Wed, Aug 24 Samuri room

Fri, Aug 26 After Susan takes me to the Cake House for milk tea and chocolate cake, the whole family takes me to the "Sumo Noodle House" for dinner. I think these noodles are called "udon".

Sat, Aug 27 A stop for bento boxes for lunch, Abbey and Laura pose by the bay.

Sat, Aug 27 Isabelle at the Snow Monkey/ Wild Pig park.

Sun, Aug 28 My nieces had lots of fun doing my hair each day. This is one of Laura's creations.

Mon, Aug 29 A brief stop at the fish market, to buy rice balls and just have look around.

These put Maryland's crabs to shame.

Mon, Aug 29 mmm, Octopus!

Mon, Aug 29 A gallery displaying local artist's wares in the mall at Hachinohe.

John, Isabelle and William

Tues, Aug 30 A trip to the Oirasi Gorge with my brother, Isabelle and William.

Tues, Aug 30

Tues, Aug 30 This was my last day in Japan.

Wed, Aug 31
A very long day. I was wakened in the night by another earthquake (my second on this trip, and ever), but it wasn't severe, I just felt the bed shaking for a couple minutes.
The trip home went very smoothly, basically I just did the same things in reverse order. My luggage was searched at the Narita airport in Tokyo. I was pulled aside where a tiny Japanese woman very carefully rifled through my belongings with gloved hands. She seemed more embarrassed than I when my underwear and bras started falling onto the floor. (I had that suitcase crammed full). Afterward she said smiling, "You have a lot of souvenirs." I had to claim my bag in Atlanta for customs where my suitcase was one of the last ones off the plane. I almost fell asleep standing up waiting for it. I was more uncomfortable on the plane this time, and the movies weren't as good. The upside however, was that I finished reading Harry Potter AndThe Half-Blood Prince and that was thoroughly satisfying, but now I'm itching to read book 7. I hope I don't have to wait another two years.

My boys were excited to have me back, and quite clingy and affectionate (that was nice), Prettiness on the otherhand, took a while to warm up to me again. She had really bonded with her Oma.

Now I'm trying to get reaclimated to my environment and get over this jet lag, which has sort of screwed up my daily biorythms.

The Quest for Snow Monkeys

Today I travelled up to the "Hatchet," as the people here on base call it, with my brother's family to try and see some wild snow monkeys. The "Hatchet" is the most northern part of the main island of Japan and it is shaped like a hatchet or axe. It took us about two and a half hours to drive from Misawa up the "handle" into the hatchet part, and it was the most beautiful drive. The weather today was blissful, breezy, warm with billowing white clouds and blue skies. Most of the drive up north is through small fishing towns and through mountains, lush and green, surrounded by the glorious blue waters of the bay. We stopped at a Lawson's (the Japanese answer to the 7-11 or Royal Farm Store) for bento boxes for our lunch. Even the prepackaged lunches here are good! Then we piled back into the car to keep driving north. We didn't exactly know where we were going, just hoping there would be signs that would guide us to the right place. We had heard from friends of my brother's that the wild monkeys will jump right on to your car and even take food from you if you aren't careful. What we found was a park that charged 200 yen for adults, 100 yen for children ($2 and $1 respectively) to see some sad caged snow monkeys. It was still cool to see them up close and I took a good bit of video footage, because I think my children will enjoy watching them. There was even a teeny tiny little baby snow monkey chasing after his mother for a drink. We never found the wild monkeys who jump on cars and steal lunches from little children, we decided that perhaps that is a legend that people are spreading to promote this sorry zoo exhibit. However, despite our disappointment in not seeing real wild snow monkeys, I did get to drink in the beauty of this day in this gorgeous setting.

Lots of firsts

I am presently in Misawa, Japan, staying with my brother and his family on the AFB. So far I have been to the farmer’s market, bought a beautiful kimono, swam in the Pacific Ocean for the first time, had my first sushi, ate my first fried squid, been in a traditional Japanese house, and last night, felt my first earthquake!

There is much more that I will get to see and do here, since I still have 6 more days to experience Japan. It is beautiful here, lush and green and the weather has been lovely.

See more progress on: Japan

Is it tomorrow yet, cuz it still feels like yesterday?

Okay, since I'm in Japan it is right now, despite what the thingy at the bottom of the post says, Tuesday August 23, 5:20 pm....

I am proud to say, thanks to much prayer on my part and those who care about me, that the flights and bus transfer went smoothly to get me into Misawa around 7pm last night. I went to bed around 8:30pm and slept until 6am today, and hardly feel jet lagged at all.

So far we've had a fun-filled day since today is William's (my nephew) 6th birthday. We had a wonderful breakfast of Dutch baby and then I got to go to the farmer's market with my sister-in-law and then to the BX (which is the Basic Exchange here on the base) to buy me a kimono and obi sash. It's very cool, pictures will come later. Then we went to the beach for the afternoon, and I swam and jumped waves with my nieces, nephew and brother. Next up, Mexican restaurant for dinner. Here on base (the U.S. Air Force Base) it is very much like being in America, but once you step off, you are back in Japan.

