Day 21: Your Best Friend is in a Car Accident and You Have Been in a Fight Just Before, What Do You Do?

This seems like a very strange question to me but here goes...

I am assuming that my best friend is not dead, therefore, I would go see them at the hospital. I try to make sure that those I love know I love them, even if we are disagreeing about something so that I never have to regret if something happens to one of us. I have always made sure to tell my husband that I love him and ask him to be careful when we part so that I know in my heart that he knows how much I care about him. I always tell my family and friends that I love them each time we talk or write because I know that our future's are not decided and life is short and unpredictable.

I don't want to live with regrets that I could have avoided by stating three little words of love...

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Countertops

Day 20: Your Views on Drugs and Alcohol

Once again, moderation, moderation, moderation people.

I have never used any illegal drugs but I don't feel it is my place to judge those that do either. I think that people need to be responsible for the choices they make and in knowing that, use drugs, if they chose to, responsibly.

Having had alcoholism very close to me growing up, I have always had a bit of a fear of it, and I think that has caused me to always err on the side of caution when it comes to alcohol. I do drink occasionally but when I do, it is never very much. I just don't get a level of "fun" from it that warrants feeling really crappy the next day or doing something I would later regret while under the influence.

One thing I don't excuse is those that put other people's lives in danger while using either of the above. I think that if you are going to make the choice to use drugs and/or alcohol, you should be the only that has to deal with the consequences of that choice, not some innocent bystander on the road, or an innocent child that is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of course, we know that this is almost never the case when abuse of the above two is involved...which is why my opening lines were moderation, moderation, moderation...

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Last Year on In My Words...My Christmas

Day 19: What You Think of Religion and/or Politics

For both....moderation is key!!!

Religion: I think that if being in a religion causes a person to be a better person, lead a better life, and makes them feel better about life after death, then go for it. I think that if being in a religion causes a person to judge others, force their beliefs on others, and/or kill others in the name of religion, then it should be definitely rethought.

Politics: Politics need to be about making the world a better place for everyone, not just for those that have money, means or both. Politicians should be individuals that are looking to make a difference in the lives of those they represent and definitely not people just looking to take advantage of a position and a system.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...What To Do

Day 18: Your Views on Gay Marriage

Absolutely for it...enough said.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Chase's Catnip Christmas

Day 17: A Book That You Have Read That Has Changed Your Views on Something

This one is easy for me. There are two books.

The first one is the Color Purple. I read this book for the first time when I was in high school and in it, two of the characters have a discussion about God that I thought was awesome. It made sense to me. I was pretty excited about reading it enough that I actually told my boyfriend at the time all about it. The rest of the book is great and I love the movie too but the discussion about God was the part that really connected with me at the time.

The second book is called Ishmael and my dad turned me on to this one. This book is amazing and completely changed the way I think about everything in life and how I interact with this planet we live on. It explained so many things.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Geocaching Peeve

Day 16: Something You Can Definitely Live Without.

I could live without inconsiderate people.
I could live without child abusers/molesters.
I could live without racism and bigotry.
I could live without war.
I could live without cruelty to animals.
I could live without selfishness and greed.
I could live without prejudice.
I could live without heartbreak.

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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Bathroom Kitty

Day 15: Something You Can't Live Without Because You Have Tried to Live Without It

Okay for me this one is in two parts...emotionally and physically (and this is excluding food, water and sleep, which we all need to survive).

Emotionally, I can't live without the love of my husband, family, and friends. Without love, anyone's life is just an empty shell. I truly believe that the only thing that matters at the end of your life, is who you have loved and who loves you.

Physically, I can't live without (meaning I could if I had to, but really wouldn't want to) books, and writing materials...with those two things, I could stay busy and keep my mind fresh for all time.

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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Locked Out

Day 14: A Hero That Has Let You Down

This is a weird one...don't know really what to put here. Don't know that I have ever labeled anyone specifically as a hero...there are people I admire and there are those that have disappointed me but no one like a Superman or Woman in my life that would have let me down.

I think we all make choices and have to live with the consequences of those choices...some are good and some are bad. For instance, my biological father hurt me in a couple of ways, but when I was old enough to really look at the situation, I realized that it had nothing to do with me, he was just making bad choices and the consequences ended up being that we didn't have a close relationship. I never considered him a hero necessarily but when you are a kid all "grownups" are larger than life and it is hard for them to live up to that over time.

We all find disappointment in those around us that we consider friends, or family. Accepting a person's faults and either deciding we can live with them or not is the choice that we then get to make.

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Busy

Day 13: A Band or Artist That Has Gotten You Through Some Bad Ass Days

Well, I guess this would depend on the days....in high school, I think Journey, Depeche Mode, and old school Prince would have been on my list that has gotten me through (not exclusively but I do remember listening to them when I was going through tough high school drama).

Then in college, it would be Sinead O'Connor, James Brown, and EnVogue, that helped me through stressful days, lonely times, or being homesick. Oh, and I remember one particular drive to clear my head that required some James Taylor and UB40 (how is that for a mix?)...

Over the years since college, I have had some Sarah McLachlan, Anna Nalick, Norah Jones when I need to sing the blues away, then some Green Day, Violent Femmes, and Beastie Boys if I need to get going, and finally some CCR, Beatles, and Allman Brothers if I want a walk down childhood memory lane. Can't forget some Disturbed and Papa Roach when I want to get pumped at the gym...

You know, obviously, there is no way to answer this one with just one artist or band...I don't think I have had the bad times that this question is referring too yet, and I love so many different artists and listen to them all for different reasons...so this is really just a broad brushstroke of the things I have listened to over the years....definitely not inclusive off all my tastes musically....since we didn't even touch on Classical and Scores that get me going for school or morning wakeups...

