We are family.

I bought a Kitchen Aid mixer last week and broke it in today with my favorite cookie, the chocolate buttery cookies I've posted in a previous blog. It was marvelous. It's so pretty, too! Cobalt blue...just love it. I'm making tons of cookies this weekend to mail and to give to neighbors. We can't have so many in the house, Jason would freak.

Lake Placid was so great. Not only is it beautiful, but I had such a great time with J's family and my friend Jeremy. He lives in NYC and I'll be seeing him again in a couple of weeks. I love that. Not having to say BIG goodbyes after a long weekend. There are just some who really brighten your world when they are around and he is one of them. I feel lucky to have a lot of friends who do that. I do feel that it helps to mix family and friends together. I used to keep them separate in a way. Or, maybe it just turned out that way. I do believe that my generation is bigger on friends being a part of the family. I know that some family members haven't enjoyed the mixing when they visit others, but that's really how it is. I feel so close to my friends...and some really are a part of my family. Besides, families aren't made up of blood relatives anymore anyway! With all of the divorces and such...does it really matter who is at Thanksgiving?? Truth be told, they make things easier. When left with just family, my nerves are shot after a period of time. Having my friends there is like having life preservers about. Some people drift away from their family--due to geography or disagreements, what have you and I feel that knowing you have a place where you are ALWAYS welcome is so great. It's all about acceptance and love and smiling when you greet someone. The world is just too negative and we all feel so damn beat up at times. I've been catty. I've nitpicked. I've gabbed behind people's backs,  yes...I have.  I'm learning to move past all of that behavior. It's just mean. It doesn't create a good feeling. Even in FB, I've started reaching out to people that I normally wouldn't have for dumb reasons. I hold on to old feelings of irritation and haven't let people grow up. That's ridiculous. I certainly wouldn't want people to judge me on my past. As long as the years see us growing in a positive way...I'm all about getting older.

Speaking of aging. I'm going to the dermatologist today. I have a few spots on my back that need to be looked at. For years I've been avoiding it. I need to go. What if something was wrong. I would never want to leave J and Z for something I just didn't want to deal with. (Worst case scenario, of course)

So, if you've been putting something off...you should just go. Deal with it. Someone out there needs you to be around.