5,001 visits

My site meter for snippets just reached 5,001 visits! Woohoo, yay snippets, and thank you faithful readers :D.

I'm going!

I leave in just a few days to go to Japan. I’m phyched! My brother lives there with his wife and five kids. He is a chaplain in the Air Force, and THE very best brother in the whole wide world-he is the one making this trip possible. So I will go to Japan alone, no kids, no weighty responsibilities, just me (and my brother’s family) for 10 fun-filled days. I will post more on this after my return.

See more progress on: Japan

43 Things

I am doing 43 things. Well, to be more precise, I'm aiming to do 27 things, but the list is growing.

Happy Blog-Birthday To ME

August 15,2004 was my first entry....this year on August 15... well, who knows?

It's not really an occasion I care to celebrate (because of the very reasons I started this blog), but it does give me a small sense of accomplishment to know that I have consistently maintained this blog for one year. (I wish I could say the same for my houseplants. I have consistently been inconsistent at caring for my houseplants, but the tadpoles live on!)

What a year it has been! I hope for a better next one. Perhaps in 2006 I will have something worth celebrating. I can only hope.

Home safe

Mom and Dad made it back home safely from Japan late Wednesday night. Thursday was full of strories and presents and home movies of my nieces and nephews brought back to the states by my parents. I leave in one week for my Japan trip. I'm very excited about it, and since my folks pioneered the trip, it has helped alieviate some of my anxieties about travelling abroad alone. They assured me that all the signs I will need to read to make the transfer from one airport to another via bus are in English.

Preparing for my trip has prompted some shopping. Last week I bought a nice pair of black Dansko sandals, but I was so torn between them and another pair that I decided to head up to the Dansko outlet in Pennsylvania today. I was like a kid in a candy store! It was again hard to choose, but at the prices there, I was able to afford two pair for less than one from the retailer! I got the same sandals as the black, but in a butterscotch color and a pair of teal slip on sandals. If you aren't familiar with Dansko, you should be. They are the most comfortable supportive shoe around. It is no wonder why doctors and nurses wear them almost exclusively.

(Dansko has not paid me for this endorsement.)

Home school back in session

August first was our first day of school. A little early some of you may be thinking, but when you factor in that we ended our school year mid-May, it doesn't seem so early. Also I have a fantastic opportunity to go to Japan to visit my brother and his family the last 10 days of August, as well as a family beach vacation in mid-September. So I figured if I don't start school now, we won't really begin until late September.

I must say that being able to teach my boys is an honor and delight. This week has been so great, they love the structure and format (thus far) and are highly motivated learners, making my job as tutor pretty easy. The most diffucult part of homeschooling them is what to do with Prettiness, and this week she has only gotten into minor trouble. She kept herself busy with the math manipulatives (how educational of her) for a while and I have taken down the barricade to the boys' room so she has really enjoyed playing with their toys (especially since they aren't in there to stop her from messing things up). This evening I discovered that she also disassembled the boys' night light -so they said- I have no idea where the little light bulb is now, probably in one of her many purses.

Next week will be a challenge (for schooling), because my sister will be visiting (I'm thrilled she's coming to visit while the rents are away) with her family of six (+1 on the way) and K and D love playing with their cousins. I'm sure they will be a bit distracted, but we will try to squeeze our lessons in in the morning, making time for fun-filled afternoons!

Life on the farm

While my folks are visiting my brother and his family in Japan, I am queen of the hill. I have the added responsibilities of chickens and cat, as well as taking the garbage and recycling down our very long driveway. There are also other little spendid jobs that I take for granted that my dad and mom so discretely attend to, such as, removing dismembered bunny parts from the front porch (thanks alot Jasmine), disposing of dead mice and cleaning up spilled food and broken glass because the raccoon got on the side porch again. (Note to self: close side porch door completely at night.) I was blessed by the fact that I did not have to learn how to operate the tractor to mow the lawns. Dad found a friend to manage that, but I did need to pick up all the "outside" toys from the lawn first (another job I often take for granted that dad attends to). The chickens are laying about a dozen eggs a day, and so far I've sold two dozen and given one dozen away. That leaves eight dozen in my folks fridge and two in mine. Eggs anyone? They are only $1.75 (but because of supply and demand, I may just give them to ya).

So far there haven't been any problems other than the raccoon getting in and breaking a jar of thistle seeds and the dismembered bunny (that was pretty nasty, but as mom always says in an event like that, "That's life on the farm"). We had a tornado warning during a storm last week, but only a few branches were lost up here, but on the church property below us, a tree or two went down.

The kids and I have been enjoying the kiddie pool, shade provided by glorious trees and the sound of the cicadas and crickets in the evenings. The noise is rather loud for cityfolk, but to me it sounds like home. I've lived here most of my life...in fact of my 32 years, I've only spent 7 or 8 years of it elsewhere.

