A Rose by any Other Name Still Smells as Sweet...

When i was a child, i absolutely hated my name.  Memory was not your everyday run of the mill jenny or susie. I was jealous of all my friends getting this or that with their names on them. Notepads, pens, stickers, t-shirts and anything else you can possibly imagine growing up in the '70s and '80s.
Then as i grew older, boys started calling me different versions like memorex, memo, one of my favorites "memo the limo". Now what The hell does that mean? More greats...mercury, misery and people  who just couldnt remember.  They would say, "i know its something really weird or strange and start spouting out Melody or Melonie or Mandy. I would try to tell them, but it ine inevitably turned inro a game for them.
On and on this went until I  realized what A blessing i had been given. The name Memory.  I am no run of the mill person. I have my quirks and i love it. I like so many different things. Art, history, creating just about anything makes me fulfilled. I can find beauty in the most mundane objects. Photography my favorite hobby along with creating collages out of things many people would look at and think "ugly". I don't See ugly very often unless its someone's behavior.  Or maybe politics or litter on our beautiful land.
Names are very special, all of them. They are often the first impression. I couldn't See my children with any other names. Or my friends and family. I am so proud of my name and yours and being a mom, i know how hard it is to choose.  Wow, talk about pressure.  Its funny.
Hope everyone carries their name with joy and dignity. I know I do. James and Aidan are fairly common, but I hope Magnolia Jane  appreciates being named after herr great great grandmother and her great Grandmothers.
Eveyone give someone A hug today and spread a bit of happiness around. In these times we need it.
As i always say...make it happen, noone else will for you.
Enjoy the rolling stones song Memory Motel. I just heard it for the first time today. And i thought I'd heard all the "memories" songs!!

Just an aside...my beautiful sister, five years younger than me is named Stephany after the dancer in the movie "Saturday Night Fever". Oh, did i love that movie!  I was a boogie machine! 
Life is good.

Watch "The Rolling Stones - Memory Motel (Live with Dave Mathews)" on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cowl02DXx3A&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Making It Happen

I have started a major project. My boss whom I like to call my partner in this is putting faith in someone and something that has cost him a lot. I know this is what I've been dreaming of for years and because I was able to share this dream with a friend, I have found it coming true. The delima is he is, and my wonderful family, Jamie and my dear friend Nathan are the only ones that have faith that I can pull it off. This means that there is almost no chance of the project failing. I will not let my boss down. I will not let his family down, and it's so close to my heart it's my own. I will prove that I can succeed as a business woman and enjoy my arts and talents all at the same time. More information on the project is soon to come. Hopefully within the next week. The moral to this little post is that there are many people who would rather see you fail than succeed. And many people who listen to gossip before knowing the real you. Now most of you know I have had personal challenges in the past, but there is a huge difference in doing what others want you to do, and doing something that means everything to you. This will effect many people in my life. And money being spent on a faith in me that only few have. Take chances. Make them yours to take, and share in the joy and happiness of dreams coming true. I am going to share a post by a friend, maybe two. But to all the naysayers out there- you mean absolutely nothing to me. Like I always end my posts...make it happen! Well this time, WATCH ME!

Isn't it supposed to be easy?

I commented on soulmates in my last post, that is an easy one. But love that's the most difficult part of my life.
1. It takes so much work. Hopefully rewarding.
2. I feel like there is so much guessing about what the other person wants. Which I find tiresome. I'm very cynical and leave no guess work in my desires, my wants and needs in a relationship.
3. Since I leave no room for guessing, it takes away a lot of the romance. But I just can't play the game.
4. I have noticed that men just want to, pardon the expression, get their cock stroked. Now, I am a master at this saying what you want to hear. No fun.
5. What's wrong with telling each other our expectations up front. Right from the start. I am close to forty. I think I've paid my dues and its time to make this easy. No games.
6. Is ten to fifteen years to big of an age difference, either way. I know a lot of people my age that date older men for security, or younger men because we are in our sexual prime.
7. Love is a beautiful experience. I hope to find someone who can handle all my quirks. And I have many.

So is it worth all the guess work? The spoils of victory in finding love are definitely worth it to me. I just don't know if I'll ever find it. I'm hard to handle. But when I give you my love I give it totally. You get my whole heart and nothing less.
I hope we all find the love of our lives, but love can come in so many forms we need to take what we find and cultivate it. Make it work. It's too easy to walk away these days. Divorce is out Of control. It's to hard to do the work so everyone walks away. And I do know there are many exceptions but I say don't put yourself in a position to cheat. That's the reason divorce was rare when the world wasn't a global village. We know what's right and wrong, make the right choice. Anyway that's my love spiel. Take it or leave it. Lets just quit hurting each other. Show our children that love is sacred and worth working to keep. It isn't easy, like life, you gotta climb the ladder before you get to go down the slide. It's a tough life. Like I say...make it happen.

I'm filling this post with poems. I hope they inspire a little peace for you and your love. Smiles.

My back pages

Very rarely do I allow myself to reach the back pages of my mind. That's where I store all the things from the past and present I really don't care to reread. But sometimes...
I have too. I need too. They remind me of the things that can't be repeated. I have an uncanny knack of what I like to call putting certain things in pockets of my mind. I have become an expert. Everything has a time and place. Like I said in my last post, I have some great things going on in my life right now. Dreams do come true. Hard work and a prayer. Keep doing the next right thing. That's the hardest part for me. Isn't that supposed to be the easy part? My self will runs riot even when I'm sober. That's where the pockets fit in. One problem at a time. All the rest go in their specific little home in my mind. That's how I do it and it works. When I feel overwhelmed I talk to my best friend. Which I have had to put n a pocket tonight. At least while I put kids to bed. Then I'll take it out and cry maybe laugh and then file it in my back pages.
Because...I have so many other things going right I don't have to dwell on the sadness of a lost soulmate. Fortunately I believe we have many soulmates. Not many true loves but thats for another time.
Like I say "make it happen, no one can do it for you".

Dreams

I have many dreams. Not the dreams we experience in sleep, but those dreams that never happen if we don't take steps towards making them a reality. Finally I am making my dreams come true thanks to some great friends, lots of hard work and and an opportunity that presented itself when I wasn't expecting it. This isn't how all dreams come true, but it is how it worked for me. I haven't been this happy in a very long time. My only advice is to never give up. Take what you have worked for, and appreciate those that want to help u and run with it.
Also I thought I may never meet someone that has the same wants and desires I do...well that dream has presented itself As well. It's not always perfect. I have had so many changes in my life I do know that most of my selfishness has escaped my brain and have been willing to give rather than expecting things to just happen. Relationships are such work, but it is so worth it. The rewards god has given me are incalculable. I hope everyone can keep there lives in Perspective and enjoy and accept what god has planned for our lives.
I wish all my readers the best and as I always say...Make it happen, because no one else can make it happen for you". Love and smiles on this beautiful Thursday!

"It takes courage to grow up and bece wo you really are" -e.e. cummings