MY New Year's Resolution Update

It hasn't been long, but I thought I'd keep myself in check by giving a little update on the resolutions I made for my own new year...

1. Go Greener. - Not great, but getting better all the time...

2. Do something new and different every week. - Uh...fail...but I'll keep working on it and I have done some.

3. Once a month I will say “Yes” to something I would normally say “No” to. - Nobody's asking...

4. Put X number of $’s in my savings account - SUCCESS!! But I plan to keep going!

5. Take the World Food Tour in Houston. - Added Greek but not so hot on this one.

6. Spend at least 4 glorious weekends away with my love. One down 3 to go!

7. Kiss in the rain at least once. - Where did the rain go? We've done a lot of kissing but not once in the rain.

8. Cook something that seems too hard to cook. - Still working on this one...or procrastinating - however you want to look at it.

9. Write for enjoyment (not on the blog). - Fail!

10. Write more blog articles than in years past. - Working on it!

11. Get back on Body for Life and don’t totally stop once the 12 weeks are up. - I've been pretty good but certainly not Body For Life dedicated.

Well...not too bad and there's still a lot of time in MY year. Maybe I'll do an update in January when everyone else is doing their own resolutions and we'll see how I've done.

Hope all is well with each of you and whatever your goals or dreams or resolutions are that they're at the front of you mind all the time.

Much Love,
Mercedes

Do We Really Care About Others or Are We Too Selfish for That?

I’ve been watching footage of the miner’s in Chile being rescued and film shots from around the world show people moved to tears watching the rescue. It seems everyone has a heart that goes out to these miners, their families, their friends and their country.

Yet, I hear people on the internet (and specifically very recent conversations with people regarding cheating) who say if you sleep with someone else’s boyfriend/husband/significant other, you bear no responsibility for that nor should you concern yourself with the woman’s feelings because you might just being doing her a favor.

Are we really so selfish that we can’t bring ourselves to think of the feelings of another woman before we sleep with her boyfriend/husband/significant other behind her back?

I agree, he’s an ass if he does this to her.

A true ass.

But what about the women who are willing participants in it?

It’s not our obligation to be concerned morally about other women?

It’s not our responsibility to care for what she might be feeling?

This is all the guy’s fault and we were just taking care of our own feelings and should feel nothing for her?

Really?

Okay…so a lot of people feel that way…

Then…why are we so concerned about the miners in Chile?

Why do we cry when we see them hug their wives and lovers and children and mothers?

Why do we care how those loved ones were feeling while they waited…hoping for a miracle?

We don’t even know those people.

Is it because we don’t really care, we’re just pretending?

Is it because those people never affected us?

Can we only care because we don’t feel any better in our own lives by them being down there?

Why is the story of the wife and lover both missing their man so heartbreaking? Why are we not just rooting for the lover? Is there no compassion for the wife who discovered her husband was cheating like this? Do we not care about her?

If there was a woman down there and we were able to sleep with her husband while she waited to get out would we then have wanted her to stay there a little longer?

I’m beginning to believe humanity (at least the average blogger type of humanity) is able to feel concern and empathy for others ONLY as long as it doesn’t affect their own personal pleasure…but the second taking into consideration someone else stop’s us from getting laid…well…empathy out the window.

Help me ladies and gentlemen!

Are there still good people out there?

Are there still people who think of others and take the feelings of other’s into consideration before they act?

As humans, are we really, truly just out for out own pleasure at the cost of anyone else?

Really?

If you’re someone who cares…always…about how your actions affect the lives of others and you behave in a way that ensures you are not hurting anyone, please…comment…because I need a little assurance that morals and values really do still exist where mankind is concerned and that the little emotion God created to help us be aware of how our actions affect the lives and feelings of others (called guilt) still exists and is still being paid attention to.

Much Love,
Mercedes

I Love...

My family
My boyfriend
Warm rain
Spas
Breezy summer days
My fluffy robe
My dog (most of the time)
A good red wine
Coffee in the morning
Tea at night
Sweatshirts
Dresses
Humming birds in the yard
Palm trees
Creating something yummy in the kitchen
Going out to eat when I don't want to create anything yummy in the kitchen
Good friends
Cups of coffee and girl talk with good friends
Flowers
Romance
Weekends away
Weekends at hom
Weekends
Writing
Reading
Learning
Shoes
Bling
Taking pictures
Art gallery shows
Festivals
Theater
Dancing
Music
Journaling
Yoga
Meditation
Fire places
Warm blankets
Soft pillows
Fluffy white clouds
Pedicures
Laughter
Baby giggles
Children
How children look when they sleep
How children look when they are sleepy
Church
Shopping
Convertibles
How I look in orange
How I feel when I get all dressed up
Going to sleep with the man I love
Waking up with the man I love
Long hot showers
Long hot bubble baths
Mimosas in the pool
Pizza
College football
Hugs
Kissing
Lazy Sundays
Friday nights
Throwing dinner parties
Book stores
Coffee shops
Framed snapshots
Framed pictures my children drew
Giving gifts
Cards
Christmas
The entire Christmas season
Hottubs outside when it's snowing
Love
Being in love
Being loved

What about you?

Much Love,
Mercedes

Camping in the Back Yard

Last night, J and I, on a whim, decided to go camping. It was WAY too late to pack things up and find a place and get food and firewood, etc...

So we decided the back yard would be the perfect spot.

The weather was beautiful and we could see all the stars and we have never been camping together (because my idea of camping is when the coffee pot in the hotel room isn't workng...)...so we decided to make ourselves a bed of blankets, leave the dog out all night, get naked and crawl into our makeshift bed (we have a VERY private back yard by the way...) and spend the night outside.

At first, it was great.

J said "See...you can do this camping thing." to which I replied "yes...being this close to a bathroom and coffee pot makes camping MUCH more my style than I thought it would be!"

After a very, very short time the dog was so excited to see us out there that it became what you might consider impossible to relax!

Khane is 70lbs of solid muscle and it was his first opportunity to lay on us and try to crawl in between us and paw my hair and lick our faces and...

Well...

Just plain be a pain in the butt!

So...he had to go back inside.

He cried.

He got over it and fell asleep.

At one point, J said to me "What woman would do something like this with me?"

I said "Any woman in her right mind, but I feel so blessed to be the one invited."

And I...well...I got to spend a lovely night all wrapped up in the arms of my love, with nature, under the stars...

I hope your evening was just as amazingly wonderful as mine was.

Much Love,
Mercedes