gratitude:: day 14 of 30

there are sparkles and there are sprinkles. all of them add to the yummy aspects of life. new friends are the sprinkles. you all have become some of my biggest cheerleaders in the world. you've supported me and nurtured me. you've held my hand in the darkness and have made me laugh when i needed cheering up.

that is surely the equivalent of chocolate sprinkles on my sundae, right. totally right.

i love reading your pages (though i'm a bit far behind this week) and seeing what is going on in your lives. the honesty, the realness, the questioning that we all do. the goodness and kindness that i see - it makes me realize that goodness remains in the midst of the chaotic world. i love that affirmation.

there are so many talented, wonderful people i've been introduced to and it makes me excited to know more about you. and those of you that also participate in the lens.us.together group....you have blown me away with your words and your talent. it was a small idea that beth, dani and i had together and it amazes me as it see it grow from that small seed to almost 80 people on the blog.

so...my gratitude is for new friends. you are all amazing and i'm so happy to have 'found' you. and...thank you for your support of this project. there are days i cringe in writing them - not because i'm not grateful - i am. i worry sometimes that it's just too much and overdone. so, thank you.

so, what's new with you?

I'm sleepy as I awoke at 5:00 a.m. this morning. Usually I celebrate that occurrence with an hour of so of reading time but today I drifted in and out of sleep. I do that sometimes - have periods of insomnia like behavior, usually if work is too pressing or I'm worried about something. But, I'm not really aware of anything going on in my head that would cause it.

So, I'm going to a covered dish movie and dinner thing tomorrow night. They're a new group of friends and I'm not sure how I fit into the equation. Ever have that "thing" with a new group? Not sure what your role is there? I'm the oldest, so that's always nice (not) and a couple of the guys are very intense. They speak with big guestures and loud voices. I'm so not that person - - well, unless I've had too much to drink, then Mellie tells me that I'm "fiesty". That's funny. Anyway, the issue is that I don't know what to take. I mean, I could make the famous shrimp and grits casserole that everyone loves, but that's very expensive for a new group. (is that awful?????) So, it might be the tried and true loaded baked potato casserole.

Girls...let me clue you in -- Lacome Defincils is the best mascara ever. FYI - it's worth the price. Just like chanel lipstick is worth it.

hmmm, what else? Nothing springs to mind. I start new photography classes next week and will be going two nights. Life is okay. And I can live with that