WantsOut, you may enjoy this site for digital photographers: PhotoSig.com. You can post your work there and get critiques from professional and amateur photographers. The photos there are stunning.

Mazey, so GOOD to see you back. I've missed you.

WhatNow, your horse-back riding children may enjoy this site: White Oak Stables | Realistic Horse Game. It's a free online sim game for children.

I hope people continue to add to this thread so we can keep the focus on us and what's good in our lives. I find that when I focus on what's positive in my life, more good things seem to come my way. Or maybe there were always there and I'd just overlooked them.

(((mazey)))

when you're ready . . .

Wow. this is a little intimidating...you're all so successful, accomplished, creative, have oodles of hobbies and interests, positive outlooks, despite the rough times you've all been through.

Really don't feel I have much to contribute, not feeling sorry for myself, but there's not a lot I can say about myself that will measure up.

I really admire you all. You're a wake-up call to the narrowness of my life and interests - and that's my fault.

Sophia, (honey) you are unique & special, please tell us all about you.

I love :bbq that simple Sophia...

Trust me, Sophia, my life sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is :)

I'd love to hear all about you. Please do tell ...

Sophia, You should not be intimidated by others. You live in one of the most glorious countries in the world...tell us about it.

Same here. I've always seen myself as pretty average. Not a bad thing to be really. Happiness and presonal satisfaction with my life is what counts to me.

Well - I'm 34 y.o. and almost 6 ft tall.

I'm a nerdy geek at heart but don't look like one - so I get strange reactions from people who expect me to be someone else - it's really comical! I have a tattoo and a navel piercing but wear a suit to work - if someone finds out their expression is priceless :c029: I'm into everything from Inuyasha to String Theory. I went to College to be a musician and left with a degree in cognitive psyc. Now I work with computers - I still have my old Atari :)

I fix up my house and spin wool (drop spindle) for fun. I love the outdoors and always try to hike the arethusa falls trail at least once every summer. Among things I Tivo are: Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch, It's me or the dog, and Jeopardy.

I recently had a new addition to my life. Her name is Connie and she looks like a pure bred shepherd - but is a mix. She's 3 y.o. and a rescue with a heart of gold.

I was going to go back to school and get my masters in IT...but since I started taking care of myself a year ago, I decided to do a little "living in the now" and simply enjoy my time away from work, instead of filling up my schedule again. I work less hours and have time to do things I want to do - hang with friends, walk on the beach with my dog, etc - especially since the snow is finally starting to melt!

Life is good :)

OK (deep breath)
I'm 50, 5 ' 3' and dark-haired (the grey is well covered!)
I'm a Senior Executive Librarian, have a degree and diploma. I work full time in a very pressured environment with responsibity for up to 60 people.
Reading is my life, my true love, my escape.
My other true love is my West Highland Terrier, Jack, who's nearly three and fiesty cuddle-minster.
Married to an RA.
Love the internet, old children's books, walking doggie, taking photos, travel (if we had the money).
Always been a loner, no girlfriends to speak of bar my bestest and only who lives an ocean away in Boston. Not a joiner, love to be alone, yet love to talk one on one to people.
Not in the least sporty!
There's more but not all good and this is a positive thread :)
PS Ireland is waay too romanticized - we have major drug/drink problems, huge anti social behavior problems, a terrible health service and a chrronic congestion and dreadful infrastructure....oops, forgot to be positive, but that's Irelans's reality, scenery or no scenery.

well... i'm 23, i have blonde-brown hair and blue eyes. i'm 5'6", always (well, pretty much) smiling, have a dimple in one side, freckles in the summer. i have a great dog who is a pitbull, but thinks she's a golden retriever. her name is haze, and she's my little buddy. i live with my BFF, who is also sober, and has a real golden retriever named chance.

