Adapted from The Friendship Crisis, by Marla Paul (Rodale Press, 2004). Everybody needs friends! Having someone to laugh with, cry with–someone who understands and cares and supports you–is part of what makes life worth living. But in today’s busy world, we often don’t make enough time to nurture those friendships that are so essential. Here are five tips that are the equivalent of friendship vitamins, sure to help a relationship flourish. 1. Pay attention. Keep tabs on the significant events in a friend’s life. Did her daughter just head off to college? Call to see how she’s holding up and invite her over for coffee. Did her dad have bypass surgery? Check in. 2. Exercise your dialing finger. Okay, most of us have touch-tone phones, but you get the idea: friendship thrives on knowing the minutiae of each other’s lives. You can’t know them unless you stay in touch. Don’t quibble about whose turn it is to call. 3. Crack open your date book. The happiest women wedge spaces into their week for pals no matter how busy they are. They meet for muffins before work, hit side-by-side treadmills at the health club, sashay out for dinner on a weeknight. Make it a nonnegotiable date. 4. Raise a flute of champagne. Sure, we need people when life clops us between the eyes. But it’s just as important to cheer the victories. Did she finally finish her master’s thesis or nab a promotion? Take her out to lunch or send her a note. 5. Rain compliments. Most of us don’t get a lot of strokes–from our boss, our family, or our kids. That’s what friends are for. I know a woman who makes me feel gorgeous and brilliant–well, at least attractive and capable–nearly every time we talk. How could you not love her?

Wow, time flies when you're having fun! I just realized that September 7th was my 1 year anniversary on this site and endured it's many "growing pains". Invited by someone I really did not know on MySpace, I decided to give it a try considering that place was just a meat rack of filth in my opinion and I was stuck homebound by duty. Something different to pass the time and an attempt to socialize with like minded adults and have fun, share with friends and just be myself. I have to say, this past year has had it's many ups and downs site wise as well as personally. I am ever so thankful that I stuck with it because thanks to Cherry Tap and Mike (aka Nomad), I met my one true love Eugene in one of the early lounges and he's woo'd me since, capturing my mind, heart, body and soul as my husband and best friend. Along this merry journey, not only did I meet my husband, but I came across many wonderful and beautiful, caring people I call my friends, sisters, brothers, and family. Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the day we met in person (I drove 10 hours to Hattiesburg, Mississippi from Merritt Island, Florida) after speaking hundreds if not thousands of hours on the phone, exchanging e-mails, getting to know each other and tossing caution to the wind and taking a chance at life again. For whatever powers that be, I am ever so thankful and cannot even begin to describe as to how grateful I am. Eugene will be coming home after his work week and we plan on celebrating our happy day (I have a special surprise for him planned) with each other and I will be helping him with some research so may not be around and just wanted to say I love each and every one of my friends in their own special way. Wishing you Love, Peace & Joy, today and every day! TGIF! HNPSD! & VFWEG!!!!! (hahahahahaha!!!)
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People Come Into Your Life For A Reason, A Season Or A Lifetime

Unknown Author

When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person. When someone is in your life for a REASON. . . It is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on. Then people come into your life for a SEASON.... Because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons: things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Never apologize for pursuing what makes you happy. Even if you need to quit your job, or move across country, always do what you really want. Never apologize for giving your best in a relationship that just didn't work out. Never apologize for being successful. Only haters want to keep you at their level. Never apologize for crying. Wear waterproof mascara and express yourself. Never apologize for being frugal. Just because you save your money instead of blowing it on the latest fashion emergency doesn't mean you're cheap. Never apologize for being a single mom. Babies are a blessing. Never apologize for treating yourself to something special. Sometimes you have to show yourself some appreciation. Never apologize for leaving an abusive relationship. Your safety should always be a priority. Never apologize for setting high standards in a relationship. You know what you can tolerate and what simply gets on your nerves. Never apologize for saying NO. Never apologize to your new friends about old friends. There's a reason she's been your girl from day one. Never apologize for ordering dessert. Or more than one dessert. Never apologize for your taste in clothes. It's your style Never apologize for changing your mind Never apologize for being you! "ALWAYS KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!!!" A friend is a person who knows all about you and still loves you just the same.

OK... now I know that things are a tad screwy on the site and technology seems to be having a hissy fit. I have been trying in vain to catch up and rate my friends stashes and have only been capable of rating one. Every other stash item I have tried to rate comes up with "Sorry, You Have Already Rated This Stash Item" even though I have not. I will try to get to your stash items when the glitches are worked out. I am also playing "catch-up" again with rating photos and commenting however I can only rate 1 photo every minute. If I want to leave a comment, every freaking comment has this new "Bouncer ID Check" and it's getting frustrating so please bear with me while fubar gets back into some semblance of a functioning order. I have revamped a lot of my photos and just wanted to share some beautiful nature pics with those interested. Thanks to all who have stopped by to check them out (you know who you are and I thank you and shall reciprocate ASAP if I have not already done so). While real life continues outside the box, please bear with me and know that you are thought of often. {{{HUGS}}}

