“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching.”

Throughout my life, there have been times I have allowed the people around me to change me.  The change was not always a positive one.  There always comes a time during those moments that I stop and look at who I have become and I don't like the person looking back at me.  It is at that moment that I began to re-evaluate and attempt to realign my actions with my beliefs and the person I want to be.

I like to think I am a generous, caring and giving individual.  Unfortunately, I do not always act on those qualities.  I can also be very selfish and sometimes I try to disguise my selfishness as something else.  I am also VERY stubborn (yes Mr. Mr....I said stubborn and not will full.)  I am the daughter of two very stubborn people who taught me to stand my ground on things that are important to me.  Unfortunately, I don't always know when to ease up on my hold!

I am lucky to have a handful of people in my life that call me on my crap.  I have learned that criticism is not comfortable, but when it comes from people you love and trust, it is easier to take.  It is those people that I keep close to me and work really hard to maintain our friendship.  I think it is important to have people in your life that you can talk to about anything! 

Being able to go weeks, months, even years without seeing or talking with someone, but feeling right at home with them when you do reconnect is rare and I treasure the relationships I have with those friends.  I often stop and think about the connection I have with them and how I came to create that connection.

Some of my closest and longest friendships began at Camp Runels in Pelham NH.  I started as a camper at the age of 10 and spent my last summer at Camp Runels when I was 22.  Wow...12 summers of my life were spent living in the woods with a crazy bunch of women.  I didn't know it at the time, but both the women who were my counselors and the women I worked with side by side helped to shape the person I became.  It is amazing how intense a friendship can become in just a few short weeks.  When I was a camper, each summer there was a counselor that was my favorite.  Each summer, I would come home with a new "cause".  One summer I decided to boycott Cocoa Cola because of the apartheid in South Africa and another summer I wanted my parents to make sure they were not purchasing coffee from Colombia.  My dad  would just shake his had at me and my mom would try her best to support my belief (I am sure that she was shaking her head when I wasn't looking!).

Although, I am not proud of everything I have said or done, I am proud of the person I choose to be.  I am generous, kind hearted, compassionate, loyal, loving and many other things.  I know I am flawed and I try to face those flaws and attempt to improve.  I have fought hard to work through some things nobody should have to live through.  I am a survivor!  I owe my friends and family a HUGE thank you for sharing their strength with me, lending me their ears and shoulders to cry on and most of all for loving me when I haven't always loved myself.

It is because of all of you that I am who I am today.  Each of you have shared yourselves with me and taught me something along the way!  THANK YOU for helping me to "make sure my life is worth watching".

Bucket List Item: Enter A Photo Contest

I have always loved taking pictures.  I have boxes and boxes of pictures I have taken.  My first camera was the Fischer Price camera.  It was blue and black and took the old school rolls of film. 

I recently went from a Canon 35 mm Rebel SLR to a Canon Rebel T1 Digital SLR.  I struggled with making the transition because I loved my good ole film camera.  There is definitely a difference in the quality of print that comes from digital versus film.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, I am now taking a photography class so I can better familiarize myself with "Darlene" (yes I named my new camera).  My goal is to no longer use the auto feature on the camera and shoot strictly with the manual function. 

When I was visiting my pal BJ in Cleveland, we went to the zoo.  I LOVE zoos!  After he saw some of my pictures, he encouraged me to enter them into the Cleveland MetroParks Zoo annual photo contest.  Now, I don't live in Ohio or any place within driving distance to the zoo, so the prizes are not beneficial to me at all......but I am not entering the contest to win the prizes.  I love shooting pics of animals and trying to capture their personality (I know.....hard to do with a "caged" animal.).   I hope that I will be able to master taking pics of animals that are in a confined area so when I finally make it to Africa, I will be able to shoot pics, of animals roaming freely, with ease.

The pics in the blog are the ones I entered into the contest.

