thoughts on babies and other life changing events

so i came across an article that grabbed my attention about how to preserve relationships with your BFFs when one of you hits a different phase in life....
since pretty much everyone i know is having babies and i am not, naturally i was intrigued...
it seems that i've always been a bit behind the curve in my life experiences as far as timelines are concerned, which doesn't really bother me; but it seems to bring continual adjustments in interpersonal relationships...
just as i've "caught up" with everyone in adjusting to the "getting married" phase in life, they all start having babies.... now, despite my snarky comments, i actually enjoy kids quite a bit.... i was always on the fence about having my own and realized that the man i was with would determine alot of my vision for that future....
now, i have had much more excitement than fear for my friends as they have announced their impending bundles of joy... but i'd be lying if i didn't say there is a tiny bit of trepidation... things change pretty radically when that tiny life enters their world and priorities shift, as well they should...
but once all the talk centers around birthing, burping, feeding, and diapers i know i won't have much to contribute... i'm already used to being told i'd never understand certain things until i experienced them - that started with the whole married thing, and it's true....
so will the things my girlfriends & i have in common seem trivial and insignificant to them once they are elevated to "mommy" status? or will we be able to keep a common ground that becomes an amalgam of both sides? this is probably selfish in the big scheme of things, but as things change and life goes on, these were just some thoughts floatin' in my cranium...
i suppose time will tell....

look-a-like contest

as i fly around the friendly skies i find myself often running into people that look like other recognizable people (like celebrities)... today, there were redheaded twins that looked like the Weasley brothers in the Harry Potter movies sitting in my overwing section, and a pilot who looked like a slightly younger version of John Locke from "Lost"...
i gotta say the nicest actual celeb that i've run into so far was Jim Belushi from "According to Jim" who occupied a seat in the overwing several months back.... other celebs i've had so far:
Lou Diamond Phillips (Young Guns)
Ron Jeremy (former porn star and reality show castmember.... i only know this from watching VH1)
the guy with the glasses from the Sonic commercials who always says dumb stuff to his wife
Kevin Nealon (comedian and was the "zen" golfer in Happy Gilmore
Val Kilmer
Bing Crosby's wife (i think her name is Kathleen?)
George Gervin (former NBA basketball star)
the girl who played Ruthie, the youngest, on 7th Heaven
Judd Hirsch (best known for his role on Taxi, i think)

i think that's all i can remember right now.... i know we've had lots of pro athletes and musicians that i'm just not familiar with, but it is kinda fun to run into these people in "real life"....

so i've been thinking of starting up my blog again, particularly to chronicle future travel experiences... just a disclaimer, i will continue to ignore rules of capitalization and punctuation, but not intentionally grammar...so be forewarned if this is a pet peeve...

we (the hubby) and i just finished an 8 night cruise to mexico with my parents...cabo san lucas, mazatlan, and puerto vallarta... it was super fun and relaxing and i loved getting to share the experience of my parents 1st cruise with them... there was dancing, skip bo and much hilarity among other things, all of which chalk up to a good experience in my book ...

the next trip on the agenda is a bit of an insane undertaking.... correction, the next BIG trip...
before we hit the BIG trip i am looking forward to my August girls' weekend in SAN to hit the beaches, shop and see Wicked! B, A, M & i concocted this idea on our 1st girls outing since it went so well and we discovered how much fun we had traveling with each other!
my mind has been bouncing back and forth between this trip and the BIG one and tonight i've been doing research for the BIG one...
here's a link to the itinerary for anyone that hasn't seen it yet
www.hollandamerica.com%2Ffind-cruise-vacation%2FCruiseDetails.action%3FwebItineraryIdForAudit%3DWA9032%26durationCode%3D4%26noOfFlexibleMonths%3D1%26portCode%3DLAX%26shipCodeSearch%3DAM%26flexibleMonths%3Dfalse%26pageNumber%3D1%26voyageCode%3DA945E%26destCode%3D%26dateCode%3D9_2009&h=ffcf4f7a05d2c7dbf3a8081eb5e5b795

we leave sept 30 from LAX for a 32 day cruise on Holland America thru the South Pacific to Australia ....the original idea was to just fly to australia and tour the eastern coastline, but then we came across this smokin' deal and couldn't pass it up.... we still get to see most of what we wanted to, plus so much in between that would normally cost an arm and a leg to get to (e.g. fiji, tahiti, etc....) AND we are going to try to fly to New Zealand and spend a couple weeks there after we finish the cruise in Sydney. we figure we should make the most of going 1/2 way around the world....
i vacillate between hyper excitement and terror when i get into planning this trip.... excitement for sheer experience of it all, terror for the commitment and unfamiliarity....
right now my brain is just getting tired from information overload so i'm resume more on this topic later, but thanks for coming back if you're reading this now ....