Wordless Wednesday - Miss Emma

January 2013 #3in30 goals

So I'm back at it - trying to create new habits, get things done, monthly, with weekly updates.  

Presenting my January 2013 #3in30

1.  Drink more water. Yes that seems vague and it is.  I don't actually know how much water I currently drink other than when I'm at the gym but it should be more.  That I know.

2.  Climb Mt. Everest.  Okay well not really...not the real Mt. Everest.  I have a laundry problem.  I hate doing it.  Any part of it.  My wonderful husband blesses me LOTS by doing the lugging it to the basement, washing it and lugging it back up to our room part.  However, l have to put it away.  It usually sits in buckets/baskets or all over the floor until someone wears it.  We call the pile of clean laundry Mt. Everest.  Sadly, even the kids know what it means.  So my goal here is to put it away once and for all.  Just a little bit each day for now until its gone.  Then when my sweets brings up any clean laundry my goal will be to put it away right then and there.

3.  Blog more. Again, vague.  Again, purposely vague.  I haven't blogged in a year.  I would like to blog at least a few times a week to get back into the habit.  I enjoy it. And most of the time I have all this stuff floating around in my head I'd like to get it.  Unfortunately for you, its going here...fortunately if you like to read my rambles...your choice.

My One Word 2013

Do as little as possible, as well as possible.

I came across this somewhere and it really struck a cord with me.  Last year I toyed with the one word idea but couldn't really commit to any one word (in hindsight I probably should have went with commitment!).

I do a lot.  As do many people.  However, I recently starting realizing the quality of what I was doing started to get diluted, less meaningful.  I was doing things hurried - to just get it done - so that I could move on.

That's not fair.  To me. To the things I was doing.  To my family.  

I want to start enjoying what I'm doing just a little more.  Take the time while I'm doing it to stop, look around and smile.  Instead of feeling hurried...anxious...I want to feel peace with where I am, what I'm doing at that moment.  

I want to do fewer things, better.  I want to not feel guilty about saying no.  

I want to bring quality to my life - all across the board.

I want to be able to stop and whisper, remind myself - quality.

Five Minute Fridays - Opportunity

Five Minute Fridays...

We write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We write bold and beautiful and free. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just write or not.

Check out more here.

Ready....GO!

Whenever God closes a door he opens a window.  Or so the saying goes.

 For a kid, that is a hard concept.  Growing up I was afforded many opportunities.  As a teenager, hard choices were made by me.   I was given many second, third, fourth chances...OPPORTUNITIES. 

I'm sure I know somewhere along the way one of those opportunities most likely saved my life. 

When you are an angry, resentful teenager you just don't get it.

When you are content, happy and 30-something-year-olds you do.

 I'm thankful everyday for the blessings in my life.  My husband, my kids, my step-kids and yes, even my ex-husband.

I'm also thankful for the people in my life back then for giving me the opportunity to have the life I live now.

God's Plan - Not Ours

My husband has  a job interview today…and I'm not happy about it.  Simply put, I hate change.  It is something I can't control.

He has a job - a good job - 5 minutes from our house with awesome hours.

As I was getting ready for work this morning I was praying about his job interview today.  As much as *I* don't think he needs to change jobs, I still want him to go into the interview process feeling comfortable and not totally bombing it.   When I was done praying about today and his interview and the process, I realized one thing.  I never actually prayed for him to *get* the job.  Because I honestly, I don't want him to get the job. 

Then a thought hit me.  It doesn't matter what I want or even what my husband wants.  Its all up to God.  Its His plan we're living - not ours. 

So now, I'm trying to direct my thoughts toward the more positive and trying to see it as opportunity for our whole family to grow and follow God's plan - whatever that may be.

Five Minute Friday: Tired

Five Minute Fridays...

We write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We write bold and beautiful and free. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just write or not.

Check out more here.

Ready....GO!

Tired.  Seems like I'm always tired.  I'm tired right now.  I'm tired after I drink a large coffee in the morning. 

When you see the word tired, that is what you first think of.  SLEEP.

There are other kinds of tired though. 

Tired of listening to the same crap from your kids tired.

Tired of doing the same kind of job tired.

Tired of everyone not listening to you say the same thing, day after day - at home, at work, at _________ (anywhere really that fits) tired.

Tired of not doing everything you set out to for the evening because by the time you get home from work AND make dinner AND clean up dinner AND get the kids and yourself ready for tomorrow AND remember to feed the dog (hopefully someone remembers if when you forget) AND something I'm sure I forgot….it is almost time to go to bed. 

*I wrote this on a Friday in Sept because for some reason I thought Tired was the topic only after I wrote it and got ready to link it back I realized I was wrong.  I saved it thinking maybe it would come up as the topic someday.  Well, someday has arrived!  Ironically, I'm tired and am sort of glad I don't have to do another post.  *sigh*

Five Minute Friday: Ordinary

Five Minute Fridays...

We write for five minutes flat on Fridays.

We write bold and beautiful and free. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just write or not.

Check out more here.

Ready....GO!

Growing up I had (what to me) was an ordinary life.  It was me, my older sister and my mom & dad.  Both my parents worked full time, my sister and I went to school and spent afternoons after school before my mom got home trying (not) to kill each other.  Ordinary, right?  Barbies, braces, boyfriends...

My dad traveled a lot for his job.  In turn, we moved a lot.  We lived most places an average of 4 years and early on adopted the pattern of moving every 2 years into a different house - but still in the same city.  We lived all over...we started in the east coast, slowly made our way out west ending up in Hawaii before moving back east.  3 elementary schools, 1 middle school & 3 high schools later I turned out okay.  My dad went to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Palau & brought us back all sorts of crazy, exotic gifts.  He was gone a lot of my childhood traveling but I didn't really think too much about it - it was my ordinary...normal.

When I talk to people about my family life growing up I get mixed reactions - yes, it was probably odd to people who had a more 'traditional' family that my dad traveled and lived other places for work from us but I didn't really know any different.  I remember thinking it must be odd to have your dad around living with you all the time.

Having been married, divorced, re-married with kids and step-kids I am sure that our ordinary...normal...is far from 'traditional'.  There are always kids coming and going, soccer games, school functions, volunteering...but it works for us.

It works for us.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.