Blogademic

Since I started this blog last August (wow, it's almost my one-year blogiversary) three friends and two family members have started their own blogs. I was the one who introduced them to blogging, so it's kind of cool that I am doing something that at least five other people consider a worthwhile endeavor. But since I have no idea if they want to be affiliated to me *kidding* I won't advertise them here unless given specific permission to do so....

I got bit by the blog bug by reading this one: Honest to Blog, it was the first blog I had ever read, or even heard of. Since then there have been many others that I have visited from time to time, but it really is fun for me to have some living, flesh and bone friends expressing themselves in blog form.

Why Must I Be Sad?

Why Must I Be Sad?

I suppose that now since the intial shock and devastation of my impending divorce have worn off, my psyche is now allowing me to process more of the "stuff" I need to deal with. I am definitely in better spirits, but the sadness continues on a slightly deeper plane. I am beginning to understand where it is all coming from, some of it is so old, I can barely remember where it originates. Most of it is traceable to some event or other, and so I am feeling old losses and new ones and figuring out what I need to do to heal from them. It is a lot of work and it makes me tired, even though I have suffered some minor insomnia the past couple of nights.

Madame Blueberry

I am so blue-hoohooh-blue-hoohooh-blue-hoohooh....

(If you are familiar with Veggie Tales, you'll understand my reference, otherwise....too bad for you-hoohoo.)

For no particular-put-my-finger-on-in-it kind of reason, I have been rather sad the past ten or so days. Not that I lack for things to be sad about, but it is more of a general sadness than a specific one. I guess my grieving has caught up with me once again. I can run, but I can't hide. I better just let the waves of sorrow wash over me once again. Perhaps it will be a cleansing of sorts.

Happy 4th!

Last year this time I was "resting" miserably due to a very bad case of mononucleuosis....so glad that season has passed! A whole year without any relapse is amazing, especially under the extreme stress I have had this year. God has been strengthening me in body, mind, soul and spirit, for all that I have needed, He has provided.

Independence Day takes on new meaning for me now...now that I am learning what it means to be independent myself. So I will patriotically celebrate my country, my freedom, and my own personal growth today. Let the fireworks commence!

In other news....

Got to see my old buddy, Sandy, from highschool. She was in town on business and tacked on a few extra days to see Dave Matthews Band (and her family of course). I lucked out and was able to go with her to one of the shows, since hubby was home with the dog. I could not get over the traffic! I knew it would be bad, but we spent a total of about 6 1/2 hours in traffic that night! (Normally it would take about an hour and 15 min one way.) But it was a fun show, and it has been nearly ten years since I've been to a concert. Although I like DMB's music, I am not a die hard fanatic. I felt more like an observer than a participant, this due largely to the fact that I didn't know most of the new material they played. I did however develop a bit of a crush on the bass player, whom Sandy informed me he has a live-in girlfriend and children :( Well, it was just a crush anyway.

June recap

This month has been all about trips to the dentist (6 in all) and tadpoles (and the froglet). It is funny how sometimes there is a theme to a month....not that tadpoles have anything to do with the dentist, mind you, they don't even have teeth, but if I was asked to sum up what had happened in June 2005, that would be my answer.

We have approximately (I say approximately because they are so hard to count) 12 tadpoles now, and now that I know they eat algae, they are very well fed, no strange disappearances or cannibalism as of yet. Our froglet is getting on well too. Today we just changed his environment from mostly water with a little bit of land, to mostly land with a little bit of water. He loves catching the miniscule bugs that are living in the dirt. The Artist/Naturalist spends long stretches of time watching him and gives me a play by play of the froggie's doings while I prepare meals.

Thanks to the gracious generousity of my dentist, I have now been restored to oral health. Eleven fillings and a cleaning later, my mouth is happy once again--all except the place on my lower lip where Prettiness' hard little head smashed it, but even now that is almost healed. Sigh, my boys also had a dentist visit this month, and I discovered that not all dentists are as wonderful and professional as mine. I will continue to search for a better dentist for the children, one whom there insurance will cover. This will be a challenge I'm sure. I spent hours on the phone just trying to find one who is taking new patients and has offices near by, and he was sort of a nutball. The office was cluttered and his assistant looked like she should still be in highschool. He took a phone call in the middle of K's exam and when he came back didn't remember what he was doing! No xrays, no toothbrushes, no instruction on toothcare, no frills, all the boys walked away with was a little sticker and slightly cleaner teeth. I spent more time filling out their paper work than they did in "the chair". Oh, well.

Loch Raven

Loch Raven

Triple threat

Prettiness

Prettiness and the "bok boks"

Froglet

Our little tadpole finally blossomed into a fully formed frog....he's so cute at only a half inch from head to vent...although we are still trying to figure out what he likes to eat (other than other tadpoles). I added mosquito larvae tonight, and haven't witnessed him eat any, but that has got to be tempting, right?

