Thailand???? I think YES!

"How do you chase your dreams from your front porch?"

Sam and I have heard 1,000 times. How do you dare go there? How do you dare travel? Those people don't like "us", you couldn't pay me to travel to "that" place.

Well, DON'T...

I knew in 1994 when I stepped off a plane to a foreign country for the first time, that I had the travel bug. I knew I would see the World,  it was in my blood... It makes me refreshed, it makes me wonder, it makes me dream big. IT JUST IS IN MY SOUL!!!  I just don't want to see things, I want to experience them, smell, feel, get knee deep, love, laugh, marinate in LIFE and in this beautiful WORLD that God has created. I don't want to stay with 200 miles of my house... I want to travel!

Yes, going to different countries come with danger. I am not that naive. However, you wouldn't find me in downtown Detroit, New York, Miami, or Gary Indiana without some common sense.

The number one killer of people traveling to different countries... Traffic accidents....

So where is this blog going... Sam and I's next big adventure is in February. We are going to Thailand.

So we have heard already!!

• That is where the Tsunami was...
• There are a lot of Earth quakes there...
• The prisons in Thailand are terrible, (that is not part of our itinerary)
• What about the immunizations you have to get?
• Will you get Malaria?
• Do you like Oriental people?
• What about the food?

So we know the dangers, we know how long the flight is, we know it. I am not willing to live my life afraid of the unknown. So if Sam and I are to die  on vacation, know we died doing exactly what we love.

I can't wait!!! For 14 days this winter you will find us on Elephants in the jungle, in the temples of  Bangkok, or on a beach in the Orient.. HOW FRICKEN FABULOUS!!!

but next week you will find us at our Happy Place... REDFISH LAKE, HERE WE COME!!!



Nostalgia

Nostalgia: A sentimental longing for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations!!

I have a handful of friends, some new (within the last 10 years) some that I have known my entire lifetime that I have their back and visa versa.. The obvious calls here are Alison, Sally, Hidee, Cheri, etc.  ya know the ones you have read about over and over in this blog, I love these women and they love me. They know my every mistake, my every pit fall, my every success and have loved me through it all. Next to family they are my rocks.  Some I see weekly, some I see monthly and some I see yearly but they are beloved to me. They are my stepping stones, don't mess with them, and I wont mess with you.

and...

I also have those friends that hold nostalgia for me, the ones I love and want the best for them, you don't need a shovel to figure out our past but you need a back hoe and a forensic scientist to go through our history together. When I see them something draws me to them, something longs for them to be in my life, something deep routed... but also something or something"S" have happened in the past that makes me hold back and make me withdrawal and be very careful what I say or do around them because I know that it is not held as "dearly" as I hold them. I know what I tell them will some way, some how, make its way back to the beauty salon chair and that is not where I want my biggest failures and biggest fears to be displayed.

So when do you draw a line in the sand, when do you say.. "What the hell?" well let me tell you when Debbie Campbell, says "What the hell"...:-)

I ran into an old "friend" this weekend, the same old friend that holds all that nostalgia, the one that holds so many great memories and also the one that I hold back with, the one I am very careful with, the one I have learned better with. So the evening started the same as it usually does... she starts with everyone we know in common and completely TRASHES them, she moves from one person to the next, she goes on and on and I agree with some of it, I listen to other and then... . THEN... she hits something or someone WAY TO CLOSE to me and I bristle... There are boundaries I have, close knitted boundaries of people I love, people I cherish, people I believe...and she crosses it.. and I buckle.. I told her several times.. "QUIT...I am not having this conversation".... she continues... I say
"THIS NEEDS TO STOP".... she continues with the bad mouthing and then I looks at my husband and say, "WE HAVE TO GO." so we leave... dinner, drinks and everything and just walk out the door.

So the moral of the story... "I am not into bashing everyone, everything and everybody". I know better to judge to rapidly... I don't have spiders in my closet, I don't even have skeletons, I have something much much bigger. I know how it is to be "judged", I know how it feels to be the brunt of every ones gossip, I know, I have been there and DONE that.. So don't sit with me and start on someone I hold in my "inner circle". Wont fly with me.

So this weekend, would I go back and handle things differently? ABSOLUTELY

Would I tell her more deeply how she was hurting me? OH YES

but on the other hand does it matter to people like this????? and my answer to that question is... NOT AT ALL...
so I walked away from a life long friend,  associate, that has never had my back doesn't  and probably will  never have any ones back. I didn't lose my composure, I didn't holler, scream, or pitch a fit. I just made a educated decision that I was DONE with all of this.
Parts of me hurt, because I have so much history, but for the last 10 years every single time I have not heald my dealt hand very very closely, she has buried me. So I am moving on... feeling good about the friendships I have, new and old.

So my husband said to me when I was telling him how I felt. You have boundaries, you have a line, it was crossed and you stood up for what you believed. So I move on, I am sure I will be the conversation at EVERY table she is at the next few years but this is my chance to say...

"GO FOR IT"...

For once in my life, I am that sure of who I am, who my friends are, and who my family is...

Beautiful Daughter Number 4 Graduates!!

 Time doesn't seem to slow down for anything and kids keep growing up. Taylor graduated recently and actually finished high school early. As we were sitting and the faculty was going through stories, awards and scholarships we hear Taylor's name called with a few people, she goes up and accepts one with the others. We go through a few more announcements and then they say "we have one final scholarship to give out.... TAYLOR HAWES please come up!"  She was awarded a $12,000 dollar scholarship  to any school of her choice!!!!!  We are so happy and proud of you Taylor nice job and congratulations!  We love you!

My funny wife... I always have to post her pics :)