements that they have achieved." - June 11, 2007, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
• "Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit." - September 2007, in Sydney, Australia, where Bush was attending an APEC summit.
• "Thank you, Your Holiness. Awesome speech." April 16, 2008, at a ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the White House.
• "The fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there's jobs at the machine-making place." - May 27, 2008, in Mesa, Ariz.
• "And they have no disregard for human life." - July 15, 2008, at the White House. Bush was referring to enemy fighters in Afghanistan.
• "I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office." - June 26, 2008, during a Rose Garden news briefing.
• "Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people." - July 4, 2008 in Virginia.
• "The people in Louisiana must know that all across our country there's a lot of prayer - prayer for those whose lives have been turned upside down. And I'm one of them. It's good to come down here." - Sept. 3, 2008, at an emergency operations center in Baton Rouge, La., after Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast.
• "This thaw - took a while to thaw, it's going to take a while to unthaw." Oct. 20, 2008, in Alexandria, La., as he discussed the economy and frozen credit markets.

Polar Bear Attacks U.S. Submarine

Polar Bear Chews on Submarine

By ANDREW CHANG
May 30, 2003

A U.S. nuclear submarine has taken on some unusual damage during maneuvers.

As the new Seawolf class sub USS Connecticut surfaced in the ice pack between the North Pole and Alaska on April 27, a polar bear chomped on its rudder, then attacked it.

The Connecticut was only partly surfaced, with its sail and rudder sticking through the ice.

"When an officer looked outside through the periscope, he was surprised to find a curious polar bear stalking around the vessel," Petty Officer Jennifer Gray reported on a Navy broadcast.

Amusing the Crew

Mark Barnoff, a scientist with Pennsylvania State University's Applied Research Laboratory, had been working on a sonar experiment in the area, and was touring the Connecticut when the polar bear struck.

He said the polar bear's action caught the attention of the submarine's crew. "To watch the experienced sailors watch this, especially the older ones, was interesting," he said.

Barnoff took a series of pictures captured with the periscope showing the bear chewing on the rudder and then batting it around.

The bear stalked the submarine for around a half-hour, said Barnoff. "It wasn't in a rush to do anything. It was on its own schedule," he said.

Barnoff said by the time officers on the boat gave the all-clear, he was glad to leave. "It was a beautiful day," he said.

The Navy reported the damage to the Connecticut was minor. "Rear rudders of U.S. submarines aren't designed as snacks, but [the bear] had to find this out for himself," Gray said.

Seawolf-class submarines are among the largest attack submarines ever produced in the United States. They measure roughly 350 feet long by 40 feet by 35 feet.

Each Seawolf-class submarine carries a crew of approximately 130.
 



     Geo and I were talking about this the other day.  Don't know quite how the conversation ended up here, but it did.  My class adopted the crews of the USS Dallas (SSN 700) and the USS Connecticut (SSN 22).  Commander Clark had sent us a postcard telling us about their North Pole adventure and an uninvited guest who had mistaken their boat for a meal.  What a cool way to learn about geography!  The USS Connecticut is an incredible boat.  I am lucky enough to have toured her... the technology on that boat is amazing, and so are the men who sail her.

P.S.  Here is a little more information.  Polar bear numbers are shrinking, and we all should be worried about that!

Bear Attacks SubDuring the ICEX 2003 naval exercises near the North Pole: the American submarine Connecticut (SSN 22) poked its sail and rudder through the ice. Thesub surfaced in an area of polar ice between Alaska and the North Pole Subs in the arctic have long ago learned to look out for polar bears, especially if some of the crew are allowed out on the ice. In this case, a large (700-800) pound polar bear was seen approaching the sub. For about 40 minutes, the bear loitered around the subs rear rudder. It took a bite out of the rudder and, finding it inedible, stayed around the area of broken ice around the rudder for a while, apparently thinking a seal (the bears favorite food) might use it as an air hole. The bear finally left when he heard the noise of an approaching helicopter. When an officer first looked around outside via the  periscope, he noted that his sub was being stalked by a hostile polar bear. The periscope cam was turned on, and these photos of a polar bear chewing on the subs rear rudder resulted. The damage was said to be minor. The SSN 22 is a Seawolf class boat, one of the navy's newest submarines. It wasn't designed as a polar bear snack, but that's how life is sometimes. 