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Beautiful Moon

BBC Book List 2010

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here. Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt. Tag to me and others.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22- Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath- Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina –Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Willaim Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martell
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love in the time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On the Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson
74 Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - Charles Mitchell
83 The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

Looks like I have read 53 of them so far....but really that is only half. Guess I better update that reading list at the library. Thank goodness for AP English in highschool or I wouldn't have half of what I do on here...haha

Day 12: Something You Never Get Compliments On

Wow, this one is hard...this means that I have to think of something that I like about myself that no one else notices....hmmmm.

Okay, I have thought of it....my feet. I really like my feet and no one else really seems to notice them...haha. The only thing anyone really notices is that I look like I am standing on my toes when my feet are relaxed due to the high arch I have...other than that...no admirers...

Everything else I like about myself has had at least one compliment so I can't say "never"...heehee.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...In A Pinch

Day 11: Something People Seem to Compliment You the Most On

This one is two fold....physically, I think it would have to be my curly hair and my eyes...at least those two are the ones I hear the most about. Amazingly enough, they are both things I like about myself physically too so it works out...haha.

On the nonphysical front, I think I get complimented on my knowledge of various things. I don't know everything obviously, but of the things I am interested in, I try to be as thorough in my knowledge as possible. I know a lot about computers, for instance, and that is probably the one thing that comes up the most...and I love being able to use what I know to help others so it is a benefit for both them and me.

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...She's Off

Day 10: Someone You Need To Let Go Of or Wish You Didn't Know

I don't think this one is an issue for me. I am pretty good at letting go of dead weight.

I realized a long time ago that who you choose to have in your life affects who you are and what you are able to accomplish. I tend to cut loose those that have TOO much drama, are not honest, or are TOO negative...I just don't need those kind of people in my life.

High school is over and I can't stand to be surrounded by high school antics in people that should have outgrown that activity years ago.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Blanket Woes

Day 9: Someone You Didn't Want To Let Go Of But Just Drifted Away From

This is an interesting one. I have always had a hang up about drifting away from people and a lot of guilt when it does happen. Reality is that there are only a few people in anyone's life that remain a part of it for the length of it. Generally this is family (but not in all cases) and the closest of friends.

I have been very lucky to have some very good friends in my life that have filled the "family" requirement for me when my family has been far away (distance-wise). Those friends will be my friends forever even if we don't talk for ages. I know that they feel the same way about me.

I do have a couple of close friends that I had in high school, that I desperately tried to stay connected with after we all went our separate ways and I have managed to really only stay in contact with one of them. We will continue to be friends until the end of time even though we rarely get to see each other. I felt a lot a guilt when I felt the others slipping away but this is mostly because I assumed it was all my fault. Truth is that it takes two to maintain a relationship and all the effort can't be on one side. So while some of the fault is mine, not all of it is.

The same thing happened in college. I really only have one or two people that am close to from my undergraduate years even though I had a lot of friends, teammates, and sorority sisters at the time. As our lives went in different directions, we drifted apart and other people came into our lives. This is normal...and I have learned to not put so much on myself about this anymore.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Walmart Tramplers

Day 8: Someone Who Made Your Life Hell or Treated You Like Shit

This is a hard one as I don't think that anyone completely fits this bill....I mean we all had relationships in school that did or didn't turn out for one reason or another, but none of mine were so bad that I would label them as the above.

I guess I feel some resentment towards my biological father for some of the things he put me through...but he is no longer living and I really can't speak badly of him now. He made some really bad choices in his life, and unfortunately, I was affected by some of them, but in the end, his life was shortened because of some of those choices so I don't know that anything I would say would make a difference in that outcome. I wish sometimes that I had been able to get to know the amazing part of him better, but he kept that part of himself hidden behind the bad choices most of the time, and that seems sadder than anything else.

Overall, I have had a pretty good life, hard sometimes (like everyone) but still pretty good without a lot of tragedy in it. I am one of the lucky ones.

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Playstation Mayhem

Day 7: Someone Who Has Made Your Life Worth Living For

This one is easy....everyone in my family...my husband, my sisters, my brothers, my moms and dads, my grandparents, all the aunts and uncles, cousins and friends that have been family for me for so long...I don't know what I would do without you!!!

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Caching It High

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and so looking forward to seeing you over Tday weekend. You are the best and I am one of two lucky daughters!!

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Happy Birthday Mom

Day 6: Something You Hope You Never Have To Do

Wow...what a question. I guess I would have to say off the top of my head that number one, I would never want to have to okay the "pulling of the plug" for anyone, but I know that if I needed to do it, I could...I just wouldn't want to. Putting down my cat of 19 years a few years back was very traumatic and I know that obviously "putting down" a person would be so much more terrible.

I would also never want to put one of my parents in a nursing home, although I know that this is necessary sometimes, the idea of it just makes me cringe.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Steve Terrill

Day 5: Something You Hope to Do in Your Life

I definitely want to travel some more. Even though I have been to a lot of places, there are tons more that I would love to see.

I want to spend more time with my friends and family...being away as much as I have been really gives you a good perspective on how short life is and how much we need to appreciate every moment.

I would like to study some more things in school, like Japanese, Spanish, guitar, piano, computers (of course), and photography.

I would like to have enough courage and self confidence to teach classes in some of the things that I know well.

There are tons of other things I hope to do in my life, but these are the things that pop to the top of my head right now.

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One Year Ago on In My Words...Muy Feo

Day 4: Something You Have to Forgive Someone For

I was just recently wronged by someone that I would have never expected it from. I was completely blindsided and it has affected me in the most horrific way. I am devastated by the actions and words of this person. I have lost confidence in who I am and how I see the world. I feel as if everything I ever knew was right and good is completely the opposite. I am sure that I will never be the same.