i like being outside. more often than not, i'll opt to be outside. i wear flip flops all the time, and i call them jerusalem cruisers. my motto - if they're good enough for jesus, they're good enough for me. :) i'm very flip, tongue-in-cheek, silly, sarcastic, etc. i make jokes almost always, even when it's not quite the right time. can't help it, it's how i cope. i love to laugh, and most of the people i'm closest to have ridiculous senses of humor. my mom is the strongest woman i know, and i admire her above anyone. i love recovery. i love to eat! i'm a bit of a sugar junkie. i'm an avid reader, music listener, movie watcher. i think my next big adventure is learning the harmonica. i played saxophone for like, 8 years, so harmonica should come okay.

i also love being active, thus the outdoorsy-ness. i LOVE snowboarding, it's my fave. i love to ride my bicycle, i like to longboard, i like going to the beach, i love swimming, i like softball, i like chucking a frisbee around, camping, whatever. give me my dog, some buddies and some sunshine, and i'll show you a happy girl.

oh, and i'm a virgo. i like things perpendicular. yessss...

Sophia, you sound very accomplished to me! Kiss your sweet doggie for me :a194:

Hey! I'm a newbie Librarian! Can I have a job?

(Just kidding, but I wanted to point out that I'm impressed by you! I'd love to be you when I grow up...)

Alright then, since no ones come in here for some days.

When I was small I loved ART. I use to draw and paint with the soul. I wanted to be an artist but my parents said there was no money in it. I can still draw with a pencil even after not drawing for years.
Wow, do you think I may be a natural? Strangely enough, a passion I never used.

Anyone else want to share??????

When I was younger I wanted to be a dancer, but we had no money for lessons...and lucky me, my parents pointed out there was no money in that.

Now, I love to dance whenever I can...out with friends, at weddings (usually just me and my best friend on the dance floor), and in my living room. A LOT. Actually, I had a complete dance number for law school exam days. I would play the same music and dance in the same patterns to ward off pre-exam anxiety. I did this for all 3 years of law school finals. I did well, so I guess my ritual worked!

Inspired, by prodigal, I am bumping this.

It will be nice to get to know some of the new people.

There is a part two that FD started in August.

Since my March post my divorce became final, though I still have some outstanding issues that could take years, so I leave that to the lawyers. My casual dating of several men has been reduced to one not so casual, but not so serious either LOL. It's nice to have someone to LOL with.

I now volunteer once a month on the train restoration and love it. Both my businesses are doing well. I am amazed daily by how much I can accomplish now that my mind, body and spirit are not consumed with alcoholism.

Heeeeyyyyyy I remember this thread!!! Thanks Denny for the bump!! And thanks (passing it backward!) FD for sharing about yourself and providing the inspiration to get everyone to share about themselves!!

Not much has changed over here at 'ol B's house---still in school, still wrangling these teenagers - now dealing with older son's college apps (yikes!).

Trying to stay sane, serene, and satisfied! Meditating and making a plan for how to have a serene holiday season this year (not just 1/2 TRY to like I have for the last 15 years but actually achieve the serenity I crave at the turn of the year).

peace to all
:ghug2
B

I love this thread, what a wonderful way to concentrate on positivity and to focus on our joys! - Thanks FD and Denny.

Things still the same 'ole here in Liverpool. Actually doing my accountancy course now, first exam in Dec; took up kick fit with my sister in September to help get into shape and have more fun outside of work - keep that work/fun balance!

I am really enjoying my life at the moment. Looking forward to getting to know all the newbies!!

Love to you all

Lily xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm 5'5. I'm an LMT. Carry a little extra weight, but i've lost 30lbs of it this year (yay me!). I love to cook. I love to entertain. I love to read. I like movies. I'm a complete history buff and my tv pretty much stays tuned to History Channel International. I have a cat, Maeve. She's a maine coon named for an Irish Queen/Goddess (and fair acts the part). And a Dachsund/Cocker Mix named Ginger. It's like living w/ Garfield and Odie and i love it. I'm beautiful. I have an open heart. And I am able to look at myself in the mirror in morning.

