5 buddies

Hopefully everybody had a restful and relaxing weekend! As, I am so busy here at the office (it's a typical Monday) I have decided to just share a neat article that I came across! Enjoy!

Five Friends Take the Same Group Photo for 30 Years

 

Back in 1982, 19-year-old five buddies — John Wardlaw, Mark Rumer, Dallas Burney, John Molony, and John Dickson — went on vacation to Copco Lake in California and snapped a group photo (seen above). Since then, they’ve embarked on the same vacation every 5 years, staying at the same cabin, sitting on the same bench, and snapping the same photo (with identical poses and all). They’re 48-years-old now, and the tradition is still going strong.

1992

1997

2002

2012

The group has an official website for the project here. CNN also has an interesting writeup on how the project came together.

RIGHT TIME FOR MARRIAGE???

OR JUDGEMENT....

This really got me to thinking... This Ecard as much as it is just supposed to be funny echoes what I have heard both in my life and in the media about the idea of getting married ‘young’. When I got engaged (at 18), I had more than one person say to me “Oh! You’re too young to get married!”…....... If I would have listened to them then I would not be where I am at now... I would not be celebrating a little over 5 years of being happily married to my best friend! If I would have changed this huge life choice because those people didn’t agree with my time frame then I would not have all of the amazing memories, stories and laughs that I have been blessed with so far. Would I be as happy as I am now? Another thing, should anybody go off today's perception of the what is considered to be the right time frame since the time frame used by most of the world today is working so well right?!?

What I want to know is- when did one life timeline become right for everyone?

I would never tell someone they are too old NOT to be married. Which brings me to my next question, why does this not work the other way around? The fact is, I know people in their 50's that honestly are not in the right mindset for marriage. Because of this, I don’t believe there is a certain age when marriage is right for absolutely everyone. The bottom line is, MARRIAGE isn’t right for everyone-period- so why would one's age be? I believe that it is a matter of maturity and maturity is not necessarily a direct representation of one's age.

 I don’t want to spend the whole of my 20s (or 30s or beyond) looking for someone like the person I found in high school. When I was 18, I found the person who is right for me..... why would I let him go in order to try to find someone else like him later down the road? Isn’t that counter intuitive?

     
It makes me laugh when I hear- “Don’t you want to travel, have adventures, etc?” Yes. I definitely want to do those things. And guess what! I have an awesome partner to share in the experiences and do them with.

I was told, among many other things (some vulgar) “You don’t even know who you are yet, don't you want to find yourself?” – Well, to be honest, I hope I am NEVER done changing, growing and evolving. I cannot pinpoint one age when I will say “Ok, I’m done and this is me! I guess it's time to find someone now!” My view of marriage is that we will change and grow together as well as individuals for the rest of our lives. I think you are fooling yourself if you believe that at 30 (or whatever magical number you have come up with) you are exactly the same person you will be at 40, 50, 60 and beyond.

I got married 3 weeks before my 19^th birthday. I know, you are gasping right now at the thought! Now looking back, I am fully aware that I was very young and really could not fully comprehend the huge responsibility that I was taking on but maybe that was a good thing. Being married so young, we were literally just starting out, we had no other choice but to just focus on today because we had no idea what tomorrow would bring. Our lives and paths were just starting and we were just so glad to have someone to hold on to in such a transitional period. I can only thank the Lord that he was constantly working in our relationship and that Robby and I were able to literally grow up together. I’m not advocating that everyone do the exact same thing I did and I am absolutely not arguing that everyone should get married right out of high school or heck, even college – I realize that everybody is different!

My point is- just let everyone make their own decisions, follow their own timeline, create their own happiness, follow their own path..... and not pass judgment on them.

"Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Let me know what you guys think of this and please share if you have had any similar stories. Happy Friday everybody and I hope that you get to spend the weekend with loved ones!

:::5 Minute Rule:::

Do you have any long-distance friends?  If you do, I am sure that you can agree that once people move away, even with the best of intentions, it usually means the death of a friendship. :::Dun Dun Dun::: The truth is that as you get older, it becomes more difficult to keep in touch. Am I right?!? As you start your families and your careers it just becomes harder to find the time. Sadly, this is the case, even with the people that we are really close to. The bottom line is, it becomes a chore to talk on the phone because, as much as we want to, we just can't find time to sit down for those long and involved catch-up conversations.


So, lastnight I was thinking about this after I got off the phone with Kati after our weekly phone date. How do we still keep up with our busy lives without neglecting our friends because the bottom line is that as we get older having and keeping friends just gets harder.

Well, as you know, Kati lives in Arkansas, and when she initially moved away we talked to each other as much as possible but as time passed we started drifting. The thought of having to be on the phone for hours catching up just seemed impossible. So how do you get over this?!? How about taking away the pressure and unrealistic expectations…  How do you do that you may be asking… Start by making it a known agreement that you will only talk for five minutes at a time. If the call goes longer, that's fine; but if you have to hang up (to go to work, comfort a baby, eat dinner), then it's totally cool. Not every call has to be a deep conversation. You can just ring and say, "I'm getting my haircut today, any advice?" or "What cute things are the kids doing?" and chat quickly and hang up.
Kati and I try and talk to each other at least once a day whether it be our weekly phone dates or just a quick "How ya doin?" on Facebook. The bottom line is, we make as much time as we can for each other, even if it may not be a lot but our friendship has definitely blossomed because of it.

Let me know what kind of things you and your friends have come up with to keep in touch when life gets in the way.

Just some food for thought...

To-Do's turned to TA-DA's- Part Two

Another project you ask... Why yes, I did do another project last night! This is the only way I have found
to productively cope with my Olympics withdraws. So sad that it is over... But I have been on a roll and have really been in the crafty groove! Last night, (thanks to Pinterest of course) I found a project that I just had to do so off to the Home Depot I went and I think it turned out quite nice if I do say so myself. Here are some pictures:
                                                                            

                                                                         

                                                                         

                                                                           



It was rather simple too! Now, I would not go as far to say that I could have done it without my handy-dandy tool man but the project went together pretty quick.

First, the thing that really made my day was the lumber! We were able to get all cull pieces which are returns that are marked 65% off! Now, I should note that we usually do not get this lucky but it just happen to be that each piece of lumber needed was in the pile! Another case of divine intervention??? I think so! lol But anyways, I was able to get the materials for so cheap that it allowed me to go ahead and splurge and get the plants for the pot as well! Yippee!
But ok, so for the materials, we got a 4x4 which we cut to 36" or 3 feet. Then we got a 1x6 that we cut
(2) 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 squares and (2) 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 squares out of it. We painted the edges with an antique white spray paint and then over it with flat black . Once it was dry, I sanded the edges to give it a worn look and then attached a hook to it to hang a welcome sign that I have had. Simple as that!

See, our entry is not small but not big; it's an awkward in-between size which has caused quite a decorating dilemma for me. Here is an old picture from last Thanksgiving to show you the size.



Plants narrow it too much (yes, even spiral topiary plants were too much) but having nothing seems too bare. I have been twitching for months now on what to do and have tried several things (such as the topiaries) with no remedy but now I think I am finally content. I even thought how great it will be to be able to switch out the signs and decorate it for the different holidays! The next sign to start looking out for will be Thanksgiving, which P.S. I am so excited for and it helps that Hobby Lobby has everything fall marked $40% off! Bring on the turkeys, pumpkins and fall leaves galore!
I am so ready for the cooler weather, sweaters, and bonfires in our fire-pit in the backyard while sipping on hot cocoa! So Fall please hurry up and get here already because I am so ready for you!