Having said all that, I know deep in my heart that given some time and much explanation, I could come to forgive and trust this person again. We have known each other for a very long time and that counts for something. You don't throw people out of your life when you have so much history. I hope that there will come a time that we can meet half way and come to an understanding and perhaps eventually a renewal of our relationship.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Mission For Fitness

Day 3: Something You Have to Forgive Yourself For

I need to forgive myself for not upholding my end of a deal I made with someone I care for very much. Overall, it probably doesn't seem like a big deal but I know that I hurt that person by not following through on my promise, and I also damaged my word for them to believe in me for any future promises. I am not ready to forgive myself for making such a huge mistake but I know that at sometime, perhaps after they forgive me, I will forgive myself as long as I do not allow myself to repeat my mistakes.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Blanket Woes

Day 2: Something You Love About Yourself

I love that I have a soft heart and am not afraid to show that I have feelings for others. I know that it makes me more susceptible to getting hurt by others, but I have come to the realization that the only thing that matters in life is THOSE THAT YOU LOVE AND THOSE THAT LOVE YOU. All the rest of the cr@p doesn't matter....not in the end.

When I die, it won't matter how much money I have in the bank, or how many cool things I have in my house, all that will matter is the lives I have affected and those that have affected me. There is nothing else.

I love that my travels around this world have opened my mind (more than it already was) to this amazing planet we live on and all the amazing things we can experience and affect. My travels have allowed me the opportunity to love more and have more love me and that is something that I will always have!!

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Books

Day 1: Something You Hate About Yourself

Starting a new blogging task to see if I can get myself jump started into my writing again. I have a ton of stuff going on, but most of it too personal for posting on here. I need to get motivated to write regularly and then the creative juices will start to flow...so on that note, I am going to do this list of 30 topics...don't know that I will get them all done in 30 days but I think it is still a good place to start. I found this list on Poppycede's blog...not sure who she might have gotten it from.

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Something You Hate About Yourself

Honestly I don't really hate anything about myself but I definitely have things I would like to change or that I dislike about my personality. One of those things would be my tendency to over-think things on occasion. Turning off my brain these days is one of my biggest hurdles. I have found that exercising regularly helps me keep my brain clear and focused and definitely helps with the over-thinking issue. Only problem is that sometimes the over-thinking occurs in the middle of the night or early morning when exercising is a bit difficult.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...My God, It's Full of Stars

Sad to See

We have a state population near 4 million (and of course some of these can't vote) but to only have 1.4 million vote in the midterm election is really pathetic.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Google Reader and iGoogle

19 Years

Today marks the anniversary of my first date with the love of my life.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...NW Geocaching

Kompasu Update

Well this baby is on us now....think the eye just went over. I had to go out in it because I left some things at the house in the garage to pick up later and take to my friends for disposal and I was afraid that when the direction of the wind changed, they might blow into a neighbors yard or something so when I was pretty sure the eye was over us, I got in the car and drove over to the house (about 5 minutes from the hotel).

I got back just as the wind and rain was starting back up so I got a little wet getting out of the car but overall, it hasn't been too bad. Kind of nice to have a storm as long as everything is open back up tomorrow since I have tons of stuff to do!!!

I took some video on my camera earlier of these two idiots enjoying the storm just a little too much...noticed they had a big bottle of awamori in their hands so that might explain it...and no, they weren't Okinawans...I kept waiting for one of them to fall on their butt in the wind. I'll try to post it to youtube here shortly.

I was kind of impressed with the pressure of the wind on the car while I was sitting at lights...I could really feel it, that is for sure. I am glad I didn't stay out too long...too much time means too much of a chance that something will fly at and damage the car and since it isn't my car...that would be very BAD!!

Anyhow, so now I will watch a movie and work on some of my organization of stuff that has miraculously filled this hotel room, and see what more this storm might have to offer.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Order of Sandwiches

Kompasu Cat 3

Well folks....looks like enough of you didn't have your fingers crossed for me....haha. The storm is going right over us around 3pm this afternoon as a Cat 3 Typhoon now...which is gusts to 125 kt...not too bad...I am not worried about any of my stuff since I don't have anything outside at this time, but I am hoping that my shipment will go as planned and I am hoping that it will pass quickly enough that I can get some things done today.

So far there is no wind outside and the skies are still blue but the outer edge of it hasn't hit us yet. Looks like it was a good thing I rented a few movies yesterday...I better get moving...have a lot to do this morning before my movers show up and I am counting on them to come early since they'll probably be trying to get everything done quickly so they have less to reschedule.

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Last Year on In My Words...Progress or Maybe Not

Typhoon Kompasu

It isn't a typhoon just yet but should be by the time it gets to us....what do you want to bet that it will delay J's return flight from his business trip? Tracking is about the same only now it will be going right over us and a bit later in the day...hope my shipment still goes as planned....since that is the same day I am supposed to turn over the keys to the house....hmmmm.

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Four Year Ago on In My Words...In Other News

Typhoon Eight

So our first typhoon of the season (started in June) is upon us...and of course it is during one of the busiest weeks of my three years here...haha.

Typhoon Eight is not expected to get very big and if it stays on track and forecast, it should only be a Cat 1 when it swings within 17 miles of us on Tuesday early AM....I am hoping that most of it will be no big deal since Tuesday is also the day that the smaller of my shipments is set to go...fortuntately it is a really small shipment so it shouldn't be too hard to keep everything dry....

