Respond and Acclaim

I have been trying to respond to peoples posts and have been messaging people more often on Facebook to form more of a connection with my friends. But I have also been trying to be more positive. I feel I don't respond enough to my friends. I don't acknowledge them or their accomplishments the way I should.

I am going to say something that is probably the opposite of what most people would normally say, but here it is "Strive for praise!" "What? Are you serious?",  you ask. Yes I am and here is why I say this. Praise is what we need and just what we should do for our friends. We should praise them for their accomplishments; we should praise them for every wonderful thing they do. Everything they do in their lives can be something wonderful. Acknowledge them; that is all I ask.

When we get praise from someone it just makes us feel good. We want to say we don't need praise. We want to just enjoy doing good for others, but sometimes it just feels good to get a positive response from others. When we get that positive response it affects how we act. We will treat others better. We will have a better outlook on life. This praise will affect us in only the most positive way and how can that be a bad thing?

So here's my challenge to you! Praise your friends any chance you get and keep the conversation going.  Always, and I mean always respond to others around you; don't ignore them. When someone responds to you in a personal message, keep the conversation going. Don't be the person to end the conversation by not responding. And always respond with a positive attitude and with praise. My other challenge for you is to compliment someone around you. Make a positive response to someone around you today and see what happens. I guarantee you will never regret that decision.

The Road Taken

As I was out for my morning run a couple of weeks ago, I approached a section in the road in which I needed to make the decision to go left to the tree lined path or up the ramp towards a longer road. This decision is usually pretty easy as it is dependent on the distance I am running, but until that particular day, I had never thought about that third option; the stairs. I had recently posted a few pictures from a recent run and one of those happened to be of some stairs. I remember one of my friends saying, "Tomorrow take the stairs." So I did.

This got me to thinking about the different paths we take in our lives. I couldn't help but think of the famous poem by Robert Frost called 'The Road Not Taken' and out of curiosity I read it again, and this time I noticed something different. I always thought he was happy for choosing the road he did, but if you read it carefully it sounds as though he had doubts over his chosen road.

I know sometimes we may think back on our lives and have regrets, wishing we could have done certain things differently, but the road we take is our own and we should never feel regret over the decisions we make. No one is perfect; we are all going to have a lot of "Oops!" moments in our lives. We are all a bunch of perfectly imperfect people and that is ok. What is important is that we realize the mistakes we have made, learn from them and then move on.

Sometimes, though, there are things we have no control over, but we must learn to be patient, because eventually all struggles will come to an end. Think about a specific moment in your life that brought you joy. Now think about everything that had to happen in order to achieve that joyful time in your life. Were all of those things that brought you to that moment happy or was there some form of struggle to get you to that point?

Finally, in reference to those stairs I first mentioned, never be afraid or too stubborn to take the advice from a friend; sometimes you need guidance from someone else when you are unable to see what is  right in front of you. Sometimes that advice can make all the difference.

Our lives are made up of different stages on this road we choose. Sometimes it's smooth and flat and other times the road is rough and hilly. Never give up when you get to those rough and hilly patches, because you never know what will be over that next hill.

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as i could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 

I doubted if I should ever come back. 

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less traveled by, 

And that has made all the difference.

Facebook is Mean, But Cats Make Me Happy, and So Does Music and Good Friends, but Especially Cats

I don't think  Facebook was put out there so people could be mean to each other. I think it was supposed to be a place where people could connect with old friends, new friends and even family. My list of friends is small; I choose to keep it that way. It is my choice to do so, but because of this I get ignored most of the time. 

I will never get as many likes or comments on a post as my friends who have over 1000 friends, but their posts are going to be the ones that show up at the top of the newsfeed. This isn't just about me either. I often miss a lot of my friends posts who also choose to keep a small group of friends like me. I repeatedly click the little button that says 'Most Recent' rather than 'Top Stories', but still the stories that show up in my newsfeed always seem to be those most liked and commented on. I'm sorry but a picture of a cheesecake doesn't make a top story, although a cheesecake  really does sound good about now. Mmmm.... cheesecake!

So enough about the negative let's move on to the positive, because that's the type of person I want to be. I recently decided I wanted to avoid negative posts not from just others, but myself as well.  I wanted to send a positive and happy message out there; there's too much negativity in the world; it doesn't help if I add to it. 

After seeing all of these comments and posts from my friends on Facebook today, I thought to myself, "Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit; I really do have friends that care!" So I've come up with a few solutions to my problem with Facebook. First of all many times when I post on Facebook I have long drawn out posts that pretty much tell a story; that's who I am. So for the most part my posts will be on this blog, which will be shared on Facebook as well. 

I have also decided I'm going to split my friends up into different groups, so I can see everyones posts, but at different times throughout the week. As I said it's not just about people commenting on my posts, but about the posts I see as well. Following is the list of groups I have assigned for friends: You're family; I have to be your friend (Family), Good friends are hard to find (This is for my friends I really want to keep track of. My hope is that this list will grow), Getting to know you (I have had these people as friends for awhile, but don't really know them. My hope is that this list will dwindle down to nothing), You're annoying, but I love you anyway (I don't think this needs any explaining), Congratulations, you made it (This is for new friends), Detention (this is for friends that have been bad or mean)

Finally I really want to get to know all of my friends, so I plan on having a little one on one time with each one of you. This step will take awhile. Even though I have a small group of friends, I still have 355 friends, which takes time. The 355th friend will be the hardest, because it's my mom (Love and miss you Mom).  