There are over 20,000 polar bears living in Arctic waters (although some live in Hudson's bay and down the Pacific coast of Alaska.) The bears normally live on pack ice or ice flows and prey on seals. Some come ashore during July and August, when offshore ice melts. There they live off their fat, or dead sea life that washes ashore. Some have been seen as far north as the North Pole, but there's little food for them up there.

American submarines have been operating under the Arctic ice for over half a century. In August, 1958, the American nuclear submarine USS Nautilus (which is from CT and can be visited in a museum), passed under the ice at the North Pole for the first time. In the Summer of 1962, two U.S. nuclear subs surfaced at the north pole. All of this arctic activity was to prove that nuclear subs could operate up there, and that ballistic missile subs could launch their missiles there as well. American, and Russian,  subs have been operating up there ever since. They have also used their sonar to measure the ice thickness and report that the ice has lost 40 percent of its thickness in the last 20 years. This has caused problems for the polar bears, who feed on seals that surface near offshore ice flows or through breathing holes in pack ice. Some bears are forced to come ashore earlier because of the longer warm season. This is caused by a combination of global warming and the normal fluctuation of Arctic ice thickness.

Submariners have seen polar bears in the past, but this is one of the few times that the bear saw the sub first, and apparently mistook it for the world's largest chunk of bear food.

P.S. text taken from Military Photos.
Thanks for listening...
Save the Polar Bear.
Hugs!
-Susan

Help... on many different levels.  My "I can do it myself" attitude often gets in the way.  Something to work on, I suppose.

I would like to celebrate my students.  They have really embraced the curriculum, and after 10 days off, that's not an easy thing to do.  Just thinking about how they've reacted to me and to what I'm teaching them, makes me smile.  I appreciate the fact that my students are coming to me ready to learn. 

I love the fact that I have the opportunity to make a difference in a child's life.  I love my job - I've never kept that fact from anyone.  My ex-husband always used to say to me "Sue, you can't save the world." and I would always respond "You and I do not know the exponential value of my job."  I was doing a little bit of early spring cleaning today, and came across this story.  One of my colleagues had given it to me a few years ago, just before the school year started.

The Starfish Story

adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

I love the potential to make a difference in that "one" child's life, and I won't give up the fight until the day I retire. 

Saturday afternoon, just as the super fine snow had begun to fly, Karl and I met Kevin at the beach in Milford.  We wanted to see if we could squeeze in a few shots before things got too snowy.  We shot photos for a half-hour or so and decided to call it quits.  Karl and I were no more than 2 1/2 miles away from home when the accident happened.  Our car was struck by an 18 year-old driver who could not stop at his stop sign.  He drove out into my lane and struck my car.  A car was passing me in the other lane at the time, and I knew swerving was out of the question.  I could see a telephone pole and a bunch of trees up ahead.  I braced myself, blew the horn and accepted the fact that my car was being smashed into by another car.  All kinds of emotions rushed to the surface, and I am still an emotional wreck about the whole incident.  No one was hurt, thank goodness. 

Karl and I took it easy today.  We went and saw the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  It was easily a 3 Kleenex film.  The following scence made me think...

In the movie, Benjamin Button says "Sometimes we're on a collision course, and we just don't know it. Whether it's by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it.  But life being what it is - a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of anyone's control."  That got me thinking.  Sometimes I feel like I am on a collision course... out of control with life- feeling it running away with me and sometimes from me.  There have been plenty of times that I have been able to skirt an accident.  There are plenty of times that I have been a few minutes off... just enough to avoid danger.

