Fadedwords

I don’t think that I take a whole lot for granted; I’ve had enough scares with my own health that I truly try to appreciate that each day is a gift and that any day could be the day that changes anything.  Any time I find myself not grateful for a day, I think back to when my thyroid problems were first being diagnosed.  The first thing that they found led to some scary times.

For the past year or so I’ve watched as a very close friend went through some scary and frustrating times with their significant other.  Their significant other is ill, very ill, and no one has been able to give them an explanation as to why.  They’ve been to countless doctors, had countless tests, and still there have been no concrete answers.  I’ve seen my friend struggle with the fact that their partner can no longer do the things they once loved doing together.

They’re finally starting to get some information, but the news isn’t positive.  The damage that has been done is quite possibly irreversable.  The times when they could be active together are likely over.  My friend only cares that their partner is taken care of, that they are as healthy as possible… that they finally find out what’s going on.

Talking with my friend today really got me thinking about the fact that I am incredibly lucky.  Because I am healthy, when there have been so many times that there was a question.  I’m lucky that I am able to get out and do things, whenever I want.  I can get up on a horse and soar over fences.  I can work out for 45 minutes in the morning with no ill effect (or minimal ill effect).  I can take the dog for a walk.  I can go to the beach and play in 6 foot waves.

I am also lucky because my partner is healthy.  He goes to work every day and then comes home and gives me a kiss and a hug and tells me he loves me.  We can go to the beach together.  We can go out and practice photography together.  We can get on his motorcycle and go for a trip together (or we can when I get a helmet).  We can go on vacations and hikes and walks… and whatever we want.

And I am so incredibly grateful for that.

I’m not sure if this will sound normal or ridiculous, but after nearly 3 and a half years of dating someone you fall into a routine.  On weekends, what used to be your time to prance off to all sorts of places, you’re now at home cleaning or recovering from a long work week.  This isn’t bad at all; you’re finally comfortable with the person you’re with and it’s just as fun to lounge around the house as it is to explore new places.

On the other hand, it’s still really fun to go places and discover them together.  We learned that last week when we went to Atlantic Beach.  It was one of the most fun days I’ve had in a really long time, simply because it was a brand new place that I was seeing for the first time with Jake.  It got me thinking about some of the places right here in NC that I would like to visit with Jake.  Our state is full of places to go and things to do.  We have beautiful mountains and amazing beaches.  I would really like to start making plans to go to some of these places, especially since most of them are free minus the gas it costs to get there.

Here’s my short list:

Ocracoke Island *I’ve wanted to go here since I first moved down to NC.  Just haven’t had the chance.

Carolina Balloon Festival

Cliffs of the Neuss State Park

Pilot Mountain State Park

Chimney Rock

I would also really like to visit Tennessee and Kentucky.  I’m closer to those states now than I ever have been, and I really think I would enjoy them… especially Kentucky.  I think I would also love to go back to New Orleans.  I enjoyed it a great deal when we took our trip with Brian and Mary Jo almost two years ago.  Hopefully we can take another trip.

This list will continue to grow I’m sure.  I enjoy traveling and seeing new things.

Anyone with an extra $18,000 laying around??

Remy

My dream horse.  Jumps, does dressage.  17hands.  Unique markings.

Granted, this is a ridiculous thing to even look at because there’s no way I could ever afford a horse like this.  Not to mention, I totally cannot afford to keep a horse (any horse) on the salary at my current job.  But, god she’s beautiful.

I had a riding lesson yesterday and Jake decided to come with me.  I was pretty excited because it’s rare that I have anyone interested in seeing me ride (other than Bethany, but I usually ride too early for her!) and I knew if Jake came I’d have lots of pictures.  I haven’t had any pictures of me riding since he first came to visit me in Alfred in 2006.  I had a little pep talk with Missy when I went to get her from the field and asked her to please try to help me look good, since we did have a photographer on the premises.

She didn’t disappoint me.

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I’ve been blogging here for 3 years.  During that time I’ve used the same photo gallery program.  It has done its job, in that it has housed my photos.  However, I was always a little wishful that I could change its appearance and that uploading/managing photos was a simpler and less tedious process.

A couple days ago Jake began testing out SmugMug.  I went by to look at his gallery and I really liked the clean look of it.  I began exploring the rest of the site and reading up about it, and was even more intrigued by what you could do with it.  I was hesitant to sign up, though, because you have to pay annually for your membership.  The more I read, the more I wanted to just try it out and see what I thought.

Today I signed up for the free trial, and I’m already hooked.  I can see why the price is worth it.  The uploading is incredibly quick.  It is so simple to arrange your photos.  You can change the colors of your galleries.  Everything is just so simple, efficient, and fantastic.  I love it.  I’ve spent the afternoon uploading the photos that are on my computer.  I’ll have to go through and upload everything from my external hard drive, but the process is going incredibly smoothly.  I’m guessing that by the end of the weekend I’ll have the whole process done.

Please stop by and visit my new photo site HERE.  You can comment on photos!

I won’t update the link on this site until everything is moved over and the galleries there are deleted.  Let me know what you think of the new site!