Friendship; the healer of hearts, Lead me to thy roads end? Filler of joy and hope, What is thy biding? The gift that forever gives, I give thee my love, Not for who you are, But for who I am when I am with you, For the token of a true friend Is the becoming of a better person Tears bear not by a friend's hand, For only a friend can be gone a cry to a halt. And as the winter brings snow to fall, It doesn't always snow as much as we want. A hand in friendship is the touching of the heart, But no heart misses more than the one in hand, For there is no further a reach, By the heart, Than for the hand that besides you. Sad denotes a frown. A smile is the lifting of love. To the world you are one person, To this one person, You are the world I dream of. Blossoming flowers and beautiful blue skies, Spring colored orchards and butterflies. Clear and calm rivers and streams, Peace, joy, and happiness, You are all of these beautiful things.

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never ever the same." ~ Flavia Weedn "Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light." ~ Albert Schweitzer "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." ~ Dale Carnegie "A friend is a gift you give yourself." ~ Robert Louis Stevenson "Friendship is like a bank account; you cannot continue to draw on it without making a deposit." ~ Nicole Beale "When you ask God for a gift, Be thankful if he sends, Not diamonds, pearls or riches, but the love of real true friends." ~Helen Steiner Rice

"Among Life's precious jewels, Genuine and rare, The one that we call friendship Has worth beyond compare." ~ author unknown "A friend loves at all times..." Proverbs 17:17 Real friendship is a rare and precious gift, strong, stable, yet fragile, and never to be taken for granted. ~Char "Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together" -Woodrow Wilson "Treat your friends as you do your pictures, and place them in their best light." ~ Jennie Jerome Churchill "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." ~C.S. Lewis "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." ~ Martin Luther King Jr. "Friendship doubles your joys, and divides your sorrows." ~ author unknown "Friendship without self - interest is one of the rare and beautiful things of life." ~ James F. Byrnes "Give me one friend, just one, who meets the needs of all my varying moods." ~ Esther M. Clark "The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own." ~ Benjamin Disraeli "The only way to have a friend is to be one." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson "The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand,nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson "Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity." ~ Kahlil Gibran "Friendship is neither a formality nor a mode: it is rather a life." ~ David Grayson Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend forever. ~unknown "If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone; one should keep his friendships in constant repair." ~ Samuel Johnson "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" ~ Abraham Lincoln "You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist." ~ Golda Meir "Friendship is one mind in two bodies." ~ Mencius "The best way to keep your friends is not to give them away." ~ Wilson Mizner "Think where man's glory most begins and ends, And say my glory was I had such friends." ~ William Butler Yeats "Stay is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary." ~ Louisa May Alcott "Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!" ~ Amanda Bradley "If we would build on a sure foundation in friendship,we must love friends for their sake rather than for our own." ~ Charlotte Bronte "The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration." ~ Pearl S. Buck "I am a big believer that you have to nourish any relationship. I am still very much a part of my friends' lives and they are very much a part of my life. A First Lady who does not have this source of strength and comfort can lose perspective and become isolated." ~ Nancy Reagan "Friendship with oneself is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt "A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer "A friend is someone who sings your heart's song back to you when you have forgotten the words." ~ David Coppola, Ph.D.

You my friend You don't always show it, but I know that you care. You My friend If I'd ever need you, I know you'd be there. You I'm glad you're my friend. Your smile makes me smile. Your pain makes me hurt. You My friend I want you to know: If you need me--I'm there. make you happy, make you laugh. You My friend Sometimes you make me mad, but I can't stay mad. You My friend Sometimes I want to get away from you. And sometimes there's nothing I want more than: to talk to you, to tell you about my day, to hear about yours, to laugh with you, to tease you, to share an inside joke, that no one else would get, to argue with you, but know we're just kidding.. You My friend Do you remember the time when...? There are so many times. You My friend Don't ever lose the wonderful person you are. Stay happy. Stay healthy. Stay you. You My friend I'll never stop being your friend. Don't ever stop being mine. You My friend Just wanted to tell you: I care.

It is by chance we met, by choice we became friends. Friendship is a strange thing--- we find ourselves telling each other the deepest details of our lives, things we don't even share with our families who raised us. But what is a friend? A confidant? A lover? A fellow email junkie? A shoulder to cry on? An ear to listen? A heart to feel?... A friend is all these things...and more. No matter where we met, I call you friend. A word so small yet so large in feeling, a word filled with emotion. It is true great things come in small packages. Once the package of friendship has been opened, it can never be closed. It is a constant book always written waiting to be read and enjoyed. We may have our disagreements, we may argue, we may concern one another, friendship is a unique bond that lasts through it all. A part of me is put into my friends, some it is my humor, some it is my listening ear, some it is real life experiences, some it is my romanticism but with all, it is friendship. Friendships forged are a construct stronger than steel built as a foundation, necessary for life and necessary for love. Friends----you and me You brought another friend and then there were 3. We started our group Our circle of friends and like that circle There is no beginning or end...