Why were things different this time?  Who knows.  I'm pretty sure there's a message for me in this.  Life is short.  I know that.  I try to make the most of each day that I'm given.  I think this is a message about letting go.  Letting go of the anger that I have allowed to eat me alive.  At one point in the movie, Benjamin says "You can be mad as a mad dog at the way things went; you can swear and curse the fates - but when it comes to the end, you have to let go."

I think it's crazy that it took a car accident, and me getting really angry about it, for me to realize that in the end, I have to let go... I have to let go of so much of my past... so much of my anger in order for me to be able to go forward.  Here I am.  Letting go and trusting that as I move forward, I will have no use for anger.  I know that I can change or remain the same.  I can honestly say that it's time for me to change.  I've had enough of being on a collision course.  I'm changing my coordinates.  Making the best of a bad situation, I'm leaving my anger behind with all of the broken pieces of my car.  Intersecting lives - a car crash and a release of anger.  Who knew it could be so liberating?
  

Sometimes I think suffering can put things into perspective...

By remembering to breathe...
breathing in, I calm my body,
breathing out, I smile.
I can be more mindful of my surroundings and of each moment, when I breathe. 
There are many daily opportunities to open up to peace.
Peace balances out the pressure and stress that life can bring.
I am inviting peace in and I am letting go of trying to control.
I can find peace and balance in a single breath... and another... and another.
The balance has been restored!

I am thankful for Karl and his never-ending stream (or so it seems) of patience, love and understanding.  He is always there for me and for the girls... somehow one step ahead and behind us at all times.  He's there to give more line when it' s needed and he knows when to take up the slack...

Karl, I am thankful for you.  I may not tell you that as often as I should, but I try to acknowledge what you do for us.  I am thankful for the time that we spend together and I look forward to the adventures that the future holds.  Thank you for being there - always in all ways.

I think that a natural response to fear is to run and separate yourself from the root of it, but that doesn't really solve anything.  I prefer to regain the balance...
Slowly, I turn
step by step
inch by inch
facing my fear - confronting it
working through it - understanding it
then it isn't so scary any more!
Ahhhh...
I take a deep breath and move forward.

Inauguration quartet simply filled with hope

By MARTIN STEINBERG - 3 hours ago

It was written by an iconic American movie composer and performed by a quartet direct from central casting - in front of a worldwide audience of millions.

It was a simple gift from composer John Williams.

The Oscar-winning composer of "Star Wars," "Jaws" and "Schindler's List" pulled together this five-minute piece to commemorate the inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th president.

The quartet played what Williams calls "Air and Simple Gifts" immediately before Obama was sworn in. In fact, the musicians were still playing when, according to the Constitution, Obama officially became president - at the stroke of noon Tuesday.

The composition arranged by Williams begins with a soft introduction, played by Venezuelan-American pianist Gabriela Montero and Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Moments later, the violin, played by the Israeli-American Itzhak Perlman, enters with a sweet, pensive theme gliding over the lower voices. The cello then takes off and engages the violin in a lovely duet.

This warm melodic air - evoking a musical image of bald eagles soaring over America's terrain - cut through the chill of the 28-degree temperature that forced Montero to wear gloves.

Then, the clarinet, played by the African-American musician Anthony McGill of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra, interjects with a familiar tune. It's "Simple Gifts," written in the mid-1800s by a Shaker composer and popularized by Aaron Copland in his 1944 ballet "Appalachian Spring."

In the face of the awesome tasks facing Obama, Williams' arrangement of the song conveys a joyous romp filled with confidence and hope. And the unsung lyrics bear this out:

"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

"'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,

"And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

"'Twill be in the valley of love and delight."
~ Text from the AP

Beautifully arranged, beautifully delivered...
simply divine!
Hope is alive and well...