I'll keep you updated on the status of this little guy....keep your fingers crossed for me.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Out of Habit

Sony XBrite SDM-HS75P 17" LCD Monitor

I have this monitor. I LOVE this monitor. Lately this monitor has been having issues...keeps changing the input and then complaining that the cable is not connected. I figured that my video chip on my motherboard was going bad, but in just having two email conversations with Sony's Esupport on this, it turns out that they are not going to develop any drivers for this monitor so that it will function with Windows 7. Is that just crap or what? I mean, this monitor is only 4 years old and they aren't going to bother to keep all the customers that they have using this monitor that might be migrating to the newest operating system this year!!

This is just like Sony...so eager to force purchases and lock people into proprietary situations. Well I say NO....I am not going to buy anymore Sony products...I am tired of this treatment.

Microsoft is not one of my favorite companies out there but at least they support their software long after they are not even selling it....they still support XP and even Win98 in some cases...even though they are not making a dime off it, because they knowt that some day those same customers will remember that and continue to use their products.

Well obviously Sony thinks they have such a lock on the market with their Blue Ray and other products that they don't feel the need to show at least that level of customer support.

So I guess I'll be using this monitor for the next week (until my computer gets shipped) and then I'll be selling it to someone that is not on Win 7 when I get to Hawaii. If I had time, I would sell it now and replace it with another brand so I wouldn't have to ship it.


Grrr...this kind of thing just pisses me off!

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Last Year on In My Words...Making a Cup of Coffee

Sparsely Living

So our big shipment is gone and we are living with the bare essentials. We have done this before...in fact, we had to do it for 3 months while we waited to close on a house a few years ago so we are old pros at it.

Things that I can't live without or will make our live much easier than if we didn't have them include:

Chinese hotwater maker
French press
Rice cooker
Wok
Foreman Grill
Emulsion blender
Futon mats
Tatami chairs/cushions
Tatami tables
Grass mat
Small TV
DVD Player
MagicSing
Wii
Computer x2
Campchairs
Food trays
Pillows and sheets
1 set of towels
Snorkeling stuff
Golfing stuff
Swimming stuff
Yoga mat, balance ball, balance disc, resistance bands

Then of course we have clothes, food, appliances (that don't belong to us), and paperwork stuff.

I don't mind the simplified life...makes finding things super easy, that is for sure. The only thing is that my computer is still sitting on a borrowed desk and the camp chair I am sitting at is not tall enough to make being on the computer at all comfortable so I have a pillow folded in half now that I am sitting on top of just to get some height...haha.

Chase is down to her little cat tent (which will go in my suitcase), and her litter box and food dishes...on the 31st when our next shipment goes, she'll be down to just plastic ware for food and litter so we can ship the rest of it. She'll be at the kennel by then and we'll be in a hotel so it won't matter too much.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Hitting Bumps But Living Through It

Gettting Creative

A few weeks back, I had volunteered to make invitations for an event. I unfortunately wasn't able to attend but I heard it was a great time and I got a lot of compliments on the invites. They really weren't that hard...most of it was stamping the bamboo and assembly...the template for the printing part was given to me by a friend and I only had to tweak it a bit to get it work with my stamp set.

Anyhow, I had said I would post a pic of the finished product and I never did get around to it...so here it is in all is glory...heehee!!

Note that I had to smudge out the personal contact info the host...the real deal didn't have the smudged section.

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Happy Birthday Grandpa This is cool since we are four years later and he just celebrated another one!!!

Moving Is Hard To Do

As most of you readers know, I am a bit of a perfectionist, have a tad case of OCD and suffer from procrastination...not a great combination...haha.

So since we are moving to Hawaii next month, I have had my hands full in so many ways. Fortunately, I have not let the procrastination take over but I think if I could be less of a perfectionist my life would be simpler.

This is a list of the things I have thus far accomplished for this move...there are still quite a few left but at least I am making headway.

• Handed over my two board positions with OIWC
• Updated and reprinted our household inventory sheets
  
• Organized a ton of paperwork required for moving from one country to the next
• Got all the paperwork, bloodtests and money sent to Hawaii for importation of our cat Chase
• Made flight arrangements
• Made two shipment arrangements
• Gave notice at our housing agency
• Purged, purged and more purging
• Sold, or gave away furniture, books, toys, decor and other accessories
• Prepared paperwork to ship our vehicle to Hawaii
• Contacted utilities for shut off and return of modems and accessories
• Created the "BIG MOVE BOOK"
• Started house hunting online
• Had all doctors and dentist appointments so as not to need to worry after move
• Cleaned up, reloaded and maintained giftstore computer
• Weedwacked backyard
• Sold friend's truck
• Found another friend a satellite dish for cheap
• Organized all items left in house for two shipments
• Found home for all plants, and fish
• Had premove inspection done
• Chased out 4 geckos
• Made hotel reservations for our time left here after we have vacated our beautiful home
  

Things that are still left to be done:

• Shipment appts
• Borrowed furniture pickup
• Appt with utilities for internet and phone disconnect
• Purging, purging and more purging
• Yardwork
• Pond cleanup
• Patio furniture cleanup
• Final organization of items for two shipments so that nothing gets mixed up
• Laundry
• Packing
• Car washing and selling
• Hand off of 4 board positions with another NPO
• July month end for giftstore
• Finish database build on store computer
• Repair of friend's computer
• Repair of friend's external harddrive
• Forest Adventure Park
• Several mandatory meetings and events
• Cat and carrier check at airport before date of flight
• Cat health certificate
• Flight to Hawaii
• Rental of car
• Cleaning
  
• Hotel reservations in Hawaii
• Return flight to mainland USA to ship vehicle to Hawaii in October
  
• House hunting in Hawaii
• Saying goodbye to my great friends that are still left here on this beautiful island

Not so much, huh?

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Three Years Ago on In My Words when we were just moving here...Moving Day

It Is That Time of Year Again....