On Sunday we collected more pollywogs, this time we think are a different species, since we also saw a grown frog in the same fountain. This was the most beautifully intricate frog I've ever seen. Granted the frogs of the tropical rainforests are exquisite, but this one was so ornate. It had a bright green head and face with a bright yellow throat which puffed out when he croaked a twangy sort of sound, his eyelids were gold, (like the precious metal not the color), and his hind legs blended to a spotted brown and black. This was also the most tame little frog I have ever seen. The Stuntman actually petted it several different times before it got so fed up and disappeared under the bushes. Prettiness was tickled to watch it hop and she almost touched it, but each time she got close enough, she would change her mind about it. The Artist (or I should call him the Naturalist now?) has been so thrilled to have some "real" pets in the home, it will be sad when we have to finally set them free again.

UPDATE: I visited the Library today (6/22) and learned that the frog I saw is called a "Green Frog", yes, real original name isn't it? (that picture link doesn't do the beauty of this frog justice, but I did read that their colors are more pronounced on the males during mating season, which is now)

Another one bites the dust

I awoke to find a dead little pseudo-froggie in the bowl, his tail mostly eaten off. These are certainly the little carnivores! So, one remaining tadpole, this one only had two hind legs, so we will get to witness the transformation again, unless he eats himself. LOL!

Four legs good, two legs bad OR A tadpole update

Last night the tadpoles both only had their rear legs, but this morning the slightly larger of the two and sprung a foreleg. By afternoon, both of his forelegs were out and moving. The transformation is phenomenal, like watching inside a womb. He looks very much like a tiny black frog now, only he has a long tail. We expect that this one ate the smaller one. I read today on frogland that if not fed enough, tadpoles will get nutty and go after each other...hmmmm. Perhaps that one had a hearty appetite? We also learned that tadpoles with legs like to "perch" so we have added a small twig and a lilypad to the jar. They seem happy enough.

And then there were two OR The Mysterious Tadpole

Two weeks ago, I took a little time to myself while the children spent some time with their dad, to pray, think, reflect and organize. I spent several hours at one of my favorite places, Ladew Topiary Gardens. I walked through the nature trail, spent some time in prayer on a bench, had lunch, painted a wee bit, reviewed verses, and then walked some more. Afterward I wandered through the gardens, I came to a pond that was swimming with tadpoles. Remembering the empty container in my backpack, I retrieved it and collected four small black pollywogs for my sons to observe and enjoy. That very night the largest tadpole died of unknown causes, but the remaining three have been thriving.....until this morning. We keep them in a large six-sided glass cookie jar on the kitchen table, but when I looked in there this morning, there were only two tadpoles swimming happily around. I checked the table for any signs of a struggle, and the floor too, but no luck. The smallest of our trio has mysteriously disappeared. My only guess is that the remaining two ate it....Although in high school I had a Beta fish, named Rob Lowe, who jumped out of his bowl and it was weeks before I found his dried out little carcass. He was a blue fish and my carpeting was also blue, and I had no idea he could have flopped all the way under my desk, until one fine day when I actually vacuumed under there and discovered his raisin like form. The amazing thing was that he made no foul stench.

At the Dentist

I am suffering still from the three fillings I had done today, but as I think about the experience I had at the dentist I can't help but find it somewhat amusing. Upon entering the building I noticed two very tanned (possibly Latino) men on the roof working. It didn't dawn on me until I was sitting in the waiting area and heard the groanings of a drill--not a dentist drill mind you, some kind of industrial power tool that sounded as if it would bore right into my head from the ceiling above--that this would not be "easy listening" during the procedure. At one point the whole situation just seemed so absurd, I began to laugh (on the inside) and I was thankful that I am not one of those people with a dental phobia. To top it off, after an hour or so, a strange chemical odor resulting from the roof work, much like that of rubber cement, began to permeate the office. The receptionist kindly opened the front and back doors to allow for some fresh air, but it made only a little improvement.

The Truth about Allium

A couple of days ago while playing outside, we noticed how lovely the allium are getting on. (For those of you unfamiliar with this plant, it looks like a giant chive in blossom, about four feet tall with purple pom-pom type flowers the size of a fist.) First the Artist went over to sniff them, and then I and little Prettiness, and while we were admiring the new fish pond arrangement, the Stuntman came over with a purple fist-sized pom-pom flower proudly in hand. When asked, he said he didn't do it...he said it was already broken....hmmm. Well we (Oma and I ) were a little suspicious, but wanted to believe him, so we thought it must have happened accidentally.

A little while later, while preparing the children's lunch, Oma informed me that there was not just one snapped allium, but two....she suggested I get to the bottom of this. And so I had a private little chat with my very physical second born son. I said, "I know you broke the flower."
"How do you know?" he asked.
"I just know..." I replied, "why did you pick it?"
"It was pretty and I wanted to have it, " he said looking very serious with his deep brown eyes.
"It is pretty, but it isn't yours, so it is wrong to take it. Those flowers are special to Oma, and if you ever want to pick her flowers, you need to ask her first. " Then I added, "Oma said two were broken, did you pick two of them?"
He nodded looking rather worried.
"Okay, I am glad you told the truth this time. It is very important you tell the truth. It was wrong to take something that wasn't yours, and it is very wrong to lie about it." Then I proceeded to explain how important it is to be truthful and sent him out to confess his crime and apologize to Oma.

