...ahhh, Alex...I've been tagged to list ten things that rule my life...these aren't in any particular order, because they are ALL important to me...

1) MY HEALTH: even tho you may not be able to tell right now with how I've been lately (I can take better care of myself, I know), I am very grateful with being able to sit here and type this. The worse that had ever happened up until a year and a half ago was a broken arm...but when you go thru a bad sickness like Hodgkins and go thru the chemo and radiation, you get a different perspective on life; there are those much worse than I was...I lived...some will not and did not..and nearly a day doesn't go by when I wonder why I was lucky and some little kid isn't...I'm happy to be alive, and I intend to live....

2)MY PETS: some people don't like animals (I tend to judge people on if they like them or not)...some are cat people while others are dog people and so on...My critters are like my kids...I take responsibility for them because I want to and I should...anyone who doesn't is a fool...we're not on this planet alone, and we need to stop acting like we are the only important beings that are. I get a lot of joy out of a house full of these guys (they tend to be nicer than some people in this world)...it would be a lonely place without them...

3)MY FRIENDS: even tho I don't talk to them every day, it's a great feeling to know that I can call up someone and know that they actually like hearing from me...and when we can do something together that's even better. True friends are priceless, and I have more than I ever expected to have...of that I am grateful...

4)MY JOB: my first year there I was so afraid I was going to be fired...never seemed to get anything done on time or that I screwed up hold times....which turned out to be...not that bad a deal...the fact that I ever got hired was a mind-blowing experience in itself...I've never been good at chemistry...I barely made it out of school...but I learned that it's actually not that hard...and I'm pretty good at it...I get regular raises now and I'm a very valuable employee (pats self on back).
Go me!

5)MOVIES: I love them...they take me places, especially when I need to go away...and believe me...sometimes I need to go away a lot....

6)MUSIC: sometimes I want to hear Vivaldi...sometimes Alison Krauss...sometimes Aerosmith...sometimes Chris Isaac...it depends on my mood...but I love all of it...

7) MY FAMILY: there aren't too many family members I can call true family...my cousin Jerri is a godsend...if it wasn't for her I'd be lost at times. She's helped me when I got sick, taking me to and from the doctors, giving me advice and listening to me bitch...my sister Alisha I miss a lot...she's living her life in Mississippi and seems to be happy...I certainly hope so...my niece, Chelsea...thirteen going on twenty-two...a handful at times...a beautiful kid...God I hope she stays safe...my dad, who has had his own demons to fight in Georgia...he's really a cool guy when he stays healthy...

8)BEING LIKED: I hate to say it, but I do wonder how people see me...that I am not a bother and I am well liked...sounds silly, but I always hated finding out that someone I just met never cared to know me...but I do know that you can't please everyone...and I'm trying to keep in mind that the ones that do like me are many...I've been told by different people that I have a good heart...my best compliment ever...

9)NATURE: I don't get out enough, but I love to walk in the woods...feed the birds...watch a storm coming in...plant flowers...watch the spiders on my porch...find a bat in my house (unfortunately that hasn't happened in a while)...I love the sound of a mourning dove...a hawk...the finches outside my window...puppy breath...a kitten's meow...the wind...and snow...how can you not love those things...

10)BLOGGING: it's kind of taken hold of me and won't let go...so much fun to "meet" other people and read about what they do and like..it amazes me how everyone seems to join in and make someone feel better when there is a problem...how they can be merciless at the goofy stuff we do or say...but the cool thing is how it's like a community...can you imagine if all the neighbors around you were like that?

...now I'm not going to tag anyone...just someone else, go ahead and let us know...
posted by Wanting at 12:41 PM