An Afternoon Reminiscing

I pulled out some old photos and spent a few hours revisiting elementary school, middle school, high school and college.
The quality of the photos may be poor (mobile uploads of actual photographs) but the memories are incredible.

Delta Sig Days

Tom Kim- Villa Capri

Senior Prom with Nick

With Josh, 11th Grade

My 19th Birthday with Kuz

James...

Joe bird 2003, Christmas Party at Doug's

After School 2000

Delta Sig with Frank and Lauren- Sophomore Year at Temple

2nd Floor of Delta Sig, as usual

Another Senior Prom Pic with my High School Sweetheart

With Alex, Sophomore Year

My 19th Birthday with Shayna

Delta Sig with Frank and Lauren...again

With the Sweetheart, Gina

Freshman dorm- I don't really know how to play a guitar

Delta Sig Toga Party 2003 with Naggy

Delta Sig Toga Party 2002 (Rachel, me, Lucas, Melissa and Jesse)

Andrew

Ashley Visits Temple!

Freshman Dorm Party

John and Eli

Soccer Brian

Togas that look like dresses

Beer Pong with Greg Price

Rachel- Always the life of the Party

Christmas time at Temple!

My favorite Temple Cheerleader

At Delta Sig with one of my dearest friends, Josh

Cuddling or Fighting in the Sunfire

Quick Rewind to 6th grade Christmas Concert

Elementary Besties!

Gangsta poses during recess

Olivia and Lauren

Kelly!

Recess- 5th grade maybe??

Whip out a camera and kids come running!

Did your High School have a break-dancing club? Yea- I didn't think so....

Cheerleading in Disney August 2000

With Angelique and Jacqi 2000

Pre-gaming for Incubus in Hershey, PA 2002

Emily <3

Before Riding the Tower of Terror!

Aaron in Myrtle for Senior Week

Kate in Disney, 2000

Kristin loves Buckshot

Nice Cap, Dad.

Graduation 2002!

Senior Week with Justin

Senior Week with Drew

Father Daughter Dance, maybe 1992

Inseparable- Me and Kate

Natalie's Graduation Party 2000, with Dan and Bill

Again at HS Graduation

Working as a Cheerleading Coach at the 2003 Citrus Bowl

With Shay at Dad's 1997

With some shitty boy band, 2003 Citrus Bowl

Melissa looking very country on the farm in Maine

Lucy!

Hanging out in Newtown with some of my oldest friends, 1999

Heather at cheer camp 2001

Thanks Jim

I'm pretty sure this was the party that someone put a hole in Rich's mom's wall... and it was repaired before she returned the next day!

Senior year...the night before graduation

lovers!

Cheerleaders at Disney 2003

torturing our mother as teens

At Ashley's with Chris, 1999

With Denise, 1999

Kuz working at Eckerd

8th grade field trip to NYC

9th grade formal

Homecoming, 11th grade

NYE 2000- Celebrating that the world didn't end

Mom and Fish-Man

Emily, Amanda and Tom; 12th grade French class

My girls, Senior year

White bitches and gang signs...in the hallway before class

Senior Year Stunt Group!

2001-2002 squad

Halloween at Temple, 2003-PIMPIN'

I miss that scarf...

competition with Michelle, Steph and Emily

Snow day with Alan 2003

Elementary school

Again with the gang signs in the hallway. 8th grade at Lenape

8th grade formal

another dance in 8th grade

Of course Drew needed to make it perverted

With Joey on the way to Parris Island, 2001

Fall of 2002

Senior Night Basketball Game with my rents

Capitol Once Citrus Bowl 2003

In Disney 2003

Fun times with ECA! Summer of 2003

Nick Graduates Marine Corps Boot camp

Jen and I at Natalie's Graduation Party

Unloading the booz for Senior Week in Myrtle

Citrus Bowl with shitty boy band member

John in my 10th grade cheerleading uniform. He's like 19 at the time...

Diane and Josh in town, 2001

Cheer practice at CB West

Cheerleader Bus- taking up the back seats as usual with Angelique and Kate

With Kate at Cheer Camp

Doug and I back in the day (2001)

Senior Year Cheer Competition

East/West Football Game- 2002 Seniors

Again on the Cheer Bus

2000-2001 Squad- Best Ever

Me, Kate, Nikki and Angelique left unattended in the cafeteria

Cheer Practice 2001

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. ~Mark Twain

The news of a young person dieing is never the type of news you want. Hearing the passing of anyone is difficult, however to know a life is ending that has barley begun is especially heart breaking. It makes our own death seem much more inevitable. My heart is aching even more so today because the news I received just days ago was that this young life taken was a friend of mine. He was just 28 years old.