18 years ago today, I married the man of my dreams...we were young and probably foolishly in love but we didn't care. No one was going to stop us from doing what our hearts told us needed to be done.

So, here is my tribute to that decision so long ago! I love you J!!

The To Do List

I am a list maker. Always have been, always will be. I have a few things coming up and I am using those events as motivators to get a few things done around here that just need to be done. I feel like I have several half done projects and I hate that. So my apologies right off because I am going to make an element box to link to the post right at the top for a bit so I can focus on getting some things off my plate, but I'll condense it so it doesn't take up my entire blog. I'll strike them out as I go.

Now


Update inventory sheet
Make dates for packouts
Pond
Patio table
Bank statements
Make items for giftshop
Month end for giftshop
Write up job description for bookkeeping
Umbrella
Pump in pond
Filing
Website update
Install DVD player
Sale Items
Paperwork to Hawaii for Chase
Organize shipments
Deliver rest of plants
Deliver fish
Database transfer
Invitations for coffee
Move book
Facebook account for org





Projects

Rebuild PC
Backup blogs
Pictures for Grandma
Update reading blog
Get new laptop
Pictures



Just For Me (most of these won't get crossed off, I just want to remind myself)

Work on Japanese
Stitch quilt squares
Exercise
Clean
Geocache
Beach
Sun

Feeling Good

Sometimes, just the act of doing something for someone else can make you feel awesome....and for me, if that act also allows me to be creative as well, that is just an double bonus.

I couldn't post this earlier because I hadn't given it to the recipient until recently but now she has it and I can show everyone what the "secret project" was...I had a ton of fun making it, and get some to sign it secretly...especially knowing how much JMMD was going to love it!!

And she did!!

This is a little photo album that I purchased at the 100 yen store. It started out plain brown but I covered it in washi paper, and made the pages with the images, quotes and sayings on them with plenty of room for people to sign. The images are from JMMD's time here in Japan and hopefully shows her how much we all love her and how much of an impact her volunteerism and determination has accomplished.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Dishonest Practices

Ikebana Lesson #4-Variation #1- Upright

Okay, so now that I have the basic upright and slanting down, it is time to start moving into the variations.

Once again the measurments for this arrangement are the same as those for the basic upright, length of suiban plus depth of suiban times 2 is the Heaven. Earth is 2/3 of Heaven and Mankind is 1/2 of Heaven. Supplemental flowers are 1/2 of their respective main counterparts.

In this case, the kenzan (frog) is centered in the suiban (shallow container) regardless of season. The Heaven, Earth and Mankind Main are set up in a triangle in the kenzan with Mankind being centered in the kenzan and forward. The supplemental flowers are then triangulated inside the Main's triangle.

In this one, we used a reddish Enkianthus, and yellow Chrysanthemum. Both lasted forever and came out looking really cool.

Now for the angles...the Heaven is set at 20 degrees Left Shoulder Forward (LSF), the Earth is set at 45 degrees Right Shoulder Forward (RSF) and the Mankind is set at 60 degrees Center Forward (CF). The supplements are inside of those angles.

We were taught a few tricks of the trade during this class as well.

If you are going to be placing items that have too narrow of stems to really sit in the kenzan as they should, you can cut a 1 inch piece off the end of a mum stem and slide the narrow stemmed plant into it as an anchor.

The water will still get absorbed.

All flowers should face upright towards the sun when placed in the arrangement.

Woody stemmed plants can be cut at an angle but the fleshy stemmed plants should always be cut straight across the stem.

Tape can be used around bunches of stems or just around one to strengthen them up.

This was a big arrangement and took some finagling to get in the backseat of the car for the trip home.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Chatan Summer Carnival

Cicada Are Coming

Okay, I heard my first little squawks from the cicada this morning...I have seen a few in the trees but the population is not big enough yet for them to all start making a lot of noise...but I know it is coming.

Last year, there were so many in the trees in my backyard that you couldn't hear the TV in my house with the windows and doors closed. I actually went out and hosed down the trees to force them out to just get some peace for a few minutes.

Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of them and it will forever remind of this place and the fact that summer is here, but last year was unbelievably loud and I am not sure I want that again. Even Chase couldn't stand the decibels in the backyard.

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One Year Ago on In My Words...Solar Eclipse Shrouds Asia

Fabric For Quilt

As you know from my previous posts on this subject, I am not a quilter. I did get involved with a group of women that were making a friendship applique quilt, and have been trying to work on it when I have time. I have made several different squares for this quilt and then I had those that we were each given by the other participants. I have made a paranko drum, a koi, a set of fans, a wave, and one with the word Okinawa on it in kanji. Thing is, I will be moving soon, so one of the things I needed to do before leaving was to get the rest of the fabric for the square borders, the field, the back, and the edging. I am no where near ready to start assembling this thing but I wanted to have the fabric before I moved somewhere, where the ability to buy the type of fabric I wanted, would be gone.

So the other day, in an attempt to knock a few odds and ends off my to do list, I managed to get over to Sanzo's and buy the rest of the fabric for my quilt. I was in the store for over an hour looking at different fabric that would be so cool to use and slowly working my way towards something that would go nicely with the busy front of this quilt, while still being very cool and unique.

So this is what I came up with. The geisha material is sage green, grey, green, black, and red compliments. I purchased the black fabric to border my squares, the green for the field and the red for the edging. The geisha material is for the entire back. I am pretty pleased with how cool they all look together and am even more excited to see this project complete (someday).

On another note, I decided to finally get some fabric to make one last square that I want this quilt to have that is very Okinawan, a shisa dog. So if, and I say this loosely, if I have time to get the shisa dog square done before I leave, I will post pics...otherwise, you'll just have to wait until after we move. I think it is going to look very cool...and that is part of what makes me want to work on it right now, even though my plate is very full with "have to"s.

