Starts

We are a day away from September 1.

That day represents new starts.

1. My daughter starts 5th grade and my son 3rd.
2. I start my life back as a mom with kids in school.
3. I start waking up and being goal-oriented from the get go (goal=get kids on bus).
4. I re-invigorate my intentions as a business woman, service provider, and person who continues to find deeper meaning and fulfillment in her life.
5. My kids start soccer games.
6. My husband starts travelling a little.
7. I start a more intense work-out with my friend.
8. Piano lessons commence
9. Homework begins
10. Regular bedtimes are here again.

Lots of good things coming my way....AND the biggest "start" in this blog-space is....I will start writing this blog as mainly LISTS of good things in my life "A rampage of gratitude" I like to call it. My other site http://www.lauraenglish.wordpress.com/ will be my main writing place. This is my way of rationalizing my never ending saga of "The Conflict of the Two Blogs".

I'm so excited for this change....I hope you join in on my rampages or at least get a boost in your own appreciation for what is going well in your life. Wouldn't that be cool?

Tipping Point

My house is a mess.

It wasn't a mess a week ago.

It was picked up a few days ago.

It is a big mess now.

I feel that messes go from being tiny

to out of control

with no in between 'general mess'.

I get overwhelmed

I feel it is helpless

Then, I am inspired to clean

I get it under control

I go a spell where it is neat mostly.

And then...it all starts again.

I have a friend who NEVER has a messy house

How does she do it?

I know she thinks it is logical how to do it.

I cannot see the logic.

I didn't get that gene.

And so it goes....and so it goes....

Fungus

I have some serious "facial fungus". I will, every so often, get a cold sore and some other facial anomaly. I am now in the "so often" phase. My face is super "pretty" right now. This is incredibly good timing (NOT) as I am starting to engage with other school parents and the such.

This "facial fungus" has been a part of my life since probably 3 years old. The great thing about this problem is that I've become very comfortable with myself and I've been known to say (in my head)..."if you don't like me because I have this gross thing on my face, then you are not meant to be my friend". Ultimately, I have lived the concept of "comfortable in my own skin (including fungi-fied skin). So...now that you're probably feeling sick right now...I will continue to go about my daily activities, with my little guests on my face, and one day in the near future, this will all be distant memory. AND, if we do meet on the street, please look only in my eyes (unless it spreads, then maybe my fabulous shoes). For those of you who have continued reading passed the words facial fungus, thanks for listening.

Eeking out

The kids and I are eeking out our last days of fun before school starts. We are lucky to have friends who like to plan fun stuff and then they invite us along. Yesterday was a day that could have ended in ho-hum but actually proved to be quite the opposite.

We made a big trek to a water playground that had potential for a watery fun day...but the playground was really meant for little kids. No big complaints were made from the young folk, but we mom's felt bored by it. After a few phone calls we had a new and way better plan...we had access to a house on the water with water toys, kayaks and a place for the moms to relax too. These were way better accommodations. Thank goodness for friends with access to houses on the water. For me it was a reminder that we always have choices and if we get creative, our days can be unexpectedly fabulous. I'mjustsaying.

Sniff

Ignoring my cold/allergies (can't decide).

Not surprised by my sniffles due to my crazy travel schedule, multiple time zones, and riding on 20 different cylindrical petri dishes (my friend made that one up).

This too shall pass!

Gratitude X 10

1. Home again
2. Bags unpacked
3. Friends to play with
4. Sleep to catch up on
5. Hugs for daddy
6. Warm snugly bed
7. Emails to read
8. Blogs to re-start
9. Days left of summer
10. Sighs of gratitude

Hurry up and wait

We have exactly one more hour of our vacation; that is if you call a 6 hour wait at the Taipei airport as still being on vacation. Time is such an interesting concept when you're on vacation. It feels a long time to be away. It speeds up and the vacation is over. The travel home is an eternity, and the time I have to wait to see my precious children seems like decades. But then I'm back again to the thought that the vacation was too short. Very interesting this concept called time.

10 things I remember enjoying in the past few days:

1. Having a suit hand tailored for my husband


2. The lights at night in Hoian, Vietnam


3. Eating interesting and yummy Vietnamese food


4. Spending a whole day doing NOTHING but reading by the water


5. Reading updates about my kids with their grandparents


6. Watching the crystal clear ocean water do its dance on the sand


7. Seeing all kinds of nature - butterflies, TINY frogs, shells, flowers...even cockroaches in a foreign land don't seem that bad


8. Realizing that my husband and I travel really well together


9. Thinking about our future travel plans


10. Finding treasures for our kids and getting excited to share them sooooooon.

Templed Out

Cambodia is cool (but Hot at the same time). I am reminded of Thailand and Malaysia more than in Vietnam. I am surprised by this but really really love this place. It has great people watching, amazing temples, lovely attitudes and just all around interesting perspective. The West has definitely infiltrated here. In the market area there is "pub street", there was a Mexican Restaurant and a Molly Malone's Irish Pub. They have different vibes than in their "native" habitat, but to find that type of place here is both comforting and disappointing. To add to the disappointment, I was lame last night and had a ham sandwich and Belgian Fries instead of the Khmer dish (local fare) that my husband enjoyed. I was needing a little comfort food as I'm not a huge fan of the Asian cuisine.

The main reason for our journey here are the amazing and abundant and huge temples. They delivered an awe inspiring experience. You cannot find that kind of scale and craftsmanship in this era. We covered some ground during our Temple hopping and I'm reminded of a trip to England with my family in the early '80s where my parents dragged us into EVERY SINGLE cathedral in the country. After awhile you get that if you've seen one you've seen them all. We stopped at 5 Temples and am taking the risk that we've missed a stunning view...I think I'll be ok.

My 10 favorite things in Cambodia:

1. Our Tuk Tuk driver Sukka


2. Taking TONS of people pictures (kids especially)


3. Temples, temples, temples


4. Getting used to the "sellers" that abound


5. People watching


6. Boat ride to the floating village


7. Landscapes with animals, rice paddy fields, palm trees, huts etc


8. Comfort food and good night sleeps in our high end hotel


9. Relaxing by the refreshing pool


10. Still speaking with my husband, we travel well together.