HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I truly feel like 2010 will be an amazing year!

That said, I wish you and yours a awesome and blessed new year!

Much love,
beautifulcurare =^D

Today is my Blogoversary!!!

And I didn't even realize it! LOL! I thank all the people who have visited and commented on this blog. Sharing your thoughts and opinions on different topics I've posted. It is greatly appreciated! I hope you, and others, continue to visit and post comments. I love to interact with you!

There are many things that I want to do regarding my blog presence...I'm learning and growing, soon I will carve out a niche for myself. But of course, this blog is my first and I will always cherish it. Happy Blogoversary to me = )

It is easier to love a stranger than it is to love someone you know...

I'm a Twitter fiend. I'm on the website most days because the people I interact with bring up great topics and since I am somewhat of a "people watcher" (not in a creepy sense, lol), Twitter is the place for me. I like to listen to the views of others, especially those that challenge me to really think about my own views. That said, last week one of my "tweeps", @twendsetter54, asked a good question. That question was: "How can you really love somebody you don't know?" I had to think about this for a moment, because my first thought was "As a Christian, I am supposed to love everyone, which of course includes strangers." But I do not think that is the complete truth, there has to be more to it than that.

It is easier to love a stranger because they are just that, a stranger. You do not know their flaws, their little idiosyncrasies, the things that really make, or break, all relationships. Ignorance of who a person really is blinds you and makes it easy to profess your love of said person. This is not necessarily a bad thing (this started to sound negative), but it is a superficial love. The real work happens when you've seen the smudges, the stains and love a person in spite of the blemishes. It can be difficult because many of us want perfection immediately and that is unrealistic.

So now I ask you, how can you love someone you don't know?

How awkward...

It's been a minute since I have posted something new on my blog and it kind of sucks that my 100th post has to be devoted to this, but hey...what do you do? Went to the gas station to put a little gas in my car. After doing so, the machine asked if I wanted a receipt...well, of course I want a receipt because I received a rebate offer on $50 worth of gas and I have to send in receipt copies. So anyway, I wait and wait, and nothing happens. The machine is out of paper and this requires me to go into the gas station. No big deal, right? Well, it kind of is. See my father decided to start working at this particular gas station. This is a man whom I rarely see; last time I saw him was a little over a year ago and he lives right around the corner. While I have truly forgiven him for the crappy things he has said to me in the past, during my parent's divorce mind you, I still feel a bit awkward around him. This is the same guy who has yet to visit his other two children, my brother and sister, in several years. I feel for them, especially my brother because he really hasn't had much interaction with my dad. So when I see my dad, I feel awkward because I think to myself, "Why won't you come to the house and see the your youngest children?" I'm not angry, just perplexed at the way he is able to stay away from them, but live right around the corner. I just wish this feeling would go away because I love him, his my dad, but I guess there is so much water under the bridge. I can forgive but it so hard to forget things and I suppose I'm afraid to trust him not to hurt my feelings again. I never question where my trust issues come from...it started there. Anyway, I just needed to get that off my chest. We all have our issues and I suppose once I get past that hurdle, other areas in my life will be clearer...

Have I told you about the time I won a Nickelodeon contest?

It was a crazy moment and I still chuckle at the way it went down. I was at home and had just been grounded for something, maybe for not cleaning my room or something. Anyway, my mom was leaving the house to go somewhere and, of course, I wanted to go with her. However, I had just been grounded, so she was not taking me anywhere with her. As she starts to walk out the door, a UPS truck pulls up. My parents are asking each other if the other was expecting anything. The answer was no. So the UPS guy brings this big box to the front door and asks for "(My Name)." My parents are asking what this is for and I'm like "I don't know." So, I sign for the box and take it into the living room. I start tearing into the box, mind you, I had never gotten anything like this delivered to me before. Finally, I get the thing open and see a ton of Nickelodeon stuff! There was a letter in side the box congratulating me on my win (I can't remember which contest it was, I always entered a bunch of them, lol). There was all kinds of stuff in there...toys, Nickelodeon SLIME, videotapes of my favorite Nick shows, etc. That was a great moment! Needless to say, I was no longer concerned with not being able to leave with my mom, lol!

Let me tell you (that I have) a secret

I know the purpose of this prompt is to tell a secret, but I'm a fairly private person. And while my "secret" is nothing scandalous or shameful, at least not to me, I always have a filter going when I use these social networking type of websites. But I'll tell you this much...if you ask the right question, I will tell you the truth....