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Previously on In My Words...Thursday Thanks

Just for my dad since this is his birthday month and today is Father's Day. I hope he knows how much I love him.

Ikebana Lesson #3 Basic Slanting

So this one is similar to the Basic Upright but there are some marked differences...

First off, the frog goes in the back right corner to adjust for the slanting of the flowers across the vase. There is no seasonal change on this one at all. On the frog itself the heaven, earth and mankind are on the front and right leaving only the back left quadrant as negative space.

The heaven is placed left shoulder forward by 45 degrees instead of 20 degrees, and the earth is placed at right shoulder back (which is the first time we have seen any go towards the back) at 20 degrees. Lastly, mankind is place right shoulder forward but at 60 degrees.

In the case of slanting arrangements, using a shallow walled container (suiban) is recommended since these arrangements are much wider but less upright than the previous ones.

The length of heaven (and hence all the other elements in comparison) is shorter. Instead of using the width of the suiban plus depth times 2, you are using the width of the suiban plus depth times 1.5.

In this arrangement, we used dark purple Chinese bellflower, peacock flower (aka aster) and pink peonies.

Unexpectedly, we used the asters as the main heaven, earth and mankind, with the peonies as the supplement and the bellflowers as filler.

I really liked the final arrangement...you can't see the bellflowers very well in here but they really did all compliment each other quite nicely.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Really, Who Gives a F*ck?"

Ikebana Lesson #2 Basic Upright

In this class we did the basic upright configuration for a second time so we would get some practice at this style (since a lot of the other styles we would be learning would build on this one's principles). It was a fun class, and the sensei expected us to be able to work a bit more on our own.

I had finally gotten an actual suiban and was excited to use it for the first time. The flowers we used were iris', carnations, and purple statice and a little bit of greenery (which I didn't get the name of).

In this arrangement, I had the iris' as my heaven, and earth but used the green leaves as my mankind. The carnations were supplement and the statice were filler.

We discovered that smaller stems might need to be grouped together and taped (in this case we used scotch tape) using flower tape.

Another tip, if you didn't cut all your flowers before placing (which you rarely do), is to turn the flower upside down to measure it against a flower that is already placed in the frog and arrangement...this way the excess stem is not in the way and you get a more accurate measurement.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...A. Retentive, That's What I Am

PC Rebuild Part Two

Okay, so my newly rebuilt PC is up and running these days...and very well, I might add.

Once I started on the software side of it, it was just a matter of having the time to tweak everything as I loaded it and confirm that it was complete.

I finished installing the firewire card.

I reloaded from my CDs:

Office 2007 Pro
Quicken Home and Business
Macromedia Suite 8
Drivers for my printer, and webcam

I downloaded from the Internet:

Avast (virus protection)
iTunes
Windows 7 update
Office 2007 SP2
Sandboxie (tool I use for my volunteer job w/Google)
Spybot
Skype
Yahoo Messenger
Notepad ++ (tool I use for my volunteer job w/Google)

I was concerned that iTunes was going to be a nightmare but it really ended up being mostly okay. I was able to import the music from my old harddrive to my new harddrive and iTunes library pretty easily. I did have to do some reorganizing of things for it to be the way I wanted it but it seems to be nice and neat now.

I have a gazillion pictures to organize. Soon, I should be able to completely wipe the old harddrive to use as a clean external for storing backup of the data on this PC...I will have to keep pics and video back up on another external as well since none of them have enough room to be a complete back up.

Box is now shut, and system seems to run smoothly and quickly, which is fabulous. I am getting accustomed to Windows 7 and all its features, which will help me in the future with any tech support I do for others.

Overall this has been a great research and learning experience as well as a basic hardware refresher.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Flowers Galore

Ikebana Lesson #1 Basic Upright

Okay, so after a demonstration at one of the charity events I attend regularly, I decided to take a couple of classes of Ikebana arranging...and it is turning out to be a great experience. The sensei is amazing...so cute, so wise and so funny all while being 85 years old if you can believe it. When asked by another student what that student could bring back for her from the States, the sensei replied, "a new boyfriend"...haha.

So the school of Ikebana that we are learning is the Sensho Ikenobo School and the style is Moribana (flat vase). We had to buy a few things for this class...a flat suiban (container), a kenzan (frog), and a pair of good hasami (cutters). I didn't have a container yet so I used a pottery bowl for this first lesson. I have since purchased a total of 2 containers, and 5 frogs...some of the smaller frogs are just for using in upright vases to keep my flowers from slumping over (non-ikebana arrangments).

Keiko-san sensei is our teacher and she is very well known in the Ikebana community...she has students that have been learning from her for decades and I am honored to have a chance to learn from her as well.

I am considering joining Ikebana International...we'll see how I feel after my classes.

Okay, on to lesson #1- Basic Upright.

First we had to do some math...figuring out the length to cut, and the location and angle of the flowers is all by formula for each type of arrangement (my kind of arranging...hehe). We learned about the Heaven, Earth, and Mankind parts of the arrangement. The points of consideration for an arrangement which are line, negative area, movement, and depth. We learned that the flower is not always the focal point of the arrangment (Main) and is sometimes just the Supplement.

For this first arrangment we were told we were using English broom (which was our Main) and then supplemented with Japanese/Chinese Bellflowers (purple) and Peacock Flower (white aster) as filler. The Peacock flower looks a bit like a daisy flower...