Quiet mornings... solitude - communing only with nature.  Sun popping up on the horizon - big, orange and fiery like a red rubber ball.  Gulls laughing, buoy clanging... somewhere in the distance I hear a fog horn.  Wind blowing... it's freezing, but yet I stay... reeds dancing in the wind... bending, flexible, moving to and fro.  Boats buttoned up for winter... wrapped up tight - like huge packages waiting for spring so they can be unwrapped.  A car creeps toward me and rolls to a stop - it's the friendly man from yesterday... "Morning!  This is a beautiful place, isn't it?"  We exchange kind words and then move in two separate directions... parting with a wave.  Footprints in the snow... maybe they are mine from yesterday.  New day and new light - clouds long and thin like strands of cotton candy   A bench sits, waiting... I have no time to sit and rest, yet I am at peace.  I breathe and look around and take it all in... wondering how the sky will be tomorrow morning.

I want to know how to let go of those things that I hold onto so tightly... I've made many difficult choices over the past two years, and I finally had the courage to do what I had to do in order to move forward.  Why then, is it so hard for me to just let go of the one thing that holds me back:?

I photographed the rising sun this morning, and as I was waiting for the sun to break the horizon, I stood still and I listened.  I listened to the sound of ice breaking free, water flowing, creatures stirring, a big chocolate lab barking (at me)... the sound of my breath slowly escaping as I waited, patiently.  As I stood there on the edge of the frozen marsh, I noticed that a large, red buoy was constantly being pushed under the water by huge pieces of ice as they flowed with the tide.  The buoy would disappear and then shoot to the surface, as if gasping for breath.  As soon as it caught a breath, the buoy would be pushed down again.  Unable to free itself from its anchor, the buoy was subjected to being submerged, time and time again.

I feel like the buoy.  I know what my anchor is and I just can't seem to break free.  I try to go with the flow, and I am pushed under time and time again... all because I can't seem to break free from the thing that keeps me under.  The thing... you might wonder what it is - and it's not a secret.  It's called anger, and I just wish I knew how to cut loose from that tie that binds me. 

Returning each day to my morning refuge and place of solace and serenity, camera in hand, I never know what the dawn is going to bring.  Today revealed clouds that tell of a storm that is slowly sweeping in... brewing, and promising to bring snow for late tomorrow, early Wednesday.  With it came the sundog.  I'm smiling because it's my second sundog in as many days!  You may be asking yourself what exactly IS a sundog and why does it happen?  I researched it, and this is what I learned:

A sundog is a rainbow-like spot in a cirrus cloud. Light shining through ice crystals in the cloud makes a sundog, much like light shining through raindrops makes a rainbow. "They are reddish on the side facing the sun and often have bluish-white tails stretching horizontally away from them," say David Lynch and William Livingston in Color and Light in Nature.

Cirrus clouds--those high fleecy white bands or patches in the sky--are mostly tiny particles of ice. Ice can take on many forms and shapes. The cloud ice, however, is shaped like hex bathroom tiles or stubby pencils each no bigger than the tiniest grains of sand. These ice crystals bend light like a prism, disperse its colors, and cause sundogs.

When the crystals line up like tiles on a table, the light shining through makes sundogs. The horizontal crystals bend the light 22 degrees, say Lynch and Livingston, as the light enters and exits the crystal. Light colors fan out from the bending and display as a sundog.

Sundogs are among the most commonly seen sky phenomena, appearing most prominently when the sun is low.

Evidently, I was viewing the sundog to the left of the sun, and if I traced a "halo" around the sun, over to the right side, I may have found a sundog on the right side of the sun, but one wasn't easily visible.  The sundog was a beautiful way to begin my day.  Like a breath of fresh air, I filled my senses with the beauty of the sundog, the sunrise and the stillness of the salt marsh.  I am thankful that I found such a beautiful and amazing place to begin my day...

A rainbow in a cloud.  Who knew it could be so breathtaking?!?
"And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon His head, and His face was as it were the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire" (Revelation 10:1).