Robert Cameron III, Bob to me, was someone I always thought fondly of and considered a dear old friend. Friends since I was 12 and he was 13, I was always greeted with an enormous hug. I remember telling Bob specifically one day as we stood in the hallway of our overcrowded High School, me in my cheerleading uniform and him wearing sneakers, jeans, a t-shirt and hat (as usual) that he was my favorite hugger. He was the perfect height and our arms wrapped around one another's bodies as if filling a puzzle. We had a friend take a picture of us hugging right then. He was warm, kind, and someone I honestly cared for. Had I known I'd lose him 10 years later I would have kept better track of that photo. Right now I'm trying to figure out where it is...maybe in a box at my Mom's with all my other High School memories? I'm beating myself up now. A personality like Bob's can't be described by memories in a box. He's far too special.

Bob and I spent many days after school driving around with my sister and our friends, doing what kids do. My mom always welcomed him into our home. He was a nice kid with a vibrant sense of humor. Personally I think she was especially fond of him because of his red hair, being a natural red head herself.

To be clear, everyone loved Bob. The fact of the matter was that if you knew him, you loved him. Teachers, friends, parents...He was just that kind of person.

After moving away from our hometown in 2007 I hadn't had much contact with Bob other than facebook. The last time I spent significant time with him was New Years Eve in 2005 or 2006 when a large group of us rang in the New Year at his parents house in Chalfont, PA. It saddens me that I let him slip away.

Even now, going back home, so out of touch with everyone I knew growing up, I know that if I saw him I'd be greeted with "Byelich!" (Though my last name is now Stewart), and it'd quickly be followed by that warm familiar hug. When visiting home, if I was lucky enough to bump into him, this greeting was pretty much always the same. He'd talk to me like we hadn't skipped a beat. His friendship was consistent, unwavering, true, and long.

I've lost a lot of friends over the years, each one far to early and time and time again we say it's unfair: John Truman, Tristan Dailey, Brain Dostal, Bryan "Hollywood" Yeshion, Kelly Riegel, Justin Decker, Sean Stuter and so many others.

Remembering these people, along with others the world has lost, reminds me to live each day as if it may be my last. To tell people I love them, enjoy the time we have, take risks, have fun, laugh loudly, love whole-heartedly, be kind, live with purpose and most importantly be happy.

Although I'm not exactly sure what I believe...your soul may be recycled or maybe you've reached your final destination. I do know that you made an impact on this world, possibly more than you'll ever know, and are truly missed. My heart goes out to your families and loved ones.

Robert G. Cameron III (1983-2011)

Taking Time to Reflect

As I walked down Stump Rd. in Pipersville, PA this morning I wasn't chilled by the fall PA air or dreading the wind in my face (though it's much colder than I'm used to these days). Instead I was warmed with the familiarity of the sun rising over the field adjacent to the neigborhood where I spent my teenage years and delighted at the brown leaves whipping at my feet. This was the route I walked to my bus stop with my sister hundreds of times. It feels good to be home.

The only thing that would make the trip better was if Doug was able to take it with me. This is the first Thanksgiving we've spent apart in years.

I made the trip from my sunny SC home back to PA to celebrate Thanksgiving with my families (yes, I have many) late Tuesday night. A co-worker of mine and I loaded up her Altima and took the 11-hour trip together. The time went surprisingly fast and our excitement to go home (Bucks County, PA for me and Long Island for her) only grew with each mile we traveled. We had one or two interesting encouters on the way, but for the most part the drive went well. Kelly dropped me off at a Dunkin' Donuts in Bordentown, NJ where I arranged to meet my Dad.

Kelly and I parted ways, she continued on to NY, and I caught up with my Dad over a cup of coffee. After only getting 2 hours of sleep in the car I had that auto-pilot feeling...when you're not exactly sure how you keep on going but you just do. We drove up route 29, along the Delaware River, which looked mostly unchanged to me since the last time I drove it with my sister 4 or 5 years ago. Memories came back all along the drive. After 30 minutes we reach my Dads where I relaxed with my little sister for the rest of the afternoon. I was so exhausted I wanted to keep it low key. We ordered in Chinese. After dinner my Dad and I met up with my Uncle mark for a drink at a new bar in the area, Blondies Sports Bar and Grille. This location is brand new, so they don't have the website up yet. They also have a location in AZ and NV. We decided to check it out because two of the owners are old friends of my Dads.

