Family Pictures

There’s really no exciting way to present family pictures, if you ask me...most of my readers don’t know my family...but since there are some family members who do read my blog, I think that they should be posted.

There were a couple of items that needed to be “set up” for the reception, like lighting candles, and a few things that needed to be taken down from the ceremony, like those chairs that we rented...and doing the family portraits right after the wedding gave us a little bit of time to do these things. Our wedding party went off on their missions, and we stayed with most of our family members and smiled and said “Cheese!” for the obligatory family portraits.

So without further ado...or too many comments, let me present our family pictures.

First up...our new family...

And just the cutie pies by themselves...new brothers and sisters! J was REALLY excited to call T her brother officially now...T? Well, he tried not to act too excited, but then again, he's 12...boys at the age try to act like everything's not really all that cool!Us with our minister...who did a FABULOUS job on the ceremony!My Mom and step-dad...Adding in my little sister and step-brother (with family)...so this would be my Mom's side of the family...Then with my Dad and step-mom...Adding in my step-sister and her family...Then all of my aunts, uncles and cousins from that side of the family...my Dad's side of the family...Us with B's Dad and step-mom...Adding in his grandmother...Then adding in sister and step-brothers...Then we called up my ex-step-dad (who raised me) for a quick shot...And then we added in my little sister...And finally, I wanted one more shot...with ALL of our parents...past, present, step or otherwise...I would have really liked to have had one more family picture...B had a LOT of family that was present on our wedding day that is not pictured here. I guess that they all (aunts, uncles, cousins) thought that the announcement for family to stick around mainly meant immediate family members. The best we can figure is that they hit the bar - lucky people!

That's where we were wishing we were headed...but nope. One more stop along the road to the reception first...up next - bridal party pictures!

**All photos courtesy of Christina Carroll Photography

Need to catch up? Here’s some links:
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
Setting Up the Venue…
Practice Makes Perfect…
Rehearsal Dinner
5 Minutes is All that I Need
A “Quick” Stop at the Hair Salon
A Sneak Peek at the Venue...
Arriving at the Venue...to Stay!
Getting Dressed
The Maids Pose for the Camera...
Oops - I’m Out of Order!
The Boys Smile and Say “Cheese!”
It’s Show Time!
Here Comes the Bride!
Becoming Man and Wife...
We’re Man and Wife!

A Sneak Peek at the Venue...

So after figuring out what to do about my hair and J’s hair, we left the beauty shop and headed out to Texas Old Town (Redbud Hall) for a quick look around to see how everything was coming. This was probably the hardest thing that I had to do – leave things up to others. You know, others who didn’t have my vision (because I hadn’t properly shared it with anyone) and who might not do it the way that I would do things. But do you complain about angels in disguise on your wedding day? No, you do NOT. You smile, say thank you and a bask in the amazement that there are other people on the planet that can follow instructions and take charge of situations.

My mom, Maid Momma, and my MIL and SIL were such angels as these...put here on earth to help put the finishing touches on the venue so that our day would be as perfect as possible. Now, don’t get me wrong. There were a TON of other people who worked their butts off the day before, including yours truly to get as much done as possible so that all the “big stuff” was taken care of before the day of the wedding...and just the little things, finishing touches if you would prefer, were left to handle. Everyone in our family and our closest friends REALLY came through for us to make our day perfect and there will never be enough words to express our full gratitude. But I'm thinking that my Mom might get a special word of thanks for the 200+ plates that she not only carried around for a day in her car, but had to lug inside and set up...along with help from the rest of the team! But that was extra-hard work the day of the wedding that I hadn't really thought about...

So since I’ve done a few posts without ANY pictures (bad bride!) here are some shots of what I saw when I walked in...

The venue as a whole

The Bar Menu and some left-over decor

A close-up of the table signs and floral centerpieces

The sign-in table and activity books for kids

The empty cake table

The "place cards" table for seating assignments

I’ll apologize if these are all pictures that I’ve shown off before, but since it’s been a few months for both of us maybe a refresher is a good thing! I promise that the next post will have some of the photographer's pictures in them...finally!

When J and I got there, my Mom, Maid Momma and SIL were putting the finishing touches on setting out the plates and silverware and organizing the buffet area. Trying to keep J as still as possible (an impossible task, I agree!) I had her stay in the reception hall with my Mom while I unloaded my car. I had put together all of the last minute items that needed to be brought to our dressing room that we wouldn’t need in a quick sponge bath before we packed up and left the hotel. You know, things like make-up, hair stuff, activities for J in an attempt to keep her still and calm, bouquets for the girls, and bouts for the boys. You know, all that “crap” that accumulates in your house before the big day that MUST be there on the big day.