We actually measured and cut all our flowers in advance, and laid them out in three piles. We put the frog into the container where it needed to go (depends on the time of year), and marked off our frog into quadrants so we would have the parts of the arrangement in the right spot. Then we started putting flowers in, using the formula and rules for this style of arrangement. The senseis were there to help us as we went. Once we had the Main, the Supplement and the filler in, Keiko-san would come by to check it...if it was good, she would nod and then ask us politely to take it apart and re-do it so we could learn it without help.

Once we did it again on our own, she came by to give us the nod and we were done. We all keep notebooks for the class. I take pictures as I go so I can put them in my notebook for reference later. Each arrangement gets resituated when I get home as well as water added to the container...I have been really enjoying have fresh flowers in the house and proud of the arrangements I have made!!

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Back in the Land of the Living

10 Years of Mishka (5 Years Later)

I did this same post 5 years ago but figured since it was an anniversary of sorts that I might see how things have updated...you can click on the old version in my link below if you want to check it out.

10 years ago:

I was in between twenty-something and thirty-something.
I was living on the West Coast.
I had two cats, one named Madison, one named Chase, who we had just adopted.
I was getting ready to move to Japan.
I had a network admin certificate under my belt.
I had a pretty good job with easy hours and fun people.
I was playing soccer again pretty regularly.
I was living in the house we bought three years before.
I was spending a lot of time with my family.
I was becoming very skilled on computers.
I was not writing, singing, doing art, or playing music much.
I was too busy a lot of the time to really enjoy things.
I finally paid off my school loans and we were completely out of debt (minus the mortgage).

5 years ago:

I was thirty-something.
I was living in NC.
I was still working on my graduate program.
I had lost Madison in 2004 to old age but still had Chase and she was loving the sun room.
I had my house on the West Coast rented but was not happy with my rental company.
I was writing and reading more.
I was exercising more.
I was skinnier than I had been in a while.
I was missing my friends from Japan and hadn't really made any new ones.
I was playing soccer with two local leagues.
I was investing pretty heavily in our futures.


3 years ago:

I was thirty-something.
I was living in NC but jumping through hoops to come back to Japan.
I had just had a great Christmas trip to Panama, Belize, Costa Rica and Florida.
I had started shaving Chase regularly to keep both of us sane.
I had started looking at selling both the house in NC and the one in WA.
I was playing soccer.
I had just graduated with my master's degree.
I was officially volunteering for Google and getting lots of experience.
I was blogging a lot.
I was being creative again for the first time in a while.

1 Year Ago:

I was still thirty-something, but creeping up real close to forty.
I was living in Japan in a really cool Japanese house three blocks from the beach.
I still had Chase but we had fixed up the backyard so she could be outside part of the day.
I no longer had either home in NC or WA but owned one in OR that was being rented.
I had added two more countries to my list of travel places.
I was spending the majority of my time working for free for several non-profit organizations.
I was still volunteering for Google.
I was only being creative on selective days because my schedule was super tight.
I was not spending enough time enjoying the outdoors, singing or writing.
I was not playing soccer at all (due to lack of participants).

Today:

I am now forty and it is not as bad as I thought.
I am still living in Japan but getting ready to move to Hawaii in the fall.
I just got home from a great trip to Kyoto.
I have been able to see 8 of the Japanese islands so far and hope to get a few more in before we leave.
I am getting all my sh!t together so I can get a job when we move.
I still have Chase but she is getting older too.
I still have the home in OR and thankfully it is still rented.
I have not had any visitors from the US this time around and am looking forward to living a bit closer in the near future.
I am not writing as much as I want to, but am trying to work on that.
I am reading a lot.
I am on an exercise plan to get back to a fitter me as soon as possible.
I am getting ready to celebrate my 18th anniversary this year.
I am still not playing soccer (still no participants).
I am still investing pretty heavily in our futures.
I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to a bunch of my closest friends this summer.
I am looking forward to moving to a new place and having new adventures.
I am looking forward to being able to travel some more in this part of the world.

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5 Years Ago on In My Words...10 Years of Mishka

Kijimuna Attack

It is three in the morning. I am sleeping soundly...in fact more soundly than I usually do when I am in a new place. I hear a tap, tap, tap...I wake up. "What was that?" I think to myself, it must be Jocelyn...but I am not sure if she is tapping on the wall or on the door. I make my way to the door with no glasses, in the dark, in an unfamiliar room. Knowing how nights in her house full of animals can be, I am hoping that she is not just suffering from insomnia and in need of company as I really do want to go back to sleep. As I get close to the door, I forget that there is a step down and I almost kill myself falling towards it.

As I reach the door, I think I better ask to make sure it is Jocelyn at the door...and it is. I open the door, still feeling groggy and incoherent from being in such a deep sleep. She asks me if I am okay...I tell her I am. She looks back towards her room and tells me that something is in her room...a spirit or something. That it has woken her up on the hour for the last three hours. That the first time, it grabbed her hand, the second time it tried to smother her, and the third time it turned her TV to black screen and tried to wrap her up in the blanket so she couldn't breathe or move. I am a bit skeptical and still feeling the effects of my deep sleep so I ask her if she wants to sleep in my room. She says yes.

We walk over to her room and grab her bedding and pillow and drag it all back to my room. We make up the bed for her. She tells me again about what has happened to her now that I am more awake and can actually grasp it. We both lay down on our beds and turn out the light but continue to talk about it and question whether we could have disturbed some kind of spirit during our travels that day. We had been to several historical sites on our tour of the island, specifically a cave that had a shrine in it and was really dark and spooky.

While I have had my own experiences with ghosts/spirits in the past and am a firm believer, I am not sure how to take what has happened to her. I am hoping that it is over and we can both get back to sleep as we have another full day ahead of us. We continue to talk off and on as I get more and more sleepy. I do not realize that it is already past the 4 o'clock hour.

