An intro

Good evening friends!  My name is Shane Smith and welcome to my blog...........aptly called TOO, which stands for Thankful, Optimistic, and Opinionated, which coincidentially, are good descriptions for my personality.  I have blogged before, but I wanted to do something a little different.  Everyone has an opinion, but not everyone can explain their opinions, and that's what I wanted to do with this blog.  Let me describe myself.  First, I am thankful............for many things.  I am thankful for my health, my family, my wonderful girlfriend, my girlfriends two wonderful kids, my job, and so many other things.  Its real easy to gripe about all the little things in life, but instead of complaining so much, how about being thankful for the important things.  Second, I am optimistic..........optimistic that my relationship w/ Amanda will continue to blossom into something even more wonderful, optimistic that my relationship with her kids will continue to grow into something wonderful, and optimistic for so many other things.  My ex wife was a very pessimistic person...........quite frankly, I couldn't handle that.  Its easy to be down about so many things, but why not be optimistic about all the wonderful things going on around us.  Look, we know that the world sucks and its a tough place, but instead of hanging your head down, chin up, and fight fight fight.  Lastly, I am opinionated.  I can be blunt and sometimes I will be blunt, but honesty is a quality that we just don't see in society much anymore.  Its real easy to lie to protect or cover yourself up, however, why can't we be more honest and just own up to the mistakes that we do make?  It sure will make things a whole lot simpler and you won't come out looking as bad as you would had you lied.  I know a certain former collegiate football coach can attest to that, haha.  So there you go, a little insight into yours truly.  I hope that you'll enjoy the posts, photos, stories, and occasional rants and raves of a Moderate Independent who is a huge sports fan.