I also made sure that my dress and J’s dress were hung and ready to go...Maid Britney and MOH had steamed the last of my wrinkles out that morning and didn’t it look grand?

Didn't J's dress look so cute too? I'm pretty sure that the girls gave this one a once over too...My favorite part of my dress - to this day - the beadwork and sparkles...
Satisfied that all was well, it was time to run grab some lunch and then go back to the hotel for a quick rinse off and to pack up our stuff.

Yes, eating inside Whataburger when you’re wearing a veil is fun. LOTS of fun. More importantly, J thought that it was neat that everyone was looking at me...I thought that it was mildly annoying when people kept asking “Are you getting married today?”

Just once, I wish that I could have said the thoughts running through my head: “No. I’m not. I just like to walk around with a veil literally attached to my head. It’s fun. Really. You should try it.”


Need to catch up? Here’s some links:
Girls’ Spa Day
Bachelor/Bachelorette Party
Setting Up the Venue…
Practice Makes Perfect…
Rehearsal Dinner
5 Minutes is All that I Need
A “Quick” Stop at the Hair Salon

My Something Blue...

This post is a hard one for me to write...who am I kidding? It was hard just to talk to my mom about it...and I needed to pre-warn her that this post was coming.

**If you’re a sensitive cryer, this is your warning that this post may bring about the sudden urge to cry. Or tear up at least.**

I’ve been wracking my brain about my something blue. The something new is easy...and there are so many options. My dress. My shoes. Something borrowed was also easy...MOH has lent me her petticoat to wear as well as her own wedding day jewelry...and Maid Britney has given me her strapless bra. (Side note: B thinks that it’s totally odd for girls to share undergarments. He just doesn’t get that it’s not that big of a deal for us!) Something old...could also be any of my something borrowed items. Whatever doesn’t fit for one will work for the other.

But my something blue? That was proving to be a little difficult. I had thought to do something like blue undies...

source

Or blue sparkles on my shoes, like these...

source

I had even thought about putting a monogram on MOH’s petticoat in blue signifying BFF or something similar. I saw a post on weddingbee (that I can't find now!) and really loved the antique blue brooch that she used on her bouquet to incorporate her something blue. And although these ideas were all great and some of them really caught my eye, nothing just really jumped out at me, or seemed like something that I could do.

Until the other day when I lost a pair of earrings. I was going through my various little knick knack boxes that sit atop my dresser and nightstand, looking in all places high and low for the misplaced pair of earrings. I started opening them all, peering inside and shuffling the contents around trying to glimpse my earrings, when I opened the last box on my stand.

No, I didn’t find my earrings. I found my something blue.

You see, when I was a little girl we would go and visit my grandmother quite often. My cousins would all come over so that we could play together, and my older cousin Tammy was my idol for the longest time. She was just two years older than me, so old enough to look up to, but not too old to play with me. We were close – pen pals, playmates, confidants, you name it. One of our favorite games to play was...dress up. But not with clothes and such...with my grandmother’s costume jewelry. MeMa was old school and didn’t get her ears pierced, so she had boxes and boxes and drawer upon drawer of costume jewelry, especially clip on earrings. Tammy and I would paw through it all, piling as much on as we could manage to carry (that stuff was HEAVY!) on ourselves and then parade around, doing a fashion show. When we got a little bit older, we didn’t enjoy wearing it so much, but we would play store with it, dressing the front bedroom up as a boutique and then taking turns acting as shopkeeper and customer. We had a time, I tell you.

But over the years, costume jewelry breaks down, and gets tossed out. By the time that I had my daughter, MeMa was down to just a small box or two of jewelry left, and J never really got into it, as she was still young when MeMa lost her battle with cancer. As we closed up her house, going through her possessions, deciding who would have what, I simply told my Mom to use her best judgment in bringing me some small mementos out of MeMa’s house.