I am not sure how well the four year old conscience and mind process the whole concept of truth and lies...but that isn't really the point. What matters is that he learns the difference and that he needs to choose the truth, or else there will be unpleasant consequences. In this case his unpleasant consequences were confessing and apologizing to Oma. Of course if this kind of incident repeats, the consequence will have to be even more unpleasant, so that he is guided to make better choices.

Karaoke convert

Ever since I saw "Lost in Translation" I have wanted to give karaoke a try...
...and last night that opportunity arose. I was prepared to sing "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, but had so much fun I also went up two more times with "Brass in Pocket" by the Pretenders and "Would I Lie to You?" by the Eurythmics. Needless to say it was all very theraputic and I am sure entertaining for those watching...Congratulations to Greg who won first prize in the karaoke contest with "Rock this Town" by the Stray Cats (me-ow!).

Requests anyone?

In my garden

This year I have a beautiful new garden. My dad handcrafted a cedar picket fence to keep out the deer and varmits, and also built raised beds to make planting and weeding easier. He even built a little seat into one of the corners as well as an arch for the clematis to climb on. The children have all taken an interest and participated in the cultivating of our little sprouts of spinach, peas, pumpkins, sunflowers, tomatoes, peppers, beans and various herbs. We also have a little strawberry patch and a blueberry bush.....yummy. The weather has been great lately, so we have all been taking advantage and spending long hours out of doors. While the boys romp around the grounds, Prettiness' favorite activity is dropping stones and dirt into a bucket of water and stirring it with a spoon. Mud pies anyone?

Groups

Tonight I attended the first session of the Fresh Start Seminars for divorce recovery...

Upon entering the church building where the weekend-long seminar is being held I saw a colored paper sign pointing me in the direction I needed to go. There were other colored paper signs pointing arrows in other directions for other groups also meeting in the church. I walked up to the registration table, announced my name and was presented with a manila envelope and a workbook and directed to another table to procure my name tag. At the name tag table, the nice man pointed out where the refreshments were and I wandered, somewhat bewildered over to the spread of fruits, veggies, shrimp cocktail and deep-fried appetizers. I collected a few things to nibble on fetched a glass of water and then dread washed over me as I looked into the "fellowship hall" where multiple round tables were set up for people to sit and eat. It was the high school cafeteria on the first day of classes all over again. I scanned the room thinking, "Where should I sit? Who looks interesting? I could choose an empty table, but that looks pathetic and anti-social." I picked my way through and found a seat at a table with an even male-female ratio. Immediately "Don" introduced himself and I am struck with with the thought "Do I really need to do this again?" [I get so tired of meeting new people and making small talk, it really exhausts me. This was one of the aspects of the Women's conference that did me in...] I shared my name, and Don said, "Oh, I see you got the shrimp." "Yes," I replied not knowing what else to say, "they're enormous."

Okay, on to the business of the evening: The Stages of Divorce and Recovery

The first stage after a crisis (in this case separation/divorce) is DENIAL...denial leads to and stems from fear which in turn develops into ANGER. Next comes BARGAINING, and I wish someone had told me about this one, because perhaps I would have done some things differently. After bargaining you hit "the Pit" and DEPRESSION ensues, gradually comes ACCEPTANCE and eventually FORGIVENESS (the "F" word of divorce) and finally one is fit and able to healthfully move into a new lifestyle.

We learned that these stages aren't rigid and often times are "slippery", meaning you can slip from one stage back into a previous one within minutes, days, or weeks, and then back out again. But the key factor here is to be aware of them and not get "stuck" in any one particular stage, because that does not promote emotional healing.

Pictures from San Diego

How cool is that? I can take pictures with my phone and post them on my blog! Enjoy.

Tif and I taking our "Art Walk" in Little Italy, San Diego. 

Tif sipping coffee on the patio of the Sunshine Deli on the premises of the "world famous" Town and Country Resort in San Diego. 

A view from the balcony of our hotel room at the "world famous" Town and Country Resort in San Diego. 

Roses the size of my head at the "world famous" Town and Country Resort in San Diego. 

Super-cool flower on vines growing outside of San Diego airport 

Welcome to the 21st century, Joyella!

I am now the proud owner of a mobile phone....I purchased one to ease my anxieties about being so far away from my children during my San Diego trip. Since I can not seem to get a grasp on more than two months into the future, I purchased one of those pre-paid phones...where you have no committments, you just pay for your minutes in advance and then use them...no monthly bill. Being that this is my first mobile phone, isn't it appropos that it is a Virgin Mobile?