Oh....and despite what Sophia says my romantic heart still yearns for a visit to the motherland. ;P

It is so cool to get to know the people behind the posts!

So...here it goes. I'm 35 years old, 5'10, and have long strawberry blonde hair, and live in Denver. I'm a sales rep for a Sports and Fitness Company where I cover off on 7 states in the Midwest/Rocky Mountain areas. When I was finishing up Grad School, I had a simplistic idea that someday I would like to have a job that would allow me to dress up when I wanted to , but would also allow me to work in a "cute track suit" most of the time, and travel. Be careful what you wish for! I have to travel a lot for my job and get to work with some really cool, great people who have become good friends.

I am really enjoying living in Colorado. I moved to Denver from Atlanta a little over a year ago and do not miss the humidity, but do miss my friends there.

I have a fur-baby named Sidney. He is the coolest cat I have ever had, and he truly believes that he is human and rules the roost! I rescued the little guy from the shelter earlier this year, but realized recently....he actually rescued me with his unconditional love and sweetness!

My favorite artist is Ford Smith (one of his works is my avatar). I'll never forget when I walked into his gallery in Roswell, GA....I was mesmerized by his work and have been a fan ever since that day. He has a gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico also and I'm planning on visiting it very soon!

I enjoy traveling, especially going to spas....I'm a SPA Girl at heart! I sort of lost myself in the last year, but am trying very hard to get back into doing the activities that I like. I love to practice yoga, go for long walks in some of the beautiful parks in Denver, horse back ride, hike, and play tennis. To add to that list...i just scheduled some golf lessons so that I can finally learn how to play correclty and am going skiing for the first time in my life this coming weekend. Due to my job being so entrenched in sports, I sort of get tired of sporting events, but do enjoy the occasional good college or pro basketball and football game (American football, not Soccer), but I have to see them in person and refuse to watch them on tv!

Anyway, I'm slowly starting to "dig" my life again...and realize that I have been blessed in so many ways! I feel very fortunate to have found SR and all of the wonderful people here who are very supportive as I'm working on putting my life back together! Hugs to you all!:a194:

I happened to see this post bumped & thought I'd chime in myself. I turned 40 in October & am finally getting used to that idea. I'm 5'7 and constantly working to keep my weight in check with the help of Weight Watchers (developed my own journaling process after losing 20 lbs. with them a few years ago) & generally keep within 5 pounds of my goal weight. I have green eyes and short-platinum blond hair for which I pay my hairdresser dearly to keep looking wonderful - many people think it's actually naturally this color! I work as an IT project manager/business analyst for a mid-size oil company here in Dallas. I've been in the IT industry for about 12 years now, so I definitely qualify as a geek :-) While I have to wear business attire/suits every day, I have a secret wild side ... with a pierced navel & 3 tattoos. For my 40th birthday, I treated myself to 2 tattoos on the inside of my wrists. One is a copy of the pawprint of my eldest dog & the other is a copy of the pawprint of my eldest cat. Speaking of whom, I have 5 cats & 3 dogs, all rescues of one sort or another. All of my cats are tabbies, 4 boys & 1 girl, and range in age from 5 to 16. My dog population consists of 2 girls and 1 boy: an almost 12-yr. old Chow/Shepherd; a 3-yr. old Lab-mix; and a 1 yr. old Rottweiler-mix (mama's little boy.) I also have a 29-gallon tropical fish tank, which I love to watch while I unwind. I've been heavily involved with animal rescue for the past 5 years & dedicated my work in rescue to a beautiful Russian blue cat I had named Sterling whom I lost to cancer in 2003. I adore my pets and look forward every night to spending time with them when I get home. Aside from my rescue work, I enjoy baking, cooking, reading, and traveling. My parents were both born in Ireland, and aside from my mom & sister (dad passed away in 2006), the rest of our family lives around the British isles. I'm fortunate in that my parents took us overseas fairly often to visit when we were young, so I was virtually born to travel :-)

I've loved reading everyone's profile, and it's great to put a "face" with a name!