Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Friends

I've got a weird situation and I need some input.  Let me begin by saying that I have a disease called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which can cause severe hormone imbalances.  Sometimes these hormone imbalances can make me very emotional, sad, angry, crying for no reason, etc.  Because of this, I can't always tell if my response to a situation is a justified response or an act of hormone treason.  This is where you come in.  I'll explain the situation and perhaps you can help me sort it out. 

I have a best friend, Angie.  We've been friends since we were 12 years old.  We see one another just about every weekend and we attend one another's birthdays, parties, holidays, etc.  Angie is a stay-at-home Mom and I recently started working again after being laid off for a year.  During my lay-off, I reconnected with a friend from high school, Tiffney.  Tiffney is also a stay-at-home Mom.  Last summer I had a party and I re-introduced Angie & Tiffney to one another.  They had met previously when we were teenagers, but had not remained in-touch.  Angie & Tiffney started conversing via Facebook and they've quickly become friends.  I think it's great that they are becoming close.  However, since I now work and have very little free time, I feel left out.  I see them making plans to go shopping or have lunch and I feel like I'm losing my friends.  I realize that I work and I can't always go with them, but it would be nice if they asked me if I could come with them.  Even if they go on a day when I usually work, I could ask for a vacation day and spend some time with my two good friends.  But, as I said, they don't even ask me.  It wouldn't bother me so much, but they post their plans on Facebook for all the world to see and I feel left out.

Today, this situation became even more hurtful for me.  I have another former high school friend, Dana.  Dana and I have spoken a little on Facebook, but due to some past confusion about the nature of our friendship and whether or not I was a good friend to her, we don't talk that often.  Dana's opinion is that I didn't listen to her and help her with her problems when we were teenagers.  I have a different memory of this situation.  I remember that Dana would not open up about her problems.  I tried talking to her about things, but she wouldn't discuss them with me.  I also was unable to attend Dana's wedding because I moved out of town and I could not afford to return for her wedding at the time.  I don't think she's ever forgiven me for not being there.  I apologized profusely for missing her wedding, but it was unavoidable at the time.  To sum it up, Dana and I are cordial, but we don't talk often and we don't spend time with one another.

Dana is a talented baker and she designs birthday cakes.  Angie has had Dana make cakes for her daughters' birthdays.  This past Sunday, Angie's daughter Macie turned 1.  Dana made a cake for the party.  She arrived to setup the cake a few moments before I arrived at the party.  I arrived after she had left and did not get a moment to speak to her.  Apparently, that was plenty of time for her to reconnect as friends with Angie and Tiffney. 

This morning I signed on to Facebook to see if I had gotten any emails and I see that Angie, Tiffney, and Dana are now making plans to go shopping together.  I felt like someone slapped me in the face.  Is it wrong for me to feel so left out?  I'm really confused about this.  I feel so hurt.  I feel like I'm losing my friends.  Am I overreacting?  Any advice would be much appreciated.

I took the photo below at a wedding shoot.  I saw them sitting there chatting away and it reminded me of the many fun, interesting, heartfelt, funny, touching conversations I've had with my friends over the years.


Friends Chatting in the Garden

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Monday, February 07, 2011

MOUNTAIN LAKES & STREAMS

This past summer my husband, Cameron, and I took a drive across country.  We took a very scenic route through the mountains of Colorado.  There was beauty everywhere you looked.  It was breathtaking and at times, terrifying.  In my next post I'll tell you about the most terrifying driving experience I've ever had.  This terrifying even took place on the Red Mountain Pass in Colorado.  Never have I seen such beauty and been so scared simultaneously.  I can feel my heart racing just thinking about it.

The first two photos shown below were taken on the Red Mountain Pass on Highway 550 just south of Ouray, Colorado.  It was late July, but the mountains in this region are so tall that they still had some snow on them.  There were lots of little streams and waterfalls on the mountains.

The third photo shown is of a Lake Reserve in Colorado.  It was a pretty large reserve and there looked to be lots of recreation activities in this area.  We didn't stop to play, but continued on our journey.

The fourth photo shown is a windy little stream that went through pastureland in Colorado. 

The last photo is a small lake in the mountains of Colorado.

Overall it was an amazingly spectacular journey and I hope to someday take the trip again.

Muddy Mountain Stream

Mountain Waterfall

Colorado Water Reserve

Colorado Stream

Colorado Mountain Lake
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Thursday, February 03, 2011

What's Up With Colorado?

When I say "What's Up With Colorado?", I mean it in a totally good way.  This past summer my husband and I took a road trip across the U.S.  We wanted to take the most scenic route we could from Louisville, Kentucky to Tucson, Arizona.  I got out a map of the U.S. and used a highlighter to plan our trip.  I chose State Highways that took us through the Rocky Mountains.  It was one of the most scenic and beautiful drives I've ever been on.  Evergreen forests on top of mountains, grassy hillsides with running streams, cattle and horses grazing in fields, blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds.  You could see God's artistic beauty all around.  My next few posts will highlight the photos I took in Colorado.

 Grassy Plains & Evergreen Peaks

Rolling Fields 

Green Hillside

In my next post I will highlight some of the mountain streams and lakes.  I enjoyed our road trip through Colorado immensely.  If you are looking to see some stunning views, this is the road trip to take. 

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more photos taken in the Colorado Rocky Mountains!