Staying on it!

I don't know how I missed this question!  When I was growing up, I don't remember much music or singing in my home.  I do remember Nat King Cole's record being played at Christmas time, but that's about all. 

My father would, however, play some games with us that would involve German nursery rhymes, or finger plays.  I have never forgotten them.

Backe, Bakce Kuchen
Backe, backe Kuchen,
der Bäcker hat gerufen.

Wer will feinen Kuchen backen,
der muss haben 7 Sachen:

Zucker und Salz,
Butter und Schmalz,
Eier und Mehl,
Safran macht den Kuchen gelb.
Schieb in den Ofen rein.

Bake, Bake the Cake
Bake, bake the cake
The baker has declared.

If one wants to bake a fine cake
He has to have these 7 things:

Sugar and salt,
Butter and lard,
Eggs and flour
Saffron makes the cake yellow
Push it into the oven.

Hopp, hopp, hopp!
Hopp, hopp, hopp!
Pferdchen, lauf Galopp!
Über Stock und über Steine,
Aber brich dir nicht die Beine!
Hopp, hopp, hopp hopp, hopp!
Pferdchen, lauf Galopp!

Hop, hop, hop!
Hop, hop, hop!
Little horse, gallop!
Over stick and stone
But don't break your leg!
Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop!
Little horse, gallop!

Our favorite was probably this one.  We would sit on our father's lap - facing him... our bottom ALL the way out on his knees.  He would begin to sing this song and he would bounce his knees up and down.  At the end of the song, he would quickly open his legs, and we'd free fall until he stopped us from falling by grabbing our arms.  Needless to say, it was repeated over and over and over again.  Thinking about it brings a smile to my face.

Hoppe, hoppe, Reiter
Hoppe, hoppe, Reiter
Wenn er fällt, dann schreit er
Fällt er in den Graben
Fressen ihn die Raben
Fällt er in de Sumpf
Macht der Reiter plumps!

Hop, Hop, Rider
Hop, hop, rider
If he falls he will be crying.
If he falls into the ditch,
He will be eaten by the ravens.
If he falls into the mud,
The rider falls with a splash!

Thanks for the memories.
I'm smiling.  Great memories, a great dad.
:-)

I have been an email packrat of sorts.  Hording some things, while purging others.  Today, I decided to go through and see what I have hording.  Time to let go.  As I sat and read, I was taken back... sometimes to good times and other times to painful places.  I realized that I have been a real ass, sometimes.  I wallowed in self pity.  I was free, at the bottom of my cliff.  I had taken a step, fallen and survived.  The sad thing is, I didn't know what to do or where to go.  Trying to make sense of it all - I was such an ugly mess.  

I also saw a glimmer of beauty.  I was alive.  I had dreams and musings and a million unaswered questions.  Well, I still have a million unanswered questions.  Sometimes when I ask them, I hear silence.  Other times, I simply hear crickets.  "Susan," I hear myself say "let's just stop, breathe and take a moment to make sense of this situation."  

I see a girl who has taken control of her life.  She is chasing sunrises and sunsets... looking at shadows and framing shots.  She is looking forward to each new day.  Spending quality time with her daughters - realizing they are more like her, than she ever thought they would be.  That girl has walked away from old "friends" when they weren't there for her anymore.  She has forged new paths and made new friends.  She has expanded her horizons and she has seen that beauty is all around... even in the places that most people choose to ignore.

Yes, as Liza has shown me "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship" and Daydreamer has reminded me that the buoy always returns to the surface.  Two years of growing, and changing.  There have been plenty of setbacks, but today's review of old emails has reminded me that I am on a journey.  It is less of a horserace and more of a marathon.  I am funny and whitty.  I wonder about odd things and I muse more than I probably should, but I have learned a lot about the world around me, because I am that curious person.  I am a beautiful person, and I have sometimes sold myself short.   

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes, but sometimes the best ones, are the ones that are disguised.