Sunny California

I am presently here in San Diego, California at the Navigators Women's Conference....
The weather is gorgeous today, and Tif and I have the afternoon to check out the cool sights. The conference has been a good change of pace for me, however, I miss my little cutie pies sooooo much!

Here is a rundown of the best things from the conference:
1. Delicious food
2. Chocolate desserts at Thursday dinner, Saturday lunch, and Saturday dinner (the other desserts were yummy too--but not chocolate)
3. Kick-boxing class
4. Ditching Plenary session #3 to see "Hitch" with Tif
5. Sunning by the pool
6. Taking the trolley to Little Italy for "Art Walk"
(anyone noticing these aren't directly related to the conference?)
7. Giving myself a mani and pedi-cure and not having it ruined by washing dishes or little children stepping on my toes
8. Babbie's concert
9. Sitting at the only table with the cute sound-tech man at it for the banquet was also a highlight...heehee (there was a 10-1000 ration of men to women)
10. Smelling the humongous roses growing in the gardens around the resort...some roses bigger than my head!

I opted for the Workshops titled: Deepening Intimacy with Christ, Identifying Root Obstacles to Spiritual Renewal and Planning a Personal Retreat. I found that for where I am in my life journey the first two workshops were too heavy...they should have been more accurately titled "Listening Prayer 101: You too can learn how to hear God's voice in seven simple steps" or "Digging into our deep inner pain and laying it on the table for strangers (and God) to see". Okay, I am being a little harsh, I am sure that several (possibly many) women found those workshops very enriching and helpful...I just wasn't one of them. "Planning a Personal Retreat" was a good choice for me, because it is something I have wanted to do for years now...ever since having children. I have a lot of big decisions in front of me and I need to make sure that I make them wisely with God's leading and not my own selfish desires at the forefront.

You spin me round....

I just happened upon my young daughter, whom I call Prettiness (in here), standing on the turntable of the stereo... I couldn't help but be reminded of this old favorite tune by Dead or Alive. If you know it, you will probably be humming it all day....hehe

...You spin me right round baby, right round, like a record baby, right round, round, round.....

joie de vivre

joie de vivre : keen enjoyment of life

This is my goal. I have it pasted on my latest journal cover, to remind me of what I am working towards. The very first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, "What is the chief end of man?" is answered, "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever." I think that in enjoying our God and Creator and trusting in His word we find this joie de vivre.

Taking time to breathe deeply the crisp Spring night air, tilting my head back to marvel at the wonderment of our cosmos helps me to enjoy God, and I suppose that in my enjoyment of Him I give Him glory as well.

Maritime

FIELD TRIP!!!!!!!
Finally, I actually made it to one of our homeschool field trips, and just barely. Still messed up by DST, my children awake at 8am instead of 7am, which makes leaving the house by 9:45 rather tricky. Maybe if I actually used an alarm clock this wouldn't be a problem, but it reminds me too much of my own school days of hitting snooze and sleeping in until the very last minute. At least this way, we can all wake up grumpy together....

We didn't actually make it out the door until closer to 10am and I needed to visit the ATM first. Knowing how parking is downtown, I was cutting it close. But we made it only 5 minutes late (don't ask me how) and then we waited a while before our tour started. It was great fun to go aboard the US Lightship Chesapeake, US Submarine Torsk, US Coast Guard Cutter Taney and visit the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse all part of the Baltimore Maritime Museum. The US Submarine Torsk was by far our favorite. The exterior is painted like a black shark baring its dagger like teeth in front, but I was impressed with how complicated the interior is with guages, levers, knobs, pipes and switches. I especially liked the shiny copper pipes and brass cranks. We were amazed that this 311 foot long vessel contained a crew of 80 men. I have no idea where they all fit. But I pity the sailor who was a lick over 5'5" and 150 lbs (which was probably most of them). The Taney and Chesapeake were much more spacious, K noticed that their beds looked more "comfy" too. I'm not sure how soundly I'd sleep suspended over a sub torpedo.

Spring has Sprung

So glad for the warmer, sunny weather this week. I've been able to wear the kids out in the great outdoors, and they are sleeping so soundly at night. (yay!) I'm having trouble adjusting my own internal clock to daylight savings time, however. I seem to have this problem every Spring since I have become a mother. Losing a precious hour throws me all out of whack as well as the bedtime routine, but I'm sure I'll get used to before it is time to change the clocks again. Why do we do this anyway?

The trees are starting to show the fuzzy yellow-green haze and pollen is beginning to accumulate on my car. It is the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. this weekend, and I may actually attend, that is still to be decided... but oh, those cherry trees are gorgeous this time of year.