It took about six months after MeMa died, for my Mom and Uncle to settle the house affairs. When she was done, she had a load of furniture and knick knacks to bring to me in Austin. She and my step-father brought it all down one weekend, and in that load was this jewelry box. My Mom had gone through what was left of MeMa’s jewelry and she and my Aunt had split it between the great-granddaughters...hoping that we would understand the significance of the gesture. Believe me, it was not lost on me, and I took the box and placed it with other prized possessions and things of importance in my own room. (You see, at the time, I didn’t think that J was really old enough yet to play with it all. Not that she would stick it in her mouth, but just that she wasn’t ready for it yet.)

And now, three years later, it’s still on my dresser. It’s not that J isn’t old enough to play with it, or that she wouldn’t enjoy having it, but in all honesty, I just don’t want to part with it yet. I don’t look inside it often, or at least I can’t remember when the last time that I opened it up was, but on this one morning, I opened it looking for my lost earrings. This is what I saw...

The tears started, and ran down my face. I knew immediately that I had found my something blue, my mind flashing back to the post that I had read earlier that week. Having finished my bouquet, I quickly stuck the earrings on the top of the ribbon and there they will hide, nestled in close to my heart on my wedding day. It’s the best something blue that I could ever ask for. More than carrying a picture of MeMa or something else that reminds me of her, these were her earrings, and she wore them often. I can’t think of anything else that would mean more to me than these would. Especially given the history behind them and my own memories of seeing her face light up when Tammy and I would do our fashion shows...this is absolutely the best something blue that I could ask for.

And two days later, when I showed the bouquet to my Mom, she understood immediately where I had gotten the sparkles on my bouquet. She didn’t intentionally give me blue ones for this use (how could she have known three years earlier that I would need them?), but it sure felt like fate to us. We both shed some tears and great big hugs...and we know that MeMa will be there with us that day.

Ok, there. I’m done. No more crying. No more tears. It’s over. I promise.

What are you doing for your something blue? Or borrowed? Or old? Are you carrying a family “treasure” with you down the aisle to bring a loved one into the ceremony?

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day to ALL of you! I hope that you've had as great a weekend as I've had. You might have noticed that my normal morning post didn't happen this morning...yeah, I had to catch up on some sleeping.



With an extra day on the holiday weekend, many might want to work EXTRA hard on wedding stuff...especially for brides that are UNDER the 2 month mark...but not this bride!



No sir. I took the weekend off from all things wedding project related. A little escape to "recharge" the batteries, if you will. I haven't made the trip home to see my family in quite a while...last Christmas to be exact. There was some strife and such last year when we announced our engagement, and things just haven't been the same ever since. (If you're a new reader, you might not understand...instead of going into it all again, here's a quick link that will explain things.)



Since I like to avoid confrontation as a general rule...I haven't been home since. I don't normal run from problems, but dang it - planning a wedding is HARD work! It's time consuming, and if there might be people around to prohibit your success and dreams, it just makes sense to stay away.



Either way, it had been too long. So we took the time, made the trip and had a blast! We missed out on some sleep, but we caught up with family, cooked outdoors, went for a swim, rode the 4-wheelers and "looked" for a mountain lion...yeah, it's always a hoot with my family! LOL. Although I spent some time talking about the wedding, I took a break from actually working on anything in the last few days...it's been nice!



So, I apologize for the lateness of my normal morning post. I'm all reasted up and back to my normal self. I've got a great shoot coming to you this afternoon...so stay tuned and thanks for the break!



What did you do with your long weekend? Work on wedding? Or just enjoy some much-needed R&R?

Registering for School...

With all the excitement about wedding stuff going on and consuming what feels like my whole life at the moment, it’s nice to take a minute and do something totally unrelated to the wedding.

Yesterday I registered J at her new school. Yes, she’s a big-time SECOND grader now...it’s official, I saw the report card where it shows her being promoted. Hang on, let me wipe the tear from my eye...

Yes, I’m being dramatic, but this is my BABY we’re talking about, people! She’s not supposed to be in the second grade yet...seriously. She’s going to be SO mad that I went to do this without her, but it was just easier. And it’s not like they told me who her teacher will be or which classroom is going to be hers, she’s just officially registered to go to that school. The lady at the desk that helped me out with everything told me that there was a meet-the-teacher night scheduled for August 20th, and the first day of school is the 24th.

So, I guess it’s time to buy school supplies and wait for the big day. Maybe I’ll even take some pictures this year...

