Back from hiatus

Well, my original intent to publish frequently has fallen by the wayside.  Life happens like that sometimes.  Big news here that I haven't yet mentioned is that we are now an approved foster home, which is very cool. It's a big need that rarely gets discussed, but we are learning a ton, and very fast, too!

I'm trying to figure out how many new countries I'll visit in 2013.  I'm hoping for 3 (at least).  We'll see if that happens, but I gotta try.

Christmas is almost here!  Not done with shopping, but what's the rush??

Moon Pies are a great little snack.  But don't eat too many at one time - you will get some SERIOUS heartburn.

Merry Christmas everybody!

A Thanksgiving Poem

I like Thanksgiving a whole lot
It lets me eat food, cold and hot,
When I eat too much, and I pass out
My whole family starts to shout!
They douse me with grape juice,
The grape juice makes me wet,
The grape juice makes my shoes loose
My shoes fall off and are et.

    -me, 7th grade poetry assignment

("et" is a synonym for "eaten", but rhymes with "wet".   :)    )

My New Diet

I'm on a new diet.  It may or may not have to do with the fact that I'm in Japan and there aren't 6 million food options per square mile.  It's been pretty successful so far (I'm a week in) that I might even write a book.  Or maybe a blog post.

I call it the "Eat Less Move mOre" (or "ELMO") diet.

Here's how it works, in three easy steps.

Step 1 - Stop eating so much.  Accomplish this by decreasing the quantity of food entering your mouth.

Step 2 - More more (or Move mOre). This generally involves exercising. Or walking. Or playing basketball (even if you only play for five minutes, then talk to the guy sweeping the floor about the gym you're in, basketball, the recent election, living in Japan, good places for sushi...you get the idea).

Step 3 - Return to Step 1.

Doesn't seem too hard, and it's really not.  And it seems to actually work.  Whodathunk?

Change is A'Comin' (it's already here)

Two states (Colorado, Washington) legalize recreational marijuana use. First time ever.

Two states (Maryland, Maine) legalize gay marriage at the ballot box. First time ever.

I must be an old fogie, or closed minded, or out of touch, or out of the loop, or clueless, or stupid.  But these changes really make me scratch my head.  I have a hard time understanding the shifts in our culture, but my question in understanding really isn't in the shift itself, but more in the why of the shift. What is it that is causing our culture to change so rapidly?  It's important to always view things through the longview of history, to analyze past times (and not just those from our lifetimes) and realize that our problems, issues, and concerns aren't necessarily new under the sun. But it is important to ask why, and to want to understand the cause (or means) of change, not just the effect (or consequence).

As an aside, I'm currently reading "Common Sense"  by Adam Smith, the 18th century pamphlet released during the American revolution. On the way to Japan (where I am now) I read a short account about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian.  Both facinating reads, thoroughly enjoyable, and highly recommended.

A Major Blockage

So tired..... so sleepy..... so blocked!!!  Sooooo writer's blocked. It is back and has attacked with a vengence.  Why am I still awake and not in bed??? All bc of this stupid dang writer's block.  I need 18 lines, I have 3.  18 lines is not very much.  and it HAS to be done tonight.  WHY can't I get the words on the page??? Do the means to stimulate word creation even exist in my head??? bluh. arg. pltttttthhhht.  My brain has turned to mush.  This does not bode well in my attempt to generate 18 lines of text before I go insane.  how will this get done? What do I do? I have exhausted all snacks, coffee, and other remedies to get WORDS INTO my head so that they can then come OUT OF my head and onto the page (or screen in this case). thinkthinkthink, but don't think, stop thinking, because this is NOT hard, and yet... so incredibly hard.  tick tock tick tock I want to go to bed, but these lines have to be written.  time vs. the page.  Who will win? Time always does.

Procrastination, The Art Of

I think I could have my name entered into Webster's next to the word "procrastination".  Need proof?  I'm writing this post instead of doing any of the work (and there's lots of it) that I NEED to do, like now! I don't know how many people still use the dictionary to look words up, but for those who do, they couldn't get a much better example of the word.

On other notes:
Karlo's Italian Bistro in Florence, KY is delicious.
There are still 4 million people that don't have power because of Sandy.
Be sure to vote; it's important.
Is this country developing a class system?  It seems like it, and that's very disconcerting.
There's lots of things that make me shake my head.  Are the problems in this country too big, or too difficult, or too complicated to fix?  Watching the evening is very depressing.

5, Leaves

There are lots of leaves in my front yard, but I don't have any trees.  All the leaves are from my neighbor's trees next door or across the street. So shouldn't they have to rake them up? Seems so. Also, when you're about to start a road trip, does anyone else start to sing " On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson?  I do; my sister does she says. I think that's funny.

This is post #5!  Not anywhere near a thousand words a day, but I have made it to #5!  This is a  very exciting thing for me.