when i miss home...

Two posts in one day, this is the first....

i have been in Vegas for more than two years now...and i love it. I truly do. There is rarely a time i miss home - but when that time comes, it is intense. really, it isn't that i am homesick, but rather, i am missing things in my friends' and family's life due to geography...well, that and money. For example, i missed a wedding this summer because i couldn't buy the plane ticket. My step-sister is pregnant with her third blessing, but i won't be able to be there for that either. My dad and Helen get to go to fun Arkansas football games to watch ben play - nope, don't get to go there either. Little things here and there add up.

But probably the worst feeling there is - not being home for your friend's dad's funeral. Tuesday night, one of my high school friend's dad passed away due to lung cancer. I shamefully admit that i didn't even know he was diagnosed...however, i found out that he had just been diagnosed two months ago. This was totally unexpected...and the funeral was this morning. I know that there isn't much that i could do to ease the pain, but i would have still loved to be able to physically be there for her - and for the rest of my friends.

But i guess that isn't in the plans right now - for whatever reason, i am missing out on these things...and i think i should be learning something from it. I am getting worse and worse with keeping in touch. i have no (good) excuses. I have so many people that are really important to me, but for some reason picking up the phone to call and check in, writing a quick email, or heck - even using snail mail is just too much for me to do....really? no, it isn't too much to do - i am just being lazy.

My high school friends have been through a lot - a LOT. I lost one of my best friends on Christmas Day, freshman year...and i can't even explain what kind of bond that created with my girls. They are my rocks, they will always be there for me - and it makes me feel so guilty when i can't always be there for them when something like this happens, but also that i don't always make the effort to call, write, etc.

So - to wrap up this downer of a post - life is short. I know that is totally cliche, but it is true...really really true. Don't let one moment pass where you only *think* about catching up with a friend, dropping an email, praying for them, telling them you miss them, etc....because really - you just never know when you won't have that opportunity. I promise, i am going to start taking my own advice :)

"Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives."

Long time, no post...but lots of vacas!

Wow, i suck at this. I attribute my lack of blogging to a couple of things

1. I have been out of town a lot...and it has been amazing...but it also really makes time fly, meaning that things don't get done.
2. When i am at home, and could be blogging, i usually just want to sit on the couch and watch tv - after a full day of work, sometimes writing, being witty, etc is just not as appealing as it should be
3. I would rather facebook or myspace instead of blog. i think that sometimes it is a nice 'release' and somewhat of a guilty pleasure to anonymously spy on other people's lives and see what my friends from high school and college are really up to these days...this is also the lazy way of 'keeping in touch.'

Chicago - cubs, drinks, cabs, food, friends, fun


















The end of July was our DG reunion in Chicago...something we had been planning for a year. Really, a year. There were about 12 of us all together...some of the girls live in chicago, a couple stayed with them, and then about 7 of us stayed in a hotel room down town. Friday we went to a cubs game...

It was a blast - and ironically enough just about 5 rows behind us were a group of our guy friends from college that were in town for a bachelor party....random.

The rest of the weekend was full of shopping, walking, eating, drinking, and trying to relive the college years...i think it was pretty successful...



I have been truly blessed with amazing friends...childhood friends, highschool friends, college friends, 'real world' friends...they have all given me something truly unique at every different point in my life. I know there are a lot of areas of my life that i may not totally have a grasp on yet..as i have a lot of learning to do, a lot of growing up to do, a lot of experiencing to do...but one thing that is certain is that my friendships rock...end of story :)