J is REALLY excited about her new school, even if all of her parents are not. We’re still on a wait list to be transferred possibly to another school that would have been closer for my ex to take her to school and continue our shared custody arrangement. But as the days draw nearer, I wonder what will really happen in August when school starts. Or in September when he re-marries. I hope for her sake that nothing changes. That we’re all able to keep the arrangement that we’ve had since we separated several years back. But my gut says that’s just wishful thinking...so I’ll wait patiently and cross my fingers that it all goes well. Or that she’ll make the adjustments that need to be made ok.

It’s just hard when you’re planning a wedding to remember that there ARE other things going on in the world...not that we watch the listen or keep up with foreign events so much, but there are things that are happening in our lives that do NOT revolve around our wedding.

What other things are going on in your life that you keep up with too, in addition to planning your wedding? Do you find it hard to balance, or does it all just work out for you?

A Bride…Again

When I first started making plans for this wedding…WAY before there was an engagement ring or anything, I noticed that I really worried what other people would think. Not so much the type of thing like “I can’t believe she picked the color eggplant!” but more along the lines of “I can’t believe SHE’S having an actual wedding…again!”

I really struggled with this topic of conversation, and spent countless hours stressing myself out about it. And let me be clear here, I was really the ONLY person worried about it. Mr. CC is so calm, cool and collected about things – his take on it was that if we wanted a wedding and were willing to pay for it, then who cares what everyone else thinks. Oh, to be so free. To be so open and uncaring. Most of the time, I can admit to being that carefree about things, but this is one thing that I was unsure of.

It took several months of planning, dreaming and talking about what we would do, how we would do things, and what was important to us for me to become comfortable with the idea of a big wedding. (Not that 150 guests is all THAT big, but it’s nothing to scoff at!) Maybe it’s just easier for guys than for girls…they’re tough and hardy and girls are supposed to be sensitive and caring. I didn’t want people to look down on me or us for planning a wedding when it was not our first wedding.

I’m proud to say that in the end, after several agonizing weeks and LOTS of conversations with the Mister, I came to terms with it. This is what I want. This is what we want. I don’t really care if you (stranger) think that it’s presumptuous of me to have a wedding when it isn’t my first. That’s more your own problem, than mine to deal with. I have enough on my plate…DIY projects, meeting my budget, not going crazy doing this while working full-time.

As I started reading wedding blogs and searching for ideas and inspiration (every bride’s favorite pastime activity) I realized that there truly is a shortage of brides out there coming right out in the open about second or third or fourth marriages and actual weddings. Yes, people re-marry. But many people (it seems) don’t talk openly about it. It’s somewhat taboo. I applaud sites like weddingbee.com that actually dedicates a section of their boards to what they term “encore brides.” This encourages me that there are others out there like me. And weddingbee also features a bride (or two I found out today!) that IS an actual encore bride who spotlights her second time around. This gives me hope that I’m not totally against the grain here.

But when it comes down to it, who cares if I am totally against the grain? I don’t. Like I said earlier, this is what I want, this is what Mr. CC wants, and we’re SO excited to be planning our wedding. Who cares if we’ve been down this road before? We don’t. Luckily for us, things are different this time around or else we wouldn’t be where we are. And maybe having this unique perspective on things allows us to focus on what we know is really important this time around. Yes, I want a gorgeous wedding…but without the love that we share beneath it all, it’s just a big party.

With all of that being said, there are still moments that I look up and wonder what the H*%K I’m thinking. Like when my dad called to talk one night and I mentioned something about him walking me down the aisle. He didn’t mean anything by his response…but he literally said “Again?!?” Yes, Dad. Again. Please. It would mean a great deal to me. Even though I’ve made my peace with my decision, there are still moments that I question it all. Luckily for me, I’ve got a GREAT groom who picks up my spirits, turns my frown upside-down and makes me remember why all of this is SO important to me.

Are there other “encore brides” out there who struggle with these issues too? Are you doing something like writing about your experience on a blog? Comment below if you are, I’d LOVE to chat! And I would LOVE to follow another brides’ blog about her wedding experience.

Would you rather...?

Good morning to you, Good morning to you…

Yeah, I know. For those of you who aren’t morning people you’re probably hating my guts right about now. That’s ok. I’m not really a morning person either. Well, not this morning. I’m tired this morning, just didn’t sleep well, I guess. So you know what they say…if you can’t make it – FAKE it…so all that good morning cheeriness is just fake.

Does that make you feel better?

It should.

But probably doesn’t.