BucketList: Visit 1 MLB Ballpark Every Year

Some may find it ironic that this is one of my bucket list items because 12 years ago, I was not a huge baseball fan.  I have to give credit to an old friend in TX for my passion for baseball.  He challenged my RedSox knowledge daily (I have to admit.....I would read up on the team only because I had a crush on him and I wanted to impress him).  So a big thank you to Andy for getting me hooked on baseball!

Baseball quickly became something I looked forward and relied on for stress relief.  When I moved to California and met my best friend Adam, baseball was always the one thing that would bring us back together if there was a strain between us.  Going to a ballgame always seemed to make things better.

My goal is to visit all 30 MLB parks. I have visited 18 ballparks, but 4 of them have since closed so I still have 16 to go...... I guess 47% isn't so bad!  I had planned to get to Minneapolis last year for the final year at the Metrodome, but just couldn't squeeze it in.  Next year I have to get to Miami for the final season at Sun Life Stadium.  Marlins Ballpark is scheduled to open in 2012.

 Ballparks Visited

1. Boston Red Sox: Fenway Park 
2. Texas Rangers: Ballpark in Arlington 
3. Oakland Athletics: Coliseum 
4. San Francisco Giants: AT&T Park 
5. Los Angeles Dodgers: Dodger Stadium 
6. Los Angeles Angels: Angels Stadium 
7. St. Louis Cardinals: Busch Stadium (did not attend a game) 
8. Baltimore Orioles: Camden Yard 
9. Milwaukee Brewers: Miller Park 
10. Tampa Bay Rays: Tropicana Field 
11. Seattle Mariners: Safeco Field 
12. Atlanta Braves: Turner Field 
13. New York Mets: Shea Stadium
14. New York Yankees: Yankee Stadium (old) 
15. Washington Nationals: RFK 
16. Philadelphia Phillies: Citizens Bank Park  
17. Washington Nationals: Nationals Park 
18. Cleveland Indians: Progressive Field

Remaining Ballparks to Visit

1.  Arizona Diamond Backs: Chase Field  
2. Chicago White Sox: U.S. Cellular Field 
3. Chicago Cubs: Wrigley Field 
4. Cincinnati Reds: Great American Ball Park 
5. Detroit Tigers: Comerica Park 
6. Colorado Rockies: Coors Field 
7. Kansas City Royals: Kauffman Stadium 
8. Florida Marlins: Sun Life Stadium 
9. Houston Astros: Minute Maid Park 
10. Minnesota Twins: Target Field 
11. New York Yankees: Yankee Stadium (new) 
12. New York Mets: Citi Field 
13. Pittsburgh Pirates: PNC Park 
14. San Diego Padres: PETCO Park 
15. Toronto Blue Jays: Rogers Centre 
16. St. Louis Cardinals: Busch Stadium

A big thank you to Beej for going with me to Progressive Field.  I know baseball is not your favorite thing, but it meant a lot that you made it happen for me!

 

Bucket List: Open an Etsy shop

One a friend of mine told me about Etsy, I was thrilled to see so many crafty people selling their projects!

I have always loved to make things.  Whether it is baking, scrapbooking, making jewlery or candles, I love watching a pile of random materials turn into something completely different.  I have a bad habit of attempting many projects at a time and sometimes that means one or more of the projects never gets completed.

I find if I tell other people about my plans and projects, I have a stronger drive to finish them.  Well......I after helping my mom set up her Etsy shop.....I decided I definitely needed one of my own.  It has taken me a while to get things going.  I have so many interests, that it was difficult to decide what to sell.  I decided I would sell beaded items.  It started with rosaries and then I saw items that inspired me to make other types of jewelry.  I posted two of my rosaries on my blog and Facebook and before I had a chance to post them for sale, I had an interest in them.  It was reaffirming to see that people liked what I was making.

Soo......if you know of anyone who is in need of a unique piece of jewelry or someone about to make their First Communion or Confirmation stop by my shop and see if there is something you like.  I only have three items posted right now, but will be posting more throughout the week.  If you see something you like, but want a different color scheme or gemstone, just let me know.

Hope you enjoy!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/trstinghrt