Remember what Facebook is about. Love and support your friends in any way you can. It is there to form connections so make those connections. Never be mean or bring down your friends and last but not least love yourself and always strive to be the best you you can be. Above all,  avoid negativity when ever possible. 

A Photo Story of My Morning Run

I love my morning runs. It's not just about the run, but the people I meet and the beautiful scenery. Tampa definitely makes running easy, except on those extremely hot days, then you just have to make the decision to get up before the sun rises and that's fine with me. 

But today the weather is absolutely beautiful and I decided to go with the Kelly running plan today. If you remember the Kelly running plan is where you essentially take your time and enjoy the experience while keeping a smile on your face. I also named it after my niece Kelly after a conversation we had had about running. So I grabbed my phone and began taking pictures along my route so you could see what I see when I'm out there. 

At this moment I don't look like I'm going to die, because I haven't started yet.  

Now I'm just waiting for my GPS watch to find its location. Sometimes this takes a bit.

Waiting....

Still waiting....

And now I begin.

There are certain days where going through this little tunnel doesn't make me happy. Sometimes it smells. I think sometimes  people that were out drinking the night before just decided to use the tunnel as a restroom.

Sometimes the view as I'm coming out of the tunnel is awesome. Somedays I have a beautiful view of a cruise ship. Unfortunately there were no ships today.

There's always a nice view of the aquarium. 

This sculpture was seen a couple of pictures up, but here's a better view. For some reason I always have visions of a stegosaurus when I run past this.

Living in the city means that sometimes you have to cross a busy road. Today there was hardly any cars out.  Usually if there are cars coming I'll just go down to the next cross walk and hopefully be able to catch a break without having to stop. There are around four before I run into the stoplight and then I have no choice but to wait. 

I love this road. There are a few little shops and a pretty good pizza place. I saw a Doctor Who shirt through the window of one of the shops the other day and really wanted to get it, but I was busy at the time and the store wasn't open. I have a better picture of this street when I'm coming back from my run.

The only stop light I encounter on my run. Most of the time my timing is impeccable, but on occasion I have to wait, but so do other people. It's during this time I occasionally get to meet and talk with some people. Last week I got to finally talk to Jaime, who I run past on a daily basis. I had a nice little conversation with him as I waited to cross the street.

This is where the Riverwalk begins and it is at this point where I can usually just keep running without having to stop for lights and cars. At this point I'm a half a mile from home, and even on my 10 mile runs this is usually the only place I have to stop, with the exception of the crosswalk I previously encountered.

Heading in to Cotanchobee Fort Brooke Park (Wisconsin is not the only place that has unusual names). The Amalie Arena is just out of view, but it's there. 

The sun is still rising. 

Standing on the end of the little harbor. This is where I saw the boat that said 'Almost Home' .

I love this guy. Every morning he gives me the thumbs up. 

At this point I'm a mile away from home. If it were later in the day I could just stop and get a beer. 

Loop-di-loop!

The Tampa Convention Center

Nope, not going to go up the stairs. 

I have a decision to make here. If I do a run that's longer than four miles I go right up the ramp. If I do a shorter run I go left by the trees. Today I go to the right.

Always a nice place to stop if it rains. 

That's where I'm headed. Notice the boat in the distance. You'll get a better view in future pictures. 

Awe, I missed Jaime. That's him in the distance. I tried yelling out his name, but the cars were too loud.

Beautiful view of the water. 

God bless the USA!

Big boat and lady and her husband ahead of her (He's out of the picture, but he's there). They always give me encouragement when I run. 

Fishes (Not real, of course)

It's just a drinking fountain, but on those hot days it's a welcome sight. I have water with me on my long runs, but sometimes on my way back I run out of water and have to refill here or at the other drinking fountain, which you'll see in a bit.

Bayshore Boulevard.

Sometimes I have to go under a few bridges.

Looking back from the bridge. This is what I call "The Danger Zone". There used to be water issues here. There was always a small leak and the slime would  build up and cause people to fall. Both my husband and I have fallen here before. Thankfully they are fixing this issue and we haven't had problems in awhile. 

It's hard to see, but right in the middle of this picture you can see  a set of buildings in the distance. That's where I usually run to on my long runs, but not today.

Bayshore Boulevard is always a pretty run.

Another couple I see often while running.

Lots of palm trees. 

Look another drinking fountain and look there's a drinking fountain for cats next to it.  Ok maybe it's for dogs.

Another view of the group of high-rises I usually have to run to. I usually run to the group of buildings that are the furthest to the left. 

I suppose if I got really tired I could just rent a bike and ride the rest of the way home. 

Poor pelican :( He's all by himself.

Horses 

Such a long road. I turned around before the slinky. 

I'm 3 miles out; it's time to turn around. I'm only doing a 6 mile run today, so back to the city I go.

I love this view of the Convention Center, because it always reminds me of Acropolis with the pillars.

Just a pretty picture of the bridge I'm about to cross. 

After a long run this is usually the worst part of my run. I  hate the incline of this bridge.

Such cute dogs. I see them out here quite a bit. 

Going back through the park. You can see the sun shining off the windows on the arena. Also it's covered by trees, but my home is in the distance. 

Another small hill I have to go up. 

Cute sign. 

This is a view of the street I like from the other direction. 

Once I get to this sign, I know I'm home. 

I really am pretty sweaty at this point, but I am still smiling.