Oh well. It’s another week at work, and it’s a hard week for me. You know why? It’s SPRING BREAK! You know, right after college ended and this full-time working girl made it around to March, it was really sad to be gainfully employed. I still lived in the town where I went to college, and there was a notable difference in the air as Spring Break loomed closer. I think that I even took a few days off that first year – to transition myself. LOL!

Anyway, that’s just one of the many things that I miss about not being an adult. I mean, when you’re in college you think that you’re an adult because you live all on your own, you’re responsible for your choices and stuff, and you might be of legal age to consume alcoholic beverages. But that’s not what makes you an adult in my eyes. Being an adult is more about responsibility…not being able to “skip” work (which I was the QUEEN of skipping classes in college – oh the good ol’ days…) and doing what you don’t really want to do because you have to. It’s not always fun. Sure, there are perks along the way, but are they really worth it?

I’m not sure. You see, this weekend we played a game with the kiddos. It’s called “Would you rather…?” The way the game works is that everyone takes turns asking questions about what you would rather do between two choices. The choices can be silly, or in my daughter’s case not even remotely intelligent, or they can be on a more serious tone. And this was one of the questions that Mr. CC asked – “Would you rather be a kid or an adult?”

My answer was fast and bold. A kid. Hands down. No questions asked.

Mr. CC gave the same answer.

The kids I think had to think on it a little bit more. Our son probably gave the same answer, as he’s 11 and an astute 11 year-old boy and he knows that it’s not always fun and games to be the adult. My 6 year-old daughter on the other hand probably answered an adult. Then again, she also chose being pretty over being smart…so maybe her answer should be nullified.

So, here in Austin, it’s the first day of Spring Break. And there are at least ten other places that I can think of that I’d rather be than here at work, being the adult. In bed fast asleep tops the list. Followed closely either by warm, sunny beaches or fresh powder on the slopes. It’s a toss up between those two, but the bed beats both of them!

Where would you like to be on this Spring Break? Right where you are, or somewhere else? And what would your answer be – kid or adult?

What’s a girl to do without family drama in her life?

For normal people, maybe you don’t have to deal with this kind of stuff. For Miss Cotton Candy, this is just part of a normal day!

If you’ve been following along, you might remember that there was some friction between my sis and I regarding my engagement (she disapproves of my choice, she wouldn’t help him get me away so that he could talk with my parents, had no interest in seeing the ring, and then didn’t even mention it the first time I saw her after the engagement officially occurred). Is this ringing any bells?

So, imagine my surprise the other day when my cell phone rang early that morning while I was at work and it was my sis calling me. I warily answered the phone to find out that she was headed down to Austin for a conference and did I want to go to dinner that night. I was nervous (and skeptical, to be perfectly honest) but I agreed. Then I spent all day wondering if I should make an excuse to not go! Yep, that’s how I was thinking about handling it all!

Anyway, the evening finally rolls around and we end up meeting at Papasito’s for dinner. (I was pumped since trying to kill some time I ducked into my personal favorite of all retail stores (Target) and managed to score two nightstands that Mr. CC and I desperately needed that were what we’d been looking for the last few months, AND they were on sale!) So riding that high, I went off to meet sis for dinner.

First things first. She congratulated me on my engagement and asked a few questions regarding my plans and dates and venues and such. Not too many questions, but just enough to let me know that she was semi-interested. I should mention that about the time that she congratulated me on the impending wedding, a little alarm started going off in my head. Something like “BEWARE!” since I knew at that moment that there was probably an ulterior motive to this impromptu “visit.”

About 10 minutes into talks about the wedding, she got around to her point. Apparently she’s quit her job and she and her mom aren’t talking. I guess that I should backtrack for a moment and explain some of the afore-mentioned family drama. This is my step-sister. My dad married her mom when we were almost 5 years old, so this is in every way but the biological my sister and my second mom. Through thick and thin (most of it being strained) we survived our teenage years and have managed to remain semi-close. We’re not that close, most of it due to our growing apart after college and her disapproval at some decisions that I’ve made and her own growing outspoken-ness regarding those decisions. To me, there are just times in a person’s life when you stand by them. No matter what you truly think on the inside. And she was not only not there for me like that, but she was the one to ridicule me during those times. And she never apologizes for it, she does it all because she loves me and wants what’s “best” for me. I’m sure that you know people like this, right? I’m not the only person out there with people like this in their life…I hope not anyway!