Spring chicken

I ain't no spring chicken, but spending an afternoon with my aunts and great aunts sure makes me feel like one. No one believed that I had three children (thinking I look way too young), of course some of them are losing their sight and their minds. You know you're in the company of old people when you have the same conversation repeatedly with the same person. But I enjoyed it, they are dear ladies, and since I have no living grandparents, it's the closest I've got. I only see most of these women once a year, and it is pretty much the same each year, but it helps me to connect to my past, my heritage, my bloodlines. What a different world they grew up in! I wish I could remember more of their stories. Perhaps my mother, the writer, will document some of our family history before she begins to forget it too. I hope so.

I can't talk...

No, really I can't talk. My voice left me tonight. It has been fading all day, getting raspier and raspier, I just can't win with this virus! I couldn't even sing Adelweis to the Artist or Six little ducks to the Stuntman when I tucked them in. Oh, well. If you want to talk with me, better email instead.

Went on a "hot date" with the two most handsome guys I know. Okay, I took my sons to see Robots on Monday night, and we had a lovely time, fun movie, by the way. I think I enjoyed the humor more than they did, but it was great "eye-candy" and the soundtrack is excellent.

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

It's been raining for days and days, not constantly, but consistently it has been damp and cold. It is great sleeping, tea-drinking, and feeling blue weather. I think I am coming down with a cold. Sniff. Yuck. I wonder why it is that my mood seems to reflect the weather, perhaps this is so for most people? When I am stuck in-doors due to inclement weather, I want to sleep and "veg", and when it is sunny and bright outside I am motivated and energized. I really need to do some big-time Spring cleaning. The clutter is beginning to take over and I can no longer see the surfaces of my desk, microwave, dishwasher, dresser, and kitchen table. My closet needs an overhaul and I need to determine where and how to store the kids out-of-season clothes. The boys room has been in a constant state of disarray. I would love to have an indoor yard sale and get rid of some of their junky toys. There are heaping piles of laundry to wash, fold and put away. Ironically, if it were sunny, I would feel like tackling all of these tasks, but it is not. I did however, muster enough gumption to sift through L's baby clothes for my expectant sister-in-law while K and D played educational computer games. (I now have four pregnant sister-in-laws! I already have 13 nieces and nephews plus 4 (no multiples are expected) makes 17!) It pours down rain as I sit and type, and instead of getting dressed and getting to work, I am fighting the impulse to climb back into bed and get lost in slumber.

Good Friday and Tree

It seems weird to me that today, Good Friday and the birthday of my beloved friend whom I call "Tree" are today. Christ died on a tree, and today Tree was born. I would wish her a happy birthday, but I know it isn't so I will only say, "Tree, I love you, and I am sending my squeezes and will bring the markers and paper tomorrow."

More Spiders and shopping

There have been more gross, disgusting, humongo spiders in my house. Last night, I had the boys almost asleep and was about to go to bed myself (I've been quite run-down) when I spied a huge arachnid by my coffee table. I let out a stifled scream, because as I started to shriek, I remembered that the boys were practically asleeep. Well, they perked right up when they heard me, and wanted to see the nasty beast before I sucked him up into the amazing vaccuumous Oreck. ( I am so thankful for the long attatchements.) All the excitement rejuvenated me a little, but I still turned in earlier than usual.

Rumor has it that a Borders is coming to Timonium/Lutherville. I am quite excited by this prospect, as we don't have a decent bookstore north of Towson. I just paid homage to the great OLD NAVY which has just recently appeared in town too. Now I don't need to drive 20 minutes to get to there- it is almost walking distance (depends on the day and the shoes) from my home. There may even be another mega bookstore coming to the new shopping center in Hunt Valley as well as many other shopping opportunities. It will be one of those fake small-town-like malls, all outdoors, but it is a big improvement to the run-down has-been of a mall that was there before it. Ahh, suburbia, (cough, cough).

What I believe

No, I don't believe in the Easter Bunny, but had that Hip hop Easter B. sent to me by a friend and thought it was too cute to keep to myself. We, as a family, don't get much into the hype of the holidays, but I do like to do something a little different on the days that are significant in my faith. This week is Holy Week, and it is called such because it is the week leading up to (as we recognize it in the church calendar) the death and ressurection of Christ. At Bible study tonight, again my beliefs were challenged about Christ actually descending into Hell. I had to look it up, and I found that I, and not he who spoke otherwise was right, at least from a reformed point of view. This is what I believe in a nutshell:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell. [See Calvin]

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy *catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

The Easter Bunny Cometh

This was way too cute and funky to not pass on: www.grayace.com/dex/bunny.html check it out, and crank up the volume. Hoppy Easter!

Prettiness et moi 

moi again 

Evil Emperor bean-bag toss, all done in crayon mind you.

southern view from the "hill" 

north-easterly view from the "hill" 

rub-a-dub-dub 

The Artist 

misters roboto

chocolate kiss anyone? 

spaceboy (the Stuntman) 

anger drawing

Coming soon...

I just got some pictures put to disk...will try to post them real soon. (tonight?) Check back again. :)

Wu-name

"Expert Desparado" (married name), "Phantom Dreamer" (maiden name), or "Bitter Lover" (first name only) are my Wu-names, what's yours?