I tried to hit the sack early because packet pick-up for my 5-mile Turkey Trot was at 8am. It was a beautiful race! I ran with my sister-in-law, uncle, cousin, and close family friend. We celebrated with Bloody Mary's afterward.

Next on the agenda was the highlight of the day: EATING! I enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal with my grandmother, mother, sister, and my mother's boyfriend Scott.

After dinner I had plenty of time to reflect on what I'm thankful for:

My wonderful husband, Doug, who makes me laugh everyday and has an incredible way of dealing with me when I'm stressed or overwhelmed.

My family who loves me unconditionally. It's gigantic and there's no way I can picture everyone but here's a shot of some of them at our wedding.

My wonderful friends I've met along the way

My kids (and others)

Having my health and the ability to stay in shape and run

My marriage, which is better than I ever dreamed.

I have so many blessings in my life <3. I'm looking forward to the Stewart Thanksgiving tonight and a wedding tomorrow. More fun to come!

Cruelty-Free is the Way to Be

Sooo most people love animals. Most people. Those that don't basically suck, and I'm okay with saying that. The problem is that even most animal lovers are either unaware how badly animals are abused and exploited or simply refuse to recognize it. Most people think animal testing is acceptable when being done fore medical purposes, like finding a cure for cancer or medicines for rare diseases. What many don't know (or care to recognize) is that more than 2/3 of animal testing has nothing to due to medical advances. Most testing is done for consumer products or sheer curiosity.

Why would anyone intentionally ignore it you may ask? Well, because ignorance really is bliss. Just ask any meat eater that refuses to visit a slaughter house to meet the pig whose flesh they'll consume in a week. Most people would rather be blind to the suffering that goes into their products and food. Most humans don't want to have to sacrifice something they're accustomed to having, like meat or that specific shampoo they like so much, for the sake of compassion. If I'm aware that a bunny had painful injections in his eyes, had his fur burned of and nails ripped out for the sake of my eyeliner I wouldn't want to buy it (if I had a conscience, that is). This knowledge would make shopping for clothing, cosmetics, beauty products and food challenging.

I'm writing to let you know that it's not as hard as it seems. Cruelty free products are popping up everywhere, making products made without harming animals much more accessible AND affordable. YAY!!



Funny Pictures

To encourage consumers to seek out these cruelty-free options we need to give them the motivation to do so. Just understanding what animal testing is about will motivate anyone with a heart.

The most common form of animal testing is called the Draize Test. This is when a product, like shampoo or toothpaste, is put directly into the animal’s eyes to determine a lethal amount. This practice is cruel and ineffective because mice, rats, cats, and bunnies are very different from humans. Even if tests are being done for medical reasons the results are mostly irrelevant to humans.

"The Food & Drug Administration recently reported that of all drugs that test safe and effective in animal tests, 92 Percent are found to be either unsafe or ineffective in humans."

So why do we continue to subject animals to this unnecessary and cruel testing? They endure severe pain during these tests, abuse and neglect while being caged and immense amounts of stress for no end result. WHY?




Did you also know that some of the animals that wind up in laboratories have been stolen off the streets, adopted from shelters and obtained from "free to a good home" ads? The chances that your cat that "ran away" when you were 11 ended up being tortured in a lab are pretty good.

Watch the video. Anyone with a soul can't argue that this isn't wrong.



Furthermore, testing on animals doesn't tell us how humans will react to products. I argue that the best way to find out how a product or medicine effects humans is to test on humans. Here's a thought, with all the unemployed people out there why not pay HUMANS to endure these tests. I know people that I volunteered for this type of work. Or, better yet, why not test on humans serving prison sentences for violent crimes. We might as well make them work for our tax dollars that feed and house them.

The bottom line is that the only way we can encourage companies to stop animal testing and using animal products is to STOP BUYING THIER PRODUCTS. By not participating in the cruelty you can make a difference. You can also write the companies and let them know you've decided to stop using their products because they continue to use cruel and ineffective testing methods on animals.

Here are some links for how to find cruelty-free products. If you're not willing to speak up for these animals I at least urge you to not participate. Would you want your family dog, cat, bird or bunny to suffer this way?


Click Here to Access a Database of Companies that Do and DO NOT Test on Animals

For those of you who dislike PETA, Click Here for Another Way to Find out Companies that Do and DO NOT Test on Animals


Clothing, Shoes, Cosmetics, Hygiene Products, Cleaning Products, Laundry Detergent, Perfumes... they are all included in these lists. Please take the time to know what you are buying (and therefore supporting).