Anyway, my parents own a company together and my sister has always worked for them. She’s never held a job for more than a month that wasn’t with them. And this is a stressful thing, because she doesn’t enjoy working for them. But she doesn’t want to go anywhere else. So once every so often, she quits, walks out, they don’t speak for a month or more, and then they offer her more money to come back and help them again. It’s a vicious cycle. So apparently, we’re on the down side of the cycle. And dinner is just her opportunity to tell me her side of the drama and get me on her side.

You see, picking sides became a popular thing in the last few years. As my step-mom grows older and in my own opinion, my sister gets worse, my aunts step in and help SM deal with sis. Thus, they firmly take SM side. And you know where that leaves me, right? You can balance out the equation, yes? Except what happens when I just don’t want to be involved at all? What happens when all that hear while she’s telling me this whole drawn-out story is that we’re doing this again? And all that I can think of is “I wonder if they’ll be speaking by the time that my wedding rolls around?”

And I suppose that my lack of concern or caring eventually showed. Mr. CC tells me that I’m not a good liar, so my poker face probably wasn’t working very well. She abruptly changed the subject back to my wedding and when I mentioned trying to book the DJ, her comment was (and I quote!) “So, you’re doing a dance and everything?”

Can you HEAR the disapproval coming through this blog???? Because it was there!

And I’m right back where I started with her…except that now we’re pretending that she’s on board with this marriage and the whole terrible scene at Thanksgiving just didn’t happen.

Gotta love family, right?

Know Thyself...

Someone recently said to me that I didn’t know who I was. Since it came from a family member, I was a little perturbed at the thought. Did I know me? Was God up there somewhere looking down and having a great laugh at my obvious oblivion to now knowing me? And the more burning question of if I didn’t know myself then did I really know anybody else?

I know that these are big questions. They are things that I struggle with. I struggle because I know that in my past, there have been times that I haven’t been myself. I don’t think that I’m the only person that struggles with these things, or has become less of themselves in the past in order to please someone else. I think that for the most part, this is a common thing among us, so it lead to me writing about it.

I’ll admit something to you. If you’ve read my brief bio, then you know that I mention a fiancé. That’s right, I’m engaged. But what isn’t in that brief bio is that this isn’t my first time to be engaged. I’ve been married before….twice. Yep, this will be my third trip down the aisle. Most days, I’m not ashamed of this fact. The first one happened when I was VERY young, and didn’t really know any better. I was just figuring out who I was, let alone who this person was that I was married to – it’s not really gonna take a rocket scientist to figure out why that one didn’t work out. Since we both walked away with minimal damage and no children, there are days that I don’t even count that one.

My second marriage is a different story. I made a grave mistake when I decided to get married, and I married for reasons other than the right ones. There were other circumstances surrounding my decision to marry again, and they clouded my judgment. Basically, I don’t know WHAT I was thinking! But then again, I’m not alone in this either – we’ve all done things that we wonder how the heck did that happen? The difference is that I had a child with this man, a beautiful child that I cherish more than my own life. And for that reason, when I realized my mistake, I couldn’t just walk away.

And because I stayed, I let myself go. No, I didn’t get all big and gross without fixing my hair or doing my make-up. I let myself go emotionally. I quit caring about who I was and who he was and how he treated me. I told myself that it was ok that I couldn’t see me, the real me, anymore in the mirror – that that’s just what happens as you grow up and mature. You become a different person, and I told myself that it was ok.

Luckily for me, and for my daughter, there was a day when I realized my own self worth again. There did come a day when I broke away from the bad relationship that I was in. There came a day when I realized that I did deserve to be treated better and that I missed myself. That I was a good person.

Since that day, I’ve spent over a year in therapy and the last two full years finding me again. Being happy with who I am, the person that I’ve become and being proud of the things that I can accomplish on my own. I have to admit it….I like me. And that’s a good thing!

So when someone comes up to you after all of that hard work and says that they don’t think that you know who you are, what do you do with that?

Me, being the nice person that I am, listened patiently to this person attempt to make her point. I like to think on the positive side of things, and I choose to believe that the things that she said to me, although causing me some pain, came about because she cares about me and what happens to me. I know, I know. That’s a totally Pollyanna approach to life, but when you’re faced with something like this, I only see two choices. Do what I did and listen patiently and try to take what they’re saying to heart and at the same time comment back politely about why you think they’re wrong….or kill the bitch.

I took the road less traveled. We’re family after all….