Early Morning Rivalry

GO REDSKINS!!

My husband is a BIG Cowboys fan, and well, ya know... I'm a REDSKINS fan. Here in Japan, we are watching the football game at 6am. You read that right. We're up cheering our teams on. Awesome way to start the day. I'm sure this will determine our attitudes towards one another, in good fun, of course. Okay... there's 5:15 left in the 2nd quarter... I have to go show some support.

GO REDSKINS!!

Diminishing Clutter

I love you, too, Dee!! Always!!

---I've been going through EVERYTHING! My house is cluttered with so many things that serve or have no purpose. For the few people who really know me, you'll say, "Here she goes again!" I often go through phases where I want to get rid of everything. I go through each room and sell half, donate the other half. Well, yes, I'm at it again, but with a bigger and better plan. I'm not doing it to make room for more stuff. I'm doing it to make things easier for myself. Less to dust, less to put away, less to worry about (breakables), and well, just to make less distractions in our house. Yes, house. It's not feeling so much like a home these days, because of all the clutter. Oh, wait... idea. I think I'll take a few before photos, just to show the difference. I should have thought of that earlier. I've already started with the DVDs and the kids' rooms, so most of that is out of here already. Darn... the rooms were the worst! I'll take pictures of my room before I work on it. You'll see! Be prepared. My mother might even cringe and be ashamed of me, but only for a moment. :P

---Okay, so I went through my DVDs and I have 75 to get rid of and 185 that we're keeping. The keepers are mostly Disney movies or kid friendly movies. The 75 that I'm getting rid of are not so child friendly or simply a waste because we've watched them once and will probably never watch them again. I have tons of books to go through. Many are self improvement books that I didn't care to indulge in. There's a book that I've used twice to start myself going with the house and all, but never got through all the steps of it. It's called 'Simplify Your Life' 100 Ways To Slow Down and Enjoy the Things That Really Matter by Elaine St. James. I really like the book and most of the steps. Some I don't agree with, but they make sense for someone else, maybe. I'd recommend it to others, if they're living in clutter or chaos... I guess.

---Wanna know what book inspired me to get off my lazy butt? The Holy Bible. Really! There's absolutely no better self improvement book out there! Diminishing my clutter will actually cut down on the distractions that are keeping me from more important things. My family, myself and my relationship with God through prayer. Okay, I won't elaborate, but my next entry will definitely be a slight continuation of this paragraph.

---Ooooooh, I have to go. My husband has outdone himself this morning. He's made a big breakfast and the coffee is calling me. Eggs, toast, bacon.... bye!

Faith, Time, Patience

Today's Quote

Your three best doctors are faith, time, and patience.

-From a fortune cookie

I have faith that I will not stray from a true heart today. I will take time to appreciate all that I have been so graciously blessed with and I will be patient in my travels and trials. Should I lose my way, I know that He will lead me back to the path of righteousness.

I have two soccer games to attend today. We have a short drive to Sagamihara Housing Annex for Joniece's game at 1030. I guess we'll leave here around 0930, because the traffic is unpredictable. -- Gotta love Japan's traffic -- We'll have to leave immediately after the game to head back to NAF Atsugi for Jasmine's game. Her game starts at 1200. She's not joining us for Joniece's game, just in case we don't make it back in time.

Joseph's game (last night) was fun. The division he plays for (5-6 yrs) is so fun to watch. They're in the stage or phase of still learning the game and not yet realizing the competition. They're out there having so much fun. Joseph doesn't even know or care that they haven't won a single game, yet, this season. He still loves to go out there and have fun with all his friends and teammates. It's so refreshing to see such innocence. When they knock one another over, it never causes fuss or fights. They stop to help each other up and apologize, even if it was accidental.

When do they lose that? At what age do they start to take offense to everything? And that's where we come in. That's where the effect of our parenting takes over completely. Where the outside influence means very little. Sure, they learn so much from teachers, peers, the community. BUT, it's the actions and reactions of "US", their parents, that will determine what they will choose as their rights and wrongs. Where is this coming from?

Watching how kids act and react is something I have been trying hard not to take for granted. I learn so much from them. When I sit back and watch the actions and reactions of my own children, I learn so much about myself. Sometimes it's not always something to be proud of. They really are like sponges that absorb EVERYTHING! The past few weeks have been a harsh reality of my moodiness around them. I see myself, my actions and reactions, in them. Holy moly I need quite a bit of self improvement. I never realize how bad my attitude is until I'm correcting it in my children. Good going, huh? At least I know. At least I am doing what I know is right to make the necessary changes for myself and my family. It's never too late nor the wrong time for self evaluation and self improvement.

I've discussed this with my three older children, but Jayda doesn't quite understand yet. Right now, for Jayda, all I can do is be the role model she needs and deserves. She's with me 24/7 so she is a reflection of ALL I do. Joniece, Jasmine and Joseph have all been great through my mood swings. They actually make jokes and put me in my place when need be. Grrrr, but I'm grateful.

What am I doing????? I have to get ready!! Gotta get everyone and everything together. GO PYTHONS! GO Team DYNAMITE!! May you all have a beautiful and blessed day!

I need to breathe

I'm in the middle of doing some research for a project so I haven't had time to get this blog thing going. I'm having a very stressful day and could type for hours about it. All the frustrations and emotions that I've already had and it's only 1:41pm. I still have a long day, evening, and night ahead of me. I would love to sit here and catch you all up on how I got here, but right now, I have to get soccer stuff together (game at 4:30pm), make sure dinner plans are going to happen, vacuum the crumbs Jayda decided to scatter all over the living room, finish a poster for Joniece's team, try to get Jayda to take a nap, and of course, I have to do laundry. Laundry is a twice a day event around here. One missed day and we're backed up for days to come. Okay, I hope to get a few minutes later to get going with all this. I really need to get back into the groove of things. A schedule is a definite necessity around here.

New Blogger

Yep! I'm a new blogger. I'm working on changes in my life, so I thought I should find a new home on the web to share all that I encounter and/or endure along the way. Hopefully, as I learn more and grow into a serious blogger, I'll be able to receive feedback from different levels of intelligence and maturity. It's pretty amazing how people see things from different prospectives. I'll need a lot of advice and criticism to help me a long the way, so I start this blog with an open mind and heart. I'm in the process of moving off and away from the Myspace community to find bigger and better things. It was a great place to keep in touch with friends, new and old, but it started to become a little too juvenile for me. It was fun at times, but I'm older, wiser, and more mature than the "high school" feel it was starting to have on me. So here I am!