Random Things I've Learned Over the Past Few Weeks (This one won't make anyone cry.)

Your body doesn't know what to do with chemically engineered/processed food. If you haven't read Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism yet, it's worth considering. She explains how your body doesn't know how to handle unnatural foods and why this is contributing to the epidemic of obesity in America. I'm only about a third of the way through, but she's already inspired me to go out and buy carrots, celery, fruits and iced tea with only natural ingredients, none of which can be bad for me.

Celery leaves are really, really bitter. I've always wondered what they taste like. I even asked my dad once if he ever tried them and he said no. Am I the only one who wondered what they tasted like? Last week at some point when I was chopping celery I finally decided to try it. I still don't think I have that bitter taste out of my mouth. If you haven't tried them and you've ever wondered about them...take my word for it. Not good.

Honesty is the best policy. One of my best friends was class president of our senior class and is trying to get a reunion together for this year. She texted me last week asking if I would be interested in doing this the Saturday after Thanksgiving. After a little bit of thought, I texted her back explaining that I really didn't want to see most of the people we went to high school with. I told her that I do not have a very high opinion of a lot of those people (her high school experience was a lot different than mine) and while I didn't want to let her down, I really didn't want to go to the reunion. She texted me back saying she didn't want to see most of them either, I've never let her down in her life, and as class president she has to make the effort. She's hoping there won't be enough interest and she will get out of it. :)

A weekend away with someone you love is so worth it. Brian and I took our camper to Raystown this weekend and had the nicest time together. We both just unplugged and paid attention to only each other all weekend. We laughed and cried, hiked and biked, enjoyed mixed drinks and just being together. I'm not kidding about that crying part. Which leads me to my next point...

We both still miss Sammy like crazy. Life goes on. Time heals some of the sadness. Eventually you have new things to focus on and you can't allow yourself to mourn the loss of something forever, even if it is a beloved pet. But when you have the time to sit down, stare into a fire and talk to the only other person in this world who understands what it's like to have had this dog and then lost her, when you think of all the memories and how much she meant to both of us, you laugh, and you cry, and you laugh again, tears streaming down your face. We both know we will carry her in our hearts forever, which is a comforting thought, but it doesn't stop us from wishing she was still  here.

Don't try to navigate a curb on your bike unless you're absolutely sure you know what you're doing. Because it ends with your bike sliding out from under you and you falling squarely on your knee while traffic is steaming up and down a busy nearby road. Or at least that's how it ended for me. Be careful out there, kids. And wear a helmet.

I kind of understood my mom this weekend. Still gimping around with my sore knee and back spasms which were also a result of the spill on the bike, I felt bad that I was holding Brian back, even for a few seconds while I waited for my back to stop with the spasms. He was merely walking into the visitor's center and I asked him to wait for a second. While he was waiting, I thought about all the times my mom said she wasn't comfortable going somewhere or felt bad about wanting to go because she didn't want to hold everyone back. I felt bad about every time I impatiently made her feel like she was holding me back. I'm sorry about that, Mom.

Help someone if you can, even if you don't really know what to do, exactly. I'm sure most of you saw the posts on my facebook page about Molly the missing dog and how I spent a weekend on foot, on my bike and in my car looking for her. Honestly, I didn't know what the hell I was doing or how to find this dog. I felt so goofy with milk bones and a dog leash in my bike basket as I cruised through the streets, stopping to walk around bushes and ditches to see if she was hiding in there. I knew nothing about looking for lost dogs and had to look up what to do on the internet. And in the end I didn't find the dog, some random person traveling on the highway did, and thankfully, she was returned to her owner. But the point, for me, was to do something her owners couldn't do for themselves. At their age, they surely couldn't walk or bike around looking for her. And even though I was pretty sure I wasn't going to find her, I wanted to make sure they knew I was out there looking and hope that was a source of comfort to them in the days they went without their dog. I told them on the phone that I've known a lot of people who have lost their dogs and never once have I heard a story where the owners didn't get them back. I knew they would be no different from any one of those owners and in the end, they certainly and thankfully weren't.

You can't lose friends. This much is true. If someone walks out of your life or you walk out of theirs for whatever reason, that person was not really a friend. As someone who has lost several people who once really mattered to me, I believe this is true. If a person doesn't respect you, doesn't care about you, questions your motives, accuses you of something negative instead of understanding you and giving you the benefit of the doubt, that person is not your friend and it is best not to allow them to remain very close with you. My list of friends may not be the longest in the world, but I love the people in my life, and I believe they love me back.
And those are some random things I've learned these past few weeks. Some of them serious, some of them fun, some of them mindless or silly, just like life itself.

Have a great week everyone!