I am lucky enough to have found some wonderful friends through the internet. It all started for me about 9 years ago with a small homeschooling forum that I frequented. It was a way to talk to other moms in the same situation as me – trying desperately to teach their kids while not going insane from lack of contact with the outside world. The forum evolved quickly from that of not just how to homeschool, but how to learn and enjoy learning ourselves. It changed locations from the homeschooling site so soon other women joined in that were just excited about exploring books, music, art, movies, etc. Eight years ago about 15 of us had our first meeting. This was back in the day when meeting online friends was very new and very scary. You didn’t just go off to meet someone you had only “chatted” with online. I did though. I went to Ohio for a “retreat”. It was held at the home of the woman who started it all… Julie Bogart. Women came from all over the US and stayed in her home for the weekend. It took us a few minutes, but soon we were all talking and laughing like we had known each other for years. It was a surreal experience and one I will  never forget. We had numerous retreats after that – North Carolina, South Carolina… All of them making us wish we lived closer.

That forum has since come and gone and I assumed when it died the friendships would as well. That has not been the case. With the advent of Facebook and  Twitter a lot of us have reconvened and jumped back into the relationships. Who would think that with only 140 characters allowed so much could be said?

This week Julie came out to California and is staying with me for a couple of days. No matter how good the internet is it can never replace face-to-face conversations. We have only stopped talking in order to post to blogs, twitter, etc.

Today, Julie asked another online friend of hers, Bill,  to come down from Bakersfield today to spend some time.  Bill is someone she has known for 10 years, but had not met until today. I love the internet.

The world we live in today is so small. Those of you who think that Twitter and Facebook (and sites like them) are a waste of time – no one wants to hear what you are having for breakfast – maybe spend a few minutes to check them out. Your life could be enriched in ways you would never dream.

I just finished with a Photoshop Compositing class and thought I would share the results. We learned a TON – layer masks, blend modes, non-destructive dodging and burning, smart objects, and on and on. My final project is not perfect – I  probably should have picked a better background image to help the other figures stand out – but I am pretty happy with it.

I titled it “Saying Goodbye” -

To show all the work that went into it these are all the different elements…

It was a hard class, but I’m very glad I went. Definitely worth the frustration. Photoshop is huge, though, and I still have a long ways to go.

I have been spending the past few days thinking, dreaming, and planning about the future. It can be a fun place to be when there are so many possibilities. I saw a sign in a class that I sub for that said “Where do you want to be? Where are you now? What is the path to get there?” That is where I am right now… the how-do-I-get-there stage. I know exactly where I am and exactly where I want to be. Making the steps in between seems to be a little more difficult. I can be the type that will spend a lot of time dreaming about what things could be like and not spending the time acting on it to make sure I do actually get there. This weekend has been a little different though. I’ve been taking notes and taking action. A friend tells me that process is important and I think that’s what action towards a goal is … process. Taking the time to enjoy each micro-step on the journey. The future is looking brighter and I can’t wait to get there, but I don’t want to be living so much in my dreams that  I miss today and the opportunity of getting closer to tomorrow.