Sew tired

I was up late last night working on my mock-ups for the pattern making and development class I will be taking this weekend. I finished the third and final one around 11:30pm only to discover that I hadn't done the dishes, laundry or other tedious chores around the house. Stayed up until after midnight trying to catch up a little. What a week! I have much respect for all the single moms/dads out there who are forced into positions of full time work on top of their full time mothering/fathering. It is simply exausting.

Class starts early tomorrow morning, and I still need to gather up some supplies. Looks like a trip to the Office Depot and Jo-Ann's are in order today. I am excited to be nurturing this part of myself, to revive those dormant creative juices and get them flowing once again. I hope to complete the class with two (possibly three) well developed and perfect fitting patterns.

*Seasonal update* A huge, I mean ginormous, spider was in my kitchen yesterday, and a smaller but equally disgusting one in my bedroom the night before. Why now? The huge ones should all be dead, it is only 20 degrees outside. The eggs can't be hatching this soon, can they? Perhaps they sneeked out when I was in the attic last Saturday. Ooooh, it's just gross.

May the Force be with me...

...Frantically prepping for the party of six-year olds I am having tomorrow. The Artist turns six next week and he wished for a Star Wars party. I've been busy building an Evil Emperor bean bag toss, drawing Yoda (for pin the ear on Yoda), and making "moon rocks" for the moon rock hunt. Trusty Star Wars fanatic, Greg, will bring by some music and cool "decor" to go with the theme. Thanks Greg! I still need to bake the R2D2 cake and shop and clean. Oh dear, what am I doing sitting at the computer!? I need to go!

First Thursday, again!

SlideShow at the BMA was a real treat, at least to me. The boys liked some of it, mostly Projection 4, by Peter Fischli and David Weiss, the huge one of nature scenes that morphed slowly into different overlapped images of mushrooms, snails, ferns, rotten apples, etc. Actually I think my favorite was one I didn't check to see the artist or the title, as the boys were yanking my arms to keep moving through, "Come on mom, let's go," they kept saying as they tugged. Anyway, this one was the first one (I think) you see when you come into the exhibit. It is just slides with words that say things like "Muriel and Uncle Fred's cabin" or "This is us by the seashore" or that kind of thing, which is fun because the slides magically appear at suggestion in my imagination. I was giggling to myself as I read some of them. They were exactly the kinds of things people say when they are showing their own slides, which I found amusing. My other favorite was titled Real Estate, but I missed the artist for this one too, it was simply a room with slide projections of three windows with vertical blinds. The lighting and size of the room made it feel like the bedroom to a flat. I immediately began to "envision" the space as one does when looking at real estate. Ah, the power of suggestion. Another that the boys liked was Land/Sea by Jan Dibbets, portraying an image of the sea on one wall and a grassy field on the adjacent wall. As the slides progress, the horizon line moves downward until there is nothing but sky on both walls, and then the horizon line moves upward again. It shows a beautiful contrast between the texture of waves of ocean and waves of meadow.

After viewing this exhibit, we proceeded to look at some other parts of the museum that I often overlook. The furniture, Tiffany windows, silver and then over to the Modern Wing and (my favorite) the Cone Collection. The Cone Collection, as I have mentioned before feels very much like home to me. Matisse and I are old friends. I find his work comforting, inspiring and challenging all at once. At five-thirty we went to do the Family Fun craft, which was inspired by the SlideShow exhibit and there were many slides from the museum collection free for the taking. Oh, how I would have given a limb for some of these when I was teaching art, free exemplars were hard to come by. I snagged a few of the Matisse slides I liked and a Van Gogh I happened upon. I am hoping to copy some Matisse images on my bathroom walls, eventually.

It was fun to spend some "alone time" with the boys, they rarely get me all to themselves, but since we left L with Oma, they each got to hold one of my hands.

Weaned

Little Prettiness is now 16 months old and is totally weaned. She after only five days off the breast, outright rejected it when offered, so that job is now done. The Stuntman was much harder to wean, he had begun the nasty little habit of biting, so it was time, but he faught me for it. Each morning he would attempt to lift my shirt, and when I wouldn't let him, he would throw a fit...Prettiness, doesn't seem to miss it one bit, it makes it a little easier for me that way. I am now freer to leave for longer periods of time which allows me to travel to San Diego in April and possibly Japan in August! Just this past weekend I was able to go up to Philly again to see TT. I got to see the cool fabric printing studio where she works in Manayunk, aquire a brown suede coat (it was free!), window shop on Main Street and have the only hot chocolate that she will drink this side of the Atlantic. (Once you spend a year in Austria, you become a bit of a hot-chocolate snob.) It was delicious, made with real milk, real cocoa, and not much sugar. We thought the only thing that would make it better would be real whipped cream on top, but it was too good to complain about a little detail like that. The twenty-four hour leave flew by, and I anxiously await her next visit to Balto, when the D.C.'s cherry blossoms are in bloom.