At some point I fall back to sleep. I am having this dream about Jocelyn, where we are in my room and it is now 7:20am and the sun is out, the room bright. I am thinking to myself that the night before must have all been our imaginations, and am about to tell her this when her daughter (Jocelyn doesn't have a daughter), walks into the room. She is about 8 years old, blond hair in a ponytail, and named Brianna. She walks over to Jocelyn's bed and starts talking to her. Jocelyn is playing with her hair and while this is going on, I am thinking to myself, "how did I not know that Jocelyn had a daughter considering how much we hang out?". Just as I have this thought in my dream, I wake up, open my eyes and realize that I was dreaming because the room is still dark.

All of a sudden, I feel these two hands pushing down on my blankets right over my hands and chest. Pushing hard, knocking all the wind out of me. I can't believe how hard the pressure is. I try twice to say Jocelyn's name but I have no air in my lungs and it just comes out as squeaks. I can feel myself not being able to take a breath in. I finally push my hands back from my chest and the pressure is released. I take a huge breath in and then say "oh my gosh". Jocelyn turns over and says, "what?". I tell her, "it just happened to me!!!". I grab my phone and look at the time...it is right at 5am. My heart is pounding...

She gets up and looks outside...the sun is just starting to lighten the sky. We talk for a few minutes but amazingly, I fall back to sleep. Minutes before 6am (which I expect will be the next attack), my phone starts to vibrate like I am getting a call (even though I am not and it is not set to silent). Right after that, Jocelyn's phone lights up like she is getting a call but she is not. Either the power of the spirit is diminishing with the coming of dawn or some other force is trying to wake us up to keep us from being attacked again at 6am. We wait out the top of the hour and then both doze back off until our alarms go off to get up at 7am...no more attacks that night.

We get dressed and get ready to meet Alex for breakfast. While we are drinking canned coffee from the machine and sitting on the seawall near our guest rooms, we talk over again what happened the night before. At this time, Jocelyn informs me that what happened to us sounds like a kijimuna attack. I know of the kijimuna but not the specifics of their attacks. I always just thought they were these little elf-like creatures that lived in banyan trees, and part of a myth. When Alex arrives, we relay the story to him (which sends him into fits of giggles) and then again when we get to breakfast at the other guesthouse. Irei-san tells us that kijimuna attacks are very common, and doesn't seem surprised by our story at all...in the course of the day, we meet several others that have been attacked in similar ways.

I feel kind of weird about the whole thing...honored that I have experienced this very unique thing but also kind of scared of the fact that what I thought was a cute story, is real. I'll never look at a banyan tree quite the same way.

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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Corona

PC Rebuild Part One

Okay, so I started this last night....but didn't get the hardware part of it done until this morning and then started on the software fun.

I don't know if I explained why this even came up but it seems that a video card overheated and fried part of my old motherboard (MOBO). I built that computer in 2003 so I am not unhappy with the performance or distance I got out of it, but it was obviously time to upgrade.

Since I haven't had to build a machine from scratch since 2003, I had to do some serious research into the new technology out there. I wasn't going to be able to just replace the motherboard, I had to do a complete rebuild because things had changed so much.

So I talked to some computer people, did some research online and finally ordered everything I would need (minus the powersupply (PSU) which I bought locally so it would fit my old ATX case) from TigerDirect.

Priorities being what they are, I had all the parts here for a couple of weeks before I actually got down to it, but this weekend was open so I did it. I had already gutted all the stuff out of the my old system that would be useable for others and gave it away. That would include a old PSU, old RAM, a old CPU, a old video card, and a old sound card, and I found someone that would take them off my hands. I planned to make my old hard drive into an external (actually did that weeks ago), and reuse my DVD burners.

I removed the bad motherboard last night, and the old floppy drive and started the rebuild. The hardware was pretty easy to do, and I have done it before so I was pretty sure what to do. I had to recheck the manuals and the web a couple of times just to make sure I was connecting new things correctly (since most of it is new technology to me). When I was done, I had a new MOBO, a socket 3 AMD Phenom II CPU, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, a terabyte SATA hard drive, a 500 GB SATA hard drive, two DVD burners and about a gazillion USB ports...

This morning when I booted it up, I was able to get into the BIOS, make a few adjustments and start down the software road....stay tuned for the next installment on this...

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Patio Turmoils

Now It's Here, Now It's Not

Chase's first cut of the year was this week. The nights were still chilly here so I had held off (in past years she was already shaved in March) because she is outside at night.

She was starting to shed and having hairballs so it was time. The first time is always a bit tough for her...but she did great. Only really meowed during the shower.

She is loving it now...I picked up a little cushion for her at the store the other day just to give her something soft to lay on...right now she is curled up on it near the window enjoying the sunny day. Life is hard as a kitty.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Mystery Bump

A New Way to Look

I am a list maker, I am an organizational nut, I am a perfectionist....these things sometimes help me to complete tasks that others would never attempt, but these things can also be a hinderance to me at times.

I like to start and finish a project in one sitting...this is not always possible (in fact, it is rarely possible). Sometimes the magnitude of a project and the fact that I don't have a block of time that will allow me to finish it in one sitting, keeps me from ever getting to the project.

I am learning (and it is still very hard for me to do) to break things up...that it is okay for me to not complete it all at once, and that tackling little bits for an allocated amount of time is okay. The feeling of accomplishment is delayed (and we all know that is the reason I even attempt these projects to begin with...haha), but I am starting to get some enjoyment from the incremental accomplishments as well.

There are so many things I want to do in my life and so many seem to be shoved off to the side because in the back of my brain, I know I have all these "have tos" that I am not getting to, hovering there. I would like to be able to do some of the things I want to do and that means getting some of these projects off my plate...little by little if need be.

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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Utterly Ridiculous