Hello my darling Poopies. What a day it is here! 65 degrees in the middle of January! Who could ever have imagined winter, thus far, would be so mild? I am very grateful for the temperate weather and the opportunity to spend outdoor time playing with my PoopieGirls. Wintertime at the park is a rare treat and we are definitely taking advantage of it around here! The warm, sunny weather also allowed me the chance to go for a jog outside this morning…something I haven’t done in awhile and definitely need to do more often, as it felt soooo good. Part of why it felt so nice was due to the physical endorphins I released. There is really nothing quite like it. But even more beneficial, was the quiet, uninterrupted and truly therapeutic time it gave me to think and reflect. Despite the major emotional roller coaster our upcoming move has put me on and all of the million things we’ve got going on because of it, I feel really, really calm right now – calm, clear and happy. Maybe I didn’t yesterday and perhaps I’ll feel differently tomorrow, but today at this very moment, I feel strong and balanced and at peace. 

I started thinking about what might be contributing to this new sense of calmness and it occurred to me on my run that part of this is due to my solid and precious relationships with my girlfriends. I have a tremendous circle of women in my life who have shown me such support, love, devotion and strength. They are literally my lifeline sometimes when it all seems overwhelming and I just want to meltdown. Their positivity and reassurance and their unconditional patience with me is such a gift. They call and check on me and offer their assistance, always listening without judgment and I could not survive without them! Some of these treasured friends live here and are a consistent presence and source of love and humor I can draw upon when needed, and others lend their ears and hearts to me from afar. But each one of my friends is so truly special to me and I hope they know how I feel about them and how blessed I am they are in my life.

And so, poops, as I leave you for awhile, I hope you’ll meditate on the value of friendship and give thanks for the beautiful souls in your own lives who lift you up when you need it and carry you on their shoulders when you can barely hold on. The following are three wonderful MOMtras I cherish that always bring a smile to my face. As you read them, think about your own friendships and what they mean to you. And if you haven’t said it in awhile, let your friends know just how important they are to you:

Who are the people you picture when you say these MOMtras aloud? Especially that last one, right? Who are the incredible women in your lives who love you and care for you despite all your flaws and mistakes? (and if you’re like poops here, they love you despite your big fat foot being constantly in your mouth). What faces and names come to mind? You know who they are. You don’t have to think twice about it. If you’re really lucky, several people qualify and you’re still lucky if only one or two make the list. Sure, family is forever, there’s no question about that. But I think friendships can be too. If you nurture them, don’t take them for granted and keep their foundations in tact through challenging times, there is no reason they can’t last a lifetime. And what a gift that is – to know that no matter what happens, someone always has your back and you have theirs. In fact, one of my oldest friends in the world reminded me just last night about the priceless value of friendship when she stayed up way later then either of us should have on a “school night” and we had a good-old fashioned chat with a lot of solid listening, golden advice and, of course, hilarious laughter. It’s friends like this, where the time spent together is effortless and the connection is of pure quality that make friendships priceless.

Ok, you beautiful Poopies, I’m not sure exactly when I’ll be back online, so, please be patient with me and don’t forget about me! I certainly won’t forget about all of you! You are my biggest inspiration and the little blog community we’ve formed is important to me and I hope equally important to you. Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll definitely see you sooner than later!  xxxoooxxxoooxxxooo.

Greetings, you fabulous Poopies! I hope everything in your lives is going well and that 2012 has been smooth sailing for you all. “Smooth” isn’t exactly the word I would use to describe life over here in PoopieWorld. “Crazed” or “stressed” or “nuts” even would be more accurate descriptions for us at the moment. The house goes up next week and we’ve been in what feels like never-ending packing, purging, de-cluttering, fix-it, clean it and paint it mode. Casa Poopie is so damn perfect now I wish we could stay put forever. It’s definitely unfair that someone else will be the beneficiaries of all our hard work and money. Oh well, such is the lovely market and economy we’re just trying to survive in these days. And really all of this is truly smooth sailing compared to what many others are dealing with. A good friend reminded me yesterday, PoopieDaddy has a good job we all have our health and each other. Nothing is more important. Nothing. 

And this of course brings me to today’s brief blog. As you can see from the photo above, ole Poops here finally chopped off the locks! It is definitely weird to see such a big part of your physical self sitting on a table detached from your head. I had about a 10-second cringe after the scissors sliced threw my long ponytail and then I was over it. All it took for me to have this perspective was to think about the person out there who will have a wig sewn from my hair. I can’t even imagine how awful and daunting it would be to face a serious illness, but then on top of all the physical and emotional pain you add hair loss as one of the unfortunate symptoms. If my locks can make someone’s life, especially a child’s, just slightly better by providing them with real, healthy hair then it’s the very least I can give back to show how grateful I am for my own good health and the health of those whom I love. It’s such a tiny thing. Now that it’s chopped, I wish I had donated my hair every year that I’ve had it long enough to do it! And just maybe now I will.

I’ve got a lot of interesting topics to share with you all this year. I wish I could post them now, but I want to wait for PoopieMommy’s makeover. So, please bear with me the rest of the month. Starting this weekend, the blog will be going under construction. I tried to time PoopieMommy’s overhaul with the house sale since I knew life was about to get ka-razy around here and finding time to blog everyday would get trickier.  I’ll try to leave you with one last MoMtra tomorrow before I bid you leave temporarily. It’s still uncertain whether or not the URL will remain the same, as we’re potentially switching to WordPress. Of course if there are major changes to how you find PoopieMommy on the web or how you receive it via email I will keep you updated.  I’m hoping the redesign won’t take too long! I will miss all my Poopies! You guys are the best. I’ll leave ya with “after” pic from today’s Locks of Love cut. Here’s the new and improved PoopieMommy after the 10 inches were chopped. One day I’ll manage to put on some make-up during daylight hours and perhaps start waxing the amazon eyebrows again!!! : ) For better or worse, this is PoopieMommy. xxoo.